This morning I got up, got my cup of water and bowl of oatmeal. I could feel my stomach tighten, the last thing it wanted was another serving of this tasteless gruel.
WELL UNTIL I BECOME A REAL LIVE BOY AGAIN WITH REAL LIVE TASTEBUDS, YOU GET JACK SQUAT, CARDBOARD DOUG! What good is feeding hot buttered toast, scrambled eggs and sizzling Canadian bacon to a Doug that can’t taste anything?
Today is Day 7 of losing my sense of smell & taste to covid, and it’s making me a little crazy. I’m not just talking about food. Toothpaste, soap, shampoo, lemon scented kitchen wipes, Fabreze spray, Bounce dryer sheets… their scents are all gone.
I’ve read that for 3 out of 4 Covid patients who experience this olfactory dysfunction, it lasts on average 21 days; but a full quarter of patients are still dealing with the loss 60 days later.
I don’t think that will be me though, I’ve gotten a recent glimmer of hope. Two things—a jar of Jif Peanut Butter and a bottle of yellow mustard. The peanut butter is tasteless, but if I wave it back & forth under my nose for a minute or two.. I get the faintest whiff of peanuts. The yellow mustard has no odor, but if I put a dollop on my tongue, I think I can taste something sour! It only works once for both, I have to wait a couple hours to try either again, but all I can do is keep hoping the Blue Fairy comes around and turns me into a real boy.
What was I going to write next? I lost my train of thought. My tv is on right now while I’m typing this, and I just heard “In 2020, Americans aged 60 and over were scammed out of one billion dollars in savings. In 2022, that amount is estimated to be three bllion dollars.” I’m now an American aged 60 and over!
I have noticed an abundance of scam emails this past year from reputable looking sources like “Amazon Security” and “Microsoft Accounts Team”, but I’ve grown tired of wondering and now just delete everything unsolicited. Bastards.
Speaking of Amazon, I just received 3 packages from them and I’m excited. I don’t want to share what’s in these just yet, let’s just say they are… precision instruments for something I’m planning on writing about in 2-3 more weeks. Heh heh!
And speaking of distractions, someone just slid a piece of paper under my front door.
I’ve been expecting this, a notice from Steiner Associates (who manage my apartment building) that my new lease is now online and awaiting my signature. (If it doesn’t become effective until April 1, why am I obligated to sign it every year by February 15??)
Anyway, I’ve been especially nervous this year, wondering what the rent increase will be. Since moving here April 2017, my monthly rent has increased $20 for each year. In April 2018 it went from 710 to 730, in 2019 to 750, in 2020 to 770, in 2021 to $790.00. But there’s been talk from other tenants of rent increases being higher in 2022 then in previous years, what with inflation and everything going up in price. I can’t take the suspense, I must go online and look.
Dear Douglas E. Morris ,
I/We, Douglas E. Morris, hereby agree to renew the present LEASE for the property located at 925 California Avenue, Apt 402, for the term of 1 year from 04/01/2022 and upon the same terms and conditions as set forth in said LEASE except; the new monthly rent shall be $810.00
Well, I can’t say I’m thrilled about my rent going up $20, but I really was expecting worse. I suppose I’d better get off here and get busy, I’m hoping if I work up a real appetite today my dinner might become a little closer tasting to real food tonight. Wish me luck!
I think I told you this before but my sense of smell came back on a family vacation as I was driving by a cattle feedlot in Kansas somewhere. S#%t never smelled so good.
ReplyDeleteFor me, taste wasn't as big an ordeal. I just kept eating what I normally ate and used my imagination as to what I was tasting. By doing that, I could achieve a level of "taste" that was tolerable until it actually came back.
Oh no, Mr. Cardboard Dougie. The non-working nose is a bummer. I think I would just stop eating much at at all, which wouldn't hurt me for awhile. What about getting some of those liquid shakes in cartons, like Ensure or Premier Protein while you can't taste food. You'd get your protein, and most are low in sugar. Then you wouldn't be hungry as much. Even peanut butter and mustard on those cardboard fries wouldn't be very good.
