The novel coronavirus, against few odds, survived and flourished into its second year, 2021,
despite our meager, disorganized, and halfhearted attempts to do anything about it. So, once again,
I’m here to provide a running list of pandemic-related life in our household. I learned
some lessons from last year’s blog entry,
and will apply them here. For example, this time, I’m more pessimistic than before about how
long it will last. With that in mind, I plan to be more brief with my updates.
Again, this entry is concerned with how we (the four people who live in my house) lived
and perceived life during the pandemic, not with the political or medical nature of the thing.
This page has many sections and updates. Use these in-page links to navigate:
Week 43 (thru Jan. 2)
- 01.02: Visited cousins who just moved to Round Rock. (We masked during brief visit.)
- 01.02: Shopped at outlet mall in Round Rock (so RnB could spend the rest of their Xmas money).
Crowded. Social-distancing and mask-wearing enforced. Stores limited number of customers inside at
one time.
Week 44 (thru Jan. 9)
- 01.06: RnB resumed in-person schooling. Mask-wearing still enforced on campus.
- 01.07: M got her second half of the vaccine. (1st half was in December.)
- 01.08: M had fever, other symptoms; all passed in a few hours.
Week 45 (thru Jan. 16)
- 01.10: early rain turned to snow, which lasted most of the day (2.5 inches)
- 01.10: B figured out how to make in-app purchases, now owes us 20+ weeks of allowance
- 01.11: school canceled, M’s work delayed 3.5 hours
- 01.16: drove to Flower Mound, TX, for masked visit with brother & family
Week 46 (thru Jan. 23)
- Tried to organize meet-up with relatives, but they wouldn’t agree to masks
- Relieved (and somewhat hopeful) that new Biden administration seems competent and intends
to actually have a federal response to pandemic
- Inspected & registered minivan. (Didn’t have to wait in line at DMV; discovered I can
get new registration sticker at local supermarket!)
Week 47 (thru Jan. 30)
- Drove our 2003 Neon for the last (?) time. It won’t pass inspection and we decided
it’s not worth the cost of repairs to keep it running. It is, for both M & I, the longest
we’ve ever owned a car (we bought it eleven years ago).
- 01.27: heating element quit in water heater.
- 01.28: plumber came to fix water heater.
- 01.28: power out at school most of the day; they used electric lanterns to light classrooms.
- 01.30: M took RnB to a park in Round Rock, where most everyone was masked.
Week 48 (thru Feb. 6)
- 02.06: Get-together with some of M’s coworkers — outdoors, masked when close
Week 49 (thru Feb. 13)
- 02.10: Dropped off tax paperwork w/CPA (submitted to IRS on 02.12)
- 02.11: freezing rain, sleet; school & work canceled
- 02.12: scheduled day off school, M gets half-day due to weather
- 02.13: took RnB on below-freezing walk before it gets even colder
- (last few days, R has fever, cough, drainage...)
Week 50 (WINTER STORM)
For details on this week, read
We Survived The Historic 2021 Texas Winter Storm (So Far), my
entry on the historic weather-related blackouts and water shortages.
Week 51 (thru Feb. 27)
- Each day, drove to three or four stores, looking for bottled water
- Weather was surprisingly warm/mild all week, making
last week seem like a bad dream
- 02.22: M returns to work
- 02.23: Found (and bought) milk and eggs.
- 02.23: Received IRS income tax refund — quickest turnaround ever, I think
- 02.24: RnB dentist appt (rescheduled from last week due to
winter storm)
- 02.24: Boil-water order lifted for Killeen (close to midnight; learned of it the next morning)
- 02.25: RnB return to school
- 02.26: I discovered LiChess and started
an account
Week 52 (thru March 6)
- 02.28: B had the best bike wreck ever, flying over the handlebars like a stunt man, flipping
in the air and landing on his back some feet beyond his bicycle. But he hopped up quickly and shook
it off. M and I were too far away to do anything about it except gasp.
