Tuesday evening, April 7th. As I suspected, the number of COVID-19 cases in Minnesota surpassed one thousand as of today. Friday at midnight is supposed to be the end of our state’s “shelter in place” experience, although regardless of whatever individual governors are choosing to call it, we all recognize it for the quarantine that it is. I’m trying to remember to listen to his daily 2:00 P.M. briefings this week, even though they fall right in the middle of my afternoon distance learning office hours. I highly suspect that date is going to be extended for some time considerably beyond Friday at midnight.
I just got back from taking the dog for a walk. Today was the first undeniably warm day of the year, the first day when there isn’t even a hint of cool or chill in the air, when the temperature has crossed over from that neutral range of degrees between cool and warm and took its first tentative steps toward warm. It felt wonderful. It put me in mind of spring days from the past when that first warm day hits. The kids at school would be in shorts by now, complaining about the classroom being too warm instead of asking if they can go out to their lockers and get their jackets to wear. As we walked through the neighborhood, I half-expect to smell someone out grilling. In any normal year we might have crossed paths with neighbor Max taking little Molly for her walk, or stopped to talk with neighbor Dave for twenty minutes or so, because he’s the kind of guy you stop and talk with for twenty minutes when you see him out on your evening walk.
Tonight though, outside of a woman I didn’t know getting her mail, then waving and hurrying inside when she saw us approaching, we didn’t see anyone. I’m honestly beginning to wonder if things are ever going to go back to what we once thought of as normal life. I can see too easily how that might not happen. For all this talk about when businesses will open again, or when sports will start being played, or whether or not summer festivals will get manage to meet the dates to which they’ve been postponed instead of cancelled altogether, nobody knows a damn thing about what’s going to happen. Flatten the curve? We’re all in this together? America strong? No. NO. I contend this is nothing but happy-ass propaganda with no purpose other than anesthetizing people with blind hope. This pandemic is in it’s nascent stage, and there are too many people who have everything about it surrounding them who still aren’t taking it seriously. I’m not saying 99.4% of the population is going to be killed off by it, while the American survivors will either congregate in Boulder or Las Vegas and prepare for the ultimate battle between good and evil. However, I do think this experience is going to leave societal scars, and they’ll be the kind that will redefine what normal life could be for decades to come.
I hope I’m wrong. I hope I’m just feeling overly-dramatic about everything tonight. I just don’t think we’re going to walk this off so easily once the curve is flattened.
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Monday, April 6, 2020
Pandemic Narrative, Part 5
And the world continues to burn.
Minnesota, as of the last update I heard, has 986 cases of COVID-19 confirmed (sure to top 1,000 by tomorrow), with thirty deaths. Worldwide, the number of infected has surpassed one million. Nationwide unemployment is approaching numbers rarely seen in our country’s history. Minnesota is still on a shelter-in-place quarantine until the end of this week, though I’m pretty confident that date will be extended since we could be weeks away from our peak numbers. The governor’s reason for the quarantine was to slow the spread enough so the ICU beds wouldn’t all be used at once, and so far that seems to be working. As of today, schools are still scheduled to resume classes in early May, though the governor said during a recent press conference that there’s only a slim chance students and staff will be returning to their buildings to finish out the academic year. State governments are in competition to acquire necessary medical equipment while the federal government and the bumbling collection of arrogant morons that lead it seem to be actively searching for ways to make the situation worse than it already is. From a perspective, that should almost be a comfort, knowing that some things haven’t changed much — even if it was one of the worst problems we had to deal with during Before Pandemic (B.P.) life.
I haven’t started my car in a week. I feel like maybe I should, just to drive it around the neighborhood a few miles and make sure I remember how to do it. The few encounters I’ve had with people in recent weeks have all been either been through social media, video conferencing for school, texting, email, and occasionally moving to the other side of the road while out walking the dog if another person is coming from the opposite direction. Because of that, it makes it difficult to complain about boredom, even if there are moments when the boredom is almost a tangible presence. I’m good at this, though; I’ve mentioned several times how my personality is off-the-charts introverted, so being alone gives me lots of time to recharge. Most of the time I feel pretty good. There are moments though, when the isolation carves into me and the gravity of the situation comes at me from an unexpected angle that brings back how real everything is. I’m very aware of my privilege these days, having a secure job I’m able to still do, and a home where I can keep myself safe. I know there are all kinds of online memes of encouragement and self-protection out there now reminding people how their feelings are as valid and and legitimate as anyone else’s, but it’s hard for me to take any of those ideas seriously when I know there are so many people who are far, far worse off throughout this than I am. Again, to the best of my knowledge, I’m not sick nor is anyone I personally know infected yet. I pray that remains the case for as long as possible, and I offer my thanks for things to be going well for me, most of the time. Sometimes though, when everything becomes real and you feel like you’re the only person left on Earth, it’s just easier to allow yourself to lie back and bathe in the darkness for a while, especially if you know it’s probably going to go away.
