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Lest we forget

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 Good morning all, I am having a decent time with this pandemic - having suffered from depression before, I think I have some coping strategies that other folks might not have.  However, I think it's important to realize the impact that it has on everyone.  It is, for sure, a trauma on everyone.  Some people handle it better than others, but we are in a pandemic.  No matter what we are considering, maybe we can just as humans be kinder to one another, more gentle and more understanding.   I know as a teacher I sometimes want to focus on mastery or understanding and not be as flexible with grades as my students currently need me to be.  I think I should keep in mind the stress - the overarching fact that we are all suffering a pandemic.  We are ALL feeling it in different ways, reacting in different ways, as people all react differently to stress and trauma.   So, here are ways it has affected me.  I know I am feeling isolated - my normally gregarious personality is a bit stifled, I
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Hobbies (Pandemic new-year)

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 Hi all, I'm interested in what you have started doing, or started doing again, during this pandemic.  For me, it's been a whole lot of fishing, including kayak fishing the ocean which I hadn't done before.  Now that it's winter, this will include ice fishing, tying flies, and much more computer repair than before.  I keep up with my lumber-jacking, start cleaning and organizing my house (though this goes in fits and spurts), try to walk in a socially distanced way with my friends and family, got a divorce (thanks Pandemic), and took on 5 jobs like a complete moron.   The stress made it so that I was doing the "work hard, play hard" thing - which is a terrible idea, pretty much always.  I was doing 60 hours a week at school, in addition to 6 hours at the college, 4 hours of tutoring, and still helping my uncle as a home health care aide for 4 hours a week.  Then I was going out to happy hour with my colleague a few nights a week.  I also tried to keep my chari
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Happy Holidays, Pandemic style

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 Good morning everybody, Happy Holidays!  I hope wherever you are and whatever you celebrate, you can adapt the celebration to be Pandemic-safe.  For me, it's Christmas and even though I'm not a believer, I'm a cultural christian I suppose.  I celebrate with my family and friends, even if I don't buy the religious underpinnings of the holiday.  I like the tradition, the culture of it - that everyone should do thoughtful things for their fellow man, the tree, the stockings, the gift giving (even if I'm pretty bad at it lol). In general, I like gift giving whenever I see something someone would like, rather than when the holiday dictates.  But getting in the Xmas spirit means I'm looking a bit harder than I normally would.  So a month ago, my mom got an air fryer.  My dad got a beanie hat.  My mom got earbuds for her walks.  I don't think it should be just one day that we're looking for thoughtful things for the folks we love.   As far as covid . . . . the
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Reactions, day ? 5-19-2020

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I think Corona is giving me the time and space to reevaluate who I want to be as a person.  I'm really enjoying my rototilling business, making good money on the side and hopefully getting people the job they want in terms of quality.  I don't mind being a bit blue collar and working for myself, and it gives me cash to play with.  I'm taking a Real Estate course, thinking about flipping houses and being a landlord again, and generating passive income streams again.  Instead of looking to an angel investor to make my charity run, I am preparing to be that person myself.  So in two of my careers, I would work for myself.  In my third, I would work for the college, get my benefits and use my teaching degree.  So here's how I picture my days going forward: a) Wake up and have my coffee b) fix a few computers c) go to work at the Real Estate Office d) Walk across the street to the college, teach some math or computers e) walk back across the street, sit in my charit
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Reflections, day 61

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I met with a friend last night who urged me (and everyone) to journal during this time of pandemic/Coronacation.  I am starting to fervently agree.  This is a weird time in our history, a dystopian part of who we are going to become as a society, and in 10 years, 20 years, etc. we will be asked what we did during the Corona pandemic.  So here's my yesterday: I woke up before my rooster and fixed a few computers for @gr8fullyfeclub, had some coffee, started a fire so my wife would have a warm place to have her coffee, let the chickens out to free range.  I delivered a computer, got a dozen eggs from a local farm (and my mini fridge back that she never got around to using).  I arranged that she give me 6 baby chicks when they hatch from her flock to enhance mine.  We planted a row of kale and lettuce and herbs in our garden after I tilled that section again.  It was a beautiful day, and you could almost forget you were in corona, except when you went out and everyone was masked. 
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