Hi, friends!
Happy Thursday!
Turns out I did get covid this week, so it’s been a lot of just laying around. Not bad, more like a moderate cold with a higher than usual fever (like normally colds for me are a low grade fever, this is closer to 100 degrees). Either third time’s a charm for covid? Maybe it’s an easier variant? Maybe it’s because I got the booster in October? Anyways, my mom is sick too and she’s way sicker than me. She also never got anything except the initial J&J vaccine because of course she didn’t so that’s probably making this harder for her.
Anyways, luckily every company apparently in existence sponsors a college football bowl game so I’ve been watching a bunch of them.
I’m currently watching the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl and earlier I watched the Wasabi Fenway Bowl. Later tonight is the PopTart Bowl. Earlier in the week were such impressive ones as the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and the TaxAct Camellia Bowl.
A few days ago was my favorite, the EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl. It wasn’t that I cared about either team, but they kept showing footage of landmarks in Oahu and that was just a delight to watch last Saturday. Also, the coaches and staff from Coastal Carolina University all had aloha shirts made with their school colors which I thought was just delightful.
Covid. I’m so, so, so pissed off that I got it IN THE HOSPITAL, where you’d think they’d take precautions, the frequent testing, I avoided it throughout the whole pandemic. But luckily I’ve been vaxxed and boosted as much as any human could be. And I’m not young and not in the greatest of health, but I was completely asymptomatic, so that was a good thing.
The only thing was the sense of smell/taste thing, which I’ve mentioned before. They didn’t go away, it was worse, they warped so that I tasted things but it was distorted and gross. And, and this is a funny post-Covid symptom that I don’t think I’ve ever heard about, I lost some of my English vocabulary. And some memories in general, but I think it’s all coming back.
It’s the curse of being a Pisces. I was on the phone earlier this week with one of my closest friends and we got to reminiscing. Or at least I did. At one point she stopped me and asked, “Mattie, how can you remember this? I was there and I have no memory of this. It must have been 35 years ago.”
Meanwhile, she asked me to remind her of the name of one of my nephew’s wives. I couldn’t do it. I drew a blank. Dementia is almost unknown in my family, especially early onset, so I’m blaming all of this on Covid and that cesspool of a hospital I go to. “Ranked #3 in the US for–” Yeah. Go fuck yourselves.
So I guess that’s what’s keeping me busy, self-pity and bitterness.
Lingering brain fog definitely seems to be an issue for some people after Covid. Sorry to hear about that.
Thank you. What’s your name again? Sorry. It’s not funny, but it’s another thing to recover from. 2023 can’t end soon enough.
“Lingering brain fog” is my normal state of being & my new band name.
I don’t really have an internal monologue so I’m not even sure if I’d notice if I had brain fog??
You’re blessed. I/we have internal arguments among at least four Matties in my mind at any given time. Self-doubts. Different memories come bubbling up from nowhere. Jokes and funny episodes from my life, but then I’ll remember things like my mother’s funeral.
I wouldn’t mind a little more selective brain fog. I try to tell myself, “Be present, Mattie. Deep breaths. Better Half needs you. Faithful Hound needs to be fed and spoiled. You have lots of work projects and you don’t want to let anyone down. You have family members who don’t want to come into New York for your memorial service. Now get cracking. How do mustard-coated pork chops sound?”
Have your taste buds come to their senses? (pun intended)
Pretty much. This morning I hobbled into the kitchen and made toast with brie for breakfast (how I’m sill alive is a medical marvel) washed down with some very sugary apple juice. The Better Half had a big scoop of yogurt with some blueberries. He is very critical of my diet.
“Let me see that tub of yogurt.” He brought it over to me.
“Now, in that sub-zero, there is some Chunky Monkey Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Can you bring that over to me?”
