Rosey's Diary & Newsy Things: Panda Update | Oceanside Pier Empty Restaurant Catches Fire | Animal Shelters in State of Emergency | Avian Flu Hits Dairy Farms |

Tiger Cub (Hutan or Puteri?) at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (4.30.24)

I don't have much of a diary this week because I'm a little emotionally spent and physically tired. Besides my regular work, I worked at Emo Night Karaoke on Friday, then Julia Wolf on Sunday, and then after that show, Darren and I went to see A Beacon School at Casbah. I got my Monday zoo time, then on Tuesday, after I spent the morning at the zoo, D and I went to Safari Park on his day off to deliver flowers for his old work. It was definitely bittersweet because some stuff was going down at his job and sure enough, he was let go from the park the next morning. He wasn't taken by surprise by it, but it still fucking hurts. So now we have that to deal with and it is scary and heartbreaking and of course our rents just went up again, because San Diego, so I'm trying not to panic but it really fucking sucks. And I can't really talk about it because it's not my story to tell, but you know I have some thoughts.  

So yeah. Life goes on. I'll be working at Music Box on Thursday, maybe Casbah on Friday, and will probably try to partake in some Old Town Cinco de Mayo festivities over the weekend because I'm a sucker for mariachis. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite bastardes carborundorum. 

Rosey's Diary & Newsy Things: Gentrification: Protecting LGBTQ+ Nightlife | Soaring Rents | Public Park Bans Bikes | City Fails FIDO Dogs | Bird Flu | Pathogen Descriptors Rewritten |

Ficus at Fiesta Island Dog Park, before the foxtails seeded. (Taken 2.18.24)

At some point I have to stop collecting links and actually make a post. I've been trying, but work has been crazy busy...the Casbah is presenting more shows at outside venues than ever before, or at least to pre-pandemic levels and the agencies are fully staffed up with 6-12 person marketing teams to remind me -- one person -- that I'm not meeting their expectations. I love taking my laptop to the zoo to get work done, but I find more of my day actually on the laptop than actually experiencing the zoo. As a result, when I get home at night I've been trying to keep that my time, which this week means bingeing Girls 5eva. 

I went to LA last Sunday for the opening of my cousin's new business and ended up making an overnight out of it, with a super rainy Sunday at the LA Zoo and then a much nicer rain-free Monday. I helped out with merch for The Last Dinner Party on Friday afternoon and then we went to the show that night. Darren spent his days off being sick at home, so I've been trying to give him all the space at home he needs to nap and recover, but then after the kid's concert at school, he said he was also feeling sick and likely won't be going to school tomorrow. They're both negative on COVID tests, but I'm still gonna try to do all the things we did back then, because I do not want to also get whatever sinus-throat tickle-congestion thing it is. I'll get to listings this week, and I don't have any major plans besides working at our Quartyard show on Sunday but I'll definitely keep myself scarce at home if I can. 

Ohhhh! And one more thing! Remember when this was just a music site?? Tim Fears is gonna get back to posting photos here. I'll add mine when they're worthwhile than more than an IG post, but be on the lookout for his stellar shots. 

Stay safe out there. 

Rosey's Diary & Newsy Things: Operation Palm Lift | Animal News | A Vision For A Safer America | San Diego - Diverse & Happy |

Silverback Winston at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 3.13.24)

I really lagged getting listings done this week as I've had zero desire to work at all. I mean, I have, and I dragged my laptop to the zoo all week while tourists gawked over my shoulder because the orangutans love to watch familiar people do stuff, like type on a laptop or dig through a backpack or eat lunch, but it has been hard to focus. First, I found out that my friend, Mike D from Amenity died over the weekend. That was two days before the first anniversary of my sister-in-law's death and so this time last year, I was driving my sister's car with my nieces to New Mexico to be with my brother and his kids. By the time we got back, we had a big anniversary party for my parents and then my dad died just a few days later, on Easter Sunday. So this time of year brings up a lot from last year. I'm just trying to find beautiful things and enjoy life to the max because what else can we do? But sitting on my laptop is not my favorite at the moment, so these are some articles I've picked up over the past couple of weeks, but I'm just gonna leave it here so I can get sleep and keep myself busy doing things in the world and not just on this screen.

I love you. Stay safe out there.  

Newsy Things & Rosey's Diary: New COVID-19 Boosters Are Here | Point La Jolla To Be Closed Year Round | Waterfront Park Getting New Amenities | Student Loan Repayments Resume | Airbnb Has Ruined Everything |

Point La Jolla (Taken 7.16.23)

I guess I started this post a couple weeks ago and never posted, so I'll put this up before I get to my listings. I'm currently watching "Wilderness" on Prime and am super into it, so hopefully a good binge will help me get some work done. 

Things have been going pretty great these days. I've been working a lot which is good since the Zoo is back to closing at 6pm and I have the time. I'm not on any big fitness kick, but I have turned back on my Samsung Health step counter and have been doing really great if you don't count Tuesday, in which I spent the day recovering from Monday, when SDZWA had their annual Employee Appreciation Party. This year it was at Belmont Park and we had a great time, but after we got home I couldn't resist a little tequila and stayed up way too late. So I never made it to the Zoo on Tuesday, but I did sling merch for Cut Worms which was pretty chill for being a sold out show. 

