Last Thursday, a doctor examined the results of my bloodwork. As expected, my high White Blood Cell count was just the harbinger of the cold that took me down two weeks ago. While I don’t have an explanation for all the weirdness going on in my body (e.g. clogged meibomian glands, Raynaud Syndrome, and general fragility), being told I don’t have an auto-immune disorder was good news.
“Of course, it’s good news!” the doctor responded.
I don’t think he was a fan of my apparent ambivalence.
Following this good news, he had me lie on the examination table to slice me up. I mean, this was a part of the appointment–I was also there to get a benign growth removed from under my left knee; however, I rode my bike to this appointment thinking the removal would be the equivalent of popping a zit. I wasn’t anticipating a 1″ incision requiring three stitches. Fortunately, the doctor froze the area, so I didn’t feel a thing during my 25-minute ride home.
Upon arrival, I realized the blood from the sutured incision soaked through the bandages AND my pants. The appointment was at 10am, and around 8pm, I rolled up my pajama pants, put my left foot on the coffee table and prodded around the incision. The roomie witnessed my idiocy and lectured me: “Don’t touch it!”
“BUT I STILL DON’T FEEL A THING. IT’S WEIRD.”
I felt it the next morning. I can’t go to the swimming pool for the next two or so weeks. The aforementioned (and at this point oft-mentioned) cold has kept me away from Zwift. Now, this.
Fine. I’ll do some arts and crafts. And play Tears of the Kingdom.
…and a combination of the two.
Cramming this much detail in a patch measuring about 2″ was ambitious. It’s one of the Koroks Link encounters in Hyrule. They all start the dialogue, pleading, “I need to reach my friend!” Sometimes, the challenge of reuniting them with their friend is fun, but sometimes, it’s just annoying. Yesterday, I wantonly chucked one off a cliff and let him roll down to the beach, where his friend awaited.
The patch, however, was delicately packed into an envelope and hand-delivered to my friend, Alexa. We had our third tandem TotK session last Thursday. Despite having logged 30 fewer hours in the game than me, Alexa has collected more Korok “seeds” and armour sets. She has vanquished formidable monsters such as the Gleeok (the three-headed dragon that shoots ice, fire, or electricity) and Frox (a large beast of the depths capable of aspirating Hylians like Link).
Alas, her prowess didn’t rub off on me that night. I played as if I was on a mission to die as much as possible, mostly by blowing myself up repeatedly.
I’ve only finally learned to enjoy things I’m not particularly good at. On Friday, I went climbing for the first time since April 2023. Free climbing passes were one of the perks offered by my previous employer. Also, the climbing gym was on the way home from my old workplace. I started climbing regularly back in 2008 and reached my peak within two years. Throughout the years, I’ve either gotten weaker or equally as good as I was in 2010. At my very best, I was merely mediocre.
Without the weight of exceptionalism on my no-longer-muscular shoulders, I had a blast. I didn’t do too shabby either and on-sighted a 5.10c graded route.
Most importantly, I do not have lupus.
squaremeat.com 