The Virus Is Still In Charge
It's Been A Year Since I Traveled Out Of The Country
Twitter Lacks Interest Now That Trump Is Gone
I Am Cancer Free (I Hope)
1- M- PA
It snowed and snowed and snowed and snowed. And it was cold, really cold. So I hunkered down in my apartment. I didn't even bother to hang in my lounge with my neighbors which was my plan yesterday. In anticipation of this heavy snow day, I made mention to Debbie and Jeff that it would be fun to sit in front of the fireplace and drink all damn day and watch the snow pile up in the courtyard. But I didn't even do that. I didn't even drink a beer in my apartment. I just laid low and took a few photos of the accumulation of the snow.
Nadia called me which she never does. She always asked me to call her. But she is getting nervous about our upcoming webinars. I am tired of them and can't wait until they are over and she is hoping they are a great success.
2- TU- PA
It's Ground Hog's Day and the rodent saw his shadow so I guess we have 6 more weeks of winter which will bring up right in to St Patrick's Day and if all goes well, my 2nd vaccination shot.
I didn't had a radiation treatment today, for the first Tuesday in several weeks and that felt strange. And I like the strange feeling. I am finished with radiation.
Sharon has asked me to post things on her business Facebook site. I am supposed to post on Wednesday but in my haste, it is up now and already lot a comment before I could take it down. So I guess I have leave it up there and I have met my obligation for tomorrow.
3- W- PA
It snowed on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Since there is no snow in the forecast for today, I just had to head out and go somewhere, anywhere and of course, the only thing opened and of interest to me was a brewery. I drove an hour to the Round Guys Brewery (1) in Lansdale. And my beers were delicious.
For the last few months, I have been watching hours of cold case murder mysteries. But now that I have watched all that is available on Amazon Prime, I have moved on to a series called Mountain Men. It's stories of three reclusive who live near self sustaining lives in remote mountain areas around the country. And I must say, these men are kooks. But I have become interested in them. I am vested in their well being. One guy, Eustace, hasn't brushed his teeth in two years. Last year, I spent $10,000 on my teeth.
4- TH- PA/DE
I had a morning phone call with Jaye and Dom. If I get my vaccine on Saturday, I am getting in my car on Monday and heading to FL for two weeks. I plan to drive to their place in Cape Coral and then buzz down to the Everglade National Park, come back up to Cape Coral, head up to Venice Beach and have lunch with Lynn Talbot. Then I would go to Clearwater to hang with John and Jane Bomback for a few days. On the way home, I would stop at breweries in GA, NC and SC. I am so anxious to get on the road.
I continue to have no safe place to go and hang except a brewery. These places are empty during the day so I go there, have a flight and write a little bit. These breweries have replaced my coffee shop days. Today, I went to The Autumn Arch Beer Project (2) in DE. I had been looking for this place for about a year and I was under the impression that it was take-put only. So I was so damn happy to see that I could actually hang here.
I watched the last episode of the Mountain Men and I was hoping that I would be finished with this series but I have been left with a cliff hanger. Eustace got an $85,000 tax bill on his 1,000 acre property in SC. The show ended with his riding his horse through the busy streets to go to court to appeal this bill. Now I want to find out what happens to him.
Tweet: I'm wearing a mask until the last person, who wants to get the vaccine, gets it. #vaccine #WearAMask
5- F- PA
Jaye called me this morning to give me an update on her plans while I am visiting her in FL. She may come to the Everglades with me.
There are 459,000 Covid deaths to date in the USA.
Biden has a 61% approval rating. Trump never had a 50% approval rating.
I watched the movie, Kasrin, who is an Iranian political activist. She was arrested because she defended a young woman who would not cover her head with a scarf. She received 37 years in prison and 147 lashes. This is outrageous and repulsive. How can so many people be so inhuman to each other.
6- S- PA
We held our first My Sister's Keeper webinar on domestic violence. Over 110 people register and fifty showed up. There were people on the live stream. So I would have to say it was a success.
I got my first COVID shot and I am so relieved that I could cry.
I went in to the city and had lunch with Sharon. She wanted me to come in during the day because she and Glenn have become concerned about crime. A women, my age, was accosted by three teenage girls in the middle fo the afternoon because they wanted to steal her car.
I got an email from Joan Hynes, a former teacher from Jenkintown High School. I worked there for one school year in 1984-85 and I hear from them from time to time.
I watched more of this damn Mountain Men series. I found a place to watch them on YouTube. I can't believe I am invested in their stories.
7- SU- PA
It's snowing again. And it looks beautiful but I want to start my road trip to FL tomorrow so it better stop soon so the reads can be cleared. I have to get out of here.
I had another damn MSK meeting. OMG, this project is driving me crazy.
I was hanging in the lounge with Debbie, Jeff, Steve, Phyliss and I miss these times. Phylis is heartbroken that she has missed a year with her grandchildren. She misses being hugs by them and she misses their activities. I get it. I am tired of it as well and I am ready to move on and go back to normal. But I am still so grateful that the pandemic has only been an inconvenience, not a devastation.
