Pretty pissed off. I've come down with a cold of some sort. I'm sure I was infected by a guest who visited the house on Saturday and had a nasty cough. We were playing chess for an extended period and his coughing persisted over the entire course of our games. I've been affected since Wednesday and today is Thursday.
I took two panadol last night and I've taken another two this evening. The effects are fairly mild but I am weak and tired. I just have a runny nose and general malaise. Hopefully it won't progress further but it makes you realise how vulnerable you are. Avoiding close contact with people outside of the family circle is the best strategy. Even family members who are clearly sick should be avoided.
A hermit doesn't get infected by other people but I'm not quite ready to abandon the world entirely. When I drive by myself and visit a mall, I'm generally not in close and sustained contact with anybody so I'm relatively safe. Getting an Uber of course is best avoided but sometimes necessary. Air travel is another matter entirely and provides a perfect opportunity for infection. This mode of travel should only be undertaken for a good reason. Sooner or later, a virulant pathogen is going to strike me down and the consequences may be deadly. All that can I do is to minimise the chances of encountering such an organism. Being a hermit certainly has appeal as I'm quite done with the world of people and yet I'm not quite ready for the next.