Day 8:March 20, 2020

Day 8

Slept in. 

Just feel tired and headachey.

I have been doing much more than normal. It is good, but I need to remember to watch my health more carefully. 

Went on social media

Looked through my gg'mas old post cards. Found ones from during spanish flu.

Posted 3 of my family's post cards on twitter. I have some family post cards from during the 1918 influenza (aka the spanish flu), which lasted in the US from 1918 through 1920. 

I thought I would post a few of the post cards, because, like tweets, they say a little about life during a pandemic, like a short story.

I have fewer postcards from this time period compared to before and after. I do not know if my great grandmother was just busier or life was more hectic for them in general.

I did notice they tried to talk even if they had nothing to say. ❤️ That's love.

Boyfriend and I are rating car alarms. First today was a little weak, not great sound. We have a favorite, it gets a lot of air time and it has a nice beat. 

Went out for a walk around the neighborhood. It was rush hour on friday. It looked more like 8pm on a Monday. There was a jogger and a couple people doing yard work. We tried our best to navigate from parked cars and mail boxes.

Watched some youtube, faves being Jimmy kimmel with his fam with formal friday was cute and binging with babish and his pantry basics chickpea edition, very inventive.

Ended the night with popcorn and Australian soccer.

Day 10:March 22, 2020

Day 10

Very stressed.

Day 7: March 19th, 2020

Day 7

I read some of the comic book Locke and Key on amazon. Then I did chores and ate breakfast. I am going slow today because I am tired.

Social media was very busy. Saw Andrew Lloyd Webber playing a piece from phantom in his own home over Twitter. It was All I Ask Of You, from Phantom.

Many more musicians on Twitter today, especially after several at the metropolitan opera were laid off.

Turned on espn, and the talking heads mostly spoke about which players were infected. 

Outside music is blaring, small group of people enjoying the sun next door and a dog barks. I worked on catching up on blog posts.

After reading more news, I see states working out the details of how to manage the epidemic and quarentine. Meanwhile, I see some in the federal government being exposed for using the situation to their personal benefit.

A large small business in the area is having trouble. They are a famous bookstore in Portland named Powell's. Time to order books from them and not from Amazon. 

Tonight, my boyfriend and I are watching the Mandalorian while we eat tofu and bean tacos.

The ugh is this really happening news is there are several spring breakers still spending spring break as norm and Covid-19 is being framed as the "chinese" virus by Trump.

Possible formal friday. Cute idea.

Day 4: March 16th, 2020

The Decemberists

Today started off fairly normal. I did chores and took care of my elderly cat by which I mean I cleaned her bed by hand because that is how being a cat nurse goes. I decided it was time to take the recycling out to the big blue bin and took the trash out too. Then I walked around the parking lot at my complex. There were many cars parked. By the time I walked a forth loop I noticed no cars or people interrupted me. This was a good sign, but it still seemed eerie.

My boyfriend went to work today but said he would likely work from home from here on out. It is nice that he has that ability. We can do our part by staying home and away from others as much as possible.

I started to see the positive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic today. There is something in humans that makes us fear radical change and so we tend to bind together in times of hardship. Humanity is often at its greatest when the situation is at its worst.

The musicians and other creative artists began to entertain over the internet. They are lifting spirits and, hopefully, keeping their careers afloat. I watched a concert the Colin Meloy from the Decemberists streamed from his home in Portland on Instagram.

I watched the "Decemberists" concert from my couch while sipping a beer and vegetarian curry. Colin Meloy said it is their 20th anniversary. He played ten songs, the first if which were Make You Better, Raincoat Song, On The Bus Mall, and Your Red Right Ankle. The comment section was filled with happy and heart filled emojis, people yelling lyrics, thank yous, and song requests. His kid brought a chicken in near the end and the bird photo-bombed the last song. It was a nice concert and retreat from the madness.

Retailers are closing up or going on a restricted schedule. Some restaurants are switching to carryout only. Wallstreet, the courts, and the private sector are struggling to adapt to the pandemic's needs and constraints.

Day 1: March 13th, 2020

Don't Panic

It snowed, hailed, and rained today. In the midst of everything going on, the weather seems to be an additional freakout. But, in reality, this is just an average March day. 