Besides that, everyone seems to be doing good. Wednesday is my mom's birthday, her first without my dad, so we're going to have a big to-do to try and make it special and fun and steer away from the sadness. My birthday is coming up soon, too, and I'm looking forward to a trip to The Troubadour to see Lauren Mayberry, my gift to myself that I actually bought tickets for. 

Anyway, life is good, I'm gonna get back to this murder show and get some work done. I didn't choose to cover all the news of the past few weeks because, well, yawn, but new COVID boosters are out, so I'll hopefully be getting mine soon, and also the San Diego City Council voted to close Boomer Beach and Point La Jolla year round. I was not a fan when it was proposed because I had a little special cliff spot I loved to shoot photos from, but people are assholes and ruin everything for everyone else, so I completely understand why this is the necessary solution. 

Stay safe out there. 

COVID-19: The End of Data Is Nigh | The Kid Is COVID-Free (Finally) | Feinstein To Retire After Term (Finally) | Another Uni Shooting | UFOs |

Cormorant Mama & Chick Feeding at La Jolla Cove (Taken 2.14.23)

Hardly anybody is talking about COVID-19 anymore but I'm going to. Nova had successfully avoided catching COVID for the entire pandemic and then the school district stopped free weekly testing and between her extracurriculars with pep band (playing flute, deep sigh) at the home basketball games, the close proximity with her fellow students in Academic League, her time among her peers at The Center and it was bound to happen, even if she says she was still masking. 

And I'm sure there are people that don't care. There are people who never test, even when they're obviously sick. And there are people who still work or send their kids to school because they don't know better or they can't do otherwise, because they don't have sick time or daycare or whatever. This isn't about any of them or for any of them either.

 

This is about how much it SUCKS when someone in the household gets sick and you do everything you can not to spread it within the household. Not only was Nova sick and mostly isolated in her room for the last 12 days, but I felt obligated to make myself scarce so she could at least cook for herself, eat, watch TV and breathe maskless in the house and to just minimize our shared air. And that sucked. As much as I love going to the Zoo or Sea World or whatever, I felt like I haven't been home in a couple weeks. In the summer when I was sick, it was easy enough for me to stay in our studio, or for Darren to do the same part time when he was sick, but our studio is not really livable in the winter as it's currently configured, and it doesn't feel like kicking a 15 year old to her own apartment was the fair or right or just thing to do. 

 

So naturally when she tested super faint on Sunday and then finally negative on Monday, I was rejoicing when she finally went back to school today, Tuesday. I slept in. I lazed around in my pajamas and did my work on the couch while watching the Murdaugh Murder Trial on YouTube at 1.5x speed. I took care of my overgrown eyebrows that I can only take care of with the sunlight in a shared room. After doing some work, I went on a drive to La Jolla Cove and spent some time with the sea lions, the pelicans, and the cormorants. I popped by Children's Pool to see the 14 seal pups that have been born so far this season. I stopped to pick up creamed spinach at Boston Market because I had a craving. I went to the Zoo and caught Denny for a couple minutes before he went in, then spent some time at the orangs and some time in Parker Aviary. I picked up some rib roast on the way home. We cooked the meat and garlic bread and mashed potatoes and vegetables and we had a lovely Valentine's Dinner together at home. And I have a table full of flowers from Darren's new job. And the kid went to school and to The Center and came home beaming that she is once again part of the world. It felt nice to feel normal again.  

Happy Valentine's Day! Stay safe out there.  

COVID-19: Still Here, Nobody Cares | Lawbreaking Churches Act With Impunity | Seaport Village Developer Wants You To Pay For Their Project | Chicken Collusion |

Alvvays at Observatory (Taken 10.30.22)

I keep thinking that I'm going to quit doing these COVID posts. The CDC has pretty much given up. The County's COVID committee just had their final meeting, and the data that is still provided is almost assuredly unreliable. Without free tests out there ---we were promised they'd cost a couple bucks once the demand died down and yet they're still about $15 a pop at most pharmacies and grocery stores -- people don't even seem to be testing anymore, writing off illness to anything but COVID. I'm not any different. I had a cough last night, assumed it was from overdoing it on Saturday night, took and allergy pill, and was fine today. And you know I'm at the San Diego Zoo nearly every day and the number of kids who are outright sick but still there in their strollers coughing all over everyone is truly alarming. 

So here I am at my second sold out show of the weekend...we attended Alvvays on Sunday and now I'm working for Babe Rainbow...and I'm masked and just doing the best we can, I guess. Nova and Darren both got their flu shots and COVID boosters last week and didn't really feel any obvious side effects, though Darren went to bed super early that night and probably got 12 hours total. That could just be time catching up with him, though. The park has been super busy and he recently got a promotion so that's all very exciting. 

As for me, I'm still trying to hit the Zoo everyday, and I jones for it when I don't. I went on Saturday night but am hoping to get some solid sleep tonight and do a morning sess with the orangs. I'm working a lot, and trying to disconnect from the internet more and more as the election gets closer and closer. Everything is pretty terrible. The campaign ads are fucking ridiculous. But I would NEVER not vote. 

Stay safe out there.  Your mental health is just as critical as your physical health. 

COVID-19: Misinformation & Disinformation Like Summer of '20 All Over Again | Getting Boosted | Flu Season Is Upon Us | Gas Wars | Padres Lose NLCS To Phillies

Denny (Taken 8.19.22)

I'm watching the Phillies vs Padres game and it's the top of the 9th and the Phillies just got a two-run homer and why am I even doing this to myself? I have lived most of my adult life, at least the past decade not letting sports take any of my life but here we are. Kind of impossible to fight it when your whole city has been mobilized with a common cause. That doesn't happen often. 