- 03.01 - 03.05: First full week back on normal schedule since the ice storm.
- 03.02: Our intrepid governor, unrestrained by good sense or any veneer of leadership ability,
lifted the statewide mask “mandate” (which was really far too weak to have been called
a “mandate” in the first place). For the rest of the week, we didn’t see much of
a change. The school continues to require masking, and we immediately received emails from the local
medical monopoly saying that they would continue to require masks, etc. Several large corporations
(Target, Kroger, Macy’s, Starbucks, etc.)
announced
quickly that they would continue to require masks as well. HEB (our supermarket) first
said
they would lift the mask requirement for customers, but then
“updated”
that with a complete reversal.
- 03.06: MRB attended a play at the local theater; one of R’s friends was in the cast.
- 03.06: Last year, this week ended on March 7, and the following week was our
Spring Break trip, which I have been counting as
Week 1 of the pandemic — it was the first week we saw signs that the Covid-19 pandemic would
affect our lives. That means that in a couple of days, it
will have been a FULL YEAR that we’ve been dealing with this. There’s still no word on
when I can get a vaccine, but at least Texas recently
included teachers and
childcare workers in the eligibility group (after the federal government demanded it), so maybe it
won’t be long.
Week 53 (thru March 13)
Not much of import occurred this week — it was basically routine, for the first time in
a while.
Week 54 (thru March 20)
- Spring Break. We took a very careful yet very fun trip to San Antonio,
as described in a separate entry.
- 03.17: Received (third?) Covid relief check, via direct deposit. Most goes into savings for
next house’s downpayment.
- 03.19: Front-yard oak tree shows new leaves.
Week 55 (thru March 27)
- I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Covid, but I came down with something nasty the
day after we came home from San Antonio. It came and went
like a normal 3-4 day infection. (At no point did I have any of the serious
symptoms of
Covid-19: fever/chills, difficulty breathing, aches, loss of taste/smell, nausea, vomiting,
diarrhea, headache, persistent pain, etc.) It was almost gone by Monday, and by Tuesday I was close
to normal.
- 03.21: Ordered external hard drive and new PC from B&H. My PC still functions (I use it
every day), but it hasn’t successfully taken a Windows update in a few years, is getting
pretty slow, and is something like nine years old. For once, I decided to replace a computer
before it fails.
- 03.22: RnB had remote learning (the whole school did), during which they filled out
packets. Both made quite a few errors that I attributed to not paying attention, but I caught most
of the mistakes and pointed out items that needed a second look. In the afternoon, I weeded the
front and side yards.
- 03.23: RnB back to school; I weeded half of the back yard.
- 03.24: Wednesday marked my 365th consecutive day of Spanish lessons on Duolingo. (¡He
practicado español todos los días durante todo un año!)
- 03.25: I had three very vivid dreams (vivid dreaming isn't unusual for me, but having three in
one night that I remember is unusual). One of them was the first dream I remember in which people
were wearing facemasks — due to the pandemic.
(Click here for more dream details.)
- 03.25: First leaves on one-year-old crapabble tree — proving the ice storm didn’t
kill it; maple still has no leaves. (Last year, the crabapple showed its first leaves on March 3,
and the maple didn’t get leaves until April 6.)
- 03.25: New computer (HP Envy desktop PC) arrived, along with 8TB external hard drive. Once I was
done with chores, I began to set up the new machine.
- 03.26: RnB had another remote learning day. I continued to set up new computer — which
seemed easier/quicker than I remember (maybe they install less bloatware than they used to?) Most of
my “setup” process involves installing a particular set of applications I use every day,
and tweaking a variety of settings to my liking.
- 03.27: Ate at Billy Bob’s Burgers (first time since before the pandemic), sitting on
picnic tables outside.
