Showing posts with label lockdown blues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lockdown blues. Show all posts

Thursday, February 25, 2021

Shot in the arm

Pandemic street art in Copenhagen 
Courtesy of street artists everywhere, enjoy the view of street art around the world.

News blues…

Covid-19 vaccination programs:
Vaccine question: Once I get the vaccine, what precautions do I still need to take?
Sarah Zhang, Atlantic Monthly staff writer responds:
If you and a small group of friends are all fully vaccinated, congrats. You can relax precautions among one another. If you’re with unvaccinated people, though, remember that your risks are smaller, but not zero. Your chance of getting sick is significantly reduced (by about 95 percent), and your risk of infecting others is likely also much lower. (That exact statistic is still unknown, but is probably less than 95 percent.) Your tolerance for these risks might depend on whether the unvaccinated people you’re with are at risk for COVID-19 because of other reasons.
I think there’s another reason to keep wearing masks in public, at least for now. The strangers around you in a grocery store have no way of knowing whether you’re vaccinated. Wearing a mask is also a signal that you take the virus seriously and believe that we’re in this together—because we are. We can all get back to our normal lives when enough people have been vaccinated that the coronavirus no longer poses much of a threat in schools, workplaces, or even a big, crowded party.
Tracking Covid-19 vaccinations worldwide 
***
Good news for the US: Merrik Garland at his confirmation hearing US Attorney General. Take a a moment and watch a really decent human being – intelligent, humble, public minded, and cognizant of history – explain what motivates him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mICmR9luUeE
Soon-to-be US Attorney General elect Merrick Garland is the guy Senator Mitch McConnel refused to allow a hearing to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. 

Healthy planet, anyone?

I didn’t realize until day’s end yesterday, that I’d not completed posting to this blog. I’d posted one third of the usual then – likely distracted by the intense wind and thunderstorm – I’d forgotten to complete the posting.
Was that yet another sign that 49 weeks of lockdown causes brain burps?

What can you do to maintain healthy brain and heart during lockdown? Some folks keep chickens or organize chutney tastings, or draw one another. These 56 small, affordable suggestions won’t end lockdown misery, but they might help. 

Below, Atlantic Monthly writers and editors offer their best suggestions for maintaining sanity during lockdown
Alexis C. Madrigal, staff writer, takes a neighborhood plant walk.
I have taken up night walks, wandering the empty streets of Oakland and Berkeley after my kids go to bed. Every once in a while, I find a succulent from a neighbor and snip just a tiny piece. Then, I take it home, stick it in water, and wait for its roots to sprout and grow down. Eventually I plant it in the tiny garden that I've built.
Shan Wang, senior editor, suggests building on your indoor garden.
Grow it; don’t throw it: Plant some kitchen scraps (lemon seeds, lentils, celery stalks, avocado pits) and watch new life happen in days, no extra soil or pots required.

Call someone, says Rebecca J. Rosen, senior editor.
Pick up your phone and call—actually call; don’t text—a friend just to catch up. Any time I have talked to a friend during this pandemic, I have found the conversation restorative, grounding, and gratifying. Plus, you never know when the person on the other end of the line really needs a friend, too.

Emma Green, staff writer, makes pierogies.
One weekend, perhaps seized by the spirit of some ancient Polish ancestor, I found myself irresistibly drawn to the idea of making pierogies. The little dumplings require an astonishing amount of time and patience, at least by my standards, but the process is meditative, and at the end, you have something delicious for the freezer.
Do like Marina Koren, staff writer , and take a fake commute.
If you're working remotely, create a daily commute and take a walk around the block in the morning. Quarantine has blurred so many work-life boundaries that even a pretend journey can feel refreshing.
 
Learn about cicadas, says A.C. Valdez, senior podcast producer.
Maybe you or your kids are fascinated by bugs. If so (and if an overabundance of insects isn’t too biblical-plague-esque for you), now’s a perfect time to study up on them before your spring hikes: The Brood X cicadas are emerging for the first time in 17 years. (Did you know that there are also 13-year broods?)

