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It’s been a while since I last published an article on TFM so as I slowly get this site back up to speed, I thought that I’d take time (and 900+ words!) to explain what’s been going on with me and, just as importantly, to get myself back into the habit of writing again.
Back in late April/early May, I took a trip to a friend’s house out in the beautiful Mediterranean to help out with some never-ending renovations that are going on there (older readers of this site will remember me doing this quite a few times in the past). Before I flew out, I took a Covid test to check that I was fit to fly (it wasn’t mandatory) and passed it just like I had passed all the countless other tests that I’ve taken in the past two years.
A couple of days into the trip I noticed that I was getting tired a lot quicker than normal and then a day after that, I started getting the symptoms of a common cold. Briefly, it crossed my mind that I may have caught Covid on the plane or just before I took my last test, but because I still had my sense of smell and sense of taste and because my cough wasn’t particularly significant, I thought that a cold was the most likely reason for how I was feeling.
Had I not been up a mountain and miles from the nearest town, had I not been the only person staying at the property, and had I not been the only person working inside the property, I may have taken the symptoms a bit more seriously and got myself tested but, as it was, I just kept myself away from the workmen outside and got on with what I was there to do.
48 hours later things were different.
I still had my sense of smell and taste but everything else now pointed to the fact that I probably had Covid – I was feeling very cold one minute and then overheating the next, my cough had got noticeably worse, I ached all over, and I felt like every ounce of energy had left my body.
The confirmation that I had Covid came the next day when one of the other workers brought me a rapid test that I immediately failed.
The more unpleasant symptoms only lasted for another day but the sense of fatigue stayed with me for weeks (I’ve only recently started feeling like I’m back to full strength).
All in all, however, I think I can count myself lucky.
I was triple vaccinated (so my body knew what to do when the virus came calling), I was holed up in the middle of nowhere before and after the symptoms hit (so I wasn’t a major risk to anyone), I never lost my sense of smell or taste, and there doesn’t appear to be any sign that lasting damage has been done (my cough has gone) so I think I escaped lightly.
While catching Covid was one reason why I’ve kept TFM dark for so long, it’s far from the only reason. Quite simply, life just got in the way.
After I was able to pass a Covid test and was safe to travel home, one thing after another has been taking up an unusual amount of my time and keeping me from writing (things like other jobs, essential home improvements, and prior commitments have all played their part) so my absence has been far from planned. It’s just how things turned out.
The other commitments that I have in my life haven’t gone away entirely so getting TFM back up to full speed is still going to take some time but I’m looking forward to getting the site going again and hopefully, getting back to writing a lot more frequently in the coming weeks.
As it happens, some of my recent commitments have resulted in stays at a number of London hotels like the Radisson Edwardian Leicester Square, the St Pancras Rennaissance, the InterContinental London O2, the London EDITION, and the JW Marriott Grosvenor House, so my thoughts on all of those should be appearing here in the near future.
Also, you can expect an article on an interesting Hyatt London property that I was invited to check out (by Hyatt), as well as my thoughts on the United Airlines Polaris Business Class seat (the real one, not the ancient one that United insists on also calling “Polaris”), my thoughts on two different Emirates Business Class seats (and the airline as a whole) and my thoughts on the single most annoying thing that some people do when traveling (yes, I’ve had time to think things through and I’ve narrowed it down to a single thing).
I may have taken an unplanned break from TFM but I’ve still been taking pictures and taking notes whenever something travel-related or points-related has happened in my life so I’ve got quite a bit of content that I need to get out…it just may take some time!
With omicron I am seeing that those who are vaccinated have actually been having a harder time than the unvaccinated. Both my wife and I had it in January and neither of us suffered any fatigue. It appears the vaccine has trained the immune system to optimally fight the original variant and thus has a more difficult time with omicron.
Same here.. with Omicron you still had your sense of taste & smell… I usually test mine by eating peppers… I hate hot food … but it’s all the cold/flu like symptoms.. Rapid test here should be taken twice.. one does not tell the story… I took mine 24 hours apart – one + and one – then I assumed I had it and then 2 more 7 days later before going back into public life and they were both negatives.
Welcome back, Ziggy, and thank you for sharing your story/journey. I’ve been wondering lately why it’s been a while since I’ve seen new posts by you, but now know the reasons. I’m glad you recovered from Covid and, like you mentioned, things could have gone a lot worse. Maybe this unexpected series of events is also giving you permission to reassess your activities and sometimes those ‘forced upon us breaks’ help to recalibrate our lives in a positive way. Stay healthy and thanks for all you do!
Thank you for the kind words and yes, for a variety of reasons the last couple of years have definitely led to me recalibrating how I approach life. My priorities have definitely changed.