Chilly

There is a huge amount on my mind as always, and it is a shame I can't just dictate some thoughts and have a program translate them into a blog post.  I do have a good excuse, which is work is keeping me quite busy (and I end up working late most nights) and I am also in the midst of home repairs (well, back deck repairs really).

It has been delayed and delayed, and there is still much confusion, but the kids are back to school in this really weird two-days on/two-days off pattern.  However, this is mornings only, and then in the afternoons (starting this week), they are supposed to do some on-line learning.  It's far from ideal (and will likely be disrupted several times by COVID outbreaks), but it gives them a bit more structure.  Frankly, almost anything that gets them out of the house is ok in my eyes right now.  

It's been very depressing watching the new case count increase in Ontario (we're up to about four times at high as we were in early July, though that is still half or even 25% of many US states of comparable size).  Now some of this is due to increased testing (as parents are trying desperately to prepare their kids for school), but some of it is just too much socializing.  Some of our gains have been rolled back, though for the moment gyms and movie theatres can remain open.  I would definitely welcome tighter controls and shorter hours for the bars, and we'll see if that gets announced soon.*

This has definitely put a crimp in the reopening plans of most theatres and concert halls.  RCM is having to cut its audience down in half again, and it still isn't clear if they will honor my tickets for next month or not (to say nothing of Kronos Quartet in January, though at this point I doubt they'll even get across the border).  Another concert that looked pretty interesting was cancelled, and in the end, I think this season will also go down the drain.  Several theatre companies that were looking into doing something have pretty much given up or gone virtual.  No question I am losing interest in on-line performances to the point I have pretty much tuned it all out.  Actually I did make it to the AGO for the first time since the pandemic, and that was ok if a little weird at times, seeing that some huge room was restricted to no more than 5 art lovers at a time.**

Sometimes I feel a bit like an urban pioneer, trying to find what is open and not in the downtown financial district.  Some of the time it is an interesting rush, but most of the time it is just depressing.  When I slow down to think about it, I am deeply depressed about life in general and simply enraged about the state of politics down south.  (Though I'll save most of my ire for another post.)  While there are definitely going to be delays, I'm going to start pushing through my Canadian citizenship paperwork this fall.  

That's probably enough catching up for now, and I have got to get back to work.  Ciao.

* We did just hear that closing time in bars and night clubs has been shortened to 11 pm.  I'm sure it won't make a huge difference, but it is a step in the right direction.

** This week Ontario is closing in on 500 cases, and not surprisingly people are travelling less, though we don't have mandatory stay-at-home restrictions (yet).  The push to get people to come back to work has been suspended, and I imagine transit ridership will drop again.  However, it could be worse.  Quebec has just shy of 900 cases!  Nearly all of them are in Montreal or Quebec City.  I had decided a while back that flying and the train were just too risky to get to Montreal.  Apparently, I should have rented a car in late July or early August, but that window has closed (now that Montreal is back at Orange level of danger, and I clearly am not going to make it out there in time.  I really did want to get to see this exhibit on post-Impressionism, though it turns out that the library has a copy of the catalogue, so I put that on hold, though it is a poor substitute.