When will life feel normal again?

During the Covid pandemic, most people lost at least one or several family members or close friends. Among other family members, we lost a brave young man in the prime age of thirty-two. It was an excruciating situation all around with anxiety running high. Medical personnel were short-staffed, and life-saving medicine and equipment were scarce and in high demand. So many loved ones died because of the lack thereof. 

Because of the dire situation, the lack of personnel meant lack of food and other product deliveries. There were all types of shortages.

Not to sound heartless or focus on inane things, we were not immune to such loses, adding to a breakdown of the heating/air conditioning system, refrigerator and stove. Bad situations worsened by the lack of proper repairmen not making house calls. 

Two years after the Covid pandemic, I still don’t have proper working appliances. From day one, the new Cosmo range has been slowly falling apart. The gas ignitions click, it seems forever, before the flames appear and stay lit. My lungs have gotten used to blowing on the ignition to get the flame started and stay lit. But the one thing that broke the camel’s back was one  of the grates cracked  in three places. 

I did what any normal customer would—I reached out to Cosmo to ask them to replace the broken grate. Instead of apologizing for the poor craftsmanship of their product and offering to replace it, they advised me to place an order for a new grate at a price of $150. Needless to say, I was appalled. No amount of diplomacy on my part changed their attitude—the part broke of wear and tear and is not under warranty, answered the company rep. 

In hindsight, I paid close to $3,000 for a new product, and after only 2 years and 2 months it broke down at my expense. 

Wiktionary defines the phrase “alternate universe” as a hypothetical world situated in a different dimension of space and time than the real world consisting of the universe known and experienced by human beings. I feel like I’m living in an alternate universe. 

We’re still suffering both the real and side effects of the pandemic. 

Does anyone else feel this way?