Greetings from New York City

Well, I arrived at the airport at 7:00 a.m. yesterday. After being bumped from flight to flight, I eventually got on a plane that promptly sat on the tarmac for 90 minutes. Three hours later, we were put in a holding pattern for a very long time. Finally, I reached my hotel 14.5 hours after I first arrived at an airport.

This is not the best way for any trip to start, but when you have shingles, it's particularly unfortunate. I woke up this morning nauseated and sore, unable to move let alne get out of bed.

My colleage/roommate checked on me at noon to make sure I was OK. I wasn't, so she arranged for someone to bring me some food. A couple of other people checked on me troughout the day. I went out and got some soup late in the afternoon, and attended a plenary session at the conference. I had to leave before it was over because I was so dizzy, I started sliding out of the chair (I was only half in the chair to begin with since I couldn't put my back against anything hard).

I dashed back to my room and tried not to throw up.

Here I am, in the heart of The City, bound to my hotel room, sick and in pain. I hope to be healthier at some point before I go home...