And yet again – you made it! Well done, since the universe had added an additional difficulty level with Omicron.
Half day today, but the second half is going to the dentist, so… I’d rather work, TBH. In theory, it’s just replacing a temp crown with a permanent one, but I am certain he’ll find something else expensive and wrong – but, it’s all good, I’m finding a new in-network dentist for the new year.
I like my dentist, but he’s too damn expensive – my prior insurance paid fairly decently for out of network, but what I have through work is terrible for out of network services and my dude has definitely shifted to catering to rich folks over the years, and I am not a human ATM machine. (Gawd, health care is utterly fucked in the US – I can’t even fathom why dental work isn’t part of regular medical insurance other than someone is making a lot of $$$ keeping things the way they are.)
Welp, time to go speedrun through some bugs and steel myself for a bigassed future dental bill, LOL.
Last night as I was going to bed, she was rather frantic for a bit and I only just now realized why. My brother had been in the kitchen and burned some hot dog buns (and had let me about it, so I knew there was not a fire) – but she didn’t know that.
I legit think she was trying to tell me my brother was burning down the kitchen. And once the smell dissipated – she was fine – I just didn’t make the connection until today.
It’s fuck me it’s early Wednesday – meeting at 730AM, and then – a meeting at 9PM… So, ugly early start, but not only off earlier cause of the AM meeting, off an extra hour to make up for coming back for the 9PM meeting. Oh yes, there is gonna be an evening nap in there somewhere, I am quite sure.
Would it be really bad to be enjoying my Day 1 advent wine in the 9PM meeting? (Yes, I found an advent wine box last month. Of course I bought it.)
This morning BBC is reporting that Nairobi has found Omicron cases going back as far as October.
Travel bans are definitely a “close the barn door when the horses are 3 counties away” at this point, especially when they’re “well, *our* people can come in, just not *other* people” – as though Covid is checking passports. We’ve ALL got to get on the ball with sequencing – finding things 2 months after the fact seems not great.
If Covid wasn’t utter shit and killing people and destroying society in general, it would be utterly fascinating to study how it’s spreading and figuring out where and how and why new variants actually emerge. I kinda feel for the scientists on this, cause I know if *I’m* thinking, “Wow, what triggered *these* mutations? Where did it happen? What made conditions perfect for this?” with the curiosity that I have while also thinking “this isn’t fascinating, it’s TERRIBLE” – they must be in the same weird boat.
Alright, time to go stumble into the day. Stay safe, mask up, get boosted, don’t lick any doorknobs.
PTO is over and it’s back to the grind, and unless one particular bug got moved to the next maintenance cycle, today could be a long one. But, it is what it is, and at least we get paid this week and have a half day on Friday. (Which has a dental appointment, boooooo.)
Good to see our newest republic Barbados! Decolonization is a long road, but it’s wonderful for them.
My Covid thoughts for today are: Omicron is stupid and I hate it, and that pretty much sums up my feelings over the last 20+ months.
I’m bleary eyed as fuck this morning, and I fear there is not enough coffee to get me through the day.
Cause I woke up in a terrible mood – the recycling truck showed up 2 days late at 6AM with no communication from the company and after we gave up and pulled in the bin yesterday…
I love how I keep hearing “don’t panic about Omicron” – like I have the energy for panic anymore. I mean, after 3 years of 45, then a year of 45 + pandemic, then a year of pandemic + Senate Democrats – this country has pretty much broken me. (I am legit wondering where else in the world I could retire.)
And my cold brew is horrifically bitter to boot.
The plan was to bring up the Christmas tree today, but I’m not gonna lie, I’m a bit meh about it. I’ve moved all the plants already so the spot is super naked and really needs the tree – except for the fact that there is now a cat sitting there.
OK, the tree may have to wait a bit
So, to try to get my head straight, I have eaten some leftover chicken, hydrated, let the cat move, and brought the tree up. Though the tree topper has gone AWOL (no sentimental value to it, I just liked it, but it can be replaced), the lights are nice and I’m glad I hauled it up here.
