Do I have a hangover?

I'm one of the lucky few who, even into my thirties, have been blessed with an ability to drink my face off and wake up without a hangover.  And when I see what some folks go thru, including my ex-wife, I honestly believe that I would not drink nearly as often, cause I couldn't bear to deal with the discomfort and vomiting.

And then Friday night was my work Christmas party... during the day at work I was feeling a bit run down but was counting on the tradition that the office closed at 3pm, so I could sneak home and have a quick nap to rejuvenate myself.  No such luck, but I still took off at 4pm.  Instead of heading straight home, I headed to the mall to pick up a must buy gift for William and then had enough time to jam some tunes to life my spirits, have a shower and iron a few shirts.

Mingling started at 6:30 and since I'm single I decided to arrive 15 minutes late to ensure my friends would be there and I wouldn't be stuck talking to management and their spouses about future job aspirations.  I walked off the elevator and grabbed my drink tickets and made my way to the bar where I saw a couple of friends.  I had a gin and tonic and mingled with my friends and some other coworkers that would wait at the bar for service.  We stuck pretty close to the bar cause it was also located near the dining room and we wanted to ensure we would get to sit together.  

We sat down and enjoyed a good dinner and an amazing view of the Halifax waterfront.  I probably should have stuck to water but white wine always goes down so well but also knocks me off my feet.  Before I knew it I was explaining to the girls what it means when my teeth go numb.  We shared a lot of laughs and really enjoyed our last social event as a full group, as the next round of staff to leave is December 31st.  

Lots more drinks were consumed, including a round of shots I indirectly talked my boss into buying for us... and by us ended up being every drinking in the room (sorry Allan... I'm sure you're wife doesn't like me so much anymore).  Funny sidebar: a girlfriend of one staff member who none of us have met before was a very sweet Asian girl who was far more intoxicated than me, and when she knocked her shot glass over on the tray, she waited until the rest were gone before picking the tray up very publicly and tilting it up so she could slurp her shot out of the tray.  The crowd just stared.  Great moment!

We finished up our drink tickets and headed into the elevator (pic below) and headed out to Celtic Corner to check out the live entertainment.  The music was good and we had another round of drinks and then someone suggested dancing and before we knew it my pregnant work wife, Karen, had us loaded into her truck headed to Halifax to dance.  Again I should have stopped drinking but I apparently can't.  The crew stayed until 3am and then they headed home, but I had ran into friends and had a taxi chit so I stayed a little longer.  Long enough to realize how drunk I was, so I bought a bottle of water, found a couch and chugged it down.  I grabbed my coat and a cab and was home before 4am.  Watered the Christmas tree, only to pass-out underneath it for an hour or so.

The next morning I woke up and felt horrible.  Could I really have a hangover?  Damn this sucks.  The ex-wife and the son picked me up and we grabbed some lunch and my car, but unlike the past the fast-food didn't fix the problem.  William and I spent the rest of the day together and as the day went on I felt worse and worse until finally I was running a high fever.  Sunday morning I had Jaime come pick William up and I spent the day watching tv and realizing my glands were growing by the hour.  It hadn't been a hangover I was full on sick.  

By the time Monday arrived I called in sick for work and went to the doctor.  I was screened for the regular things and was swabbed for strep and given a blood sample requisition for mono.  I had the blood-work done and was told it would be two days for results.  The next two days were pretty terrible.  I could barely eat and by Wednesday was still rocking a fever and my voice was very distorted from the swollen glands.  Mono came back clear and I begged for antibiotics, since the strep hadn't returned yet.  I was given the prescription and went home to regularly dose myself with drugs. 

With still no answer as to what I am sick with all I can hope is since I've suffered almost a week already, I'll surely be clear for Christmas.