Pestilence Descends

When I get a fever, I usually lay in bed and shake uncontrollably for a day or so, and it always makes me think of a Little House on the Prairie episode where Almanzo gets sick and they pack him in ice to get his fever down.  I remember him in a bathtub of ice, but in this picture I found online, he appears to be in bed.  

Such an event happened on Friday when I was struck down by The Covids.  Woke up feeling poorly, tested positive, then got worse as the day unfolded.  It was a really bad time to get sick because there's a ton of work to do on the next set before we tech this weekend.  So I ended up recuperating on Friday and Saturday and then heading into work on Sunday night despite being a sicky sick-o.  And working a crappy day on Monday, doing crappy work, wearing a crappy mask, and feeling crappy.  Then on Tuesday I was feeling a little better.  Then today I'm doing OK.  

And that is the story of me being sick.  

NOTE TO SELF!!

Last night we met A-Train for a dinner and stroll in search of ice cream in Pittsburgh.  I haven't been to Pittsburgh since I was a wee lad, and the rest of the fam has never been, and holy crap it was gorgeous!  Granted, we were walking along the water and it was the type of cool summer evening that would be gorgeous no matter where we were walking along the water, but Pittsburgh last night seemed especially gorgeous.  The moon, the lights, the bridges, the sounds of a baseball game coming out of the stadium, the people streaming out of the stadium when the game was over, the restaurants with serving windows that opened up to the street in front, the buildings all involving some version of the name HEINZ, the creepy Mr. Rogers statue that was larger than life and looked like it was crafted from turds (and its beautiful setting), the good company.  

On the drive from St. Louis we'd been listening to Matthew McConoughhey's (sp?) audiobook GREENLIGHTS.  It was entertaining, but we all agreed that his particular brand of whackness is a bit more whack than our particular brand of whackness.  

dear birds and snooks

I am currently sitting in an Urgent Care facility in Oakville, MO.  Jeannie dropped me off awhile ago, a little early for my appointment, but then after she dropped me off we realized that we were looking at the clock in the car, which was still on Baltimore time, so I was a LOT early.  Oh well.  

I have a low fever and am feeling achy.  Tested negative for Covid this morning, but I'm at Urgent Care because Jeannie and I went backpacking last week as part of our vacation, and we got covered in ticks.  So I want to get this fevery achiness checked out to see if it's tick-related or just regular old fevery achiness.  

It's been an interesting trip.  It has involved a lot of driving, tick infestation, chigger infestation, a trip to the ER with a nearly unconscious vomiting J-Dog, and an amazing story from my neice that is absolutely the best/worst Bristol 7 story I've ever heard.  Amongst all of that, we've visited a lot of people, had a little bit of relaxation, and seriously trashed our car.  

I'm a little worried about getting back to work and real life next week.  We've been gone awhile and have lots of responsibilities waiting for us when we get back.  

I'm hungry.  

Olipoop

I've never done a product endorsement before, but here goes:  

If you've ever read this blog, you probably know that I'm very interested by poop and the fine art of pooping.  

My kids and I were doing our weekly grocery-shopping a few weeks ago, and in a local Mom's Organic Market I came across a brand of soda called Olipop, which was marketing itself as a soda that aided with digestion and contained a whopping 32% of a person's daily recommended dietary fiber requirement.  I've been eating a fairly high-protein diet lately and one of the side effects I've noticed is that it makes my poop a little on the firm side (think Bristol 1-3), so I decided to give it a try and bought a 12oz can despite its daddy warbucks price of $2+ per.  And damn if my poop the next day wasn't a textbook Bristol 4.  Perfection, beautiful in every way.  So the next week I bought a 4 pack and sure enough, each day that I drank an Olipop, the next day I was blessed with a sausage turd of perfection in the tarlet area.  And the streak has continued ever since.  And speaking of streaks, another added bonus is that butt-wiping has ceased being a laborious affair (as it so often is for those of us who are gluteally hirsuit) and is now quick and simple.  

So anyway, #Olipop if you're listening, thank you.  And I'm free for an endorsement deal and happy to share my poop stories on a national level.  

Stevia Wonder

Over the last week or so, I've been working on an idea for a sugar-free soft drink that would be endorsed by Stevie Wonder and would be called...wait for it...STEVIA WONDER.  So far, the idea hasn't progressed much farther than that (except for some vague images in my head about what the commercials might look like and some rejected taglines ("blindingly delicious", "I just called to say I love sugar-free beverages") but really, I'm not sure the idea NEEDS to develop any more than that.  

Work, kids, gym, various therapies.  That's life.  Trying to recognize all the good around me and enjoy it.  

Maybe going to start doing some backpacking.  Just bought an ultra-light tent.  One step closer to my lifelong dream of being a bum.  

Finding it harder and harder lately to feign appropriateness.  Still making the effort.