Con Crud

You may have noticed that I'm not running at my usual level, here.  For the last few weeks, I've been dissatisfied with my output.  In large part, this can be traced directly back to Con Crud.

One of the great things about conventions is the huge numbers of people you can meet and great.

The problem with this, of course, is that everyone brings their own strains of cold and flu.

See, there are hundreds and hundreds of strains of cold. It's why there is no one cure to the common cold - every time we beat one of them, it mutates into a new version of itself. But we sometimes still carry the colds that our systems have beat.

So, when you go to a convention, you are bringing one or more defeated strains of cold that the people you interact with may be vulnerable to. And they are returning the favor.

When possible, I always take an extra day or two off when I go to a convention. An extra day of rest can kickstart my immune system. Sadly, it didn't work out schedule-wise this time. So my immune system is still playing catch-up.

It means that - right now - I am fighting several colds. Simultaneously. And half of them appear to have settled in my lungs, so I'm coughing and struggling to breathe (and stressing out my wife in the process). It also means I'm not sleeping well, which means that I can't write as well because I'm not thinking clearly ...

It sucks.