Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021
Oh well another day in life with Corona. Like many mornings these days I wake up unsure of the day of the week. I did know though I had a 07:30 call scheduled with the country manager to discuss Sudan.
It was a very productive meeting and I believe we have a lot of opportunities. We just need to align and get our act together. To do this a workshop has been proposed and based on everyone’s calendars we may even be able to have this on March 4th. I am rather excited about Sudan and all we may be able to do for this troubled country.
Beyond emerging myself in reading up on the country and its economic perils I managed to get in a swim. Also the Aikidoka met in the park tonight and class was good fun. I worry though that E. thinks we may not take him serious as J and I went off to do Katas over and above of what we were meant to be doing. It was just so much fun to freestyle it. I am just hoping all of the weapons training will help advance my open hand technics, if not, I shall never be able to make rank advancements.
Beyond work and work out I spent more time thinking about the alternative Prom and our Blue Cruise, both of which are impacted by the virus, albeit in different ways. The alternative Prom seems to be less difficult to tackle than our cruise. Now that people have to pay the deposit all sorts of issues are coming up. It is rather annoying. Concerns are predominantly about not being able to travel and therefore losing the deposit. I am confident that come July we shall be able to move relatively freely. But how to get others to believe the same? I have almost resigned myself to the fact that group one will chicken out making a two-week cruise into a one-week cruise for me, EM and those more adventurous. The virus is of course still around.
The USA has reported 71k new cases over the past twenty-four hours. This in my view is the result of Superbowl Sunday. While we are seeing an uptick in numbers again, metrics across the country are generally good. The downward trend overall is giving rise to hope.
As the vaccine roll out ramps up so are questions on peoples rights. Legally no one can be required to be vaccinated against COVID, whether schools, the administration or private companies; at least not as long as the vaccines are not fully licensed. If given the chance, I shall take whatever shot is available.
Still, people are concerned that the vaccine will create a differentiated society.
Sadly, vaccines are still going to waste. If pharmacies could pool leftovers they could significantly increase shots. From what I understand it is not an uncommon practice for instance for flu shots.