A Little Different

12 May 2020

The pandemic has stopped so much of my life.  The pandemic has stopped so much of everyone’s life. Sadly, I was not supposed to be here right here right now. (Yes, that was a little bit of Buddhist humor). Me, I was supposed to be finding someplace in Portugal to use as a retirement base of operations.  Until things shake out and settle down that part of the post work life plan is on hold. 

Besides being locked in this big blue house on Oxford Street, there are some other things that have changed.  I am writing more. I have written three letters to people in the last five days.  On average I am crafting a blog post every other day.  Such a rate is the most productive I have ever been since I started blogging back in 2008.  

I am reading more.  With my coffee each morning I work my way through most of the Washington Post each morning.  I also listen to two podcasts, Up First and Marketplace.  Always have been kind of a news junkie but a three story newscast (Up first) and a good economic analysis of the previous day’s market events keep me where I feel comfortable in terms of current affairs awareness.

I have talked about my exercise regimen and my television viewing habits so I won’t go over those again.  I will plug Bordertown on Netflix.  It is a Finnish police drama and it is intense but well crafted.  A new season, its third, just dropped yesterday.  Bordertown is violent and has some disturbing crimes but the stories are strong.  

There was some commentary this morning on opening up various state and national government economies balanced against increased Covid 19 infections and deaths.  The most interesting quote was one that posed the questions, how confident are people that they are safe going back to work when the White House, one of the most controlled places in the world with some of the most technological advanced doo-dads to be found anywhere, can’t keep infected people away from the President and Vice President.  Good question.

Had to get a document notarized today.  Very different than it used to be.  You have to set up an appointment in advance.  Then you have to show up with masks and gloves on.  The notary comes to the car out in the parking lot wearing gloves and a mask.  With the window just barely cracked we handed out the document which we did not sign until the notary was present. We used passports as IDs.  The notary took the document and sat down on a curb in the parking lot and filled out her jurat. Our bank is serious about protecting their staff.

I did read an article in the Atlantic that made me laugh.  What it focused on was that flour has become hard to find.  The author seemed to lay the cause of the “shortage” on the internet.  With times on their hands people are surfing the web as never before.  These folks have seen the cakes and breads their friends are making.  As a result, with so much time available to them they have turned to baking.  The people who are making bread are finding out how much better fresh baked home assembled bread is.  Warm with butter this stuff is to die for.  I digress.  It turns out that with restaurants closed there is ample of the raw material for flour available.  However, the packaging for 20-pound bags is not.  Thus, a shortage.

We have fresh bread here at the big blue house on Oxford several days a week now.  We also have pizza on one of the weekend days (made from scratch).  I can see why the shortage is real.  American mass production bakeries should be worried.  People may well demand artisan breads as normal returns.  

For today’s musical selection let us go with After the Meteor Showers by Alejandro Escovedo. I have this song mixed into the middle of my current favorites playlist.  Whenever it comes on I just kind of stop and listen.  Enjoy.