“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 780 (Thursday) – chillin'

According to the weather widget on my phone, the high temperature Wednesday was 57, and today’s was 51. The temperature in the house is still in winter mode, a narrow band of 66 to 68 degrees and 65 degrees overnight, which has worked well for six years.

Despite the recent days’ generally not cold weather conditions, I was cold. Hands like ice. Feet, encased in thick hiking socks, were equally icy. Wednesday’s wardrobe included the beloved gray cashmere pullover, worn all throughout the winter quite comfortably, with the navy cashmere cardigan over it, possibly the first time that two layers of cashmere have been piled on. Today saw a winter base layer with the longer sleeves with the thumb hole, topped with a fleece quarter-zip pullover zipped up to my chin.  

Both days I was cold, despite being bundled like I was visiting the North Pole. There was a baseline of cold, accented with waves of chills cold. Even when sitting on the couch under a blanket after work, I was chilled. For added fun, my nose was sniffly runny and today saw some additional, shall we say, “gastric distress,” to put it gently. Maybe all the extra frostiness has an underlying situation. Whatever it is, it didn’t come with the glowing warmth of a fever.

Today, the recently ordered digital thermometer arrived. The old one stopped working and I finally got around to ordering a new one. It was deposited in the enclosed porch by the silent as a ninja service, and it wasn't until I saw the delivery notification email two hours after delivery I knew it had arrived. Winston, formerly The BungaLowell head of security, who barked any time a leaf blew down the street, seems to have retired months ago with disability and without fanfare. Just walked off the job without a word.

Once the thermometer was unpacked, it was time to play home medical office. Instructions were read. The button was pushed the prescribed number of times to change the readout from Celsius to Fahrenheit, and it was time for testing.

While visiting the doctor I always try to remember my temperature, weight, and blood pressure readings, but if I can’t write them down right away, they are forgotten. I only know my temperature is never 98.6, my blood pressure still tends toward the lower edge of normal-ish and my weight is higher than it used to be.

The first temperature readout, taken while sitting on the couch and feeling slightly chilled, was 97.6. Thirty minutes later, while enjoying a series of refreshing waves of chills that washed over me like the imagery in a Peppermint Patty commercial, another temperature reading was taken. This time it was 97.

Verified chilly.

The infinite knowledge pool of Google informed me that the “normal” human body temperature changes throughout life and in stages and the ranges are:

• Infant to 10 years old: 95.9 F (35.5 C) to 99.5 F (37.5 C).
• Eleven to 65 years old: 97.6 F (36.4 C) to 99.6 F (37.6 C).
• Over 65 years old: 96.4 F (35.8 C) to 98.5 F (36.9 C). 

It looks like I’m sitting pretty solidly at the lower edge of normal for the 11 years to 65 years range, and once I level up to the “Over 65” stage, it should be a real hoot. Based on how chilly 97 degrees feels, 96.4 should be a real blast of Arctic joy.

The evening’s most exciting factoid is that a core temperature of 95 is considered hypothermia, which is much higher than I thought, and for some of us chilly folk, isn’t really that far away. It’s good to learn something new every day, and it seems like human body temperature is the new thing for today. I wonder how long before I forget today’s fascinating frozen nuggets of knowledge.