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Hello, a short one this time, just some covid things that I think are interesting to experience first hand (assuming things go back to normal for me at some point, otherwise, something akin to body horror??)

I have it again, it’s not so bad, didn’t miss too much of work, going back soon, yay for vaccines and boosters and having made it through the bottleneck to be able to say those things.

This time, my sense of taste and smell were completely gone for days. I made popcorn last night and went nuts with the flavors just to see if any of them would come through. I made it very spicy. I felt the spice, but couldn’t taste it. I couldn’t taste the bacon grease I used to pop it in, either. I feel like that was an unnecessary waste of a tasty treat.

Both my taste and smell are technically still gone, except, I can taste the five groups today now without any detail. For example, I can tell that the dill pickles I ate for electrolytes are supposed to be sour, but I can only discern that categorically. I can feel that they are salty in a chemical sense, not taste the salt. I cannot taste the dill, the garlic, the spices, anything about the actual brine.

Now I’m going to test strong decaf coffee for bitterness, pardon me for a moment. And I’m not going to bother putting sugar in it—I already know that I can’t taste sugar, just get a vague sense of sweetness. I’m still craving the sugar but it literally does nothing for me because I can’t actually taste it.

Ok, I made my little decaf. I tried it without anything else in it. I can tell it isn’t water, I’m getting a hint of bitter, but it moreso brings to my mind the experience of kissing someone that just smoked a cigarette in a gross way. I wonder if I tried a different bitter thing it wouldn’t have the same effect?? Or is that just what the bitter category reminds me of sans any other details?

I tried some soy sauce for umami because I don’t have anything else right now that would be an easy way to check while I’m still kinda out of it. All I really got was the chemical sensation of salt. I wonder if it needed to be mediated by a fat? I dunno. That concludes the extent to which I’m going to explore that because I’m tired now.

What’s the last one? Sour, salty, bitter, umami…? Oh haha, sweet. I already know that one isn’t worth chasing. Ya I got them all. I’m curious if/when I’ll get details back. It makes eating more of a chore. I can’t taste anything, what’s the point? Nourish my body? Maintain my muscle palace? Keep the thunderdome shareholders in business? I’ll stick to oats, apples, and pickles for now. The three textures; squish, snap, and crunch. Snap and crunch are related but distinct to me.

Anyway that’s it, unless you have any cursed food combos to offer up to try while my body is (hopefully for the short term) incapable of discerning good/bad/vomittable. Seeya later.