5 Things on a Friday: Notes from Quarantine

People are dying, and that’s bad.  It’s also not something that many of us can do much to fix.  We’re all locked in isolation, having seen vacations cancelled and lives put on hold.  Yes, the tragedies are tragic.  However, we still have to find a way to move forward in our lives and make each day count for whatever it can.

Manhattan

This week’s post is about that experience, for whatever it’s worth.  I’d love to hear what’s going on with others.

6 Things on a Sunday: Dragon’s Lair + Free Wrestling

I’ve been working on this post since the middle of last week, but without my regular commute rides on the train, my writing schedule is out-of-whack.  Also, the COVID-19 outbreak has gotten so bad that making jokes about it isn’t really in good taste anymore.

Happy Hour at Casa Cabeza in the era of COVID-19.

Well.  Let’s do it.

Friday's Tarot Reading

Author's Note: I wrote this post last Friday on my phone and have debated posting it ever since.  On the one hand, it kept my mind occupied on a day that I'd decided not to take my laptop on the train.  Putting it together felt marginally more productive than watching Castlevania on Netflix.  On the other hand, I don't want you guys to think I'm promulgating witchcraft or something.


Friday's Tarot Reading

I first learned to read the Tarot for a Halloween carnival at my kids’ school maybe ten years ago. I dressed up like a fortune-teller and did readings for the kids.  To be clear: I do not believe in the power of the Tarot. However, the kids enjoyed the readings, and I’ve always thought of them as an interesting storytelling exercise.  The cards all have multiple meanings, and there is no obvious way the various cards fit together once you deal them out. It’s more like a story prompt. You have to find meaning in a bunch of disparate elements that may or may not work together in any logical way. The hard part is remembering what all the cards are supposed to mean. 

Hence my recent readings. I’m trying to learn the cards better. I even downloaded an app on my phone for this purpose.

Trying Not to Go Crazy

Tough week, am I right?

I don't know what it's like at your house, but from where I'm sitting, it feels like the whole world is on a snow day while I'm stuck in the office.  I know -- in my head -- that I'm lucky that I'm working and that our daily routines haven't been as badly disrupted as they could have been.

From Friday.  This is our daily happy hour ritual.

Many, many people have it much, much worse.  I get that.  But in my heart, I'm still mourning our vacation to St. Thomas.  At the same time, my wife is out of work, and because we've already got one down in my office, I'm working as hard as ever.  So at least for now, we're looking at a long, hard slog without a break in sight.  Can't ski, can't go to the beach, can't really do anything except stay in the office and continue plugging away.

Public Service Announcement

My seasonal allergies have started acting up, and as you may imagine, it's making me paranoid as all Hell, especially since I work in Manhattan.  I've been on Metro-North pretty much all week.  Thankfully, no one in my family is at particular risk from COVID-19, but we are all quite anxious about getting the disease, having little-to-no symptoms, and passing it on to people who aren't as fortunate as we are.  That thought is making us all a little nutty.

In particular, I do not want to take the damned thing to work.  Seriously, if there's one thing I've learned these past 17+ years, it's that people in New York really need electricity.

So.  Amazingly, I found this on the Daily Mail website.  It's from the CDC, and it is totally useful. 

We've been taking our temperatures routinely around our house the past few days.

5 Things on a Friday: Cancel Everything

I wrote this on the train yesterday on my way in to work.  It's been so totally overcome by events in the last 24 hours that I'm just gonna publish it as it was originally intended, and you can all laugh or cry as you see fit.

The original into said simply, "Well.  That escalated quickly..." 

XFL: Offenses at the Halfway Mark

We’re five weeks into a ten-week XFL regular season, and despite the coronavirus outbreak and a predictable drop in TV ratings, America’s newest football league is off to a seemingly strong start.  We’re seeing regular mainstream media coverage, power rankings, podcasts, and -- after a slow offensive start -- an increasingly interesting product week-to-week.

Let’s discuss.

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‪This is where things stand halfway through the regular season‬

A post shared by XFL (@xfl) on Mar 10, 2020 at 6:35am PDT