shadowkat | Day #124

It's been 124 days since I've been outside of Brooklyn, and with the exception of taking the subway approximately 5 to 6 miles to a Doctor's Appointment and back, not been on any transportation.

And 124 days since I began working from home. Time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it? (sarcasm) Since it was climbing into the 90s (I think that's the 30s C?) with 80% humidity, I chose to walk early today around 9AM, when it was in the 70s and 80% humidity. The humidity is killer - kind of sucks the life right out of me.

Took about an hour and a half walk or approximately 1.8 miles, because 80% humidity - I felt like I was walking through water, and was soaked, sweaty and tired within thirty minutes. But hey, full cardio workout. Also sciatica was climbing down right leg again. No clue why. At the moment left knee is itching due to a pesky mosquito bite I did not notice until now.

As you can see from the above photo - it was a beautiful day for a walk this morning. Not that many folks walking about, and I got some quality time with the grass, trees, air, and sky. Rest of the day? I've been binge-watching Avatar: The Last Air-Bender on Netflix in an air conditioned apartment, snacking on things. I'm halfway into the second season of Avatar - which is a lot better than season 1. Season 1 was a tad slow and repetitive in places, and had a somewhat cliche villain. S2 has better pacing, and more interesting characters, it also introduces a far more interesting group of villains. Avatar stands out from most cartoons in that its characters actually "evolve". So many cartoons don't let the characters evolve. Also it is more character focused, and has a heavy spiritual theme at its center - not religious, spiritual or Buddhist, which works for me. The tween romance is admittedly getting on my nerves, but it's not that prevalent, and only mentioned here and there, so I can ignore it. (Basically Ange is in love with Katara, and Katara appears to be more focused on Ange saving the world and barely notices that he's into her. I'm far more interested in Zuko as a love interest - he's older. Ange seems a tad on the young side. I'm sure he's supposed to be teen or tween, but at times he looks and acts as if he is a lot younger than that. But I'm giving him a pass since he was tucked away from the world for 100 years and is kind of out of time, out of place. That would discombobulate anyone.)

I'm loving the thematic structure of the series, the tight plotting, and characterization. It's so well plotted. Also the animation is stunning in places. It's a little gem - and joy to behold. I'd seen a few episodes fifteen years back when it was on Nickloedean, but lost track of it. Very happy to have rediscovered it on Netflix. Apparently I'm not alone in this - it's highly popular in the US at the moment. Tonight, I think I may watch "The Old Guard" with Cheriz Theron, who by the way is doing a Q&A next week - it's free - on Zoom at SD Comic Con.
The Joss Q&A mysteriously disappeared - making me wonder if he chickened out over all the recent bad press. I can't say that I would blame him if that was the case - if I were him, I'd feel the same. The political climate right now is rather toxic. And there's a lot of bored and highly frustrated people out there on social media. (I've mixed feelings about Whedon. I honestly don't know how I feel about him as a person - except I don't know him. As a writer and director? I still find him interesting.) Also, just about decided to pick up the latest Butcher book but in audio format via a free trial. There's apparently a couple of audio easter eggs in there - that Marsters delivers quite well.

Not much else to report - except same old, same old...I've decided to take a break from the news for the most part. It's kind of dire. NY1 is obsessed with this story about a dismembered popular tech entrepreneur from Nigeria who was a big up and comer in the tech industry.(I know nothing about the tech industry - so no clue who he is.) His dismembered body was found in his apartment. They felt the need to describe it in detail. I'll spare you. Dismembered is more than enough. (See? This is why I watch a soap opera instead of news while eating dinner. I really don't want to hear this stuff while eating. Or at all for that matter.) So we could see that it was a professional job. They are apparently arresting his personal assistant for second degree murder. (Uhm, if he was dismembered and it was a professional job - isn't that first degree murder? It takes some planning to do that. Also why would a professional dismember and leave behind the remains - do these people not watch Television procedurals and crime dramas? No Killing Eve fans?)

Mother called to tell me that my cousin's darling hubby isn't doing well. He had to have a pacemaker removed because of an infection. He's prone to infections. She informed them of this - but they didn't take her seriously. My mother didn't know they could remove pacemakers (my father has one too) but apparently they can. He's not doing well. And my cousin who heard that you could get the virus through the eyes has taken to wearing her glasses everywhere. She is actually my mother's cousin - so my second cousin, and in her 70s, like my mother. Lives up in Seattle. One of my best vacations visiting folks - was visiting her and her husband, who were lovely. I really hope her hubby is okay - he's a real sweetheart. On that depressing note...I leave you with.. photo of a stained glass ceiling taken on my trip to see them two summers ago.