Getting Tested

Working retail...I figured it would only be a matter of time before I had to go get a COVID test.

Because honestly....with how many people I see on a near daily basis...despite all the precautions in the world, the odds aren't really stacked in my favor at all in fully avoiding getting it.

Especially after seeing how well....unsafe customers can be in general. How many disregard safety precautions and fight to have it 'their way'

In any case.

For the past little while I've been feeling...run down.

And I've attributed it all to like...well stress...and to the typical seasonal cold one gets this time of year when the weather shifts to winter.

Despite the achy muscles and the slightly sore throat...I figured it was just a cold.

Still am hoping that it's that in any case.

However...I had another manager of mine test positive yesterday. And while I haven't worked with them since Friday....their symptoms they mentioned having are similar to the ones I've been experiencing.

Kinda.

The manager complained mostly of muscle achiness. Which I've definitely had that for like the past month it feels like. Again I attributed it to stress. 

But what if it wasn't stress. What if it wasn't a cold?

Talking to my fellow manager more they stated that they'd also been suffering from a constant headache.

Which...it's hard to tell with me because I'm prone to getting headaches/migraines all the time.

But I did spend the last week and a half suffering from like daily headaches....which again I attributed to stress because I get stressed out easily.

The other symptom this manager mentioned having though was a fever.

Which I do not have. 

And I don't have the other major symptoms of the virus. The fever, cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste/smell. 

I don't have those.

I do have a sore throat that's been bugging me off and on for like the past month as well though. -Mostly it tends to get triggered if I talk too much or I eat too much sugar.

Again....not a concern...and is a common symptom of a cold. Especially with the recent addition of having to deal with mucus running down the back of my throat.

*exhales*

But I figured....since my manager's main complaint was muscle achiness and that's what I've been dealing with too....and the fact that I have this week off from work because I needed to use up my vacation time before the end of the year....

Now is as good as any to get tested as I can get my results back without having to miss work in the meantime. 

Though I can only imagine the nightmare it's gonna be at work if I do test positive. *exhales* *fingers crossed* that It's only the seasonal cold and it's nothing.

But to be safe I did go get tested.

Which was a...fun experience.

Like I managed to avoid the nose swab so woot!! As the facility I went to to get tested was doing saliva testing instead. :D 

But yah...it was a work and a half trying to figure out how to 'sign up' to get tested at a testing site online, and then upon arriving at the test site they were like "You need to have a QR code and you only get that if you're registered. So here's this number you call, so go park in our COVID parking lot and wait for them to answer the phone so we can get your medical history and such." 

*exhales* Like....I get it. Though waiting 45 minutes in a car for them to pick up the phone was...rather tedious. And I know that they want to make sure the person getting tested has insurance and such to cover the test and the like---which was fun because I hadn't updated my insurance since I switched to my work insurance because I haven't needed to go to the doctor in years.....so that took a bit more time to get that sorted out.

But yah....for a 5-10 minute thing....I totally didn't expect to have to take an entire hour and a half to get this done. Especially when 45 minutes off that was waiting for a representative.

Makes me wonder if it would have gone faster if I'd picked a different place.

In any case. The spit test itself wasn't that difficult to do...though I might have accidentally overfilled my container. :S Oops. 

And I definitely struggled to screw the sealing lid on because for whatever reason the lid wasn't threading with the container. *shakes head*

But overall it was a safe process.

I stayed in my car the entire time and when I dropped off my vial of spit through their 'drive thru tent', they had me clean off the outside with a wipe, place the sticker on the vial myself, and then drop it in a 'hazard bag' to get sent off to their testing center.

The people there were all rather nice and dressed to the nines in safety equipment which helped me feel safe and I'm glad also helps to protect them. I don't envy them at all facing hundreds of people day in and day out to get tested. 

Now it's just a matter of the waiting game. 

They say it can take up to 48 hours to get results back. 

Here's hoping that my test is negative. *fingers crossed*

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi