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Thursday, December 31, 2020
Sunday, December 20, 2020
Trying to watch football from the floor with a sore neck but the pup doesn't seem to care
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Thursday, December 17, 2020
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Day 279: Reminding myself of life under COVID
A vaccine is available and people in the US started getting it yesterday, 14 Dec 2020. People in the UK started receiving it last week, but it's medical professionals and highly essential workers (limited government, likely some military, etc.). I don't know how quickly things will rollout, but I suspect that there will be pressure to rapidly ramp up production. Supposedly a second vaccine will get approved later this week in the US.
Life has been strange the last few weeks. As cases explode in the US, more than 200,000 a day, and hospitalizations and deaths increase, we still have plenty of people making noises about hoaxes. At a volleyball tournament recently someone said "more people die from cancer" and I left it alone. I didn't have the energy to argue or even get angry at the stupidity and ignorance of such a statement.
I also mourn for the 3,000+ that have died. There was a meme that the deadliest days in the US were pandemic days, alongside a few notable events. That's not quite true, but there is no reason to diminish the tremendous loss of life that could be reduced. Likely not eliminated, but losing a few hundred a day would be a long way from losing thousands.
At the same time, I crave interaction and normalcy. Just before Thanksgiving, Colorado moved most counties to our "red" status. We went from competing in a tournament on Saturday to being restricted to 4 kids at practice on a Friday. The next Friday we were down to 2 and a coach. Since Tia and I are in the same household, we both coached, but doing groups of 2 had us in the gym for 5 hours straight and we were wiped out.
There was one county that still could hold tournaments, and we played on the 4th Dec. It was nice to get away from the ranch and the lack of anything else, and good to see our girls perform. While we didn't face much competition, we blew them away. I've had too many teams play down, but we won 6 sets. We even were down to 7 girls and had a RH play MH.
The next week we went again, a different 7 girls, and won three matches against better competition. Proud of these girls, only half of whom practiced in groups of 3, played together. A good day for all of us, certainly for Tia and I.
I don't know how things will go from here. We have a practice this weekend, and we want to do some over the holidays. Permission to go to half a team, but no competition scheduled for at least 3 weeks, so we'll see. That in and of itself is strange.
Between those days, Tia and I went to the Keystone for a couple days. It was a good break for us, even though nothing is open. No snow, so we didn't bother to ski. My neck was a little sore from a pinched nerve and we didn't want to aggravate anything. We picked up groceries and I cooked. We hiked, and enjoyed the outdoors, but the area is strangely deserted. Few cars on the roads, only 4 in the parking lot near our condo, and I only saw 3-4 people walking around the lake.Strange times.
No bookings since March, and I don't know if we'll get some. We plan to use it more, at least until bookings pick up. Last week was the first "public" day for lift tickets, and we did see more traffic as we came home Friday, but still not much. The mountains are very cautious, with Aspen requiring quarantine or negative tests to enter.
Work is work. Days are blending, no real changes for me, though plenty of movement in the company. We've embraced "remote first", which means we'll likely always allow flexibility and hire outside our core cities. We'll also do more remote meetings, even for people in the office. I worry about that, because I've valued being in a conference room with teams. If they go remote first, we're all supposed to be at our desks, which defeats the purpose of my flying to the UK.
In talking with friends, we can't decide when events might occur. I'd like to think we're more normal by September (schools, sports, etc.), but events need lead time. Maybe local things, but who knows. That's been a big part of my life, so I'm a little unsure of how my career looks for now.
Kyle is in Spain, and enjoying it, but coming home next week. That's exciting. Can't wait to see him and hear about his adventures. It's neat to think he's getting to do this in the middle of a pandemic, and going to be able to travel back here. Hopefully everything works out.
Delaney finished a semester, which didn't seem as hard as the spring. We'll see him tonight and see how things are going. Kendall decided to go back to college in the spring and make the best of it. Fingers crossed. I don't know that I would, but she misses her friends and life there, so I understand.
The last two weeks of election madness in the US has been alternately maddening, funny, and stressful. I was 99% sure that the electorial college would follow the votes, but who knows. Watching lawsuit after lawsuit fail and the crazy reactions of GOP advocates and politicians has been something. I understand the difficulties of dealing with a passionate irrational base, but I'm still upset.
