Hard Week

April 30, 2020 by Adam in Family

It's been a rough week.

Things with Ben escalated to the point where Joanna took him to the ED last night and he'll likely be sent to Portland once a bed opens up in a juvenile mental health facility.  Joanna came home briefly for dinner, then returned to bring sushi and some books for Ben.  I think the pandemic has been especially hard on Ben as he hasn't had much peer interaction, counseling is done remotely, and his DBT classes were canceled.  

Interacting with the healthcare system is equally weird.  Joanna had to get her temperature checked before going into the hospital and Ben got a COVID-19 test, which I'm guessing they do for anyone being admitted these days.  Joanna said the hospital was pretty empty - I think most everyone is just staying away.

It's hard to know what else to talk about - sort of an "Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?" sort of thing.  I'm trudging through work.  Emma and Duncan are getting good grades at school.  Sam is back at work.  I saw mom and she had me plant a couple roses, take out her garbage, and replace her water filter.  I'm trying to encourage her to hire a landscaper as weeds have turned her yard into a jungle.

After dinner last night I watched some Saturday Night Live clips on YouTube - watching a comedian doing skits with their cat at home was weirdly helpful.

Board Games and Hiking In the Woods

April 27, 2020 by Adam in Family

Life continues to be somewhat rough, a weird mix of ordinary and stressful.  We played a board game each day, winning with Pandemic and starting in on Aeon's End: Legacy.  The latter took a lot of time to setup, but Joanna waded through the rules and was fairly optimistic at the end.

We also went out to Mount Pisgah and roamed around, finding a big frog hiding in the reeds near the pond. There's something about being in nature to raise the spirits.

Emma's trying to walk 100 miles by the end of her PE class, so we were exercising in the basement and going for walks.  I secretly enjoy the extra activity as I was spending too much time at home even before the pandemic.

Our new kitten is doing his best raising our spirits.  He seems to like me most of all, much to Emma and Joanna's disappointment, and he'll climb on to my lap whenever I'm sitting down and has a nice little nap.

Mocha Friday

April 24, 2020 by Adam in Family

It sure felt like a global pandemic and world-wide economic collapse was going on this week.  I decided it's probably okay if I occasionally felt stressed out about it.  Fortunately somewhere in the middle my brain took a turn and I'm feeling fairly cheeful again today.  We have food and shelter and lots of good things going on in our lives.

I heard briefly from Sam that he continues to improve, his cough getting better every day.  It sounds like the governor is going to open up hospitals and dentist offices for non-emergency procedures.  Hopefully that means Emma's braces can get adjusted in a few weeks, though I imagine they'll be swamped for awhile.  The kids are struggling through school, Ben especially.  Joanna talked to the teachers and I think there's an understanding that essentially everyone will pass if they show up and give it a shot.

Joanna's been going out shopping regularly, stripping off clothes and showering each time she comes home.  Her mask making continues, delivering them to people and organizations as she finishes them off.  I think it helps to have something to do.

I'm slowly getting more comfortable with my new team, at least enough to point out problems and offer solutions.  I'm still going slow, but I think they're just appreciative for the help.

Looking forward to the weekend and hanging out with Emma.  Hopefully we'll have better luck at Pandemic: Legacy this weekend.

Coronakitty

April 21, 2020 by Adam in Family

Joanna and the kids drove to Washington last Saturday, returning with a very cute kitty named Data that theoretically I'm less alergic to.  I still get a little wheasy, but I'm hoping my immune system settles down - something similar happened with Leia, our first cat.  Leia isn't especially happy having a little kitty around, but Data seems pretty cheerful and is only slightly mischevious.  Hopefully everything settles down soon.

It was a pretty quiet weekend.  Emma and I hung out quite a bit.  She'd play Stardew Valley and make domino models with Onshape, a CAD program she's using for her computer class.  

Sunday we played Pandemic again and lost fairly decisively.  Monday I got my new 2K monitor, which seems a little brighter than I'm used to.  I loaded the new raytracing version of Minecraft and let Duncan ooh and aah over how it looks.

The kids are doing their best during the lockdown, though some better than others.  I think everyone hopes that school returns again in the fall.

The New Normal Mocha

April 17, 2020 by Adam in Family

We're all well-fed and generally functional.  The kids have had a sometimes-okay and sometimes-rough first week of real school.  Duncan is going with the flow, comfortable doing online classes and hanging out with friends over the Internet as he always does.  Emma's been a little more nervous, but is getting into the swing of things.  Mostly I want to make sure she does okay on her AP tests and it looks like the SATs may become irrelevant faster than it otherwise would.  Ben's been having a harder time getting used to the change and Joanna's parked a chair next to Ben's computer desk so she can monitor work is actually being accomplished.

As for me, I started in on a new project and I'm getting used to their way of doing things.  Some of it is pretty cool and some of it seems more tedious than I want it to be.  I'm sure I'll get through the next three months just fine before returning to Leading Wisely world.

I also finished the new VR-only Half Life game last night.  It was pretty darn good, with lots of great world interaction, amazing sights, and a satisfying ending that reversed eight years between the last Half-Life game.  Not sure what I'll end up playing next.

