Rosey's Diary & Newsy Things: Tripledemic Peaked But Still Kicking Ass | TFG on School Shootings: "Get Over It" | Ape Recognition | Diving In To 2024 |

2024 is off and running and I'm exhausted already. I did three nights of merch in a row for The Dragons and then The Beat Farmers, and then Monday was Otto's memorial and I am pooped. The kid has been sick, my sister had COVID last week, and everyone seems to think taking their kids to the zoo is okay when they're staying home from school and daycare because they're sick. So I'm not gonna lie, I'm pooped. I usually start my listings on Tuesday so they're ready to go on Thursday, but I'm gonna call it an early night and hopefully the kid is back at school on Wednesday and I can watch the Murdaugh hearing that I started watching today and get my work done in the peace and quiet of an empty house. 

Today you get a picture of sweet Loretta. She is the matriarch of the bonobos and turns 50 years old on January 22nd. There are only 8 zoos in the US that house bonobos and they are critically endangered within the politically volatile Democratic Republic of Congo where they are endemic. Bonobos are amazing great apes and to get to watch and know their personalities is an incredible privilege. Go visit her.  

Stay safe and healthy out there. 

CoViD-19: San Diego Community Outbreaks Drop To Just 3 | Governor Plans To Rescind Pandemic EOs | Prepare For Heatwave |

Sea Turtle at Sea World (Taken 6.11.21)

We went to Sea World and it was fun and I'm gonna stop making myself feel bad about it. It is definitely far more theme park than Zoo, people are generally ruder and their kids louder and more spoiled and it all feels kinda icky, but it's also special to me. My 6th grade field trip was there with my first elementary school boyfriend. My high school's prom when I went as a date to a senior my junior year and as class president with one of my favorite people in the world in my senior year. 

It's sentimental to me in a lot of ways. Yes, very, very icky, but it's like shopping at Target, you just have to get tunnel vision and block everyone else out and do what you gotta do. Nova rode Electric Eel and Manta. I explored the Wild Arctic, the penguin encounter, the sharks, the turtles, saw the 2 toed sloths, watched the dolphins for awhile, and then got a face to face with an orca who just came over to me and we locked eyes for a solid 5-10 minutes.

I should note that their summer Electric Ocean promotion started, so they're open later, will have more frequent fireworks, and as summer proceeds, will have live music and shows and stuff. I thought the reservation and limited capacity would work in our favor, but in reality it just means the coaster lines are twice as long while they skip every other row of seats, so hopefully for Nova that eases on Tuesday. Beyond that, we'll be back, I'll drift into my own zones to see the animals, and just try to dodge the mommy militia and the multitudes of mobility scooters and just visit the place at my own pace without agenda. I promised today's data, after the jump. 

Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: Still Airborne | GETVAX Launches | Trouble Hiring? PAY MORE MONEY! | EDD Updates | Facebook Ban of Tweedle-Dum Upheld | US Supports Vaccine IP Waiver |

I did something I had successfully avoided for years. I had to shop at Walmart. Or at least online. Apparently Kotex is discontinuing the tampons I use or there is a shortage because I couldn't find them anywhere else in person or online. So when I found them online at Walmart, I figured it was worth it to chuck my conscience out the window. We threw in cat food, too, which apparently is also seeing shortages. It took one day to arrive and had free shipping, but it still made me cringe. But to the larger point, online shopping has never been easier. It's hard because I'd like to support local businesses, but ordering from Costco and Old Navy and Hanes and Amazon has been a harsh necessity of this pandemic, and I don't know that I'll go back to general retail if I don't have to. 

I was feeling guilty last night after trying to not feel guilty about vaccines. I certainly don't think people should die for risky behaviors, especially if accurate and adequate information may not necessarily be provided to the populous, but I still go crazy about under the nose bros or people choosing to flout recommendations, guidance, and health orders. By some articles, I should chill that out, but how about we hit that 70% or even more of us vaccinated before we start uncorking the champers and declare victory, yeah?