Most people are going nuts over covid-19. I think some of it is warranted, some of it is nonsense or worse. Please, do not get me wrong. Awareness is important and so is safety. Panic is not so helpful, on the other hand.

The president gave a speech with incorrect information about leadership direction, the pandemic, and the public's reaction. While some of the information may technically be correct, most of it was discounted by those closer to the pandemic later in the day. 

I think this will be par for the course going forward, it only worries me a little. There will probably be some mixed messages and some people not listening to the correct messages from the CDC. If most of us stay on track, all should be safe.

In general, my day went fine...

My boyfriend bought some fairly normal groceries, but a little more than usual so we could stay away from the crowds or have a couple back up meals. There was no tofu left in the store, but we managed. We were out of toilet paper and luckily only our toilet paper was left on the shelf, the recycled kind. 

The late night talk shows had no audience last night. Most of the guests did not show up either. It was very odd. I know we will get through this, but how? Netflix, and Steam, that's how.

Thanks to the late Douglas Adams for our new ubiquitous motto. So many are using the tag line; Don't panic. It makes me laugh.

Ground Breaking - A Short Salem Story

This was written in honor of the NEW ground breaking at Riverfront Park, for the Minto-Brown Island Bridge - I give you this first hand (slightly satirical, but true) account from viewpoint of an 8th grader of the Riverfront Park ground breaking.

Judson Middle School Concert Band, Director Shira Fadeley

It was Spring of 1994, and our middle school band was asked to play for the most important event many of us had played in our lives, up to that point -- the 1st Salem Riverfront Park ground breaking ceremony*. Now it seems adorable how excited we were, but at the time it was historic; monumental even.

Sitting in the low brass section of the Judson Middle School band, for such a central community ground-breaking ceremony, was very exciting for 13-year-old me. I remember everyone was trying to be on their best behavior. But, you know how it is with overly excited middle-schoolers. We needed a reminder every 30 seconds to settle down. What can I say? We didn't get out much? :-)

The highlight of everyone's conversation was the Boise Cascade donated acid ball. What was it going to be? Many had heard it would be an art project, and talked about how exciting that would be. Most of my band mates were a little concerned with the term "acid ball". I mean, acid + ball = what-unknown-horrors? Of course some of that confusion was cleared up on the carpool ride home by my Dad, but it caused quite a bit of controversy among us very P.C. '90s era kids.

At the moment of ground-breaking, it became too hard to keep the excitement in. This was happening, an historic moment. (Remember, thirteen years old.) So, I did what any dorky 8th grader with too big an imagination would do. I unscrewed the bell of my trombone, and waited for the precise moment of action. When the mayor struck ground with his shovel, my trombone bell also struck earth. Yes, Mom and Dad, I used my old Yamaha student model trombone as a shovel... briefly.

Me, center, playing with the Judson Concert Band at the ground-breaking ceremony, 1994

In my defense, I thought the whole act would be symbolic and "stuff". At least I had fun! Plus, it didn't do any damage, nor did anyone notice. It did make the trombone bell quite dusty. To whomever owns that little trombone now, you own a piece of Salem history.


*NOTES There was another dedication ceremony in 1996... Yeah, we felt a little less important after that, but still, it was very nice to be invited to play at such an important city event at such young ages. Thank you.

The Great ATC to Canvas Experiment

This was a piece I wrote back in 2015.

People could tell me I'm good at an art or other creative endeavors, but I'm still that impressionable 8 year old who was told they couldn't draw trees as well as I had claimed claimed for a large visual Social Studies project. What can I say, as a shy person, its tough to break out of that mind set.As a result, I've stuck to crafts like photography, sculpting, collage, crochet, jewelry making and origami. Painting and drawing I've reserved for small informal projects, with the exception of school assignments.

Ever since I had the opportunity to volunteer at a local creative reuse non-profit a few years ago, I've been making more projects and getting braver at what I can create.

 So here is the challenge...I have three Artist's Trading Cards that I made and the objective is to get them onto canvas. If I can accomplish this, I may want to do some other pieces where I take my photography and use reuse items and paint to recreate the image.

A Starry Night In Salem - Croisan Ridge, 1/3

Croisan Ridge, by Lisa Miller

A Starry Night In Salem - Falling Stars, 2/3

A Starry Night In Salem - The View From My Apartment, 3/3