Mid-March Update, 2020

So this month has turned into something weird, and strange, and new but far from the great kind of new like a new digital expansion to Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition, or a newly announced video game IP from Nintendo.  No, this new is something that a lot of us have never lived through before and here in North America, we are getting our first taste of what China, South Korea, and Italy are already knee-deep in.  Processing all of the events that have happened and continue to happen is going to take some time, and since the situation is developing day-by-day, being able to make these necessary adjustments is exhausting on a physical, mental and emotional level.  

Last Monday (March 9th) there had not been a lot of major declarations about COVID-19 (Coronavirus) in the United States and as recently as February the President of the United States was referring to the outbreak of the virus as "their [the Democrats in Washington DC) new hoax" (yes I realize that he was not referring to the virus itself as a hoax, although at times his rhetoric would seem otherwise, but that the response was from Democrats' outrage that the information being handling by the White House is akin to the Mueller Investigation and the Impeachment inquiry/hearings/trial).  Within a week (Monday, March 16th), all public schools (K/12 through university) in our state are now closed, California has declared that all bars, nightclubs, wineries be closed and that anyone aged 65+ should self-isolate (looking at you Mümer & Püper), the CDC has recommended that any public gatherings be limited to fewer than 50 (uninfected) people [scratch that, make it 10 or fewer], and even Washington State has ordered that all restaurants close their on-site dining facilities but can remain open to delivery and drive-through options, while gyms and movie theaters are also to close.  Then this weekend we found out that our climbing gym and our favorite escape room company are closing at least through the end of March, possibly longer.  And just now (while at work), was told that at least one bank (most likely more) are closed to the public while ATMs and drive-through windows are still open; I realize that these are updates only from west coast states, but it's just so hard to keep up-to-date with all of the state laws/regulations/advisories with this pandemic that I am limiting my references to information that I am aware of, which not coincidentally, is from the states that mostly surround me.

I am trying not to make light of the situation just because I fall into the category or low risk because of my age and that I have no underlying health conditions, but the thought of being quarantined or even carrying the virus and passing it along to someone who is at higher risk  [like my Grandma who is 90 and my parents who are both over 65) is occasionally a terrifying thought.  And last Friday on The Daily podcast, a very important distinction in how illness from COVID-19 is categorized was brought to light in the distinctions between mild, severe, and critical cases.

And in the time it took for me to write that last paragraph and writing this one, a few hours, Oregon has now followed suit with Washington and will be closing bars, restaurants and the like for the next four weeks.  This is an ever-evolving situation that is pretty unnerving.  The morbid part of me wants to rewatch Contagion, Outbreak, 12 Monkeys, and play Pandemic, but I recognize that that might be too much too soon.  I am all about escapism in times of stress and there are plenty of other avenues to take, especially if you are either self-quarantining voluntarily, mandated by your local/state government, or if you have tested positive for COVID-19.

I really have no idea.  I apologize for being all over the place with this.

I got the idea to write today's article about current events from The Kid's Instagram story about keeping a journal during this time and I thought, "Well, I already have a diary of sorts in the form of this site that Dr. Potts and I write for, might as well just write down some thoughts here and post them because we're human too."  And I thought it would be a disservice to write on as normal, ignoring everything that is going on in the world.  Wednesdays will still have their MIDI Week Single articles and we will try to keep as up-to-date as possible with our postings as for the time being, I am still having to go into work.  At least for now.

Please stay healthy and safe out there.  If you can stay home during this time, please do, and remember to check in with friends and family.



~JWfW/JDub/Cooking Crack/Jaconian
Instrumental


tl;dr
Times are weird, and neither Conklederp, myself, Dr. Potts or Jane have contracted COVID-19.