Pandemic Atlanta Lockdown - Week 7

My apartment community

This week went quite fast I was busy with RSNA abstracts for the first half of the week. 

The arrival of the price-gouged water filter replacement

The overpriced Waterfilter arrived at my apartment via USPS. In Walmart.com, the price used to be 14.15$. But the cruel third-party seller price-gouged it to 70.15$. I ordered it without checking. I canceled it instantly. But they ignored my cancelation and sent it - as they assumed I wouldn't return amid the pandemic. I am going to go and drop it at the post office so that they won't repeat this cruel tactic on another person. I complained to Walmart. But apparently, they cannot take any action against the seller. But the seller magically disappeared from Walmart after I complained. Not sure what is happening. I am returning via the nearby post office this Monday. I hope I will get the money back from the third-party seller. It worked in Amazon.com always. I hope Walmart.com is not much worse compared to Amazon. With the COVID-19 pandemic going strong, I can expect more and more price gouging, which started with masks and hand sanitizers.

The 4-Layer Rooibos Tea

Movies at home

I made some cakes and also cooked as usual. I also watched two movies - One is Midsommer from Amazon Prime, and another movie is Senthoora Poove, a 1988 Tamil Movie. Senthoora Poove is the first movie I watched in my projector. It felt like I am in a movie theater. I was starting to watch that movie in 2003 but had to rush to my chemistry class. So after nearly two decades, I finally managed to finish that movie. This is similar to me reading a book named "Kadal Pura" in 2002. I had finished reading part 1 of the 3 parts (3 books). But never got the chance to finish reading the last 2 parts. Unfortunately, I do not remember part 1 anymore. So if I want to finish the book, I should start from the beginning.

What is next?

Chocolate cake in a cup

It is still cold in Atlanta. Staying home - some days feeling down, and other days feeling better. It is always up and down. It is hard to feel normal and happy when many things remain out of our control. We are used to doing things as we wish, and nothing had ever prevented me from flying across continents. I had to make sure I get the visas and tickets. That was always a hurdle. But nothing drastic as a deadly pandemic. The end of the pandemic seems way too far. Countries are still locked down. International borders are tightly shut down. Travel plans are being canceled. The new batch of international students is starting to get worried. But there is also optimism from some people. Even if the countries open, it is not clear when will the pandemic end. Scientists have come to a consensus that this may go on for 18 more months. Even after the countries open up, not sure when will all the nations lift the travel bans and when will it be actually safe to fly long distance again. As far as we are aware, we are already impacted until at least August 2021. Let's see how everything goes.