But what I really wanted to talk about was COVID, RSV, and the Flu. I got my bivalent booster last week, and while I was kinda hopeful it would knock me out and I'd get real sleep, in actuality I felt nothing except the tender arm and it felt like all week, related or not, my anxiety and insomnia were through the roof. I also intended to get my flu shot at the same time, but insurance is dumb so now I have to use Sharp to get that on Monday. 

I'm so glad to have finally gotten a booster though. The San Diego Zoo has been especially crowded during the month of October because kids 11 and under are free and they have extended weekend hours for HalGLOWeen and of course this is only anecdotal, but kids are sick. Coughing and sneezing and touching everything and their parents just sip their beers and margaritas while dragging their sick kids all over the place, and it is so frustrating. And it didn't help that a prominent right-wing talking head this week claimed that the vaccines are responsible for more deaths than COVID is kids (not true) but then that message spread and we just have a whole bunch of stupid idiots listening to rich and cunning propagandists and it feels like we're back in summer of 2020. So whatever. You do you. Don't vaccinate your kids and then watch them get the virus over and over and damage their organs and take that chance. Or be like a person in my family who intentionally got her son sick. I'll keep taking my chances on science with my mask on and boosters.    

Stay safe out there.  

(Phillies just won the game. I'm out. Going to see Denny.) 

CoVid-19 Bivalent Boosters Now Available | Park Boulevard To Get New Stripes | Crazy Weather | The Queen Is Dead. |

 

Ernest in the midst of a big yawn. (Taken 9.9.22)

I wanted to get back in the habit of posting current COVID numbers because I don't want to lose track for myself of what is going on. But obviously I've cut out a lot of the news clippings and links. I'm still watching the White House press briefings, too, but the media pool sucks so bad and Karine Jean-Pierre just takes their bullshit questions, even when 10 people ask the same question in different ways, as if she'll not realize that they're messing with her. Yesterday they kept asking her about the queen's health and if she died what would the president say, would he travel, etc? and she's trying to explicitly say that it is fucking rude to talk about what you'll do when someone dies when they're not dead yet and then by the end of the press conference it was confirmed that she did, in fact, die, and so then it got awkward and the press conference ended. It's kinda worth watching for 27 minutes if you take a shot every time someone asks about the queen but definitely don't plan on driving anywhere for probably 24 hours. 

As far as the queen dying goes, I'm more on the side of thinking it is fucking gross that there are still monarchs and think its a criminal enterprise and lean the way of this thread, so whatever. I'll let y'all grieve but will take no part. 

There was some news this week that I found noteworthy, particularly that the City is going to add bike/bus lanes on that essential corridor of Park Blvd from the President's Way up to Richmond which will be huge because the reason we stopped going to December NIghts was because you couldn't even get there by transit and now you'll be able to...or even ride bikes! 

It was a good week. I've got a big end of summer Zoo post in the works, but it felt good to go back today, in the rain, after not having been since Monday. And working for Pavement and Cat Power was a pretty good way to spend this asshole of a heat wave in air conditioned buildings. 

Hope you're staying cool. Be safe out there. 

CoVID-19: San Diego Drops To Low Community Risk Level Then Back To Medium | Student Loan Debt Relief | San Diego Excessive Heat Warning Through Monday |

 

Aisha & Kaja (Taken 7.29.22)

This is all last week's information, but I thought I'd publish just so I can move forward. I've been having some pretty great days but I had to rein in some nonsense. Last week I spent a few hours just unsubscribing from email lists. It was out of control. It's only gonna get worse leading up to midterms, so it had to be done. I know where I stand on issues and don't need daily reminders of how bad shit is with these nutjobs across the country. It's too much and is just far too toxic. I feel lighter, I'm sleeping better, and I'm getting better at compartmentalizing the things that I need to so my life has a little more balance and joy. 

I hope you do the same. 

Stay safe out there. 

COVID-19: Blah, Blah, Blah | UK Approves Targeted Vaccines, Will US Follow? | Biden Signs Inflation Reduction Act |

Lemur (Taken 8.19.22)

I have adjusted my priorities.

I do my job. I sleep. I go places. I shop. But this shit is FOR REAL! Amiright? We did the deal, but then there was/is a major government insurgency and people travel and then with COVID and you're like, duh, I told you so, but then you get COVID and you fight all the things and then someone you know who was anti-vax and has had COVID 2 or 3 times and suddenly they need insulin because now they're diabetic but they cannot see the forest for the trees and you want to wish them the best but also, perhaps if you got the vax, you would not be dealing with this bullshit. Or at least not this extreme? 

It doesn't really matter. I'm at the age that people just start dying anyway. I see these stupid pre-roll ads on YouTube and this 20 something is talking about aging and all I want (besides skipping her stupid ad) is scream in her face that nobody wants to hear about anti-aging creams or potions from a 20 year old. Bitch! Get my age and I'm just the beginning. See my mom! She will slaughter your stupid anti-aging creams and bullshit. Find love and you'll maybe live forever. Like my mom. 

I deleted COVID data this week. I just can't. Not today. You know what's up. I can't be the only fight and I'd rather spend my time at the San Diego Zoo. 

Be safe out there. 

