Writer's Block: Swine Times

[Error: unknown template qotd]Yes, I am. With asthma and allergies controlled by medications and steroids that list "colds and flu" as side effects, I'm high risk for complications so of course I'm worried. When the CDC raised the pandemic rating to 5 yesterday, I emailed my instructor and did not attend class last night. My friend who teaches there is very ill and still didn't have her test results back. Two high schools in our area were closed yesterday after students tested positive. I already fight paranoia in my daily life, doing my best not to give in to it. Things like this put me over the edge. I'm still going to work doing IT tech support but I'm doing my best not to actually touch people's keyboards and mice. Soap and water are my friends.

My doctor last fall insisted I get a flu shot. She was genuinely worried for me if I didn't. Isn't that a reason I should be worried, too? I think so.

Is it hype? Maybe. Probably. The fact that so many people die every year without every death and infection being in the news is a good indication that it's mostly hype. If they could use comparison charts to a normal flu year vs this one would enable us to put it into perspective.

Bonehead thing

Yesterday as I was rushing out the door, Eric decided to fix his breakfast. He'd been up for an hour sitting in his chair, well out of my way but just had to fix his breakfast just as I was rushing into the kitchen to put my lunch together. It's a small kitchen, very cluttered with only one workspace open. I got my lunch box packed and ran out the door only to remember I intended to go to class and needed dinner. I rushed back, grabbed my second lunch box and jammed a diet pepsi, ice pack and lean cuisine flat bread into it and went back out the door. Those things don't fit well in the second lunch box. To keep things cold, I have to put both lean cuisines in the big one and both pepsis in the smaller one. When I parked in the lot at work, I stopped to rearrange them before heading in. It was warm enough to not wear my hoodie sweatshirt so it was in the mix of purse and lunch boxes. I had to move it to get things done. What I didn't realize is I dropped my car keys between the seats and put the sweatshirt over it. I heard them fall and meant to pick them up but out of sight-out of mind, I guess.

During the day, I heard that two high schools were closed because of flu outbreaks and the CDC raised the pandemic level to 5. I also communicated with April and she was very very sick though she still didn't have results of her flu type test back. All of these were enough for me to email my instructor with my fears and ask if I could do labs at home. He said there were no labs for last night and to read the next chapter for next week.

It wasn't until I was ready to leave at the end of the day that I realized my car keys weren't in my pocket. OK no problem, I thought as I stopped in the lunch room to dig through my purse. I have a spare in my purse. Where was it? I emptied my entire purse. No spare key. I seed of panic tried to bloom in my gut. Stop and think, I told myself. Had I gotten the key keeper to put under a fender? noooo. I always meant to. Hadn't done it. AAA! I'll call AAA. Then I thought about years ago when I did this. The guy nearly broke my window because the seals on the car are rock hard. I asked a few coworkers which way they were going to see if I could hitch a ride home to look on the piano where the spare key MUST be. Nobody was going my way.

Maybe I dropped them! I retraced my steps to the car hoping against hope that I'd find them in the dirt. Nope.

I called Eric. It was only an hour before he normally left. He laughed when I told him I did a bonehead thing and locked my keys in my car. "How did you do that?" he asked. I reminded him the driver door won't lock the car anymore and I have to use the passenger side controls. I roll over the passenger seat, hit the lock button and roll back out the driver side to get out and close the door. He chortled and asked what I wanted to do. I went over my thought process and what I'd tried so far and he agreed to leave early to come and get me.

The spare key as it turned out, was not on the piano. It was in my old purse that was buried in stuff. I did find it and it worked. The spare car key is now in my current purse where it belongs.

It's a good thing I got permission from my instructor to miss class last night. By the time Eric picked me up, I found the key, picked my car up and we got back to the house, class was probably over.