Some unexpected costs....

How many people are going to get a bit of a shock when they see their electric bill or gas bill?  I was pondering that as I see people post on social media about how much more they are spending on food, either because they are eating more or simply because the food supply chain has been interrupted and that will cause pricing spikes.

It is so freakin' cold here, it is the end of April and yes it is New England but oh my goodness my heat should not be kicking on as much as it has been and if we were not sequestered it would hardly be a blip.  However, we are sequestered so those times when I would normally turn down the heat because the kids were in school, Mr. Padawan was at his office, and I was working from the library or out meeting potential clients, doesn't happen.

Also, we are using our computers more, watching more movies and T.V.  And let's not forget the new huge external monitor that Mr.Padawan has to facilitate his new working environment. 

While I don't think the amount of laundry has increased, the amount of time we run the dishwasher does because of the amount of cooking and baking has increased.


There really is no clear end in sight as I had alluded to yesterday this uncertainty is getting really old, and it is getting more unbearable the longer it goes on.  While I do understand that we don't know exactly what is going on and this is all new, I also understand that we know more now than we did before, and think it is time to start talking about transitioning back to a non sequestered society.

Something that struck me yesterday when I took an unprecedented for me, look at the news, and listened to a video that two ER doctors from California had posted on YouTube, was that my thoughts of maybe we need to think about making the transition back were not all that crazy.  The things that I got from that video are:

• Dr. Faluci is very smart and well respected but he is an academic, they are great people to start with when we have little to no data to help guide our response.  But practical application once we have started to get the data really should be weighted highly.  I think we have all experienced situations where something was good on paper but not in reality, and I think this applies to a certain extent in this situation.

• I don't think the numbers are presented in a way to show context and seem presented in a way to be most likely to cause a panic.  The numbers of people tested vrs hospitalized vrs died are presented but honestly when shown in context and as percentages, it makes it less scary.  Certainly real and worth some level of precaution but is it really panic worthy now that we have more data?  I am leaning towards say no but I am still mulling things over.

• We keep focusing on NY, specifically NYC but isn't NYC really an anomaly?  How much of the US is like NYC, not many places have a high population density and heavy reliance on public transportation that NYC does, so does it really make sense to have a one size fits all response?  This is certainly problematic because we are a free-ish country and can move fairly easily from city to city and state to state, so that has to be taken into account but what is the best way to do it?  Does it make sense to have a crazy lockdown in and around NYC for both those entering and exiting and lesser lockdowns elsewhere depending on their population and geographic makeup?

• What is the backlash as it relates to our immune system because we are not out and about?  

• What is up with the anecdotal data that doctors are being 'pressured' to list COVID-19 regardless of their opinion of it being a contributing factor or not even having tested the patient.  How true are these reports, and why are they being 'pressured' as stated in the video.  Reading these types of things just makes me wonder, what is the agenda, and why are they would someone want to attribute things to COVID-19 without knowing it for sure?

So yeah, I am thinking that perhaps fear is keeping us hostage and inhibiting even the simple discussion of let's start opening things back up.   I also want people to change their way of thinking overall and do a better job of taking care of themselves and others by staying home when they don't feel well.  I want businesses to be more open and respectful of sick time, and this also means that employees have to be respectful and use sick time or work from home time wisely and not as 'extra vacation'.    I also want people in general to do a better job at general hygiene, so yes I do hope that one of the takeaways is that people wash their hands better and more often.