#woke up at 5am with the chills and sore arm

[klavichord]

Guy who decided to get two vaccines the day before we were supposed to start moving.

[maggyoutthere]

I can't believe I actually fINISHED THIS HOLY SHIT-

The chapters are more than 4000 words long combined. I literally never wrote something this big damn. As much as this is supposed to be satire of bad creepypastas, this little shit found its way into my heart. I'll treasure it as probably the best thing I've written, like, ever XD

‼Tws for blood and body horror

First part here

Second part here

Sonic: Battle of Metal and Blood (Part 3 - Finale)

Synopsis: Local teen faces off against whatever is haunting this game and dies(?)

The game took a while to load again.

I was already making backup plans in my head in the case this didn't work. I could always ask people online if anyone had ever known about this game, even get my brother to help me record some clips of it to post on forums and sites. If that didn't work, maybe try and dump the file on my PC? That could be dangerous; if it was making the console crash and restart, I didn't want to know what it could do to my computer.

I was thrown in the same level. Well that was weird. It was the exact same jungle, or at least it looked like it at first. I could tell it was now supposed to be night time since everything had almost a dark blue filter over it, even Tails, who I was playing as this time. The night filter made the level a bit harder since I couldn't see some things properly, but it was still playable. It looked just like any Sonic game from that time, but I knew something was definitely up with it. I just flew over some badniks and made my way across the level (I missed smashing stuff with Amy's hammer so I just tried to escape that level as quickly as possible)

I entered the same clearing, fearing what would happen to Tails this time. Guy was 8, and I doubted SEGA would let their employees just kill off a kid on screen; but again, as far as I knew this game wasn't even supposed to be here. It could've been some unhappy worker or employee gone rogue making a statement. It wasn't helping to be honest. As I followed the exact same route as Amy, I found Metal Sonic again, still stepping on... something. It was too dark to see what it was. It just made squishy and disgusting noises as he pressed his foot on top of it. For an old game, the audio design was pretty unsettling and well done.

I didn't want to get closer to the guy, so I tried flying over him and getting to a checkpoint or something, anything besides confronting that thing. As soon as I made Tails take off from the ground, Metal came flying at him. I almost shrieked as I tried getting the little guy away from that thing, immediately making him land and sprint out of there as fast as possible. In all that panic, I didn't even notice when he tripped over whatever Metal was stepping on and fell on his face. No matter how many buttons I pressed or how hard I pressed them, Tails wouldn't get up. Metal catched up with him and the screen went black as soon as the two collided.

Those same red eyes were back on screen, staring straight back at me. I was with my face glued to the television from all the anxiety that little chase scene gave me, so I jumped back when the thing looked back at me. It felt like it was looking directly at me.

"I want ears like yours"

There it was again

"I want arms like yours"

"I want a mind to think and a heart to feel like yours"

I wanted to punch the screen; I had no idea what was going on. This was starting to get unsettling. Then, I was back in the main menu, the game's menu. It didn't crash this time, at least that. Tails was gone, like Amy. Now, Sonic was there, facing his metal faker. The two looked like they were about to punch each other in an epic pose. Visually it looked great, but then it hit me. "Battle of Metal and Blood"; did it mean faker versus organic? So the two were going to fight again? Maybe we could still get a happy ending of some sorts.

I didn't even flinch. I pressed continue.

The jungle was gone. I was in some facility  now, playing as the blue hedgehog himself this time. The level layout was much different this time; there were more loops, enemies, spikes and so on. Maybe it was only because I was playing as Sonic this time, so I could just speed my way through the level without having to worry about smashing enemies or flying away from them. I got through the level and ended up reaching an empty room; Metal Sonic was there.

I had never been much of a player myself; I'd rather stand by the sidelines and watch as more experienced people got through all the hard levels. Sure I played a lot when I was a kid but I hadn't carried that with me to adolescence. Now I had to do it myself. Hours of playing Sonic CD as a 12 year old, don't fail me now.

The boss fight music kicked in and a large door slammed shut, covering the way out. It was actually kinda hard landing a hit on the guy; I was supposed to dodge his attacks until he got tired and stopped, then parry on certain parts of the walls and spin dash at Metal Sonic as many times as I could while he was down. The thing was: I was awful at parrying. I sucked at anything that involved aiming, but I was somehow able to pull it off well enough to send the guy to his knees after around 20 minutes of dodging and parrying things.

