HOT

Ok so we have the hottest July on record. I hate the heat. My midwestern wife appears to tolerate it more, but I just think she complains less.

I remember as a kid wishing I could bottle up the extra heat and let it loose in the winter months, when the hard pack layers grow deeper and the icy chunks stick to everything. Of course, I was thinking of doing it the other way, and releasing the cold into my summers, but I didn't quite understand energy in my youth.

You know, back when I had energy.

Once I figure this out I'll be set.

Schools reopening

There's been a lot of discussion regarding schools reopening in the fall. All of these 'hybrid' plans seem convoluted. Simply throwing open the doors is reckless.

I've told every graduating senior to either sign up for online classes, or take a gap year.

Schools are the worlds biggest germ stew, and no matter how it happens, it's gonna be a mess.

Recovery binge

When I'm in the throes of an illness, I nearly always experience ups and downs. Some of those ups may seem like a recovery, and I've been fooled in my youth. But there's a common element to a genuine recovery.

I get insanely hungry.

This respiratory ailment that beset me (and, frankly, worried me), began to fade not long after my last blog post about it. I felt confident not in my lack of symptoms, but in my newly emptied fridge.

Also felt good not being sick.

Pneumon-what?

Good news: I no longer have bronchitis.
Bad news: I've been upgraded to pneumonia.

The time off work would be nice if I could do anything more than lounge around like unset Jello.

BronWHAT

I've been tired a lot. Like more than I should be. Then this spot on my neck started getting sore. (Dr Google told me it was a swollen lymph node, but his is an honorary degree, so I need to take it with a grain of salt) Then came a dry cough, felt like a chest cold.

Note: this is not the time to "man up" and push through it.

My doctors office felt like an isolation room. The reception area like a decontamination chamber. For a fleeting moment, I felt like I was in The Andromeda Strain.

The sample collected said bronchitis.

Bronchitis... in July. All things considered it could be worse. But then the doctor told me to isolate for a week.

Again. After my workplace was shut down for 5 weeks, then again for another 2 weeks, I actually don't want to. At least those times I could work on some projects, and I did what I could given the uncertainty. But now, just staying at home and doing nothing?

I'm going stir crazy.