blogcutter | Entries tagged with covid 19

So where are we with COVID these days? Numbers are trending upwards again, as they generally do when winter draws near. But it's a different scenario from what we saw in November of 2020 or 2021 or even 2022. Vaccines are readily available. Limitations on social mingling have mostly been lifted. But ironically the lack of restrictions seems at times to be even more polarizing than the original public health measures ever were.

There will of course be those for whom it will never be time to ease the restrictions. "Don't they understand that COVID's not over??" they wail as they ruthlessly scrub their hands with hand sanitizer, disinfect their groceries and call 911 when they see a kid playing on the monkey bars at the local playground, even though our understanding of how the virus spreads and our development of ways to forestall it has evolved significantly since 2020. Then there are those who argue that even asking an employee to disclose their vaccination status, let alone to get vaccinated in the first place, is an unpardonable breach of their human rights and civil liberties.

Certainly, some of us are more vulnerable to COVID than others, and we need to adjust our level of precaution to our individual situation and that of the people closest to us. But if we put in place maximum restrictions for everyone in all situations, then we end up jeopardizing EVERYONE'S mental and physical health and overall quality (and maybe even quantity) of life! Do we want to live or just to meet the technical definition of existing or subsisting?

I've gotten every COVID shot I've been eligible for, a total of seven. I wear an N95 mask in all health care settings, whether it's required not. I almost never wear one outdoors, but have one handy just in case. In indoor settings, it varies. If the venue is crowded, I usually mask. If not, I usually don't. Ever since I discovered the type of mask that goes round the back of the head rather than looping over the ears, masking has been a lot easier and more comfortable too. As well, ventilation has been upgraded in a number of public buildings. I put a mask around my neck when I leave the house, and then I'm good to go!

Now if we could just break away from the tyranny of the QR code, the ZOOM meeting, the cash-outlawed society...

Current Mood: hopeful
Current Location: home

(A continuation of the saga I began on August 9)

So even with my refund in hand (or at least recorded in my online bank accounts), it was with some trepidation that I set about making travel arrangements for my trip to Ireland. I'd heard all about cancelled and seriously delayed flights, lost and delayed baggage, ArriveCan woes, random COVID testing and intrusive follow-ups even for fully vaccinated travellers, airlines refusing to compensate passengers in and appropriate and legally prescribed ways... need I go on?

In shopping for an airline, I considered both Air Canada and Westjet. Air Canada looked to be far more expensive, although the cost varied considerably according to how much flexibility they offered if you had to cancel or change your travel arrangements. Westjet offered premium economy seats at what I considered reasonable rates, and they looked to be a big step above regular economy class for the comfort, services and amenities provided.

Another consideration was the route taken and the airports I would have to go through. I've never been a fan of Toronto's Pearson Airport at the best of times and after hearing that it ranked worst in the world for canceled and delayed flights, that cemented my determination not to risk a layover there. Ideally I would have found a direct Ottawa-Dublin flight that suited my schedule (better for the environment too), but it was not to be. Travelling to Toronto meant travelling west in order to travel east, which makes little sense to me. And Toronto was also one of the sites where returning passengers might be subjected to random COVID testing in addition to the numerous other indignities we keep hearing about!

So I booked my flights to go through Halifax instead. Not only would I be flying continuously east (the irony of doing so on an airline named Westjet did not escape me) but by losing one of my hours immediately, prior to the overnight flight to Dublin, I figured it might be easier to adjust to the rest of the time difference. Plus, I could arrive earlier in the morning, go directly the the convention centre to check into the conference, attend the opening ceremonies featuring former (and first woman) president Mary Robinson, then check into my hotel for a nap, as there weren't any conference sessions later in the day I was that interested in.

That was the plan, anyway. In the end, the Ottawa to Halifax flight got cancelled - AFTER I had supposedly "checked in" for my flight the night before, AND printed boarding passes indicating the gates I'd be boarding at in Ottawa and Halifax and the times boarding was scheduled to begin! But at least it happened while I was still at home, not while I was sitting in a crowded, uncomfortable airport waiting area. And Westjet did offer me an alternative, which I accepted as the lesser of two evils.

The substitute offer had me on a flight at 6:45 PM instead of 6PM, bound for (sigh) Pearson Airport and a correspondingly later flight from Toronto to Dublin, which then took off about 40 minutes behind schedule. On the other hand, I was still assigned a comparable seat in Premium Economy and other than the comparatively minor delays, there were no problems at the airport. Security was quite fast and efficient; they don't even make you take your shoes off anymore to go through the scanner. A big advantage for me of Canadian airports and Canadian-based airlines is that masks are still required throughout the journey, except for meals and identification purposes at the gate.

I've become a big fan of Westjet and their premium economy service too. The Westjet in-flight people seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves and keen to make the experience pleasant for their passengers. For the meals, a flight attendant whipped out a little white tablecloth to spread over each tray-table. Wine was included. I hadn't specifically ordered a vegetarian meal but on all flights there seemed to be a vegetarian (though likely not vegan) option. On the flight from Toronto to Dublin that was potato gnocchi and on the flight home (Dublin to Halifax) it was a vegetarian lasagna. There were plenty of take-away snacks too, like granola bars, nuts, pretzels, mints and chocolates. Pillows and blankets were provided as well as little care packages with sleep masks, lip balm, ear plugs and socks inside.