We had a really good day today. My furlough may be coming to an end soon though I don't really mind collecting the Biden Bucks for as long as I need to. In my effort to get us out of the house at least once a day, we took Ficus to Fiesta Island where the slender sunflowers are blooming. Growing up I never thought it was okay to swim in the bay, but after a whole year of not swimming, it felt good to be in the water and soak up a little bit of sun while an endless parade of cute dogs passed us by. Then of course we had to get Tacos El Panson to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. I'm still watching some of today's media briefings but the CDC has a new thing where you can text your zip code to GETVAX and it will send you three vaccination spots close to you. Pretty sweet. I tried it out but will really put it to test the second they announce approval for 12-15 year olds. Stay safe out there.

CoViD 19: Biden Sets 70% Vax Goal | Global Cases Highest Peak Than Any Other Time During Pandemic | Oxygen Crisis | Mexico Train Derails |

Last night I was up all night reading Twitter. It was actually fascinating watching people fight over everything. Seems to be there are two major debates happening there at the moment. There was an Atlantic article on the "liberals who can't quit lockdown" vs the-pandemic-isn't-over,-you fucking-idiot people (Guess where I land.) The other debate is whether the US should continue vaccinating our population and likely expanding vaccination to 12-15 year olds next week vs giving vaccines around the world to older more vulnerable populations, specifically India.  

To me the answer to both debates has to do with the world we actually live in and the one we wished we lived in. In the one we actually live in, capitalism rules (no sharing IP), our US health care sucks, our last president politicized a virus, and our country still had the most COVID deaths in the whole world. In the one we wished we lived in, people would do the right thing, get vaccinated when they can, not price gouge during crises, and not have allowed psychotic leaders like Trump, Modi, and Bolsonaro in office. It sucks and people are dying and there are more worldwide cases now than at any other point in the pandemic, but I and many people like me weren't the ones refusing mask wearing, denying the virus, flouting guidance, going to massive events, rushing back to school or 'normal life'. We locked down like we were supposed to. We minimized our risks. We avoided 'normal life' in ways acceptable and detrimental. So sorry, not sorry. I will be getting the kid vaccinated as soon as she's eligible and let the government do what it needs to do to help the rest of the country and the world, and regardless of what #medtwitter has to say about it, I won't be made to feel guilty about that privilege, though I will appreciate it as such. 

And about getting back to normal life...I'm trying to force myself to do something, anything every day. Today we went to San Diego Zoo Safari Park for a couple hours and it was hot but beautiful and empty and Southern White Rhinos Holly and Mwezi came from way down by the stream all the way up to the lookout and waiting for them was totally worth the trip. Darren is waiting for me in the speakeasy so I'm going to call it a night. Maybe I'll post some pictures later. Stay safe out there.  

CoViD-19 Stats | Pack in, Pack Out | Stay Home, Stay Safe

It was definitely a scorcher today. Thankfully it is a holiday weekend and my email was mostly quiet because we decided to spend our day in the yard and I went screenless most of the day. We recently bought a new sprinkler head, so naturally we took advantage of the yard with the sprinkler blasting us to keep cool. 

I got at least three different notices from SDG&E about their "flex alert" and it only makes me resentful. Sorry, but I'm sure even with 3 air conditioners and 3 fans running in our 900 square feet hardly compare to the mansions, malls, and office-plexes running way more usage than us. Thankfully there are no rolling blackouts, but it's completely absurd that my apartment and studio, even with all of those things running and still holding at over 85 degrees, is putting pressure on the grid. Anyway, it's after 10pm and it is still 86 degrees outside. Ick. I imagine we'll spend Sunday in much the same way...with the sprinkler spraying us in the yard and eating the cold pizza leftovers from today. Stats are after the jump. I should note that I'm still using the state and county data, but the metrics for our case rate and positivity will reassess on Tuesday at which point we'll be moving back into the PURPLE tier, which means we're back into the "WIDESPREAD" level and things will have to shut down or minimize capacity yet again.  