Kate Cray, assistant editor, and friends host a standing Zoom get-together.
A group of my friends organized a standing nightly Zoom meeting for the month of February as part of a plan to revive a college tradition. This structure has (perhaps ironically) recreated both the consistency and the spontaneity that I’ve been missing socially. The meetings are planned, but it’s always a surprise who will show up. They help to fight against the instinct toward self-isolation by removing any barriers to seeing friends: Someone will be on the call each night.
 
“Change up your hair (but don't give yourself bangs)” – from Karen Ostergren, deputy copy chief
Every day is the same. Every day is overwhelming. You scroll through Instagram, bored, procrastinating, and see the same ad as always, for brightly colored hair dye, until one time you hit Purchase. Why not? It turns the floor of your shower purple; now you’ve got Saturday-night plans. And the next time you see yourself in a mirror, you smile—for once, not everything is the same.
Take on a home-improvement project, as did Amanda Mull, staff writer.
The most satisfying things that I’ve done for myself in the past year have been a series of small home-improvement projects, such as swapping out my kitchen faucet for a model with a higher neck and spray nozzle. DIY projects work on several levels—they give you something new to learn, they require you to put down your phone and focus on the task in front of you, and they provide the satisfaction of solving a problem whose solution you can see and appreciate every day.

And… buy new socks.
This is sad, says Paul Bisceglio, Health, Science, and Technology editor, but even the smallest novelties help. I ordered two pairs the other week just to have something to feel excited about.

Caroline Mimbs Nyce, senior associate editor: Set micro-goals, and track your habits.
I know, I know. This seems like the kind of toothless advice that the worst person you know would offer on LinkedIn. But it works: My habit calendar guided me through a turbulent January, forcing me to take five-minute stretch breaks and get outside once aper day. Crossing my daily tasks off also helped me visualize the passing of time. 

Nora Kelly Lee, senior editor, Politics: Do a clothing-and-other-items-that-can-be-donated purge.
The pandemic is nothing if not clarifying, and one thing it’s helped me realize is that I have too much stuff. Twice this past year, I’ve gone through my belongings—clothing, books, kitchenware, decor—and separated out items for donation. Hopefully, my neighbors will find them as useful or educational or beautiful as I once did.

Volunteer, suggests Katie Martin, associate art director.
Many organizations offer creative ways to serve the community while staying safe. You can organize a contactless food drive, tutor a student over Zoom, or answer a domestic abuse hotline. I consistently find a deep sense of purpose and connection in meeting and helping my neighbors.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Raining again - still. And heavy rainfall, too. If I was a narcissist I’d see it as a direct challenge on my ability not to have my 2.5 year old request to local public works department acknowledged. The blocked culverts I’ve tried to address for almost 1,000 days are still blocked. (Prior to my getting on board, my brother tried for at least a year, too. They ignored him. Now they’re ignoring me.) 
Nor is the local city councilor is responding to my calls anymore. 
Think about it. We pay high “rates” (property tax) each month and the street pot holes only get bigger, deeper and more numerous. Add to that, neighborhood roads and street Stop signs generally not maintained. Culverts are not as common as street signs but blocked culverts create stagnant water that breed mosquitos and other pathogens as well as endanger properties along the flooding stream. Meanwhile, residents’ rates and utilities bills only increase.
Americans get a lot of flack around the world for their litigious instincts. There really is something to be said for residents’ ability to sue…
Whaddya say South Africans? Shall we get onto the litigious band wagon?
***
Resuming an obsession. It’s been months since I’ve felt the need to track the sun’s rising and setting schedule. Alas, dawn is later and later each day down here on the semi-tip of Africa. Time to begin tracking again: 
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33 pm.


Thursday, May 7, 2020

“This is not my beautiful life…”

Click to enlarge.
 Tomorrow is the first day of Lockdown Week 7.