The seats that I booked entitled me to two pieces of checked luggage, one carry-on bag (to go in an overhead bin) and one smaller personal item (such as a handbag or small knapsack) to go under the seat.

After all I'd heard about baggage handler strikes, misplaced bags and the like, it seemed safer to travel to Dublin with everything I needed in the cabin. But I was also pretty sure I'd want to buy a few things while I was over there. So inside my carry-on bag I packed a scrunchable backpack and a sort of day-bag (a tote-bag with rubberized lining, therefore waterproof) I'd need while in and around Dublin. The backpack would become my carry-on for the flights back to Canada and I would check my larger (and by then heavier) rolling carry-on suitcase. I figured it didn't matter quite so much if my bag got lost or misplaced on the way home.

That arrangement worked pretty well, although I did wish I'd packed a few extra plastic bags. Single-use plastics seem to have been completely eliminated in Ireland and good on them! It's just that paper bags are not always practical - they take up more room in the luggage and they disintegrate in the rain. One partial solution I adopted was to buy cloth bags from some of the landmarks I visited - the James Joyce Centre, the Rock & Roll Museum, the Winding Stair Bookshop - and they were useful for separating clean clothes from dirty ones and for cushioning a few of the more fragile items I wanted to pack for the trip home. And the barman at the Ha'penny Bridge Inn was good enough to give me a reusable plastic (or at least plastic-like) carrier bag from Tesco when I arrived there with a rapidly disintegrating paper shopping bag.

I wrote earlier about my frustrations with Canada's own ArriveCan website. Somewhere in Dublin, but no sooner than 72 hours before my expected arrival back in Canada, I had to be in possession of my ArriveCan receipt: probably a printed one, as I was not using a smartphone during my trip. So where would I print my receipt? The conference was already over by that time and as for the hotel, there didn't seem to be at the kind of business centre that I had hoped for. I had perfectly fine Internet service via my laptop, but no access to a printer. Maybe a public library? But the problem was, there wasn't any obvious public library
in the areas I wanted to visit and I didn't know what their hours were or what their printing facilities were like. But something I HAD seen around town was Internet cafés.

On the Friday evening (July 29), just after I returned from a day trip to Galway, I entered my expected return flight details into ArriveCan. I couldn't believe how smoothly it went! I soon had the requisite ArriveCan receipt in my e-mail box and now it only remained to find somewhere to print it off. I did an online search for Internet cafés in the Dublin area and jotted down a few possibilities to explore the next day.

So, about Internet cafes. They do have Internet and printing services but they don't really have café. In fact, the one I went to was combined with a tanning salon. The good news is that it was inexpensive and was open long hours. The bad news is that even though I used the few privacy tricks I knew about and was assured I was "going incognito", I still got a couple of spam messages the next day, telling me (erroneously, thank goodness) that my e-mail had been locked and several e-mail messages had been withheld. But other than printing off my ArriveCan receipt, I wasn't using the Internet café for anything confidential or anything I can think of that would be much use to hackers and crackers.

The flights back to Ottawa were fine. I went through Halifax as I had wanted to. Things were efficient at Dublin airport and since I was flying on a Canadian-based airline, they made sure I had my ArriveCan receipt right from the get-go. Masks were not required at Dublin airport (and most passengers weren't wearing them) but things weren't so ridiculously congested as to preclude social distancing. But they WERE required on board the plane. I checked one bag at Dublin airport, as planned, and it was checked right through to Ottawa. At Halifax airport (my point of arrival back in Canada), Westjet staff were on hand to guide us through customs procedures, which were mostly about punching the relevant buttons on a computer terminal. I didn't have to go through security a second time before my flight from Halifax to Ottawa.

So that concludes my piece on the logistics of travel during the 7th wave of COVID-19. In a future blog post, I'll write more about my experiences in Ireland.

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: home
Current Music: The Travelers

Today marks exactly 10 years since my first post on Dreamwidth. Here's a link to what I wrote On March 25, 2012:

https://blogcutter.dreamwidth.org/2012/03/25/

No doubt I should be writing something profound about the state of the world and the blogiverse then vs. now, sort of an old normal vs. the now normal and the ghosts of normals yet to come.

But the truth is, I don't feel terribly inspired at the moment. I'm still stuck in a 2-year-old Covidian trance, feeling uncertainty about what lies ahead, unsure if it's better to make ambitious (or even modest) plans only to have them dashed or to delay most planning and live in a kind of perpetual Today. Well, maybe a perpetual This Week.

Regardless of all that, I decided my blog's 10-year anniversary was at least worthy of a mention.

Next Friday will be April Fool's Day, the 16th anniversary of my mother's passing, the date of my next Phirst Phriday Philanthropy and for many organizations, the beginning of a new fiscal year. It might be a good time to launch a sort of "decade in review" series of posts.

