Covid and work
My workplace was trying to make me go onto the Family Medical Leave act. I will give kudos, The Big J went to bat for me so I will be working online and remote on January 4th. I am good at finding myself work so I’m not concerned. The school seems to think that they will have a semester with 2500 students and it will go smoothly. They weren’t planning on hiring students for my lab but if they do open up A/V, that is now under my wing and that will be complicated. I may have to do that remotely. EDITED TO ADD: And now they are totally changing the testing procedure with the new year.
My new boss hasn’t been in touch with anyone since Friday. The other two employees are testing like mofos and self-isolating. My new boss, Paul, and I both have bronchial issues so I’m guessing worse immunity than the other two. They’ve been great about keeping in touch. Kind of annoying is still having to answer work issues on vacation but that will grind to a halt today since EVERYONE is off through the New Year.
I have no smell or taste but the headaches have stopped. I had a really “bleah” experience this morning sitting on the edge of the bed. I coughed so hard it caused a side stitch/cramp. I fell backward to alleviate it, my vertigo kicked in at the sudden movement and I was afraid of getting sick on the bed. It was a pretty uncomfortable minute where my body hated me.
I tried doing squats but that was a *terrible* idea. The body IS NOT ready.
We have been avoiding using the communal washing machines so as to not get our neighbors sick. But it does mean our clothing choices are being dictated in some odd directions. For me, it means that I rewear a sweatshirt over a light shirt and my pants are hand-washable. ( A practice that works well for costuming as well. (NO jeans!) I am slowly running out of my “standard” underwear and now we have the ugly pieces, the ones-you-bought-in-an-emergency-on-a-trip, and have never fit quite right. The undies with ugly motifs and the high cuts that were a bit too much, but hey-clean underwear. If I get to the disposable underwear it may be a harder choice. (Bought for Australia, they are awful but better than no underwear)
The MA COVID team called, sadly not Dan, but chatting, we are extending our isolation past Christmas (by our choice) and then we can talk about going to the store, etc.
Food delivery, yep. I could pick the most common item on the planet and it would be a “sorry Holly, you can’t have that!” I feel like it’s a shell game. We order something, are told we can have it, but no-haha Holly! And two days later that item is back. Frank put “no substitutions” so we don’t end up with a cake mix instead of …?. And why we made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on rosemary-infused sourdough bread. We don’t care, we can’t taste it. The food delivery lifestyle is cool but I hate the lack of agency.
And that’s why we made hard-boiled eggs today. The first batch try was off (it’s been a while since we’ve used the amazing egg boiler*) but try two had 5 perfectly cooked eggs and we both had one for lunch. Frank’s tummy has been queasy so I’ve been trying to stuff in proteins (He’s better than me with vegetables and fruit. My stomach is stupidly delicate with tomato pastes and citrus fruits)
I am pretty good except for a persistent cough-because I’m stuffed up. I will try sleeping without a decongestant tonight
Our friends have been amazing about offering help and I love that. It’s a lovely gift and being sick makes me a weepy sentimental monster. If I have to cry, it’s not the worst reason to do it. I burst into tears when a friend sent a lovely decorated paper mask
*I have been grateful for our kitchen gadgets. They have made things easier. It sounds silly but having a machine monitor our cooking, I hadn’t realized the effort to stand over and watch something was that much. But when going down two flights of stairs, grabbing some envelopes, and coming back up makes you winded, it’s a difference.