When I hit him for the last time, it looked like I'd split his face in half or something. There were some pieces of Metal Sonic's shiny blue cover scattered around the arena. He just stood still for a while covering his face. Did I do it? Was he deactivating or something? My fingers were getting sore from holding the control and mashing buttons so hard. He wouldn't move on his own, so I just made Sonic approach him to maybe give the final blown.

As I got closer to him, Metal immediately lashed at Sonic again, trying to hold him down. You could see his face a bit better and… it was kinda red. What was that? Was he changing to another phase or something? The screen went black again.

Staring back at me were no longer those two red beacons; there was only one this time, as Metal Sonic did have half of his face completely torn apart. The uncovered half of his face was a bloodied, pulsating mess of flesh and wires. Coils, staples and stitches kept the mass of muscle and whatever else he had inside of him crudely stuck together. Two different colored eyes were shoved in one eye socket as the whole thing now oozed with blood and oil.

"I need quills like yours"

"I need a body like yours"

Was that… what Amy and Tails…

"I need an organic body like yours

to become the Real Sonic"

What… the fuck… I was too shocked to even move as it cut back to the game. Metal Sonic had successfully tackled Sonic to the ground and had started clawing at his face as if trying to rip it out of his "loathsome copy". As I saw a pool of blood appearing under them, I told myself that was enough and got up to pull the cartridge right out of the console. This was just sickening. As I got closer to the console to pull the memory card out, I realised something that made me start worrying about this in a different way. As I got a good look at my Playstation 2, I realized it wasn't plugged in. It wasn't receiving any power at all. It was only connected to the TV.

How had it been working then?...

I slowly backed away from the console, and when I looked back at the screen, that darned thing was looking back at me. It was looking at me as I was trying to stop it, peeking at the side of the screen as I went to turn off my Playstation. That thing knew I was there. No no no, this couldn't be happening. I started shaking as I realized there was something looking back at me though the screen. Its red eyes pierced into my soul, and I didn't know how to stop it.

"I WANT A SOUL… LIKE YOURS"

I shrieked as I finally pulled the cartridge out of the console, throwing it against the wall to my side in pure fear. The screen immediately went to static and the Playstation opened by itself, the Sonic Gems Collection DVD taunting me. That was NOT just a game. Whatever it was, whoever it was, I was terrified to even pick up the memory card. I put the DVD back in its box and turned off the console. I tried taking deep breaths and getting some sleep; it was late, I'd drank a lot of coffee. Maybe all the coffee I was having had created this fever dream. I begged for that to be the situation. Still, I got no sleep that night. My eyes were focused on the TV right in front of my bed, its bright red ON/OFF button giving me panic attacks each time I thought I saw it moving. If I didn't know better, I'd have believed the thing had been watching me all night.

Would it come for me next?

I ended up passing out around 5AM; I was constantly checking my phone to see the time and messaging my friends. I tried explaining the situation to them but they thought I was either messing with them or that I had somehow dreamed the whole situation. I was dead-sure I hadn’t though. I woke up around 2PM and, according to my brother, I looked like shit. Not even he would believe me when I told him what had happened last night; I couldn’t have dreamed the whole thing up even if I wanted to. There had to be something to prove it was all real… the memory card. If I played the game in front of him, he’d have to believe me. After getting breakfast, I pulled my bro back to my room to show him the game. I hesitantly went to pick up the memory card I had thrown against the wall yesterday, but it was no longer there.

“What are you looking for?”

“The memory card; it was right here! Help me look for it!”

“You mean this one?” he pointed at the Playstation.

The fucking cartridge had plugged itself back on the console. What was that thing, and how was it doing that?! The TV screen lit up with static as me and my bro jumped back; we looked at each other in panic and confusion as no one had even touched the TV. We could feel the electricity flowing through the air, giving us chills and making our hair stand up. My brother grabbed my hand as we saw the darned thing appear in front of the static, its shiny metallic cover still split in half. I froze in fear with my little brother to protect right there; I should’ve done more, I should’ve gotten rid of that cursed thing as soon as I unplugged it from the console last night. That thing placed its hands against his side of the screen, its fingers twitching as the blood made the metal hinges rust and creak. The edges of the screen leaked with blood as if he was trying to break this barrier that separated him from us. It looked at us the same way it looked at me; ready to take what he believed was his.

