370. Last of Just the Pandemic... I hope

 

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Pandemic day to day

Day 183 - Had to run an errand to the P.O. so I stopped in at the Bank Cafe to buy an iced tea and to see if they have a schedule for returning to normal operations. No. Two of the regular Peet’s staff were behind the counter, which was nice to see. I noticed when doing my first of the month banking yesterday that I hadn’t used that debit card since March 15, 2020. And normally I use it four or five times per week.

Day 185 - 69 turns out to be one of those shocking birthdays. It isn’t 70, but it may as well be. Just when you had gotten used to the idea of being in your 60s now it’s going to get even worse. It doesn’t help that neither of my parents made it out of their 70s with all their faculties intact... or at all in one case. I can’t assume, as I always have in the past, that in ten years I will be roughly the same person I am today.

As it happened, today is laundry day -- not what I would have chosen, but sometimes you need clean laundry. Regardless I will do my usual 200+ pushups and 190 crunches and I’ll take my daily exercise walk -- though not the one that takes me to the top of Nob Hill three times, that was yesterday. So I’m doing what I can to stay “me.” 

I plan to hit my favorite restaurants later in the month, after the covid-19 vaccine has had time to be at full strength, but I am having some of my favorite dishes today -- even if I have to prepare them myself, which is not the same thing at all. Last birthday I was new to the pandemic routine and just ate what I had. (I checked, and I had Burmese, but not from my favorite Burmese place.)

Recently there have been a series of mass shootings which has everyone (people on the left) talking about meaningful gun reform. Background checks should be improved, but banning certain types of weapons and magazines is a bad idea. Not because these weapons are needed -- if it was up to me there would be no semi-automatic weapons in civilian hands -- but because a ban like that risks far more than it could ever help. 

The reality is that mass shootings kill fewer than 200 Americans a year. And keep in mind that most of America is happy with 1,000 covid deaths A DAY. Or at least they prefer that to taking the common sense steps that would easily stop the disease caused mass deaths. If they won’t wear masks, social distance, and stop traveling then asking them to give up either the guns they already have or give up the right to buy more weapons will be viewed as an existential threat. As stupid as that is. The risk of civil disorder is not worth saving maybe 100 lives a year.

Day 391 - This will be the last day of my “Shelter-In-Place” since my vaccination should reach full strength tomorrow. I’m still not sure how much difference this will really make, but I will be back on public transit (with a double mask) and trying to catch up on all the little things I’ve been putting off for over a year. I will also be eating out and, when I get food to go, I will be getting a meal at a time rather than trying to reduce exposure by getting 4-6 meals at once. Or at least that’s my expectation.

The virus -- and new mutations of the virus -- are still out there and people -- especially the young and the dumb -- continue to ignore the reasonable and easy steps people can take to stop the spread of the disease. We are currently in the fourth surge of cases in many parts of the country just as we should be reaching the end of the pandemic. Carpe Mortem... seize your unnecessary death while you still can.

For young people losing a year of their short lives seems intolerable. My Stoic view is rather different, but at the same time, and especially as I’ve just hit 69 and so am on the cusp of my 70s, I am aware that I’m “losing” what is probably one of the few good years I have remaining. Carpe Diem, indeed. 

While I have not hated this past year, in fact I’ve learned a good deal from it, I am also very ready to get out again and start doing things. So long as I can stay safe -- which the vaccine and the now normal safety measures should make possible. It has even occurred to me that riding the bus will be marginally more pleasant while wearing a mask. I will be sad to see that particular change revert to normal, if it in fact does.

Day 392 - Ate inside at one of my old favorite places for the first time in over a year. Almost like old times. Had to ask for the password as I have a new Chromebook now.

As it happens, this morning they “paused” J&J vaccinations because there have been a couple blood clot problems. As a result they are now talking about dropping the second shots of the other vaccines for a while to get more people basic protection. This is what I wanted to do but they wouldn’t let me. The advantage of waiting a couple months for the second dose is that there is time for upgrades to match new mutations of the virus.

On the other hand, that they are pausing the J&J because of only six problems out of the millions of doses given indicates that people have a poor grasp of statistics (shocking, I know) so they probably wouldn’t be happy with the marginally less protection with the single dose. You really can’t win.

I never come here, Village Pizzeria, in the late afternoon so I didn’t know that, at least at this time of year, there’s sun reflected off the relatively new building across the street giving me almost direct sun at my usual window table. Very nice. And, as always, only more so, there’s no one here so this continues to be the ideal place to eat and then work while sipping my iced tea. I’m back, Baby! This could be the best belated birthday present for this crazy year.