Current Mood: drained
Current Location: the blogosphere
Current Music: Surfin' Safari

This month's donation goes to the Good Companions centre, which provides programmes and services for seniors and other adults with disabilities:

https://thegoodcompanions.ca/

Geographically situated in the heart of the Red Zone around Parliament Hill, their services have been in even higher demand than usual, as they provide practical assistance like food, transportation and friendly check-ins to vulnerable folk in the centretown neighbourhoods who huddle captive in their own homes, fearful of venturing out lest they be verbally or physically attacked by the very people in the Convoy who claim to be fighting for everyone's freedom.

Yes, I did point out in last week's entry that truckers had some valid grievances and they do have a right to protest - peacefully, safely and legally. Which a number of them did. But a large swath of those who remain, and no doubt of those rolling in this weekend, are decidedly unconcerned with peace, safety or legality - or indeed of freedom except when it comes to their own freedom to do whatever it takes to get their own way!

It's ironic, really. At yesterday's news conference, organizer Tamara Lich said that they would continue to protest until they saw a clear plan for the elimination of all COVID plans and restrictions. Well, we've seen no shortage of plans - from all levels of government! The plans vary in their approaches and clearly the protesters don't like any of them! Even public health experts and advisory panels are virtually unanimous in saying that COVID's not going anywhere, any time soon, and our best bet is to learn to live with the virus while mitigating the risks to the most vulnerable.

Ottawans, especially those living in or needing to be in downtown neighbourhoods, are at the end of their ropes. Now let's hope that we can reverse the roles of puppet and puppeteer and get that show on the road and out of town!

Current Mood: anxious
Current Location: home
Current Music: Get Off My Cloud

Ottawans have been advised to avoid the downtown core this weekend. And possibly next week too. It's all down to the "Freedom Convoy", a bunch of truckers from across the country (and quite possibly beyond), who disagree with vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers. Depending on which spokesperson you listen to, they may also disagree with any kind of vaccine mandate for anybody. They may disagree with any and all public health precautions and restrictions. They may even think that COVID-19 itself is one big hoax.

The fact is, despite all their talk of "unity", they are far from being a unified, much less unifying group of people.

Are they all a bunch of alt-right extremists, promoting hatred, terrorism, anarchy and worse? Or are they champions of bodily autonomy, human rights and the Just Society?

Any large-scale protest is bound to be disruptive. Some protesters will employ questionable, if not illegal tactics in an attempt to achieve their goals. Some of those authorized to suppress them will also employ questionable, if not illegal tactics in an effort to achieve their own goals and restore public order. Order is usually somewhat restored, though often with unacceptable social consequences and repercussions for those who are often the wrong targets. So how should we, as a society, proceed?

It's been said that to tell someone they're wrong, you should first tell them they're right. I believe they are mostly wrong. Hell, even most of the Truckers' Associations seem to think they're wrong, at least in the methods and madness they're using to convey their message. But at the same time, I understand where many of them are coming from. I think there are some valid points to be made on their side, at least here and there. And when even the experts disagree with each other on the best approach to take in managing the virus, it's hard to know whom to trust, especially in an ever-changing landscape.

Okay, so looking first at the narrowest version of what's being protested here, compulsory vaccination for cross-border truckers. It seems that around 85-90% of them are fully vaccinated anyway. They just don't agree with a blanket prohibition on the unvaccinated. Then there's the question of how much human contact a lone trucker has anyway, driving the rig across the border, submitting the relevant documents (likely electronically), unloading and cargo, driving back. Apparently in many cases, the staff at remote diners and other truck stops were not even letting them use the washroom. The delivery trucks-and-drivers on which we are so reliant are having to be entirely self-contained and self-sufficient. Is it any wonder some truckers are frustrated, mad as hell and not about to take it any more?

Then there are the politicians. Politicians, of course, are the primary targets of a protest on Parliament Hill, a provincial legislature or a city hall. Politicians do not necessarily need to be epidemiologists or public health specialists but they do need to listen to them, be able to understand what they're saying, and come up with practical policy options for implementing their advice. I'm not saying that's easy, especially in our federal system where responsibility for public health is quite diffuse. But even taking into account our system of governance, many of our politicians are falling short.

Politicians are often more concerned with "optics", of being SEEN to be doing something even if it's not the right thing and may even be counterproductive. Then there's the "too many cooks" business of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. The vaccine mandate for truckers was supposed to definitely come into effect January 15, then a few days before that, it was going to be waived and a few hours later it was "oops, we made a mistake, it really WILL happen January 15. We've had various systems of lockdown and re-opening - some colour-coded, some numbered, some involving social circles and bubbles and households - and many times been promised that this will ABSOLUTELY be the LAST lockdown we'll have to endure!!!

Trudeau's government-approved quarantine hotels (at the traveller's own expense, of course) were another low point. And it turned out that even these specially-selected hotels were often not able to properly care for the "guests" who were paying handsomely to lodge there! Once they were finally released with their negative COVID tests, they were still expected to quarantine at home for the rest of the (then) 2-week period, which everybody did (partly because of the threat of exorbitant fines but just as much, I suspect, out of concern for their own and their family's health). Yet even then, many were treated like naughty children, being constantly phoned, visited and generally nagged to remind them of their obligations.

