Early in this month, Catalina and I went to Houston. We were going to go see some friends, go to some parties, and then relax a bit. At the conclusion, I would come back to Canada; Catalina would follow a month later.
Unfortunately, while we were gone, COVID-19 started to arrive in America.
The parties were a little nerve-wracking. At one point we were talking to this women who was telling stories about her time on a cruise ship. Oh and the sniffling and sneezing she was having at that moment were from allergies. I’ll admit, I had trust issues.
At the end of the week, I left my wife. She is staying in Houston for a month to manage her affairs there before she will come back in early April. At least, that was the plan. The airline is now acting cagey about the flight and have changed it from direct to having a layover in Denver. She is currently unsure if she even wants to get in a plane under pandemic conditions. I do not blame her.
My flight back was still direct. I stayed in my window seat the entire time. I cleaned my hands as much as possible. But by the end of the trip I was sure I had contracted the Corona virus. Despite having no evidence of this. I do appreciate that Catalina’s mother gave me a meal to bring with me. And you feel really special eating Beijing Duck on a flight.
On my first day back in Vancouver, I did not go to work. I stayed home, and did my work there. Unfortunately I did go in on Thursday for a meeting. And there was a goodbye celebration for a coworker. They had cake; there is no way I’m missing cake. I did worry that I was infecting the entire office, but I did my best to distance myself from everyone. But again, Cake!
Since that day, I’ve stayed home the entire time. Home from work, not from life. I have to continue daily running. Although my schedule for that is more flexible now; I no longer feel I have to do it in the morning before work. But I am discovering that that brings its own risks. If I go onto the Seawall in the evening, there are a lot of people there. I have to do a lot of dodging, and I can no longer guarantee that I keep two metres away from the other pedestrians.
I do not blame them for being out. If you live in downtown Vancouver, you have a small apartment. It is unreasonable to keep people cramped up in a small space for days on end. They deserve to be outside. But it does mean I have to avoid them.
So, if I do an evening run, I have to be more creative in my routes.
I have occasionally gone grocery shopping, usually at the conclusion of a run. I try and get just what I need and get out of there. But it does mean I’ve interacted with people. Which makes me worry.
I’ve had some bowel issues, and occasional coughing. These are all symptoms of the virus. But they haven’t been bad. And the stomach issues may have come from the shrimp (I’m sensitive to them) I had in Houston. And the coughing may just be life in general. But hypochondria slips in easily. But I’ve been back for three weeks now, so I’m feeling more confident that I’m not infected.