finally! the virus has come for me

My intuition turned out to be wrong, and my boss's suspicion turned out to be right: I have finally caught the 'rona, the couf—good old COVID-19. It's official.

that faded "T" stripe = positive

See, above, the faded reddish stripe underneath the strong-colored red stripe? That's the clue that I'm positive. Frankly, I'm glad I finally caught the damn thing because that settles the question of whether I'd caught COVID up to now. I'd somehow managed the feat of going three years without getting infected, which made me begin to wonder whether I'd actually caught the virus and been asymptomatic. Turns out I'd just been lucky this whole time. 

I now feel bad about having come in for work yesterday, but depending on the source you consult, you're most contagious from just before you feel symptoms until a few days after. I felt my own symptoms last Thursday, which makes yesterday Day 5 if last Thursday was Day 1. If I were a betting man, I'd wager that I was far less contagious yesterday than I'd been last week. For what it's worth, I've apologized to my boss and coworker for coming in yesterday. They've both been infected, though, so they ought to be immune.

I called the boss to update him with my home-test results, and we talked about PCR tests and self-isolation. The boss suggested what I was already thinking: just start self-isolating now—without visiting the clinic—because, as the boss said, they're not going to do anything for me (and I ain't gettin' no shot, which is supposed to be more preventative, anyway—ha*). I do plan to be scrupulous about self-isolation, which shouldn't be hard for a lazy homebody like me. That doesn't mean I agree with such a measure: being out in the sun and the free-flowing air is better than being cooped up in my studio (although it is raining today).

The nice thing about finally getting COVID is the resulting natural immunity. That's the thing I'm looking forward to. In the meantime, I'll keep taking my meds and monitoring my symptoms. After seeming improvement yesterday morning and afternoon, there was a downturn last night, and I felt shitty this morning. Right now, in mid-afternoon, I'm feeling better again, but that could simply be the meds talking. 

This coming Sunday, I'll test myself again, and again after that if necessary. If my lungs suddenly fill up with corruption, and I die, I'll be sure to let you know. Assuming I don't die, this is a good chance for me to get cracking on my book project... assuming I can dredge up the energy to do so. Along with fever (long gone), stuffy/runny nose, body aches, mucus-y cough, and a nasty sore throat, one of my most serious symptoms has simply been lethargy.

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*Not a single one of my jabbed friends and acquaintances avoided getting infected.