Personally, I haven't traveled outside the area (and barely even across the local bridges to Gatineau) since March 2020. I've been a good obedient little citizen. I took the first COVID vaccine I was offered, as instructed, which was Astrazeneca. Then when they decided that mRNA vaccines were preferable, I obediently lined up for several hours to get a Moderna shot. And now I've had a booster too, this one a Pfizer.

So truckers, I feel your pain. I feel some pain too from supply chain issues and inflation, although I know I'm more fortunate than many. I know you're not all a bunch of extremists who seek a Canadian version of January 6, 2021. I know there are quite a few reputable organizations in your corner, such as the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

So I say protest peacefully, protest safely, protest legally, but stand up for yourselves, your rights, and everybody's rights.

And keep on truckin!

https://groovyhistory.com/keep-on-truckin-r-crumb-cartoon

Current Mood: determined
Current Location: home
Current Music: Trucker's Café, Truckin' My Blues Away

On Friday (Jan. 14), in anticipation of the Big Snow due to hit us on Monday, I made a point of returning my library book, which was also due on Monday. The plan was to stay home and cocoon for the day on Monday. But then, around 5:30 on Friday afternoon, I got a phonecall from the office of my new rheumatologist. Could I come in on Monday morning at 10:30 for my first visit? I mentioned the impending snowstorm and the receptionist agreed that it could be a problem but said the office would still be open. I consulted briefly with Dianora who was agreeable to driving me there, snow or no, and told the receptionist I'd try to make the appointment.

A brief bit of background here. I'd been seeing the last rheumatologist for about 15 years and I really liked her. Her office is conveniently located at Centrepointe but since March 2020, all our consultations have been by phone. Then in August 2021, she informed me that she would be retiring in the spring and would be passing my file on to a different rheumatologist located on Greenbank Road in Craig Henry. I looked up the new one on RateMyMD and the evaluations were really all over the map.

By Sunday evening, it had already been announced that all public libraries would be closed on Monday and there would be no garbage or recycling pickup. By Monday morning, school closures and bus cancellations were announced throughout the region. There would be no mail delivery either. We did have a newspaper (it usually arrives around 2AM, which was probably before the snowfall began in earnest; we still don't have our paper today)

I phoned the rheumatologist's office shortly after 8AM and the receptionist was already there on site. She suggested I aim to arrive around 10:45. Even if the doctor wasn't ready for me by then, she said I'd be able to visit the lab (located in the same building) for bloodwork.

So we headed off just after 10AM, with the snow already rapidly accumulating, keeping to the main roads as much as possible. Thank goodness for winter tires! We got there around 10:30. The parking lot wasn't very well plowed although to be fair, keeping it clear would have necessitated having a plow circle it in a continuous loop in order to keep up. The parking machine was broken and a sign in the lobby of the building indicated that we would not be charged for parking. I guess you get what you pay for! After masking up and ensuring I had all the necessary documentation with me, I was in the office by 10:40. It was nearly 12:30 by the time I left. But the thing is, there was practically no wasted time in the nearly two hours I was there; in one way or another, almost all of that time was devoted to serving my rheumatological needs.

I was the only patient in the waiting room (several others had cancelled or were being treated by phone). After taking down or verifying my particulars, the receptionist handed me a questionnaire, clipboard and pen. I had to indicate the degree of difficulty I had with various daily tasks (which were quite specific - opening a milk carton and a jar, raising a glass to my mouth, walking up 5 steps), the extent to which I needed asistance and any aids or devices I used. I had to mark on a scale the amount of pain I experienced at various times of day. Many of the questions were multiple choice but there was also space for free-form comments.

Not long after I returned the questionnaire, I was shown into one of the offices. I don't know if there was a nurse on duty yesterday at all, but I was introduced to a medical resident who had been completing placements in various rheumatology practices (including the office of my old rheumatologist). He did some typical nurse-type activities with the stethoscope and blood pressure cuff and also some things my previous rheumatologist used
to do when we were still having in-person visits, like squeezing joints to test for swelling and/or pain. He reviewed all my medications and bloodwork with me. In short, he was VERY thorough. He asked a lot of questions and actually seemed interested in my answers; he gave me plenty of opportunity to ask him questions too. He offered some initial ideas about the directions he thought my treatment might go in terms of medications, required diagnostic procedures or other therapies. Then he went to fetch the rheumatologist and we had a three-way interaction. It was quite encouraging; I really felt included as part of the treatment team. If it hadn't been a major snow day, I doubt very much that I would have had the undivided attention of these two specialists for so long. While I wouldn't have chosen to go out in that weather, there were some unexpected advantages to the situation!

My new rheumatologist seems very knowledgeable and up on the latest research. He also seems like the kind of person willing to tweak his approach according to what works best for the individual patient. I had hoped initially that I'd be referred to another woman, especially as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) afflicts far more women than men and I gather diseases of all kinds often manifest themselves differently in men and women. But I'm getting pretty good vibes from him so far.

