Sunrise

I got to see sunrise this morning from 9000 feet, just above a layer of fluffy clouds. Of course, that meant that I was awake REALLY early. We had an early morning flight with a takeoff time of 0400 local time, which meant that we had to be at the plane at 0300, which meant leaving the hotel around 0230, which meant getting up around 0200. And somehow I'm still awake. The crazy part is that not only did I get up at 0200, I was awake at 2300 last night for over an hour because I had a harsh fever. I have no idea what my temperature was, because of course my thermometer is at home in Boulder. Regardless, I've had a cold for a few days, mostly in my throat and yesterday it found my sinuses. I had a mild fever on and off yesterday, but it hit me hardest a couple hours after I went to sleep. I was almost resigned to having to miss the flight (very intersting from a radical point-of-view, or so I thought going in) when I fell asleep around 0030 this morning. But when my alarm woke me up at 0200 I was in the middle of my fever breaking and I figured I could muscle through. As it happened, by about 0500, I was feeling great!

Getting ill in a foreign country isn't much fun. It's not terrible when you've got a lot of colleagues who are all outfitted with Tylenol Cold, Advil Cold and Sinus, and Sudafed Non-dowsy (where is that trademark symbol when you need it?) And really, a cold isn't that big a deal - just give me some nice soft tissues and I'll be happy. What I'm more concerned about is the streak that I have in my elbow. I noticed it not long after arriving here in Mexico, and it has pretty much stayed the same. (That means that I'm pretty sure it happened here, but not positive.) I would have expected it to darken, or lighten, or do *something*, but no: it's the same. The only thing that has changed is that the little red spot on the left (see the picture) used to be more of a raised bright red spot, like a bug bite.

Anyone have any idea what this could be? I've looked it up, and I'm pretty sure it's not Lyme disease, and I'm also pretty sure that I didn't get bitten by a brown recluse spider, although really - I'm not a doctor and I don't really have the best knowledge on these matters. I do know that I had strange pains in my left arm a couple days ago, and that I have had a couple instances over the last week where I have felt a tightness in my chest, like I've been having trouble breathing. I'm trying to not be too freaked out about that. After all, there is a lot to be said for what we go through on the plane - I've almost gotten accustomed to the feeling of "not having your land-legs back" that always hits me about an hour after we land. It's a sudden buzz-like sensation where the world starts to vibrate just a little, and you can't catch up. It lasts anywhere from a half hour to a couple hours, and then goes away without much fanfare. Considering how much we're jostled about on the plane, it's not terribly surprising.