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Took the day off for a doctor's appointment this morning - it's too difficult to plot them around my work schedule any longer - so I just take the personal day or vacation day. I have enough - so it's not a problem any longer - one of the perks of seniority, I guess.
Doctor told me to stick to my prescription med cocktail - the beta blockers are helping with the anxiety and blood pressure, but not to increase past two a day. I've gone back to doing everything through the primary care, seeing specialists as needed. Still wants me to see the ophthalmologist to check the eyes in regards to diabetes. My last experience annoyed me, so I've been procrastinating.
**
Well, there was a COVID outbreak at my mother's retirement living community. This resulted in my father's long-term care facility being shut down. My mother was in tears on the phone - she can't see him for two weeks. They've shut down for fourteen days.
She's also scared about her upcoming hip-replacement surgery. She's due to go up to Charleston on the 25th for pre-op, then the surgery is on the 10th of September. Mother is afraid they'll defer it due to the rise in cases, or a hurricane will pop up - and the hurricane would be a hundred times worse - since mother isn't mobile and father has dementia, and both would have to be evacuated by the center. Also there's a shortage of helpers.
My mother is 79 years of age and confined to a chair. My father is confined to a small room at the Preston. I love them both dearly and there's nothing I can do. I can't even visit them. Even if I was down there - I couldn't see my father now. COVID is making this situation a 100 times worse. Both are immune compromised.
Mother told me that her friend who is in his eighties and scheduled for heart valve surgery was just handed a death sentence. They found an infection in his blood - it's COVID. He was vaccinated. He had COVID in 2020. He is immune compromised. Now he can't have the heart valve surgery.
They are devastated.
South Carolina has an infection rate of over 13% now. Why? Only 47% has been vaccinated.
Meanwhile, my brother still has to do stuff for the student visa from hell. They got the information - but apparently asked for more.
I'm trying not to worry about my parents and my niece. There's nothing I can do except watch impotently from the sidelines, and rail at the heavens inside my apartment.
I'm calm though. Weirdly so. I find it easier to push the anger and frustration aside. And just be present in the moments. A big change from last year, I think. Going off alcohol actually helped. Doctor was very pleased when I told her that I'd stopped drinking alcohol entirely. I no longer buy it or drink it. And I've discovered a huge difference physically, mentally and emotionally. It really does screw with my biochemistry. CBD works better actually, as does meditation, and the beta blockers.
**
COVID
* LOWES in Missouri has a new policy (per Twitter) - if you are vaccinated and get COVID, they will pay for your medical bills, if you are unvaccinated and get it - they will fire you.
I kind of like that policy.
Although mother points out that more and more companies are struggling to find people now, there's a huge shortage. Most likely because of all the people who have died of COVID. There's far more than the COVID MAP OF DOOM has counted.
Cubical Mate told me on Monday that he was fairly neutral when it came to politics - but in regards to COVID and the unvaccinated and the idiots who aren't taking it seriously?? He's livid. And enraged. He had it. It's serious. He almost died. He has had friends who got it and died from his church.
* Los Angeles is considering a proposal that would require proof of vaccination in many indoor public spaces, The Los Angeles Times reports.
* A new Russian disinformation campaign appears to be spreading falsehoods about the potential for forced vaccinations in the U.S. [My difficulty with this - is I think there should be forced vaccinations world-wide. Apparently so do the Russians? Note - we can't do it in the US, anyone who stayed awake in school knows that. The reason is that the vaccine hasn't been approved by the FDA fully, just as an Emergency Approval. The government can't mandate a vaccine until it is fully approved by the FDA. And even then - the US can't force folks to do much of anything.)
* The head of the most powerful U.S. teachers’ union signaled an openness to vaccine mandates.
* Virginia will require state workers to be vaccinated or get tested, the governor said.
* The rise of Delta and the uncertainty over schools and child care are keeping some parents from applying for jobs. [According to mother it's particularly bad in the South, because they have banned mask mandates in the schools. The parents are pushing back because the infection rate has escalated. ]
* The Australian state of Victoria went back into lockdown.
* Europe is winding down its pandemic aid programs. Is it too soon?
* CNN fired three employees who went into the office unvaccinated. [Good.]
* To head off illegal dance parties, Ibiza called in foreign undercover detectives.
* Covid at the Olympic Games: 31 people tested positive, a new daily high.
***
Talked to mother today, briefly about the Governor - it appears that he will be impeached, there's no way around it. So, the only question is - will he resign? It looks like he doesn't have much choice - unlike Trump, they have the votes to impeach him.