Some highlights: as my condition is stable right now, I'll probably only need bloodwork done every three months instead of every two. For the medications, there could obviously be a concern about dampening my immune response to treat my RA but thereby increasing my vulnerability to Covid and other infections. My previous rheumatologist advised me to go off two of my DMARDs for two weeks following my Covid and flu shots and I had only recently resumed taking them. I had found with the methotrexate in particular that the side effects were magnified this time. It's one of those drugs where I have to take 8 pills all at once, once a week and I suppose my body was simply not used to it any more. So we're looking at gradually tapering off the methotrexate and sulfasalazine. Also at increasing my folic acid dosage, something one of the pharmacists had also suggested to me a while ago. It will be cheaper now too, since I'll no longer be buying them over-the-counter, and won't involve taking so many pills since the entire dosage will be complete in a single pill. My next appointment will be in 4 months' time, by phone (although I have to get x-rays and bloodwork done in the meantime).

I emerged from the building just before 12:30 to find Dianora assisting a woman who had gotten stuck in the snowy parking lot (the second one that morning, apparently). It was her first Canadian winter and her car was not equipped with winter tires. She did have a snow shovel in her trunk (as did we) and someone else who had just arrived came to lend a hand as well.

After brushing off our own car, we made our way home, although instead of backing into the driveway and garage as she usually does, Dianora had to dive in nose-first after a bit of shovelling and help from a neighbour with a snowblower, and a push from another neighbour.

I had some panicked moments later that afternoon when I realized my credit card and Optimum card were not in my purse where I usually put them. The thing is, I had pulled them out when I got back to the car after my appointment. I was about to mark down my next appointment in my little pocket planner when I suddenly realized we were leaving the parking lot and hastily thrust the cards aside to fasten my seatbelt.

To make a long story shorter: after thoroughly ransacking my purse and checking the car twice without success, I waded out to the garage a third time and located them on the floor of the car under the passenger seat.

Enough excitement for one day, we decided as we sat down to watch the news, Coronation Street and Murdoch Mysteries.

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: home

Now I know my ABCs... maybe I should concentrate on my alphabetagammas. Including how to type the Greek alphabet from my computer keyboard!

Several decades ago, when I was going into grade 9, I had a choice between Latin and Typing for my optional subject. I chose Latin, but also took (noncredit) typing lessons during my lunch break. My Latin teacher also knew and informally taught classical Greek after regular school hours. I lasted for maybe a week in those classes before deciding that high school was already quite stressful enough without taking on that additional work.

So to make a long story short, most of it is all still Greek to me. My familiarity with the Greek alphabet is pretty much limited to those symbols that are regularly used in mathematical or scientific nomenclature. I was never involved in sororities, fraternities or toga parties, where I'm sure Greek letters were tossed about with abandon, along with the French letters and ouzo. Now, of course, there's COVID-19, which has forced us to learn much more Greek than we ever wanted to know.

I guess it's easier to learn the Greek letters assigned to variants than it was to learn complex alphanumeric series of characters like we did at the beginning of the pandemic. Still, the assignment of names to viruses and variants is definitely not devoid of political controversy!

Just as the "Spanish flu" pandemic a century or so ago was apparently not really Spanish, so the Novel Coronavirus is NOT to be dubbed the Chinese virus or the Wuhan virus. Nor are we to use the Greek letter xi for any of the variants because Xi is a common name in China and using it might offend people of Chinese descent. I'm not quite sure why we don't have similar concerns about possibly offending the Greeks!

Let's look at the latest variant of concern, omicron. First off, how do we pronounce it: with a short "o" or a long "o" (as in O Canada!)? The Canadian Oxford Dictionary has it with a short o. Likewise the Webster's dictionary I own, which then goes on to indicate that the British pronunciation is with a LONG o. Interestingly enough, our copy of the Shorter Oxford doesn't seem to have the word "omicron" in it at all. I then looked in our Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, which did have the word, but it was under the entry for "Omega". The entry also points out that omicron is the equivalent of our lower-case "O" (our micro-O) while omega is equivalent to capital "O" (mega-O).

Mind you, I don't believe everything I read, particularly when it doesn't jibe with the evidence of my own ears. Listening to commentary from the UK, most people seem to pronounce "omicron" with a short "o" whereas in North America, the long "o" seems to prevail. There are some notable exceptions, however. For example: Chrystia Freeland, our Minister of Finance and Deputy PM, consistently pronounces it with the short "o". As for the way it's written, I note that the Postmedia newspapers spell it with an upper-case "O" although it's possible they just use capital letters for all the variants.

Maybe we should just give up and call this the Omega variant? Sort of like making a christening gown twice the length of the new baby, hoping the baby lives long enough to grow into it, we could name this variant after the last letter of the Greek alphabet in hopes that it will be the last variant of concern we see during this pandemic - or maybe even ever! Mind you, we haven't seen the name "Methuselah" grow much in popularity since biblical times, even as lifespans lengthen.

What's in a name? Lots, apparently. Many people seem more passionate about the name than the thing or phenomenon it denotes. Does that make even one iota of sense?

