Monday, June 8, 2020

Quarantine, 100 days later .. its over!!

What we loved

In the 100 days since we have been in the state-mandated quarantine, the adjustment to working from home was a bit smooth. There was a lot to like:

  1. Not having to spend an extra bit of money and losing time every day in a commute
  2. Not necessarily having to wear shoes
  3. Not having to spend much money on food since home was a 24-7 all-you-can-eat buffet. Not that this happened
  4. Body-weight exercises became a huge relief
  5. NY State was blessed to have a proper mayor who flourished in the crisis
  6. Having a great job when so many others lost theirs. And there are many more advances on the horizon

What we loathed

There was a lot about being under mandated quarantine that made life a bit of a challenge:

  1. Gyms were closed for the better part of of the 100 days of quarantine. The weight-gain is real
  2. Ordering take-out was also locked-up for the first 80+ days
  3. A certain segment of the population felt empowered to police others. Not cool, Karen!!
  4. The constant switching of information was annoying. Yesterday's folly became tomorrows favor
  5. The lack of privacy took a toll on intimacy
  6. Certain political leaders who wilted like flowers in the rain when faced with challenges of a global pandemic
  7. The unnecessary violence that came with looting and the audacity to justify it as an exercise in free speech following the protest of police brutality

What we lost

I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to drop a line on the souls lost:

  1. Total loss of life: 100k, not limited to those brave doctors and first-responders who braved the dangers of exposure so others can heal
  2. REST IN PEACE Brave angels of light: Ahamaud Aubry, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. Their deaths at the hand of uncivilized policing opened up the floodgates of civil unrest, protests, looting, and a boisterous call for change. THE OPPRESSION ENDS NOW!!

What we learned

In the depths of the crisis, there are two kinds of people: those who rise and meet the challenge head-on, and those who shrink away. The 45th President of the United States proved himself to be a coward of magnanimous proportions. The man exposed himself as the narcissist, fascist totalitarian he so admires in the likes of Putin and Kim Jong-Un.

When the nation expected unity, the man gave us division. When the people expected understanding and compassion, they were met with petulant tweets. Where the citizens called for change in the wake of George Floyd's death, they were met with threats of military force; the unmitigated gall to flex tyrannical muscle on US soil smacks of so much wrong with No.45 that it boggles the mind.

What we longed for

Best guess we are all longing for the freedom to move about our city without the worry of COVID-19. The state-mandated has been lifted today. Its a cautious optimistic, calculated re-opening.