Author Archives: irenarth

It’s felt in the last couple of weeks like we are on the pandemic treadmill; still moving, but it much has changed other than we are starting to get a little tired. I’m not complaining; we (my family) are doing fine. We are all healthy. I’m being paid fully and working a normal schedule. WeContinue reading “Here and Now”

It’s the beginning of the 6th week of our stay at home time. I haven’t written in a while, because it feels like not much has changed. The good news is that it appears that the case and hospitalization and death rates are leveling, with as much data and testing that we have available. TheContinue reading “Still Here”

It’s been a while since I’ve had a change to get an update into words. Things have changed, but much has remained the same. Deaths and confirmed COVID-19 cases have increased, but we haven’t seen the overwhelmed hospitals that everyone was fearing. There’s been over 20k deaths in the USA but most feel that theContinue reading “Marching On”

The next few weeks are supposed to be tough. More positive cases, more hospitalizations, more deaths. Hopefully it’s the top of the curve, and things decline after that. But it’s hard still to think about the top of the curve. In New York, it’s reported that they are already nearing their capacity for equipment likeContinue reading “The Uptick”

Everything just feels awkward at the moment. The news is getting worse, especially for New York, California, Chicago, all the big urban centers. Ohio cases continue to grow, although the ODH director has said we’ve done a good job in slowing the peak of hospitalizations. We continue to be in what feels like a pauseContinue reading “Awkward”

We got pizza for dinner tonight. That seemed normal. And it (picking up the pizza) was a smooth transaction in terms of sanitation because: 1. there was no door, thus no doorknob 2. the cashier held up the chip reader, and we never touched the same item. Other than touching the pizza box, it wasContinue reading “Meanwhile”

Today felt strangely normal. Not the “new normal” like we’ve grown accustomed to in the last week and a half. Most of those days have been somewhat stressed with news, some dread, and uncertainty. Also, the March weather has been March-like; coldish and rainy. This morning was still a bit pandemic-y, as my wife wentContinue reading “Some days, pandemics don’t feel so bad…”

Good news would be good any time now. Today, it was announced that State government was going to cut 20% across the board from current operations. As a state agency employee, this was unsettling to say the least. I’ve never felt like I was in danger of losing my job. Never. I’ve always tried toContinue reading “More Threatened”

I’m not one to usually feel threatened. When I’m running or biking and dogs run up, they typically don’t bother me; if they get too close, I make loud noises, and they usually back off. Even with people, I’m not usually bothered. Occasionally I meet a person for work who isn’t too thrilled to speakContinue reading “Threatened”

A couple of nights ago, I had some really detailed dreams. This in of itself is not unusual; my dreams are typically very detailed and sometimes oddly realistic. That was the occurrence; the first section was me seeing the new James Bond movie with the hosts of Pod Save America. The movie wasn’t very good,Continue reading “Long Haul”