10th June 2022
Got covid on Tuesday. Got more phlegm on Monday but it wasn't particularly unusual, so didn't think much of it. Two friends got it on Monday after our group dinner at Rivervale on Saturday night. Tested myself as a close contact on Monday evening, but negative. Sinus got sore on Tuesday so tested again just before leaving home for school, wasn't going to do it but thought since the kits were free, might as well use it and be nice to my classmates. Positive almost immediately, no 15min wait.
First, notified the group of friends, and another one came up positive too. Fortunately no more since then. Next, notified my project group since they were closest to me during school hours. Third, notified the tutor in charge of my class overall, but she took a while to check her phone. Meanwhile news had been spreading from my project group. By the time tutor replied that the entire class was close contacts, everyone knew, and my announcement that they had to test daily for five days merely brought the usual "take care" and stuff like that. No big deal, most of us were young and everyone was fully vaccinated.
First day was ok at first and I could stand around for hours outside the clinic waiting for my turn in the morning, but a fever set in by 3pm. Took some panadol and it went away the following morning. Sore throat/sinus and phlegm were still going strong by second day, though the former left on the third day. Still lots of phlegm today, day four, and still testing positive, so I am stuck in self-isolation. Current protocol is to be like this till I test negative, or when it reaches noon of the seventh day, in this case the day being the coming Monday, so I'll have to attend one class that day if there is no more symptom by noon even if the ART still shows two lines.
So finally got the mood to build the PC while having covid. Took two tries because the mount pins weren't very even at first. Now I know why some cases are worse than others. In this case, this Armageddon Tron 3 case was priced at S$50 because of very good reasons.
First, there are only two spots for storage drives and no case for SDDs. One of these spots is also the location for two frontal fans, forcing you to choose between a storage drive or fans there. The other spot is flat on the bottom panel of the casing merely 1-2cm from the PSU.
Second, there is so little clearance between the motherboard and the top panel that there isn't enough room to install my 120mm fans on top, and I estimate that maybe 90mm fans might fit.
So this means there is only a single 120mm fan working in the current setup - the rear exhaust fan, making this a negative pressure environment, so air is being sucked in unfiltered through all the gaps in the case.
I will buy a new case, and then use this terrible case for my old but still functional computer from the small form factor desktop. It's mini-ATX so there will be plenty of room for...everything. This will give me two computers, so I can use multiple screens.
So far, my business is still bringing in a decent amount each month similar to the quieter months of the past but without overhead costs anymore aside from the 30% going to my brother. If I weren't saving this for the future when this finite stream ends and my only income is my pay as a new nurse, I can't help but calculate that another cruise to Antarctica would have been within reach by next year.
Still, will I bear to liquidate and spend it when the time comes?
11th June 2022
This feels like a regular flu but one that takes much longer to recover from. Or maybe it's my age, I don't know for sure, I haven't got a proper flu in probably two years.
But without exercise, my mind is getting foggy again. My GP specifically said no exercise for two weeks, but... I can barely think...
Might make that shakh pilaf tomorrow. Got all the ingredients, ie raisins, dried apricots, almonds, saffron, basmati rice, chapatti, plus some onions and chicken as the meat to be cooked at the center. Should I cook it on the stove in a pot, or in my rice cooker?
Or should I miniaturise it by cooking it in portion-sized steel food containers that I use for my meal preps these days? But in this case, it will have to be either baked or steam since these containers can't go over direct flames.
Let's keep to the original recipe and cook it in a large pot on the stove. I'll figure out how to split it up afterwards. Going to be messy for sure.
12th June 2022
Maybe not today. Not enough space in the fridge.
13th June 2022
Second case is coming. Bought a little piece of resin art. Have a feeling it will be an eye-catching piece.
Suddenly so much procrastination. Something is off with my mindset. What's putting me off schoolwork? It just flooded me the day I got covid. This wasn't supposed to be a holiday but it effectively had become one. Good thing the last week was a bit of breather so I'm not behind on anything but one project. This weekend could be challenging.
Can see the brain fog in my language now. Can't exercise while having covid. Muscle mass and bone mass losses are expected, body fats gain too. At least I am eating cleaner these few days, though have to remember to stop putting the cabbage in with the mushroom when making my usual vegetable soup, because the cabbage cooks too easily.
And fresh shitake is just so much better than dried ones even in soup. Reminds me of the difference in coffee.
14th June 2022
Why is there loud banging at 2.40AM? It sounds low-pitched, so it's far away, maybe two floors or more up?
20th June 2022
Finally turned negative last Saturday morning, at the same time as my friends who got it with me on our gathering on Saturday two weeks prior.
Still some phlegm though.
So after the bourbon flight last Saturday evening at Yardbird, decided to look into affordable brandies, ended up with a cognac instead. Turns out Remy Martin was selling a 1738 which reviews describe as better than VSOP but definitely not a XO, making it a great introduction for newbies who want to know what XO tastes like.