ReplyDeleteIs that your drawing of yourself? Are you a character artist hiding in your exhausted body? Keep drinking lots of fluid; guess beer wouldn't hurt. Please check with your doc or Fauci about how to keep recovering. We're SO glad you're a bit better. (I have to be a bad tease and state to probably still wear deodorant...someone might come to your door.) Linda in Kansas
Thanks Linda, the Ensure stuff is actually a pretty good idea! I had these carnation breakfast meal drinks that require milk, but I'm afraid to use milk right now as I can't tell if it's good or turning! And yes that little goofy doodle is supposed to be me, and thank you as always for the medical advice! 🙂👍
DeleteDoug,
ReplyDeleteLinda beat me to it. I was thinking that you could at least save money on deodorant since you can't smell and you are basically locked down. I'm sure people in your apartment will give you the wide berth for a while even knowing you are well now.
Now would be a good time to eat only healthy foods since they all are tasteless anyway. Cottage cheese or yogurt instead of ice cream? Time to go for texture instead of taste. Hope this problem is soon behind you and you are a real boy soon.
Curious what Amazon brought you.
Thank you Patti, and yeah you and Linda have an ornery streak in you! It didn't occur to me I didn't have to worry about being too smelly right now! 😉 Well I am eating healthy, sorta; I just finished off a plate of green beans and a boiled potato with a lot of garlic, trying to wake things up in there! Thank you as always for your awesome comments, I'm looking forward to sharing what I got from Amazon soon. 🙂♥️
DeleteI would absolutely hate that and hope that the signs of returning smell/taste will be a harbinger of things to come...and quickly! Considering that Younger Daughter pays $1 000 per month to live in a shady part of Tacoma, I didn't blink at your rent. Costs are SO high here! I'm fortunate to own my home, actually two homes. If I had to buy or rent now, money would be extremely tight!
ReplyDeleteA thousand dollars! That shouldn't have surprised me, I know how expensive your area is, Margaret. But you do live in a very desired location. My rent is actually a little higher than average, cuz I live in a better neighborhood. Of course, Pittsburgh is no Seattle. 🙂. That's wonderful that you own two homes there!
DeletePittsburgh is probably nicer than Seattle these days. But the housing prices still remain HIGH, probably due to so many wealthy tech workers in the city and suburbs.
DeleteHi Doug, sorry you still can’t taste or smell properly. Glad to hear you are improving.
ReplyDeleteCompared to rentals here your rent is very reasonable. I would have assumed living in a big city the rents would have been much higher.
I am very curious to find out what is in your three packages!
Take care.❤️
Robin
Thank you Robin! You know, I'm glad people like you and the others are speaking up about rents, I suppose I feel a little better about mine being fair priced. Well the cost of living has always been one of Pittsburgh's bigger selling points. But I can still remember my first apartment in the city costing $285, and me wondering if I was getting ripped off. 😄. Hope all is good with you and Chuck! 🙂♥️
DeleteSorry to hear the 'taste and smell' problem is continuing. But just think how much you will appreciate it when it returns! I would immediately make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when that happens!! And I have to agree that even though it's an increase in rent, your rent is still pretty reasonable. And Patti mentioning about those in your apartment giving you a wide berth... made me think that now that DH has also had Covid, will I have to answer those constant questions "Have you had Covid or been around anyone else that was positive for Covid?" with a Yes? and if so, what happens next when you have to admit that your immediate family has had the plague?? But seriously, present taste/smell problem aside, I'm glad you seem to be feeling better.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much Rian, and I think a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a wonderful idea, I can't wait! Anyway you make a good point about those covid questions, is it better to admit I had it? Well, I am glad your DH got through it, as have I. Rian, I honestly believe everybody is going to get it at one point so I'm not going to worry about any associated stigma. And I very much hope you're able to continue steering clear of it. 🙂👍♥️
DeleteSo great to see a drawing! (For your friends reading this, Doug's a terrific artist and his throw-away-did-it-in-less-than-a-minute "doodles" are real art. I'm sorry for your rent increase. Though you do live in a really nice part of Pittsburgh, and I'm bundling up to go outside and shovel out front and behind the house for the next hour so that the UPS driver doesn't end up suing us while expecting a package. P.S. Jessica hasn't gotten her smell back since November :(
ReplyDeleteThanks very much Shawn, but please don't put it in anyone's head I'm more than a doodler! Anyway, please be careful about the shoveling I very much mean it. And wow I did not know that about your daughter-in-law, God poor Jessica. Please give her my best and thank you for the kind comments. 🙂♥️♥️♥️
DeleteOdds are, you should regain at least partial taste and olfactory senses in a couple of weeks. Can't imagine being without those senses. Food, understandably a drag! Compared to most Canadian rents, Doug, I think you are getting EXCELLENT value for your digs. Crazy curious about those three little packages!!!