CoViD-19 County & State Stats | Gov. Newsom Explains Eviction Protections | SDSU Closes In-Person Classes For 4 Weeks | Last Chance For Fair Food | Photos: Dog Beach

Social Distancing at OB Dog Beach (Taken 9.2.2020)

I got up pretty early this morning since the plumbers were back demolishing the downstairs bathroom. There were state and county briefings today and there was a lot of information, so all the notes on those are below. 

We're kinda planning ahead to be home all weekend to avoid holiday crowds, so Darren tackled all of our household laundry, and since Nova still has a minimum days on Wednesday-- even when distance learning-- we decided to get the dog to the beach. We were initially headed toward Fiesta Island but thought since it was overcast, OB might be chill enough. The parking was almost enough to deter us, but it ended up being just fine and we could distance from everyone else most of the time (even if at times the dogs didn't). 

Darren and I have a speakeasy night planned ahead of us so I'll be sleeping in tomorrow and certainly enjoying the break from media briefings. I'd like to think that emails will slow down the next few days, but somehow I doubt it. 

COVID-19 Diary | California Releases New 4-Tier Framework For "Moving Forward" | 730 Wildfires Still Burning | County Outlines Reopenings Under New Tiers |

 

Didn't have a tripod on hand, so a little family portrait with the help of a cement planter. (Taken 8.29.2020)

I woke up super early this morning after sleeping normal human hours for the first time in a long time, so I thought it would be nice to motivate for early morning zoo time. But my whims don't translate to everyone else's, so almost an hour later when we were all finally ready to go, we did a drive-by and saw the line to get in and changed course.
I've definitely been in that line before and I know that it moves fast, but I also know there are other times to go with no line at all and that we're still seeing massive tourists and locals alike who barely feign wearing their masks when someone is looking and otherwise wear it under their chin, or use their Starbuck's venti fraps as an excuse not to wear them. I'm just tired of the knots it gives me in my stomach. 
Instead, we drove through Balboa Park and Inspiration Point, admiring the gardens and blooming flowers, then circled back to check out this old somewhat hidden fountain we used to really like until the City emptied it. We were glad to see it's been restored and is full and clean and pretty and therapeutic. 
Darren has been wanting to take me to San Diego Habitat for Humanity ReStore. We're on the hunt for a gently used or new couch that we can comfortably sit in and also that won't immediately be destroyed by our pets. Our current one is down feather and has had enough of us and the pets and lets us know so by poking us with feathers whenever we sit on it. On the way, we detoured at Los Quatro Milpas, but after waiting in line and it filling up with non-mask compliant people, we decided it wasn't worth it. So we proceeded to National City. 
We didn't find a couch, but found a cheap desk chair ($5!!) for Nova so she doesn't have to use her piano bench for distance learning.
After that, we came back north and went to Consignment Classics and wow! I don't know how I've never been there before but it is amazing and huge and I bought some plants and a Talavera planting pot and will definitely be back. 
Today's State media briefing covered the new tiered framework for reopening various sectors, and it's a lot of information. So much so that Dr. Wooten had to do an unplanned County update, too. I guess the funniest (not funny ha-ha, but funny as in mind-boggling) is that if we just had mandated masks when we shutdown in March and had universal compliance, we wouldn't really be talking about tiers and sectors and framework and shit. But that's not what happened and people are less and less compliant and here we are. As Dr. Wooten repeated today, "Hope is not a strategy." And as Dr. McDonald said on Wednesday, until we're under 25 cases/100k people (using the old formula of the past 14-days before a 3-day lag) and we're not even close. 
Anyway, we did La Jolla Cove while Nova was at (distance) soccer and watched a pup nearly get washed away and then struggle to get up on the rocks and triumph in the end, in spite of the humans who were blocking his only path to safety from the high tide rolling in. 
We stopped by PB Costco, which has the Alpine Brewing cases again, so we loaded up and will probably be locked in for the weekend barring any Zoological afternoon impulses. So much news, all after the jump. Also note, I have at least 200 emails I still haven't gotten to today as of 9:30pm, so I will just do a new post either tonight or tomorrow to get any relevant info out. I've got a new bottle of rye with my name on it. 