COVID-19: CDC You're On Your Own! Good Luck! | Killer Whale Nakai Dies Of Infection At Sea World | TFG Proves Once Again To Be A Fucking Loose Canon Criminal Of The Highest Order |

 

Orca at Sea World (Taken 2.20.22)

Everytime I think I'm going to post, I get caught up with something else or some new big news drops and I just never get around to it. Over the past couple weeks, the CDC has loosened COVID-19 guidance so pretty much everyone interpreted it to mean that COVID is over and you can just resume life, when in reality, you still need to isolate if you're sick or testing positive. The end. This shouldn't be this hard. We also learned of TFG's house/resort being searched by the FBI and goddamn if he isn't the most corrupt fucking human on the planet and it is so embarrassing that I have family who are MAGA nutjobs. Whatever happens, charges need to be brought on this fucking crook so that he is never allowed to run for office in this country again. 

But what I wanted to talk about was Sea World. They lost another orca, 20 year old Nakai, apparently due to an infection. I am going to defend Sea World here. I'm not an animal expert, but some mom posted video after the death showing a couple orcas "fighting". Sea World veterinarians said this behavior is normal and called raking. If we're going to argue about the value or harm of animals in captivity altogether, then what are you even doing here? But if we can look at this is how it is and all we can do is do better for the animals, you'll notice almost all animals exhibit this behavior-- gorilla brothers Frank and Monroe wrestle and "fight" all the time and one of them recently had an enormous gash on the shoulder, from the other's teeth while roughhousing. Just yesterday, the elephant brothers were tusk in tusk and trunk to trunk "fighting" for dominance while they waited for dinner. My sibling cats wrestle all the time over balls, beds, and just to terrorize the entire household while everyone is asleep. In a perfect world, animals would live abundantly in their natural habitats, but this isn't that world. Northern White Rhinos are functionally extinct. Far too many animals in captivity have counterparts in the single or triple digits in the wild - leopards and Somali wild ass immediately come to mind -- and I support accredited wildlife facilities that are part of the AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) whose goals are "promoting species conservation and animal welfare" as well as educate the public and learn from the animals in their care to help their counterparts in the wild. 

I was heartbroken when I heard another young orca died in Sea World's care, but even in captivity, animal care specialists can't 100% control conditions and outright prevent animal incidents, nor should we expect them to do so. 

Stay safe out there.   

COVID-19: Biden Has COVID-19 | Missing Comic-Con | Baby Orangutan Kaja |

36 year old Indah (b. 6.23.86) with baby Kaja (b. 1.4.22)
You can see the two in their public orangutan habitat at the San Diego Zoo from opening until around 10:30am each day.  (Photo taken 7.24.22)

My preview day of Comic-Con didn't happen. I had worked all night to get my listings up for the week and updating my Comic-Con page, that by the time I was done, I didn't want to steal the final hour of Darren's sleep before his long day of 100 degree temps at San Diego Zoo Safari Park, so I continued working while watching old seasons of Bergen on Netflix, which a friend recommended while I was sick with COVID-19. 

I was feeling a little funny all week. I know I tested negative and life is back to normal, but that means allergies, misery when it's hot, being tired after working late nights, still having to help move my dad to his medical bed several nights a week, wh8ich means long late night drives to Chula Vista and back. Every day I psyched myself up, then made excuses to myself for not going to Comic-Con when if I had just been honest with myself-- after having COVID I don't want it again, I don't feel comfortable in massive gatherings, I don't want to be indoors with others-- I could've just enjoyed the weekend a little more fully and without guilt. It proved true after Darren and I attempted to go the Observatory on Thursday night for Purity Ring, but left after I was done shooting. If we couldn't handle a 1,000 person venue at a not even sold out show, how was I supposed to tolerate the Convention Center? Or even navigating the crowded streets outside? I don't imagine my life will always be this way, but for now, this is where I am and I just need to be honest about that and to be okay with that. It doesn't mean I'm not sad for missing it. It doesn't mean I didn't enjoy all the pictures and posts on social media. I just couldn't pull it off myself. 

Besides Purity Ring, I did (of course) go to the zoo more than a few times, even going in the morning then going back in the evening on the same day, attempted to drive downtown for Comic-Con but got cold feet and ended up only shopping at the Grocery Outlet down there, helped my dad a few nights, drove around with Nova and Darren through downtown just to see the Comic-Con action on Saturday night, and went to the Safari Park. It was a full weekend, not the least of which because for the first time ever in all my years of having a zoo pass, I woke up early enough for the early hour open to members only. That was a whole thing, but maybe I'll talk about it another time. For now, last week's updates to explain why everyone you know is sick. 

Stay safe out there. 

COVID-19 Got Me | News Recap: San Diego Extends Safe Parking, Cases On The Rise, KBJ Sworn In But Not Before SCOTUS Damage , New Laws In Effect and more.

Southern White Rhinos at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 7.1.22)

I had been accumulating news articles all week as I usually do, but I kept putting off publishing because I wanted to add last week's COVID-19 data from the County. Would I rather sit at my laptop and post or catch some time at Nighttime Zoo? Would I want to sit on my laptop or go to San Diego Zoo Safari Park with Darren? Would I get any work done when I sold merch for 411? The answer, obviously, is that the fun stuff won out and I didn't post. And then obviously there was just horrific news...how much do I feel like posting anymore? Bullshit SCOTUS decisions, insane January 6 hearings and evidence of crimes and these fuckers still aren't locked up, another high-profile police shooting, and of course yesterday's massacre at a 4th of July parade. I just can't post it all. Nor do I want to. 

