2022: Catching Covid
Photo by Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash
Live and let die.
My friends think I am a nutty hypochondriac. Yet my germophobic ways were tapped when the pandemic began in 2020.
Kumara called me a Covid19 Astrologist since I made several accurate predictions. Heavy lies the crown.
Amongst my predictions were:
Statewide lockdown. Called it on March 16, 2020, at work. The formal announcement for the state of California took place on March 19, 2020.
Flights grounded for commercial transportation (at minimum) through June 2020. Called it during the first week of the stay-at-home order at a neighborhood, BYO-lawn chair-and-stay-six-feet-away, happy hour. A neighbor lost a bet to me when he failed to get a ticket to Mexico.
Vaccine unavailable until Q1-2021. Called it at a socially distant happy hour during summer 2020. While the vaccine was technically distributed then, it was delayed to the general public until Q2-2021.
Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
Last year, I predicted that 2021 would be getting caught in a nasty storm before the sun came out. Was I right?
Sorta. I had the right idea, but it happened in reverse. A summer rainbow was followed by a winter storm.
The general public was eligible for the vaccine in Q2-2021. Many got vaccinated, and many did not. California restrictions lifted in June 2021.
I got fully vaccinated and was all about the Hot Vax Summer. Guests came to my home on the Fourth of July.
After the BBQ, we joined the rest of the city for fireworks at the beach. It was a moment of independence. A moment of relief. But like all moments, it quickly passed.
While several variants made appearances in 2020, the infamous Omicron crashed the party in November 2021.
11 people in my network caught Covid19 within 5 days. Mind you, these are the ones I know about.
Amongst them was a woman whom I had had close contact with. A text message lit up my phone.
“I tested positive. Please get yourself tested.”
A message no one ever wants to receive, under ANY circumstances, EVER.
Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash
The day before I saw her, I celebrated Winter Solstice with friends. There were 12 people, including me. We watched the sunset, ate, drank, and were merry.
We shared what we hoped to achieve in 2022 and leave behind in 2021. While unsaid, Covid19 was amongst the latter.
I was tired when I saw her. I assumed it was from traveling late the night before. But her text made me question everything.
‘Do I have Covid? Wait, did she give it to me? OR did I already have it and give it to her?’
In addition to the holiday party, I went to a concert over the weekend. Though I am vaccinated and boosted, breakthrough cases were possible.
Since it was the day before Christmas Eve, the earliest appointment was Monday morning. My test was not for another four days.
Apart from low energy, I did not have any other symptoms. Too much stress flatlines me. Like the pandemic, I experience a shutdown. I felt this way in 2020, but it was from exhaustion. Not the coronavirus.
Photo by Isabella and Zsa Fischer on Unsplash
I promptly started quarantining. It felt more like a time-out to think about my actions.
‘Should I have done anything differently? Do I have any regrets?’
Honestly? No.
After 22 months into this pandemic, I am convinced that people who want the vaccine are vaccinated, and the unvaccinated prefer to remain so.
If given a chance, I would make the same choice. While events are risky, so is leaving the house for ANY reason.
Whether a person catches covid in a mosh pit or the frozen food aisle, the result is the same.
Covid judgment is now on par with the AIDS epidemic. Judging people because they had unprotected sex instead of a blood transfusion.
Regardless of the vehicle, the destination is the same.
Adults need to make their own decisions, for better or for worse. I do not need their judgment any more than they need mine.
The only thing I regretted was potentially passing covid to someone else.
I was in close contact with one person after the confirmed exposure. Contacted her immediately. Fortunately, she was in good health.
The case-fatality ratio in the United States is 1.5%, and over 823K fatalities and counting. The former may be low but, the latter is jarring.
Early in the pandemic, someone asked me what I would do if today was my last day. At the time, death seemed very plausible.
That was the moment I reconsidered my life. The moment I admitted to myself that tomorrow is a carrot, never to be caught.
How much longer was I going to put off my dreams?
I pondered that question all weekend. My answer was the same now as it was then.
Be a professional storyteller
Tell those whom I love that I do so
Everything else is fodder.
2020 encouraged me to step off the hamster wheel and take action. I may never have pursued Madness had it not been for 2020.
The question is, how much longer will I be able to?
By Monday morning, I developed a runny nose and low temperature. My covid suspicion grew.
