Not 100 percent but what else is there to do at 3 a.m.

After feeling miserable and getting worse through the day Wednesday, I finally got some sleep from about 5 p.m. on, thanks to a variety of things, from throat drops, spray, nasal spray, multisymptom drinks and antibiotics. Bad news is, it''s 3 a.m. and I've had about 10 hours of sleep so I'm fairly awake. Still feeling poorly, but not as poorly as yesterday.

Amazing thing: In Russia yhou can get antiobiotics without a prescription as long as you press the issue with the pharmacist. In addition, a five-day supply of penicillin, which is what I think I have, was less than $20. In the States, it would cost $60 even with health insurance coverage.

Of course, since I don't understand the language, maybe it's not penicillin and its some kind of hormonal treatment they gave their Olympic women's swim team here in the 1970s. So if I return to the States weighing 30 pounds more and with a beard, you'll know.