What our looming overlords have in store for us?

I am fighting off a dreary cold, or possibly, a nasty bout of allergies. I was initially panicked about pneumounia, but I think I may just have over-strained an abdominal muscle lifting weights on Saturday in addition to said cold/allergies. Anyway, this led me to note to Pnin that I once missed about 35 days of elementary school in one year because of pneumounia (and to having to log in half-days for something like two weeks afterwards.) This was a surprisingly pleasant experience, as I remember spending a lot of time lying in bed reading and eating delicate sandwiches on toast that people brought me. It was also an excuse to avoid the unpleasantess of physical activity and forced socialization with dumb kids. Except that at one point, I did have to go to the hospital and stay in an expensive oxygen tent

Pnin: I was also really sickly as a child and had to spend time in the hospital when I was about that age.

Isabel: Oh?

Pnin: Yes, but at least you were spared the Soviet bedside manner. Once, a nurse asked my mother if she had any other children, and she of course said no. The nurse then told her, 'That's too bad, because the one you have isn't going to make it.'

Isabel: Well, I'm glad you did make it?