Saturday, March 7 - The New Normal 

Day 43. I wake up tired but excited for the day. I check my socials, dial in some prime news, and make some strong coffee.

104,000 COVID-19 cases today! 104,000 COVID-19 cases today! Did the lucky 100,000 infected person get a balloon drop? We see breakneck growth in more than 80 countries. I scan the numbers, and it looks like a 15% severe or critical rate so far, which is good news, previously thought to be about 20%. It looks like a 6% case fatality so far, but so much is unknown. The WHO says 3.4%, and America says 0.5%. Italy's numbers are a bit heavy, could they have another mutation? Or is this the more vicious L strain? How about Iran? South Korea seems to be under control, new numbers all emerging from documented clusters.

By 10 AM, I slide into my first of three two hour classes today. Everything's great until I spill a massive mug of black coffee all over Xiaolins' decorative bedroom ornaments. Xiaolin rolls her eyes. I clean it up, and it turns out I've had enough coffee. 

Dr. John Campbell said that now there are cases in his town, he expects to get infected in the next few weeks. This breaks my heart. His models predict about 75% of the world population will get the disease, and it's inescapable. 

I don't understand why more people outside of China aren't cocooning or taking extreme precautions when they go outside. Am I an alien? 

Dr. Campbell says he's happy with mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore for their screening, social distancing, self quarantining, which have gotten control of the spread of the virus. He's critical of the American CDC's faulty testing. Countries like South Africa, where 20% of the population are living with HIV/AIDS, are a bit of a concern. Patients who have immune-suppressing diseases are much more likely to have severe outcomes when fighting COVID-19.

In exciting news, a new study shows infusing zinc into the body seems to slow down the spread of COVID-19 Virus. I take zinc immune-boosting vitamins every day. I eat lots of zinc-rich foods, such as shellfish, legumes (chickpeas, lentils, and beans), seeds, nuts, dairy, eggs, whole grains, and potatoes, green beans, and kale. Also: chocolate.

In another study, using a mask around people with respiratory infections is show to be 80% more effective in blocking transmission than not wearing a virus. This is, of course, obvious in anywhere except the Western world.

Subways in Toronto are getting sprayed down as the latest case exported from LA was found to have been riding them before they went into quarantine. 

Japan: Nobody is ever going to let us forget about the disastrous way we handled a Princess cruise ship quarantine. USA: Hold my beer. 

Yup, it's happening again. Another cruise ship off the coast of San Francisco, this time the Grand Princess, is quarantined, and the 1000's onboard are being tested. So far, over twenty crew is infected and some passengers. I hope they learned something from the Disaster Princess, but I am not hopeful. 

I go out for a package. My rubber gloves go on, then mask, goggles, mask, jacket, and hat. It's my new stylus. I no longer have to touch buttons and screens. The stylus fits great in my jacket's "pen pocket." Things are smooth outside. I've done enough research on how to not contaminate myself. My anxiety is down. I've made an effort to be prepared, I'm as disciplined as I can be, and I do my best. That's all I can do. RZA helps, I cannot overstate how much his guided experience puts me in the warrior mindset every day.

Today we have delicious noodles for lunch. If you've never had a chickpea in your mouth, you're missing out. My hummus is top-shelf stuff. 

I realize my dad has heaps of Amazon stuff showing up next week, so I send him a message. He's got to disinfect his packages as they come in. I share my protocol: I use gloves, and open the package outside the house, leaving the box outside. I took the things inside and put them somewhere low traffic (a special shelf). I wipe them down with a 1% bleach spray bottle, or I can leave them for 9 days to cool down. I take the gloves off, wash my hands, easy peasy. Already one Amazon worker in Seattle is in quarantine, so you could be getting that overnight COVID-19 if you're not careful. That's a prime joke. 

I put cushions down for the dogs in the sunbeams next to our bed. 

Today is 20 degrees and brilliantly sunny. My protective gear gets a summer remix. Exposed hair and skin mean more frequent showers. We head upstairs to the garage, or 'The Gym' as I'm going to call it from now on because cool nicknames are kind of my jam.

Up at 'The Gym,' the whole area is shimmering. Serious beach vibes. Xiaolin and I sit for a minute, on the little stools we lugged up. I'm turning into a raisin, so I stand and lean against the railing like James Dean in the pre-digital era. I catch some breeze and read a few pages of Gibson's new book about a post AI fantasy world. 

Lin gets up and begins to stretch, and I strip down to my undershirt. Today she doesn't complain. I take my mask off too, and hang my hat on a potted tree branch. Exposed, soaking up that Vitamin D. I read another chapter. It's terrific. I mean, of course, it is, it's William Gibson, but I'm thrilled to be getting sun on my face and reading some premium cyberpunk fiction. I'm grinning ear to ear.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see someone creeping next to me and jump back - how did they get so close? No, it's just the tree branch, swinging in the wind, wearing my hat. We're cool. 

I put the book away and do some exercise, pacing in the sun. As I rack up some steps for my Fitbit, Xiaolin switches up her routine. 

I use the stool to stretch my legs good and long, and then practice my kicks. Bruce Lee said, "I don't fear a man who can do 1000 kicks once, but a man that can do a kick 1000 times." That will be my new goal, as the warm days pile up. Front kicks, sidekicks, roundhouse kicks, hook kicks, and back kicks. 

