Downtown East Newsletter
Do The Thing
Guess who has COVID!
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Guess who has COVID!

Kicking off a new year of Do The Thing

Hello friends! It’s been too long. I’d say we’re going to avoid going so long without an episode in the future, but that’s probably not true. Instead, here’s some fun bits of information related to what you’re going to hear in the audio recording.

After nearly three years of avoiding COVID, I tested positive THE DAY after Christmas. On the right is me taking a picture with family on Christmas day, and 24-hours later is a picture of me in bed with a 100.7 degree fever.

Admittedly, my partner and I really dropped the ball. We got the first round of the vaccine but then didn’t get any subsequent booster shots. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t really know what to believe and I figured that I would just be careful and avoid putting myself in risky situations.

After I left the news business, I had no reason to be around large groups of people. I didn’t have to sit in a big open air room with people who were out in the community all day talking to people, so I felt less at risk. Sometimes I would go a week without seeing a person.

All was well for a very long time, but then I got far too comfortable and began taking way too many risks. I was planning on getting the latest round of the vaccine but I just didn’t get around to it. So… sick!

As for Mika, I didn’t really get into any of that with him, but he got sick at a time when the regulations were becoming more relaxed. And unfortunately, he’s like the ghost of Christmas future because he says he’s still feeling the impacts of his illness and it’s been many, many, many months since he was ill.

Now, all this is to say that you should do what’s right for you, but if I had one of those magic time machines, I would go back and remind myself that I am not actually immune and I should get the booster. The best way to stay healthy is to avoid getting sick, and I did a great job at that right up until I didn’t.

I also learned a few fun things I would like to share:

  1. If you have fever, you should not bundle up under blankets. The idea of “sweating out” a fever is not true, it just makes your body temperature increase.

  2. COVID feeds on itself, so you should get up and move around every hour or so if you want your energy levels to improve.

  3. Feed a fever and also feed a cold. The idea of starving a cold is a myth. You should never starve yourself when you’re sick, unless you have a stomach virus.

  4. You can take Advil and Tylenol together because they are processed by different systems within the body.

  5. Nose spray is a gift from the gods.

Add your tips to the comments. And we’d love to hear your COVID story, too. When did you get it? Are you still a COVID unicorn? Did you get the boosters? Give us the scoop!

Until the next episode, stay healthy!

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Downtown East Newsletter
Do The Thing
Mika Torkkola and Samantha Morgan established their friendship with bike rides and a shared love of doing things without fully thinking them through. When Mika moved to Finland, they decided to create a podcast as a way of taking a virtual bike ride. The duo discuss topics involving their shared love of bike rides and the environment. Yes, the two things are related. Join them on a mostly useless but otherwise entertaining auditory adventure.