“I… WANT… SOULS LIKE YOURS… AND I WILL HAVE THEM…"

[curlyhairedprince]

oof I was hoping the booster shot wouldn’t come with as bad side effects as the second dose :(( i hope you start feeling better!!

nah the funny thing is the first and second dose was easy af for me but yesterday when i got home and got into bed i suddenly felt so fucking cold and got the worst chills of my life, like i was shivering so much and it took me like 2 hours to fall asleep and then when i woke up at like 5am the complete opposite was the case and i think i had a fever lmao, but i feel much better now, just a little headache and my arm is very sore. gotta say, at least now i know my body is actually working with the vaccine so i am not mad lmao. and thank you to every one for the well wishes 🥺���

[luckyspike]

I forgot to do an update about my COVID VACCINE but i did not die i just forgot bc i was really tired yesterday (yes, probs from the vaccine)

so yeah. I had the second Pfizer shot on Monday, 01/25, and although my arm was sore a few hours later and i had a mild headache, it was nothing some acetaminophen couldn’t take care of. I worked a full shift, went home, cooked dinner, and went to bed

I woke up around 5am the next day (01/26) with chills and body aches, although interestingly when i took my temperature it was a relatively normal 99F. still, i took another dose of acetaminophen and went back to bed

i was able to work the next day, but was extremely tired and had a sore arm. fortunately, i was scheduled to work remotely for the afternoon, so after i finished up at the office i went home and used my lunch break to take a nap, which allowed me to work the rest of the afternoon. as the evening went on, i started to feel more back to normal, and i went to bed at a normal time

this morning (01/27) i woke up feeling fine. my arm is still a little bit sore, but i have not felt like i needed to take anything else for pain/headache/fever, and i have not had a fever at any of the required temp checks i do at my job. so pretty much back to normal i think.

i have heard of some delayed reactions, so i might check back in, but assuming my post-vaccine course follows the usual trajectory, i think that should be about it, and i likely won’t write about it much more. i do want to say that aside from the physical effects, emotionally it was a very intense process for me. i do struggle with anxiety anyway, and through the process of getting the vaccines i experienced all kinds of anxiety, guilt, relief, amazement, etc. Right now i just feel intensely, intensely grateful to have been able to be apart of this process, and humbled by the amazing scientists who worked on this. 

now everyone go out and do some shots (shots shots shots shots shots shots everybody)

[bespectacledbookworm]

Pfizer Symptoms Log

To distract me from the pain.

Thursday, 3:30 pm- Recieved Vaccine. Felt nothing, didn't hurt.

8/9 pm: arm slightly sore, but nothing else.

Thursday night/ Friday Morning, 3 am: full body chills/ aches, fever. I had to keep rubbing my thighs to distract myself from the pain. Fell asleep finally for two hours.

Friday, 5am: woke up with racing heartbeat, super hot but also cold, super thirsty. Managed to drag myself out of bed to fill my water bottle.

Friday, 8:40 am-- woke up in time for school, managed to get through my one class. Felt tired, a little achey, hungry. And cold.

Friday, afternoonish-- headache (probably from not eating-- I coudln't get up to make myself something) slept on the couch for a few hours until Dad brought me some chicken noodle that was horribly salty (Panera get your shit together). I'm drinking water a lot, and peeing just as much. Very annoying bc I just want to lay down, but also, water is all can stomach right now. Its a combination of nausea and being afraid that eating will make me even more nauseous. Fever of 100 degrees F.

Friday, 9 pm: tired. achey, especially in back and hips and weridly, knees. Probably still feverish. Hopefully this doesn't last too long.

[hahafucksewingmachines]

5AM now: when I posted I was feeling so warm and in like a fever stare of mind. Shortly after I started to get chills but I was still feeling warm. Somehow I fell asleep for like an hour and a half and I just woke up and I’m feeling a lot better. Hopefully that was it for side effects, besides the sore arm 🤞

11 hours post-booster, it’s 3AM and I can’t sleep. Pretty sure I have a fever but don’t feel like getting out of bed to check or get a tylenol. I’m tired but my body won’t let me sleep

[alanaparliament]

Panama to Colombia

Hello from the Cartagena Aeropuerto! We made it safe and sound across the rough seas from Panama to Colombia (although I did not think we would during some points). I’m going to rewind to Panama City. Our days there were very chill, just as the rest of Panama had been for us. For the last two nights we stayed in a really nice hotel called the Tryp by Wyndham. It had a pool, a steam room, a sauna, a buffet breakfast, and a nice room for us to organize our things before our big 5 day sailing trip. I bought a GoPro before leaving the city because Eric’s had stopped working as long ago as Costa Rica. We really wanted one for the boat, and for the rest of South America - and I’m glad we did as I have some amazing footage to show you! On our final day in Central America Eric and I ventured to the Panama Canal to see the famous Miraflores Locks. There was an interesting museum; but what we were most interested in was getting to see the canal in action with a cruise ship! I’m glad we left the hotel for that. The rest of our final night was dedicated to packing and getting ready for the early 5am bus pick-up.