And that's been my life. I go to the San Diego Zoo nearly every day, the exception being when I took Ficus to Fiesta Island Dog Beach on Thursday, or spent the day at Safari Park because Darren only had a partial day. The 411 show on Saturday night was super rad and while I was masked most of the time, even outside, I got loose, close talked to a few too many people. After the show I was up super late and had drinks at home on my balcony while I did my usual torrent of -ordle variation games, so it wasn't out of the ordinary that I slept most of Sunday while Darren worked and Nova went to a friend's house. Thankfully that turned into a slumber party, so I was mostly home alone all day on the 4th, too, until I caught the last hour and a half of Nighttime Zoo to see the hippos. We watched some TV together briefly last night, and I went to bed relatively early, until the dog woke me up at 3am to let her out. I felt a nose tickle, so I popped some Sudafed, and I stayed up to read until I faded back off to sleep. 

Today, however, I shouldn't have been so tired. The Sudafed should've definitely worn off. And the usual allergy pill I take should've cleared my sinuses. And so I started to panic. Do I have a sinus infection? Why is my inner ear bothering me? I tore apart my room to find my Sharp Healthcare information...which I've been paying for since the start of the year but have yet to use. I thought, I'll give them a call in a minute but should at least COVID test first. 

Fuck. 

You know you've seen lines where it is super faint and people can't tell if it's positive or not so they take other tests? Yeah, this wasn't like that. It was dark. Very positive. Even 3 minutes before the 15 minutes was up. 

Fuck. 

Nova is going to LA for the next three days. She and Darren will test when they get home tonight. In the meantime, I'm down in the studio which I definitely should've taken more time to clean up in healthy times but at least I have wi-fi and a stereo and a fridge and a bathroom and a cot if I end up sleeping down here. I'm going to try to do listings while I'm here but the major symptom...besides the congestion...is just utter exhaustion. So maybe you get listings this week. Maybe not. But know that Omicron is SUPER CATCHY. I wear a mask whenever I'm inside any building that isn't my home, especially in public bathrooms, grocery stores, and the Casbah. This shit is airborne and I don't know how much exposure it takes to get it, but here I am, with not a lot of potential exposures to even count, and I still got it. You can see last week's County Data here, but I'm not in the mood to post it all out. 

Stay safe out there. 

COVID-19: Cases Still Rising, FDA,CDC Approve Vaccines For 6mo-5yo | Father's Day | Juneteenth | New Sidewalk Vendor Rules Kick In on June 22 |

 

Superdad Darren (Taken 3.5.22)

I have been building this post for a week, but it was just a dumb week. On Monday, I worked at Broncho and subsequently lost my camera battery charger, which basically cost half of what I made that night to replace. Darren had a few days off so time management is a little trickier when he's around. We went to the Zoo together on Tuesday, and of course that night I happened to eat shit when I fell in the Cool Critters house at the Zoo, so I was in agony that night. I did spend some time this week organizing my photography on my laptop, which was at least 6 months of photos just in one folder that I had to clean up. I worked for Cass McCombs on Wednesday but maybe ate something bad and was super nauseous the whole time I was there. A friend ended up covering for me, but I basically had to forego the pay for the 3 hours I was there since he was the one who had to deal with the end of show wrap up. All that and then there was recently some internet "upgrades" in my neighborhood that have left my wi-fi slow and busted all week and I just didn't feel hypermotivated to post. Thus the listings being so late last week, and this post barely coming out now.  

The week did get better; I got my zoo time in, Darren's Golden State Warriors won the NBA championship, I worked for Modern English on Saturday night with no problems in what was a pretty easy shift. It was nice seeing so many friends who told me they love my Zoo pics or still read this site every post, so thank you to you all for keeping me motivated when it feels like I'm just barking into the ether. On Sunday, Nova came to the Zoo with me for a couple hours and afterward we spent Father's Day with my family once Darren got home from work. Today, being the superdad he is, he took Nova and a friend to work and paid for them to do the ZIpline and I'm sure is spoiling them with extra treats around the park. I'm just trying to wrap up this post so I can go to the Zoo before I work for Orgone tonight at the Casbah. I am definitely appreciating that today is a holiday because work is a little calmer than most Mondays, and I'm going to go take advantage of that. 

Stay safe out there.

COVID-19: Up, Up, Up | January 6 Hearings | Excessive Heat Warnings | San Diego's New Water Restrictions |

 

Golden Lion or Lion-Maned Tamarin at San Diego Zoo (Taken 6.9.22)

I don't know about your households, but mine feels so haywire these days. In March 2020, when everything came to a screeching halt, there was all of this ambiguity with what was going to happen. I don't need to recap how the past two years went, and it certainly wasn't the same for everyone, but for us, we went from so much time together, almost every meal cooked at home and eaten together, and learning how to orbit near and around each other while also trying to give each other personal space to like...woah. What even happened? I know it was a slow ramp up, but now it's full throttle - Nova went back to school, joined lacrosse, picked back up with derby, piano went back to in-person lessons instead of Zoom, and all of the sudden she's 15 and enjoys her free bus pass and spends almost every day after school at a youth center when she doesn't have some other obligation. Meanwhile, Darren went full throttle when hired at his job, with kinda crazy hours and a long commute, and is generally exhausted when he gets home after a full day in the sun. And then me, I'm doing what I've been doing for more than a decade, but trying to give myself more pockets of time, trying to stay in the routine of getting out of the house for some time every day, whereas the summer of 2020, I could literally stay within the confines of my yard without leaving for days or weeks on end, sitting on my laptop for 10, 12, 16 hours in a day. When we didn't know when or how it would end, we lived super cautiously. In retrospect, there are so many ways that we could've better spent that time. So many projects still left to do. 