This was the first week of distance learning. Now, the thing is, I used to be the technology lead in my school, back in the days when that meant going to meetings a few times a year and occasionally making updates to the school website when the principal wanted to post something. All of this remote teaching has put me on a very steep learning curve. The first day
The first week of distance learning went okay. It was a little rocky and busy at the start, but now after a week in recognizable and predictable patterns in the day are beginning to build. I have a pretty good idea when completed assignments will start showing up for my approval. I know which kids are going to post or email questions for me, and where I’m going to find them, and what types of questions they’ll ask. Distance learning, in general, has been an easy adjustment so far, but depending on the day the experience can be anything from exhausting do unspeakably dull.
The biggest news story of the day, which I suppose will make it a fairly solid milestone in whatever timeline will eventually define the pandemic for us, was that the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now in Intensive Care. I honestly don’t know what the percentages of survival are for any hospitalized patients who advance to that measure of illness, but it’s clearly serious. I don’t know if people get more anxious about seeing a well-known public figure like him getting sick, or any of the other differing degrees of fame that have been affected as well, because they’re worried about our celebrities. I think people like him getting sick stand to drive home the point of how all of us are vulnerable right now.
Times are not good, and they don’t look to be improving any time soon.
Minnesota, as of the last update I heard, has 986 cases of COVID-19 confirmed (sure to top 1,000 by tomorrow), with thirty deaths. Worldwide, the number of infected has surpassed one million. Nationwide unemployment is approaching numbers rarely seen in our country’s history. Minnesota is still on a shelter-in-place quarantine until the end of this week, though I’m pretty confident that date will be extended since we could be weeks away from our peak numbers. The governor’s reason for the quarantine was to slow the spread enough so the ICU beds wouldn’t all be used at once, and so far that seems to be working. As of today, schools are still scheduled to resume classes in early May, though the governor said during a recent press conference that there’s only a slim chance students and staff will be returning to their buildings to finish out the academic year. State governments are in competition to acquire necessary medical equipment while the federal government and the bumbling collection of arrogant morons that lead it seem to be actively searching for ways to make the situation worse than it already is. From a perspective, that should almost be a comfort, knowing that some things haven’t changed much — even if it was one of the worst problems we had to deal with during Before Pandemic (B.P.) life.
I haven’t started my car in a week. I feel like maybe I should, just to drive it around the neighborhood a few miles and make sure I remember how to do it. The few encounters I’ve had with people in recent weeks have all been either been through social media, video conferencing for school, texting, email, and occasionally moving to the other side of the road while out walking the dog if another person is coming from the opposite direction. Because of that, it makes it difficult to complain about boredom, even if there are moments when the boredom is almost a tangible presence. I’m good at this, though; I’ve mentioned several times how my personality is off-the-charts introverted, so being alone gives me lots of time to recharge. Most of the time I feel pretty good. There are moments though, when the isolation carves into me and the gravity of the situation comes at me from an unexpected angle that brings back how real everything is. I’m very aware of my privilege these days, having a secure job I’m able to still do, and a home where I can keep myself safe. I know there are all kinds of online memes of encouragement and self-protection out there now reminding people how their feelings are as valid and and legitimate as anyone else’s, but it’s hard for me to take any of those ideas seriously when I know there are so many people who are far, far worse off throughout this than I am. Again, to the best of my knowledge, I’m not sick nor is anyone I personally know infected yet. I pray that remains the case for as long as possible, and I offer my thanks for things to be going well for me, most of the time. Sometimes though, when everything becomes real and you feel like you’re the only person left on Earth, it’s just easier to allow yourself to lie back and bathe in the darkness for a while, especially if you know it’s probably going to go away.