Sailing Day 1:

‘The 5am bus pick-up and the windy road to the boat day’

I really didn’t need to get motion sick before going out on the water, but that drive did it. We were taken out to our beautiful catamaran “The Santana” by a small boat and were greeted by our friend Greg - the Captain. After organizing passports and assigning beds (he gave Eric and I the biggest one closest to the back - thank god), we were sailing around the San Blas Islands. While we were sailing, a pod of dolphins started swimming right in front of our boat! They were jumping and playing and keeping up with us. I love them! Our first stop wasn’t too far from our take off point, and it was paradise. We parked in front of a tiny 400 meter long Island covered with Palm trees and white sand. After a beer or two Eric and I went for a snorkel. We saw huge starfish, a mini lobster, a mini eel, and several fish. It was pretty good for our first time in the water. After that it was dinner and socializing with our new friends (17 of us in total).

Sailing Day 2:

‘The oh my god I can’t believe I got trapped on the reef twice day’

We woke up, had breakfast, and did a short sail to our next stop in the San Blas. Greg parked the boat in front of two small islands perpendicular to each other. This is where we would spend the day and night. So we hopped in the crystal clear water and began our snorkelling adventure. The water and the reef at this location were breathtaking. Eric and I were so into what we saw that we didn’t realize we were being pushed towards to the shallowest part of the reef. There came a point where the sharp coral was only inches below us, and the breaking waves only pushed us further onto it. We were both at a point where we were literally stuck on the reef and we couldn’t make our way back to the deeper water. It was very painful as the waves hit and my body was scraped up against the rock. Our only option was to walk along the coral to the shore of the beach. However, there were sea urchins everywhere! Every step was a gamble of stepping or not stepping on the spiky creatures. Not to mention the waves didn’t help with balance. Someone from the shore threw me his fins so I could walk to the beach. Eric did it barefoot, and luckily we both made it. However, I had massive scrapes, scratches, and sea urchin sores on my arms and legs. It was not fun. After that traumatic experience, we walked the length of the beach in search of a different snorkel destination where that would never happen again. So after a few pictures and one of Eric’s famous backflips we went back into the water at the tip of the island. Well, guess what happened? Everything was going smoothly until I got to the point of the waves hitting the reef. The water started getting shallower and shallower, and I was carried to a point on the reef where I was trapped again. This time I had a major breakdown because again I was getting tossed on top of the rocks. I caught my balance, sat on the reef and cried. I didn’t know what to do or why something so stupid happened twice within an hour. Again, sea urchins surrounded me, and my only option this time was to get past the breaking waves to the deeper water which seemed impossible. Eric swam over and talked me through it. I slowly made my way to him and somehow made it out of reef prison. Once we were in the deeper water, we were able to snorkel along the reef and not over top of it. It was so amazing, and near the end of our experience a beautiful eagle ray joined us. He glided around us and with us for about 15 minutes. Thank goodness for the GoPro and the footage we got of him. After that we swam back to our boat for lunch. Then Greg took our group to the other island where we hung out for the afternoon. We played beach volleyball, swam in the ocean, and enjoyed each other’s company. Then it was back to the boat for dinner. Lobster dinner. Fresh lobster dinner. It was probably the best lobster I have ever eaten. After dinner half of our group went to bed and half of us went back to the island for a bonfire and some coco locos (rum filled coconuts). On the mini boat ride over a another pod of dolphins decided to join alongside. It was dark, but Greg had a flashlight so we could see the dolphins playing. The bonfire that night was fun. It was very chill, but a great way to end a beautiful day.