CoViD-19: CDC Doesn't Give A Fuck If You Die | California Develops New Testing Partnership | Numerous Leagues Strike For Racial Justice | #JusticeForJake

Wednesday was National Dog Day, so here's Ficus at Fiesta Island Dog Park (Taken 7.14.2020)

On Wednesday the first piece of news I read was that under pressure from the administration, the CDC changed guidelines on who should be tested, and I was infuriated. Our health should not be a political issue. I was comforted by watching the State and County media briefings where it was stated that these new guidelines do not change anything for who, how, and when tests happen within the county or the state.

But as the day went on and I dove into my emails and the news cycle, it was one more upsetting thing after another. If you don't click all the links and reading I'm outlined today, please at least take the time to watch Clippers head coach Doc Rivers talk about the shooting of Jacob Blake, who is now paralyzed from the waist down after being shot 7 times in the back by Wisconsin police. I've included his interview below. (The actual video of the shooting has been shared widely but I don't watch such things.) 

So I've been trying all night to find good news and gathered a couple cool music happenings, but I'll give them their own post so as not to contaminate it with news of this very bad, no good day. One bright spot, however, is that if you have a Chula Vista, National City, or Escondido library card (I'm sure there are other cities, too), you can now access Hoopla via app or Roku among other formats. It allows you to "check out" up to six movies monthly. I haven't fully explored but found a Bill Nighy movie that I'm gonna dive into now to clear my head. Lots of reading and links after the jump. 

CoViD-19 & CA Wildfire Updates | County Below 200 New Cases | 625 Fires Rage On In California | Sea World Lays Out "Zoo Days" Reopening Plan

Strawberry's pose when she's on balcony lookout (Taken 8.19.2020)

Darren and I had a late Sunday night in the speakeasy and when we were finally coming back upstairs, I dropped my laptop. Today it won't turn on and so needless to say I'm kinda freaking out about it. I'm using my old one in the meantime, but it has a really hard time typing the letter V, needs a new battery and powercord, which I guess I should've taken care of when I wasn't desperate for a backup. Hopefully Davey can take a look at it on Tuesday and assure me that i didn't destroy it. Nova didn't go to soccer because she had her mandatory online school orientation, which means we haven't been to La Jolla Cove since last Monday. I'm currently bingeing the second season of Trinkets on Netflix, a show I'd completely forgotten I'd watched before. I don't really have anything going on at all this week, but hopefully it cools down and we can do a couple trips to the San Diego Zoo or Safari Park or some fun stuff before Nova's days become filled with school stuff again. Monday's briefing notes and some reading are after the jump. 

CoViD-19 San Diego Pulls 300+ Daily Cases | CA Approved for FEMA $300 Unemployment Funds | "YOLOers vs. Distancers" | CA DMV Sells Your Info | Photos: Baby Rhino & More at Safari Park

Kacy & 1 month old calf at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 8.23.2020)

Last night I was hoping to sleep like a normal person, and I mostly pulled it off. I was in bed by 11:30, took some melatonin, and fell asleep, though I did wake up from 3:30-4am, during which I scrolled through my phone, then fell back asleep until Strawberry did her daily gymnastics climbing over us to let us know it's time for breakfast. I was more productive, too. I seasoned my new wok, then made fried rice to be eaten at lunch but it was so good I ended up having it for breakfast after all. We went on a short family bike, I took a cold shower, we watched The Sleepover on Netflix and had lunch, and then we left at 3:30 to go to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. It was hot af and I'm not sure what protection wet/sweaty masks offer, but it was worth it to get the final hour we were there with the one-month old rhino and her mom showing off at one of the lookouts. We didn't get home until after 8, so I'm gonna keep this short today. Kellyanne is gone (yay!) but reading her daughter's tweets are pretty sad (boo). I imagine Monday's press briefing from the Governor will cover progress of the fires, the power grid, COVID, and how/when unemployment benefits are going to be added to people currently receiving it, so it will be a big day. That doesn't even mention the continued hearings about the USPS. Also sad to hear JTE died. I did merch for him a couple times and he wasn't particularly sweet but a talent for sure. 

