I have COVID. I’ve been getting COVID tests pretty regularly, starting in mid-December. Several people who I work with have tested positive in the past three weeks, so I felt like it was only a matter of time until I got it. Given that we’ve been in this pandemic for two years, and we’ve been doing school fully in person for five and a half months, I’m surprised that it took this long for me to get COVID. I’ve been wearing a mask to school every day, and wearing a mask at almost all public settings (I was going maskless in the gym until late December, but I’m masking up since then.)
I feel a little sick – I have a sore throat and nasal congestion, like I have a slight cold. If we weren’t in the pandemic, I would think that I’m fine to go out and be around other people. I’m vaccinated and I had my booster shot, so that’s my endorsement for the COVID vaccine – even if you do get COVID, the vaccine and booster made it so that my experience of COVID is a mild cold, not anything debilitating. Thank you, scientists!
It’s this kind of weird manifestation of internalized capitalism, but I feel compelled to make this week the single most productive week of my life. There’s something inside of me that is saying “You have to quarantine because you have COVID. Time to get all of the things done that you previously had not done because you were at work or at the gym or had to go run some kind of errand. Do all the things! No excuses!”
This is not entirely bad. I’m stuck at home, I’m a little sick but not to the point where I need to be staying in bed all day. It’s reasonable to think that this is a time for me to do the tasks that are otherwise hard for me to get done, or just the tasks that I can get done while staying in my apartment. For example, I’m in the process of buying a home, so now is a good time for me to go through and change my address for my credit card and bank account, and get the internet set up at the new house. It’s a good time to update my budget, declutter my closet, pack up all my books for the move. The uncomfortable part about this is the urgency I feel about doing all of the things RIGHT THIS MOMENT.
This internal pressure is, of course, coming solely from me. We’ll see how it goes. I’m trying to push back at it and acknowledge that it may, in fact, be okay to not make this the most productive week of my life. And it may also be okay to take a nap while I’m quarantining.