As I sit recovering from a week of travel, rich food and constant bombardment with science and brilliant minds, I can't help but feel proud of my restraint.
I paced myself well, got a bit of sunshine, and suffered from not a single Crohn's attack. There was a great deal of rich food at my fingertips. Several days begged for lunches out in downtown San Diego, as >31,000 neuroscientists poured out of the convention center and into the streets to acquire sustenance for the afternoon's activities. Our lab was also cocktailed, wined and dined by a very lovely medical liaison -- just a wonderful woman -- which called for rich Italian food.
Fortunately for the intestines of yours truly, San Diego is brimming with fresh seafood. I even ventured to eat three stunningly delicious prawns and had no backlash. Nausea was minimal, throughput disconcertingly normal, and energy manageable. I ate scallops with mushrooms, kale, pomegranate seeds and pumpkin puree (butterless). I ate mahi tuna sliders with ginger (creamless, and oddly low in oil). I ate mussel and clam capellini and, randomly, amaretto and cherry liquor coffee with biscotti. I survived, I suspect, because rich meals were limited to one a day; other meals being oatmeal or Odwalla protein bars.
Unsurprisingly, I arrived home fatigued and drowning in adrenaline. We flew in Thursday evening, and work the following day was driven by excitement and seemingly uninhibited by exhaustion. Thank goodness for a weekend empty but for catching up on crap tv, football, laundry and blogging. I am not -- I repeat not -- ready for the onslaught of Thanksgiving-Hanukah-Christmas-New Year-Interviews. Chuck Norris, help me.
A beautiful and enriching trip. Feel free to see my science blog for details.
