Category: covid-19

Three Years Today

Three years. Bullshit.

Today is March 13, 2023. On March 13, 2020 we left the office in Waltham at 5:30pm and the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown started. I mean we all had our own individual experience as we did not have a functioning Federal government at the time, we just had a nazi cunt in the White House pretending to run a Federal government. We were all sort of left on our own while more civilized societies worked together. Yeah, I ‘member.

So Jen’s company sent everyone home after work on Wednesday and my company sent us home after work on Friday. The kids both came home around the same time. Bellana was on Spring Break and they just had everyone stay home. Harry was still in high school so his experience was more closely similar to mine. Just one day he was told to stay home and telecommute.

So that’s how it all started. Today? Today the pandemic is still a thing, but our society is more or less ignoring it. Very few of us are still wearing masks. Most of us in the Tech industry are still working from home for the most part, but we’re being pulled back into the office more and more often. My company has us coming in once a week. My fingers are crossed that at some point soon we’ll eliminate that requirement, but that hope is not based on any actual evidence. Jen’s company closed their buildings, but they are still pulling people in to temporary work sites now and then. I don’t know anyone who is still 100% working from home.

In my family, we’re all vaccinated up the wazoo, and every time a booster is made available we jump on it. It hasn’t stopped anyone from contracting Covid-19 but it has drastically reduced the severity for most of us. Jen and I haven’t caught it at all. Three years of precautions have been successful for us. Sure, we’ve over done it and we continue to over do it to some extent, but we’re still Covid-Free.

And that, folks is the long and the short of it. They told us to expect to be working from home for a couple of weeks and it’s turned into three years. It’s not even unusual anymore. It’s not even “the new normal” anymore. It’s just normal now. As Bruce Hornsby and the Range once said, that’s just the way it is.

Happy third quaren-versary, folks. Do something fun at home by yourself to celebrate.

I Overslept

Today is Sunday and I did what many of us do on random Sundays… I overslept. My alarm was set for 5:30am. I got out of bed a couple of minutes before 7:00am. I also had a minor hangup that kept me from getting the day started for about 20 minutes and both of those things together mean it’s way too late for me to tackle car music today.

My exercise is done for the day. Yesterday I bumped my four mile morning jog (pronounced “yog” with a soft j) to five miles. Mostly because there were many days over the last month or so where I was not reaching my move/calorie goal without doing extra exercise, so for now I am just going to build that into the morning routine. I am eating breakfast right now and when I am done I will take a Covid test. I have been symptom free since my two exposures on Monday and Tuesday so I am confident in another negative test, but I am still going to test for another couple of days. Just to be sure. I have to go into the office on Wednesday and I don’t want to risk passing anything on to anyone.

What does the no-car-music-today change mean for the music project? I still have five songs that need lyrics, so I can take care of some of those. I think I might also try to add another song or two. Yeah, it’s overkill but I am seeing guitar leads on the horizon and my playing is so incredibly rusty that I could really use an excuse to just play/practice a little. That would be a good thing.

I did something silly yesterday. I started watching the directors cut of Star Trek the Motion Picture. Shatner’s Star Trek V is often considered the worst of all of the Star Trek movies, and while that may be generally valid, that first movie is pretty awful. I’m only halfway through the director’s cut but I haven’t seen anything obviously different. The endless exterior establishing shots are still endless. Endlessly endless. The acting is often less than stellar in Star Trek movies with the original series cast, but this one… this one is bad. Overall though, the movie isn’t quite as awful as I remembered. Maybe #5 really is the worst of the bunch.

Okay, let’s get the ball moving. I need to get myself something for breakfast that is more substantial than the protein bar I just finished. I’ll probably post a film pic too before I really get the day rolling. For now, talk to you all later. Good Day.

Another Day, Another Negative Test

That’s three days post-Covid exposure with a negative test. Let’s keep up the good work, shall we?

I ate a lot last night. I was kinda shocked at how I couldn’t stop myself. Today I had what is becoming a normal breakfast, a chicken patty and a supplemental protein bar, but I already had 50% of my liquid goal for the day before 8:00am. Is that bad? I don’t know. I hope to spread the second half of the goal out more as the day rolls on.