PASS also seems to be failing. I don't really know the status, though most people think there isn't any money. Three directors resigned, and I wrote about it. At this point, I don't care anymore about the organization. I'm only gaming scenarios to keep SQL Saturday going somehow, but until PASS discloses something, I don't want to actually do anything. I am only upset they haven't acknowledged the volunteers.
At least the Broncos won. With the cold weather and slowdown in life, I've gotten to watch a few games and like the slower pace of things, though I keep thinking I ought to be tackling more projects.
Friday, December 11, 2020
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Monday, December 7, 2020
Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Sunday, November 29, 2020
Saturday, November 28, 2020
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Monday, November 23, 2020
Reflections on Life During COVID-19 - Day 257
I can't believe it's been 250 days since life fundamentally changed for me this year.
It's another Monday, back to work, somewhat manic again with lots to do. Not because of travel, but this is a short week, I want to enjoy the holiday with family, and so I need to get things done this week, so I'm busy.
This past weekend we coached a scrimmage tournament on Sat night. It was the first time our team has been together since Nov 13, and that wasn't the whole team. The last time we were all together was Nov 1 when we competed in our normal regional competition, which we won. In that time, I got COVID, along with most of my family. It was a strange, hard experience.
However, volleyball is on my mind. We shut down for 11 days, came back for 1, and then with county restrictions, we moved to just 5 kids at a time. Annoying, but I understand. for some reason, the cases, deaths, and hospitalizations have increased dramatically.
So, last week I held 3 sessions, each with 5 girls. It wasn't great, but not bad. At least we got to move. We then played well in the competition Sat, despite not having 2 girls that didn't come because of health fears. We managed to go 2-1, playing the 16-1s team close and losing 2 sets by 3 points.
Fun to get out, as I am not sure when we will get together again. Last Friday restrictions changed again to Red, so no indoor dining, no more than 10 in the gym, including the other groups. As a result, we are moving to 2 kids and 1 coach next week. Not a great setup, but we'll make do.
The region has cancelled competition, and at the point, I wonder if we'll be able to go in Jan. Right now it looks like this year is toast. Even if we get numbers to come down, we won't know until almost Christmas. Our competitions are in Weld county, which is very sparsely populated, very conservative, and one gym is holding some matches. Tia and I aren't sure if it's the best idea, but we're also somewhat less worried since we've had it.
The COVID Experience
COVID was, well, weird. We all had different symptoms, and it's lingered differently. I think it's still somewhat lingering, but as I do and try more things, I can do them.
Tia woke up with cold/flu symptoms on the day we were taking a trip. We cancelled everything and get her tested. It was a decent illness, but she tested negative. A few days later, I got some light cold symptoms, but I was really tired. Like I spent most of 3 days in bed with fatigue. Not tired, just unable to muster energy to do things. I don't know I've spent more than 1 or 2 days in bed since I was 4 years old. I had a fever off an on, weird body temp regulation issues, and light cough/sore throat. With Tia's negative test, I was really thinking it was a cold.
However, it lingered. I spent an hour or two at my desk some days, but mostly was in bed. I might feel better in the am or afternoon and work a little, but for the most part, I didn't do much. After 3-4 days, I felt well enough to do some work outside, then was fatigued again. I coached a little, and I thought it was a bad flu.
Then I finished a busy morning and got tightness in my chest with a lot of coughing. Not enough to worry me, but enough that I thought something was wrong. Got a test, positive. No more fever, but I was still tired and knew I needed to take time off. I spent most of a week in bed, before starting to feel better and see symptoms disappear. All told, about 20 days without much exercise or much work.
Since then I've ramped up exercise, getting to a 25 minute swim and 1 hour of yoga on consecutive days last week. I coached Sat, and took Sun easy, working outside for a half day, but then taking it easy with some guitar and football.
Tia got better quicker, but then got worse again, with less work than me. Kendall had a sinus infection and fatigue on and off. All of us seem to get better and worse on different schedules, though I think I'm almost two weeks now feeling mostly normal. Slight weird feeling in my chest, but it doesn't seem to affect me working out.
