New Years Lockdown

Another year another lockdown instead of celebration. Last year we were in Virginia visiting Kate’s father at this time. We were being cautious of his health mainly because of his age. He still rode bikes with us pretty much everyday, but COVID ain’t something we want to mess with.

This year we are being cautious because we are flying to Mexico in just over a week. While we can enter Mexico with COVID we cannot come back to the US with it. Also it would suck to be sick on the trip. So we are in another lockdown to protect ourselves from getting sick. As a side effect we are also eliminating ourselves as spreaders of the virus.

Personally I am pretty introverted so the lockdowns haven’t been as terrible a thing for me. Kate on the other hand loves being around people and socializing. She is a tough lady but I know that she misses hanging out with friends and making new friends at our favorite joints.

The irony of course is that I am the one who got the ‘rona a few months ago. The main theory for that was eating in a restaurant that was crowded with no masking in sight. Kate and my parents where there and none of them got sick though. I also took Dazey to the vet where I was masked but no one working there was. Finally I have a sliver of a theory that Kate gave it to me and never showed symptoms herself.

My experience of being sick sounds fairly common: a strong flu type fever and chills, followed by congestion and exhaustion. I had mild symptoms for a day or so leading up to taking an at-home test and learning I was positive. Once I tested positive I was in lockdown and Kate spent the week sleeping at her office in town. (This was back when we lived in the 300 sq ft cabin.)

It was nice having the place to my self, for about a day. Then I was missing my lady. The dogs stayed with me and did a good job of consoling me, but by day 5 things were getting tense. I think we started to get tired of each other, and reacted by getting more and more snippy with each other. On day 6 I texted Kate asking if she could come and walk the dogs.

The entire global pandemic situation is a mess. We watched Death to 2021 last night and I had a crazy feeling of deja vu when it started. They used the same actors from Death to 2020 and at first I was worried I had selected the wrong video. Then I realized that 2021 was a really fucking crazy year and that the deja vu was reality.

The video is well done, like last years. Cuts between actual footage of the carnage and then fake interviews with actors playing various people. The satire is very well done helped by a strong cast. Stand out performances goto Hugh Grant, Tracey Ullman, Samson Kayo, and Diane Morgan. Diane’s portrayal of everyday person, Gemma Nerrick, is the source of my hardest laughs.

From a retrospective part Death to 2021 gave me all that I needed to reflect on as far as what was in the news for 2021. Other than the global pandemic, and my country’s almost revolution; 2021 was a pretty stellar year. We built a home, or rather, paid very talented people to build it. Professionally we weren’t affected negatively by any of the larger events, and both of our employers continue to do well. We are in good health, other than the bout of ‘rona I went through.

The pandemic has made the globe feel both smaller and larger at the same time. We are all being affected by the pandemic. However, depending on where you live, the experience can be vastly different. We got our first vaccine doses back in Feb/Mar, and have already gotten our booster shots. Some of my coworkers, in other countries, have only just gotten their second shots. The disparity is real and something that gets missed by most US news outlets.

So here we are again. Another trip around the sun, hiding in our huts, while nature reminds us all of who is really in charge.


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