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| Soir Bleu (Blue Evening) by Hopper, 1914 |
Worse yet, I had COVID and traveled out of state to a wedding this past weekend.
So, here's the story. TWO weekends back I attended, unmasked, a "Nerd Party"/book signing down in Kent, and I think that's where I picked things up - the time frame matches up. The Wednesday following I had a scratchy throat and a stuffy head. To be honest, nothing out of the ordinary for after I do a convention where I talk with people a lot. It was bad in the morning, but pretty much evaporated by the afternoon. No fever. No diarrhea. No effect on sense of taste. No problems breathing. By Friday it was just merely irritating, so I flew 5 hours to Atlanta (masked on the plane) and attended the wedding of my youngest niece (not masked). Hugged people, celebrated, schmoozed. I warned some people early on I was "getting over a cold." Because that's what it felt like. How little I knew.
And while waiting in line at the airport to LEAVE Atlanta, I saw a Facebook post from a friend who says he has tested positive. So I texted Kate to that effect, and came back to Seattle, totally masked up. She had told me she had "caught my cold". She tested positive with an old test. I went out and got some new tests, shoved the probes up my nostrils and.... yeah, I'm positive. I'm positive I'm positive.
So how is it? It feels like a cold. I've had nasty ones. It did not lay me out (though I used it as an excuse to a nap). I've been vaccced and boostered, and while it ultimately did not give me Plate +3 level protection, it does feel like it has pretty much limited the effects. I mean one of the points of the vaccination is to prep the body to beat back the real thing. And I honestly felt more tired and brain-foggy from the vacc than from the virus when it showed up.
But I sent out the emails to others that were at the book event, and those at the weddings. Fortunately I didn't hug a lot of people at the wedding, but I did hug people that I was close to. Brother, sister, sister-in-law. And the bride. I should of opted for the mask, but no one was masking up. And I felt that if COVID responded poorly to an alcohol-based environment, I had that more than covered.
And I feel phenomenally stupid. I mean, I've spent a couple years observing proper protocols, and had this entire Protestant-Work-Ethic approach to health - I was going to get through this through sheer strength of moral fiber and applaudable caution. I was kinda proud I had not succumbed. Paladin-level virtuous, even. Yeah, we declared the crisis over and many/most have tucked the masks away, but it is still out there. Even if the present form feels less virulent and deadly, and it is not putting as many people in the hospital (or the grave), it is still sending a healthy number into unhealthy crises. But knowing ALL THE RISKS I still thought it was "just a headcold" and went off to a wedding.
So what now? Isolation and masking for the moment. Monitoring to see if it gets worse (that can still happen). On-line conference with a health professional (we're far enough away from initial onset that anti-virals will not help). Mucinex for the stuffiness. Taking care of the Lovely Bride. Staying the heck away from people, which has become second-nature to me. I work from home and the work hasn't suffered (much) from the amounts of phlegm in my system. I'm feeling a little more snarly than usual, but that is likely more on me than on the virus itself.
And I have "All-Star" by Smashmouth running continually in my brain. Oh, the horror.
So yeah, folks, keep the masks on, keep your head down, keep yourselves safe.
And it's NEVER just a headcold.
More later,
