Ang's Journal

Two of Alan's older brothers (Jim & Kevin) & their wives (Stephane & Olivia).
La chica, & I honestly can't believe it took this long for her to get it, considering her job.
Doctor Nick & his family.
Our neighbors across the street: Justin & Annie, & their kids, Carver, Willow, & Ava.
Aunt Nancy & Uncle Paul, & possibly cousin Calvin & some of his kids.

So far, everyone is doing all right, but Uncle Paul was in very bad shape for a while due to severe underlying conditions. It's a mix of vaccinated, boosted, & unvaccinated people.

I felt sick earlier this week & took a Abbott BinaxNOW home test, which came out negative. I was almost - almost - disappointed. Omicron isn't anything to covet, but compared to Delta, it does seem like the kinder, gentler COVID. And it feels nearly inevitable that everyone will catch some variant, sooner or later. Why not get a mild one & then have the super-immunity granted by Moderna/Moderna/Moderna/infection?

music link

Who do I know who has either tested positive for COVID-19 or is presumed positive? Effrontery (aka Snuffleupajoyce, my long-time friend from Philadelphia, lives in rural PA), Doctor Dave (cousin's ex-boyfriend, lives in Jersey City, works in Manhattan), Marilyn D. (older woman, friend from AA here in Denver) & her husband Dick (who was hospitalized), Rob R. (friend from AA, visited daughter in NYC & got sick there), TMcD & his wife & their daughter (live in Brooklyn), Mer-Mer (lives here in Denver, presumed positive but couldn't get tested).

It's possible my younger brother had it WAY early, like late November. He spends all his free time skiing & the resorts worldwide have been giant international petri dishes, leading to outbreak hotspots. He had a hard, hacking cough that lasted for weeks, & in December he was diagnosed with walking pneumonia. Obviously at that time there was no testing for COVID-19, so we may never know for sure.

I've become increasingly dismayed at the scientific illiteracy - & especially the innumeracy - of the American public & many of our political leaders. People do not understand how dangerous this disease is. They do not understand what a fatality rate of 0.1% would mean if we were not trying to control the spread. But worse, they do not want to understand. Understanding just gets in the way of their rage, it seems. They want to go on thinking this is "just a flu", despite Every. Single. Infectious Disease Expert. specifically saying this is NOT like the flu at all.

I wonder if there will be any long-term effects of this pandemic. Perhaps settlement patterns will disperse somewhat - now that it has been demonstrated that teleworking can be done for many, many jobs, why pay high prices to live in the city? I wonder if people will start to prioritize genuine relationships with other people. I wonder if certain jobs - grocery workers, delivery workers, others who have generally been looked down upon - will be recognized & recompensed at levels appropriate to "essential workers". I wonder if states will continue to ignore the Federal government & work on public health initiatives on their own.

I wonder if the American electorate will hold the Republican President, governors, Senators, & House members responsible for this country's abysmally slow & uncoordinated response accountable on November 3rd. Like a Twitter wise-ass said, Maybe you can't cure stupid, & apparently you can't quarantine it either - but you can vote it out. Here's hoping.

I know it's a very small thing, but thank you SyFy for making Battlestar Galactica available for free viewing. I loved this show & I'm really enjoying re-watching it for the first time in YEARS.

.... the revival of the Daily Quiz (Dreamwidth edition) brings any traffic to this moribund old blog of mine....

Hello!

I am currently on Day 13/14 of a voluntary home quarantine for exposure to a co-worker who was presumed COVID-19-positive. My co-worker has remained symptom-free, although his wife is quite ill with the disease. I was visiting my boyfriend in SW Colorado when I got the news that I needed to quarantine. So I stayed a few extra days. Neither I nor my boyfriend have shown any signs of COVID-19, thank God.

I really love this part of the world. It's so beautiful here. And it's peaceful - "social distancing" is almost a joke - we see NO ONE here. I'm struggling to think of the last live human voice I heard other than ours. I could get used to the quiet....