I am going slow.
The World of Work
It felt like things were getting slightly back to normal. Weird with two major conferences being virtual in the last month, and odd to be recording sessions rather than practicing to deliver them live, but it is what it is.
Things continue to move along, but it is strange to see people online and know it will be months before we get together. After now, 250+ days after the first things cancelled, I have no idea when I'll go to an office or event. I tried to do a live event last week, but with a very small response and the county changing regulations, I had to cancel.
The Election
This was crazy, and stressful. I wondered if people would vote, would they make deadlines, would they actually reject the worst President of my lifetime. I watched a lot of coverage, mostly in bed, with emotions up and down as it wasn't sure who might win.
People did reject Trump, but not by a lot, in my opinion. The economy mattered, and I think lots of people ignored COVID and voted for him. 73mm votes is nothing to sneeze at. At the same time, many more people came out and voted, and the 5-6mm vote margin is pretty large. I'm glad it's mostly done, and this transition so far has gone better than I thought. I was worried about more violence, but mostly it's rhetoric. That's not going away anytime soon.
The Future
A friend reached out to me today, asking when I'd travel for work. I said an off chance by April for small events if the vaccine works and starts to go out. For the office or major events, I think Sept or later.
Someone else asked me about travel in general. Certainly some people still travel. We go to Hawaii in Jan, and others have gone to Mexico or around the US. I was supposed to travel in Oct, but got COVID.
I think some things will change next year, and I am certainly ready to travel. Mostly it's a finding time and knowing the possibility of crossing a border. Those things affect me at work, and I think they still will through most of next summer.
On the positive side, now 3 vaccines appear to be viable, so maybe we'll start to get back to the previous normal next summer when lots of people get them. The next month or two will be interesting as cases all over the world are growing. If we can get things under control, I see limited shutdowns/lockdowns being used until the vaccine gets widely distributed.
As of now, I have no idea if we'll get to compete in volleyball, but I hope so.
Sunday, November 22, 2020
Thursday, November 19, 2020
November 18th in Colorado. I'm quite comfortable dressed like this
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Sunday, November 15, 2020
Saturday, November 14, 2020
Friday, November 13, 2020
Taco Bell may have abandoned the Jones' but I have things covered
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Thursday, November 12, 2020
Saturday, November 7, 2020
Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Saturday, October 17, 2020
Friday, October 16, 2020
Back inside for hot yoga. Oooff these masks are hard in the heat
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Thursday, October 15, 2020
Monday, October 12, 2020
Reminding Myself of What Life under COVID is like - Day 215
It's been a wild week, and the big memory from this week is a COVDI-19 test.
Last week, I got a text from my wife's employee that her daughter was feeling sick, and should see come to work? After talking with my wife, she came, but with a mask. I don't think I saw her Tuesday, and couldn't remember if I saw her Monday. I did see her Wed and Thur, but outside.
However, in the afternoon, she called back and her daughter tested positive for COVID. I didn't think too much, but my wife reminded me that me feeling fine doesn't necessarily mean that I'm not sick or contagious.
So, I had to call and get someone else to cover practice, wear a mask, and then stop going to the store. I wasn't well prepared, and I had ordered food, so I drove to town to pick up dinner, wore a mask and didn't touch anything, and then came home.
The next few days were a mini-quarantine. My wife and daughter got home late Tuesday, but my wife stayed in the trailer (camper), while I slept alone. We spent Wednesday and Thursday like that, staying apart and me living on my own while they came and went from the house and common areas. It was a very weird time.
Friday morning I went to get a test, wanting to let a few days elapse to see if I would develop symptoms. I don't think I did, but it was a smoky, dry week. My throat was dry, it was starting to get cold at nights, which always gets my nose running slightly. I am mostly sure that everything was related to allergies and weather, and very minor, but I kept feeling sicker than I was. Every little thing had me concerned, even as I was positive I hadn't really been exposed in a meaningful way.
The test was weird, and quick. A push with a qtip through my nose into the sinuses, and as I was briefly surprised, thinking something was tickling my throat, the PA pulled it out and popped into into the other nostril. My ears popped and then I was done. It's 2-3 sec, uncomfortable, but not that bad.