It definitely was that. VSOP was too light, though still preferable to any whiskey, while XO is prohibitively expensive for my budget. I'm still on my old bottles that I drink sparingly, but if this was good enough, would be nice. So this was typed after my first glass of this 1738, and the plan is to have a XO side by side as comparison tomorrow.
Of course, have to take into account that a 700ml bottle of 1738 is S$100, though I can get it for as low as S$84, a third of the price of a usual bottle of a Martell XO Supreme that is my norm.
I might get another one to give away. So far, this is way better than another S$100 range whiskey that I've tasted.
21st June 2022
Exactly a fortnight without exercise - my last session was on the Tuesday I got diagnosed on, before going to school, not that I went to school since I took the test 5mins before I was supposed to leave.
Ok I really need to workout. Starting to feel sleepy in the morning. Strangely able to sleep on my right side when the left nostril is supposed to collapse whenever I do that.
My recent Sociology essay assignment made me think about my telemedicine consultation on the sixth day of covid, and came to the conclusion that my GP is really a lot nicer than most. Probably.
Besides the GP via video call, I've also been to the polyclinic several times. Maybe not the most diverse of experiences, but adding in second-hand accounts of how people I've met described their GPs, it dawned on me that doctors don't typically ask about their patients beyond their symptoms. For example, my doctor asked about my job, and when he found out I live alone, he was concerned about how I'd get food during my 3-day self-isolation. When the issue of MC came up previously, he found out I was now a nursing student, and asked about why I made the career switch.
As a nursing student, that really is what I am supposed to do, not the doctors. However, it is potentially beneficial for the doctor since the knowledge provides a better context for future diagnoses. In addition, he also builds rapport with patients through such questions, not only encouraging us to return in the future when we fall sick, but also lets us be more open about our symptoms.
Just did a taste test of both the Remy Martin 1738 and the Martell XO Supreme. Ok, going to stick with the XO despite being over double the price, maybe triple.
1738 has a sweeter taste, lighter body, followed by a sweet aftertaste that fades into something less pleasant before vanishing within 10s.
XO is less sweet, but much better body, smoother in terms of alcohol feel, and an aftertaste that just lingers for at least 15s. Perhaps a full minute or longer. The body is more complex too, much more enjoyable.
1738 is good for frequent sips, or for mixing. XO is truly for slow, relaxed sipping over the course of an evening.
Will not buy 1738 again, the second bottle I ordered will be either a gift or for cooking hotpot.
26th June 2022
Transferred new PC to the new casing and it couldn't boot past the BIOS, kept hanging at "Preparing Automatic Repair" with the orange DRAM LED lit. Playing around with the RAM sticks proved it wasn't their fault, switching the boot media proved it wasn't due to damaged boot files, so what's left is the CPU and mobo, both of which I can't test since I have no spares to swap them out with, therefore I have to get it repaired by an outside service. Since I won't want to carry it to the shop myself, it is going to cost a bit more, but found a shop offering a two-way delivery service on top of their repair services for an additional S$30 which seemed very reasonable.
It's like those times when you dislike something, but after a while you begin to wonder how bad it could be, so you give it a try, and then it reminds you exactly how bad it could be, so this is the moment when I recall exactly why I have always bought pre-assembled desktops, furthermore fuck everyone who ever tries to persuade me to build my own again.
Did a tasting of a VSOP, pisco, 1738 and XO, and came to the conclusion that for me, only the XO is worth it. The VSOP is much sweeter, rougher to the point where you can not only taste the alcohol but feel it evaporating somehow, with almost no depth in the body. The pisco, a brandy from Peru, is strange because it is savoury in the way a coffee can be sweet, as if it's almost there but not yet, like it's got everything that takes it to the point of being salt without actually being salty, not to mention it's the roughest of all.
The pisco might be interesting as a cooking ingredient.
Restarted my workout yesterday. Finally. Going back to what I was doing before - Body Beast's Cardio on weekends, one or two sessions of calisthenics on weekdays. The cardio was tough but on the quads, which is unexpected. I slowed down my pace from the beginning, so I didn't have to pause too often, but by the end of the session I could feel my heart going a bit too hard, yet it was my legs almost cramping a bit after sitting for hours in the evening that got my attention. Weird because I felt no reduction in leg strength during this cardio session which works out all body parts but to a lesser degree than those sessions that work specific parts.
Anyway, let's see how it goes today.
Ok, pretty good again, cardio improved, or maybe I just know my pace better. Stretched my quads twice as much today, it should not cramp anymore tonight. Arms didn't weaken too much, just that I struggle to do the initial eight proper pushups where the hands are at chest level, but did them just the same. So far so good.
Calisthenics begin tomorrow.
Nope, still cramping.
29th June 2022
Calisthenics into the third day so far, having trouble going for the post-school session though. One session a day is really too light, just better than none, but it's insufficient in the long run.
