Back but beaten

Well, I'm back. Not that any of you in the blogosphere necessarily noticed my absence since I had pre-posted (is that the word?) a lot of older posts (MRM Classics I called them) and because I had written up a bunch of posts while I was in NYC. But truth be told, I have been traveling non-stop since May 27--NYC, Seattle, Victoria, BC. Which means my body is feeling the effects of non-stop travel. And here's how it has taken its toll:

*I am severely jet lagged right now.

I really don't travel well. I never was one of those folks in college who backpacked throughout various continents (you know those folks who made their way by bus from Baja California to Argentina via Central America? That was NOT me. Or those other folks who did 20 countries in a summer through Europe? Not me). I don't travel well. I suffer from severe motion sickness. How severe? I had to take medication while traveling on the high speed ferry from Seattle to Victoria, BC--even though the water was like glass on the way out. And when friends of ours took us to see the new downtown Seattle library (which has a funky spiral design) I got dizzy just walking down from one stack to another. I got in yesterday and went straight to a series of meetings at Southern U. and this morning my body decided to say ENOUGH, and I am so tired I feel like every cell in my being is composed of lead.

*I am having an allergic reaction to antibiotics.

I currently have little red dots up and down my body. They haven't hit the palms of my hands or soles of my feet...yet. But they will. I am a sensitive soul--I have STRONG reactions to drugs of all kinds, and I have had this kind of drug reaction in the past to anti-biotics (and while I was traveling in Greece--you do NOT want to go to a Greek hospital on a small island in summer--that's another long story). Anyway, I am taking anti-biotics because . . .

*I need to have root canal surgery (which will be performed this afternoon).

During my trip to NYC, I discovered a molar had become EXTRA SENSITIVE and luckily my dentist managed to squeeze me in during the 24 hour window I was home between trips. During which time, her x-rays confirmed an infection of my tooth, which was spreading to my jaw and causing me EXTREME PAIN. And if any of you has had tooth pain or jaw pain, you KNOW how bad it is--so bad that I woke up in the middle of the night because I could feel my tooth throbbing (YUCK). I was given pain meds and anti-biotics. Thankfully I'm no longer in pain, but of course I'm now covered in little red bumps (not very attractive).

I know I'm over-sharing with all of you--but I also want to explain why I'm going to take a few days to get on my feet, blogging wise. I could, of course, have abbreviated all of the above. Which makes me wonder: have I turned into one of those bloggers who over-shares and uses my blog as a journal? Did I really need to go into detail about my various bodily ailments right now? Am I looking for sympathy, empathy, understanding, commiseration? Or am I just so painfully honest and thorough I figure I should tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

Some things for me to explore while I'm recuperating. If any one has any thoughts on over-sharing in the blogosphere I'm all ears (or eyes). I know this isn't really on the topic of this blog--I promise you, I have things to say/write about race and America and mixed-race America given my various travels. But they'll probably have to wait until next week when I'm a bit more lucid. Until then, let me recommend that you check out the folks in my blogroll and/or you can read some previous posts of mine that are also listed on the sidebar.