We are nearing the anniversary of the start of the quarantine, and it seems like we haven't learned a damn thing. Ontario is opening up on Tuesday, despite its chief medical types saying this is a bad idea, while Newfoundland is shutting down amid a provincial election. The latter had largely and notably escaped the worst of the pandemic, but the new variant has caused cases to skyrocket. You'd think that Ontario would be a bit more careful, but Doug Ford (the closest thing to Trump in Canada?) is always slow to close and quick to open. Given that vaccinations are rolling out at an accelerating pace (with some bumps), it is amazing that Ontario and similar political units are rushing to open up rather than waiting an additional week or two to give medical staff a small breather. Nope, we are looking at a third wave in April. The health officials themselves are expecting ... disaster.
There are more articles lately about people hitting the pandemic wall--that they (we/I) are facing more stress, more distraction, less productivity, as the end is not as near as we had hoped, that the months of this madness just add up. The stress my friends are feeling, especially those with kids, is palpable. There is good news, but it is hard to see amid all of the dumb decisions and irresponsible behavior. Where is John Krasinski when you need him?
Among the good news: my mother got her first shot this week. Philly's screwing this up by giving it to young douchebros was reversed. Woot! Next week is winter break/reading week at Carleton! Woot! Ok, does not feel like that much of a break--different kinds of meetings rather than classes and, of course, no travel--but still a small change of pace. Wandavision remains incredibly delightful! I haven't fallen cross-country skiing in my last couple of outings. The weather here has been winter-good. That is, plenty of blue skies, and it has stayed below freezing. This is good as the snow remains snow. I hate it when it snows, melts, rains, freezes, turns to ice. So, steady freezing temps means it is more pleasant being outside except for ... right now as it has been sub 0F. And that turns bearably cold to unbearably.
On the professorial front, it was a week of bad political news making classes more interesting. The Canadian military picture of the week fostered good conversation for this week's civ-mil class, where the focus just happened to be on Canadian civ-mil. Between that and the Vance controversy, we had much to talk about. I am finding that this seminar works pretty well on zoom, so much so that, well I am breaking my promise to them. I told them I would keep classes short since zooms are exhausting, supplementing the seminars with video lectures that cover the readings I cut. Yet, we consistently go beyond the 1.5 hour mark that was my goal. I will have to re-calibrate in the second half. I was worried that transporting the meme of the week assignment to this class would not work, but it did:
So, woot for that! On the homefront, it is anniversary season, so we are finding new restaurants to order food from and I am making cupcakes in an hour or two. And we have started thinking about next year's big 30! We hope to travel for that--whether to do the Maui trip that we lost due to COVID or go to Spain or Morocco.... hmmm. I really can't wait to get on a plane again. Really. But not until I am jabbed. We did get a notice this week that the firm with whom we placed a deposit for last summer's safari is going out of business, so we will have to see what the company does as it fades away. We still hope to go to South Africa, maybe in the summer of 2022?
Anyhow, thinking about the future provides a nice distraction from the madness of the moment. Whatever it takes to get through this long winter, do it. For me, that means baking, eating, and flailing at winter sports as the one I am competent at--downhill--is out of reach for now.
Be well, and stay locked down as much as you can as the politicians find old and new ways to screw this up.
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