This has been a very long week — of doing not much of anything. I am down with a positive covid diagnosis, so I’ve been stuck in this same damned room for the last week. To say I’m bored out of my gourd is an understatement. And until I’m covid-free, I’m stuck in neutral.

My symptoms went from “allergies in high gear,” to “kinda feels like I’m coming down with something,” to “OK, I might have a little bit of a head cold.” I’ve not had a fever, my oxygen levels are up over 95%, and my body feels more tired than usual. My tinnitus is louder than I’m used to, but only because my external speakers are still in my office. On the mountain. Somewhere in the rubble. I haven’t had a chance to set up my office yet because we need the extra bedroom to be a bedroom at the moment, not an office. It’s a good thing our new roomie has the main bedroom and two spares set up. Who’d’a thunk we would have needed it? But here we are.

This last week I’ve had good days and not so good days. Not with the plague, just with overall get-the-blank-out-of-my-head stuff that comes from being in the same room for so long. During some of the more pleasant days of November. Mind you, I’m used to being by myself for hours at a time, but this is ridiculous. The worst of my symptoms has been the loss of smell and, subsequently, taste, one of the hallmarks of a covid diagnosis. That part is real, folks, and it really sucks because nothing has taste, just texture. Food is not enjoyable, neither is wine.

The other downside has been the brain fog of not being able to concentrate on storytelling. Every time I try to get into a story, the path forward becomes clouded with the fog of war, and I find myself dragging one word out at a time. It’s exhausting. Instead of writing, I find myself scrolling through social media or watching Critical Role. This is the most I’ve written in a week.

When I can smell again, I’ll know I’m on the mend. For now, even when I stick my nose to a bottle of disinfectant, the odor eludes me. I hear it comes back. I hope so; life is really bland otherwise.