This was the first week of distance learning. Now, the thing is, I used to be the technology lead in my school, back in the days when that meant going to meetings a few times a year and occasionally making updates to the school website when the principal wanted to post something. All of this remote teaching has put me on a very steep learning curve. The first day
The first week of distance learning went okay. It was a little rocky and busy at the start, but now after a week in recognizable and predictable patterns in the day are beginning to build. I have a pretty good idea when completed assignments will start showing up for my approval. I know which kids are going to post or email questions for me, and where I’m going to find them, and what types of questions they’ll ask. Distance learning, in general, has been an easy adjustment so far, but depending on the day the experience can be anything from exhausting do unspeakably dull.
The biggest news story of the day, which I suppose will make it a fairly solid milestone in whatever timeline will eventually define the pandemic for us, was that the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now in Intensive Care. I honestly don’t know what the percentages of survival are for any hospitalized patients who advance to that measure of illness, but it’s clearly serious. I don’t know if people get more anxious about seeing a well-known public figure like him getting sick, or any of the other differing degrees of fame that have been affected as well, because they’re worried about our celebrities. I think people like him getting sick stand to drive home the point of how all of us are vulnerable right now.
Times are not good, and they don’t look to be improving any time soon.
Thursday, April 2, 2020
10 Good Things, Quarantine Version
Things aren’t good in the world these days, and they aren’t looking to improve much anytime soon. Yesterday there was a trend on Facebook for people to post 10 things they don’t like that other people generally do. I attempted my own lists — a darkly humorous version, an opposite version, a blatantly obvious version, etc. Looking for a creative approach to the things other people are posting online is something I’ll occasionally do to amuse myself. In the end, I decided not to finish a list, though. I found all the negativity that kept coming up to be fairly off-putting.
In the past, when life has been pulling me down, I’ve found it helpful to remind myself that there is still good to be enjoyed. Sometimes shifting that mindset a little bit makes it easier to appreciate the things in my life that are going well. I have to believe that’s true even during a quarantine so widespread that stories commonly heard on the news now sound too much like the first eight minutes of a movie set in a post-apocalypse dystopia. In that spirit, here is my latest list of 10 Good things:
(1) It’s April 2nd and the snow is gone. It’s still very possible that huge snowstorms could come this month, but we all know that if they do, they don’t last long.
(2) Since the weather is relatively nice and I’m home all the time, Freddie and I are able to take more walks. In fact, we’ve been walking so frequently that I will often let him set the walking pace (which is a bit faster than mine) and I can keep up. Unless it’s the morning walk and we’re almost done, and he knows that his breakfast is back at the house waiting for him. Because, that pace? Not casual.
(3) While we were out walking this morning, we saw our friends Dave and Wags. Freddie and Wags wanted some sniffing time, but Dave and I kept them separated and moving. We didn’t get to exchange more than a few words, but it was good to see them.
(4) One of my all-time favorite television shows, “Community,” just started up on Netflix yesterday. I know it’s been on Hulu or whatever for a long time, but since I only have cable and Netflix I’ve been left out. I do have the series on DVD, but — and believe me, I know what a pathetic first-word problem this is to complain about — it’s just so much more inconvenient to get up and change discs every three or four episodes than just clicking a remote to start the next one. On a side note, if you are looking for new shows to binge during the quarantine, seriously — check out “Community.” It’s brilliant.
(5) My cousin Kelly is basically an expert on infectious diseases. She’s my go-to with COVID questions these days, which she’s able to answer on occasion — she’s fairly busy at work these days. She says that ordering take-out is probably safer than taking a trip to the grocery store. I have a good amount of food still left, but I think I’m going to start giving my new Door Dash app a try. I’m not exactly a foodie or anything, but it will be nice to get a little variety.
(6) As much as I would love to have a big greasy omelet and a stack of pancakes decorated with syrup and a butter scoop and whatever else could fit on the top, I’ve recently discovered that a banana and a scoop of peanut butter makes for a perfectly acceptable Distance Learning breakfast.
(7) Working from home means I can play music all day long. I’m getting in the habit of crafting playlists for each day before my office hours begin.
(8) Normally I’m a news junkie. During a presidential election year, that would be even more accentuated. Because the news right now is all about how bad things are with the virus or how 45 made up a new way to fail in handling it, I’ve cut way back on paying attention and have so much more time in my day to get other things done.
(9) Late night talk shows have reformatted themselves to a few comedy pieces followed by one-on-one remote interviews with the guests. This format reminds me a lot of different interview podcasts I’ve listened to, so I’m recording a lot of these shows to watch the following day. I’m enjoying this quite a bit.
