The Swine Flu Chronicles: Day Three

(continued from posts beginning on 11/16)

7:00AM- Woke up feeling normal. Got out of bed craving waffles, but apparently there is a nationwide Eggo shortage. Damn that Kelloggs corporation trying to artifically drive up demand and prices. Who do they thnk they are? Nintendo? Mrs. MacTavish made a fine alternative and had breakfast in bed yet again. Getting used to this. She is getting over this.

8:00AM- Check e-mail. Everything appears to be fine at the office. Ask if I am allowed to leave the room yet. It is now Wednesday morning and I have not left the bedroom/sitting room/master bath since 11:30PM Sunday. As much as I love these rooms, I need to get the hell out. I also need to get away from the smell of Lysol. The response to my request for parole, "What do you need to do that is worth getting the kids sick?" Nothing...I slink back into bed.

9:00AM- Hop online and head to WebMD to see when the "contagious window" closes. Seven days? That's a bunch of crap. Who writes this stuff? My mother? Cabin fever is setting in, big time. Turn on the tube to catch Palin pitching her book again. She looks awful conformist for someone "going rogue". Turn off tube and finally finish book I started three months ago.

11:00AM- Mrs. MacTavish comes home with some new chairs and invites me downstairs to see them. Haven't walked on stairs in days, so I'm a little nervous. They're exactly as I remember them and all goes well. Stay in living room for a full ten minutes soaking in the atmosphere.

12:00 Noon- Lunch in bed. Check e-mail, surf the Web. Feeling a little tired but not at all like the first two days. Ready to go back to work. But not recommended. Mrs. MacTavish makes an awesome soup and sandwich lunch. Lunch delivery has sort of a prison feel to it. She comes into the room and places the food in a "drop zone". I'm not allowed to get out of bed and approach the food until she has left the room. When finished, I place the dishes back in the drop zone and get back in bed. She sprays them with Lysol before picking them up.

2:00 PM- Flip to HBO 9 and catch Apollo 13 about an hour into the movie. Excellent. Plan to finally watch through to the end. Fall asleep after they fix the carbon issue. No strange dreams, unless you consider Lasik surgery strange.

4:00 PM- Awake and refreshed. Really want to get outside and go for a run. I've been warned that people have felt great after three or four days, and then get hit by a second wave. Pretty sure it won't happen, but heeding the advice of the Mrs. as I Do NOT want to hear, "I told you so". Starting to get hungry, but cannot feed myself and nobody is home to feed me. Starting to feel a little like our black lab. Lay down in front of the bedroom door and and exhale loudly. Doze off and dream of chasing squirrels.

5:00PM- The family arrives home and the kids slide their get well cards under the door. I pick up my cell phone and call the house phone to speak with them. Can't wait to spend real time with them again.

7:00PM- Watching news about Obama's trip to China. Oddly, there was more focus on Obama's meeting with his half-brother whom he barely knows. Was kind of hoping to hear more about our trade deficit with China. Maybe next story. Feeling completely normal. Really tired of the quarantine after three days. Could be much worse though, so I hate to complain.

9:00PM- Discovery has a special about the Mayan calendar and 2012. I suspect it won't be the last time they air this in the next three years. Looking forward to the wild parties on December 19th, 2012.

10:00PM- Started a new book on canines in 19th century needlepoint art. Fell asleep at 10:05.