Music… there was no car music this morning. I have lyrics written for one song. I need at least three before driving to the movie theater parking lot is worth the effort. I hope to get to at least half of the 10 songs today so that I have a lot to do tomorrow. I want to have them all written and recorded by Tuesday. That will give me a week for leads and mixing.

As stated yesterday, the goal for today is to clean the hell out of the kitchen. Also, we put out some little catnip filled toys for the cats. I need to find them all and remove them from play. The two cats do not handle their drugs well. They get super aggressive toward each other when they are high on the ‘nip. That must be curtailed.

That’s the plan, kids. I believe today’s goals are achievable. Let’s see how it goes. Also, let’s try to watch Wakanda Forever, shall we? Yeah, happy Saturday.

Who Didn’t See That Coming

Three days after my mother’s wake and the announcements have started. My cousin tested positive for Covid-19. My sister’s sister-in-law also tested positive for Covid-19.

With all the hand shaking and hugging going on at the wake and at the funeral, it was inevitable that Covid would be passed around. Yippee.

Jen and I both tested negative this morning. So far, so good for our house. Fingers crossed it continues, and fingers crossed it doesn’t spread any further.

Stupid effing pandemic ruining my mother’s services.

Mom

I am freaking out a little right now. The freaking out is 100% irrational but it’s there nonetheless.

My father just called me. The nursing home my mother is in called him to let him know that my mother has Covid-19.

She’s as vaccinated and boosted as a human can get and I am absolutely positive that she will beat it and recover… but I am still panicking right now. Shit shit shit, my mother has Covid.

I Am So Tired of This

Just found out that two staff members at the rehab facility my father is currently stuck in have tested positive for Covid-19.

I am so sick of this shit. Not just the Covid, but the whole situation. I just want my parents to be healthy again and I want them to go home. My mother never will, but my father could. Ugh. I just want them both to be better.

We have a call with the facility tomorrow. That was booked before the Covid scare. I don’t know if my father was exposed or not. If he was they will be testing him right now.

I just want this shit to end. I want our world back again.

Busy Holiday Morning

It’s been a busy morning so far. Since my last post I showered and shaved and had a Covid scare and visited both of my parents and played a little guitar to relieve the stress from the Covid scare and from my mother being in a less than wonderful state. Ugh.

No more amp sims for NaSoAlMo. All eight songs have rhythm guitars played through a mic’d up amp. Good.

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Two Years and Seven Months

Two years and seven months ago today, at 5:30pm, my personal Covid-19 pandemic lock down began. 3/13/20 was our last day in the office. We are not particularly locked down at this point, but we’re pretty much still isolated. We’re going to stores, I’m visiting Mom regularly (and need to visit Dad more often), we’re just spending as much time as we can afford to away from everyone. We’re wearing masks and being good, virus-conscious humans.

I am so friggin’ sick of it. I miss my friends, I miss playing in the band, I miss my family. Granted, my step kids are both in Vermont so I would be missing them even without our personal lock down, but you get the point. I want to travel, though we can’t afford it, I want to do things.

I want to go to hockey games again. The Bruins won their opening game last night. They beat The Capitals 5-2. I listened to as much as I could on the radio. Probably not as much as I would have liked, but a nice chunk. UMass Lowell is currently 2-1, with all three games being non-conference games. They play in Michigan tonight and tomorrow, two more non-conference games. The first Hockey East games are next week. I have been able to catch at least a little of each game on the radio. I’m not sure if they cover road games on WUML Lowell 91.5 FM, but I think we’ll find out tonight. As for the kids’ school, University of Vermont… 0-4 with all games being in conference. Yeah… pretty grim. I haven’t tried to find them on the radio. It might not be worth it.

In closing, I watched She-Hulk while doing my walkies. Teeny Tiny Spoilers Ahead. It was season one episode nine, the first season finale. I did not realize that I so desperately needed to hear something like five seconds worth of Richard and Linda Thompson music in the MCU. I did need it though. I really, completely needed it. The episode was great, but at the end when they snuck in a few seconds of I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight just made my fucking week. Props to K.E.V.I.N. and the gang.