The following is an actual reason given on a sick leave form by one of my faculty:
- Bronchitis, and a general malaise
I liked that. Imagine the possibilities:
- Flu, and a dark sense of foreboding
- Feverish, and gripped by a nameless fear
- Headcold, and ennui
- Coughing, and humming with dark portent
- Sniffles, and the vapors
Actually, Sniffles and the Vapors might be a good name for a band. For a while as grad school wound down and I was staring at the prospect of unending unemployment, I toyed with the idea of forming a power-punk band called Jonny and the Postdocs. You know, fall back on the relative safety of show business in case the risky academic thing didn’t work out…
