Assorted COVIDiocy
Apr. 30th, 2020 02:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
captainsblogFor the probably four people other than me who read this on a more than rare basis, I guess it's a good thing that I get to post more often. It's one of the few variations on my day I have these days. "Flattening the curve" doesn't just refer to combating the virus itself, but to how things in life feel.
Each morning, there's virtually no difference between "setting an alarm" for the rare morning commitment (which generally means getting up at 7:30) and "sleeping in until the dog sets off her own alarm" (which generally means getting up no later than 8). I'm going into the office more, earlier and longer than I had been, but there are often long stretches here with no mail (e or snail), no calls to make or return, and at most a coworker or two from the other offices here to have any interaction with. A client dropped off papers and a check today, which is the first time in over a month I've had both of those come in at the same time from a living human being.
So? Might as well blog.
----
I did make something of an effort to get going early, despite not having any Early Things today, just to do it. Falling back to sleep after the morning feedings just usually entails falling into more weird dreams, which have been more vivid and often more nightmarish than usual of late. (This NPR piece from over the weekend explains that such brain activity is entirely common in this situation.) Got into the shower first thing, got an overdue load of laundry going- and got under Eleanor's feet and skin way more than usual. She's in a difficult job, but at least it has more of a constancy and routine to it: in every day at 11, out around 6. We talked about it- mostly the factors above- and that seemed to help- but then, turned out, I had an Early Thing after all.
Yesterday, I electronically filed a packet of papers for a bankruptcy hearing scheduled for a week from now, in a case that's had its share of twists and turns. The call that came in at 9:17 from the judge's law clerk wasn't about any of the ones I had anticipated, but was more along the lines of, Um, that way you've been filling out these forms for 30 years? Are you sure that's the right way? I was still home, with a mostly dead laptop battery and little way to react until I just got my ass in the office and the computer plugged in. Five quick minutes of research confirmed, yup, I did it right, and within an hour, the law clerk (also working from home) called me back to confirm, yup, you did, at least THAT part. (This judge is always full of surprises, so it still remains to be seen what will actually transpire in a week.)
----
Another factor in understanding the divisiveness of this crisis, compared to so many others, is the complete uncertainty and lack of control over when it's OVER. It was easier to say UNITED WE STAND 19 years ago when those burning buildings were in our rear-view mirrors. Hurricanes go out to sea; earthquakes settle back into the earth. There really hasn't been an equivalent of this since 1918, which was two years after my parents were both born. They were probably too young to remember it, but their parents certainly lived through the carnage, and yet I never remember them, or have any among my very faded memories of older relatives, ever speaking of it.
So instead of uniting, we've polarized into two camps. Forget the Jets and the Sharks: it's the Masks against the MAGA hats. The leaders who listen to reason and science and plan out their reopening efforts with near-surgical precision, versus the LIBERATE-ors, who rely on slogans and false hopes to pray the virus away and resist every outward sign that things are different now. From Maskless Mike Pence to the COVIDiot who defaced this mural in downtown Rochester within days of it appearing:
Fauci, my dear, I DO give a damn. And I WILL keep wearing a mask and washing my hands on entering stores, and not bitching and moaning about my hair threatening to turn into a Full Rachel, and making sure that, whether this takes weeks or months or even years to recover from, I will take it in stride and never give up my kindness.
Each morning, there's virtually no difference between "setting an alarm" for the rare morning commitment (which generally means getting up at 7:30) and "sleeping in until the dog sets off her own alarm" (which generally means getting up no later than 8). I'm going into the office more, earlier and longer than I had been, but there are often long stretches here with no mail (e or snail), no calls to make or return, and at most a coworker or two from the other offices here to have any interaction with. A client dropped off papers and a check today, which is the first time in over a month I've had both of those come in at the same time from a living human being.
So? Might as well blog.
----
I did make something of an effort to get going early, despite not having any Early Things today, just to do it. Falling back to sleep after the morning feedings just usually entails falling into more weird dreams, which have been more vivid and often more nightmarish than usual of late. (This NPR piece from over the weekend explains that such brain activity is entirely common in this situation.) Got into the shower first thing, got an overdue load of laundry going- and got under Eleanor's feet and skin way more than usual. She's in a difficult job, but at least it has more of a constancy and routine to it: in every day at 11, out around 6. We talked about it- mostly the factors above- and that seemed to help- but then, turned out, I had an Early Thing after all.
Yesterday, I electronically filed a packet of papers for a bankruptcy hearing scheduled for a week from now, in a case that's had its share of twists and turns. The call that came in at 9:17 from the judge's law clerk wasn't about any of the ones I had anticipated, but was more along the lines of, Um, that way you've been filling out these forms for 30 years? Are you sure that's the right way? I was still home, with a mostly dead laptop battery and little way to react until I just got my ass in the office and the computer plugged in. Five quick minutes of research confirmed, yup, I did it right, and within an hour, the law clerk (also working from home) called me back to confirm, yup, you did, at least THAT part. (This judge is always full of surprises, so it still remains to be seen what will actually transpire in a week.)
----
Another factor in understanding the divisiveness of this crisis, compared to so many others, is the complete uncertainty and lack of control over when it's OVER. It was easier to say UNITED WE STAND 19 years ago when those burning buildings were in our rear-view mirrors. Hurricanes go out to sea; earthquakes settle back into the earth. There really hasn't been an equivalent of this since 1918, which was two years after my parents were both born. They were probably too young to remember it, but their parents certainly lived through the carnage, and yet I never remember them, or have any among my very faded memories of older relatives, ever speaking of it.
So instead of uniting, we've polarized into two camps. Forget the Jets and the Sharks: it's the Masks against the MAGA hats. The leaders who listen to reason and science and plan out their reopening efforts with near-surgical precision, versus the LIBERATE-ors, who rely on slogans and false hopes to pray the virus away and resist every outward sign that things are different now. From Maskless Mike Pence to the COVIDiot who defaced this mural in downtown Rochester within days of it appearing:
Fauci, my dear, I DO give a damn. And I WILL keep wearing a mask and washing my hands on entering stores, and not bitching and moaning about my hair threatening to turn into a Full Rachel, and making sure that, whether this takes weeks or months or even years to recover from, I will take it in stride and never give up my kindness.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-03 01:35 am (UTC)