Un-Hacked

This morning I woke up to an odd email. It looked like it was from Yahoo with all of the usual disclaimers. It said "Are you trying to sign in"? Please use this verification code if it is you. It gave a 7 letter code. It said that someone from Vietnam tried to sign in at 7:48pm PST. There were 2 things wrong with this email. First, if I was having trouble signing in, how could I read this email? Second thing, I always read the header of where the email is sent from. This one was sent from "do not reply@cc-yahoo-inc. com. Obviously it was trying to be a Yahoo look alike address. I hit the delete button.

April Showers

April showers bring May flowers. Enough with the showers. Give me the flowers. This metaphor is not only for the month, it is also for the world. It is akin to the old "It is always darkest before dawn" saying. We have lived the showers. We have lived the darkness. It is now time to focus on the flowers and the dawn. We are all ready for that. I hope that we all appreciate it when it comes.

Humor

Human nature is survival. It is fight or flight. Humor has its place in the fight. It makes things just a bit better and easier on the soul. Everyday I see cartoons about our current situation. They are meant to lighten up a horrible time in our lives. If for one moment we can smile and laugh, the cartoon has done its job.

Culinary Skills

I saw a commercial the other day that rang true. It showed someone on day one of the quarantine making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It showed the same person on day 22 with a chef's hat on cooking haute cuisine. I totally agree with that. I have become more creative as the days have gone by. I have stopped making my standard rotation and ventured out into exotic territories. I am trying to make my dinners versatile and tasty and I am succeeding. Last night I made Philly cheesesteak hoagies with shaved sirloin beef. Tonight will be Shepard's pie with crunchy sauteed onion rings. Who knows what Tuesday will bring.

Second Verse

There is a Herman's Hermits song titled "Henry the Eight". One of the lines is, "Second verse, same as the first". That line has become life. It is groundhog’s day and second verse all rolled into one. This week, at least I knew what day it was. I did get a bit thrown off for a minute and thought Friday was Saturday, but I snapped out of it quickly. I do not look at the calendar like I used to because nothing that I need to do is written on it. No doctor appointments, no dinners, no shows. I only concentrate now on food times and bedtime. That is my basic form of structure.

Tested

I have been tested for the virus antibodies. I might or might not find out the answer. I went to the supermarket yesterday and saw some people sitting at long tables. I thought they were job applicants. When I asked what was going on, I was told that the New York State Department of Health was doing the antibody test. It was going to be used for statistical purposes. Fifty percent of people will be notified of their result and fifty will not. If you are not, you can contact Albany with the accession number on your receipt and find out. The test tracks people who had no symptoms to see if they have antibodies against the virus. I hope that I have the antibodies, as my mind will then relax, even though I will still follow all of the necessary safety precautions.

News

I read the news one time a week. That is all I choose to handle. I am still informed about the world but just on a controlled level. I watch the daily state and national press conferences. I know the statistics. I know the guidelines. I know the forecasts. I am taking a mindful approach to the virus. I live in the moment. I cannot worry about things that might not happen. I cannot project gloom and doom into my life. It would not be beneficial to my health. I act responsibly every day and then add my own safety rules to the mix. If I read every opinion that is published, I will feel like I am being tossed around in a washing machine. The old expression, "The  proof is in the pudding" applies to the link between behavior and outcome. We all need to do our best to have the best results.