Hello readers! Sorry it’s been so long. June has been a hectic month for me. Let me catch you up a little bit.
At the beginning of June, I really struggled with the week when I last posted. I feel strongly supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement, and watching the world from my self-isolation wasn’t easy.
I was also fairly distraught by the reaction to my two posts about opening up too early. A remarkable amount of people seemed to believe it was worth it because ‘not that many people are dying.’
Wake up call: the UK has had 43,730 deaths so far. Our population is small. The UK per capita death rate is currently double that of the US. A lot of people are dying. 155 people died of COVID-19 in the UK yesterday.
| UK Total Pop: 66.65 Million | UK COVID Deaths: 43,730 | Per Capita Death Rate: .0006 |
| US Total Pop: 328.2 Million | US COVID Deaths: 128,000 | Per Capita Death Rate: .0003 |
Beyond the fact that these reactions to re-opening were wrong, though, what really bothered me was how severely callous they were. People were basically saying that they were willing to gamble other people’s lives for their own comfort and convenience.
So I didn’t have a great first week of June.
Then, I fell going up the stairs one evening. Luckily I was on video chat with friends, so they made sure I was ok, and my GP cleared me by email. But I got an egg on my forehead that still hasn’t completely gone, and I needed a few days of rest.
Meanwhile, the tendonitis in my right arm, which is a Lupus thing, flared, and for a week and a half I couldn’t really use my arm. We sorted that out with some steroids, but the left hand has still had chronic carpal tunnel syndrome threatening to flare up on and off for the last week or so.
Plus, last week I got stung by a bee on my left palm and the refrigerator door fell off. Stellar week.
Meanwhile, I had two major post-doc funding applications due. I am happy to report that both have now been submitted on time, one on Friday, and one today.
My main goal is now to finish my PhD thesis as soon as possible. Because of the tendonitis and carpal tunnel, I’m probably not going to be blogging much until it’s over. I need to save my wrists for the most important writing.
But I don’t intend to close this blog, just take a hiatus. This Isolation Life is not over; due to the UK and US governments’ complete irresponsibility, I imagine I will be living with some form isolation for the next two years or so.
The good news is I will soon no longer be alone. My flatmate, T, who moved out at the beginning because he was working in retail, is now in a work-from-home desk job, and so he has decided to quarantine for two weeks, and move back in with me. He’s going to follow the same self-isolation standards I am, and I am super grateful. On Sunday he will arrive– and I will have the first hug since 11 March.
See you all when I have a draft of my thesis written. Enjoy your summer. Black lives still matter, even if your social media has gone back to normal.
This Isolation Life 