It’s New Year’s Eve – Day 298 (of the Pandemic)

I was thinking of waiting until Day 300, but decided to just go ahead with this on New Year’s Eve.

I’ve made a bit of a tradition of posting my version of a year-in-review here, but, honestly feel like there isn’t much to say about 2020 that hasn’t been covered or isn’t worth mentioning at all.

We’ve all been dealing with the same issues around the world, to different degrees – depending on your country and/or jurisdiction’s response to the Pandemic and related issues.

Here in Ontario, Canada, we are in lockdown again. Record daily totals of new cases (2,923 yesterday) almost everyday. We’ve politicians taking their family on international vacations for Christmas and posting misleading “Christmas” greetings that make it look like they are at home talking about how this Christmas is different! Bastards. Meanwhile, those of us who are worried, scared and following public health restrictions are spending our time alone in our homes.

The good news is that the vaccines are here. Based on news reports yesterday, I should be able to get it sometime between April and July… at least, that’s their “schedule” for now. As I am planning to attend post-grad studies abroad in the autumn I really need to get that done! Presuming that the Pandemic travel bans and protocols are eased up by then to allow for it.

So, for what it’s worth, here’s my rather subdued year-in-review:

• Major highlight for me was for both semesters in 2020 my GPA was 5.0 which puts my overall GPA at 4.96.
• The college went into full lockdown mid-March so we had to finish up the semester at home – even the studio classes. My plans for final projects all went out the window and I had to improvise at home. Home is student housing – 126 square feet of space of my own – which doesn’t allow for large builds or even flat works bigger than 18×20 inches. But I managed.
• Fall semester was, for Fine Arts, a combination. Our two studio classes were on campus – they split us up into smaller groups in different studios to maintain social distancing while there (although many people don’t grasp the concept!) The rest were live on-line classes.
• Got my African Violet to bloom!

• I was Hair & Make-Up lead for Pride & Prejudice at the Oshawa Little Theatre – show ran in January and ended mid-February – right before the shit hit the fan. It actually seems like it was longer ago than that at this point.
• In January took a workshop on How to Become A Successful Artist – lots of useful information from Tim Packer in Oshawa.
• Managed to break the little toes on BOTH feet (at different times) during lockdown. I’ve since wrapped the leg of my bed with a towel and duct tape to stop doing that!
• I sold my car at the end of August as I wasn’t using it enough to justify the insurance and parking costs.
• I completed the Institute of Student Leadership’s program and was awarded their non-academic certificate. This involved social education, attending the summit/conference, volunteer hours and campus involvement.
• Did some art classes online for fun – watercolours and pencil crayons in particular.
• Started a monthly challenge for January and actually completed the month.
• Participated in many webinars over the summer on social issues, learned a lot.
• Had a mixed media piece accepted into a juried show at the Station Gallery in Whitby.
• Took part in National Portfolio Day online and talked to many schools around the world about transferring to finish a degree. I’ve started the application process for a few for both BFA and MFA programs.
• Applied for scholarships – not successfully so far. But I keep trying!
• Was alone in my unit for around four months without any roommates. Three went home at lockdown in March, and the fourth moved out in May. So I was all alone until September. Was nice as I didn’t have the stress of worrying about contamination.
• I started keeping a “Pandemic Journal” on my Facebook timeline in March when the WHO declared the pandemic. I post every evening with the new total worldwide numbers, local updates, and some personal things.
• And, last but not least… I cut my hair, MYSELF, on Christmas Eve. I could not take it anymore! I hate it touching my ears or neck. And I did an excellent job of it considering I did it by touch only, no mirror! Full disclosure – I do know how to cut hair on other people, but have never done more than trim around the front on myself before. I keep it very short and “feathered” so the fact that it is lying smoothly after basically grabbing and hacking thrills me.

Here is one of the latest works I’ve completed – this is the companion piece to one I shared in my last blog post of Conservation successes. This is of Extinctions we’ve caused, the concept is the various species crossing over the Rainbow Bridge to become constellations in the night sky. It’s 8.5 x 11″ watercolour/ink and pencil crayon and will be published in a local arts magazine that will be featuring the art of the students in our program.

I wish everyone the absolute best of health and happiness in the New Year. Be safe and we’ll get through this.

A little self-isolation

Well, the world is certainly a different place than it was two weeks ago. Not unexpectedly. Confirmed cases of Covid-19 are jumping and  death rate is climbing. Several friends around the world are now reporting family, close friends and neighbours are infected. There was also an employee from the college confirmed – travel related. So shit is getting real.

Here in Ontario all but essential services are now closed. People are to stay home, and only leave their homes to get food and medicine. You aren’t supposed to be within 2 metres or 6-10 feet of other people. Unfortunately a lot of people just aren’t getting it!

The government is going to start enforcing the stay home rules, and are already arresting people who break the mandatory 14-day quarantine after returning to the country.

People are still hoarding… really difficult to find toilet paper and disinfectants. Some stores are gouging – saw Ontario Premier Doug Ford on the news and he was LIVID. They will be enacting legislation about it tomorrow and he said they are going after the price gougers. Good. Hopefully that will apply to the cretins who bought up everything they could to resell.

I’ve decided to stay off Twitter – too much US news. It is terrifying to watch the damage Trump has caused by his inaction and greed. I firmly am of the opinion he was stalling as he was trying to figure out how HE could make money off of it.

It is nice to see some billionaires actually doing something – Dyson designed a new ventilator in 10 days and is building 15,000 for the NHS in the UK. Elon Musk has been getting shipments of PPE and other equipment to hospitals around the US for over a week, and is getting set-up to manufacture ventilators. Some corporations are still paying their staff after closing. Others are… well selfish bastards. Imagine the richest man in the world setting up a Go Fund Me to cover employees who can’t work??? Well you don’t have to imagine it because it is true! All this stuff is in the news.