All this to say, one would think with all this posting that I've done about COVID that I would know when the kid is too sick to go to school, yet on Thursday she was sent home by the school nurse for having a fever and a runny nose. Embarrassing. As I mentioned before, we were both sick last week, and both tested negative several times. We've now both tested this week, too, and are still negative, and she felt fine after being home, popping some cold medicine, eating, and drinking water, but she's not allowed back at school until symptoms completely resolve and she verifies again with another test. Problem is after today, they only have half days Monday and Tuesday and the year is over. So I guess we can say, she survived 9th grade, though not entirely unscathed. 

Meanwhile, we do actually try to have family time when we can, but the opportunities are fewer and farther between. I guess this is life with a teenager. We're gonna probably have to sit and make meal plans though, because this eating out all the time thing is not sustainable.      

This weekend there's an excessive heat warning and new water restrictions kick in for San Diego. My recent habit has been to go to the San Diego Zoo every weekday and find other stuff to do on weekends, but now that they're open until 9, maybe that is actually the coolest place to be. 

Stay safe out there. 

More COVID-19 Cases, Variants, Reinfections |: Summit of The Americas | January 6 Hearings Go Prime Time | Election Results |

 

Animal Ambassador Anika the Caracal at San Diego Zoo Basecamp (Taken 6.8.22)

It feels like the more haywire the world is getting, the more I need to escape. And of course, often my escape is the San Diego Zoo. I've been trying to pinpoint what has turned me into the crazy zoo lady but I actually don't feel bad about it. I mean, during the prime of the pandemic, I was online for hours a day trying to keep up with the news and information, trying to find some control over the uncontrollable. Now that we're all pretty much on our own, falling into 24-hour news or being online all the time is just not at all how I want to spend my days. I'm lucky that in general, the actual job that I have that provides me a paycheck can be done from anywhere with a laptop or mobile device. So while I sit and have lunch waiting to see gorillas or mandrills or bonobos or orangutans, I'm also checking email. I'm doing social posts. I'm being outside. I'm practicing photography. I'm sometimes even engaging with strangers. With San Diego Zoo now open until 9pm daily for most of the summer, I have life responsibilities so I know I can't be there every day, or all night, or whatever, but I appreciate the flexibility it offers, the calm it offers, and the mental freedom it offers. The animals don't talk back, they can't ruin your day. For the most part, I can set my backpack down and not be worried that someone is going to jack it. I can walk alone, even when it's dark, without having to watch my back. The ills of the outside world barely permeate the fortressed gates of the zoo. For me it truly is a safe space. Or, it was until that fractured this week. 

I was visiting with the gorillas on Monday afternoon. They are used to going in around 5, but because of the later hours, they're being kept out later, until 6:30. 6:45, 7pm. It's never the same, but they are used to their routine, so whenever the bells of Balboa Park chime  every 15 minutes, they want to know...is it time to go in now? Because of this, they interact a lot. Denny comes up to me and waits for me to share whatever new photos or videos I have on my phone. Sometimes people ask what I'm showing, so I'll tell them he likes to look at pictures of himself and his family. And it's not only me, there are a handful of people he knows and recognizes and visits with, I just haven't seen any of them this week and that's not really the point anyway. 

On this particular day, this old white dude was near me. He saw and heard me and so I see him searching his phone and set it against the glass in an attempt to get Denny's attention and pull him away from me. The gorilla ignored him, but I saw his phone and what he was showing. His friends asked what he was showing and he said, "just pictures of his family" at which point I told him he was a disgusting fucking racist and he should be ashamed of himself, that he needed to get the fuck out of there. I was shaking. I was livid. I was disgusted. I was yelling. I didn't stop cursing at him until he left. He had been holding up a picture of Buckwheat from The Little Rascals. The crazy thing is he didn't respond at all. Did he think he was being funny or clever? That nobody would see? Did he slither off because he didn't want his friends to know what he had actually done? Or was it something they, too, would find funny and relate to them later on? I have no idea. But I'm glad I didn't go with my first impulse to deck him across the face. 

With elections this week, and fake talks about gun legislation that will go nowhere and do nothing besides spur more gun sales before any restrictions could kick in (even though none will), and the January 6 hearings kicking off Thursday, which will also likely lead to absolutely nothing so long as we have this Senate and SCOTUS, the self-fulfilling prophecy of non-stop talking about inflation, corporations and investors decimating critical sectors like housing and energy and manufacturing and health care and all the many, many problems we confront every day, I think you know where you can find me. But I'll probably go back to taking the bus to save on gas and the headache of parking among the summer crowds. 

Stay safe out there. 

COVID: Reporting "Medium Risk"; Ignoring "High Transmission" | Massacre In Uvalde, Texas | Fuck Your Guns | Memorial Day Weekend |

 

Black Rhino Mates Kendi & Aria (Taken by Darren 5.26.22)

It's Monday morning and I decided that instead of just doomscrolling through my phone and pretending like I'm attempting sleep, I'd just catch up with work and this post so I can move on to all the others that I need to get on with. 

