SEPTEMBER: THE BEGINNING

September 3rd, about 4pm. Most of the office had left around 1pm, off for an enjoyable Labor Day weekend holiday with family or friends. I was just wrapping up, trying to tie up loose ends before a few days of laying low and enjoying the late summer weather.

I started to notice my throat was a little sore, and I assumed it was because I had drank a couple glasses of red wine the night before and stayed up a little later than usual (guilty pleasure: The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. I am one of the few left who doesn't have TiVO).

By 4:15pm I was going down as fast as a passenger plane hit by a flock of geese, except I had no Sully Sullenberger to save me. It was definitely a sinus infection. Labor Day weekend was a total bust. I spent the weekend taking meds, drinking tea, and attempting every possible remedy that I had at my fingertips trying to shake it. When the Umcka Cold Care didn't work, I knew it was going to be at least a week before I got better. Little did I know that this was the beginning of a five month run of bizarre sinus and other ailments that would serve as a major mind f*#&k and derail me completely.

Being that it was, as I said, Labor Day weekend, my doctor was not available. Fortunately when I called his office, he promptly returned my call, asked about my symptoms, diagnosed me as having a sinus infection, and prescribed an antibiotic called Biaxin. Biaxin, as it turned out, didn't work very well on me. I needed to get better quickly, as a trip was rapidly approaching. I was scheduled to head to Asia on business on the 19th. I ended up back at the doctor's office on the 16th, moving on to Levaquin and a methapredizone pack. I delayed the trip one day and headed out on the 20th.

I flew the sixteen hours to Ho Chi Minh, worked for a few days, then headed to Thailand for three days at factories with another team from the office. Hard to resist having a glass of wine after a long day of work, so I didn't (resist that is). I realize that probably didn't help the situation. I justified it by thinking that since I was feeling well enough to work out everyday, I was well enough to drink at dinner. The final leg of the trip was a red eye to Japan with a long layover where I met with our Japan team at the airport. I flew home later that day. Goodbye September 2010 and another month of my life gone by quickly and full of snot.