CoViD-19 Hits 3rd-Leading Cause of US Deaths | California Burning | Recycle Right

Darren rockin out in the "speakeasy" (Taken 8.14.2020)

Darren and I have been having so much fun in the speakeasy lately. I've been teaching him to swing dance and salsa a little bit so we have this little dance parties that are completely out of character for both of us, or he'll play songs, or we'll just play his favorite podcast, Yo, Is This Racist? Last night I ended up staying up all night through this morning and ended up listening to the testimony of DeJoy. What a piece of shit that guy is. Absolutely unbelievable how these people have been allowed to carry on in their destruction of literally everything that Americans value right in front of our eyes with no repercussions.  
Of course, being up all night and morning meant I pretty much slept the day away, thankfully with no recurring ant nightmares. Fingers crossed that it starts feeling like San Diego again sooner rather than later because even at 2:30am with my A/C running, my living room is still almost 80 degrees and I am over it.  

CoViD-19 Updates | Biden Accepts DNC Nomination | Ant Nightmares | Bannon Arrested | San Diego Zoo Updates Health Screening

Amur Leopard Cub (Taken 8.20.2020)

I finally gave in and have been watching Backyard Envy on Bravo and I'm obsessed. We went back and started from Season 1 but we're gonna get through it pretty quick. I'm learning a lot, but the problem is that it's hard to know if the plants they use in New York would be viable here. Not that we're running out with multi-thousand dollars to build a backyard, but it's fun to watch for ideas and whatnot. I guess I finally understand what Pinterest is for. 
Anyway, today me and Darren went to the San Diego Zoo for the final hour it was open but mostly just to get me out of the house. I also feel vindicated from my whole Facebook fight about face masks because now they've added a 4th question to their health screening: 

Failure to properly wear an acceptable face covering at all times during your visit will result in dismissal from Zoo grounds. Do you acknowledge and agree to comply with this requirement?

It just further validates that facial coverings are not actually a personal choice. You agree to the social contract that if you're out in public, you will protect others, and they will protect you. Just like you cannot smoke in public, you don't get to make decisions about my health.

CoViD-19 International Cases Rise | California In Flames With 367 Known Fires | Sector Reopenings Not Likely For At Least 5 Weeks | President Obama & Senator Harris Slay DNC

August 19 International Orangutan Day (Taken 2.3.2020)

When I said I don't function during the heat dome, I was not exaggerating. Besides picking Nova up from Derby United, I haven't left the house since Monday. We took advantage of her skating by getting a pizza (she doesn't eat pizza sauce) and it was delightful eating out on our deck. There was kind of a lot of news today, but the biggest thing was we got a nugget of information from Governor Newsom, who indicated that sector reopening guidelines would likely be ready next week, but basically said that after counties come off the monitoring list, they have to go 14 days before schools can reopen (which we already knew). But from there, he hinted that counties will have to have under 5% test positivity for 2-3 weeks before any other openings can happen, while also keeping an eye on schools and subsequent outbreaks within those schools and districts. So suck it up, buttercups, we should've just listened in the beginning when experts told us we wouldn't see any normalcy for a year or two, if ever. Today's goods after the jump.  

CoViD-19: California Under Heat Dome of Extreme Heat | San Diego Likely To Get Off State Monitor List on Tuesday | Watch Michelle Obama's Hopeful DNC Speech

A Sea Lion exits the water at La Jolla Cove  (Taken 8.14.2020)

We went back to La Jolla Cove today while Nova was in soccer and it's been a while since I've done the thing where my battery was completely dead. The video switch must've been triggered in my bag. Still, it was nice to get our feet wet and hang out in our usual spots for a little bit. She doesn't have soccer this Friday, so it will be a week until we go back. We're just mostly still bunkering at home. I started a new book last night and read for several hours this morning before finally falling asleep in my air conditioning. I also started watching Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, but I was bummed because USA Network only has the first 3 episodes and it won't be on Netflix in the US until the spring. It's interesting because it happened while I was in middle school, so I was aware of the story but maybe too young to care or follow along. There are lots of local references in the show, and fun fact, the guy who plays the case investigator during the court scenes and questioning is Jesse Mackey, who was an old pal from Chula Vista back in the day. Anyway, I've got a lot of email to still catch up on, but the speakeasy is calling. Today's notes after the jump.