❎
Three Dreams, 2021.03.25
In the first dream, I was with family (as I understood it in the dream), though none of the
people were recognizable as either immediate or extended family in real life. We were in a multistory
house set into the side of a steep hill, with all the outward facing walls made of windows. The house
was spacious and well-appointed. Someone had brought their pet (friend?) chimpanzee, which got
excited about all the windows. I was sitting inside one window, with the chimp outside, and it began
to bang on the window. Some people in the house grew fearful that the animal was angry and would
hurt someone or break something, but I had the distinct feeling he just wanted to play. Sure
enough, it figured out where the door was, and chased some of us through the house. Most people were
screaming in fright, but I was having fun. When I grew tired, I let it catch me, and the chimp
hugged me with a big smile. “See?” I told the others. “He was just having
fun.”
The second dream was set in a town I knew to be called “Bowlegs, Oklahoma”, but it
resembled the real-life Bowlegs not at all. (Yes, Bowlegs is a real place in Oklahoma, with a
high school and everything.) In the dream, the town was modern and extensive, sometimes referred
to as the “Bowlegs-Konawa Corridor”, because it stretched from the location of
real-life Bowlegs to real-life Konawa. A massive superhighway ran through there, with beautiful
buildings incorporated into the highway — in places the highway ran through buildings
and in others, shorter buildings supported the highway above. Below the raised highway were parklike
grassy and tree-covered areas, and all the buildings were of white concrete and red brick, with
lush green growth coming from planter boxes built into the buildings’ sides and roofs. But
my destination was a small and dingy night club, where I hoped to drink in peace and anonymity.
The underground night club was located in a former roller skating rink for some reason, and that
night the owners had invited a troupe of roller-skaters to entertain the customers. This was the
dream in which every person was wearing a facemask, including all bar patrons, employees, and even
the roller-skating team. I traded good-natured quips with some of the women roller skating, until
one of them skidded up to me, lowered her mask, and said: “It’s me, Nah.” (She
pronounced it “naw”, and I somehow knew she meant that was her name.) As if I was
supposed to know who she was. In the dream, I suddenly
realized I did know who she was, and felt bad for not remembering her earlier, and
continued to fail to remember her significance to me. Had we dated? Was she a relative? I
continued to feel bad that I couldn’t remember, nor could I guess what “Nah” was
short for (Hannah, perhaps?). Afterward, as the roller skating team boarded their bus to head
to the next town, I met her outside and asked if we could talk. She apologized that she simply
didn’t have time for that, because the bus was about to leave and her roller skating life
was very busy. But she said she thought of me often and hoped we could stay in contact. She seemed
kind and like she truly wished me the best. Even after waking, I can still recall her face from the
dream, but can’t match it to anyone I’ve known in real life.
The third dream was set in a large city which felt northeastern — probably not NYC, but
maybe Boston or Philadelphia or something. I remember being lost, and at one point cutting across
a railroad track near the lowering warning arm where a railroad employee was training a police
officer how to lower and raise the wooden arm to stop traffic. The police officer looked at me
questioningly until the railroad employee told me I probably shouldn’t cut across the tracks
there. I told him I did it all the time, and the cop told the employee that it was probably fine.
I kept going, ending up inside a restaurant where I asked for directions to something (I
can’t remember), and they told me in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t welcome there
anymore. There was a lot of walking in this dream, sometimes in the day and sometimes in the
night, but the entire time I was trying to locate that one place that I now can’t remember.
❎
Week 56 (thru April 3)
- 03.28: I finished formatting/uploading photos from our Spring
Break trip. The process was initially hampered by having to install all the apps I normally
use onto my new PC, and I couldn't get my copy of Photoshop (CS2) to work so I had to experiment with
other apps. Eventually, I settled on GIMP, which has a steep learning curve. (I tried DarkTable,
which gets rave reviews, but couldn’t figure it out.)
