Wave 2 is here, folks.

Well, sorta.

COVID's first wave never really stopped, we just kinda barreled through towards our second peak without obliterating the first.

Today Florida had its single biggest reported count, with just over 15,000 infections.

Florida also broke the single day record for the entire USA. Florida is going to be worse than New York, and New York did not have an easy time getting to their first day in months with 0 deaths.

I'm not sure that I can go visit my family in Utah at the end of the month for our yearly family reunion. Salt Lake County has as many cases as King County, but half the population. I'm finding it hard to justify crossing state lines.

I really don't want to kill a grandparent or bring it back to Washington with me.

And then I see huge groups of people partying at the beach and I feel like I'm depriving myself for no reason. But if I go, I'm just like the irresponsible party people who are putting aside sound public health advice to have fun...

That's why we're screwed. We can't sacrifice a little bit of happiness to prevent other people from dying.

Because of our country's long and obstinate tradition of rugged individualism, we're going to get hit incredibly hard. As a country, we're in a worse spot than in March, but now we're tired from months of living in lock-down.

I don't see the general populace having the strength to do the right thing... This is going to keep spreading.

Why are Americans so damn stupid? With every passing year I become more embarrassed to be a US citizen. Mexico literally shut down their border because we're riddled with COVID.

It's an incredible irony.

Trump and his administration's lack of Federal action has turned us into a "shit-hole country" who gets slapped with travel bans.

How to Prepare for the Storm

1. Stay the Fuck Home
2. Shut the fuck up and put on your mask

Honestly, that'll do most of it. Even if our country can't prepare, you can! You still remember what the first wave was like, so use all those lessons you learned to prep for the next one!

Personally, I'm stocking up on cooking staples, frozen broccoli, and Jolly Rancher Bites (those things are delicious and are always out of stock!).

Other than that, I'm making sure to keep in contact with friends and family, and with the gorgeous Seattle summer rolling around I will be doing many picnics outside to catch up with friends.

We will get through this, one way or another. At the moment, it looks like the plan is letting a highly infectious virus ravage our populace.

It's going to hurt. Way too many people are going to die. Hundreds of thousands of others will have to deal with complications from the disease, ranging from a very difficult sickness to lifelong scarring.

It didn't have to be this way, but we find ourselves in the defining moments of the century (thus far).

Watch.

Listen.

Learn.

We have a big decision to make at the ballot box this November. At the risk of being hyperbolic, this is the biggest election of anyone's lifetime.

If we play our cards right, we can elect folks who listen to scientists and will take the steps necessary to end this pandemic (we're not going to be back to normal in January).

I have hope that we can do it. But then again, I had hope in 2016, and my heart can only be crushed so many times in the last four years...