[covid] hit the fan

 well... covid finally hit our house.

after almost three years of avoiding it, it hit our house hard. our daughter was the first one to show symptoms and test positive.  shortly there after my wife and i did as well.  the real annoying part was that our daughter basically recovered from it in 24 hours, right around the time we got it.  it wasn't painful, but i can't lie, it was miserable.  i'm glad we were all vaccinated and handled it relatively well, but it did suck.

as i'm writing this a few weeks after the fact i will include our daughter brought home just about everything including a nasty stomach bug, keeping us all on the sick list the months of february and march...explaining the lack of photos the first part of the year. maybe we'll all be better when the weather is nice here...sometime in july.

rocky mountain [sick]

boulder is an absolutely beautiful city...to be sick in.


the end of october found me and my girlfriend traveling to boulder for a quick three day vacation, a city neither one of us had been to.  we drove all day, listening to podcasts and albums until we ended up at our airbnb.  a wonderful little guest room a few miles outside of town, close enough to enjoy the vibrancy of downtown, but secluded enough to feel like you were camping.

ten minutes into our stroll down pearl street we knew we loved this city. amazing food, quaint little shops and friendly people!  we spent the whole day downtown enjoying coffee, food, wine and various appetizers, all the while enjoying the perfect fall weather.  i absolutely loved the pedestrian and bike friendly downtown with everyone so active, and the restaurants were a perfect fit for my girlfriend who enjoys eating gluten free and healthy.

however friday night took a turn for the worse.  i had a fever, chills and other various flu-like symptoms.  saturday morning came and i was in terrible condition.  not improving much, my girlfriend drove me to an urgent care.  after filling out forms, waiting, getting checked out, waiting, getting tested and more waiting, it turned out i did not have the flu, the diagnosis rather was food poisoning!

how could you do this to me boulder!  i was in love with the food fare you put before me. your farm to table attitude had me in hipster heaven! now this? was my body unable to handle a lack of gluten? was the food too fresh for me? what could have done this?  had it been the fresh red trout with castelvetrano olives at salt? maybe it was the curried cauliflower and carrots at the kitchen? please don't tell me it was the cedar plank salmon at riff's!  the car ride back to our place had us trying to figure out what food had done me in. the caveat to this meal mystery was the fact my girlfriend an i had shared every meal since arriving in boulder. so what could it be?  in fact, the only thing she hadn't tried of mine was the gas station breakfast sandwich i had eaten on the drive....

as soon as i thought those words, it all made sense. i had suddenly remembered the sandwich had been oddly cold...even for a gas station sandwich.  looking up food poisoning on my phone, it turns out eggs are one of the biggest culprits.

the day wasn't entirely wasted however, as we had an amazing view, and both of us had the chance to simply lay around and be lazy, a rarity in our lives.  by the next day i was feeling much better! just in time to meet up with some friends for brunch and prepare for the 7 hour drive back.

boulder is an absolutely wonderful city and i can't wait to visit it again. walking it's streets you can't help but think this is the way all cities should be; pedestrian friendly, bike friendly, pet friendly, everything friendly with a walkable downtown with local shops with amazing food.  i would recommend anyone taking a trip out there. although....i'd skip the gas station breakfast sandwich.

hotel boulder ado

the kitchen

corner bar at hotel boulder ado

urgent care

sick in bed...but with a view

the cup expresso cafe

beware the [ides] of march

i had been planning this blog post for a while. i knew that i would be riding in the st. patricks day parade, and thought for sure it would be entertaining enough to re-tell here! seems perfectly normal right? what i didn't account for was the fact, the parade was on the 14th! what comes after the 14th you might ask? none other then the 15th! that's right! the ides of march! and just like ceaser, i dismissed the severity that day can hold.

the parade was absolutely wonderful. the weather was beautiful, the streets were packed, children playing, birds chirping! you get the idea. anyway, i rode with some very good friends, had a blast, and even ended up at the shamrock, the perfect bar to be during an irish festival! that night, however, just after the stroke of midnight, it hit me...the flu. now i can't remember the last time i had the flu, but it was making up for lost time. although it wasn't as bad as being stabbed by a bunch of roman senators, these little flu bugs did their best to leave me in the same shape. sparing you any more details, please enjoy some pictures taken before the attack.

beauty and the beast [liquid version]

i had that feeling....

the start of [something]. a little tingle in the back of your throat, a few aches in your joints. was it the cold? a flu? or just a bad case of allergies? i wasn't sure. all i knew was as the day progressed i continued to feel worse.

no real need to worry, i had a plan of action. the same action i take whenever that feeling starts. a tried and true method. hit it early with a hot shower and a shot of nyquil.

ha! beat that you "early stage of sickness"!

as the clock ticked down to my bedtime, i jumped in the shower. after a relaxing 15 minutes, i changed into my p.j.'s, and then off to the medicine cabinet.

"oh no! where is it?"

the nyquil was no where to be found! no worries, i'd look in my little first-aid tote. looking under the sink and opening the tote, it happened again! no nyquil! i was a little concerned. o.k. a lot concerned. i needed that "feel better" medicine to ...well...feel better.

i found some gel caps...what a joke! those don't work. i need the original flavor! nothing knocks the early stages of, whatever you have, out more then the original "green" flavor. what about cherry you ask? ha! that's for kids, i need green! panicking, i started looking throughout my entire apartment, opening and closing cabinets.

finally there it was! i had found it, peeking out from behind the tums was a giant "Q"! picking it up much like an actor accepts an academy award, i realized that it was a little lighter then i usually like my nyquil. it did however appear to have the required 30ml i needed. as i poured this "liquid relief" into the tiny plastic cup, i noticed the expiration date.

aug. 2007!

it was close enough...i took a shot, and eased into bed.

the beauty: nyquil is the "nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, sore throat, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, sleep better, to feel better, medicine!"

the beast: sleeping past your alarm, waking up at 10:00 a.m. , late for work, but feeling much better.

ultimate [bummer]

sorry i haven't written in a while, but i have been sick for 8 days now, anxiously waiting to get over it. at first i assumed it would last a couple of days and still give me the fourth of july to get "out and about" but it is still lingering. trying to find a bright side i'm getting caught up on my price is right, macguyver, and jeopardy. i did do very well in the "building terminology" the other day. anywho i hope i can get over this before this weekend, where i will check out the "world famous" over the line tournament a few blocks from my house. if i get better and end up going expect some pictures. later.