I feel like a 1930’s bandit whose mom made the mask for him.
More signs that we’re returning to normal, or at least a new normal.
My first thought is that I’m not sure the blog should be called ‘quarantine’ anymore since I’m kinda wandering out of the house like a mouse afraid of a big orange cat.
But what else to call it? Pandemic 2020? The 2nd Great Depression? Joe’s Guide to Weight Gain?
I dunno.
Moreover, I wonder if there is one definitive bell-weather marker for this pandemic being over.?
Should it be that they took down the tape around playgrounds? Allowed protests? Let churches and mosques and synagogues and temples re-open? Opened up the movie theaters so I can eat my weight in buttery popcorn and feel explosions rattle my bones in the IMAX seats?
*Shrug* I’m not really getting a clear message.
Looking at the numbers, there doesn’t appear to be a lot of spikes in deaths. Does this mean the pandemic is over?
I’m confused.
Here in BC, the schools were re-opened. We chose not to send our kids, mostly because they had about as much desire to return to school as having their nose hairs cleaned out by a weedeater, but also because it would still represent a risk that’s not worth taking. It’s like playing hockey without a jock. I mean, you can protect yourself without it, but the downside is nasty and rather life-altering.
In the grocery stores, I can find TP on a regular basis, the other day I found brown sugar and whole wheat flower, and I’m pretty sure I could find spam if I was looking to spam-it-up a bit. Vitamins are also plentiful on the shelves, the meat counter is well-stocked, and while the bulk bins remain closed, I can offset those bulk bins by bulk buying chocolate bars directly from the shelves. (“Did you mean to buy those 22 chocolate bars, sir?” “Why yes, yes I did. It was that or a forty of whiskey and a shotgun.)
Still hard to find are – webcams, cleaners, wipes, and high-end virus-proof masks, but simple masks are now in good supply. I feel like those items will be bouncing back, too.
As well, despite my wish that someone somewhere would forget about taxes, the property tax department got their act together and sent out new statements. It was kind of like being in Tokyo and hoping Godzilla wouldn’t step on you or bury you in his poop, but in the end, you couldn’t avoid it.
However, when I contacted the municipality to clarify my final total (since I am about as good at working my way through on-line bureaucracy as not finishing a plate of pie even when I’m full), the phone was picked up on the 3rd ring. A real person answered. The real person had the answer in about 20 seconds.
I couldn’t have been more stunned (or delighted) if someone had announced I had the lead in the next Lord of the Rings movie (though it’s more likely that I’ll be the fat orc killed by some errant elven arrow).
Lastly, the Royal Conservatory of Music offered online exams for the first time in 134 years. Not sure they could have done online exams 134 years ago, but online exams are good news for The-Oldest who just has to clear this last hurdle to be accepted to his music program at college.
Everyone can now poo as much as they want.
So, things here are progressing, slowly for sure, but I like to think they’re going in the right direction.
Until the next post, stay safe, stay healthy, and respect the new world.
About A Stepdad 