|
Kaja's Big Adventure (Taken 12.6.22) |
This always happens. I intend to do a weekly post and then by the time I get around to finishing it up, new data is about to come out. I got super busy...between family stuff and work stuff and going to the zoo and holiday stuff and just trying to get through the bazillion emails that come in around Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and the torturous filtering through 3 reminders from literally every non-profit I've ever looked at on Giving Tuesday, I just try to keep up. It's a good busy though, mostly.
I was quite vocal on Twitter about how pissed I was about December Nights charging for parking, for bus routes being diverted from the park, and because Florida and Morley Field Drive had been repaved but still hadn't been striped, I didn't think I was going to partake at all. But, as it turns out, besides some extra light cycles, I was still able to get my zoo time in on Friday and Saturday, and got first row parking at the Zoo both nights, so I held my spots and did end up walking around December Nights for a couple hours each night. It was pure chaos as expected, but I'm a sucker for the holidays, so what can I say? I love watching the kid dance ensembles, both in the Prado building and the dancing at the International Cottages. It reminds me of being a kid and getting all decked out for the Chula Vista Starlight Parade for baton or tap or whatever thing we were doing any given year. The kids are so enthusiastic and diverse and it's way better than the polished life-long dancers on Dance Moms or whatever. Darren did not have the same experience, however, and when he tried to bus to meet me, experienced the shitshow navigation which left him feeling -- well, let's just say I was calling him Scrooge McGrinch -- which did not make the situation any better. But he survived and was a trooper for even making the effort.
Since the last post, Darren and I got to do a Cheetah Safari at San Diego Zoo Safari Park, we went to see Lucius at Music Box and Modest Mouse at Observatory, I picked up a couple merch gigs for Drugdealer at Soda Bar, and I did finally get back for a morning zoo session, when I got to see Kaja crawling on the grass. It was my first time seeing him do that, and rumor is it was his first time doing it, but my sources vary on that information. Darren is in his second week of training for driving the guided tram tours at the Park which is especially exciting. Wild Holidays is open at Safari Park on select days, so I'm going to have to drag Nova up on a weekend to visit, and this weekend Jungle Bells kicks of at the San Diego Zoo, which means they'll be open late again, until 8pm every night through January 1st, with the exception of Christmas Eve. My advice: get there before sunset if you want to see any primates, as they're all in their bedrooms by 4 or 5pm. Cats, elephants, giraffes and hippos are all out and often active at night. I always try and catch the Aye-Aye, who is super elusive except at night, and the ambassadors animals at Explorers Basecamp are worth hanging out with. Right now there's a tamandua, a caracal, and a binturong, but sometimes they swap in the porcupine.
The big news this week is that Raphael Warnock won a 6 year Senate seat, so that is a huge relief. It still kinda pisses me off how close it was, but the eloquent Rebecca Solnit gave it some much needed perspective in this Facebook post. Besides that, obviously it feels like everyone is sick right now, so make sure you sign up for Covered CA before the end of the year and get the boosters and flu shot if you haven't already. There's finally tons of actual research...not just anecdotal...that vaccines are helping to prevent Long-Covid, besides the fact that both will likely keep you out of the hospital if you do get sick.
Stay safe out there. If you hear someone coughing, turn and run in the opposite direction.
If you're looking for listings, I may not get them done until later Thursday since I'm working tonight and it's a little too complicated to compile on my Chromebook when I'm busy. Rest assured, I'll get around to them as soon as I possibly can.