I think it’s safe to assume this new variant is everywhere already. My phone has been beeping all morning with the BBC telling me where they’ve found new cases. And with the massive amount of Thanksgiving travel here in the US, there is no doubt in my mind that it’s here in the US, too.
But, massive props to the folks in South Africa who found it and found it so quickly. Theoretically, that should give us an edge, but it sounds like we’re already behind the curve, what with a lack of testing on travelers (I was shocked to hear “well, we tested after we found out there was a new variant” – I really thought testing for international travelers was still a thing worldwide) and not nearly enough sequencing here in the US. I do wonder how many variants actually originated here, but were “found” in other parts of the world. (I’m looking at you, Florida.)
And Boris Johnson is still saying it’s gonna be a great Christmas. And I’m sure we’ll hear the same nonsense out of Governors across the US. And we’ll have half the country taking it seriously and half the country continuing to do whatever the hell they want.
And I’ve got Frankie Drake Mysteries and they’re dealing with a potential outbreak of the Spanish Flu… Bit too on the nose, CBC.
I’m trying not to dwell on it, cause it doesn’t change anything for me – still gonna (not) do the same stuff, just for longer it seems – but yeah, I’m FAILING at not dwelling on it. I just wanted to think that maybe, possibly, the end was in sight. HAHAHAHA.
I know the best we can hope for is to move from pandemic to endemic and dealing with localized outbreaks – but I don’t even know how we get there given how mobile we all are worldwide. The first case identified as Omicron was from an 11/9 test and it wasn’t reported to the WHO as a variant until 11/24. Two weeks minimum of worldwide spread. While I have no doubt they told that person to quarantine, who knows how long they were contagious, and honestly, track and trace everywhere has been woefully inadequate. 30 flights a day just between Johannesburg and DC – just that alone is a ton of opportunity to get a virus halfway around the world. Now multiply that by ever other international flight out there…
I’m trying to stay optimistic that this isn’t going to be a forever thing, but damn, it’s REALLY FUCKING HARD RIGHT NOW.
I don’t know what it’s like where you are, but here’s it’s a deceptively beautiful day where the sun is sharp and shiny but it’s cold as fuck out there. Proof positive that I have *not* bought too many hoodies/fleece jackets from REI over the course of the pandemic. (New one may have arrived this week – it was 40% off*…)
It’s basically my uniform. Jeans, short sleeved shirt, fleece jacket. Occasionally I get crazy and go with long sleeved shirt and fleece vest. Honestly, one of the great things about working from home is not having to dress up for work – rolling out of bed into comfy clothes that don’t have to be dry cleaned is so very nice.
Still unbelievably annoyed with the new variant. I mean, it doesn’t actually change anything for me, I’ll just keep hermiting and watching local case counts and act accordingly, but still, it certainly took the wind out of my sails. Just means the end of this is that much farther away, and I’m running out of interesting and healthy coping mechanisms. (It’s definitely time to get started on Lily’s quilt…)
It’s just frustrating to see so many folks acting like it’s all over – either not getting vaccinated, or getting vaccinated and not paying attention to case counts and taking all kinds of risks – and I absolutely understand, lord knows I seriously miss restaurants, but it’s that behavior that will just make this go longer. And they’ll just keep doing it and the rest of us will still be stuck. That’s just maddening.
Of course, then I wonder if I’m being overly cautious and just needlessly torturing myself.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I did go to the Hallmark store to get some gifty things for my hairstylist, shampoo gal, & acupuncturist – and got myself a little Christmas decor that is very sparkly and makes me smile.
There’s a chance this never gets put away
Stay safe, and enjoy your Saturday. I’ll be staring at my glitter lantern if anyone needs me.
*REI does these member super deals every now and again – I’ll get an email and it’s maybe a dozen items and it’s usually camping equipment – but this time, a hoodie in the mix! In my size and preferred color and very well priced! I wouldn’t have paid the original $60 for it, but $36 for something I will wear a whole lot? Sure!