Current Mood: amused
Current Location: the dictionarium
Current Music: Leonard Cohen

Everyday life has entered a new alternate reality. There's the virtual reality of the Zoomiverse and the in-person world which still is not real life as we used to know it and has a whole bewildering new set of protocols we must learn and adhere to - but without the luxury of time and parental or mentoral patience, training or guidance. Is it any wonder we're feeling a bit disoriented or overwhelmed?

We're still doing a fortnightly early-morning big grocery shop, as we've been doing since lockdown in March 2020. In many ways it's easier than it was in the beginning. They no longer have the one shopper per family rule, they've removed the one-way arrows on the aisles and they don't detain you on the way in to ask a bunch of health questions, take your temperature or spray you with hand sanitizer. It's rarely crowded when we shop and we usually don't have to wait for an available cashier. On the minus side, there are still shortages of some things, the produce is often a bit tired-looking and prices are high even when we look carefully for sale items.

Museums and art galleries have re-opened, though with reduced hours and by appointment only. On Saturday, we attended our first live Ottawa Bach Choir concert in nearly two years and a couple of weeks ago we went to a noon-hour harpsichord concert at Southminster. Restaurants have re-opened for indoor dining. Movies are possible too, although I find there's less selection these days, at least at the times and venues I'm most interested in. There are even a few seasonal craft sales this year. Everything takes a bit more planning and organization than it used to: ensuring vaccination certificates are ready to present upon entry to a building, keeping one's mask on or at hand as needed, along with at least one spare one, a small bottle of hand sanitizer and a couple of wipes. It's definitely a juggling act but a worthwhile one for many of us, especially if we are engaged in activities of our own choosing.

With the recently emerged omicron variant, it's hard to predict what the next few months will hold. And I'm still wondering whether I'll be travelling next summer...

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: home
Current Music: Take it as it comes

As we emerge from COVID lockdowns in Canada thanks to mass vaccination campaigns, there are still parts of the world where only a tiny fraction of the population is vaccinated. That's why this week's donation is directed to Unicef Canada's Giveavax campaign:

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/canadian-unicef-committee/campaign/7-donate-to-unicefs-giveavax-covid-19-vaccine-match-fund/?utm_source=ch-supporters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=July292021_vaccination_appeal_EN&utm_content=0634+July+29+021_International_vaccination_appeal

And for the next month or so, the Government of Canada will match donations made by Canadians to the fund. At $4.81 per double-shot dose, we can make a real difference.

Many of us are longing to get back to international travel but that won't happen unless our intended destination has also got the virus under control.

Now, if we could only start working towards international standards for which vaccines and combinations thereof are accepted across national borders!

Current Mood: determined
Current Location: home
Current Music: Gef Lucena (Songs of the Sea)

Sixty years ago, a musical came out called "Stop the world - I want to get off!" And now, with Covid receding in our rear-view mirror, many of us are itching for the world to re-start again so we can get back to some semblance of normalcy.

While it's a catchy title, apparently the saying actually pre-dates the musical by at least a decade. Here's what I found on one site:

https://wordhistories.net/2020/05/29/stop-world-want-get-off/

I thought about riffing on some other title, like "The day the earth stood still" but when I thought about that, it's really not very accurate at all, in that many people found themselves busier than ever during lockdown. Not only was their home their castle, but also their office, their children's school and daycare, their library, their movie theatre, and so on. Their lifeline was their wi-fi, and even that may have been inadequate to support the needs of the family unit.

Mind you, not everyone is excited about getting out there again. I have somewhat mixed feelings myself. I tackled a few things but still find myself wondering if I really used my time wisely over the past 16 months. It can be difficult to plan when you don't know how much time you'll have to work with. And even once I do get back to some of the things I used to enjoy - seeing friends, going to concerts, plays, movies, museums and galleries, eating out - will I still be able to enjoy them? I think for a while, at least, I'll have the feeling of being out there but not quite out in the real world yet. There'll still be the need for capacity limits and masking in certain venues, for example, and planning for things that used to be more spontaneous.

Then there are the bigger events like festivals, conferences and travel... and even thinking about it can be a little overwhelming!

Current Mood: restless
Current Location: home

It's hard to fathom the situation right now in India. It's even more poignant when we consider that having believed the Coronavirus crisis had largely subsided in their country, India was donating its remaining vaccines, PPE and other tools of the trade to countries that at the time, were harder hit.

In recent years, India had been making substantial progress in eliminating child marriage and some of the more egregious human rights violations with regard to more disadvantaged groups. I decided to direct this week's donation to boosting a particular campaign that is within spitting distance (metaphorically speaking, of course) of reaching its target, with a week left to go:

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/childrens-care-international/campaign/emergency-support-for-indian-families/

Best-selling novelist Arundhati Roy has written a compelling piece for The Guardian about the situation there, which you can read here:

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/apr/28/crime-against-humanity-arundhati-roy-india-covid-catastrophe?utm_source=pocket-newtab

The Canadian government has put the brakes on incoming flights from India but we all know that viruses do not respect political or ethnic borders. Variants of concern, including the B1617 (first identified in India) are present all over the world and we won't really have herd immunity in Canada or in our home towns until we have it on an international basis.