COViD-19 55 Easy Self-Care Tips | San Diego Reports Over 300 New Cases |

Our little family at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 8.9.2020)

I did nothing today and it felt great. The house was quiet as Darren and Nova washed and folded all the laundry and it made me feel like a pampered princess. Later, Nova and I watched yet another dumb dance movie on Netflix called Feel The Beat and I would definitely say don't waste your time on this one. I swear, sometimes these movies feel like they're written by a bot. 

Anyway, not a lot to report today, so I'll get back to my RHOP episodes and brace for Monday. Today's stats are after the jump. 

CoViD-19 150 Days | SDGE Outages | California & San Diego County Stats | Mayor & Supe Whine About Reopenings

Strawberry loves her new catio redesign. (Taken 8.12.2020)

My heat strategy is to sleep as much of the day away as I can (it helped that Nova had her birthday gathering today), but now that the sun is set, I can go about my normal business. We picked Nova up from her friends' house and decided to tackle a couple errands along the way. We popped into Home Depot to finally get trash pickers to clean up our neighborhood a little, though I wish we could've just borrowed these from North Park Main Street or another organization that has an abundance of them because they're $20 each and not as good as the industrial ones we've used for San Diego River Cleanup and the like. We got takeout from El Panson (which is now our fifth takeout meal since March). It was delightful, but now I'm totally stuffed, enjoying the A/C in the speakeasy while Darren plays some music and I enjoy a cocktail or four. I didn't have much in the way of news today and what I did was just a regurgitation of every other thing: the US is failing in curbing COVID-19, our testing is pathetic, the USPS is being dismantled, our mayor and county supe sent a letter to Newsom whining for more reopening guidelines, and the CoVidiot-in-chief's bro died, to which everyone unanimously seemed to say, "it is what it is." Just another day. Stats and stuff after the jump. 

CoViD-19 San Diego Day 3 Under 100/100k | Newsom Discusses Education | Proper Gathering Etiquette | USPS Is A Scandal Of Epic Proportions | La Jolla Cove Photos

Are you my mother? Juvenile pup and female on Boomer Beach (8.14.2020)

This heat wave is really just the icing on the cake, isn't it? It's bad enough we're all at home the majority of the time, now we get this insane heat and rolling blackouts to go with it. Keep your phones charged, my friends. It's 3 in the morning and still 75 in Normal Heights and it's still at least 84 degrees in my living room (which is as high as my Galileo thermometer can measure.)

Anyway, I'm pretty worthless in this weather. My wi-fi doesn't reach my bedroom (probably something we should take care of, stat), so I mostly waited until the sun went down to even start going through the day's news and briefings. Then I watched Knives Out which took all my attention. 

Being Friday, we did take Nova to soccer and visited the sea lions while she was there. This time we started on Boomer Beach, where Darren took a quick swim and I dipped my feet a little bit, too. Then we went to to our regular spot on the cliff over the Cove, but the sea lions claimed the little trail down. I joked that it was because they were tired of humans, but in reality I think they liked the cooler dirt instead of their regular white rocks, which I imagine were too hot for comfort. Anyway, there's a lot to get through today. I really hope the covidiot-in-chief is golfing this weekend because I really can't take anymore of his bullshit. Lots of stuff after the jump, with Friday's photos thrown in for good measure. 

