Ryan's COVID-19 Chronicles

Well I think it's pretty obvious by now that we (at least in the United States) are going to have to deal with this COVID-19 pandemic for quite a lot longer than we originally hoped or expected to. Despite the fact that we could pretty easily squash this disease while simultaneously saving the economy $1 trillion simply by wearing face masks and practicing social distancing, lots of people just don't want to wear masks, social distance, or believe simple facts from experts. Just a friendly reminder that President Trump is one of those people. He also suggested injecting people with disinfectant to cure COVID-19. Moving on. All that said, I've recently realized that it might be time to stop thinking about the present conditions as a temporary thing and start thinking of them more like the "new normal." Just a few days ago I thought of the "new normal" as being the time after the worst of the pandemic had passed, or even perhaps as being whenever it was o...

Intellectually, I know that the only correct answer to the question of "is it alright to hang out with someone outside of my household during a global pandemic?" is "nope, just stay home to keep yourself and others safe." Emotionally, however, there's really no right answer to that question. My brother had a birthday recently and my parents naturally wanted to throw a little family party. While my partner and I have occasionally interacted with my parents recently and then even interacted with my brother for Father's Day after debating the decision for quite a while, this party would reintroduce two more people into our social circle; my grandmother and one of my uncles. It can be a slippery slope to let people back into your physical vicinity these days. It's so easy to think "well my grandmother is already interacting with my parents, and I already interact with my parents, so what's the difference if I interact with my grandmother now?" ...

Despite the pandemic, I had a wonderful Father's Day weekend. On Saturday I took my daughter for a long morning walk and then grilled burgers for my family in the afternoon. Despite the forecast predicting thunderstorms all afternoon, the weather seemed to work around our plans by only raining for a bit after the morning walk, while we ate dinner under the protection of our outdoor umbrella, and while we spent some time inside the house to digest before going back outside for s'mores over our new fire pit. On Sunday my partner surprised me with my favorite breakfast (eggs benedict), a few gifts, and the fact that she'd reserved us a time to visit the zoo in the afternoon. As everyone who reads this blog is aware, the Milwaukee County Zoo was perhaps the thing I missed the most about the pandemic shutdown and I was really, really excited to hear that it would be opening up with new safety precautions . Not only was it a fun place to spend an hour or two last year, but our da...

I had a great six-year anniversary weekend with my partner and our daughter. And while I'd love to tell you all about it, there's something more important I want to discuss today: should we relax our self-isolation or not? Despite the fact that COVID-19 is on track to kill more US citizens than died in all of WWI, and despite the fact that cases are spiking in several states after reopening , my state of Wisconsin seems to still be flattening the curve after being forcibly reopened–at least it appears that way for now. And with summer just around the corner, there's more and more pressure and desire to cautiously return to normal. Father's day, Independence Day, and various birthdays are just a few occasions coming up in my personal life that I'd love to spend with the family and friends I've been missing. The odds are, apparently, in favor for relaxing my family's self-isolation. So why am I still hesitant to get back into close physical contact with anyone...

My family had a pretty great weekend. My partner and I got a new free outdoor toy for our daughter, did a bit more work around the house, grilled some hamburgers infused with the delicious smoke from mesquite wood chips, watched a bunch of the new season of Queer Eye, and most fun of all is we went on an hour-long hike at which we got to watch our daughter excitedly walk on a beach into the beautiful water of Lake Michigan for the first time. Despite all the madness this year ranging from Australian fires and US protests to a global pandemic, I'm incredibly grateful that I'm able to enjoy and provide a fun and productive year for my daughter. While I'm still incredibly hesitant to leave my self-isolation given the continued threat of an invisible virus that could end with a painful and lonely death of myself or someone I love, I must admit that the temptation to lower my guard for some more quality time with said loved ones is much greater than before. Seeing or...

After venting my anger at the man who thinks it's okay to gas peaceful protesters and a priest out of her own church to take a photo  last week and watching protests intensify, devolve into riots ( possibly perpetrated by far-right instigators  and otherwise opportunistic white folks , like this guy with a bow and arrow ), and be escalated by absolutely unnecessary police brutality , I thought it'd be good to focus on the positive stuff today. Uplifting Protest News Firstly, in positive protest news, it's important to note that most of the protests are, in fact, peaceful, and the majority of police are trying their best to keep the peace. Of particular note are several instances of police walking with protesters such as in Flint and  in New Jersey  (showcasing a proper example of deescalation and how to serve and protect). Likewise, there are examples cropping up of  peaceful protesters turning rioters over to police  to prevent escalation by outsiders. Se...

It's not polite to say "I told you so" so I'll instead quote a movie called Fight Club and say "I am Jack's complete lack of surprise." I was really hoping that my first post after my vacation could just be about how fun and relaxing it was to be off-the-grid and with my family among the beauty of nature, but given that this is a COVID-19 blog I'd be remiss not to mention all the crap that's been going on lately. But for those of you just curious to see how I'm doing in my personal life, I'll start with that and label the COVID-19 news for you to skip or read afterward at your leisure. Getting Away Really Helps I'm pretty sure I covered this a few times before, but it's really healthy to take a break from the news and chaos going on around us once in a while. I was fortunate enough to do so over the course of a week with my in-laws at their cottage in the middle of nowhere of Michigan's upper peninsula. Being without internet ...