Testing for COVID-19

I was feeling fatigued on Tuesday, just dragging my butt. That night, I woke up suddenly with chills, body aches, and my throat on fire. I tried to go back to sleep, telling myself that maybe it was a combination of the effects of the smoke from the fires (I live in California) and some kind of regular type of "bug." Wednesday morning I got tested ASAP for COVID-19. 

I made the first appointment available, as early as possible in the morning. There weren't any other people being tested when I arrived. The room was decorated with staff dressed in plastic ponchos, wearing masks, and plastic face shields. I stood, hands clasped in front of me, ready to squeeze my own hand for comfort. As soon as the long q-tip looking stick touched my nostril my face crinkled up and I squeezed my hand. I felt a slight burning that mellowed out to a soft warmth. I thought maybe the stick had been removed so I relaxed my face and opened my eyes. At that same moment, the nurse shoved the stick farther into my nostril before slipping it out quickly. Then she did the same thing to the other nostril.

The results would be available within 4-6 days. I stayed home, worked remotely, and didn't sit near, or hug or kiss my husband. In the meantime, I read an article about a hockey coach who passed away three days after not feeling well - cause of death turned out to be COVID-19. I thought it would really suck if I passed away before the test results were ready. 

I started thinking about how my life would change if the results came back positive for COVID-19. I would have to quarantine myself from everyone in my life - husband, family, friends, coworkers. Maybe even my cat? 

The results came back in two days...negative. 

Crawling Caterpillar Videos vs. Poets with Panache

In the middle of June, I was one of the many who decided to explore TikTok. I thought it was just for kids and teenagers who were creating short dance moves for others to follow. But I kept seeing funny and informative TikTok videos in the news, on Facebook, and on Instagram. Once I got on, I saw that people of different ages, backgrounds, cultures, and from different countries, had changed the landscape of the app. I spent hours scrolling through videos. I was impressed by the creativity of thought. Sometimes I was crying with laughter. Other times, I was crying at the images from protests across the country.

When I joined, it wasn't common for people to just join and not post anything. A TikTok was created addressing the people who choose not to create, and "who just like to watch." So, I felt the need to post something. 

My first video was of a caterpillar crawling across the concrete. Then of trees swaying in the wind. Then a few of my cat. Finally, I posted a poem. Then the announcement came that TikTok might be no more. 

During my time on TikTok, the people I interacted with were talented, kind, funny, imaginative, intelligent, and supportive. The thought that this new found community might be taken away did not make me happy. So I decided to create a public account on Instagram (Poetic_Gina).

I was not disappointed. Once again, I found a community. A community dominated by fellow poets, and authors. And at Instagram, we don't have to create funny videos of caterpillars or cats. Not that there's anything wrong with that. We could if we wanted to. And some will occasionally post something other than poetry. But the point is that we don't have to. We can just enjoy each other's work. Learn from each other. Inspire each other.