Rolling in the Deep in Everyday Ramblings

A wall of jasmine from yesterday.

In spite of an alarming increase in Covid-19 cases in the last 10 days or so we are opening into Phase 1 here in my county tomorrow. The Governor says we have enough hospital capacity and PPE to manage what comes next. Other counties in the state have been open to Phase 1 for a few weeks and one of my students went to a beach town last weekend and had breakfast out…

I remember that, she says wistfully.

People are scheduling haircuts and dental cleanings and Kes who lives in a Phase 2 county is giving blood next week. They test for antibodies when they do that and she is most curious.

Most Honorable saw the Governor the other evening out on the grounds of or state mansion, which is a few blocks from their relatively modest home, clicker training her quarantine puppy.

Speaking of pets, would anyone like an affectionate one-eyed sweetheart that is being an absolute pest right now? A lap for long term sitting is a requirement.

Diego is driving me bonkers. Both the cats have decided that after a week of the elimination diet they are done and apparently, I am supposed to fix this. And to make sure I fix it they are doing a full court press of following me everywhere and constantly making sure I know just how much they would really like some “real” food.

We were experimenting with adding an extra day between anti-nausea pills. I’ll just say this hasn’t been a success.

I made sure to get out for an hour walk today as much to give him a break to rest as for me to get exercise. The sports field over at the track has been opened up and it has been a lovely day so there were lots of folks out. Mask wearing appears to be completely random right now.

Next Wednesday we go to mandatory mask wearing inside public places.

The vet’s office is just a quick stop off our main freeway and so, as a much appreciated gift for me, Kes and Most Honorable are stopping by (on their way up to spend an hour or so with me tomorrow on my 66th birthday) to get a new box of the Cerenia.

I remember back in March when we went into lockdown thinking in kind of a humorous ironic way, oh maybe I will be able to see my family in person for my birthday, as if it were a long in the future joke.

And now all my masks are in the washer and I haven’t spoken to a live person since Sunday. I am afraid I may start meowing instead of speaking English. My students tell me they are grateful for the classes.

The feeling is entirely mutual.

There are big demonstrations planned for this weekend and while I completely support them, I am not going. I love the fact that (as Dahlia Lithwick says) these demonstrations are not about the President for once. They are about something so much more important. A festering wound in the heart of the country I am privileged to have been born into as a light skinned person.

Stating the obvious, all of our ancestors were African. Maybe even Diego’s. He might be descended from a mighty tiger. (I was looking at a woodpecker yesterday and thinking, wow he truly does look like a dinosaur.)

I love it that law professors all over the country are using Tiger King as a template for teaching Constitutional Law. Not that I have any interest in watching it, but I listened to a spoiler podcast and know the basic plot points.

And now on this beautiful warm almost summer evening, with Carlo stretched out in a patch of sun and Diego watching every move I make I need to settle down and finish the current mystery I am reading before it is due back electronically and pftttt disappears from my devices.

May we hold the joy and suffering of so many of our fellow citizens close to our hearts and shut up and listen to what they have been trying to tell us for 400 years.

Last updated June 19, 2020