Forty-two days behind a security fence. Forty-two days with insufficient aerobic exercise. Forty-two days talking to dogs, monkeys, fish, birds, bugs, crabs, and plants…
How much more of this must a gal take?

Bad case scenario?
In 42 more days, this gal pines for the good old days of Lockdown Week 1 or 2… or 6!

News blues…

Dr. Tom Frieden, the former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, laid out "10 plain truths" about Covid-19 … at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on the pandemic response.
A summary of Frieden’s ten truths:
1. "It's really bad" in New York City
2. It's "just the beginning"
3. Data is a "very powerful weapon against this virus"
4. We need to "box the virus in"
5. We must find the balance
6. Protect the "frontline heroes"
7. Protect our most vulnerable people, too
8. Governments and private companies need to work together
9. We must not neglect non-Covid health issues
10. Preparedness is paramount
Read the details
***
One joy of statistics and mathematical formulae is their ability to ‘sanitize’ the human experience from the messy and unquantifiable psychological and emotional aspects.
Let’s try that:
Worldwide – Confirmed infections: 3,755,379; deaths: 263,831
US – Confirmed infections: 1,228,603; deaths: 73,000
SA – Confirmed infections: 7,808; deaths: 153
Turkey* – Confirmed infections: 131,744 deaths: 3,584
*Turkey listed as I may fly to California via Turkish Airlines via Istanbul.
My motto? Know the numbers and the risks.
Johns Hopkins University ranks Turkey seventh in the world for the number of confirmed infections although the actual toll, like everywhere else, is higher.
Is there a crew sanitizing the airport?

There is increasing evidence that the rise of highly infectious diseases is linked to the increasing destruction of, and human encroachment into, the natural environment. It behooves humans to understand – and mitigate – our destructive tendencies.
Start small. Understand the concentrations of carbon dioxide - CO2 – in our fragile atmosphere:
May 2, 2020: 416.82 part per million (ppm)
May 2, 2019: 414.45 ppm
10 years ago: 393.18 ppm
Pre-industrial base: 280ppm
Safe level: 350ppm
From Mauna Loa, Hawaii. Source: NOAA-ESRL 

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it?
Figure our what you, in your ecosystem “bubble”, can do to cut down on CO2 emissions, plastics, and non-recyclables.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I’m far from my houseboat home but I’m secure, nourished, with adequate privacy. Still… I’m ready to return to California.
I thought, briefly, about reserving a seat on a repatriation flight from South Africa to Doha, Qatar. Dates were posted, people booked flights, things looked good – except for the part about having to find one’s own way from Doha to California.
Then, last night, the US Consulate in South Africa issued a follow-up email:
Qatar Airways Flights
We have received notification from Qatar Airways that all flights scheduled for May 7 and beyond have been canceled. If you have already booked a seat with Qatar Airways, please contact the airline for a refund. We have no further information on whether other repatriation flights from Qatar will be available in the future.
What happened?
No one is saying…

Moreover, Americans trying to register for information on the SAA repatriation flight to Dulles, Washington D.C. get the message that the SAA website is “experiencing technical difficulties”:
“SAA has assured us that the site is up and functioning, however, they are experiencing significantly higher than expected demand.”
Hmmm, this reminds me of my experience with the Department of Home Affairs in Pietermaritzburg where I tried – for five years! - to get my passport. I’d presented my fingers for prints, smiled for the ID camera, and paid the fee.
After that?
Nothing.
I called to enquire about status and was told, “You didn’t pick up your document, so we sent it back to Pretoria.”
Finally, I went through the SA Embassy in Los Angeles.
I was issued a passport within six months.
Joke: the SAA flight captain welcomes passengers aboard the plane, “Shortly after takeoff, our flight crew will come around and take your cocktail orders. We look forward to getting you to your destination. Be assured nothing can go wrong… go wrong … go wrong….”
Plan for Day 42? Do a giblet run….


Read Week 1  | Week 2 Week 3 | Week 4  |  Week 5   | Week 6

See photos Spying on Garden Creatures