Doctors finally figured out what was wrong with my eye: I've got shingles, on my face. Eye shingles. So it's been making my eye hurt and my face hurt and now it's going to give me a whale of a painful rash on my face for the next couple weeks.

They also told me it'd be very irresponsible of me to get on a plane to China, since all my factories are now dedicated to producing chickenpox contagion. So, no Shanghai trip. Disappointed!

That means I'll be here trying to work, fixing up bugs that I've accumulated, doing emails and the like. I am behind now and going pretty slowly. George, Scott, Oliver, Maksym, and Patrick are here at work developing good stuff for Skritter, though, so with any luck, you'll hardly notice me being a slug! Thanks for your patience.

Aww, that sucks! Hope you'll get better soon and still can make it to Shanghai and the Expo some time soon. Try not to overwork either, stress inhibits the curing process...

Ouch, sorry to hear that. And -- on your eyes? Doubly bad luck.

My choir director got that same condition while she was in the Caribbean! The recuperation is not overnight, so a few weeks makes sense.

God bless you and please feel better. This site is invaluable and it is helping many of us make our dreams of learning Japanese/Chinese come true. The money you are making doesn't hurt, either ;)

-Louis

Good lord, on your face!? On your eye!? I had a friend in college get shingles on her back, and she was miserable for month, I can't even imagine on your face.

我们希望你能早日康复!

Oh, so sorry to hear that! I had shingles as a small kid, 6 years old, on my shoulder, and I totally remember the pain. Take care and get well. Killer to miss Shanghai trip, too!

Hey man,

I'm very sorry to hear it. But shouldn't you be resting instead of working? We all want you to get better as soon as possible, not work yourself to death!

James

If you feel like a pick-me-up, pop in the movie "Kung Fu Hustle." I rented it by accident a few years ago... I was trying to rent a Jackie Chan film, and the video store gave me this by mistake. I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants.

I think it's in Cantonese (haven't watched it since I started learning Mandarin), so unfortunately subtitles may still be required.

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Nick - Good thing you have built a good team there. Our family's sympathy and prayers are with you. Rest plenty, work only a little, please.

Wah! That's horrible. I am so sorry to hear you had to postphone your trip. Hope you get better very soon! Take a break from working so hard, ok?

I hope you recover soon.

Take care!

I am so sorry to hear your diagnosis, Nick. Several members of my family have had shingles; it was not pretty and recovery was slow. Please take it easy and be kind to yourself.

You and the rest of the team have created a wonderful tool. I agree with Louis, it is an invaluable site. (I love the new mnemonics; they take skritter to another level.) How about some contemplation of your achievement while you sip green tea? And, Shanghai won't go away.

Get well soon!

I had shingles on my back (age 17, and I thought it was an old persons illness!), and it was pretty rough, so I can imagine that having it on your face, affecting your eye, must be extremely unpleasant.

Take it easy Nick

Oh no, that sounds terrible! I hope you will get well soon. We'll see you in Shanghai some other time, then!

Sorry to hear it. Get well fast, man.

Oh, that's tough luck! I hope you get better pretty soon.

Thanks for the well wishes, everyone! Face looks quite lovely right now, but it's not hurting all that much, so hopefully it won't get too bad. Can't really open my left eye right now, though, which makes it hard to either work or rest. (I'm not good at relaxation besides for reading books--usually I'm relaxed about everything without having to recreate.)

George's favorite book is A Separate Peace, and in it Phineas breaks his leg and is told that he'll never be able to play sports again. But ever the optimist, he wakes up every morning and tests out his leg, expecting it to be better. George points out that this is also what I do. But it's not like I broke my leg, right? I think it will be better soon. 'Sides, Phineas's leg probably had to heal up just fine sometime, right?

Take care. And count yourself lucky you didn't get on that plane and end up quarantined in a Chinese hospital. I don't think the authorities take too kindly to people trying to enter with contagious diseases.

Nick, will you post occasional progress reports about your recovery? (We know it may be slow going.)

I'm mostly healed already, which surprised me because from what I had gathered it was supposed to get a lot worse and last a lot longer. Once I started eating 3 $10 antiviral pills a day, the shingles were defeated on horseback. So the worst part was already over by the time I got the diagnosis. It just wasn't in time to save my China trip.

I still managed to amass a hefty mound of bugs on top of myself during the time when I wasn't working, though. I've almost eaten my way out now.