I went to Vegas, and all I got was this lousy infection

And no, I didn't get it from a hooker. That probably would have been more fun.

I was in Vegas last week for the GAMA (the game manufacturer's organization) Trade Show debuting the hot new 24 TCG and checkin' out the other new releases, of which there weren't really a lot. I was looking forward to the trip because it would be the first time in a long time I've been able to hang out with a couple of old friends, I'd see the first images of our new TCG, I was about ready for a little break from work...and, well, it *is* Vegas. But even with all the looking forward, something felt off about the trip before I ever left. I even told my boss about it, just feeling uneasy about whatever was going to go wrong.

Thursday night, it started to go wrong.

The previous night my buddy Hayden was spouting about how bad pneumonia sucks because the coughing keeps you up all night and your chest hurts and blah blah blah. Whateva Hayden. Suck it up. Then he took his PhD candidacy and turned it into a VooDoo Doctor candidacy and sent me the bad ju-ju in the form of a pre-pneumonia bacterial lung infection. Was hacking by the end of Thursday and feeling not fun, and by Friday morning I was debating running full speed into the corner of a wall. I almost went to urgent care that day before I left to come home, and in retrospect with 20/20 hindsight that would have been the better option. Of course I just thought I had a terrible cold at the time. Blah blah blah...suck it up.

Yeah, right. I was kept up all night and my chest hurt and after the med's wore off there was no more sleepin. Only coughin.

Monday I finally got the meds that I need, including this wonderful, orange-tasting, non-alcoholic syper-nyquil concoction that works just a little too well. Doc didn't release me to go back to work until today, but I couldn't stick it out. By 1 in the afternoon I had hit the wall and was having difficulty concentrating or keeping my eyes open. By 1:30, the towel was thrown in. I came home and ended up passing out on my floor, waking up in a half-delirious state about 4 hours later. I called a friend of mine whom I've dearly missed...might not have been the best time, but I didn't care. Catching up a little was far more important than waking up completely.

Anywho, that's where I'm at now. The trip was fun, pre-illness. Now I'm just trying to get better and return to normalcy in body and habit.

PS - My hit counter provider evidently went belly-up. Oh well, I guess that's what I get for free. In any case, the last number I remember was 1217, so I'll probably start it around 1250 once I get around to looking for a new company. Recommendations, anyone?