“Remoted” – Workday 75 / Day 101 (Thursday)

As a kid, I was well acquainted with the one-two punch of  an earache and sore throat. My brother had the runny nose and watery eyes of seasonal allergies, but I was more likely to be knocked down at any time by strep throat.

The sore throat and earache double feature still strikes at random even now. Like right now. Last night my throat felt a bit off. Not sore, not swollen, it just made itself known with a twinge when I swallowed. There is nothing like a twinge in the throat to highlight just how often you swallow in the course of sitting around not even eating or drinking anything. Last night’s “a bit off” throat had blossomed to an official sore throat by this morning. Technically, it’s only half a sore throat, just one side. By the end of the workday, the ear on the same side had jumped on the party bandwagon and blessed me with a bonus earache.

The immediate result of the sore throat was an alteration in the calendar. Well, actually, the immediate, immediate action was a visit to the bathroom mirror with my cell phone poised to shine the flashlight into my throat and examine the situation. Not too red, but definitely a swollen tonsil, right near the molar with the temporary crown of two weeks ago that is due for the permanent crown Friday. Or was.

The next immediate thing was a call to the dentist to rescheduled the Friday 8 a.m. appointment, because it felt reckless to even consider going. Once the dental appointment was changed, the vacation day was called off. Sure, I could have kept a Friday of total leisure, free from the burden of the appointment, but why not just plan to work and save the day for later? Maybe I’ll get all wacky and leisurely minded and schedule an entire week-long staycation. I’ve done it a couple times before and it’s not too bad.

It’s not like I would jump in the car and just go somewhere on a free Friday. First off, where would I go? I’m not all that interested in venturing out to the pandemic world, and if the past 100 days are any clue, I’m not really the “jump in the car and just go for a ride” type. I’ll be a happy passenger on a joy ride any time, but if I’m behind the wheel, a destination is required. Trust me, it’s better that way. It goes back far deeper than 100 days. Driving has never been my go-to for entertainment. My 2004 vehicle has barely 145,000 miles on it and for years I have enjoyed the low mileage discount on my auto insurance.

Beachy waves!
No beach needed.

The sore throat also prompted the rescheduling of Saturday’s hair appointment. I just went for it and ripped all the Band-Aid brand adhesive bandages right off the datebook. There are no plans that would cause me to care a whole lot what my hair looks like. None. There are dozens of little barrettes and clips and hair elastics planted all around the house to keep the wayward, too long locks of wavy hair out of my face, so I’m really okay with waiting another month to deal with my beachy (bitchy?) waves.

It felt liberating to remove the out-of-the house commitments from the day planner. Now, I just need to be liberated from the sore throat and earache. Maybe some escapist reading is in order. I could retreat to bed and read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland like I did so many times when home sick from school. I love that book. Weird and crazy stuff happens. Alice just rolls with it. Been there, done that.