Today is my first full day back at work after having been out sick most of the week, and I'm finding it much more disconcerting than I'd expected. Perhaps if we weren't in the middle of the busiest time of the year, and if we weren't having to completely restructure our jobs around budgetary shortfalls, I could've come back and slipped right back into the same old thing.

As it is, though, I feel completely disconnected. Everyone seems to know what they're doing except me, and no one has any time to spare for the usual catching-up chatter that might help me feel normal and in sync with everyone again. Instead, I've been sitting on the reference desk all day, feeling more and more adrift as this Saturday drags on and on and on....