Sailing Day 3:

‘The we’re not actually leaving for Colombia today because of the wind so everyone gets a bonus Day day’

Greg asked if it would be okay if we stayed where we were for one more night instead of hitting the open water that day. We all cheered. I went for a little snorkel by myself that morning (making sure to distance myself from the shallows of the reef), and came across an octopus! It was so interesting to watch him camouflage to whatever colour surrounded him. He put his defence up when I put my GoPro in his face, so fair enough. I felt so lucky to see him so close! I wanted Eric to see, so I swam back to the boat to get him. A group of us went out together in search of the creature but couldn’t find him. We came across a neat looking sting ray, but that was really it for animals we saw besides fish. We went back to the boat for some lunch, then Eric and I decided to go on a big snorkel expedition the other way along the reef and island. We geared up and were in the water for about 2 hours. The reef was absolutely stunning. We saw a trunkfish (like a box fish), a stonefish, and a massive pufferfish. By the time we got out of the water onto the beach we had goosebumps even though the sun was blistering hot. We were definitely in the water too long. We were pretty tired out, so swam back to the boat for an afternoon siesta. That evening we were invited back to the Island for another bonfire with another boat. So off we went to meet a whole new group of people and kind of celebrate my birthday. It ended up being another great night.

Sailing day 4:

‘The it’s my birthday, but all I want to do is die day’

I took a gravol in the morning thinking it would save me a little bit. Well I was wrong. I slept a lot of the day, but the ocean was so rough, that when I got up I couldn’t hold anything in. I threw up about 7 times while I was awake. I couldn’t eat anything, or move. I literally felt like I was dying. It was horrible. Eric was feeding me pills (which I threw up), and food (which I threw up), and water (which I threw up). Thank god for him looking after me and watering me like a little plant he was trying to bring back to life. But I just couldn’t. I slept as much as possible to avoid the feeling...

Sailing day 5:

‘The shit we still have about 24 hours of open water sailing, I’m going to try to sleep for 23 of them day’

Yep. We were still on the ocean every time I woke up. I had to plan my bathroom trips, and when I would try to eat something, and when I would drink water as not to become dehydrated. I mainly slept though. A lot of people slept. It was like the rocking of the boat put everyone to sleep. There was a point where I got up and watched the sunset and actually appreciated being at sea. But that lasted 20 minutes tops, because I felt nauseous right after that. So I slept.

Sailing day 6:

‘The I’ve never been more relieved to see a city skyline and hear the drop of an anchor day’

It was 5am, and the rocking of the boat stopped. My head was still swaying, but I was so happy to see the skyscrapers of Cartagena line the bay. We wouldn’t get off the boat until about 9am, so I went back to sleep. They fed us breakfast that morning, and once Greg sorted out immigration we were free! I stepped on the land and felt so dizzy, yet was so relieved. Eric and I went to our air bnb right away. It was a nice apartment in the city with AC, a shower (thank god after 6 days), a kitchen, and laundry. We spent our first day in Cartagena doing laundry, cooking, and re organizing our things after being on the boat. That night our group met up in Old Town at a bar called the Black Parrot so we could have a few drinks together and get our passports back. Lewis (the cook on our boat) baked me a birthday cake and everyone sang! It was such a nice surprise and I felt pretty special. After the birthday I had puking on the boat, I was so happy to be celebrating with everyone in Cartagena.

Overall, I am glad I did the sailing trip from Panama to Colombia. It was an experience of a lifetime, and the time spent around the San Blas Islands were amazing. I really liked our group as well. The people were awesome - passengers and crew. However, I don’t think an open water sailing trip on a boat that size is in the cards for me again. I am realizing more and more that I am not a boat person. I’m not “motion” person really. Rollercoasters are sliding down on my list of things to do as are sailing trips. It’s all good now! We’ve been in Colombia for 3 days, and are currently flying to Medellín (I’ve left the airport and am on the plane). The past couple days in Cartagena were good. Eric and I explored a Spanish Castle (more like a Fort), went to a museum, walked around the old town, ate the food, met up with friends, and really enjoyed the scorching hot city. Our next stop is the home town of Pablo Escobar! Like I said we’re all caught up on Narcos, so I’m excited to explore Medellín.

I should go now, the motion of the plane is making me a little dizzy 😉

AP 💕

[amantdc2017-blog]

Day 1: Riding from Mt. Hotham to Lakes Entrance

Today we woke up at 5am after a night of tossing and turning in anticipation for the days ahead. I jumped out of bed and got ready for the day. The outside temperature was close to sub-zero with poor visibility which was a little worrying but I thought it’d be better to ignore that small detail.

After dropping my bag into the truck I attempted to wait for a coffee at the truck outside but it was too cold. Then we were asked to stand in front of the camera for Sunrise on Channel 7 and I managed to have a quick chat with ex pro cyclist Jens Voigt (aka Jensie) who shared a quote with us from his army days in Germany, “learn to suffer without whinging” - I thought this was priceless. Dani Andreas, this ones for you!

Around 6am we went for breakfast and conducted final bike checks followed by team briefing. There were some awesome sights from Hotham as the mist started to clear and the sun came out to rise. We were actually above the clouds - what a spectacular view! And of course we were well aware that soon enough we’d be riding through those clouds to get down!

Channel 7 we’re filming and after a few pictures we rolled out around 8.30am via the Great Alpine Road. It was a cold descent with poor visibility but still refreshing! In full winter gear (but excluding leg warmers - bad mistake) I could still feel the chill, but the ride felt great!

At about 10.30am we rolled into Omeo Primary School after riding 55km. I was so surprised how excited the children were. They all wanted to high-five us which was pretty sweet. After a quick break and refuel we hit the road again.

Around 12.30pm we hit the 100km mark and it was time for a quick rest to refuel again. I was feeling pretty warm by this point so the arm warmers had to come off.

At around 128km in there was an unexpected incident as a truck passed us going around a bend. One of the riders 2 places ahead of me clipped the edge of the road and took a tumble as his tire burst, and unavoidably the guy in front of me went into the back of him. All I saw was danger as the adrenaline pumped through my body, but I managed to stay calm somehow and was very lucky to miss them both. It was scary stuff! This is a reminder that road cycling can be a dangerous sport, especially when riding in a bunch and it’s always vital to stay alert. Fortunately, both guys were okay but one of the bikes was in a bad condition. I really hope it’ll be fixed for tomorrow.

152km in and we had our final break in a small town called Bruthen. My legs were still going strong at this point and my energy levels were pretty good too! Again, after a quick refuel we continued with our journey and at this point the sun was out and the conditions were very pleasant - a complete contrast from the morning.

After 183km we arrived at Lakes Entrance and found our hotel. I was pleased to see a swimming pool and a few of us decided to take advantage and dipped our legs into the cold pool water to help recovery - it felt so good! Then we had to rush to get showered up to make dinner on time, which was a short walk away.

Today was a great day and even though the feet and shoulders are a little sore, I feel strong for tomorrow. Anyway, let’s see what tomorrow brings :-)

Ride stats: Distance: 183 km Elevation gain: 1,884 m Average speed: 28.8 km/h Body status: feeling good :-)

Please help us make a real change - please donate: https://www.tourdecure.com.au/pages/tours/signature-tour-2017/profile/bec6993350384fc999efbc1cbad456cf

[madamspeaker]

It’s around 29 hours now since I got my first vaccine shot, and it has been quite the ride. For the first 12 hours I felt nothing more than a niggle in my arm - something to be completely expected given that an injection does involve shoving a tiny piece of metal into your arm, but then after that I started to feel achy. I think we all the know the sensation when you know you’re coming down with something - it’s hard to physically describe because your body doesn’t really seem to know what is going on either, but it’s that mix of general soreness coupled with what might be chills but might not either because you genuinely don’t know what temperature you are. I went to bed in that state, and with hot water bottle for company. At 5am I woke in a sweat, but still not sure if I was cold or hot, and with my arm now really painful. Essentially it felt like I was taking the flu, but with a sore arm as an added bonus. I also had a headache - nothing overly bad, but enough that my head felt a bit heavy. 29 hours in and I think I’m over the worst of it - and to be honest I could have spared myself a whole heap of it had I taken a paracetamol (I didn’t because I had taken quite a few the day before for a sinus headache that would not bugger off, and I was just a wee bit concerned about the amount of it in my system in a 24 hour period). A shower as always helps (god they are amazing and totally underrated), and whilst I’m still not 100%, and my arm is still quite painful, I’m feeling increasingly better. I might well have a paracetamol now just speed up the recovery, but overall I’m not too bad. I’ve definitely experienced worse with the actual flu, and unlike with the actual flu, I will get protection against a virus that can be deadly with this. A few hours in bed with a hot water bottle and a sore arm is a really small price to pay to avoid a ventilator and death.

I got my first Covid vaccine shot this morning. I was given the Oxford-AstraZeneca one, and so far the only “side effect” is a tiny bit of tenderness in my arm, which is to be completely expected given that a needle was pushed into it lol. I would beg everyone to please get the vaccine, any of them, when you are offered the chance. It is so important that we all get protection against this virus, and the more of us that do, and the quicker we all get the vaccine, the less time the virus has to mutate and develop more variants. If anyone wants to ask me anything about my experience, feel free. It’s only been a couple of hours so far since I got the shot, but I am happy to answer any questions folks might have about it all.