I don't like this new system, though. You have to use code to make linebreaks and can't see images without previewing. This means that, even though you guys get to see a post punctuated with linebreaks and images, I have to look at a giant wall of text interrupted by code until I make a post. Very unsatisfying
Part of me wants to try a new site, but I have a lot of history with this one. I've been here for about 12 years. It's seen me through so many flavours of life, from my main passion being Karate (my old dojo is gone and my former sensei is a car fanatic now... lame), to being a blue collar factory worker, to being in college, to being an early graduate, to starting a home. Most of what I've written hasn't been phenomenal, but I've definitely had stand-out moments. I wrote over 200 pages reflecting on my experience in Mali, and there have been surprisingly memorable posts here and there. Like when I went for a walk in the woods with some classmates after graduating college, and we got surrounded by snakes, and then a guy drove down a hiking path in a car, and I chased and stalked him down, thinking he was going to hurt himself when he was just (probably illegally) collecting wood. There was also the time that I got to try and recreate the Russian painter Malevich's initiative to convince people that painting a black square was the cutting edge of art.
Even if I learn to navigate Blogger's new formatting system, I worry that it's just not strong enough to survive and I will eventually have to abandon it. From doing a few quick searches in an attempt to learn how to use the new system, I have only seen negative feedback and a number of people claiming that they will leave the site over this. It's a shame, because I believe this is post 852, and I kind of wanted to reach 1000
Anyway, I'll coninue using the site for now.
For this upate, I wanted to review a few semi-recent events. I keep a notes file on my phone of everything I want to blog about. Sometimes, the moment just passes, and I never get the opportunity to blog about it. In this update, I'll talk about some events that still feel relevant, and in the next, I'll go over everything I never got around to talking about before that.
My first note is "Fires". There have been a few interesting fires lately. A little while back, three Walmarts were lit on fire. Each happened within an hour of the other, and each time, it was lit from the toilet paper section. I guess people weren't panic buying like they did in the first wave, so someone had to create an artificial toilet paper shortage. Probably some agents from Amazon wanting to muscle out the last heavyweights of in-person shopping. I kid.
"Walmart is under attack" is such a wild statement, but it appeared to be true. Security picked up on the images of the culprits, but it was difficult to identify them because... they were wearing masks. I'm still very much for masks and all recommended safety precautions, but this was an unfortunate detail. Masks cover up some identifying features. This wasn't enough of a deterrant though, because the arsinists were eventually caught. Reasons for their actions were never released.
The Walmart fires resulted in millions of dollars worth of damages. I also learned that Waterloo region has six Walmarts. Remember when everyone hated Walmart? They seemed like the sole reason that small businesses were dying. But somewhere along the way, Amazon took over that position. I guess people only have enough hate in their heart for one organization at a time
My next note is "Foxes". So, since moving to the new place, I've seen two foxes. The first time, I was walking up the street, not far from where we now live, and I was suddenly aware of the fact that a fox was immediately next to me. Hip-to-hip, casually strolling next to me, as if appearing out of nowhere. It continued walking nonchalently down the street, without any indication that I had disturbed it. Some time later, me and Lee-Anne were going grocery shopping, and we saw a fox streak across the street, and we later saw it skirt around a church.
Now, this was likely just a coincidence, but it might be noted that the spirit name I was given in Chisasibi was "Fox-Man", so if you wanted to try and make this into something more, the material is there.
Next note is "Vaccines". I neglected to note in my previous COVID update that we now have two COVID vaccines on there way. One in from Pfizer/Biontech and appears to have a 90% efficacy rate, and the other is from Moderna, and it has a 95% efficacy rate. I believe we were originally aiming for 70%, so both of these excell beyond expectations. It will still be an uphill struggle though, because it will take time to produce in large enough quantities to distribute to everyone. Still, they are now being distributed to first aid responders and vulnerable populations. Even if you don't have the vaccine, every time someone in your community gets it, it reduces your chance of getting sick, so things are looking a little brighter.
Next and last point is "First Aid". I recently had to do my First Aid training. It's a good thing I did it when I did, too, because who knows when we'll have another lockdown. We all had to wear masks. In fact, we weren't allowed to use reusable masks and had to use disposable ones. We also couldn't practice on each other. I won't go into detail, but there were about eight people attending, and I knew half of them.
That does it for this update. In the next one, I think I'll go over all my older notes throughout the year that I never got around to including and explain them. Hopefully I'll know more coding by then
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