(10) Today is Day 4 of the distance learning experiment, and I feel it’s going okay so far. My grade level team has worked hard to put together user-friendly (and parent-friendly self-guided assignments, so I think we’re on the right track. It’s great having team members who work so hard, because they push me to work hard as well, even if only to try and keep up with them. It’s also pretty nice to end a work day by just standing up from the desk in my home office and leaving the room.
There. Ten good things. That took about twenty minutes to write; that may have resulted in some typos, but it shows that it isn’t hard when you stop to think about it. Good things don’t have to be huge to still be good. If you followed the link to read this from Facebook, I would invite you to keep the positivity going. When you go back to Facebook, please leave a comment about one good thing you’re experiencing right now. After that, if you feel so inspired, go ahead and post your own list of 10 Good Things. Maybe it will catch on and bring us some happier days.
In the past, when life has been pulling me down, I’ve found it helpful to remind myself that there is still good to be enjoyed. Sometimes shifting that mindset a little bit makes it easier to appreciate the things in my life that are going well. I have to believe that’s true even during a quarantine so widespread that stories commonly heard on the news now sound too much like the first eight minutes of a movie set in a post-apocalypse dystopia. In that spirit, here is my latest list of 10 Good things:
(1) It’s April 2nd and the snow is gone. It’s still very possible that huge snowstorms could come this month, but we all know that if they do, they don’t last long.
(2) Since the weather is relatively nice and I’m home all the time, Freddie and I are able to take more walks. In fact, we’ve been walking so frequently that I will often let him set the walking pace (which is a bit faster than mine) and I can keep up. Unless it’s the morning walk and we’re almost done, and he knows that his breakfast is back at the house waiting for him. Because, that pace? Not casual.
(3) While we were out walking this morning, we saw our friends Dave and Wags. Freddie and Wags wanted some sniffing time, but Dave and I kept them separated and moving. We didn’t get to exchange more than a few words, but it was good to see them.
(4) One of my all-time favorite television shows, “Community,” just started up on Netflix yesterday. I know it’s been on Hulu or whatever for a long time, but since I only have cable and Netflix I’ve been left out. I do have the series on DVD, but — and believe me, I know what a pathetic first-word problem this is to complain about — it’s just so much more inconvenient to get up and change discs every three or four episodes than just clicking a remote to start the next one. On a side note, if you are looking for new shows to binge during the quarantine, seriously — check out “Community.” It’s brilliant.
(5) My cousin Kelly is basically an expert on infectious diseases. She’s my go-to with COVID questions these days, which she’s able to answer on occasion — she’s fairly busy at work these days. She says that ordering take-out is probably safer than taking a trip to the grocery store. I have a good amount of food still left, but I think I’m going to start giving my new Door Dash app a try. I’m not exactly a foodie or anything, but it will be nice to get a little variety.
(6) As much as I would love to have a big greasy omelet and a stack of pancakes decorated with syrup and a butter scoop and whatever else could fit on the top, I’ve recently discovered that a banana and a scoop of peanut butter makes for a perfectly acceptable Distance Learning breakfast.
(7) Working from home means I can play music all day long. I’m getting in the habit of crafting playlists for each day before my office hours begin.
(8) Normally I’m a news junkie. During a presidential election year, that would be even more accentuated. Because the news right now is all about how bad things are with the virus or how 45 made up a new way to fail in handling it, I’ve cut way back on paying attention and have so much more time in my day to get other things done.
(9) Late night talk shows have reformatted themselves to a few comedy pieces followed by one-on-one remote interviews with the guests. This format reminds me a lot of different interview podcasts I’ve listened to, so I’m recording a lot of these shows to watch the following day. I’m enjoying this quite a bit.
(10) Today is Day 4 of the distance learning experiment, and I feel it’s going okay so far. My grade level team has worked hard to put together user-friendly (and parent-friendly self-guided assignments, so I think we’re on the right track. It’s great having team members who work so hard, because they push me to work hard as well, even if only to try and keep up with them. It’s also pretty nice to end a work day by just standing up from the desk in my home office and leaving the room.
There. Ten good things. That took about twenty minutes to write; that may have resulted in some typos, but it shows that it isn’t hard when you stop to think about it. Good things don’t have to be huge to still be good. If you followed the link to read this from Facebook, I would invite you to keep the positivity going. When you go back to Facebook, please leave a comment about one good thing you’re experiencing right now. After that, if you feel so inspired, go ahead and post your own list of 10 Good Things. Maybe it will catch on and bring us some happier days.
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