The Pittmeister's COVID Chronicles

 I realize that I have not posted in 2 weeks and I  think that is a record for this blog since it changed. I think the previous record was one week and all I provided was a digest of the week. This is what Wife and I have been up to over the past 2 weeks:  #1: Camping - March 16-19 we went camping at at nearby state park that had a tiny lake on it. Our friends from 1.5 Mile High City actually reserved the spaces, which were right next to each other, and invited us to join them. The day we arrived was so cold and windy that we chose to sleep in our car, but that wasn't very successful or comfortable, so we slept in our tent the next two nights.  #2: Covid Vaccine - By some strange stroke of luck, I was able to get my 1st COVID vaccine, the Moderna version, on Monday, March 22nd. A Safeway pharmacy in Benson, AZ reserved 100 doses for employees of the community college at which I work and I was able to reserve an appointment on the morning of March 22nd. I'm scheduled for my seco

 In Arizona this morning, there have been 832,094 cases of COVID-19. There have been 16,546 deaths. There were 262 new cases reported today and there have been 27 new deaths reported. In our county, there have been 11,402 cases with 274 deaths. There were 9 new cases reported and 1 new death. 

Thursday was March 11th. March 11th is a milestone day in our lives because that was the day of the Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. This event has been a milestone event in our marriage because it was so traumatic for both Wife and I, though more traumatic for Wife. We often talk about our experiences around that time. We both experienced it differently with her experience being significantly more traumatic than mine. Here is something I wrote about that day (and the days following it) on another social media site:  March 11, 2011. It was also a Thursday. I was staying a Hampton Inn in Philadelphia for a higher education job-searching event and professional conference. I would end up being there for 9 days. This was Day 2. I woke up in my hotel room in Philadelphia and prepared for my interviews that morning at the NASPA Placement Exchange. They were with Western Washington and University of Illinois-Carbondale. I turned on the TV to watch the news hoping to get a weather report

 As of this morning, there have been 825,119 cases in the state of Arizona with 16,323 deaths. In our county, there have been 11,310 cases & 270 deaths. In our zip code, there have been 462 confirmed cases of COVID-19.  It feels as though things are beginning to get back to normal here. Last week, our governor authorized schools to re-open and the capacity limitations for restaurants is also being lifted. I think a lot of people (and I count myself in this demographic) have grown weary of wearing a mask everyday, everywhere they go. In fact, I met with a student last week who said he was looking forward to the day when he won't have to wear a mask.  In another example of a return to normalcy, this upcoming week will be the last week my department will be on alternating teams working in the office or working remotely from home. We will all be back in the office beginning the week of March 15th with an expectation that we all keep our distance from each other and continue to wear

 Good morning and welcome to another edition of the Covid Chronicles! The time is currently 5:27am and I have been awake since approximately 3:30am. I was just starting to fall back asleep when my 5:15am alarm went off and since I did not want a repeat of a day last week where I ignored my alarm and then didn't wake up again until 7am, I decided I would get up.  Normally at this time, I'm sitting in my living room, sipping a cup of coffee, and thinking about my life, but since Wife and I are out of coffee, I'm here on the internet blogging about my life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tomorrow, March 2nd, is officially Hina Matsuri or Girls Festival in Japan. Traditionally, girls are given a set of dolls at birth and each year these dolls are set up and displayed so the family can pray for the life of the daughter. This year, and many years of procrastination and loving neglect, Wife and I finally made a stand for her to display her dolls. Here's a picture not of the stan