I don't really need to rehash what a horrifying week it was. The massacre of children in Uvalde and then the back and forth on every news outlet, as if "both sides" even deserve a voice. Give me a break. I try not to even get into it because I am an extremist. I don't just want "common sense" gun laws or the cute memes of how hard it is to get a driver's license or an abortion applied to guns - I want them GONE. That whole "they're coming for our guns!" is a dream to me. A completely unrealistic, not happening in my lifetime fantasy, but fuck you and your guns and anyone equating gun-ownership to a "God-given" right is even more example of why I'm an atheist. 

And then we still have COVID-19 lingering and everyone is fighting over the CDC's risk maps vs transmission maps and Dr. Walensky is making an ass of herself on Twitter about masking and people assessing their 'personal risk' even when almost everywhere has 'high transmission'. Nova is presently sick and though she's negative on the COVID tests, we're treating her like she has it and I'm not really taking any chances...today I left her to binge Stranger Things and escaped to Sea World since they were open until 9 and now it's nearly 5am and she'll get up soon which is precisely when I'll go to bed. 

And speaking of COVID... I read so many articles and news things in a day that I can't really remember the sources of some information, but common sense here: airplanes claim to have frequent air exchanges and HEPA filtering, but when you're sitting in an airport, or waiting to board, or going through the boarding process, or sitting/taxiing on a runway, those air filtration systems are generally not on, so if you're traveling, wear a goddamn N-95 from the time you walk into an airport until the moment you're outside after arriving at your destination. 

As I said, it was a hard week all around. And that doesn't even touch the continuing attack on Ukraine, the obvious supply problems, the chaos private equity firms are causing on all sectors of the economy, or the stupid new lease from my new property management for an apartment I've lived in for TEN YEARS. I'm angry and I'm sad and I'm frustrated and the only thing I know to do is to get my ass out of bed every day, take a shower every day, and find some joy, every day, whether that's going to the San Diego Zoo or Sea World or driving and singing at the top of my lungs to an old favorite album that I haven't listened to in far too long. I hope you can find the same kind of joy. 

Stay safe out there. And worry not, the tourists will all go back home soon enough. 

San Diego In High COVID-19 Transmission For 4th Week; Nobody Cares | More Mass Shootings: 18 Dead Children, 1 Teacher In Texas | Primary Season Underway |

Sloth at Sea World (Taken 5.22.22)

I started this post over the weekend and then never finished. I continued it on Monday, but then the day got away from me. So here we are now on Tuesday afternoon, as news about another mass shooting -- this time killing 14 18 students and a teacher in a Texas school -- fills the airwaves and I just really lost all my muster to write. 

As I said last week, it's so hard when everything in the news seems to be so apocalyptic - SCOTUS just laying out insane judgments over and over, shootings everywhere all the time, droughts, extreme weather, the invasion on Ukraine, war and climate refugees all over the world, Monkeypox, COVID-19 still raging, and local feeds like Nextdoor and Facebook just full of theft and homeless issues and hostility and people bitching about where people park or ride bikes or are just trying to get by each day. Meanwhile, I'm just trying to live my little life with my little family, and trying to find joy, and peace, and sleep while the world rages on. 

I've made going to the San Diego Zoo a near-daily habit, but also over the course of the past week, went to Nova's derby scrimmage and went to Sea World a couple times as I try to decide whether to extend my membership which expires in two weeks. I spent Saturday at an Upward Bound orientation with Nova, who was accepted into their 5 week program which includes two weeks of classes at City College, a half-week trip to LA to visit several college campuses, and two weeks of classes and living on the UCSD campus, then of course made her go to La Jolla Cove since we were in the area. I didn't go to the North Park Music Fest, and not in any slight to anyone, I adore all the musicians who played, I just don't think I'm ready to have dozens of face-to-face conversations about "what have you been up to?" recounting the past two years and doing that uncomfortably with everyone unmasked. I'm not ready. Especially when I personally know about a dozen people who all currently have COVID. I still very much care, and I still have to take care of my dad four nights a week, so I just can't live as freely as my peers may be able. San Diego is now a month in to being considered "High Transmission" by CDC standards, and that is with the very-reduced standards, and I'm just not having it. 

So all that to say, I'm sorry I haven't been updating because I've definitely had a lot on my mind and things to say, but I'm trying to not be so bound by my laptop and consumed by news. I'll try to get listings done tonight so they're there in the morning, and every night when I can't sleep I think that I should just get up and post all my overdue posts about Jose Gonzalez, Wet Leg, Pinegrove, and whomever else I owe posts about, but today's just not that day. 

Hug your children. 

Stay safe out there.

US Surpasses 1 Million Dead From COVID-19 | San Diego Ballots Out | Gun Violence Terrorizes US |

Mazza, the greater one-horned rhino from San Diego Zoo is now at Safari Park(Taken 5.9.22)

It was a really crazy week. I kept coming back to this post and adding to it and now it's like a whole week of crises that I just kinda need to post it and get it out of my conscience -- shootings, formula shortages, bigots, a fucked-up SCOTUS, rampant white supremacy, attacks on women and people of color and LGBTQIA+ communities and it is a lot. 

