It’s another lazy Sunday. Although it’s clear and dry out, I feel like being a homebody. My friend J comes over again to hang out for the afternoon / early evening. I know he stays at home most of the time and practices social distancing, so it seems like a reasonably low risk. Ireland’s Level 5 COVID-19 restrictions do allow isolated individuals to have a “support bubble” with another household. The other day on a RTÉ talk radio show, an Irish senator (apparently on the more conservative side) called in and made the case that people won’t put up with another lockdown, and that the government needs to come up with better strategies. I think she made some good points — there is a mental health cost. Lockdowns are a blunt and passive instrument; it feels like a game of hide and seek, hoping that no one gets caught (or catches the virus, as it were). That said, I didn’t hear the senator offering any alternative solutions. It’s a shame there haven’t been more testing and tracing programs in the U.S. and Europe like some countries have implemented (e.g., South Korea).
At any rate, J and I order in some fried chicken sandwiches from a place called Mad Egg I’ve been meaning to try. I thought they were very good, on par with others I’ve had in the U.S., although J wasn’t as impressed (he’s hard to please when it comes to food). Their logo:
J and I watch the latest episode of the Mandalorian (which I’ve already seen, but he hasn’t), then play a 2-person game on his Nintendo Switch that he brought over, and afterwards watch random videos on YouTube. It’s mindless and relaxing.
Meanwhile, a friend back in the U.S. texts me today to say hello. His father is in the hospital in Chicago with COVID-19, thankfully with a relatively mild case and not in the ICU, but it’s still scary. I still don’t know anyone first hand who has contracted the virus. Hopefully it stays that way! The number of new COVID-19 cases in Ireland has been stubbornly hovering around 300-500 per day, and although a partial reopening is still expected on December 1, it’s sounding like restrictions won’t be loosened up as much as people are hoping.
Until next time…