May 28, 2022 – At Sea – Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico – mostly clear - 72°F

COVID ISOLATION Day 4

Had a horrible night – I think I only got one hour of real sleep – I felt feverish (took some Tylenol in the middle of the night) and couldn’t form a thought to go to sleep.  Hoping that’s a one off.  I had porridge, eggs over easy (never again) and a toasted bagel for breakfast. 

The ship is currently heading North toward Los Angeles with Mexico off the starboard side.

Then I went for my daily antigen test.  I am not feeling great this morning – a runny nose and a significant headache and occasional cough.  At about 10:45 AM, I got the news I was dreading and expecting – COVID positive.  That is amazing in that I barely left my cabin for four days and only once to take pics of dolphins and get some fresh air on deck and I had tested negative four days in a row.  So where is this virus coming from – I suspect there is a Jetstream of COVID particles circulating around the dining rooms and the longer you sit there, the better are your chances of picking up enough to be a problem.  Now, we try to sit away from other folks but if the virus is in the air, it’s everywhere. The problem can’t be the theater because of the masks and monitors watching everyone.  The open decks should be safe and there are very few people at the bars (and no standing at the bar), so the dining room has to be the issue.  Maybe, somebody should look into air circulation in the eating areas.

So – COVID Day 1 – no sore throat, very tired, coughing occasionally (which hurts my ribs), headache (sinuses?), no congestion, good blood oxygen (according to my Smart Watch).  Just feel like crap.  My last lecture is cancelled as well as my Q and A.  I will need to figure out the medication situation when we get to LA – I have notes already written to our two docs explaining the extended quarantine period.  I’m sure there is a workaround.

I ordered lunch and what arrived was a very tasty Greek Salad (I thought that it was going to be a sandwich).  There are strawberries waiting for me.  We are live now at 2:21 PM.

A long afternoon of flipping through the channels and trying to read my latest Spenser Novel, “Little White Lies”.

A changed my dinner to a bagel, cream cheese, and lox sandwich and was only able to eat half – I think all the left-over lox and cream cheese went on this bagel.  Even though I cancelled it, my original dinner came around 7:30 PM.  I should have just taken the tray but I told him I just had dinner.

The show we missed tonight – “Top Hat” – featuring the music of Irving Berlin.  The show is based on the musical which is based on the Astaire Rogers film.  I bet it was the best entertainment of the cruise.

Lights out at 10:15 PM – hoping for some sleep tonight.