Post-WWDC 2009 Post (Or, where did Chris go last week?)

Well that was a weird week.

Leading up to WWDC, I got sick with a pretty standard chest cold. At the same time I was "recovering" from the cold, I had a ton of work to do around the house. For instance, I went up into my attic to install some supporting structure to install a ceiling fan…

The Thursday before I left for WWDC, I went to see my doctor (though I got to see an RN instead, which is just as good, and sometimes better). She told me that there was a chest cold going around and it might take as long as 4 weeks to clear up. I was fine with this, but I had some more organizing and packing to do.

On Saturday, my ribs really started to hurt from all that coughing. I was certain I'd fractured a rib, or sprained a muscle in my diaphragm or something I tried to get a bit of rest, but there was still a lot to get organized. Just before I flew out on Sunday, I loaded up on meds to keep me lucid during WWDC.

I tried to take it easy the first few days, but that's impossible when you're hanging out with such great people, and excited about the WWDC sessions and labs. On Tuesday evening I went back to my room pretty early (at around 9:30pm), hoping to be well rested for Wednesday when all the good content was starting. All the walking I'd done that afternoon was very difficult for me (which is unusual), and my breathing was very laboured.

Wednesday morning at around 3am I woke up with an intense fever, and I was throwing up. I called my insurance company back home, and scheduled a doctor's appointment for 8am after the local clinic opened up in San Francisco. About an hour later, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to head to the emergency room instead.

I was diagnosed (after a chest x-ray) with pneumonia, and got a prescription for some powerful antibiotics. I could barely make it back to my hotel room, so there was no way I'd make an appearance at the Moscone center that day. I head over to the Walgreens later in the day to get the rest of my antibiotics, and that totally wiped me out. I didn't get any work done, as I had an intense headache and nausea that made it difficult to even watch TV.

I was hopeful for Thursday—maybe I could make the beer bash at the very least. Unfortunately, I was out of commission all day, and could only muster the strength for a dinner right across the street from my hotel with friends. I thought that after dinner I'd be able to head to the bash (it was very close by), but by the end of dinner I could barely keep my eyes open.

On Friday, I felt much better and managed to make it to Moscone West. I'd missed all the sessions I really wanted to attend, and nobody I needed to speak to was in the labs. I was pretty disappointed, but at least I managed to get some help from friends in the labs—all was not completely lost.

So, WWDC was a bust for me. All that money, and time away from home, and I didn't get much conference content out of it. I really hope Apple posts the videos sooner rather than later, but if last year's any indication, I likely won't see the content I need until after Snow Leopard ships. Oh well.

Besides missing WWDC content, I managed to hang out with some awesome folks that I've been wanting to meet in person for a long time. I also got to catch up with folks I've met in the past, and have been keeping in touch with for years. I really enjoyed the few days I had where I wasn't too sick to participate (well, that's arguable—just ask some of the folks I was out with), and I hope to attend WWDC again next year.

I'm feeling much better now, though it'll take a month or so for my lungs to fully heal, and I'm going to be on meds for another six weeks.

I'd better not get sick for C4 this year…