A triple threat of problems had conspired since the first major bike ride after the lockdown.  

Prior to the ride I got bitten by an insect or something with venom.  Whatever it was, I never had anything like it before and the bite got majorly infected.  The wound was aggravated by falling into the water during the boating.  Over the next week the infection got so bad that I couldn't even stand up since the blood would rush into the wound and make it very painful.  Finally I saw a doctor and he prescribed antibiotic cream as well as oral medication.   My only guess is that somehow my immune system was well out of wack after the last few years, and maybe even the covid vaccines had something to do with it?  

Secondly, the Achilles tendon problem had compounded and worsened.  It made getting back into workouts quite an ordeal.  I was able to book a physio appointment and do several rounds of treatment that helped a lot.

Finally, the bike accident from about two weeks ago where I smashed my two front teeth showed good signs of healing.  I was glad I sought out a second opinion because the dentist told me to wait longer and they'll run more diagnostics.  She was impressed with the healing and said maybe there wouldn't need to be a root canal.

Overlaying all of this was the rapid rise of a new wave of covid cases, this time brought about by KTV operations.  These cases were detected a lot earlier than March which meant that the city avoided a second lockdown.  We were all super anxious about this and many rumors were flying, yet again, of an imminent return to lockdown.

Heart

1

Comment

0

Link

Log in to comment or reply

But it didn't happen.  Instead the temperatures soared to over 100 degrees for nearly a week and caused record highs.  Unbelievably, most of the people here didn't even bat an eye over this.  They were more worried about the latest covid outbreak.  Mass testing was done multiple times a week in the compounds and with this searing heat.   

Heart

0

Comment

0

Link

Log in to comment or reply

Heart

1

Comment

0

Link

Log in to comment or reply

On one of those 100+ degree days I loaded up the bicycle with totes full of books and papers from the nearby storage locker.  The mission was to empty out that locker and bring everything to our new place which was incredibly spacious and much larger than the chicken coop we had endured over two months of lockdown in.

As for how this new place came about, we made friends with someone in the group shopping chats during lockdown.  This person helped us ordering food and allowing us access when the others in the compound denied access on account of me being a wicked entitled spoiled foreign devil.  We later found out this friend was leaving China in a hurry, moving off to Bangkok and breaking her house contract.  I only wish we were her.  She needed someone to fill the lease asap, and we stepped in to do that.  It was a good win/win situation meanwhile, as the house is massive and comfortable.  In the event of another lockdown, it would be more bearable to stay in this nicer place and it is still within the same compound.  In fact when we did the big move over the weekend, we didn't have to worry if the compound (on either end) was to get locked down or not.

I got soaked in sweat with various bike ride errands due to the heat, but the plan had to continue full steam ahead with the downsizing operations that I had started momentum on during the lockdown.

As for the previous job interview in Thailand, well you can kind of guess what happened.  I turned down the job.   It didn't pay well, but that wasn't really the issue.  The interviewer said, "You could spend a year on Koh Phangan and figure out what to do next with your life, this would be the ideal transition.  As you recover from the lockdown, you could do some DJing on the island, maybe join a band, just chill and heal."

He painted a good picture, and later I would meet people in Cambodia who re-ignited this possibility of transition.  But for whatever reason, and I think we all know the fucking reason anyway, I didn't go for it just then.