... The record temperature recorded in Death Valley of 130 degrees F reminds me not to forget to feel despairing about the climate crisis. The pandemic has made everything feel like it's falling apart 8/19/20 Wildfire smoke from up north, and it's raining ash. Air quality monitors say unhealthy for sensitive groups/orange first thing today. By 1 pm it has crossed into Unhealthy (red). We're so lucky not to be in the middle of the fire, but our strategy in the past was to close the windows even in the heat and to wear a valved mask outside. Now I just feel hopeless enough about the future (keep pondering the fact that my injury keeps me from having the colonoscopy I should be having now, and knowing my own history and my family's, that makes it super likely I will die of colon cancer at some point -- is this just pandemic depression talking?) that we're just keeping the windows open so we don't get so hot, and going about life pretty normally except that S won't go running. Y and D had to evacuate to a hotel farther south with their cats. ...
February 9, 2021
This week, I have thought about how Halloween will work out. Since we are living in such a difficult time right now, it is not possible for us to have such big, crowding events. It seems to me that some people want to go out of their way to go to parties and violate safety regulations ... Because of this, I spent time considering how I am going to be celebrate Halloween. Despite the restrictions we are forced to put up with, I still wanted to celebrate in my own special way. Just yesterday, I received a package from my parents. I had told them two weeks prior that I wanted some snacks that I would actually eat before I have to empty out my room. The box was filled with some of my favorite candy and other goodies. I was very excited. It motivated me to think of further plans for Halloweekend. I spent some time today playing a virtual game of "Clue" ... It was a really fun time for all of us; we enjoyed ourselves very much. I plan to spend the next day eating some candy and watching a Halloween themed movie, after I finish some work. I also bought a ticket to watch a movie for the 29th annual Philadelphia Film Festival since one of my friends is their ambassador this year. I will be watching that this coming Sunday. Celebrating Halloween during the pandemic has given me time to think about other events. Although this crisis has been tough for all of us, we must make the most of the good times. When life gives you lemons, you always have to find a way to make lemonade. For me, coming up with revised ways to celebrate Halloweekend has been a good way to work around the effects of this pandemic. It may not be the most ideal celebration, but it works in a time like this. Now that we only have three weeks left of classes, I am more grateful every day for how far we have come.
October 31, 2020