I've been sick as a dog all week - a savage attack of the bacterial chest infection that has hit me on and off since 1989, when a whole bunch of us first came down with the same thing at a convention in Perth. I've spent most of my time in bed, coughing up seemingly unlimited quantities of Exorcist-style green slime, and generally feeling sorry for myself. It's even triggered off some Grover's Disease - a nasty skin rash that I used to get but haven't suffered for two or three years. Damn it!
Thankfully, a lot of rest and antibiotics have got me in reasonable shape to drive to Canberra today for the sf convention Conflux, for which I am fairly heavily programmed. There's no way I could have done that a couple of days ago.
I did manage to drag myself out of bed at 3.30 a.m. this morning (bear in mind that I live a lifestyle that normally allows me to indulge the "I am not a morning person" take on life to the hilt). This was to attend the virtual-reality Uvvy Island launching. Unfortunately, I wasn't up to staying for long, and we were still having some technical problems with the sound when I left. I guess I'll hear how it all ended up. I did take a couple of pics, which I just published in a separate blog entry.
Okay - now to brace myself for the seven-or-eight-hour drive (and Jenny will share the driving, so it won't be that bad really). I do feel a lot better now, after going back to bed and getting a few more hours of sleep, and a helluva lot better than just a couple of days ago. Thank the gods for modern medicine.
About Me
- Russell Blackford
- Australian philosopher, literary critic, legal scholar, and professional writer. Based in Newcastle, NSW. My latest books are THE TYRANNY OF OPINION: CONFORMITY AND THE FUTURE OF LIBERALISM (2019); AT THE DAWN OF A GREAT TRANSITION: THE QUESTION OF RADICAL ENHANCEMENT (2021); and HOW WE BECAME POST-LIBERAL: THE RISE AND FALL OF TOLERATION (2024).
2 comments:
Why are you always so sick, love? I hope you are feeling better. :)
Well, I'm back. :)
Funny, Holly, I don't think of myself as terribly sickly or anything. I was a sickly child, but as an adult I've always been the guy who could be counted on never to have to take off a sick day at work. However, this particular bug - or versions of it - really has been my nemesis, on and off, for some years now.
Anyway, I made it safely to Canberra, did my duty at the convention, which included appearing on a few panels and taking part in a shambolic (but quite funny) debate about whether Golden Age science fiction writers had it easier than modern day science fiction writers.
The highlight was possibly the "steamy readings" session, in which I read some of the, um, stronger scenes of character revealed through action from my own published fiction.
By the last night, I was even well enough to dance at the convention disco. I may not have been quite as energetic, this time, as I was when I danced with Kris (among others) in Brisbane, back in April, but I'm feeling pretty good.
My only worry is whether I got booked on the way home by a speed camera - I think it flashed the car in front of me, rather than my car, but I guess I'll know in the next few days.
Somehow I kept not taking pics at the con, so I can't post any this time. :(
Still, I'll blog about it a little tomorrow, if I get a chance
Russ
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