Today German state finance minister killed himself as he had become increasingly worried about how to deal with coronavirus impact.
Spanish healthworkers have taken up meditation to cope with stress.
The NYT has a piece about the ethical choices doctors face in a context of scarce resources.
The Harvard Business Review has a great article telling other countries about lessons learned from the Italian experience. Highly recommended reading. https://hbr.org/2020/03/lessons-from-italys-response-to-coronavirus
Someone I know with coronavirus is in ICU and his relatives are seriously distressed.
Enough or should I go on?
Yes, I woke up a bit late because of Daylight Saving Time. And there was the treadmill menacingly looking at me. I put on my trainers and stuff, and started like a hamster in a cage. TV today started with the German invasion of Belgium and France and Hitler the great strategist eventually turning into Hitler the crap strategist, Hitler the Parkinson patient, Hitler the end. I am almost sure I would have rather watched a coronavirus briefing or chatshow, but I was busy moving and concentrating on posture, so did not change channel.
Last night I did the ironing, so today it was the turn of me cleaning the first floor of the house. I am trying very hard to keep a routine and not to become sloppy. That is what I dread most, as I am here on my own and it would be really easy to postpone and postpone. And I don’t want that. I want to feel like I am in control as usual. So, not really what I was looking forward to, but I dusted and hoovered the two bedrooms and cleaned the bathroom. Tomorrow if I feel in the mood I might do my hair. Wise of me to order what I needed on Amazon before it restricted its business only to essential goods to make its warehouse staff safe. Guys, outside Italy, think fast what you need other than food and medicines for an extended lockdown for yourselves or your kids, as Amazon is bound to follow the same strategy everywhere else.
It was sunny, so I went out in the garden to monitor the progress of spring. There are a few buds on the rose bushes, and some of the irises are getting ready to bloom too. The lawn is overgrown. It really should be mowed soon for the first time in the year. It hasn’t rained significantly in weeks, so soon would be ideal. But the gardener is not allowed to work. Not essential. Not an emergency. It is really stupid as he would not get in touch with anyone in the garden. He would just get on with his work as usual. But rules are rules, even if really stupid.
Shall I tell you about something that aggravated me? Italy is turning anti German, because the Germans together with the Dutch, etc., voted against the Eurobonds the Italian goverment asked for. So out of the woodwork have come all sorts of unpleasant anti-Merkel videos, jokes, and Italian flag decorated statements of how good the Italians are and how proud we should be of being Italian. I received videos and memes reminding people that the Germans are responsible fo the holocaust, that they had their debt condoned in order to pay for the unification costs, that they imposed the bad trojka on the Greeks, that they killed Greek children, etc. All this aggravated me, especially as some of this messages came from people close to me. I rebelled. Explicitly.
I was going to wrap this up as it was late, but had a message from a friend and former boss, Ricardo, from Valladolid in Mexico. A really nice guy. Guaranteed to cheer me up any time. And so we went for a tour of the old city and its bright colours at sunset, up to the monastery of San Bernardino of Siena. Guys, tell me whatever you like, but this lockdown is really a cool experience. I am seeing more of my friends around the world now than I ever did. Maybe because we all have more time on our hands, maybe because we all feel closer than ever, who knows, but whatever it is, it is splendid.
This is probably the hardest evidence so far in this blog of ups and downs in lockdown. See how I started. See how I ended. Good night to all.
