Monday, August 09, 2021

CoViD-19: US Averages Over 100k Cases/Day | Layered Mitigation Is The Only Way | Olympics Come To A Close | School Reopenings Will Drive Transmission |

9 Years Together Celebrated With A Short Camping Trip (Taken 8.7.21)

We had a really nice time spending Saturday night at the Kumeyaay Lake Campground in Mission Trails Regional Park. It's  a pain in the ass to pack and load everything and set up camp, but once it's done and you get the stillness of the outdoors, you understand why people do it, even if we we were only 10 miles from home. We got our fire going early, had s'mores and hot links, and after we put the fire out after 10pm for quiet hours, we took another walk around the lake. During the stay we saw a massive tarantula, lots of birds, and a bat that kept visiting by flapping around our site and then disappearing for awhile until he'd reappear a little later. The only nuisance was these wasps that were circling when we first arrived but as the sun dropped they went away. 

We packed up around 10 this morning which was nice that it was cool and overcast and we weren't blasted out of our tent with the morning sun. Darren didn't bring proper sleeping gear, so he'd gotten cold in the night and attempted sleeping in the van, which just meant he really didn't sleep at all, so we had a super lazy Sunday getting actual sleep at home. 

Which then leads to this afternoon. My dad was released from the hospital and of course I'm glad he's home and feeling better, but I'm also feeling really angry and frustrated which as a Mexican raised Catholic-adjacent just leads to immense guilt. They were supposed to deliver a hospital bed that could accommodate him but he doesn't want to be in the den, he wants his room at the end of the hall which is impossible for a gurney should he have another emergency, so my parents called off the delivery. My poor, thin mother is handling all of his care on her own but he's the one who gets the say on where he's kept and it is infuriating that he isn't doing everything to put her first instead of his pity party and blaming everyone else for his circumstances. The hospital actually wanted him to go to a rehab facility but my parents vetoed that because there are no visitors allowed to said facility because of COVID protocols. It's frustrating and sad and I love my parents but I don't think my dad sees the damage he's doing to my mom. These are all the things we're not supposed to say out loud, and so we don't. Darren and my sister helped as 4 firemen transported him home while I drove all over Chula Vista trying to find anything to eat that wasn't tacos (because we've had tacos like every day for a week) and ended up just getting pizza and wings from the place right by their house that we've been going to all of our lives. 

I'm frustrated and sad and I burned the shit out of my arm on the fire ring last night so I'm gonna keep it short today. You know the deal: cases are crazy high everywhere including San Diego. Restaurants who were suing about closures last year are now closing on their own because of COVID case transmission and contacts among staff and patrons (looking at you, C-star), and venues contemplating vax requirements may be moot if we all just have to shut down again whenever outbreaks happen. I thought by August I'd loosen up my personal protocols and maybe hit some shows, but as it is right now, I'm gonna have to say hard pass. Any place I want to go would have to (1) require vaccinations (2) require universal masking (3) have improved HEPA or MERV-13 ventilation system (4) have clear CO2 monitors where patrons can see air exchange rates (5) safe space for distancing. Today I almost got takeout until I looked around and not a single person was in a mask. Uh, yeah, no. 

Stay safe out there. 

  

Posted by Rosemary Bystrak at Monday, August 09, 2021
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