At yesterday’s radiating, one of the technicians asked me about my symptoms with the implication that I am doing unusually well. There are at least a couple that show up by week 4 that I haven’t had, though truth be told with the days off I am slightly behind week 4 (if I was right on 5-per-week schedule, this post would be titled “15″ today). It made me feel good to think that I am “strangely asymptomatic” but I know that won’t last forever. As if in some poetic turn, yesterday two symptoms got worse. My burn suddenly looks uglier and more tender for reasons I can’t quite fathom, since I’ve been wearing the ridiculous Tilly Hat religiously to provide shade to my neck and it had been consistent for awhile. And my voice got a lot worse yesterday, though that is less of a mystery, between the smoke from the forest fire blanketing Montreal and all the talking I did yesterday in loud environments.

The “Learneds” are in town. For those who don’t know, most of the professional associations in the Canadian humanities and social sciences meet all at once each year. Which is good because they are all pretty small, but when you put them together, there are all sorts of interesting synergies, talks and chances to see what’s going on in other fields. I’m not going to very much this year since it’s a bit much to head out there, come back to get radiated, and then head back out (which is too bad because I have students presenting) but I am managing to see some people and attend evening social events. Last night was a really fun book launch party for 4 friends, followed by dinner. Foolishly, I resisted the allure of the dork-o-phone, so my voice is still pretty rough this morning.

Yesterday was a big day for other reasons, but that deserves a post of its own, which will come in good time.