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Florence my dear, I don't know why it is that you always manage to make me laugh! As always thank you kindly, and there'll be more on those three little packages very soon. 😉♥️♥️♥️
Delete$810 per month sounds reasonable to me, especially with the laundry room, the gym etc. Do you just have the one bedroom? my daughter pays $480 per WEEK for a 120 year old crumbling three bedroom house with iffy plumbing and wiring. Any repairs are done by the landlord, things just get patched up with whatever he has handy in his toolbox until things get so bad he has to call in his plumber. Her rent goes up every year too.
ReplyDeleteI really hope your taste and smell return very soon. I've heard of UNvaccinated recoverers still not having taste or smell a year later.
River it is just one bedroom, but it did come with a new kitchen and the living room is the biggest LR I've ever seen in an apartment. I'm so sorry about your daughter and what she's paying, is it expensive to live in Australia for everyone? I follow this one Australian on YouTube who only eats at fast food places, but the prices are always so high. He pays $11 for a burger that costs $4 in America. Oh well thank you for your kind wishes. 🙂💕
DeleteWe are used to it so to us it might seem a little overpriced, but I am constantly surprised by how cheap food is over there.
DeleteI suspect though that the $11 burger also came with fries, a drink and maybe a dessert.
It's so good to see you back and feeling good enough to blog! Sorry about your loss of taste and smell. That has to make eating difficult. I agree with Linda that it might help to try some kind of protein drink at least occasionally. My brother lost his taste due to cancer treatments and he said protein drinks made a big difference for him.
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad your rent went up but I agree with others that anything under $1000 for an apartment is a great price. My son has rented apartments in three different states and said it was almost impossible to find anything under $1000. From what you have shown us your place is really nice and you are in a convenient location.
You mentioned scams for people over sixty. I will warn you it seems to get worse the older you get! I even get scam texts. Did you draw that picture of yourself? You have a real talent! You should show us some of your other work. Please take care of yourself and I hope your taste comes back soon. Sure wish I knew what all the secrecy is about those packages! ; )
Hi Bonnie, thanks so much for your input. How is your brother? By the way I am going to buy those protein drinks when I go to the store today or tomorrow, thank you. I realized yesterday that when you're not tasting anything, it's very hard to get your nutrients. That is shocking about apartment prices too though to be honest I'm hearing this more and more. I hate taking comfort from others struggles, but it's making me feel better about my own rent increase. And yes that is my own goofy doodle, I've just enjoyed drawing as long as I can remember. I don't know about talent though, for me it's more like repetition! 🙂. Anyway thank you again Bonnie you're always such a dear. 🙂💕💕
DeleteMy brother is still dealing with after effects of the radiation but overall he is doing much better. Thank you for asking.
DeleteI have to tell you that since I have not been following your blog as long as others, I have been reading some of your past posts to catch up. Doug, your short story "The Séance" is incredible! I truly enjoyed it and could not get to bed last night until I had read it all. I love those kinds of stories. Have you tried to get it published? I think you could. It's also very sweet that you wrote it for your niece.
Bonnie you are so sweet I almost missed this! I did see your comment on that old story (which made my day). Thanks so much. At the time I wrote it, we had just lost Mom and my niece her grandma. She was into spooky stories so I was walking a pretty fine line there! No I never tried to get it published, but it sure meant a lot, you're taking the time to read it. I'm glad to hear your brother is doing better and thanks again for the kindness Bonnie. 🙂
DeleteYes, Doug, your rent increase was reasonable. Mine went up $205 for the year, to $1,200. It's a two-bedroom apartment and was once considered a deal, but not any more. I lost my taste and smell for a couple weeks but it did come back but not like it was before. At least I can taste much of my food! :-)
ReplyDeleteDJan, I very much appreciate you sharing but reading this really shocked me. Your rent really went up that much money in one year? I know you live in a beautiful area, and have a two bedroom but that is still outrageous. How do they expect anyone to afford that kind of increase. More and more, I'm feeling better and better about my own place! And thank you for sharing your own experience with the smell and taste thing, I know you went thru this too and I was wondering how long yours lasted. I sure hope we're alike in that respect. 😉♥️👍
DeleteI know several people with Covid who lost their taste, then got it back. So I'm sure you'll be okay. Meanwhile, eat lots of kale. It's good for you ... and you can't taste it!
ReplyDeleteHahaha!! Tom I'm sitting here laughing but that's actually a great idea! I'm going to have to do that, thank you! 😄👍
DeleteKale is sneaky (and horrible), you probably CAN taste that!