Back home, I put my gear away, and I wash my hands and sing Bohemian Rhapsody. Twenty seconds isn't long enough. I find myself joyously washing for a minute or more.  

After an hour of being plugged in, my hot water tank gives me about 5minutes of comfortable water, long enough. I practice this blind, imagining, as I did when I walked back to my house, what it would be like to be blind. After my shower, I look in the mirror and swear I see a bit of Aegian shine I had from the summer. I want a suntan, I want a sunburn. I can do this.

I don't believe in god, but I bet you Jesus was one hell of a Buddhist. I put my talismans back on: black obsidian, blessed by a Mayan medicine man, and a horseshoe with a blue topaz stone. A little magic never hurts. 

A nurse in the USA, part of "National Nurses United" is pleading for sane and logical steps to handle the COVID-19 outbreak. It seems many questionable decisions are happening at the top levels. A friend sends me a sensationalist newspaper article that I'm sure will usher in a new chapter in COVID awareness. "US hospitals are preparing for 96 MILLION coronavirus infections, and nearly HALF A MILLION deaths, leaked documents reveal. Almost half a million (480,000) Americans are expected to die from coronavirus. 4.8 million will be hospitalized, and 96 million infected." This information comes from "leaked slides" from a Dr. Lawler, during a health and hospital specialist convention. 

I run it by my people, and while they roll their eyes at the headlines, they agree with me, the numbers look low. Half a million is based on a 0.5 % case fatality rate. I can't understand why they don't just cocoon- it seems to work pretty well. "They show the spread of the deadly disease could be far worse than officials claim, with the crisis 10 times greater than a severe flu season." I guess the "what about the flu" people are going to roll over when they see this one.

"The shock figures fly in the face of claims made by President Trump, who has maintained on many occasions that the risk to Americans is 'low.'" Well, that's one silver lining. I hate being right about all this. 

There's some financial clown on TV advocating to offer up 2% of the population as a sacrificial lamb to keep the economy chugging along. As disgusting and appalling as he is, I'm sure he also doesn't realize that's a fantasy world where everyone gets a bed and the best care. In our world, it's all about delaying and slowing down the infection for the sake of the health care systems, or that number ends up a 10x. 

As for Chongqing, we've had 576 confirmed cases. According to local health records, we have 50 patients currently hospitalized. Three are in severe condition, and one is in critical condition. We've sadly lost six people. On the positive side, 520 have been discharged and are recovering or have recovered at home.

We've had no new cases for the 11th day in a row, and eight more patients have recovered and been released from the hospital. Masks work to reduce the spread when everybody wears them. If you don't have a mask, wear a scarf, or a sock on your face. Anything is better than nothing. 

We are at Level 1 emergency response still vigilant, but things are looking good here. We are concerned about the second wave of human mobility and the return to work and production. Still, life is getting back to some semblance of 'normal.'

We go out and get some milk tea. It's not crowded, but there are like twenty people around me on the street, and it feels super weird. At least all have masks on properly, except for one delivery guy that rolls by on a scooter with his nose sticking out, and I reel back in horror. He's like, half a terrorist. Get that honker back undercover, buddy. 

On Monday, we are going to go to the bank to pay Xiaolin's health insurance, and then take an Uber over to our condo to rent it to someone for the year. On Tuesday, I've got to go to a tax office and buy receipts for my writing job so I can get paid through to next fall. #RZA helps me. I'm not ready for errands. 

I am the sun, surrounded by planets, floating space junk, and chaos. I am the sun.

We have this electric frame with 2000 of our vacation pictures on it, family photos, our life before the quarantine, and it brings me solace and comfort every day. We've been to ten countries together and seen a lot of the world on multiple continents, and I believe one day we will get to travel and enjoy again. For now, we must be resolute. 

We make pancakes for dinner because we're adults, and we do what we want. 

I'm trying to stand still waiting for pancakes to bubble. I want to multitask into four directions and jot down some notes on my laptop. Xiaolin is expecting mindfulness and joyous cooking with heart, so I create a new exercise for patience. 

I'm an old man, at the end of my life who's traded all his wealth for a single minute to come back to my prime, and look around. To breathe air into my strong, healthy lungs, to feel my strong body tingle. To reach out and grab my beautiful wife's hand and to give her a kiss. 

So now I'm no longer impatient. 

As the days wear on, our protocols get tightened up. Considering I'm fighting what is essentially an alien invasion, this is the correct response. 

I am the sun, and I thrive in chaos. 

After our last class, Xiaolin encourages me to go hunt down new linens for our bed, and we change the pillowcases, sheets, and blankets. It feels like a huge hassle when I'm trying to write, but afterward, it's quite pleasant. As she munches on some sweet potato while watching a Chinese singing show, I sit with my laptop desk beside her and type away. I can't help but admire how sane, trusting, stable, and just totally together she is. She compliments me well. 

Everything I do, from my vitamins and some ACV in my water, staying hydrated, laundry, and even putting on my space suit and moisturizing after a nice clean shower, is a joyous activity. It's maintenance. My goal lives in my heart: a summer trip back to Canada, see my 90-year-old grandma and spend time with my family and friends there. Until then, I can handle the new normal.