Or a day that capitalism took from “Hey, let’s start some Christmas shopping” to “I wonder how many riots are going to break out?” My brother and I used to go out on Black Friday, do some window shopping and get gift ideas, and have lunch somewhere. Not these days, pandemic or not.
Thanksgiving was good, even though everything seemed off kilter and wrong all day. Food was fine, as evidenced by the amount my brother ate, but I felt like I’d managed to fuck up everything after the cheese plate. The stuffing was watery, the potatoes didn’t appear to make 6 servings (their 6 servings is for people who don’t like potatoes to begin with), I completely forgot about the beans, and I didn’t even get near the rolls, as I just had a feeling they looked cooked on the outside while still raw on the inside.
Turkey was good, though, but I missed the house smelling like roast turkey. (OK, roasted garlic & butter.) Next year I’ll definitely see if the butcher shop can do a bone-in turkey breast vs a whole turkey – this year they were even advertising that they could season them for you…which would save me the “get up early to do the brine” step. If I could just avoid that panicked, “Why can’t I find a damn decent sized turkey breast” trek all over town… (Lily also prefers the home roasted turkey, LOL.)
I’m going to blame the pandemic for all of it.
I don’t know what media coverage is like elsewhere, but all I’ve heard this morning is coverage of the new variant out of South Africa. We barely know anything about it, and frankly, I don’t like this coverage, cause while it *may* be bad, we just don’t know, and I think this panic laden coverage just doesn’t help.
Our local cases are spiking back up again and with the post-holiday travel surge that is guaranteed to come around, we’ll be back at high transmission by the start of the month – and no one will change their behavior and I know damn well our current Governor isn’t gonna do shit – he gave up last May, nor will the new one.
Also discovering that in Europe you can get a 20 pack of the rapid home tests for like, $5 (if not fucking totally free) – while a pack of TWO is $25 here (if you can find them) – that was depressing. The US is a failed fucking state, indeed. Some *states* are offering free rapid home tests, but that should be happening on a FEDERAL level – we shouldn’t be at the mercy of state governments on this one, especially in states that don’t give a fuck about the fact that these are unaffordable for some folks.
Until the day I die, I will never understand the lack of will to end this – from ignoring all the problems with vaccine equity worldwide that could have easily been resolved by the wealthy countries in the world, to doing things on a state-by-state, everyone is on their damn own approach here in the US.
None of it had to be this way. I know we couldn’t have saved everyone, especially in the early days when we were still figuring out what we were dealing with – but it never had to be like this. 629 days since the first cases showed up in our county and we’re still utterly in the shit. Because no one is asking for vaccination status, and our vaccination numbers are totally stalled, I can’t assume that anywhere is particularly safe.
I’ve made a few concessions for my mental health – haircuts while vaxxed & masked, the occasional leisurely-ish trip through the Hallmark store or Target, and met up with some vaccinated friends on Wednesday night (which turned out to be nerve wracking and not particularly enjoyable despite it not being crowded.)
I’m as good a hermit as anyone, but this is quite shit and I am so very over it. I feel like we’ve just been left to fend for ourselves by leadership and our communities. You’d think being vaccinated & boosted and whatnot, I’d feel better, but I absolutely do not.
I’m angry and sad and tired, and I’m running out of interesting distractions.
Me going on a stupid walk for my stupid mental health
So, I was a little hungry and the cheese plate cookie sheet only just now went into the freezer (I freeze it and then put ice packs under it so the cheese doesn’t get all gross and melty – it’s one of my better ideas.)
So I decided to sneak a slice of the Honey Baked Turkey Breast.
Which then became three slices.
It’s really, REALLY tasty – and I don’t think I am even going to heat mine up later – they weren’t kidding when they said “ready to enjoy straight from the fridge” – so, I think this is going to work out just fine.
Now I just have to not eat half of it over the course of the afternoon.
Musings of a marginally sane feline-appreciating female. 