I arrived at my test appointment. I called the pharmacy to alert them I was outside. Tests were administered in the parking lot.
The attendant acknowledged me and got the paperwork order. While I waited in my car, I troubleshot other life challenges.
Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash
I nearly missed the pharmacist outside my window. I assumed he was there to administer the test, but no.
“Hello,” I rolled down my window.
“Ma’am, I know you are upset…” he stated.
“Huh?” I questioned.
“Ma’am, I know you are upset. I am training a new girl. That is why it is taking so long.”
“Oh, I’m just sitting here reading,” I said softly.
He gawked like he didn’t believe me. I am not entirely sure what led him to this conclusion.
He was in the pharmacy, and I was alone in my car. It is not as if I called to complain or asked for a status update.
“Well, I wanted to give you an update,” he said.
“Okay, well, take all the time you need,” I assured him.
He studied me as if I was a sample under a microscope. Except, the results did not match the hypothesis.
He continued to observe me. Perhaps, if he stood there long enough, the subject might get upset and prove him right?
It was so odd.
Me being me, I seized the Madness opportunity. I removed my sunglasses to give him a front-row seat to my eyes.
“Hey man, do you remember a little while ago, when you first got here and walked inside? I was already sitting here?” I asked.
He nodded.
“You walked right by my car. I waved hello to you. My way of saying good morning. Do you remember me waving hello?”
“Yeah, you did…” he said.
The friendly gesture sent a monkey wrench into the initial assessment. No matter. The pharmacist took a swing.
“Huh…you’re really exhausted, aren’t you?” he threw like a dart.
“I am,” I swallowed the bait.
When a punch is thrown, it must connect to a hard target to create impact. If a jab hits a soft target, it counteracts the collision rendering it powerless.
“Okay, well, I just wanted to give you an update,” he reiterated…again.
“I appreciate that.”
I thought it was over, but he continued the staring contest. Like he needed to be proven correct. Unfortunately, he knocked on the wrong car door.
“You’re good. I promise.” I smiled.
He went back inside, disappointed there was no scrap.
Photo by Testalize.me on Unsplash
I snuck a peek in the rearview. I winced, but only for a moment. The comedian in me laughed.
The man went out of his way to spy on me, tell me how I feel and why I feel that way. On top of his projection, he said that I looked like shit!
Sadly he was right about that last point. Exhaustion gave me a case of resting bitch face!
Fifteen minutes later, the attendant came out with the PCR test. I took it and drove the specimen to the local lab.
To my surprise, the lab ran it immediately. I had my result before I got home.
Negative. Apparently, colds are still a thing.
And THAT is my prediction for 2022!
Photo by Virgil Cayasa on Unsplash
The Covid19 pandemic will eventually evolve into an endemic like influenza, likely by 2024.
Meaning, it is going to be a minute before covid is caught.
This inconvenience will continue to be a part of life 24/7, 365 days a year. Since covid is here to stay, so is frustration, anger, and judgment.
Covid19 has a way of taking all the oxygen out of the room, literally and figuratively.
It only aggravates the other problems in the United States, pre-pandemic.
Healthcare. Climate change. Economic inequality. Illegal immigration. Racism. Political division. Violence…that last one in particular.
I assume the pharmacist has dealt with his fair share of pandemic difficulty. So much so, he fought back.
He kept telling me how upset I was, but when I said otherwise, he protested.
Sometimes I am an involuntary mirror. I sat there and held space for him. Acted as a reflection until he concluded that HE was upset.
By the time I drove away, there was a line of cars behind me. A dozen people waited for help. Likely many more to follow.
Too many for him to keep up with alone. Plus, his new employee still needed his guidance.
As someone in a profession with the sole purpose of helping people get resources to improve, that is tough.
So, to blame the delay on the angry woman outside alleviates the pressure.
When that tactic failed, he was clueless. Especially when I kindly encouraged him to take all the time he needed. The pressure he felt was what he placed on himself.
He is not alone. For the last 2 years and continuing on year 3, the world has been stuck inside a pressure cooker. Sadly, some people just want the fight. I pray 2022 is merciful.
If not, there is always Madness!
Happy New Year, Madlings!
“When you were young, and your heart was an open book. You used to say “live and let live.” You know you did, you know you did, you know you did. But if this ever-changing world in which we’re living makes you give in and cry. Say live and let die.”
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