---
title: "Week 12, Saturday: COVID :("
date: 2024-10-19T21:55:00+02:00
---

{{< image frame="true" width="17em" float="right" src="/img/headline/questionmarklp.png" alt="Credit: QuestionMark LP, YouTUbe" >}}

I slept reasnoably well in the guestroom last night. I woke up at 05:00, though. I think this is
what you get when your entire Friday consists of sleep. By my calculations, I was up and about for
about three to four hours yesterday, which means I have now slept for **twenty-nine** hours.

Overnight I woke up a few times, to pee (which is mildly reminiscent of eating chilly peppers, by
the way - if you know, you know), and to take an Advil PM or two. 

Unfortunately for my journal, being bedridden is not terribly exciting. I can report that I spent
the entire day upstairs in isolation, monitoring my temperature and somewhat anxiously listening to
my wheezing breath. I cough from time to time, but it's a productive cough but I don't feel too bad
about it today.

Such a bummer: JC and Sandra are due for a dinner at our place tonight, but I have to cancel so I
send them the news on Signal. They're both good sports about it, but Marina sure as shit is not
going to cancel _making_ the food. She has been looking forward to a Belgian dish called [[Vol au
Vent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vol-au-vent)], and she makes a killer one!

In the afternoon, I decide to binge-watch [[Young
Sheldon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Sheldon)], which I've watched up until season five, and
this means I get to live vicariously through Sheldon, Missy, Georgie and their parental addendums.

In the evening, I briefly go downstairs to say thanks to Marina for making this beautiful _patty
case_. I take mine upstairs, but I won't be able to write a review for it because all I get is the
texture of the meatballs and chicken bits. I can't really discern between the mushrooms and the
meat, and I'm afraid it's all wasted on me, this time. Marina sends a picture to our unfortunate
non-dinner-guests, who are sportive about it and wish me a speedy recovery.

On that front, my fever came down a fair bit and I'm back to my 38.5C (101.3F), with a fair amount
of phlegm, with apologies if that's too much information. I try to journal a bit, but unfortunately
I'm too lazy. I manage to assemble a few pictures, mostly of COVID tests and thermometers.

I decide it's time to call it, and I'm pretty disappointed about it: I need to cancel my talk at
NLNOG on Tuesday, and very likely ESNOG on Thursday. It's not responsible to join a large group of
folks in Amsterdam, nor to sit on an airplane from Kloten to Schiphol, even if I do feel better
tomorrow. So I write that note to Teun on IRC, and then to the program committee of NLNOG and ESNOG.
Out of an abundance of caution, I think it's better that I skip both, as I do not want to be
implicated in a super-spreader event in 2024.

Teun and I briefly discuss the possibility of remote participation, but truth be told - the
cancellation helps them decompress the schedule a little bit, I may still not be in the best of
health on Tuesday, not to mention my voice sounds pretty terrible, and my mouth consistently tastes
like the inside of a motorman's glove. It would also be putting the AV crew under a lot of pressure
so late in the game. Nope, we agree: there will be more VPP news next year!

I spend my evening taking turns dozing off, watching Young Sheldon, and drinking tea that tastes a
little bit like warm nothing. Being sick on my sabbatical sucks!

## Pictures of the Day

{{< gallery-category >}}
  {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-18/IMG_2143.JPG" caption="COVID test: definitely positive" >}}
  {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-19/IMG_2147.JPG" caption="The fever is still there, but I think I'm winning" >}}
  {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-19/volauvent.png" caption="Marina's Vol au Vent - I hear it was tasty :)" >}}
{{< /gallery-category >}}

{{< gallery-modal >}}
{{< gallery-script >}}
