coriander in pho

Nope. Still no negative news. I also found my anosmia comes and goes — most of the times, in-between. Like, I can smell Vicks VapoRub, but I can’t smell anything from my shampoo (and it’s obnoxiously fragranced.) I can smell curry, but I can’t smell teriyaki sauce. It feels like my nose is a factory complex, and they shut down some of the areas and keep some stay on.

Anyway! We have sunny day here in this wonderful Saturday, and since we FINALLY have a newly appointed Prime Minister after 5-6 days of no movements, next Monday is declared as a public holiday. KL-ites left the town in throngs last night to enjoy the long weekend, so I guessed the apartment complex will be pretty quiet.

I decided to go to the rooftop to caught some sun. And yes, I wear mask on my way there — and I only removed it when I’m alone and outdoor.

This is the outdoor fitness area. I personally like our gym, but this area is perfect if you want to exercise in the morning too.

And look at the sun!

I always thought I hated sun — born and raised in the tropics, I have enough of sun. After Denver, though, I appreciate sun — AND HUMIDITY — a whole lot more.

Too bad I didn’t bring anything to drink. I was in a bad mood since yesterday, what’s with being confined and stuff. Having an alone moment like this outdoor definitely helps.

That T line looks really obnoxious, don’t you think?

Like, “HEH HEH HEH, YEA, THE VIRUS IS DEFINITELY A LOT MORE THAN THE CONTROL LIQUID.” It pisses me off.

Anyway! No fever, although if we are looking at my temperature, science books would tell me that rather than fever, I would have hypothermia by now.

(The normal average temperature of a healthy human being is 36.5°C. Below 36°C, medics usually looking at you with great concerns.)

My sense of smell and taste came back, and I’m so glad. I never been this happy when sniffing Vicks VapoRub with all my might. Ah, yes, that sharp childhood-pain smell ?

My appetite… Has been interesting. I know I want to eat food, but I never got actually hungry, you know? Like, you know when you feeling hungry, and you are actively looking for food? In my case, it’s more like a “ooh, chicken katsu curry would be nice. I want warm rice!” but there is no hunger. My friend told me to be aware of this and making sure I keep my appetite so my body will get the nutrients its needed. From my experience, this happens when my gut bacterias are disturbed (well, it’s Covid.) I should add yogurt and Yakult on my diet then.

The headache has been less than yesterday too. I felt greatly helped by this fella.

I just found out that in the western countries, this type of drink (we called it “isotonic drink” over here) is considered as sports drink.

The drink helped me to keep myself properly hydrated. Sometimes, just drinking regular water won’t cut it and it even “flushed” out some stuffs that your body actually needs. This drink helps in replacing the loss. The only downside is, this drink is soda-like, and I… tend to avoid soda. It gives this funny feeling on my nose.

A bit of TMI, I’ve been having runny nose and coughing more than usual today, especially earlier in the morning. I really hope this is a good sign as my body is actively getting rid of the virus.

Also, I think my body is less inflamed than yesterday (I really can’t find better expressions on this. So sorry.) Yesterday, I sensed some tiny ulcers on my tongue. Also, when I gargled using mouthwash, yes, RIP tongue and my gums felt like it was on fire. Today, no ulcers (yay!) and no pain on my gums.

Today’s lunch. Looking so fanceeeh with Japanese meal (chicken katsu curry bento, chuka iidako, and avocado veggie salad.)

And yes, I know what you are thinking. That what I ordered when I didn’t feel hungry. When they arrived, I just realized I’m hungry. So, yeah.

I might test myself again either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow (Saturday). Wish me luck!

I know I supposed to write about the recent Division Meetup in Denver, but in a most uncharacteristically me, I didn’t take a lot of pictures and videos. I found myself drained throughout the travel, and while I enjoyed the meetup and meeting my colleagues, I couldn’t be in my 100% condition as I really want to take things slow. The flight reservation processes have been long, annoying, and painful, and I think I’m going to swore off from Egencia for a decade or so.

Anyway.

I got Covid.

I’ve been down with cold since Monday, and it was… Weird. It came suddenly. I remember I coughed once — once — in the morning, and things felt going downhill from there. I got tired easily and unable to concentrate. I had to excuse myself to logout earlier than usual and take a rest. In the night time, things got worse. My body aching all over, and I got serious chills. All that with my body temperature stays OK-ish/super low grade fever (37.2°C) so I didn’t suspect Covid.

The tiredness continued on the next day, but slightly better. I managed to do my work and logged out on time, even though I still got some mild headaches.

Now, at that point, I legit thought to myself:

“Huh. This feels similar with what happened when I got my first vaccination dosage.”

I got alarmed last midnight (last midnight? This midnight?) Being an Indonesian, I always have eucalyptus oil (minyak kayu putih) and Vicks VapoRub on my bedside table. This is the “if you know, you know”-moment. These two have really strong scents that said giving healing properties.

I took the eucalyptus oil and when I opened it, I realized I couldn’t smell anything. I took Vicks and sniffed it, still no dice.

With a really long whisper of “shitshitshitshitshitshit” because I didn’t want to wake up my husband, I took the Covid test and… Those two dreadful lines appeared.

I woke up my husband, and he checked on me if I’m alright (no chest pain, no difficulty in breathing, etc.) Thankfully, so far so good. I still have a bit of runny nose, and a slight cough. Some mild headaches are still here, but in general, I’m doing alright.

The only thing that I’m concerned is the loss of appetite, though. I guess it’s normal, since cold and flu tends to affect appetite, but I’m hoping I can get my appetite back so I can eat and recharge myself.

Also, I know that it’s recommended for Covid patients to sunbath, but gosh dang it, Kuala Lumpur’s weather is not being super sunny right now.

Thankfully, my husband and my kids are all tested negative.

Oh well. I have faith in you, two vaccination shots and two booster shots! Let’s beat this darn virus!