COVID Quarantine : Start of Week Four at Home

That title just seems weird to write, but here we are. Governor Hogan first declared a state of emergency and closed schools for two weeks on March 12.

At the direction of the @MdPublicSchools Superintendent, all schools throughout Maryland will close from Monday, March 16 through Friday, March 27. During this time, all school buildings and school buses should be cleaned and disinfected to prevent spread of the virus.

— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) March 12, 2020

Maryland, at the time, was also discouraging "large" public gatherings (over 250 needed to be canceled or postponed).

Now, anything over 10 is worth a fine or imprisonment. And a shelter in place was enacted; only essential activities (including outdoor activities such as hiking or biking) under social distancing are allowed.

This week, I'll start remotely teaching in earnest. Last week was just a "touch base with students" sort of thing, and for three days this coming week and four days next week, MCPS teachers will wrap up third marking period.

I'm kind of looking forward to a "fireside chat" with my forensics students.

The firepit will become an educational tool!

I gave them a choice for their next unit, since the last day of school before the imposed shutdown was an end-of-unit test. They chose "arson investigation." I am totally going to burn stuff. 

The anatomy class wants me to do a webcam heart dissection, but I'm struggling with finding a locally sourced heart. I wish grandpop was still around with the slaughterhouse in Baltimore. 

Great-granddad and grandpop Kraus had a stall at Lexington market in Baltimore

After a week of despair and depression that derailed things for a bit, I've been somewhat productive the past two weeks. I managed to change the oil in both the Crosstrek and the WRX. 

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Oil change for the #Crosstrek today. #subaru #SubaruAmbassador #kartboy #wfh @subaru_usa

A post shared by Karen (@kiirenza) on Mar 27, 2020 at 12:48pm PDT

I brewed a beer today, a Belgian Quad that will be named "Boxer Rumble."

I took on a challenge initiated by Brooks Laich on Instagram, and have stuck with it through the first week.

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A post shared by Brooks Laich (@brookslaich) on Mar 29, 2020 at 11:14am PDT

It's weird knowing that I haven't put gas in either the WRX nor the Camaro in almost a month. Since going out to Washington County for my younger niece's first birthday party, I have put only about 200 miles on the WRX, and most of that was the day I went to Northwood to pick up a Chromebook so I could do work stuff on a work machine.

So, with more "free time" on my hands, maybe I'll blog more.

Meh, don't hold your breath.