a taste of freedom

Around 1:40 a.m., I took my first steps outside of my tiny studio apartment. It was only to dump a pile of trash downstairs, but it was still a relief to find myself walking around again. I'm definitely feeling better, but I still have that mucus-y cough and stuffy/runny nose. I'm probably still COVID-positive as well, but in talking with the boss Saturday afternoon, we agreed I probably wouldn't be contagious were I to come in on Monday. Then boss suggested I research the contagion issue, and the general consensus seems to be that the average COVID patient is contagious for around ten days after manifestation of symptoms. I started feeling blah on July 6th (Thursday); I essentially self-isolated from Thursday evening through Monday morning (Monday the 10th); I came into work on Monday because I was feeling better in the morning and afternoon, but when I got back from work, things worsened to the point where I decided to test myself for COVID. Tuesday morning (the 11th), I tested myself, got a positive result, and immediately began self-isolating. That period ended yesterday (the 15th), and it's now July 16th, which is July 6 + 10 days. Since I don't count myself as having had a severe infection, I think I fall neatly into the 10-day average window.

My fever—one of the initial symptoms—was gone even before I began to self-isolate. The next most bothersome symptom was a nastily sore throat, but that went away, too, after only a day or two of isolation. The mucus-y cough mentioned above isn't constant; I cough maybe once or twice an hour, so I think it's just a let's-get-rid-of-the-phlegm reflex more than anything. I'd been expecting much deeper lung issues (rales, etc.), but I've had none of that. The only other annoyances are the stuffy/runny nose and the lack of smell and taste. Those will disappear on their own eventually, so I'm not overly worried. My lethargy is mostly gone; I certainly feel vigorous enough to take a long walk somewhere. My overall constitution, though, is probably a bit delicate still, so I won't be pushing myself this coming week.

All in all, I feel a lot better. COVID is about what I thought it would be, and I don't regret not getting "vaxxed." Natural immunity is now mine; I know it's not a 100% guarantee against variants, but if Dr. John Campbell is to be believed, natural immunity is at least as effective as getting jabbed. I've also done the sneaky thing of voluntarily self-isolating, which has kept me off the government's radar (i.e., I never got registered as a COVID statistic, and I never had to upload the contact-tracing app). In my studio, I've kept my window open at night (while running the A/C—a sin that would have meant my death back when I lived with my parents: back when I was a kid, you never ran the A/C with the windows open: "That's money flying out the window!") as a way to keep my studio aerated. Heat and humidity have meant keeping the windows closed during the daytime while still running the A/C to cool and to dehumidify the place. I've also taken this self-isolation time to putter around and clean the studio up a bit even though it has a long way to go. And a problem has sprung up: I think there's a leak dripping down from the apartment above me; I'll have to call my HR office and have them send a repair person to take a look at it.

So, I had a chance to walk around outside my place a bit tonight. I'll probably step outside, rain or shine, Sunday morning or afternoon. I'll do my laundry, take a shower, launder my bed linens, and mentally prepare myself for a return to work on Monday.

Meanwhile, let's celebrate: