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The Last Caterpillar
Apr. 15th, 2021 09:17 pmThanks to Unexpected Moderna Vaccine Shot Number One followed by Unexpected Side Effects Part One, all of my plans for Thursday were shattered.
I got the shot Tuesday afternoon, and started having side effects Wednesday night. I was trapped in a series of fever dreams involving filling some sort of spreadsheet, which I couldn't understand why it was so necessary to fill it out, because I was SLEEPING, wasn't I? But it had to be done or else I couldn't sleep, even though I technically WAS asleep. And then my stomach started cramping and felt like it was full of acid, but I didn't want to get up for fear of worrying my boyfriend, but eventually it became too painful and my heart was beating too fast from anxiety. I got up and made it to the kitchen before having to sit down so I wouldn't pass right out (probably just because I had worked myself up). Had some water and a Tums, tried to eat a piece of bread but my mouth refused to produce saliva and my stomach churned just from smelling it, and that's about when I knew this was more than a panic attack.
The next day Jameson found me curled up in the recliner, moaning over a handful of strawberries and a few crackers.
I forced myself to sip coffee throughout the day because the last thing I needed on top of everything was a blistering caffeine headache. The only food my body appreciated was half a frozen banana I found in the fridge, everything else I had to choke down (mostly simple carbs as you can imagine). I also had body aches, my guts kept cramping, and I felt exhausted.
Now to be fair, I haven't been sick in a very long time, I'm talking years. Not even a sore throat or a sniffle since 2018. So although I probably make this sound awful, it wasn't that bad. I have been sick WAY worse than this. Being mildly nauseous, uncomfortable, and overheated for a day is nothing compared to some flus I've had. So yes, I crawled around like a slug all day and felt miserable, but it probably just felt worse because it's been so long since I've felt those things.
I called work to warn them that I may not be in the next day, but I did sleep well and then woke the next day with no aches or elevated temperature, just a feeling of exhaustion and residual nausea. I went through the day in a fog, but fortunately it was a slow day. By the time I got home I was feeling about 80% better. I checked on the caterpillars and found three of them preparing to pupate! The time has finally come!!
See the cottony-looking stuff around his head? That's a "silk button" that they make, and then hang from in a J-shape to start making their chrysalis.
The next morning, like an idiot, I woke up and checked my phone for the time and saw ??:45 and somehow my brain just assumed it was time to get up and get ready for work. So I didn't question it, I got up and had my coffee and got all my stuff together, then snuck out back with a flashlight to check on the caterpillars since they're so close to pupating. I started to carefully unzip the side access panel, and stopped cold. A fourth caterpillar had decided that the best place to form a chrysalis would be ON THE ZIPPER. Like, directly on the moving part. Little dumbass!!!
I had already moved him a few inches without realizing it, and there was nothing I could do...I had to be able to open the side to continue caring for everyone. I moved so slowly and carefully, but despite my care he fell as the zipper reached the bottom, rolling gently across the floor, curled up protectively. Time to panic. Did I just kill him?? I had disrupted his pupation and broken his J-hang. Would he die an awful death if he couldn't re-hang himself?? I frantically searched Google for what I could do. The Googs suggested finding a Q-tip or cotton ball and touching the caterpillar with it. If the caterpillar was not too far along in the process, he might be able to grab the cotton and use it to resume his J-hang. I did as instructed with a cotton ball, and he did grab on, although in doing so a little dark green fluid came out of his nethers :( He wasn't hurt but I know that caterpillars go semi-liquid inside during their metamorphosis so it terrified me to see this.
Anyway, I was able to tuck the cotton ball into a crack in the edge of a milkweed pot so that he was hanging upside down again. Then I really had to get to work (or so I thought) so I cleaned up as best I could and hit the road.
About 15 minutes later I noticed that my car clock was reading 6:00am. Well that can't be right. I left at 6:40, didn't I?
Wait...isn't it unusually dark...?
For some reason, my brain had me out the door at 5:40. Which is when I'm usually waking up to get ready for work.
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Guess my covid mind control microchip is working.
I drove to a Panera near work and took a nap in the back of my car. Got a breakfast sandwich and a salad for lunch. Sulked to work feeling like an absolute moron.
Spent all day worrying about my little caterpillar, dreading the possibility of coming home to find him dead on the bottom of the enclosure. Couldn't drive home fast enough, took toll roads even. Ran outside to see what had happened.
He was still there. To my surprise, he had left his cotton pad and climbed all the way back up the mesh to re-hang himself.
STILL ON TOP OF THE ZIPPER. DUMB LITTLE SH*T! Going to give me an aneurism, I swear!
Although I was not awake enough to realize what time I had left that morning, I somehow did have the wherewithal to have the zippers meet at the bottom of the enclosure where a caterpillar would be less likely to attempt a J-hang. So even though this little idiot insists on the zipper, I can still at least unzip enough to lift the plants and replace the paper towels under them. Phew.
( Read more... )
I got the shot Tuesday afternoon, and started having side effects Wednesday night. I was trapped in a series of fever dreams involving filling some sort of spreadsheet, which I couldn't understand why it was so necessary to fill it out, because I was SLEEPING, wasn't I? But it had to be done or else I couldn't sleep, even though I technically WAS asleep. And then my stomach started cramping and felt like it was full of acid, but I didn't want to get up for fear of worrying my boyfriend, but eventually it became too painful and my heart was beating too fast from anxiety. I got up and made it to the kitchen before having to sit down so I wouldn't pass right out (probably just because I had worked myself up). Had some water and a Tums, tried to eat a piece of bread but my mouth refused to produce saliva and my stomach churned just from smelling it, and that's about when I knew this was more than a panic attack.
The next day Jameson found me curled up in the recliner, moaning over a handful of strawberries and a few crackers.
I forced myself to sip coffee throughout the day because the last thing I needed on top of everything was a blistering caffeine headache. The only food my body appreciated was half a frozen banana I found in the fridge, everything else I had to choke down (mostly simple carbs as you can imagine). I also had body aches, my guts kept cramping, and I felt exhausted.
Now to be fair, I haven't been sick in a very long time, I'm talking years. Not even a sore throat or a sniffle since 2018. So although I probably make this sound awful, it wasn't that bad. I have been sick WAY worse than this. Being mildly nauseous, uncomfortable, and overheated for a day is nothing compared to some flus I've had. So yes, I crawled around like a slug all day and felt miserable, but it probably just felt worse because it's been so long since I've felt those things.
I called work to warn them that I may not be in the next day, but I did sleep well and then woke the next day with no aches or elevated temperature, just a feeling of exhaustion and residual nausea. I went through the day in a fog, but fortunately it was a slow day. By the time I got home I was feeling about 80% better. I checked on the caterpillars and found three of them preparing to pupate! The time has finally come!!
See the cottony-looking stuff around his head? That's a "silk button" that they make, and then hang from in a J-shape to start making their chrysalis.
The next morning, like an idiot, I woke up and checked my phone for the time and saw ??:45 and somehow my brain just assumed it was time to get up and get ready for work. So I didn't question it, I got up and had my coffee and got all my stuff together, then snuck out back with a flashlight to check on the caterpillars since they're so close to pupating. I started to carefully unzip the side access panel, and stopped cold. A fourth caterpillar had decided that the best place to form a chrysalis would be ON THE ZIPPER. Like, directly on the moving part. Little dumbass!!!
I had already moved him a few inches without realizing it, and there was nothing I could do...I had to be able to open the side to continue caring for everyone. I moved so slowly and carefully, but despite my care he fell as the zipper reached the bottom, rolling gently across the floor, curled up protectively. Time to panic. Did I just kill him?? I had disrupted his pupation and broken his J-hang. Would he die an awful death if he couldn't re-hang himself?? I frantically searched Google for what I could do. The Googs suggested finding a Q-tip or cotton ball and touching the caterpillar with it. If the caterpillar was not too far along in the process, he might be able to grab the cotton and use it to resume his J-hang. I did as instructed with a cotton ball, and he did grab on, although in doing so a little dark green fluid came out of his nethers :( He wasn't hurt but I know that caterpillars go semi-liquid inside during their metamorphosis so it terrified me to see this.
Anyway, I was able to tuck the cotton ball into a crack in the edge of a milkweed pot so that he was hanging upside down again. Then I really had to get to work (or so I thought) so I cleaned up as best I could and hit the road.
About 15 minutes later I noticed that my car clock was reading 6:00am. Well that can't be right. I left at 6:40, didn't I?
Wait...isn't it unusually dark...?
For some reason, my brain had me out the door at 5:40. Which is when I'm usually waking up to get ready for work.
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Guess my covid mind control microchip is working.
I drove to a Panera near work and took a nap in the back of my car. Got a breakfast sandwich and a salad for lunch. Sulked to work feeling like an absolute moron.
Spent all day worrying about my little caterpillar, dreading the possibility of coming home to find him dead on the bottom of the enclosure. Couldn't drive home fast enough, took toll roads even. Ran outside to see what had happened.
He was still there. To my surprise, he had left his cotton pad and climbed all the way back up the mesh to re-hang himself.
STILL ON TOP OF THE ZIPPER. DUMB LITTLE SH*T! Going to give me an aneurism, I swear!
Although I was not awake enough to realize what time I had left that morning, I somehow did have the wherewithal to have the zippers meet at the bottom of the enclosure where a caterpillar would be less likely to attempt a J-hang. So even though this little idiot insists on the zipper, I can still at least unzip enough to lift the plants and replace the paper towels under them. Phew.
( Read more... )
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