I read the Attorney General's report - which kind of was putting me to sleep - it's very dry. My biggest take-away from it was how toxic our government currently is, at all levels. And always has been. There's a culture of serial bullying and harassment going back years. And it's insane considering all the rules and laws in place allegedly to prevent it.
( Read more... )
The Me#Too Movement appears to have taken down Andrew Cuomo.
**
As England’s theaters welcome capacity audiences again, Ian McKellen, 82, is back in a role he first played a half-century ago: Hamlet. “I’ve rarely heard ‘To be, or not to be’ communicated as easefully as here,” our reviewer writes, adding, “whether riding an exercise bike or scaling the skeletal set, McKellen is always the nimblest presence.”
In New York City, patrons flashed their proof of vaccination and filled more than 1,000 seats on Wednesday night. “Pass Over” became the first play staged on Broadway since the shutdown, and is one of seven by Black writers planned this season.
I'm envious of the folks who in their eighties and can do these things, while my parents can't. It feels grossly unfair somehow - how some live rich full lives well into the 80s and 90s and others do not. Although, I'm not sure an 82 year old playing Hamlet quite works? Hamlet is supposed to be a wet-behind the ears kid of 21 if that. The problem with a lot of Shakespeare is his plays really are mostly written for teens in those roles, not old men, well except for the Kings.
I am waiting to see a play. When I go see the theater again - it will most likely be a play that I see. Not a musical. The current crop of musicals doesn't enthrall me.
Sigh. I have a sinking suspicion that things are going to go south in a hurry by October, if not before. Stupid anti-vaxxers.
Oh - yay! The major creative, acting, directing or artist unions agree to new COVID Safety Protocols - you either get vaccinated or you don't work
ABC has a mandate - either get vaccinated or don't work. I'm happy about this. There is no other safe option. I wish my workplace would implement this as well. People should not have the right to put others health at risk.
( Read more... )
***
I feel numb. And kind of apathetic at the moment. Finding joy in small things - like flowers on a walk in my neighborhood. One of the houses on the way to and from the subway station and pharmacy has a lovely and well-tended garden. And in a chocolate bar. A bowl of peppermint stick ice cream. Playing on a soap fan board. My soap opera. A good television show. A comic book. My work. The fading light outside my window. The quiet, which is an absurdly special thing in a busy bustling cityscape - but I actually have it. No noise but the air purifiers in the background and my A/C.
I'm learning to be present in the moment. To not think of future or past.
To focus on the small things. And be grateful for them. There are so many around the world who have far less.
Doctor told me to stick to my prescription med cocktail - the beta blockers are helping with the anxiety and blood pressure, but not to increase past two a day. I've gone back to doing everything through the primary care, seeing specialists as needed. Still wants me to see the ophthalmologist to check the eyes in regards to diabetes. My last experience annoyed me, so I've been procrastinating.
**
Well, there was a COVID outbreak at my mother's retirement living community. This resulted in my father's long-term care facility being shut down. My mother was in tears on the phone - she can't see him for two weeks. They've shut down for fourteen days.
She's also scared about her upcoming hip-replacement surgery. She's due to go up to Charleston on the 25th for pre-op, then the surgery is on the 10th of September. Mother is afraid they'll defer it due to the rise in cases, or a hurricane will pop up - and the hurricane would be a hundred times worse - since mother isn't mobile and father has dementia, and both would have to be evacuated by the center. Also there's a shortage of helpers.
My mother is 79 years of age and confined to a chair. My father is confined to a small room at the Preston. I love them both dearly and there's nothing I can do. I can't even visit them. Even if I was down there - I couldn't see my father now. COVID is making this situation a 100 times worse. Both are immune compromised.
Mother told me that her friend who is in his eighties and scheduled for heart valve surgery was just handed a death sentence. They found an infection in his blood - it's COVID. He was vaccinated. He had COVID in 2020. He is immune compromised. Now he can't have the heart valve surgery.
They are devastated.
South Carolina has an infection rate of over 13% now. Why? Only 47% has been vaccinated.
Meanwhile, my brother still has to do stuff for the student visa from hell. They got the information - but apparently asked for more.
I'm trying not to worry about my parents and my niece. There's nothing I can do except watch impotently from the sidelines, and rail at the heavens inside my apartment.
I'm calm though. Weirdly so. I find it easier to push the anger and frustration aside. And just be present in the moments. A big change from last year, I think. Going off alcohol actually helped. Doctor was very pleased when I told her that I'd stopped drinking alcohol entirely. I no longer buy it or drink it. And I've discovered a huge difference physically, mentally and emotionally. It really does screw with my biochemistry. CBD works better actually, as does meditation, and the beta blockers.
