Us, August 22, 2020: Leo, John, Ondine, Roy, Shadow
Us, August 22, 2020: Leo, John, Ondine, Roy, Shadow
Things have been crazy around here. John has had his hands full with classes and finals. Plus, the news out there remains grim.
Case in point: Over a month after losing the general election by some 7 million votes, Donald Trump still refuses to concede, has mounted numerous court challenges, and, with the help of congressional Republicans, is working to get the 2020 election results overturned. So far, Trump has lost every case, including those in areas previously thought friendly, like Virginia, Texas, and the U.S. Supreme Court itself. A recent recount in Virginia, for instance, ended up handing Biden-Harris more votes. Now armed crowds are again gathering in DC in an effort to force Donald Trump and his family on the country as an unelected imperial dynasty.
Case in point: mask deniers and anti-vaxxers and climate-change deniers and self-proclaimed libertarians have joined forces to refute science and flout safety rules and legislative authority in everything from public safety to gun control. The result: environmental protections in the U.S. continue to be rolled back even as the Earth tips past the point of no return on anthropogenic climate change, COVID-19 is roaring back with record-setting rates of U.S. hospitalizations and deaths every week, and gun violence and shootings are up 16% in San Diego County alone. Meanwhile, many churches continue to refuse to curtail indoor services on the grounds of personal liberty or religious freedom.
In coronavirus news, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracker shows that COVID-19 has been confirmed in over 71,521,100 people worldwide, and has claimed over 1,602,100 lives. The U.S. now has over 16,014,800 confirmed cases and over 297,500 deaths. In San Diego, our local toll rose to 102,468 cases with 1,137 deaths. Mandatory stay-at-home orders are in effect, and local ICUs are already near capacity.
Well, we're all disease-free so far. We just ordered some new masks since the first batch are starting to fray from constant use. At least there are cool masks available on Etsy!
Thanksgiving was a small affair. Barbara decided not to join us in-person, so we just took her a plate and containers of side dishes. Roy brought
back a duffel bag filled with Legos, so that was Leo's project, while Roy hooked his laptop to the TV for some big-screen gaming. As usual, we did Cornish
game hens, and afterward watched Christmas Vacation.
In other TV viewing, we've been watching the second season of The Mandalorian, as well as The Office, Burn Notice, Grimm, and we recently worked through The Hobbit trilogy.
Roy decided to stay in San Diego when UCCS announced that classes through fall would be online only. He plans to return to Colorado when in-person classes resume next month.
Leo heard from Point Blank Los Angeles, which has no immediate plan to reopen for in-person classes, They offered him a free trial of their online program, so he'll be doing that. It's looking doubtful that he'll be moving to L.A. in January, but we can hope for the best.
BIG NEWS, Leo passed his driver's test, so he's now a licensed driver! We celebrated by ordering pizza from Mountain Mike's and having Leo drive over alone to pick up our order!
Ondine is starting a newsletter, which has created a ton of work for her. She's priming to get her novella ready to be submitted again, and got three beta readers who will give feedback on it. Just the other day, she went to the office for the first time in over seven months, for a holiday walk-through lunch event, in which Kaiser gave everyone gift bags and boxed lunches. Nice!
BREAKING NEWS: Ondine's short piece of fiction was selected for inclusion in the 2020 San Diego Decameron Project! Woo hoo! This is her first piece of published fiction!
John is happy to be in the world of non-fiction. He's been frantically writing papers (done now) and studying for finals. He just finished the second of two final exams in Human Osteology, a lab practicum and subject exam. He was thrilled to score 94 on the lab and 99 on the final, so he'll finish the semester with a solid A in that class! One down, two to go. Also, he registered for the spring semester, a class on field excavation techniques. He tried to get a stat class as well, but the two sections he'd wanted were both filled.
Shadow always knows when it's St. Nicholas' Day, and look at him wait for his stocking!
Barbara got rid of her car a few weeks ago, and has been ordering her groceries and pre-made meals delivered, plus she accompanies Ondine to Albertson's every Saturday.
Frances is holding steady at Vista Cove, now called Arcadia Living. Arcadia Living just had its first COVID-19 cases, so the entire building is in full-bore lock-down quarantine mode. Frances literally cannot leave her suite! All meals are delivered room by room. Well, at least that'll keep her off the leg she's not supposed to walk on.
We're gearing up for a cozy at-home Christmas Eve and Christmas with all our bears at home. This is a repeat from the last journal, but here we all are at
kaffeetrinken next door at Barbara's house shortly after Roy returned home.
Neighborhood gas prices are holding steady at about $3.29 per gallon.
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