It's an Update of Sorts

February, 2020

I've been sick lately. I never get sick, so this was an unwelcome and puzzling turn of events, I didn't quite have the coping mechanism for.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't at death's door or anything, although it felt like it at times, but I had the distinct, unpleasant sensation that my innards were all about to implode into a gaseous, gelatinous soup at any moment, which isn't ideal.

This continued for about four months in various forms and I swallowed an approximate grain silo worth of medications during that time, underwent a barrage of medical tests, with varying degrees of success, lost my appetite completely (terrible), causing me to also lose 13 lbs (not terrible!) despite the gigantic amount of fruit juice and occasional soup I was consuming since it was the only foodstuff I could deal with.

I didn't leave the house for three months at one point. Yeah.

I did take up drawing with crayons during this bout of madness. Who knew Crayola would be a serious art tool of anyone over four years old? Not me. I had a great time though, and completed an entire Moleskin notebook of crayon monsters and robots. Seriously! I also bought a new tenor ukulele and played it till my fingers hurt. Anything that involved not getting off the couch was fair game because I couldn't get off the damn couch without a major effort.

It was a bacterial infection of the gut and it was a bastard. I now have a huge appreciation for people who have digestive issues and the like, because I never had any before, and now, while I'm still recovering from this stupid thing, I'm never again going to take for granted being able to do simple things like turn over in bed, and bend down to tie my shoe because for a while there I couldn't move.

The downside? I now appear to have some sort of coffee allergy or intolerance, as every time I drink it my throat swells up a bit and I feel sick. This is beyond inconvenient! So for a while I'm going to be caffeine free. I know! This can't bode well for the world, right? Coffee is basically the reason I'm not a raging serial killer.

Hope you guys are all well? If you're still out there.

This was for you, Bill.