Am I allowed to call in sick if I'm self-employed?
I have not been well for several days. It's nothing serious. No need to make funeral arrangements. It's one of those low-grade viral things that causes you to feel whiny. (Or at least it causes me to feel whiny.)
It began last week with a screaming headache. I thought it was a migraine, but the next day, when the congestion and mild acheyness set in, I realized something else was going on in my body.
I have tried to ignore it for several days. I have tried to go on with my usual daily schedule. I've got writing deadlines, books to promote, tours to prepare for, and speeches to outline. I don't have time to wallow. But after a reading last night at a local book store, I passed up the opportunity to go out with other travel writers and drink beer. When I say no to beer, something is very wrong.
I love self-employment, but today, I am longlingly recalling the days when I had a job in cubicle land. I had three sick days a year -- use 'em or lose 'em. On a day like today, I could have called in sick.
Hell, on a day like last Friday, when I didn't even feel that sick, I could have called in sick. I could have been paid for laying on the couch all day and watching Jerry Springer.
But here in the land of self-employment, I cannot take a day off like that. My boss won't let me.
My boss can be a real bastard sometimes.
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