Current Mood: distressed
Current Location: home
Current Music: Ravi Shankar

Today was another grocery shopping day. So what's new in Groceryland, you might ask?

First of all, grocery stores in Ontario are now required to limit in-person shopping to 25% of the store's capacity, down from 50% previously.

Secondly, Loblaws (and presumably other supermarkets too) has now roped off (or plasticked off) the "nonessential" sections of the store while posting additional signs about taking safety precautions with the utmost seriousness. So what's considered nonessential?

Sections with tea-towels, baking pans and kitchen gadgets. Apparently food is still essential but the materials you use to prepare them are not.

A lot of stationery items were in closed-off sections too. After all, we're supposed to do "paperwork" online these days, right? Apparently Ford Nation isn't aware of the power of writing by hand or the science behind it. Here's a recent article on the topic:

https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/benefits-writing-by-hand/?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Mind you, the irony of the fact that I found and read this article online has not escaped me!

We're still allowed to read paper publications, as the newsstand area was still open. The greeting card section, however, was off limits. So if someone you know dies of COVID-19, you won't be permitted to buy a card to send to the family. Nor can you buy the requisite stationery to make your own, though I guess you could pulp your reading matter (cringe) to make your own paper. You could write your message with lemon juice and the recipient could steam it to reveal the invisible lettering...

Luckily you can still drown your sorrows in beer and chocolate.

Current Mood: discontent
Current Location: home
Current Music: The Lettermen

Nine years ago today, I started this blog. Here is what I wrote then:

https://blogcutter.dreamwidth.org/2012/03/25/

The main topic was introverts and the extent to which our society is geared to introverts - or not. It's strangely prophetic in some ways, although I certainly hadn't foreseen a pandemic lockdown that would last a year, and counting.

I lamented the popularity of the open-office concept that began around the seventies and was probably largely born out of necessity - the huge influx of the Baby Boom generation into the offices of the nation, and a number of other nations too. There simply wasn't enough office space for every worker to have their own private office with a door and windows you could actually open and close.

Fast-forward with a jolt to today's world of masking and self-isolation and maintaining a minimum two-metre distance from your nearest colleague. Goodbye, in-person teamwork and boring all-day meetings with flip charts and Post-it Notes!

An introvert's dream? For some, maybe.

In that same entry, I also decried the death of casual in-person interactions, substituting self-checkout stations, infuriating telephone trees with branches leading to bewildering cul-de-sacs, and demands that everything be done online - shopping, banking, registering for courses, paying taxes, applying for jobs, pensions and official documentation... and much, much more!

Suffice it to say that the above trends have flourished exponentially over the past year.

Just today, I got a helpful e-mail message from Shopper's Drug Mart informing me I could register to be informed when vaccines become available at my local pharmacy. I obediently filled in the online form providing all the pertinent information and confirmed my e-mail address. Then I had to enter a 6-digit code that Shoppers INSISTED it had just e-mailed to me, before the form could be submitted. I waited. And waited. Aaaand wa a ai t e d. Perhaps 20 minutes later I got it and filled it into the little box. And promptly got a message that the code was incorrect.

This is the Brave New World of 2021 that we live in today.

Current Mood: frustrated
Current Location: the wilds of cyberspace
Current Music: You can't always get what you want

The late folksinger Phil Ochs famously sang "Monopoly is so much fun, I'd hate to blow the game," and while he clearly meant it ironically (a fact which someone writing in Plain Truth magazine back in the day failed to grasp) and was not even talking about the classic board game, there's no doubt that a lot of people out there really do take the game quite seriously.

But like anything or anyone that's been around since 1935, Monopoly has evolved considerably since its early days.

Now the Community Chest cards have come up for a rewrite. The new cards are presumably meant to reflect 21st century values. And you too can have your say:

https://www.monopolycommunitychest.com/en-CA

No word yet on whether the Chance cards will be rewritten too.

Current Mood: amused
Current Location: games room
Current Music: Phil Ochs

In this series so far, I've been focusing on causes close to home. But since yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the Coronavirus being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, I decided this was the right time to donate to a charity working on the international scene:

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/international-development-and-relief-foundation/campaign/coivid-19-emergency-response/

It's pretty clear that you and I and our respective families are not (relatively) safe from the virus until EVERYONE is reasonably safe from it. That, after all, is the rationale behind COVAX and prioritizing the most vulnerable populations for access to immunizations. IDRF is very transparent as far as how it allocates the funds it raises and I found it fascinating to explore their website:

https://idrf.ca/

As we gain more knowledge about how best to survive the virus, the virus too is struggling to survive by mutating into more contagious variants of itself. The specific concerns we have about Covid-19 today have also evolved from where they were a year ago.

But hope is definitely on the horizon. I'm confident that things will not look as dire a year hence!

Current Mood: optimistic
Current Location: home

With all the talk of vaccine rollouts and possible third waves, I decided this week's contribution would go to the Ottawa Hospital's Covid-19 emergency fund. There is some exciting research going on there, including the development of vaccines for human trials:

http://www.ohri.ca/newsroom/story/view/1322?l=en

You can also read about some of their other ongoing projects on their site and in the description of the fund itself:

https://ohfoundation.ca/covid-19-emergency-response-fund/

A lot of the eventual outcome seems to hinge on a race between vaccinations and emerging variants of the virus - the three V's if you will. Still, we know more than we did a year ago and ultimately I expect we'll vanquish the virus.