Going to try cognacs and brandies outside of the big 4, eg Hine, Ferrand, and some slivovitz.
05th Aug 2022
So I went an entire month without updating this at all. Been busy in school, and then during this break that's ending this week.
Next week my clinical placement begins. As I'd told the nurse during my Hep B vaccination earlier, I feel ambivalent about it. On one hand, there is the excitement of finding out for real how it will be like, but on the other hand there is anxiety for encountering the unknown.
What is known is that we will all be in charge of one patient in a general ward for probably the entirety of the six weeks, and we will be expected to help with others, so in practice, our focus will most likely be on the entire ward with a bit of extra focus on our assigned patient for our case study.
Also about to have a second date with another match tomorrow. Not sure about her yet.
Got an electric bass, been practicing the basic fretting exercises the last two nights. Still have difficulty stretching my pinkie, but this instrument turned out to sound much better on a speaker than on headphones, so I'm using that on a very low volume.
Found more rattan chairs from a seller on Carousell that are the exact clones of the ones I got as a set, so these weren't custom-made unique sets but probably from a good brand in the past. Anyway, realised that these chairs are more comfortable if they're deeper, so tested the idea of having thinner cushions in my chairs and it worked. Now the plan is to get 5cm-thick cushions for the two chairs, not sure about the 2-seater.
Got tired of pilaf, finally finished my third consecutive batch.
Switched to strength-building exercises when the break started. The plan will be to do these on weekdays before work, then back to Body Beast Cardio on weekends and public holidays.
To build strength, the fundamental concept is about increasing the maximum contraction of my muscles. Of course having more muscle fibres help ie from hypertrophy, but I feel that I have enough for now and having more volume makes clothes uncomfortable. In any case, to focus on that, we can only train when the muscles are able to contract the most, ie when they are not tired at all, ie when they are at 100%. This means we are looking at few reps, long breaks, and many sets. Long breaks here refer to anything 2-5mins long, so this means a simple routine can take an hour. On the bright side, it's very chill, and I can actually do little chores during the 135s I give myself, excluding the time it takes to record my weights/reps and switch on the timer, and the time to go back to the weights and my mat. Overall my breaks are about 150s long, and I go back to each set feeling fresh.
One of the biggest benefits of creating my own routine is that it can fit the many requirements I have while keeping to my main goal of building strength, eg no loud noises from jumping/hopping, and work out my entire body especially my legs and back.
Initially the routine was from Pumpd but some of the exercises were too easy while others hurt. Fortunately the years I'd spent on workout videos have taught me a few moves and showed me my limits, so switching them to something else wasn't too hard once I understand which muscle group(s) they were meant to train.
Not doing calisthenics anymore but incorporated them into the current routine.
Main disadvantage of such routines is that because they take so long, I will have to get up really early. Some of them take an hour and a half!
Realised the bass guitar needs to be higher than simply resting on my lap, because my left wrist feels pain when I let go after some of the fretting exercises around the ninth fret. Holding it higher was much more comfortable.
Need a strap now. Fortunately there's the National Day sale coming up.
Still not going to buy a stand because it could be rested on a folded towel in a corner.
06th Aug 2022
Fortunately my shifts will be around 7am-3pm or 1-9pm. This gives me plenty of time to work out before or after each day. Hopefully I will have the motivation after, but this is easier than expected, so have to remind myself in the bigger picture, this is very much within my abilities.
Meal preps will have to be done though. It doesn't seem likely that I would work out and cook after the earlier shifts, given the very high chance of my shifts ending an hour longer than stated here (estimated).
On the bright side, I will rarely encounter the peak hours.
Still trying to figure out how to solve the issue of sagging mattresses. Even the hardest mattress I've ever used is sagging in the centre, in addition to the fact that I had the same issue with a S$3000 mattress before it, so there isn't a point in buying another one.
For a few weeks trying to fill the pit with folded towels seemed to work but not anymore, and the issue is probably that the surface is uneven, so today I'm trying the idea of covering the area I sleep on with multiple layers of body-length towels. It is less sensible but if the most logical answer isn't working, maybe I'm just not smart enough to see other factors.
And if this doesn't work, I might lay the latex mattress topper on the floor and see if sleeping on that works, like a rubber tatami.
07th Aug 2022
As expected, didn't work, it was really nice at the beginning but still sagged in the center by morning. Not trying to sleep on the floor tonight, my first day of clinical placement is tomorrow. Will try tomorrow night since the following day is a holiday. Was pretty awesome to see the Red Lions so close while they flew past my window, helps me appreciate this whole celebration more. I could almost make out his face just now, the last guy with the national flag who had over 150 jumps under his belt. Still nothing compared to professional jumpmasters who jump in tandem with paying tourists, but things are done differently in the military iirc.
Not going to go for a third date with this one, we don't have chemistry.
