My Covid test came back negative so I went to the doctor, who said I had bronchitis. Now I'm back to wearing a mask, the guy that Bill Maher sees and thinks is ridiculous. But it's worked for the Japanese for decades.
I’ve been tested for Covid three times this year: the first before a biopsy, the second before surgery (yes, it’s been a delightful 2021), and the third, yesterday, because of a lingering cold (at least that’s what I hope it is).
So I was surprised yesterday when I was handed a plastic bag containing a swab and a tube and told I’d be administering the test myself. I am not the most dexterous person, thanks to being legally blind in one eye, but my real concern was whether I could push the swab as far up my nose as the last nurse had done.
Happily, the woman behind the window told me deep penetration was not required; all I had to do was insert the swab and rotate it five times in each nostril. She watched as I did this, and then nodded in approval. Then, amazingly, I inserted the swab in the tube on the first try. But as I walked away I knew that if I got a negative result I’d naturally assume I didn’t do it correctly.
Two weeks ago I got a flu shot. One week ago I got a booster. This week I got a cold.
Waiting in my oncologist's office, I got a call from my urologist's office.
I met a friend for a drink last night, something I haven’t done much of in the last 18 months. I wondered if I would be rusty in the art of conversation. In the end, things went rather smoothly, in part because a lot of time was spent talking about the shows we’d been watching.
Driving, we saw a flock of birds flying in a V-formation.
“‘W kluczu’ in Polish,” Hania said, using the Polish word for key.
“Yes,” I said, “because there is no ‘v’ in Polish.”