Pandemic Daze: Grocery Shopping

We went to the supermarket today for the first time since Saturday.  This is also the most contact we've had with other people in several days, which is sad considering we can't even get together with friends right now.  But I digress. 

The supermarket wasn't terrible today.  I wasn't as crowded as it sometimes gets during even normal times, which I attribute to some people ordering groceries rather than going into the store.  It was also much better stocked today than it was on Saturday, which I attribute to the store setting limits on the number of certain high-demand items that people could buy.  Many of these items made sense; one of these items was packaged salad greens, however, which makes me think that people who don't make salads regularly don't understand what short shelf life those have.

In spite of the limits on items, some things were in short supply or nowhere to be found.  I did not see a single roll of TP or a single container of disinfecting wipes.  We bought one of the last two boxes of Kleenex on the shelves.  The store was down to its last few jars of peanut butter.

In other cases, the thing that was missing was the less expensive option.  The bulk bins with the ladles are closed due to sanitation concerns, so you couldn't get the bulk nutritional yeast (which we love to put on roasted veggies).  However, you could buy a prepackaged canister of the stuff at a considerable markup.  The least expensive olive oil was long gone; however, there were many "fancier" options still available.  There was no store brand butter on the shelves, but there was still a good supply of the imported European butter.

Ordinarily, I'm not very germophobic, but that has changed due to current circumstances.  When we got home, I disinfected our phones, the pen I was using to cross things off my list, and my house key.  I also threw both of our jackets and all of our reusable bags in the laundry.

We're lucky in a lot of ways.  We're not rich by any means, but if the less expensive item is missing from the supermarket, we can sometimes buy the more expensive option if we need it.  Similarly, we have enough money to be able to buy extra of things we think will be essential to our well being if we get to the point that we can't leave our apartment.  Also, we have a washer and dryer in our apartment, which means we can do laundry whenever we want.  What worries me is some people have very little margin for dealing with even ordinary inconveniences, and something like this pandemic may prove ruinous to them.

Pandemic Daze: The Long Wait Begins

Plenty has changed since I last blogged about the covid-19 pandemic.  My gym made the decision to close early on Monday; later in the day, our governor ordered all gyms, movie theaters, bars, and restaurants (except for drive-through, carry-out, and delivery functions) to close.  I'm also staying home from my hospital internship for at least the next couple of weeks.  I'm sad about that, but it was the right decision for everyone involved, and I actually feel less stressed out now that the decision has been made.

So now there will be a lot of time at home.  I have work to do, which I ignored today in favor of cutting out fabric for my next sewing project.  I have plenty of fabric to sew, beads to turn into jewelry, and books to read, so if I can stay healthy, I have a chance of staying reasonably content.

Scott and I are still taking long walks outside; we feel that there isn't too much risk in that since we're not getting very close to other people.  Plus, it's important to try to maintain our  baseline level of health.  My gym has promised to post workouts we can do at home, and I'll plan to do some of those exercises, too.

Wishing everyone good health and at least a tolerable stay at home!

Pandemic Daze: Wading Into Uncharted Waters

I'll admit I've been feeling a little uninspired to blog lately.  I just feel like there hasn't been much material because life has mostly been a cycle of classes, internship, household chores, and angst about looking for work.  If there is anything the covid-19 outbreak has brought us, however, it's a departure from the routine.  I've decided to write about pandemic life, not because I expect our situation to be particularly special or unique, but because this chaotic and uncertain situation is much different from other chaotic and uncertain situations I've experience previously, and I'd like to document at least some of it.

I feel like last week was when everything started to change for us.  Last weekend when we went grocery shopping, I wasn't particularly concerned, and didn't buy more than I normally would.  Then my university announced that classes would move to online after our spring break.  That's when I started to think that life really would be different for a while.  I made two (very uncharacteristic) mid-week grocery store runs and went again yesterday.  Some items had already been picked clean from the shelves.  I'm grateful for the amount of food, cleaning supplies, etc. that I normally keep around, and I'm glad I made two mid-week grocery runs when there was still more selection.

One thing that's been in the news recently is the toilet paper shortage.  I was lucky on that account, as well.  I normally order 24-roll packs from Target, and had already ordered one just in the natural course of things.  By the time I learned that there was a run on toilet paper, I had a large package of it en route to me.

As of now, the school where Scott teaches is closed to both teachers and students for two weeks.  It will be closed for students for two additional weeks after that, during which time I suspect they'll have online classes, although that hasn't been made clear.  One feature of having had only one snow day this year is that there is more flexibility for the schools to just give everyone some time off.

My university has decided that classes will be online through early May.  I have an internship (at a hospital!) for the clinical part of my requirements.  As of now, I'll still be going there, but I have a feeling that will probably change.  It'll be disappointing if I have to end the internship early, but I realize the pandemic has brought all sorts of disappointments, on top of the tragedy of so many people dying.

We've been trying to live a fairly normal life until we can't.  We took a long walk this afternoon.  The gym I joined this winter is still open (albeit with some additional precautions).  Assuming it's still open tomorrow, I'm planning to go get a workout.  I have a feeling we might all be spending a lot of time at home in the near future, but I haven't wanted to settle into that prematurely.

Do This, Don't Do That, Can't You Read The Sign?

Our apartment complex has an online forum where people can communicate with all the residents.  Usually people use this forum to try to sell things before moving out, but sometimes people use the forum to complain.  Over the past several months, there have been a number of complaints about people smoking marijuana, ranging from people being upset about the stench to actual respiratory problems that are exacerbated by smoke of any kind.  We've been fortunate that none of our immediate neighbors seem to be marijuana smokers, but I do believe this is a problem since I've smelled marijuana in the courtyard.

