Sunday, Feb 9

Day 16 of quarantine and I'm quite bored. I don't feel like writing anything. We do our morning rituals. I decide to drink instant coffee today and save my beans for a sweet treat once a week until I can order more. I can't bear the thought of running out.

I sprinkle chia seeds on my salt and peppered boiled eggs and smashed avocado toast with fresh spicy hummus for brunch. I've lost three KG while getting minimal exercise, so I guess giving up fast food makes a difference.

My editor tells me that a minister of information in Chongqing wants to adapt my blog into Chinese; as a good example of how to stay safe and take good citizen precautions to reduce viral transmission. I feel like a volunteer in (viral) wartime.

The Canadians in WeChat are discussing two pieces of news released by Chinese media today. One is funny, and the other is bad. The bad news is that a girl came back from Wuhan and didn't develop any sign of the infection for twenty days. If this is true, it could have global implications: don't tell the stir-crazy Canadians on that cruise ship. 

Ok, they're both bad. Some people are saying the virus can spread by aerosol, alongside droplets and contact. That means if you walk into a sneeze cloud or a public bathroom where someone is using the toilet, you could become infected. I might be the first person to put three pieces of the puzzle together: 1) nCov (aka NCP) can live in the intestines 2) and in fecal matter 3) if it can be aerosolized... we have to watch out for virus farts that can give you pneumonia. This shouldn't be funny, but I laugh really hard anyway. 

Newest source on Xinhua says they do not believe it can be spread via aerosol. This is a huge relief, but people should take good care and precautions if using public areas such as and especially bathrooms: masks and good handwashing with soap especially at this time.

My mom calls me crying because she read my diary, and it made her feel sad and worried. I cheer her up with horrible jokes, and she laughs until we're ok again.

I burn my hand making toasted garlic broccoli and pickle pizza sandwich burgers. It's not bad, but it might leave a scar.

I play some video games, watch some news, and listen to all my daily medical blogs. When I'm overcome by ennui, I tune my tenor ukulele and play until my fingers bleed. I cut my nails when I realize how long they've gotten. I'm getting pretty good at Danny Boy.

We eat some nacho cheese chips with salsa and hummus dip and watch Jojo Rabbit. Tomorrow my bean sprouts will be ready to harvest. Life finds a way.