I've had two bus-free work days because I've had two work-free work days, thanks to an encounter with salmonella poisoning, or something acting very much like it. Though most likely I contracted the bug from something I ate -- the soft scrambled eggs that morning, the Subway sandwich for lunch that lingered via a bad aftertaste for hours -- part of me can't help wondering if I didn't pick up something from the bus. All those unwashed hands leaving God-only-knows-what kind of nasty bacteria on every surface. Considering that studies have found that most people don't regulary wash their hands after going to the bathroom, it would not be a huge stretch of the imagination.

Here's a story: Some years back I quit journalism for a short while to be a waitress. Those months of serving over-priced mediterranean-fusion food (think hummus and scallop pizza) was liberating to my mind, not to mention my bank account, but it put me into contact with so many other peoples' germs I couldn't help but contract stuff. In seven months I got sick more than I had in the previous seven years. I caught a bad head cold twice, the regular flu once, and an unforgettably horrible four-day bout with a stomach bug that left me crying for Mommy.

Bad eggs? Bus germs? Or maybe just kharmic punishment for binge-driving on Thursday? All I know is that I will bringing my Purell with me tomorrow.