Coronavirus April 11

Like everybody else, the pandemic is "top of mind" 24 x 7 for me. I'm writing to help myself not internalize all of it. You can find other posts in the series at https://odonnellweb.com/pelican/tag/coronavirus.html

Do you remember when we used to look forward to the weekend? Now it’s a constant struggle to find stuff to do to fill the hours. Today I filled that time by:

• Not getting out of bed until 9 AM
• Wasting two hours online
• Talking to Delaney
• A 3-mile walk during which I finished up the audiobook of Calypso by David Sedaris
• Planning a vacation to Tunisia
• Researching the easiest places for Americans to immigrate to
• Watching the last several innings of Game 4 of the 2004 World Series
• Cooking steaks for dinner
• Watching Butch Walker’s 15-minute livestream on Facebook as part of a fund raiser for people in the music industry that are struggling without work
• And now writing this blog post

I think we are working on a jigsaw puzzle while listening to music tonight.

Some notes on the above.

• Delaney is doing fine - just bored like the rest of us. Her roommate is still working outside the apartment 40 hours a week, so it’s just her and the dog all day.
• Calypso is frequently laugh-out loud-funny. That was the first audiobook I’ve ever completed. I like the experience, but I don’t think I could just sit and listen to an audiobook. I can only do it while doing something else.
• An acquaintance that lives in Tunisia posted a few pictures today, which led me down the rabbit hole of learning more about the country to the point of checking beach resort prices and airfares. Stunning beaches and some of the best preserved Roman ruins on the planet would be a very fun vacation. And I’d be able to check Africa off the continents visited list.
• If you are thinking about an exit plan should America continue to descend into full-blown fascism, think South. Both Uruguay and Costa Rica will welcome you with proof of a reasonable income to support yourself. Uruguay in particular caught my attention. Canada and New Zealand are easy if you have certain skill sets. Tech Sales Dude doesn’t seem to qualify me. I guess we could also just move around staying as long as a tourist visa will allow while working remotely.
• I will never, ever get tired of watching the final out of the 2004 World Series.
• The steaks were good.
• Butch Walker was awesome, as he is always.
• This blog post turned out much longer than I expected when I started typing.

We watched the new Pixar flick Onward last night. It can be rented on all the streaming sources, and it’s on Disney+ for free if you subscribed to that for The Mandalorian and forgot to unsubscribe, or like me accidentally paid for 12 months in advance.

Stay safe out there. Have a Happy Easter if you celebrate it, but only if you are celebrating it at home. If you go to a church tomorrow you are a selfish asshole with no concept of anything Jesus tried to teach us.