corona virus wtf blog

From Jenna Orkin New York City    Coronavirus hasn't changed my social life that much. Most days, I attend at least one zoom group with like-minded souls who are interested in foreign languages but not interested enough to enroll in a class; we just "converse" for an hour, gaily stumbling over our thoughts, filling in each other's failing vocabularies, in the touchingly naive belief that the blind can lead the blind towards eventual enlightenment. Actually, we're not really that naive and believe it or not, we do become more "fluent" in our particular brand of Spanglish or Chinglish or whatever it happens to be.  And sometimes we're graced by the presence of a native speaker to whose expertise we appeal with all due reverence.    This is actually a more conducive set-up than the marathons that used to take place every week, with a hundred polyglot hopefuls jammed into a bar shouting over each other. One guy who subsequently came down with Covid-

Chris Eugene, Oregon Someone said we all react to covid in the way we're spring loaded to do.  Some go into outrage against the government.    You made a blog.   I denied it as long as possible, since I was planning to go to Europe.  Gradually, though, we seep out of our core tendencies and pick up on what else is going on, what is possible and from our default position grow into an intellectually interdependent understanding and potential for response.  The blog helps.  I hope more people will access it and post.  

Three More Pluses to the Coronavirus Jenna Orkin New York City 1. No guilt for leaving the laundry. Who knows what alien hand might have touched the machine in the basement after scratching what alien nose. 2. You don't feel as though you're missing out on life since everyone else is too. Put another way: There isn't any. Update on the laundry: There may be no guilt but until an hour ago, there was also no more clean underwear. I channeled my inner grandmother and did the laundry in the bathtub. Every corner of the cupboard and the dresser, the back of every chair, the knob of every drawer, the handlebars and even the mirror of my bicycle, all now have some piece of damp clothing hanging from them.  3: Doing the laundry in the bathtub also cleans the bathtub.

From Jenna Orkin New York City    The other day, a doctor wrote a riveting account on Facebook of work in the emergency room at his hospital; the chaos of doctors from every specialty being roped in to deal with this one clear and present danger .    After the doctor finally gets to sleep, he is awakened by a sudden clanging. He starts in terror. Is there a fire? A code blue?    But it is only the seven o'clock tribute of the city — the country, the world— to its medical professionals. Thank you! thank you! the banging pots and pans proclaim.    The doctor is relieved. He was having an attack of PTSD. Once more, he lies down.     But the subtext of his post is, "Thank you... but please let us sleep."    And it lays bare the true message of the nightly ritual. "We've lived through another day!" cry the dissonant pots and pans. "We may not be able to go out but we will be heard!"

Jenna Orkin New York City Five Pluses to Covid-19  (Besides the One About Keeping Us From Further Effing Up the Planet) 1. There aren't so many robocalls. Maybe the person or device deploying them went out of business.   (Not sure what this is but it looks celebratory.) 2. If you don't want to go out, you have an excuse! You can even feel virtuous. 3. Ditto for not wanting to attend a particular meeting or talk to a particular person, or a thousand other things devoutly to be avoided. 4. A whole new genre of video has been born in which people show how they stay in shape within the confines of a throw-rug. 5. Videos like this one:  Maskmaker, maskmaker, make me a mask.  There are times when in spite of everything, you have to love the human race.

Nina New York I'm lucky (knock on the wood!) enough to be able to work from home for now.. Not sure how long it will be possible to maintain, but hopeful it will last at least a little bit more ..  There are so many people who could not keep their positions - it is so excruciatingly sad, unexpected and, frankly speaking, not sure what could be done in their position..  But the situation is the same in Moscow and some other countries. My family is in my grandmother's house, dacha. They are together and that warms my heart!  One of my friends who is now in Helsinki says there is no lock down, she and the kids are able to go to the playground and even nursery.    A friend in Zurich is working from home with his family.  Friends in London are working from home too, but they are experiencing some food delivery problems. However still manageable to get the food and make some walks with their toddler to secluded areas.