It never ceases to amaze me how we’re all alike. Regardless of race, creed, or political inclination, we all want very similar things: to be listened to, respected, and loved. There are some outliers throughout the spectrum, but they’re just that– outliers. Even though it’s hard for me to accept it, I travel with certain preconceived ideas and biases as to what people in different cultures, and countries, believe and how they act. But I’m always pleasantly surprised at how beautiful people are the world over.

It turns out that my incognito leave of absence lasted a total of one week, as Alba quickly noticed that there was something off about my daily routine. Apparently, web surfing for toys looks totally different than funny programming symbols on the screen. I guess I’m not as clever as I thought. After approximately one day of being outed, the conversation quickly turned into a discussion about the ins and outs of visiting my parents who I haven’t seen in almost 2 years. This is understandably more difficult nowadays…for common sense and logistical reasons. Common sense, because I don’t want to be the bearer of unwanted gifts, and logistical because of my documented apprehension of tests that involve Q-tips up my nose. Luckily not all Covid tests require tickling your brain, so I agreed to testing and quarantining inasmuch as the latter could be done in an RV!

In my early 20s I surfed a lot. I wasn’t particularly good at it, but I did wake up at the crack of dawn to lie face down on a board while I looked at the pretty fishes go by. I went through the motions, and looked rather cool doing it, but no, I didn’t catch a lot of waves. Luckily there weren’t a lot of waterproof cameras back then. Anyways… in between waves, my friend Ibra would wax philosophical about years gone by (see what I did there?). I remember him telling me that when he was a young pup he’d surf all day on a crappy board, while dreaming of the day he could finally afford a fancy surfboard. And then, when he could finally afford said board, he couldn’t take the time off to surf. I should’ve paid more attention, because that my friends, was pure Socratic advice.

(Click part 1 to see how we got here.)

I’ve heard Covid tests are a pain, but I’ve always been pretty good at pain. I mean, I always look straight at the needle in blood tests and never flinch. My parents say that as a child I didn’t even cry for vaccines. Heck, I would beg my mom to take my blood so I could take vials of it to school for show and tell (teachers were NOT impressed). Well… I’m here to tell you that having a pole jammed up your nose is totally unlike getting your blood taken.

Day number one of my long expected leave started with a sore throat. And we all know what follows a sore throat in the middle of a pandemic: that’s right, shitting your pants! There are no diseases that matter right now. You either have Covid, had Covid, or about to get it. We have some friends with a 6 month old who has had 3 Covid tests in a month, because every time they show up to the pediatrician’s office with a fever (that is, every other week), there’s a mad rush for hazmat suits. Quarantine for 2 days while they get results: rinse, lather, repeat. So yeah, there was panic in our household.