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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
The 17 year cicadas are overrunning my area. Their empty nymph casings are all over the place. The grown cicadas are clogging the airspace and trees. They are so noisy its hard to believe. I read one cicada is as noisy as a lawn mower. Having thousands of them buzzing at once is like listening to dozens of leaf blowers at the same time. I found this just hatched adult cicada in my home this morning. I know it just left its casing because the wings are still partly folded up, not fully formed and straight. I managed to catch it safely, without damaging it, and put it on the outside edge of my balcony in the sunlight. I checked and its gone so hopefully its flying around buzzing and trying to find a mate. For me this cicada is a metaphor for how I and others in my community feel about life right now. The strict mask and social distancing requirements are gradually being relaxed. So I see people out walking in the spring sunlight. For me its strange to see their whole face, instead of mostly covered by a mask. They’re like the cicada, being reborn to life as it was before the pandemic. Free to walk around while still practicing social distancing. I see everyone carrying a mask with them out of habit, and just in case. It’s wonderful to see a group of bare faced walkers, conversing and laughing as they walk together.
June 3, 2021
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What's one obstacle you've faced in the past week? How did you handle it?
To be brutally honest, I didn't face it. I volunteer at a local recovery community center, for people recovering from addictions of various sorts. And that puts me in (partial) charge of people who don't properly wear their masks, don't like all these new rules, and will gladly express their opinions loudly, as though they can just intimidate me in that way to let them get away with their shit. And I never do, but it's fucking tiring to remind patrons multiple times to just keep their mask on, or remind the professional staff and other volunteers to do the same. So I gave up last week. I told them I was not returning to volunteer until I could control my anger. And I still do not have great control, but instead I have limited my hours, so I work at it. But I am not baking down and letting people bully me into not taking this shit seriously anymore.
August 20, 2020