Negative, so I hit the store, and was careful, but bought some things to cook.
I felt fine over the weekend, and went back to life, coaching, but leaving the mask on, and doing chores. I didn't get to the gym, but am going back now, as I feel fine.
This, as the White House became the source of a super spreader event, and I kept thinking, I feel fine, but I could spread things if I am not careful. Being lax with precautions is an issue, especially when you've had some potential exposure.
A wild week that created stress, anxiety, annoyance, and frustration. I did get to practice yoga a couple times outside, and life was slower, but I'd prefer the hectic life I normally have.
Sunday, October 11, 2020
Friday, October 9, 2020
Thursday, October 8, 2020
Monday, October 5, 2020
Sunday, October 4, 2020
Saturday, October 3, 2020
Friday, October 2, 2020
If you told me five months ago I'd be excited to open this package, much less try to order masks online, I'd never have believed you
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Thursday, October 1, 2020
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Reminding Myself what Life under COVID - Day 202
My days are a little off from Brent, who gave me the idea for this series. I'm starting with Mar 11, which was the last normal day for me. Mar 12 changed everything.
Colorado
We have a data site for Colorado. Most things are trending down, which is good to see. Many things are reopening for me, but we still have a mask order. As I move around town, most people, I'd say 90%, are complying in businesses.
I watch the list of outbreaks from CO, in a Google sheet, which is funny. Overall, it's not too many, and few near me. I do try to check if I'm traveling around town, to be sure there aren't active outbreaks.
The gym has most people complying, but I think it's closer to 80%. I'm about to complain about a few people, mostly because I don't want the gym shut down. Can't quite decide there. I've been outside for yoga and swimming, but this week was the first class inside at night. Hard to breathe at times, but overall, I'd rather wear a mask and have yoga than none.
Volleyball
Life is opening up a bit. We had our first tournament with our team, albeit without one girl that had exposure and needed a COVID test. We won, which was cool. For the most part, the day felt normal when we were playing. Coaching girls, working on skills, building excitement and fixing mistakes.
The weird part is it was a small facility, with a number limit. This was from the landlord, and I'm not sure if this was COVID related. In any case, no parents, and really no kids between matches. We ended up with just adults running a game as refs, no book.
Crazy.
Work
Most clients are still remote only and not in the office. All events are still cancelled, and we aren't sure what to do. In fact, Redgate has said we're working remote until Jul 2021 as a default. A trial starts in Oct for 20 people in the Cambridge office, but the other offices are closed and not sure how we will move forward.
Most everything is virtual, though ConFoo is saying hybrid. I'm tempted to submit, on the off chance that I can go to Canada in Feb.
On the local side, I'm scheduled for the Nov meeting, and I just tried to reserve library space for 10. I'm thinking to do a small meeting live and broadcast for others.
At least work is busy. There are no shortage of things for me to do, and lots of clients to work with. We're doing more hand holding, and we're actually doing well. I'd have never expected that.
Travel
I have a trip booked. Again. In a couple weeks I'm supposed to go to DC to see my mother and brother. We cancelled this over the summer, but I think this one will go.
We've stayed in a few hotels for volleyball, and we've used our condo again in September. It seems slightly normalish, other than the lack of people and masks. I wonder what flying is like, but I'm not concerned. This week a study came out that they couldn't trace any infections to a plane. Not a completely positive note, but at least nothing negative.
We are thinking to go to Kenya in Jan. It's a quiet time, and it's one of the few places that takes Americans. We are a little concerned there won't be enough stuff to do for tourists, so we haven't booked it yet, but I think the next few weeks will help us to decide if it's worth a risk.
Life
Wearing masks is becoming more comfortable, but no less strange. We're doing more, but it's still limited, which is surprisingly distressing to me. It's not depressing, but it's a low level of discomfort with the state of the world.
Politics don't help, nor do the comments from people that still seem to dismiss the horrific state of the world.
At this point, I can't really complain, life is good for us, we're healthy, we get to do some things, and we also have security. I find myself actually really busy catching up on things around the ranch.
But I'm still unsettled, and the prospect of 6+ more months of this is daunting.
Sunday, September 27, 2020
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