My lovely GP called and ordered me to stay home and DO NOTHING until Sunday night. Just as I had put down the phone, I got an email from the top boss which I opened with the usual sense of resignation and duty only to read that his reaction to the second jab must have been even worse than mine, because, reader, he told me that he himself is staying home DOING NOTHING.
The earth moved under my feet.
So what does it look like, doing nothing. I edited an urgent research grant application and read through a couple of first results from one of the research projects I have been assigned to. Then I went back to sleep for a while.
R made lunch and decent coffee and I read all the news, incl. the stuff about the fairy tale people with the netflix deal. This is the stuff I usually read in waiting rooms and I just realised how I miss that kind of "news".
This is a good summary, from an Irish perspective - which I am unashamedly adopting just for a second now:
Having a monarchy next door is a little like having a neighbour who’s really into clowns and has daubed their house with clown murals, displays clown dolls in each window and has an insatiable desire to hear about and discuss clown-related news stories. More specifically, for the Irish, it’s like having a neighbour who’s really into clowns and, also, your grandfather was murdered by a clown.
Beyond this, it’s the stuff of children’s stories. Having a queen as head of state is like having a pirate or a mermaid or Ewok as head of state. What’s the logic? Bees have queens, but the queen bee lays all of the eggs in the hive. The queen of the Britons has laid just four British eggs, and one of those is the sweatless creep Prince Andrew, so it’s hardly deserving of applause.
I vaguely remember a debate in secondary school about the pros and cons of monarchy and although we had to do this in English (a foreign language I was more or less unable to handle at the time), there was a lot of derision and mentioning of colonialism and slavery. We were pretty awake at the time.
I feel for you, having a bad reaction to the vaccine Sabine but you've got me singing here! " I feel the earth move...under my feet...I feel the sky tumblin' downs..." you get my drift. Carole king - what a talent, a voice for the flower children.
ReplyDeleteAs for the clowns next door to where I grew up, it must be terrible to be so rich, so privileged and still feel so put upon. My heart bleeds. Like you, I only get to hear about this when waiting to get my hair cut - once every 5 or 6 weeks. On a daily basis there's no room in my life for it.
I hope the symptoms ease soon and you enjoy 'doing nothing' in the meantime.
Oh, I hope you feel better soon!
ReplyDeletemy reaction was mild. my dentist got the whole 9 yards...fever, chills, headache, body aches, fatigue. hope you feel better tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteas for the royals, I do not get the American fascination with them.
And then there's the Calvinist response to the dubious concept of "wasting time". Pleasure, it seems, has no value and cannot be measured. As to those early afternoon moments when the mind flirts with seductive questions: Shall I doze? Shall I not doze? - forget them.
ReplyDeleteJust watched Gounod's opera Faust. It should be renamed Mephistopheles because he does most of the singing. Works his butt off. How do Calvinists regard a hard-working Satan - isn't his bait supposed to be easefulness:
"... and I shall have some peace there
for peace comes dropping slow..."
That's a positively satanical invitation. Carefully hiding the sequel with its eternity of useless paperwork. Filling in a census form for a population of one. Good gracious... did I doze that?
Perhaps. I needed to escape Sussex Fever.
I hope you are feeling better soon. I had no symptoms...but have much respect for those who have suffered. As one person reminded me, and if I had been sick I'd have wanted to hit that person a good one over the head, the sick feeling is just those great antibodies working so well in your system!
ReplyDeleteHa! DO NOTHING. Have been reading a book called Going on Being, by Mark Epstein, M.D. and was introduced to the concept of that which is neither doing nothing or doing something. Awakening to the possibility of something else (-:
ReplyDeleteOver a decade ago, I was referred to a new dermatologist regarding yearly skin checks because I experienced a few basal and squamous cell skin cancers, beginning when I was in my 40s. The dermatologist observed that I had mild rosacea and offered a medication that I was take every day for the rest of my life -- minocycline. Trusting her judgment and wishing to be relieved of rosacea, I began taking minocycline. Not only did the minocycline do nothing to improve my rosacea, but I experienced unpleasant side effects after a while and ceased using it. The dermatologist had more ideas. How about applying a prescription gel to my facial skin? How about using a sulfur soap to wash my face? Continuing to trust her, I followed her instructions. The facial gel did not make any difference to the rosacea. My rosacea continued to get worse. I resigned myself to having a red face for the rest of my life. "So it goes," I thought. The thought followed, "Perhaps I could consider being proud of my red face -- wearing it as a badge of rebellion and of my Celtic heritage."
About a year ago when I returned to the dermatologist for my yearly skin check, she observed my red face and said, "The only thing I have to offer is laser surgery." I said, "I can't afford laser surgery. My insurance doesn't cover "cosmetic" interventions."
She said, "Well, then DO NOTHING."
A year later, my facial skin has returned to where it was all those years ago before medical interventions for rosacea.
I'm grateful for the open-ended medical intervention of DO NOTHING -- as we each understand that concept. A new freedom. So many possibilities!
I hope you are feeling better today.
Oh what a blissfully circular life you lead. Reminiscent of the 27th quatrain of the Rubaiyat:
DeleteMyself when young did eagerly frequent
Doctor and Saint, and heard great argument
About it and about: but evermore
Came out by the same door where in I went.
But there is one possible disadvantage: the world takes so much at face value. A red face may be regarded as symbolic of a choleric temperament. You may accept this or disavow it. Were you British you could rationalise it by wearing a pin badge: Don't blame me, I voted Remain. The options regarding your former president are of course infinite but I've just glanced at your profile. How about:
Red but well-read
On doing nothing, I cannot be of any help. Not that you asked for help but I had the realization that on that issue I am completely and utterly worthless. My partner, being a little older than I, naps every damn day! I feel nothing but disdain. And there's the rub......judgement. Maybe if I was not so judgemental about people sitting around being LAZY, I would be able to sit around or....god forbid....take a nap.
ReplyDeleteThe Irish description of monarchy is HILARIOUS. Thank you for sharing it. When I was in the UK in 2015, I asked the locals about the whole 'Queen' thing. One response was 'It's good for tourism'. As I was standing in front of Buckingham Palace watching the changing of the guards through a thicket of selfie sticks, I had to agree...
ReplyDeleteBut monarchies, really? Piffle. And so much money!! And crown jewels!!!
The Irish description of the monarchy is fantastic! I might adopt it too. It sounds as if you're on the mend in terms of vaccine reaction, at least I hope you are. I get my second moderna shot in a week. I'm a bit nervous if you want to know the truth. So be it.
ReplyDelete"Sweatless creep" -- LOL!
ReplyDelete