American Ballet Theater

Been there, done that. It's been one month since we arrived in NYC and the novelty is fading. My activity has been dropping too, from 60,000 steps a week to 40,000. In other words, I'm back to normal. My crash threshold has dropped as well. Running some errands in the morning and then walking a little over 1 km in the afternoon on 6/9 was enough to cause two day crash. That was only 9000 step day, quite a drop from 5/19 when I walked 16,000 steps and survived the next day.

This phenomenon is not unique to CFS patients. Healthy people can also tolerate higher level of activities while they travel, only to succumb to post-trip blues when they return to routine life. The effect is only more pronounced for CFS patients because their normal activity level is severely curtailed to begin with and, therefore, the marginal increase is proportionally higher relative to the base level. And there is that ever lurking danger of paying much heavier price than healthy people after the trip if you are not mindful of your limit.

The post-trip blues is commonly misunderstood as a mental depression rather than a physical one. They are not taking into account the elevated activities during the trip and its post-trip effect. (Asians got it right -- they call it trip poison 旅毒, not post-trip depression). And this phenomenon is not limited to trips either. After a stressful project is over, it is common for people to suffer from a funk for a few days. I certainly had my share of that in my previous life. This again is caused by the elevated activities, well tolerated while you are stressed, coming home to roost after the stress is over.

The evening out for Swan Lake at Lincoln Center was an antidote for the encroaching ennui. My jaw dropped when the princess Odette walked in in the 2nd act. How is it even possible to move like that? It was truly a stunning display of motional art.  And she was only a substitute -- the principle dancer apparently injured herself and was unavailable.  Maybe she got injured while practicing jumping off the cliff in the final act. The story, on the other hand, is just another second hand children's fable of princes, princesses and the wicked sorcerer.