Joanna and I had a nice date night on Friday, doing our usual takeout and puzzles.  She's made at least 32 masks for various organizations and people at this point.  I think it helps to feel that she's contributing rather than sitting around watching Netflix.

The weather continues to be amazing and beautiful, with the cherry tree blooming and birds and wildlife roaming about.  It helps to know that the world continues even if people aren't always around to enjoy it.

Easter

April 13, 2020 by Adam in Family

I had a lovely three day weekend, starting with a lazy Friday morning hearty breakfast, followed by a gardening effort of planting seedlings and repotting tomatoes.  Emma magically appeared and we had a lazy afternoon of video games and hanging out.

Saturday we spent checking things off our fun list, starting with a hearty breakfast of dutch babies, followed by rewatching Master and Commander with Emma.  After a quick lunch, Joanna, Ben, Emma, and I sat down to try our hand at Pandemic: Legacy.  Fortunately we beat back the diseases another month and hope to play again next weekend.  The day wrapped up with pizza and science YouTube videos, the end to a perfect day.

Joanna had organized Easter goodies weeks ago and the kids were met with chocolate bunnies at breakfast.  Later Joanna and I began the assembling of plastic eggs, putting in chocolate, money, and puns on little slips of paper we printed out.  The kids were all very excited, despite being teens or nearly teens.  They were also remarkably polite, leaving eggs for their siblings to find.  Joanna recorded the whole thing for posterity.

Odds and Ends

April 08, 2020 by Adam in Family

Life in the End Times continues.  My sinuses have been bugging me lately, I think due to allergies getting pretty bad.  The weather has been warm and lovely, but with it comes the inevitable annoying pollen.

Sam's been sporting a fever again, though his thermometer just broke.  Whatever he's got is certainly annoying.  Not sure if he'll try and get retested.

The kids are all slowly figuring out how to do school remotely.  Emma and I went for a walk yesterday and she says it's good to get her brain doing something meaningful again.  I think she's been watching a little too much television, even for her.

My old friend Jason Kronholm texted me out of the blue.  We're on for playing Magic online tomorrow night.

Tonight Joanna and I are going out on a date, likely takeout and puzzles in the basement.  I've got Friday off as an official work holiday, so hopefully I can turn that into some quality hangout time with the fam.

Lurching Towards the New Normal

April 06, 2020 by Adam in Family

It was generally a pretty good weekend for all.  I picked up a nervous Emma Friday afternoon, worried about the upcoming school term and just the general weirdness of life.  When I took her back to her mom's house, she'd settled down considerably.  She had a Chromebook to do schoolwork on and a plan for the upcoming week.  Plus we played lots of video games and board games, went for walks, and hung out as a family.  Emma and Ben hung out quite a bit, playing "Corona Cars," a car racing game, and watching Polygon YouTube videos.  Joanna, Ben, Emma, and I all played Pandemic: Legacy together, losing for the first time but learning from the experience.

I checked in with the family in various ways.  Jenny's ankle is still sprained and Jordan is playing chauffeur.  Mom's illness continues to linger, though she's always cheerful.  Sam is itching to get back to work, on antibiotics for pneumonia, and feeling much better.  Supposedly his work is finally requiring everyone wear masks and they're giving everyone a $2 per hour raise for the duration.

As for Joanna and I, we're hanging in there.  I still have the tail end of this annoying cough.  Joanna's been worn out all weekend, with three Zoom meetings on Sunday.  Hopefully I can get my old car today.

We did have someone break into our unlocked car, though nothing too important seemed to have been stolen.  Joanna did notice her snacks were taken, which made her sad.

Mocha Friday

April 03, 2020 by Adam in Family

I'm taking the day off today, delayed twice since my original plan to take the day off to hang out with kids over spring break.  In about an hour I'll go get Emma, who I've been trying to stay away from as I recover from whatever I've got right now.

On a somewhat related note, Sam's COVID-19 test came back negative.  He thinks he got pneumonia somehow and I think is heading back to work on Monday.  It makes me wonder if maybe I have something entirely unrelated.  I guess I need to assume the worst when it comes to protecting myself and others.

The Nissan dealership called and said they found a replacement part and that my car is running.  I responded asking them to call me to coordinate the transfer as I'm trying to keep everyone safe.  Maybe on Monday I can call the dealership and drop off the loaner vehicle and just wear masks.  It'll be nice to have at least one of the hassles in my life resolved.

My new computer is doing its job well and I've been greatly enjoying my foray into the VR world that is Half Life: Alyx.  I swapped out my old computer with Duncan's and am working on turning Duncan's computer into Emma's new computer at Jamie's house so she can do distance learning there.

As for us and our health, I think all is generally well.  Joanna is feeling mostly better.  I have a lingering occasional cough, but it doesn't bother me much.  I'm itching to putter in the garden and get outside.  Work is going well and I finally made circles appear on a map before handing the secret project over to Jacquie to hopefully make it slightly prettier.