**
COVID
* LOWES in Missouri has a new policy (per Twitter) - if you are vaccinated and get COVID, they will pay for your medical bills, if you are unvaccinated and get it - they will fire you.
I kind of like that policy.
Although mother points out that more and more companies are struggling to find people now, there's a huge shortage. Most likely because of all the people who have died of COVID. There's far more than the COVID MAP OF DOOM has counted.
Cubical Mate told me on Monday that he was fairly neutral when it came to politics - but in regards to COVID and the unvaccinated and the idiots who aren't taking it seriously?? He's livid. And enraged. He had it. It's serious. He almost died. He has had friends who got it and died from his church.
* Los Angeles is considering a proposal that would require proof of vaccination in many indoor public spaces, The Los Angeles Times reports.
* A new Russian disinformation campaign appears to be spreading falsehoods about the potential for forced vaccinations in the U.S. [My difficulty with this - is I think there should be forced vaccinations world-wide. Apparently so do the Russians? Note - we can't do it in the US, anyone who stayed awake in school knows that. The reason is that the vaccine hasn't been approved by the FDA fully, just as an Emergency Approval. The government can't mandate a vaccine until it is fully approved by the FDA. And even then - the US can't force folks to do much of anything.)
* The head of the most powerful U.S. teachers’ union signaled an openness to vaccine mandates.
* Virginia will require state workers to be vaccinated or get tested, the governor said.
* The rise of Delta and the uncertainty over schools and child care are keeping some parents from applying for jobs. [According to mother it's particularly bad in the South, because they have banned mask mandates in the schools. The parents are pushing back because the infection rate has escalated. ]
* The Australian state of Victoria went back into lockdown.
* Europe is winding down its pandemic aid programs. Is it too soon?
* CNN fired three employees who went into the office unvaccinated. [Good.]
* To head off illegal dance parties, Ibiza called in foreign undercover detectives.
* Covid at the Olympic Games: 31 people tested positive, a new daily high.
***
Talked to mother today, briefly about the Governor - it appears that he will be impeached, there's no way around it. So, the only question is - will he resign? It looks like he doesn't have much choice - unlike Trump, they have the votes to impeach him.
I read the Attorney General's report - which kind of was putting me to sleep - it's very dry. My biggest take-away from it was how toxic our government currently is, at all levels. And always has been. There's a culture of serial bullying and harassment going back years. And it's insane considering all the rules and laws in place allegedly to prevent it.
( Read more... )
The Me#Too Movement appears to have taken down Andrew Cuomo.
**
As England’s theaters welcome capacity audiences again, Ian McKellen, 82, is back in a role he first played a half-century ago: Hamlet. “I’ve rarely heard ‘To be, or not to be’ communicated as easefully as here,” our reviewer writes, adding, “whether riding an exercise bike or scaling the skeletal set, McKellen is always the nimblest presence.”
In New York City, patrons flashed their proof of vaccination and filled more than 1,000 seats on Wednesday night. “Pass Over” became the first play staged on Broadway since the shutdown, and is one of seven by Black writers planned this season.
I'm envious of the folks who in their eighties and can do these things, while my parents can't. It feels grossly unfair somehow - how some live rich full lives well into the 80s and 90s and others do not. Although, I'm not sure an 82 year old playing Hamlet quite works? Hamlet is supposed to be a wet-behind the ears kid of 21 if that. The problem with a lot of Shakespeare is his plays really are mostly written for teens in those roles, not old men, well except for the Kings.
I am waiting to see a play. When I go see the theater again - it will most likely be a play that I see. Not a musical. The current crop of musicals doesn't enthrall me.
Sigh. I have a sinking suspicion that things are going to go south in a hurry by October, if not before. Stupid anti-vaxxers.
Oh - yay! The major creative, acting, directing or artist unions agree to new COVID Safety Protocols - you either get vaccinated or you don't work
ABC has a mandate - either get vaccinated or don't work. I'm happy about this. There is no other safe option. I wish my workplace would implement this as well. People should not have the right to put others health at risk.
( Read more... )
***
I feel numb. And kind of apathetic at the moment. Finding joy in small things - like flowers on a walk in my neighborhood. One of the houses on the way to and from the subway station and pharmacy has a lovely and well-tended garden. And in a chocolate bar. A bowl of peppermint stick ice cream. Playing on a soap fan board. My soap opera. A good television show. A comic book. My work. The fading light outside my window. The quiet, which is an absurdly special thing in a busy bustling cityscape - but I actually have it. No noise but the air purifiers in the background and my A/C.
I'm learning to be present in the moment. To not think of future or past.
To focus on the small things. And be grateful for them. There are so many around the world who have far less.