Anyway, our complex's management--ever cognizant of their role in making the community a pleasant place to live--took immediate action!  Clearly, this sign was what the U.S. war on drugs has been missing all these decades:

Honestly, this sign made me laugh when I first saw it.  Throughout all the years--and all the permutations of marijuana laws in different locations--I have never actually seen a marijuana leaf crossed out on a sign.  Also, I would have thought that the "no smoking" and the crossed out cigarette would by default imply that one is also not allowed to smoke joints.  Or are they also trying to prevent people from eating marijuana brownies in the stairwell for fear of the crumbs fueling an army of well-fed, high mice?

It occurred to me that I don't envy the leasing agents who are taking people on tours of this building while these signs are decorating every door to the stairs.  I'm not sure I would have rushed to sign a lease if these signs had been up when I toured here four years ago.  At least in theory, though, I suppose that fewer no tenants might mean fewer pot smokers to pursue, and maybe that's the extent of their strategy. 

Georgetown Glow

I'm several weeks delayed in actually posting these, but here are my pictures from Georgetown Glow!  Georgetown Glow is a free outdoor light art exhibit in Georgetown, and this year was its sixth year (and our second year going to see it).  It's a great excuse to take a walk outside and see something fun, and since it takes place around winter break, it's a good opportunity to enjoy Georgetown when it's not super crowded.

A Different Kind Of Sewing Project

Wallaby joey pouches

For years, I've thought that out of the slew of issues I care about, climate change was at the top of my list.  However, like so many other people, I also hoped we had more time before we would start seeing the impact.  But the increase in severe weather-related events all over the world combined with a torrent of discouraging news from climate scientists have made me feel very pessimistic.  In recent horrible events, it appears that climate change has at the least contributed to the severity of Australia's bush fires with high temperatures and prolonged droughts.

There has been a good deal of media coverage of the suffering caused by these fires, including the toll on Australia's wild animals.  So when I received an email from Mood Fabrics describing a project to make pouches for rescued kangaroo and wallaby joeys, I decided to contribute.  You can read about it here; I decided to use Piccolo Studio's free tutorial and downloadable pattern.  As anyone who sews can attest, it is not uncommon to have a healthy stash of perfectly nice fabric that is languishing for any number of reasons, often because the pieces are too small to make a garment out of but too large to throw away.  In the spirit of sustainability (and decluttering my home) I used some of these fabrics, and feel that they were put to very good use.

To keep things relatively simple and to squeeze out more pouches from my selection of fabrics, I opted to make the smaller wallaby joey pouches instead of the kangaroo ones.  All five pouches I made are lined in flannel.  The blue one in the picture that doesn't have a scooped front is intended to be a night pouch that will be harder for the joey to peek out of while he/she is sleeping.

I'll send these off today to the person who is collecting them to send to Australia.  I hope they'll be useful.  And I fervently hope that we can all collectively take action to rein in these changes in our climate that are contributing to so much misery.

Grad School As A "Nontraditional" Student: Fourth Semester Review

My fourth semester of Grad School 2.0 is finished!  This makes me 80% of the way done, which truly feels exhilarating, especially when I remember how demoralized I felt after fall semester last year, which was possibly the busiest time of my adult life.

This semester has its share of ups and downs.  Academically, things were easier this semester than fall or spring semester of last year.  I think that's mostly because I had fewer total classes.  Internship was a mixed bag.  I was at two sites that were a very long commute from home.  One site had a population I was more interested in, but a weird, passive aggressive supervisor.  The other one had a great supervisor but a population I knew wouldn't be my first choice to work with professionally.  But, it's done, and I have an internship I'm very excited about for next semester (adult outpatient). 

Oh, and that class I had to retake from last semester?  I got an A this semester!  I requested permission to take it at another institution.  This turned out to be a very good move. Not only did I get a better grade, but I learned more and had a more pleasant experience than I had had in any of these subject's classes at my home institution.  The only downside was having to pay tuition to an additional university, but at this point, I feel it was money very well spent.

I don't have too many lessons to share from this semester, but here's what I can think of:
1.  Don't be afraid to advocate to do something unusual.  I'm thinking specifically of requesting to take a class at another university here.  Sometimes you have to use your hard-earned life experience and realize when something just isn't working out.  The worst that can happen is that someone can say no, but even then, making a request sometimes alerts someone to a problem.
2.  Even if you're an independent adult, you may need someone's help to clear an obstacle.  This lesson is a tough one for me, largely because I think it's risky to rely on other people to help you.  But grad school is full of trying (and sometimes unfair) experiences just like anything else.  And personally, I feel like I have had way fewer cards to play as a student than I have at most jobs.  This semester, I had two notable instances of receiving help to clear obstacles.  One came from a professor helping advance my case to take a course at another university after I initially encountered resistance.  Another came from another person helping to make sure that my less-than-stellar internship supervisor from this semester didn't completely gum up the works for me (there is way more to that story than I want to rehash here).  I think all the usual common sense applies here about choosing your battles and not creating needless drama with people.  But I also think that most programs want people to graduate in a timely fashion, so if you look like you're on a good trajectory to do that, people will often help pave the way for you.
3.  Academic programs are (generally) finite.  I say "generally" because some doctoral programs seem to magically expand every time a student appears to approach the end.  But most other degree and certificate programs are intended to be for a fixed period of time.  And time always passes, so if you can just keep yourself going, you'll get there.  Generally speaking, partially completed degrees or certificates won't do much for you professionally, so I think it's usually worth trying to finish unless you've had a complete change of heart about what you want to do, the amount of money you'll spend trying to finish isn't worth the eventual reward, or you have extenuating life circumstances that make it impossible to finish.

Wish me luck!  If all goes well, I'll be writing my last ever of this series of posts in May.