My poor hands are so dried out I’ve scraped my face with the skin on them! Now… I know you aren’t supposed to touch your face, but my hands are clean! And how the hell do you NOT touch your face. I have to keep remembering to moisturize.

Trying to get groceries delivered or order for pick-up is not working for me. All the local ways to do that have about a 10-day wait, and that’s for pick-up of an order! It is nuts.

As I had to go to a eye appointment (not something I could put off) early on Tuesday, I decided to stop for groceries on my way home. I really did not want to go to a grocery store, but I needed fresh food. Luckily it was just after 8 a.m. and there were only a few people. Lots of fresh vegetables, NO frozen, none. Well, except okra but who eats that? I kept away from people and wiped down things when I got home. Washed and prepped the vegetable and put away.

The college is now completely locked down as of Tuesday. Up until then they were allowing individual access to the studios, labs and computers. But once all non-essential services were closed, they locked down. And the date they had given for return was cancelled, with no new date. So we won’t be returning.

Everything is online now. Which is an adjustment for me. I am trying to keep to a routine. And make sure I don’t miss due dates which is hard when you have no idea what day it is! I am working through all assignments that are open for me to do now. I like to work ahead if possible. Then I don’t have to worry about forgetting or being overloaded at the end of the semester.

I’ve been making art – doodling and watercolour. I do have some assignments as well which I will get at over the next few days. This is some of the stuff I’ve done over the last week.

The doodles were done with really cheap dollar store felt pens – I thought they were ballpoint when I bought them a couple years ago. They are decent – lots of ink and really excellent nibs. They aren’t Copics or anything really excellent artist quality, but for what I am doing they work great, are nice and bright and don’t bleed.

A friend in the UK is doing a daily watercolour class live on Facebook (7 a.m. my time) so I’ve been participating. A good reason to keep to my early morning schedule. Everyone is staying home around the world and having an activity do like this is a good motivator to get up and do something.

Here’s my worktable. The LED lamp date/time is wrong. I had finally figured out how to set it but the power went off a couple weeks ago, and I can’t be bothered. My radio is precariously balanced to the right of it against the wall – and leans on the base of the lamp. Took two-days to find a spot in the room where the reception was steady so I have no desired to move it now! It is actually lying on its side as that is the only way to get a signal. The volume control is underneath now, so it stays on all the time.

I am posting daily on my FB page in My Pandemic Journal. Just my observations about what is happening in the world and my life during the crisis. If you want to check it out it is linked. Nothing earth shattering, just daily ramblings and images.

Well, aren’t we in a mess?

I am in Canada.

Today my college (and all colleges in Ontario) cancelled all in person classes until March 23rd. My college said it will be switching all classes to online for the rest of the semester.

Three of my classes won’t be too much hassle to finish online (there are only five weeks left in the year) but the other two are studio classes. They told us the campus is currently still open so I can go to the studio or workshop to work on my projects, but it won’t be a class for now.

They indicated we would be informed once things are sorted out and set-up for the rest of the semester. I hate waiting for information and answers but I am only one of some almost 14,000 full-time students so I will just have to take a breath and wash my hands, again, and wait.

I’m not sure if I will be able to, or required to, go to work at my student job at the college. Those wages are important – as a student employee I am an hourly employee, with no sick time. Also, my full-time summer job is supposed to start May 1… what happens then?

No one knows how long this is going to last. I’m all for taking every step and precaution possible to slow down the spread of the virus, but how long will it take to get this under control? I think it has been three months since it surfaced in China, and now it is pretty much everywhere.  I know no one has an answer to that…

Canada issued a Travel Advisory today to avoid all travel. So that means my planned road trip down to the states to visit some friends between end of semester and starting my summer job, is most likely not happening.

Over the last week I was face to face with at least a half a dozen sick students who were NOT being careful. First off, they were at school when they should have been home. Secondly, I witnessed many coughing and sneezing around groups of people (in line at the Tim Horton’s for example) without covering their mouths. Thirdly… NOT washing their hands after using the toilet – if they don’t wash them then, they aren’t washing at all. So lord knows, I may have been exposed already.

I worry a bit as I am not under 40 and I have a couple of underlying conditions that seem to be common in those that have died. On the plus side I am healthy and take care of myself so should be resilient. I am being careful, avoiding being too close to people, washing my hands, etc. But hell… not touching your face is HARD!

I went and got prescriptions renewed and filled them yesterday. Today ran some errands and picked up a few groceries. There were more people than usual in the places I stopped, BUT it wasn’t the mass riots seen on the news. Everyone only seemed to have a usual assortment of items and were a lot more conversational than I typically find. Although none of the stores had any toilet paper, hand sanitizer or disinfectant left, there was more coming – there is NOT a shortage of toilet paper.

What is with the toilet paper hoarding? We make the stuff here – all across the country, it isn’t hard to find, and always available. I just don’t understand it?

There is so much information – from downright dangerously wrong to expert official instructions – that is causing overload. It appears it is going to get a lot worse before it starts getting better.

So… be careful, cover your mouth, wash your hands, tell your loved ones you love them *hug them if safe to do so, snuggle your pets, eat good healthy food and indulge in your favourite treats, take your vitamins, get out in the sunlight, read some books, and seek medical attention if you get sick – call first per your local instructions! There’s not much else we can do other than keep positive… And for the love of all that’s holy: STOP HOARDING THE TOILET PAPER!