We're back! Neither rain nor snow nor dead of night will keep us from our appointed rounds, but a fever of 102.5° will knock me flat on my ass just as quick as the next guy. Yes, originally I was lucky enough only to have been saddled with a bad cold, but like a dork I had to go and push things-- and that flu that's been beating up half the western hemisphere decided to do a happy little tap-dance on the tattered shreds of my immune system... hence, no new episodes since last Tuesday night. I personally apologize for the unplanned hiatus, but take my word for it: when you're burning up but feeling chilly, your head feels like someone's trying to screwjack it open from the inside, you've got slimy gunk constantly streaming from every opening in your face, a constant barrage of coughing is ripping apart your throat and your abdominal wall, and you can't focus both eyes in the same direction, entertaining others is just about the last thing on your mind.

Anyway, I'm still not quite at 100% yet, but the end is in sight-- and I mean the end of the illness, not the Big White Light. (I hope.) Fever's down, the Great Phlegm Fountain appears to have been shut down for the season, the headache's subsided to a dull roar, and most importantly, I can read a Mac screen again. Needless to say, I'm a bit out of the loop-- sleeping through fever-dreams for seventeen straight hours will do that to you, for instance-- but I'll be getting up to speed over the next few days. By the middle of the week AtAT should be back to its old self again, and there will be much rejoicing.

In the meantime, please enjoy "AtAT Lite," whatever the heck that turns out to be. Thanks much to all of you who wrote in with well-wishes and sent iCards-- given the volume of mail on which I'll have to catch up, I may not get a chance to reply personally to everyone, but I'll try. And, of course, extra big fuzzy thanks to Katie, AtAT's resident fact-checker and Goddess of Minutiae, not just for insisting on posting a "Closed Due To Sickness" notice when I wasn't able, but also for keeping me warm, fed, and as comfortable as circumstances would allow. Stay well, everyone, 'cause this particular bug was not fun to wrestle...