Current Mood: hopeful
Current Location: home

This week, I have thrown my support behind the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, a legal advocacy organization that has been very active during this pandemic:

https://www.jccf.ca/

I've long been disturbed by how there seems to be one law for the privileged and another for the disadvantaged. These inequities in access to justice come into sharp focus during a public health crisis like Covid-19.

Many people see a contradiction between my libertarian streak and my overall leanings towards left-wing causes but to me, individual personal freedoms need not be at odds with the centralization of power or discretion over issues of common concern. But that's beyond the scope of today's post and indeed could be the subject of a whole long-running series!

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: home base
Current Music: I fought the law and the law won

Did you know that this is Freedom to Read Week? If not, I could hardly blame you. Local news is scarce, newspapers have shrunk drastically and communications from governments which are supposed to serve us have been sparse at best and shrouded in secrecy at worst. And I'm not even talking about matters that may legitimately need to be kept secret or confidential - I'm talking about stuff that affects us all and should be public knowledge.

Much of the country is supposedly in a re-opening phase, although not all public health authorities believe that this is being done in a sensible manner. My partner witters on about how doctors shouldn't publicly contradict each other, as if we'd all be more inclined to trust intelligent people who flock to unanimity. I can't speak for everyone, of course, but personally I'm more inclined to respect authorities who tell us up front what they DON'T know and how they are arriving at whatever informed conjectures they are making, as well as what they do know with a reasonable degree of certainty. Do any of us enjoy being patronized?

All countries, with good reason, are anxious to stem the flow of Covid-19, particularly the newer more contagious variants, across their borders. To accomplish this, quarantine measures will at times be necessary and I'd wager most people would be on board with this. So why all this cloak-and-dagger secrecy? Is that any way to gain public trust?

I found this article particularly disturbing: it tells of hapless passengers being whisked in cars with blacked out windows to unknown destinations to serve out their quarantine. Having their wrists slapped for daring to record any of their experiences or draw attention to unwarranted suffering and rights violations:

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/welcome-to-the-hotel-of-last-resort-a-government-run-quarantine-facility-where-you-really-dont-want-to-be/ar-BB1dJ2VO

And guess what? From today onwards, these passengers will have to fork out $2000 for the privilege. Surprisingly, many still seem to be quite willing to comply - except that the government is certainly not making it easy for travellers to do the right thing! The lis of government-approved hotels was only released some 72 hours before the ruling took effect and many were stuck on the phone for over 3 hours trying to make the required reservations. And these government-approved hotels, moreover, were told not to talk prices, even though many of these essential travellers are in pretty straitened financial circumstances! Here's another disturbing arcticle:

https://nationalpost.com/news/keep-the-price-quiet-all-you-need-to-know-about-government-authorized-hotels-for-mandatory-three-day-covid-stays?video_autoplay=true

It certainly leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But hey, at least I haven't lost my sense of taste or smell, so I probably don't have Covid-19!

Current Mood: angry
Current Location: The Reading Room
Current Music: A Day in the Life

Today's donation goes to the Covid-19 Prisoners Emergency Support Fund, organized by the Toronto Prisoners' Rights Project:

https://www.torontoprisonersrightsproject.org/get-involved-and-support

I have long been shocked by news stories about the deplorable conditions inside Canadian prisons, exacerbated of course by the pandemic. Just this week, I learned of major staff shortages in the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, resulting in detainees waiting months just for routine medical attention. And I suspect the cases we hear about are just the tip of the iceberg. These are people in congregate settings with multiple health concerns, at high risk of contracting Covid-19. Chances are, their families and friends have not been allowed to visit or even communicate with them by phone, e-mail or other means and may have no idea of the extent of the crisis. And yet, it is in the best interests of everyone, not only the detainees themselves, that appropriate care and treatment be available to them, whether inside or within the community.

It's also well known that indigenous and BIPOC people are overrepresented in the prison population as well as in the correctional system and the public welfare system in general so this issue, like the Coronavirus itself, is one with many spinoffs and tentacles!

Current Mood: disappointed
Current Location: home
Current Music: Johnny Cash

This week's donation goes to Solidarity Across Borders, a migrant justice organization based in Montreal:

https://www.solidarityacrossborders.org/en/

The people helped by this network are typically casual and part-time workers, often performing some of the most crucial work that is done during the pandemic: as delivery people, Uber drivers, farm workers, nannies and caregivers. But lacking all the required formal immigration credentials, they are unable to access the benefit packages that would come with secure employment. In many cases, they cannot even count on the day-to-day necessities and social programs that permanent residents of Canada take for granted: things like health care, food security, housing and public education.

To me and I'm sure to most of my countryfolk who have been following the situation, this is a source of national shame. The problems are not new, but they have been compounded considerably since Covid-19 took over all of our lives.

Current Mood: embarrassed
Current Location: home
Current Music: Solidarity forever!