Also, they’ve moved the bus stops yet again so the outbound buses now stop in front of Village like they did originally. This, too, is temporary as they will be moving to the center of the street eventually. They’ve actually made considerable progress with the BRT infrastructure over the past year, but there’s still a way to go. And I still can’t see exactly how it will work.

Day 396 - It is so strange acting almost like before the pandemic. I’ve been on multiple buses every day. I’ve eaten inside places with my mask off. Aside from the double mask while on transit, it, especially on Muni, would be just like old times. Golden Gate Transit has removed seats and taped off every other row of seats. Muni just asks you to board at the rear so you don’t infect the operator. Muni announces you must wear a mask to board. GG Transit announces you must wear a mask while on board. GG Transit wins that one.

I was back at The Pork Store for brunch this morning for the first time since 3/8/20. I would have been there 3/15/20 for my last pre-lockdown meal, but I had already decided public transit was too risky. By 3/8/20 I had already had brunch there eight times in 2020 so that gives you some idea how often I like to eat there. I was happy to see that my favorite waitress has survived along with the place itself. They were only seating at four tables inside -- the owner is dead cheap so I wasn’t surprised they had not spent money on outside seating. I won’t return on the weekend until they reopen the counter, but I might return on a weekday when I’m not hogging a table a party could be enjoying.

And yesterday I had my first, good, Indian meal since early 2020. So good. I’m now four birthday meals down with six more to go.

The only problem has been that it is still on the cold side here, almost never above 60F, which makes eating outside less tempting. Tomorrow is supposed to be a little warmer so I hope to take advantage of that. And it’s a one day “heat wave” so I really need to seize the day.

Day 400 - The guilty verdicts came down so fast yesterday that people were still in the process of boarding up all the windows around Union Square after the danger was past... for the moment. I was out for lunch inside another restaurant I hadn’t been to for over 400 days -- I hit it just before as I knew it was probably my last chance. Unfortunately, they took my favorite menu item off the menu again so I had to make do with something that was not nearly as good. And it was still good to be out doing something almost normal. Almost normal because I was the only customer eating inside. And now it’s cold again. We may even get some much needed rain over the weekend, though I’ll believe it when I see it.

Day 402 - Spotted the first bee in the still ripening blossoms of the bush out my kitchen window. There are even more little buds than last year so it’s going to be buzzing with bees soon. I am going to have to cut some of the branches back after they finish blooming as they are now long enough to brush against our building. Against the paint on our building. If the tenants below me hadn’t requested otherwise I would have cut the bush back to the property line last summer.

There was some looting across the bay the night before last but as they didn’t have the cover provided by hundreds or thousands of people violently protesting in the streets, the police stopped it quickly. They must have been very disappointed by the verdict.

Now that I’ve come out the other side of the pandemic, it’s interesting to look back on the experience. A year ago, when I made a rare trip to the market I would return with the thought that I might have been infected and that my chances of surviving were not good. Not because my health is compromised, but because I don’t have any in house support. If I got sick there would be no one to take care of me. I would survive on my own or not. And as time progressed and I learned more about the situations in the hospital and the dangers of being on a ventilator, I became even more reluctant to go that route. So either I would beat it or I would probably die. This is the kind of thing you try not to think about but it hangs over you. 

In the past week I’ve been living almost as before. Walking all over town running errands and eating out, riding public transit almost every day. The Bank Cafe is still not open for its intended third space purpose, but I suspect that will come next month or the month after. I’m still being cautious, wearing a double mask when I’m around groups of people, but the constant background fear is gone. I still wipe down my grocery purchases with alcohol, but this is mostly a habit now. I don’t think of the items as being coated with poison as I did a year ago.

I also just discovered that I’ve spent my stimulus payments down to the last dollar -- exactly. These were all expended on items that needed to be replaced in any event -- from a refrigerator to laptops to shoes and clothes to new eye glasses -- but I’m still surprised I didn’t save any of it. Most of it was even purchased locally, supporting local business or at least the local workers of national businesses.

Day 410 - I’m eating -- and working -- at my other favorite neighborhood pizzeria for the first time. Aside from its being empty and my wearing a mask now that my meal is over, it’s just like normal. And this is the place with good music, which is still just as good.

My birthday celebration is now past and my spring cleaning is still waiting on weather warm enough to throw my windows open. As soon as I get caught up on my errands I plan to resume with Proust. While the pandemic is as bad or even worse than ever in India and Brazil and a few other places -- Michigan is still a mess -- but, unless something strange happens, I think it is over here. I may only mention it now as even more places open up and as my usual work returns. Still hoping for the end of this summer but 2022 is probably a safer bet.