Ill

Of course I’d get a bad cold.

Last night dinner was so wonderful – amazing, really! The beach, the surf, the excellent steelhead (a fish I’d never had before) but by the end of the meal my nose was running like a sieve.

I woke up at 2:00 with a dreadful sore throat, aches, stuffy nose – the whole goya beanery.

After stocking up on ColdEze, theraflu and cloraseptic strips for my throat, I was able (just) to teach my two classes today, although I had to cut the first one short by 1/2 hour, and cut a full hour off the second class. Then home to collapse with nyquil.

Now it’s 9:00 pm and after 6 hours of rest I feel much, much better. Not excellent, but better. I’m sure I can get through classes tomorrow, then I don’t teach again until Friday in Los Angeles.

I think I must have caught this thing while flying, then sitting outside in the cool night air last night for drinks before dinner was the final nail in the coffin. I’m relying on the coldeze (it’s been recommended by so many friends) and – with enough tea (and the delicious chicken soup that the coordinator of this event brought me this afternoon…) I think I’ll be fine.

It makes me think, though, what an awkward situation it is to be flown out somewhere to teach, and then to be unable to fulfill the obligation. Aside from feeling like garbage about it, it also brings up contractural obligations and the pain of disappointing students.

One very good thing was I was able to give my lecture on Tuesday to a FULL house and it was very well received. They laughed, they cried, and then they laughed again. Yes, I can turn any audience into a mass of manic-depressive disorder. I brought 50 books, thinking this would last me my whole trip, but sold out after my lecture so now I’m bookless for the rest of the trip. I just felt too lousy today to coordinate with my husband to send out another case of books, and I may have missed the time frame where I could get the books sent out at a low enough cost to make it pay. Oh, well, it’s a good problem to have – better than the headache of carrying back 50 books to NJ!