CoViD-19 is Airborne | With Slightly More Cases Than San Diego, Melbourne Locks Down | Fighting Off Family Functions

A resting hummingbird at San Diego Zoo Africa Rocks Pollinator Garden (Taken 8.2.2020)

It was a super-chill Sunday around the homestead. In the afternoon, Nova and I went to my mom's to catch up with my cousin who was visiting. As I mentioned, they bought new patio furniture, so we appropriately separated by households/masked on in the backyard, though I constantly have to nag about this. I left Nova to get Darren from home hoping to go for the 6-8pm window at the Zoo, but by the time I got him and we gassed up, we arrived at 6:47, only to find that they changed August hours, so weekends now close at 7pm. They let us in, so we raced to the Amur leopard cubs, caught a little bit of Agapito, the Andean bear cub, but were then ushered out as security made the rounds and were back in the car by 7:30pm. 

We returned to my mom's but by this point everyone was inside, so we didn't stay long. 

Before we left, my cousin told me her brother is coming to visit this week from Indiana and so they'll be down on Sunday with his daughter and her boyfriend. And now, to be honest, I'm furious. 

I have SENIOR CITIZEN parents, my dad is SEVERELY immunocompromised and as it is takes about 30 pills a day for his medical issues and has almost died in the hospital twice in the last 5 years. My cousin will be FLYING from Indiana to stay in LOS ANGELES and then come down to visit DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC. 

As I've said, my parents' yard is big enough that we can certainly distance and wear masks, but will they? Do I trust they know the State and County Health Orders and will follow? Or do I prepare to make a giant scene and revert right back to Bossy Rosey? Or do I Facebook message them before they fly out, "Hey! Super stoked to see you next week! Don't forget you are required to wear masks here, you need to stay away from my dad, and if any of us get sick, I will never forgive you. K, Byeeeee!!" 

This is obviously why so many residential outbreaks happen, because people slip, they take off masks for eating and drinking, get too close, and before you know it, an entire family is sick with the most vulnerable not making it while everyone else wonders who was asymptomatic. I'm gonna have to stew on this one all week. 

Usual stats and reading after the jump.

CoViD-19 Updates | State Pushes For Worker Protections | Community Spread "A Decrease In The Increase"

Ficus at Fiesta Island (Taken 7.14.2020)

I was really gung-ho at the beginning of the shutdowns and tried to take a very "we got this" attitude. We were cooking every meal, I would get up at 5am to go to Home Depot for supplies when they opened at 6am, we were regularly playing sports in the backyard, and would find some new project to spend our time on in the house or the yard or the studio. 

Nowadays I'm so media consumed and have certainly had my lulls in motivation to do anything, allowing myself to sleep too long, call a plate of cold cuts dinner because I don't want to cook, wandering from bed to couch, couch to bed. Perhaps it's the expiration of the EDD funds, of the inaction of our representatives to enact new plans, the arguing back and forth that it's safe to reopen when we can clearly see the numbers that it is not. 

I'll wake up on Saturday and I will shower and I will let the sun hit my skin and I will carry on, but like everyone, some days are just too much. I'll reengage, but for today, I'll let myself drift, crawl back into bed and get in a better headspace to face another day in a string of days. 

COVID-19 Masks Are REQUIRED Statewide | California Surpasses NY In Total Cases | Burger Records Folds | Disney Closes "Eating and Drinking" Loophole

Sea Lion at Boomer Beach/La Jolla Cove (Taken 7.20.2020)

I was feeling productive today. I finished reading The Down Days. I (mostly) stayed on top of my email, an almost always impossible task. I handled some Casbah stuff in announcing the Twitch Livestream with Scary Pierre happening on Saturday night at 8:30. I happened to look on Facebook at the right time and this awesome woman listed a picnic table and chairs on my local Buy Nothing group, so she kindly chose me and we went to her house, loaded it up in the van and brought it home and unpacked it. (It often helps to say you're available for immediate pickup.) I watched the full Governor's and San Diego County media briefings. And then I took a peaceful, quiet, restful long nap. Feeling dreamy. 

After watching everything, one thing I will say though is that I don't know how I missed that facial coverings are now MANDATORY in the State. I knew it was a "guideline" and "recommended" and required indoors in certain settings, but I watch every Governor Newsom briefing and somehow I missed entirely that it became required. Anyway, I'm putting the link below because if I missed it, maybe you did, too. Or it's just irrelevant because it was already required in the County. Either way, lots of sharing after the jump.