My Daily Struggle in the COVID-19 Lockdown

 A whole year; a whole year has passed since I started writing this blog. It has been three days since the one year anniversary of the pandemic. This pandemic caused suffering all around the world, but not as much as it has affected Americans. As of today, 29,920,435 have been diagnosed with COVID-19. That is almost 10% of the population. That means, of ten people with whom you will interact this day, one will have had it or are suffering from it now. Also, the latest death toll is 544,424. Hence, if you have not lost a relative or friend from COVID-19, you know someone who has suffered such loss.  Let us look back a year ago and compare it to last week. First, there were still hate crimes and acts of intolerance against ethno-racial minorities, only the last weeks have seen an increase in racism towards Asians--since they are being accused of bringing the virus to America (even if they were born here and never left).  There was an incidence of our President sli...

 It was a rough week. I called my paternal grandmother, who has Alzheimer's, at her nursing home to wish her a happy birthday, and she did not recognize me. She did not know who I was. That was totally heartbreaking, and I had to end the call so that I would not become so emotional. She barely even knew she had a son. I hope I never get like that. If I do, God forbid, I wish people would put me away in a safe place and treat me as if I were dead. After all, I would be. Few things truly scare me, but I am afraid of the day when I will not even be able to wipe my own backside. Literally. I know there are people who care about me, but I never want to be a burden on anyone. I really feel for my old man. The responsibility for taking care of our grandmother falls on him because his older brother died ten years ago, and her husband died this year. I don't wish Alzheimer's on anyone. It is devastating for the family and for the patient. I saw this movie where a woman who was diagn...

I am glad that more and more people are getting the vaccine. A senior client of mine had just gotten his second shot this week, and he will be fully immune by the middle of March. I have heard that my senior friends and my mother are starting to at least get appointments. On top of this, today's news is that FDA approved a third vaccine--from Johnson & Johnson. This vaccine is a one shot deal; yes, there are no booster shots. Before you celebrate, please keep in mind that this vaccine is only  up to   85% effective. I don't know how this was considered good enough (still better than Astra Zeneca), but I think they should only give this vaccine to young adults in good health. The other two, especially Pfizer, should be given to the older and/or frail populations.  It was announced that the COVID-19 death toll reached 500,000 this week. Is it me, or did the death toll increase by 100,000 people since Biden took office? You tell me. Anyway, I see that only 2 of you ...

This week, one of you who is a regular reader expressed to me that, while he did not agree with some of my views, enjoys reading my blogs and encouraged me to keep blogging. This, friends, is open-minded thinking--something this country sorely needs right now. Another regular reader is an Democratic Illinois senator, so I know much of my opinions cross hairs with policies he supports. I appreciate this, friends, and it is an honor sharing my thoughts with you. Another person who had read my posts could not see both sides of the coin. They would shut you down if you said anything slightly supportive of the previous president. They would rant and rave about him but would not listen to my response. If they disagreed with a point I made, they would ask me for my source, and if I told them, they would discredit it if it were from a conservative viewpoint. I would tell them not to discuss politics with me since they would not listen to other perspectives or be fair in their judgements, but t...

 First, as everyone has been asking, I am fine. The only side effect I have had to the vaccination is that my arm was sore for a few days. Nothing else, thankfully. I go for my second shot aka booster on February 2nd, and then I will be safe from this horrible virus. She-Sits-by-the-Fire discussed an interesting point with me. The first injection I received had the Pfizer vaccine. What if the booster is from Moderna? Will it have interactions of some sort? I will need to look this up. I have decided to keep doing this specific blog until 30 days after the vaccine becomes available to the public.  This week has been very nauseating. Biden was inaugurated this Wednesday, along with Harris. He said that he would act as a centrist and that he wants there to be unity with all Americans. Then what does he do on the first day? He signs orders overturning everything the previous administration enacted--even a few good things. He overturned restrictions on the transgendered in the mili...

 Three hundred days. Wow. For those who have been reading all this time, you have my humble thanks. Well, I had gotten my first vaccination last Tuesday.  My agency worked together with the city, and they made sure that we were among the first. It was just like any other vaccination, only I must go back in 3 weeks for a booster. Thankfully, it was from Pfizer--so it is the most effective. Plus, it does not have any cells from murdered unborn children.  So, I learned a few things from taking this vaccine. First, until we hear otherwise, yes, I must wear these stupid rags over my face a spell longer. This is because, while there is only a 5% chance I could catch the virus after my booster shot, when I am fully vaccinated, there is a chance that I could still carry the virus and infect someone else. Second, while most vaccines include dead or devenomized viruses, this one use takes "spike proteins" from the virus and introduces them to our cells. The proteins do not have the...

  Another week gone by. Another week less with COVID-19. It would appear that the percentage of those contacting COVID-19 is up again--close to the numbers back in May. Sure, it would be easy to feel despair from this, but don't forget that we are encouraged to wear masks now much more than we were in May. Plus, we have treatments to reduce the risk of death. Then, of course, Pfizer developed a vaccine that is supposed to be 90% effective. We are going to beat this thing, friends. Just keep praying and living in hope!  I hope each of you had a chance to take a look at my article in this Des Plaines Valley News newspaper--if you live in my locale. I had the displeasure of reading the letter below mine from a woman who is, unfortunately, going to be my new representative, replacing Dan Lipinski in 2021. She talks about how we need to fixing America and all that jazz. The majority of her post involved her doing what most politicians of the Democratic Party have done: denigrate Pr...

 The elections have come and gone. Though President Trump has not conceded, it seems that Biden has won. Again, no matter who wins, Americans in general have lost. The margin of winning between Trump and Biden are very small, but it seems that the few votes have gone to Biden. Still, I found it very interesting that, even in New York and California, less than 25% of the counties were blue; the rest were red. Hence, the small-towners and the rural were in favor of Trump. They represent roughly half of this nation, and even those who are against his policies did not want Biden to sink in. Instead of denigrating them, let that sink in. Try to learn why. We need another way to talking to each other. We need to get back to agreeing to disagree. There were self-righteous leftists who disowned their families and friends simply because they admitted voting for Trump. I still remember how that ratchet excuse for a mother kicked out her 8-year-old son because he voted for Trump in a school e...

 Dear Mr. Biden, No matter what is being said by President Trump or his staff, it seems that, unless anything happens in the the next few months, the presidency is as good as yours. Mazel tov.  You acknowledged that the United States of America is divided and that you want to help us heal.  The best way to do this is to listen to those who either voted for Trump or a third party, or who only voted for you under duress. By duress, I mean those who don't like you or what you stand for, but they still think you are a safer bet than President Trump. While President Trump spent too much time on social media, did not have his facts straight, and did not talk properly to others, he still listened to non-leftists--especially those who were denied the civil liberties. By this, I mean those who were fired from their jobs for refusing to wear "pride" pendants, as well as those who were being fined and lost their businesses in Colorado and Washington for refusing to bake cakes for sa...