DeleteWe can call you Doodle Bug Doug! While the loss of smell and taste might be a drag, I am very glad that you seem to have escaped the killer ones.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I like that nickname thanks Debby! And thank you for your kind thoughts. 🙂♥️
DeleteKiller symptoms, I meant.
ReplyDeleteOh my, I hope your sense of taste and smell returns to normal. And rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in Hawaii is around $1,500 per month. A luxury apt would cost even more! So what you pay is not bad at all.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gigi! Well, it never got about 16° here today in Pittsburgh, so I guess you get what you pay for! I hope you're feeling better! ♥️🙂
DeleteI was about to say the same thing as Gigi. $810 sounds really reasonable from where we're standing.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry you're still suffering the lack of smell and taste, Doug. It is a bummer. However, it's kept my weight down. That's what I told my diabetic counselor yesterday. :-) I'm glad you're on the upswing though. I really think you're an amazing caricaturist!
Thanks Kay! I've been thinking a lot about you this last week, wondering if this is your normal, not smelling or tasting anything. I'm glad it's helped you keep in shape, but I'd prefer to work my tail off and taste everything! How did this happen to you, anyway? Well thank you again for the very kind words, and I'm just a goofy doodler! 😊💕😉
DeleteKay! I did not know you were dealing with covid too! When did THAT happen???
DeleteDebby, I believe Kay lost her sense of taste before the whole covid thing but I don't know how. 🙁
DeleteIt is okay, Kay. I've always been know for my lack of taste.
Delete🤣 Debby, you’re so funny.
DeleteI’m sure I lost my sense of smell which impacted taste at least 10 years ago. I’ve had brain scans, throat scans, etc.
I showed your “doodling” to Art, Doug and he said you are more than a doodler. He was really impressed. I always am too.
Kay, thanks for answering Debby's question and I sure am sorry about your loss going on 10 years now. Ugh! 😟 And thank you for the kind words about my doodles, you & Art are too nice! 🙂👍♥️
DeleteI'm so sorry, no Taste of Food AND a hefty Rent increase. I am recovering from The Rona but luckily didn't lose Taste or Smell, but the Younger Victim in the house did lose his, but it came back okay for him. I'm a Foodie, but I could stand to lose 60 lbs., tho' I think I'd rather do it in an easier way than not being able to taste or smell anything... that would eliminate so many things I enjoy in daily life. I do hope your senses recover fully... as for Inflation, not much we can do about it.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much, Bohemian...glad to hear you're feeling better and also glad your younger one recovered from the senses loss. I think I have a little brain fog from that covid and wasn't even aware of it. I just returned home from the store and the cashier asked me something a couple times, then joked I must be recovering from covid! I didn't tell her anything! 🙂👍
DeleteI have The Fog too, it makes me look and feel like a doddery Old Senior and I'm hopeful it eventually goes away because people are having to repeat things for it to process and they say I have that Lost Look. Funny that the Cashier can spot The Fog, must have seen it playing out a lot!?
DeleteHaha--I guess those cashiers are experts! And yes that's precisely what happened to me when I asked for $25.00 cash, the cashier said "You have to put your debit card back in.. sir? Did you hear me?" I don't know what I was thinking :^)
DeleteI lost my taste and smell for 9 months. I then read that taking zinc every day might help. I took 45 mg a day and on day 20 I had full taste and smell. The funny thing is that I had no symptoms of Covid and was never sick.
ReplyDelete9 months!! That's pretty awful, I'm sorry Karen. On the other hand, you are the third person to recommend zinc, I'm picking that up for sure on Monday when I go to the pharmacy. Thanks for the tip and I'm glad that worked out for you. :^)
DeleteSorry to read you've been coping with Covid and especially that you've experienced some sensory loss. I do hope it returns soon. I wonder if repeated concentrated stimulation with various tastes, sweet, sour, etc. will help speed the process? I've not researched to see if some science folks or others are exploring this.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much Joared--well, that's exactly what I've been doing every day. I got one of those 'Neti' nose sticks (where you inhale deeply on something mediciney) and also doing daily "smell-thrus" of various spices and tasting stuff like dark chocolate daily. I think I'm getting a couple smells back. :^)
DeleteErrrr...you are showering, right?
DeleteWhat the--!! Yes Debby I didn't mean I was getting those smells! 😄
DeleteLOL. Haven't lost your sense of humor, I see!
ReplyDelete