The World From a Desk Chair

It's been a month and a half since I set foot in a building outside my own home, and it'll likely be another month and a half before I do it again. Even then, outings will probably be limited to local spots like work, our cabin, and local shops and restaurants where the crowds are small.

It's a weird thing to think about, and it can get monotonous at times. Luckily, the great Google comes to the rescue!

Today, thanks to Google spotlighting two hundred museums with virtual tours, I got to do some travel and exploration from the comfort of my bedroom.

First, I "visited" the Metropolitan Museum of Art aka The Met in New York, looking at exhibits of cuneiform, one of the world's first forms of writing, Egyptian sculptures, and arms and armour, which included suits worn by Henry VIII! Next was NASA. A lot of things I've seen before, so I didn't really linger. Still awesome, though!

From there, I crossed the globe over to England, and clicked on the British Museum, a place I've wanted to visit for a while now. A little browsing through medieval exhibits, then into a photo gallery of prehistoric artifacts. I got absolutely lost in them once I found they had detailed descriptions! Favourites included extinct animals and the world's oldest (as in 9000 years!!) mask.

Ancient Jason Voorhees?!

There are a few other places that look like fun, but I think I've done enough "travelling" for one day.

Cheers!

Simple Summer Goals

Back in January, my plans for this year included a solo trip to Toronto for the Toronto Comics Art Fest. Even when COVID-19 was starting to get serious here in Canada, organizers were still cautiously optimistic that the convention would still go ahead in May, albeit with stricter safety precautions and the option for vendors to opt out if they wanted to.

The 18th of March, TCAF 2020 was finally cancelled. I'll admit, I was upset. I had spent the better part of the previous year saving for it and had everything planned out (though not booked, thankfully!)

Now, over a month later, and with a few other events cancelled or postponed, I have a couple simpler goals for the summer of 2020.

Before the summer ends I'd like to go somewhere for lunch. At this point, I don't care if I'll need to wear a mask or not, I just want to be able to take a walk through my subdivision and go to either the Subway or Starbucks across the street for a bite to eat. Simple as that!

There's always TCAF next year, so I'll keep saving for it, but it's funny how your priorities can change in a situation like this.

Cheers!

For Some People, It's Not A Choice

I'm writing this after several days of mulling over a response to the reports of people in the United States protesting stay-at-home measures. I'm not an American, but I do like going there and have many friends in the US and, someday soon hopefully, I would love to go back, do some shopping, and see people, without worrying about any risk to my health or personal well-being. Also, COVID-19 is an issue that effects everyone globally, not just individual people and countries.

I have chronic lung failure and, at the best of times, breathe on about 73 per cent of my lung capacity. I've heard people who've come down with COVID-19 saying it was like breathing on 20 per cent of their lung capacity. This probably means that, should the worst happen, I'll be going straight to hospital.

So, when I see people, regardless of nationality, walking around recklessly, brandishing rifles (because, of course they would...), and ranting about "liberation", "my body, my choice," or something else just as foolish in the context of our current situation, I get a little upset.

Some of us, we're called "vulnerable" now, don't have much of a choice. We get sick, and it can get bad. Worse than the average person! What about my body, and my choice to avoid exposure to a potentially deadly virus?

Reports have protesters citing the loss of work and payment, and I can see why, in those circumstances, those people would be angry. But, is risking your own health, as well as the health of others, willfully defying experts and officials who are just trying to keep people safe, and looking like petulant little children, really worth it after only a month, less in some places??

I would encourage these people to stop what they're doing and think about the wider impact and consequences of their actions. I would also hope that anyone who is encouraging these protesters (because I know they're out there) stops immediately. They're only adding fuel to a fire and making things worse.

In these times, everyone needs to relax, be kind, be patient, help each other, and trust in the experts. We do this, and hopefully we can all get out and about before the summer ends, if not earlier.

Cheers

Silver Linings

It's April 1st and I've started a thirty-day writing month. Most ideas came from Google, but I added a few prompts related to the blog or some other things I've written to make it interesting.

The inaugural prompt was "List ten things that make you happy." Fairly easy, so I thought I'd spin it a little to write about things keeping me happy and optimistic during this quarantine/COVID-19 crisis, and share them here.

1. I don't have to worry about Para Transpo

It's been so nice not having to wake up at 6 AM every morning! I work from 8:30 to 1:30 normally, and it's great to be able to actually work within those hours, and not a half-hour more or less on either end.

2. Working from home

Don't get me wrong, I like going into work, but being able to do it in sweatpants is pretty awesome.

3. Work, period

It took a while, but I'm glad to have gotten work to do from home. Having a job that normally involves scanning and filing, I can see why it took a little longer for the people I work with to find me something to do, but they did.

4. Spring weather

I can't go far at all, and barely anything's open, but I'm glad that the weather has improved enough for at least the occasional short walk outside.

5. Family

Normally, at this time of the year, I'd be planning vacations, staycations, day-trips, and other ways to get some time on my own, but this pandemic has made me realize that I'd be pretty well lost without my family to help me out.

6. My wider support system

When the quarantine and isolation started, my family doctor was pretty quick at calling and giving me and my parents instructions and peace-of-mind in case, God forbid, something should happen to me. Home care, Para Transpo, and even my ODSP (disability pension) caseworker, have all been easy to deal with. It can't be an easy time for any of these people, given the situation. Glad they are there!

7. Small businesses

With everything that's been going on the last few weeks, it's been a welcome treat to have still been able to buy a couple comics from the Comic Book Shoppe (paid over the phone, comics handed out at the door) and get some great food from World Burger (ordered over the phone, picked up in sealed bag at location)! I can't imagine what small businesses are going through right now, so it's nice that two of my favourite local spots were able to modify their practices enough to keep everyone safe, while still providing excellent service!

8. Netflix

Liberal amounts of The Flash, Castlevania, Star Trek and yes, even a bit of Tiger King have all helped occupy my time over the last few weeks.

9. Drive thru's

Once in a little while, because they're open, the people there could probably use some human interaction, and iced coffee is great, even during a pandemic.

10. Writing

I've written more on here in the last couple weeks than I have in the last couple months. Self-isolation is good for creativity, maybe??

Stay safe, stay home, and be well.

Cheers!