- 03.29: Last week, Texas announced a change in vaccination elibibility, which means I’m
eligible as of today. However, none of the online portals for scheduling vaccinations had any
vaccines available.
- 04.02: Finally got first dose of Covid-19 vaccine (Pfizer version) at Walgreens — the only
place in the region I could find an open appointment. RnB were home remote learning, so it was the
first time I left them home without an adult. (I stayed in contact with R the entire time via email.)
The shot personnel had to stick me twice because the first needle malfunctioned and they discarded
that dose (!). My arm was increasingly sore for the rest of the day but I had no other reactions.
My second dose is scheduled for 04.30.
- 04.02: I discovered that GIMP won’t adequately do a few of the things I was using
Photoshop for (like my weather graphics, for which
the originals are .psd files), and simultaneously remembered I still had an old copy of Photoshop
7.0 on a CD-ROM. Fortunately, my new PC has a disk drive, so I was able to install Photoshop. I was
quickly reminded of all the things wrong with 7.0, and it doesn’t handle the .psd files as
well as CS2 did, but it’s adequate (and I don’t really have a lot of options).
- 04.03: M took RnB to a playground in Round Rock — they were the only ones there because it
was raining. (M had expected rain and brought a change of clothes for RnB.)
Week 57 (thru April 10)
- Shrubs showed little sign of recovery after the February ice storm (and after I prematurely
trimmed them), so I began cutting them back to the very thick stems near the bottom. This will,
I hope, accomplish two things: (1) give them a chance to resprout without so many dead branches
on top, and (2) if they don’t recover, it’ll be easier to dig them up now that all
the top parts are cut off. Later in the week, after the front shrubs showed small buds all over,
I did the same thing to the ones in the back.
- I had my second dream in which people wore masks — this time it was about helping one of
M’s friends landscape her yard. Very exciting, I admit.
- Ordered a 2:1 VGA switch box, so I can use both my computers without buying a new monitor.
(I’d never heard of such a thing, but when I looked at my two towers, and the single monitor,
I envisioned such a device and thought: if I just “invented” this device in my head,
then someone else probably already made one. Sure enough, I found several types online.) It was
only later that I realized I’d need two more VGA cables in order for such a connection to
function, so I ordered those.
- B got his first professional haircut. Before now, I’d always cut his hair with electric
clippers — usually just buzz cuts, but a couple of times I managed to give him a mohawk
(possibly a racist term, but I don’t know what else to call such a haircut). This time, M
took him to a salon and he loved it.
Week 58 (thru April 17)
- 04.11: MRB went to a birthday party at a trampoline place; their first time inside such an
establishment since the pandemic began. (It’s very large, with lots of ventilation, and
everyone wore masks inside.)
- Rest of the week: Pretty much “normal” for all four of us, other than
mask-wearing and social distancing when necessary/possible. I began counting down the days to
my second dose of the vaccine (April 30).
Week 59 (thru April 24)
- 04:18: Our one-year-old backyard maple tree finally grew tiny leaf buds, about three weeks
later than last year.
- 04.20: I took the Kia Soul to the dealer because they sent us a letter saying there was a
free software upgrade that would extend our warranty. I was the only person in the building
wearing a mask, so I didn’t stay long. Set an appointment for next week.
- 04.24: MRB went to a playdate, at which all the adults present were known to have been
vaccinated — a “first” for us, which gave us hope we’re getting
close to turning the corner on the pandemic.
Week 60 (thru May 1)
- I passed 400 days (consecutive) of learning Spanish on Duolingo. (Honestly, I think I’m
at a standstill in this facet of my education right now, but continuing to do at least one short
lesson per day ensures I’m not forgetting what I’ve already learned.)
- 04.30: Got my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, which finally put my mind at ease, or at
least more so than it’s been on this topic since Spring 2020. It made me want to send out
a big “F.U.” to everyone who has tried to kill us all, either by ignoring expert
medical advice regarding masks and social distancing or by voting for the Pro-Covid party.
