The Great Divide

The Pandemic has brought with it a great divide in the world. There are those that got vaccinated and follow the rules set in place by medical experts and there are those that don't (also referred to as "anti-vaxxers").

Both parties are frustrated with each other but there's one thing that we can all agree on and that is we all want the pandemic to end.

The anti-vaxxers seems to believe that the pandemic is a conspiracy and choose to deny its existence which, in a way, is a way for them to end the madness.

Those that follow the rules want the pandemic to end by having everyone else follow the rules as well. 

There's a right and a wrong way for the pandemic to end but it will eventually end whether it be with 500 000 deaths or 5+millions.

Which way is the right way? 

Let's answer this question by looking in our history. How did we end Polio? In the U.S. the last case of naturally occurring Polio was recorded in 1979. Thanks to the Polio vaccine, Polio was eradicated in most parts of the world for more than 40 years.

The right way is obvious to me... 

What Scares Me The Most about the Pandemic...

What scares me the most about the Pandemic, besides the Covid-19 virus, is how idiotic some people are towards it. 

Why isn't there anyone protesting drunk driving rules? Nobody protest drunk driving rules because there's an understanding for the need to protect those that use the roads. 

It's one thing to follow, blindly, rules and another to understand why they were created in the first place.

Why isn't there such understanding when it comes to the Pandemic? Why are people protesting the use of mask, vaccine or social distancing? Some people go as far as protest in-front of hospitals where some patients are dying from COVID-19... like patients can literally see them protest out of their windows and somehow the protesters are okay with that.

Why isn't there an understanding that we need to vaccinate in order to protect the masses the same way as we shouldn't be driving on the road drunk as to not injure our peers?

Some anti-vaxxers are quick to say that they're not taking the vaccine because they're not "sheep" but then proceed to take horse medicine. Maybe someone needs to tell them that they're also not a horse?

In Canada, many provinces are well into their 4th wave of this Pandemic and It's surprising that some people are still not vaccinated. During wave 1 & 2 vaccines were difficult to come by but became readily available in wave 3. Unless you're underage, or have a medical reason, you should of gotten both your shots by now. 

Personally, I didn't want to see a wave 4 but here we are and now I feel like we're going to see wave 5, 6, 7, 8,... because this thing won't stop until most either get the vaccine or get infected with the virus. By the time we're done with Covid-19 we'll likely see another virus come about and what are those protesters going to do then?

This College Humor video, titled "Livin' Mask-Free', is probably the best thing to come out of this Pandemic as it perfectly illustrate the problem. 

Are The Canadian Liberals Going to Loose Due to The Pandemic?

Canada is going through an election initiated by the Liberals who are attempting to gain more power/seats but it doesn't look like this is going to happen for them. If history taught us anything is that every 8-10 years there's a major political shift happening in Canada and it looks like it's about to happen again only this time it seems to be driven by misinformation caused by the Pandemic.

After talking to a few of my peers, I found that some of them were going to vote against the Liberals and the most common reason given was because of how they handled the Pandemic. They didn't want to have a Government force mask, vaccine or a passport unto them as they saw this as an attack on their "Freedom".

Obviously, the discussion I had with my friends is by no means a reflection of the opinion of the entire Canadian population but it did make me want to discuss about it some more here.

It's my hope that any other political party in power would of made similar decisions as the Liberals did, in regards to the Pandemic, because it's a good idea to be listening to the subject matter experts in a time of crisis. To not vote for Liberals, because they did what subject matter experts have suggested, is a bit silly to me and makes me wonder what kind of political party are they looking for? Do they want the kind that doesn't listen to the experts, in a time of crisis, and end up making a bigger mess of things? (see Donald Trump handling of the Pandemic...)

The Liberals made mistakes, as everyone makes from time to time, but not to vote for them because of how things turned out with the Pandemic is a bit silly. You actually want a Government party that isn't afraid to listen and apply the suggestions of experts during time of crisis because this is what good leadership is about. Maybe what we could say of them is that they didn't listen to the expert enough?

Want To Make Thoughtful Gifts?

A thoughtful gift doesn't have to be expensive but it does have to be bought/made with the absolute person in mind. This isn't something that you're buying for yourself, it's something that you're buying for someone that's important to you. Therefore it's possible that you would never get this particular item for yourself and that's okay because, again, it's not meant for you. 

There's nothing that shows you pay attention to someone quite like a thoughtful gift. I've been quite blessed in that sense as I've been told many times that I'm a good gift giver. 

Today, I'm going to share my secret with you. 

When thinking about a gift for someone in your life consider the following:

1. Know the person: Pretty straight forward. You need to spend time with the person in order to be able to know them and be able to provide a gift tailored to their wants/needs.
2. Plan ahead: Is Christmas coming up? Is there a birthday coming? I usually start planning my gifts 6 months in advance, which is a tad on the extreme side, but anything below 4 months is, in my opinion, too short notice. The reason why you want to start planning a gift long in advance is because your mind needs to be thinking about it when you are around that person. Was there a comment made at one point that could turn into a gift? Did that person share something with you that could turn into a gift? When you're on the lookout long ahead, you're more likely to pick up on the queues. Planning ahead also removes a lot of the last minute gift finding stress.
3. Do some research: Ask your friend's friends questions about the person you're trying to give gifts too. Ask them what your friend would like as a gift. With the person in mind, look for gifts in stores and online.
4. It's not about price: It's about thoughtfulness. 
5. It's not always an object: It could be you doing something for the other person. It could be inviting that person to an event or a gateway.

I hope that this "gift" of mind will stuck with me for my entire life as I love being able to make someone's day with a well received gift. Hope my tips have helped you!

RingFit Adventure - Better than I was Expecting

Back when the Wii was still popular, there was game called "Wii fit" that I had tried but for which I didn't really connect with. At the time, I was going to the gym 6 times a week and whatever exercises that the game offered was too easy.

Fast forward 10 some years and the situation is a bit different. I haven't been able to go to a gym since the pandemic began, over 2 years ago, and my fitness level isn't where it used to be. RingFit Adventure has been out for a bit now but I never really paid attention to it until a week ago when I started looking for Christmas gifts (we do that quite early in the family). I decided to give it a chance and boy am I glad I did.

I don't know if it's because I haven't been able to have a proper workout in a while or simply because the game is more challenging than Wii Fit was but boy do I ever workout a sweat when I play it. What I like the most about the game is just that ... it's more of a game than a fitness routine. You do physical, fitness based, actions in order to progress through the game and you're rewarded the same way as you usually are with any other games. RingFit Adventure certainly isn't the first fitness based game but it's the first one that I connected with and now I "get" the potential that these types of games can have.

In the future, I hope to see a version of RingFit Adventure that can be used with actual fitness equipment. Think about plugging a cardio machine with RingFit and using that instead of "walking in place"... wouldn't that be something?