Friday, March 26

Day Twelve (!)

I went to bed before 9:00pm and woke up just before 6:00am feeling so much better than yesterday.

Nothing like a bad day in quarantine to make a person appreciate a normal day in quarantine.

I meditated, showered, and had the best breakfast—French toast with maple almond butter, papaya, and Typhoo tea with milk.

I texted with Sybylla, drank my rooibos tea, posted yesterday's blog, and caught up on some internet doings.

Day Twelve is the day of our second Covid test. On the day of our first Covid test, they called us around 9:00am and asked us to go down to the second floor for our tests. So when 9:00am approached, I started getting antsy.

I was afraid the second test would be worse than the first, since I knew what to expect—it now seemed I'd gone into the first one so innocently. I tried not to think about it. Don't think of words like poke, skewer, or burst through the membrane separating the nasal canal from the brain.

By 9:30am they still hadn't called—and I have a schedule to keep to. I'm not even joking. Roman and I usually have Outside Time at 9:30am before it gets too hot, and then when I'm back in my room, I do First Yoga so I can be finished with it by lunch, which usually arrives by 11:30am. This Covid test was throwing everything off!

So I called down to the front desk, and the person who answered the phone looked me up in their system and said that yes, I could go down to the second floor for my second test.

On the elevator, I willed myself not to think about it. There was a different woman at the little testing table this time, and she had me sit down so she could swab my nose.

And it wasn't bad! It stung but she didn't stick it up so far that I got that No, No, No warning in my brain.

And then it was over and I felt pretty elated. Last Covid test in quarantine! If it comes back negative, we get white wristbands, which means...well, we're not entirely certain what it means. Is there a rooftop? We'll find out!

During Outside Time, I saw a big rat scurry under a bush (it moved too fast for me to take a picture, which I might not have posted anyway because Megan). I also saw a new bird.

And I saw the rarest and best creature of all.

I was back in my room in time to be done with First Yoga by the time lunch arrived.

Roasted pork with Chinese sausages, hard-boiled egg, rice, sauces

After lunch, I meditated, read, and did a 30-minute workout with different kinds of jumping moves, which might have baffled my neighbor in the room below me, if I have one.

In the early evening, I stepped onto my balcony and found it was surprisingly cool and breezy. I left my balcony door open, letting some of the air and noises of Bangkok into my room.

Dinner was roasted chicken with vegetables & mashed potatoes. Better than one might expect.

After dinner, same routine as usual: I watched Project Runway, chatted with Roman, drank rooibos chai, and went to bed early.