Sometimes it can be really hard to keep perspective. Like personally, I actually had a pretty amazing week...for Mother's Day, Darren bought me a behind-the-scenes tour of the Rhino Rescue Center at the Safari Park, I've been more regular about my days so besides Monday and Wednesday when I went to Safari Park, I went to the San Diego Zoo every day for at least an hour or two to get sun and exercise. I got a little sick last week, but I've taken 3 COVID-19 tests and it wasn't that, I think just the drastic swing in weather and extreme allergies ran me down a bit. The week also included seeing Big Thief at the Observatory on Friday, spending Saturday at De Anza Cove for Nova's Lacrosse picnic, and I worked for Wet on Saturday night on the Casbah. On Sunday, we ran down to Ikea and Lowe's and Darren and Nova built our cats a superhighway, I binged the new season of Workin' Moms, and though the marine layer was thick in Normal Heights, we got to see the Blood Flower Super Moon Eclipse when we went to assist my parents in Chula Vista. 

I've got lots of posts I'm behind on so hopefully I can get some of those this week. 

Stay safe out there.  COVID is on the rise and people are fucking crazy.   

COVID Cases Rising Again | WHO Estimates 14.9Million Excess Deaths Worldwide During Pandemic; US Approaches or Surpasses 1M Deaths, Depends Who's Counting | Karine Jean-Pierre Named Successor To Press Secretary Psaki |

Nova, Jo, Mom, Christy, Me, Nadia (Taken 4.17.22)

I forgot to share this funny story, so since I'm up late and am tired of doomscrolling and am suffering major outrage fatigue like every other pro-choice American, I'll share it with you now. 

If you read here often, you know my dad is technically in hospice at home. He still takes a ton of medication, but there are no real medical interventions that will help him at this point, so he's in full palliative care mode, which means beyond his medicines, my mom and the support aides try everything - lotions and potions, stuff for itching and pain, things to help him sleep, anything to make him as comfortable as he can be for as long as his heart still chooses to beat. A while back, a friend was working at a CBD distributor, so we had some drops and topical stuff, then we suggested THC remedies...cookies, gummies, tinctures. A relative sent him some cherry gummy strips that seemed to help in small quantities, but they ran out and so we've been on the hunt to find replacements. 

So last Friday, I went to help transfer him from his bed to his chair in the afternoon, and when we were done, my mom said she needed to go to a dispensary and wanted me to go with her. She had one in mind, but a friend recommended March & Ash, which was closer and had a better reputation. 

I should rewind and say I've never purchased weed before. When you're in experimental phases, it just always seemed to be around, and I never much liked the effects, so even when legal, I had no cause to partake. I was a marijuana dispensary virgin. 

Mom and I drove separately to Telegraph Canyon Road, but it wasn't where we thought, so we parker her car in a strip mall, she got in the van with me, and we found March & Ash further up the road. As we walked in, it occurred to me that it was probably cash only, but I had some money on me so I wasn't too worried when this was confirmed by the front desk, who scanned our IDs and told us we'd get a 10% discount for being first-timers. 

We enter the immaculate shop, with it's cases and cases of everything. A guy immediately becomes our concierge, so we tell him about our hunt for gummies. He shows us a few but they're not the potency we're looking for; he says 100mg THC is the California limit. (I later found out our previous ones came from Oregon, another story for another time.) 

We're flustered and overwhelmed and my mom is telling the dude all about my dad's conditions...way too much information for anyone's benefit...but she can't stop herself as she rattles off everything she and he go through in a day. Like everything. He repeatedly suggests tinctures while she wants to make sure she can get his veteran discount (even though it was the exact same as our first-timers discount) before she says, "What about drops?" 

"MOM! Those are tinctures. That's what he's been trying to tell us for the last five minutes!"

So we go to the tincture fridge and there's flavored drops and pure THC and pure CBD and then a million varying combos of THC + CBD and some are for sleep and some are for pain and some are for clarity and some are for general wellness and we must've made the guy read us 15 packages before she settled on two. One ran about $110 and the other about $60. Cool, I think I have enough cash to cover that. 

So we get to the counter and the concierge got the Veteran's discount approved even though my dad wasn't present, and even though it was the same as the first-time discount and he rings us up and it's $180.32. We hadn't accounted for the steep State and City taxes.

Whoopsie. 

Now of course, they have ATMs on premises, but my mom and I are the same in that we will NEVER use an out of network ATM. Like, not ever. Her car was parked at her credit union and we could've just left and come back, but instead, we start counting out our money. I had $173 and some change, which I must've nervously recounted at least four times. She found a $1 bill in her bag. And then another $5 bill in her wallet.  

$179. We're sweating. She starts pulling out change, a couple nickels, dimes. I dump my coin purse into my hand. By some miracle, I had a $1 coin, some quarters and others, to pull off the final $3.32 of the transaction. And if I didn't, I think he just wanted us to get out of there. 

We laughed all the way to the van, then I took her to her bank, where the teller must've thought I was elder abusing my mom and making her pull out cash to give to me. "You're not Christy. You're not on this account. Mrs. Bystrak, am I free to discuss your account in front of her?" "Yes, of course, this is my other daughter Rosemary," as she handed the money over to me on the spot. I'm sure I'm now on some watchlist. 

Anyway, my crazy mom can now make my dad sleepy smoothies again, and maybe get some sleep herself every once in awhile. Happy Mother's Day to her and all the mom's who are batshit crazy but we love all the same. 

Nova has a doctor's appointment on Friday, then a piano recital in the afternoon, then I'm working for Yumi Zouma at the Casbah, and the weekend is full of stuff to do and Mother's Day, so have a great weekend and I'll catch up next week. 

COVID is back on the rise. Stay safe out there.