I put the two containers in front of him and asked him to read the labels. “Do you see much of a difference? I don’t. I’m not the one eating the equivalent of Chunky Monkey ice cream for breakfast. I’m eating my brie, and the French live forever. Americans who live on Chunky Money ice cream, on the other hand–”
He has to stay alive and healthy. We don’t have children and I can’t really rely on anyone but him to be my home health care attendant. That said, maybe we should stop eating the way we do and drinking the way we do. The hell with it. Life is not about the quantity, it’s the quality. For the two of us, it’s just a race to see who’s going to go first. Place your bets. It’s going to be me by several lengths. That would be my bet.
Listem my favorite great aunt had lots of fun with her sisters, drank a beer every day, always had baked goods, and she made it into her early 90s as a spry and intelligent old lady.
Actually now that I think about all the great aunts who made it to ripe old age, they all enjoyed the good stuff.
I dunno, the women in my family either die in their early 60s or make it until around 90.
Yeah that intermittent topic brain fog is a real thing from covid. And you’re right – it’s like stuff is perfectly clear in your brain except stuff that should be completely obvious some of the time.
I don’t think I had it either of the other times I’ve had covid, but then again I might just be a moron and nobody thought it odd when I missed words. Hard to tell, I work with some odd ducks.
A hobbled Matty is still better than 90% of humanity. I’d still support your presidential bid, brain fog or no.
The entertaining of visiting dignitaries would be AMAZING and would do so much to help diplomatic efforts!
Visiting friend. Just watched Godzilla Z minus One. I shed a few tears in that one. Reminders of my parents stories.
Didn’t think a zilla film would make me shed a few tears.
Brains are weird about things like that.
I teared up earlier during an AT&T commercial about the football helmet for players with hearing issues that has the tiny screen they can display the audible messages on. I don’t have a single positive feeling about AT&T as a company and have no one in my family or friend group with hearing issues. It was just oh right in the feels.
My whole family in Canada caught Covid after gathering for Xmas. Some of them already had it this summer 😩
Both of my kids came home with coughs and I was dreading we were headed toward becoming a House o’ Covid, but we seem to have dodged a bullet and it was only colds.
Are any of them visiting you? I hope you don’t get it from them by accident.
Nope. They are all stuck in Montreal. My in-laws from Glasgow have been here since the 20th. They masked while traveling at our request and none of us currently have Covid. We had it in September. The kids got their boosters last week. My husband and I will get boosted again next week.
I booked my appointment for next week.
Still mask in places with crowds.
I’m with you. We still mask while in indoor public places/transportation.
Oh wow, have you been to Glasgow? I’d love to go sometime. Anthony Bourdain went there a couple of times and loved it, probably because of the rough edges. I have a fondness for cities with rough edges, having lived in them for so long.
My youngest was going to study abroad in Glasgow but they didn’t offer the math class she needed. She visited anyway & even like Haggis before I told her what it was. I just picked up her sister a few hours ago & her mom is picking her up now while I make them Jambalaya. A pain to make two versions for different dietary requirements but well worth it to have my babies home. My daughters aren’t this bad but they like to tell their friends I spoil them like this
Nothing wrong with spoiling your loved ones!
Yummmm double dishes of jambalaya! You are a Saint.
They are such good girls. They brought us back wine & goodies that were a pain to haul back. I don’t like to brag but I couldn’t ask for better kids to pick my old folks home.
I have! I prefer Edinburgh though.
Colorado and now Maine.
Treason season ending soon?
He only has 5 days to dispute it with Maine, which I find hilarious.
Especially since 2 of those days the courts etc are probably closed for holidays. 3 if they’re closed Saturdays, too.
He needs lawyers, and nobody good wants to work for him.
A rich dude on a multistate crime spree may find some judges willing to cut him some slack, but they aren’t all going to accept the excuse “I’m busy, I don’t like spending money, lawyers hate me, so I just don’t want to respect your court and answer charges.”
There are dummies like Ross Douthat and Jonathan Chait who are already mewling about how unfair it all is. Can’t we just give him special treatment? Shouldn’t he just be excused because… reasons?