It Really is Viral
But is it contagious?
I am online about 18 hours a day. I would say 95% of the time it is for work, the rest a bit of play, but once I am done, I fly off the computer and into a dark room with the television and the newspapers. The only way you will know I am not there is by the sudden lack of replies to your emails.
Human to Human
Over the last three weeks I have had the worst cold imaginable. If you have a visceral imagination like I have, then you would be cringing right now. I was coughing, sneezing and running a fever that would cook an egg. I coughed so hard that I bruised a rib, one side of my body sticks out more than the other. I made sounds that would give a foley guy shivers and the urge to record me for the next underwater sea squid monster movie. I caught this virus by mingling with humans, something I rarely do.
Computer to Computer
Viruses online are solved by downloading a patch, and your computer is happy again. However, a virus in the human body wrecks havoc with just about every part of your body, if you are like me, you can still work because I am a virtual contractor. I can be drooling and shaking, but all you'll see are emails and instant messages. I can't make anyone sick because I have the internet to keep my germs on my side of the wall. So in this new world of subcontractors working from home, will the first casualty be the "common cold"?
Image: Ophelia Chong / Smile for Me