Weeks 61-63 (thru May 22)
I know I haven’t updated this in three weeks; there wasn’t much to report,
related to the pandemic. RnB began to wind down their school year, I waited out my post-vaccination
two weeks (supposedly, one isn’t “fully vaccinated” until two weeks elapse
following the second shot), and we began loosening up our personal restrictions just a little.
Though May has been cooler and rainier than average, we did see a few warm sunny days so M
started taking RnB to the neighborhood swimming pool, which has reopened.
May 22: We drove to my brother’s house in Flower Mound, for a nephew’s fourth
birthday party. All eight adults in attendance have been fully vaccinated, and all four families
have been following recommended safety protocols during the pandemic, so we felt comfortable
hanging out with them for a few hours (it was mostly outdoors anyway). It was a nice trip despite
raining during the entire three-hour drive back home.
Texas made the national news a few times in recent days, mostly due to harmful regressive
legislation but also due to our pandemic relaxation (our restrictions were never very strict in the
first place). On the ground, it looks like nothing has changed. Those who were wearing or requiring
masks are still doing so, and those who weren’t still aren’t. Vaccination rates here
are still lower than in many other states, but on the other hand, social distancing is relatively
easy here with everything so spaced out and it’s easier for most of us to stay home because
our homes are,
on average, larger
than elsewhere in the country.
Weeks 64-66 (thru June 12)
The week after returning from my brother’s, I had a sore throat and cough, much like
what I experienced after returning from San Antonio in March, but again
it obviously wasn’t Covid, and again it went away in a few days (a lingering cough
lasted more than a week). This time, my wife and children came down with it too, just as I was
recovering (first M, then B, and finally R), but everyone was fine after a few days. It would
have been unremarkable had it not happened on the tail end of a pandemic when there are still
worries.
The children finished school, both making the honor roll. I “attended” awards
ceremonies via Zoom, and the children waved to me on screen, which was weird but futuristic and
cool at the same time. R got singled out for the second-highest AR (advanced reading) score in
her entire grade (and the highest scorer was in her class too). This fall, R will start her
final year of elementary school. (!) Right now, it looks like Texas schools have already
decided to start completely normally in the fall — no masks, no virtual option, etc.,
at least in our district. I’m okay with this, as new data shows schools weren’t one
of the primary drivers of the pandemic anyway.
A rainier-than-usual May gave way to a sunny and warm June, so the lawn looks great and
RnB have been to the pool several times. We let R host a playdate here, with a classmate (the
only person in school who beat her AR score — we encourage her to befriend the smarter
children). Also, several of her friends are online regularly, so they can talk via one app while
playing games in another app. B joins them for many of these “get togethers”.
B turned eight recently, his second pandemic birthday, celebrated (relatively) quietly at
home with cake and a few presents. All he asked for was money, so we gave him that, and the
same afternoon drove to Round Rock so he could spend it all on Pokemon cards. (He also bought
a Texas-themed wallet, and a few other trinkets.)
I don’t know exactly when I will end this entry and transition back into my
pre-pandemic blogging schedule (which was intermittent at best the past few years), but I think
it’s coming soon. Mask-wearing in businesses here is down to 20-30%, with the
“required” signs all being replaced by “encouraged” signs. Any businesses
that survived the weak restrictions Texas put in place are back open to full capacity. In other
words, whatever happens in our lives moving forward will likely not be pandemic-related —
though we’re still wearing masks when we go into stores, only eating at restaurants if they
have outdoor seating or are mostly empty inside, and still washing our hands religiously.
Now I’m at the point of wondering what pandemic-related changes will be permanent in
our lives, or at least mine. For example, will I continue wearing a mask when I go into
businesses? If not, when will I stop? I haven’t shaken anyone’s hand in about 15
months, and I’m okay with never doing it again. Fist-bumps are fine with me, or even less
contact if possible. And other such questions.