First off, I'm (still) planning to go to GDC! I should be fully recovered by then, though I might have to only take rolling luggage. I've been wanting to announce this plan for a while, but I wasn't sure how the surgery would impact it yet. I'll make a separate announcement soon.

To be honest, I'm a little conflicted about the trip. I've never had the chance to go before, so it's really exciting. I also am looking forward to meeting so many people there. Plus, I am using it as an opportunity to see my parents, who I have not seen in person in 2 years.

Of course, there's still a terrible pandemic going on. I'm double vaccinated, will obviously mask, and I'll get properly tested. The flights and GDC have tight requirements on that front, which makes me feel a bit better about it. I acknowledge that I'm extremely fortunate.

I'm mostly worried about bringing COVID back with me (or getting trapped in the US with it). I'll be taking extra precautions once back in Finland to avoid bringing it to my family.

The second point is the medical care here. COVID obviously delayed how quickly this was handled. I've not had it, but the pressure on hospitals everywhere is pretty high. That's part of why it's so important to work to limit spread; hospitals do a lot! People need normal care.

I can only imagine how tough it would have been in the US, or if I needed more urgent care. I've talked before about how much cheaper medical care is here; I've not looked, but I shudder to think how much this would have cost me in the US.

I also work for myself. How do you get sick leave as an entrepreneur? The obvious answer is you just don't work, but that won't pay the bills. So am I forced to work? No! It looks like the government will have my back here and covers at least part of my salary until I recover. 😌

And that leads me to my last point: Mystcraft. Specifically Mystcraft and sick leave. I've been prescribed 3 weeks of sick leave. At present it looks like I'll be needing all of that. I'm not allowed to lift anything heavier than 1 liter of milk until the end of that time.

So I'll not be stressing about working on Mystcraft during that time. I'd had hopes that it wouldn't interfere and that I'd be back to work by next week at least, but today has been *interesting* so far. So I should assume they know what they were talking about and I need rest.

So I'll take some meds and go back to sleep. Thanks for reading, and I hope to interact with you all soon. If you are going to GDC, lemme know!