I watched four more episodes of the Mountain Men. A new character was introduced and now I think there are too many men to follow. But I continue to be enamored with their desire and ability to live in such a harsh world.
It snowed throughout the day but that didn't matter to me because I spent the afternoon getting ready for my trip to FL.
8- M- PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, NC
I left around noon. My car was overpacked. It was an easy drive as I headed south. But really, I was just so happy to get out of the cold that I would have made any effort to get warm. The trip required at least 17 hours of driving. So I speculated that the entire journey would be 20 hours. I would drive 8 hours on M and Tu and the 4 hours on W. I finished the drive today in NC.
9- TU- NC, SC, GA, FL
Southern Hops Brewery (3) was my first stop of the day. I came here for brunch. And this brewery fills my goal of a brewery in SC. The brew master came over and chatted me up and we talked about his beers and I left with a 32 ox growler which is unusual. My internet was to drink it with Jaye and Dom. But I should have consumed it that night as it was flat and tasteless by the time I got to Cape Coral. We ended up throwing out the beer which is a mortal sin to me.
10- W- FL
The impeachment trial for trump was covered live. I listened while I was driving and the arguments were so compelling to convict him. But that isn't going to happen. Republicans can't afford to do the right thing.
I got to Cape Coral around 2 PM, just enough time to float in the pool and soak in the hot tub. It felt great to be too warm. The sun was intense.
Jaye and I went to Big Storm Brewery (4) for dinner and surprisingly, Jaye loved the Russian Imperial Stout and for some reason, I took delight in this fact. I treated it as if this was a victory fro me. We had a good time.
11- TH- FL
I had two zoom calls with #MSK women in Bangladesh. My assignment here can't end soon enough. I am so tired of this commitment.
We lounged around the pool all afternoon. The water was 91F. Jaye asked me if there was anything I wanted to do and I told her I was doing it.
12- F- FL
It's the Chinese New Year and it is the Year of the Ox.
We hung in the pool all afternoon. Jaye has her favorite floatation seat and I have mine. And so we just grabbed our seat and soaked again. I tend to stay in the pool longer than Jaye.
We went to the movie theatre, to see the new Tom Hanks movie, The News of the World. I didn't necessarily like it but I loved being in the movie theatre again. There were only 4 of us there.
We came home and watched the movie, The Prom and loved it.
13- SA- FL
Dom came back to FL from Philly where he had been visiting his mother. He said it was cold and miserable. And it's warm and lovely here.
Jaye and I went out to buy beer. We bought too much. But we had a little beer tasting with Dom and then we soaked in the pool for a few hours. The water was so warm that I had a burning desire to entertain the idea of sleeping, overnight, on a floatation in the pool.
14- SU- FL
Tom Descano died this evening and I am heartbroken. He had been so sick for the last few months that his death is no surprise but it certainly is a loss. Tom was a republican, gun toting, conservative, Fox News watching kind of guy. We would disagree on everything and it just didnt matter, we were still friends.
Jaye, Dom and I went to the 8 Feet Brewery (5) and again, we had a good time. I think they are finally getting why I like to try out so many flights.
15- M- FL
We went to Pine Island for lunch. I thought we would see some things of interest. But the place is just a quaint tourist place to go for lunch. And so we did. It was crowded. No one but the three of us wore masks. It's as if the virus doesn't hang in Florida.
We spent the afternoon, floating in the pool. Then we ran off for dinner at 2 Meatballs Restaurant and we all raved about our meals. This was a fun way to end my visit with Jaye and Dom.
16- TU- FL @ Jane Momer's house in Clearwater
I left the Pedante around noon and drove two hours to Jane Momer's house in Clearwater. Along the way, I saw lots of ibis, bill spoon, a large lock of turkey vultures. The flock was so large that I had contemplated turing around and photographing them. But then I got nervous about the fact of being around all of these flesh eating vultures. So I just drove on.
17- W- FL @ Jane Momer's house in Clearwater
It was cold today, 61F and after the last few days of sun further south, I was too chilly.
Texas is having a snow storm and many people have lost power and consequently heat and they are stunned. I guess they haven't heard how the rest of us live in winter snow storms.
18- TH- FL- @ Jane Momer's house in Clearwater
Jaye texted me early in the morning which is not like her. She knows to wait until late morning to contact me. So I called her right away. Miles Cooper died. He is Jaye's SIL, Leanne's husband. He is only 41 and he was in a fatal, ugly car accident.
We wandered around the Florida Botanical Gardens and I really liked the place. It would be great to pack run and just sit along the creek. However, that could be unnerving as alligators hang in that water.
There is a wonderful tapas restaurant right in the heart of the Scientology campus in Clearwater. We went there for dinner and ordered too much food.
There are 493, 000 covid deaths in the USA as of today.
19- F- FL, GA- heading home-
I am full of agitation as I have been for the last two days. My students in Bangladesh are driving me crazy with their efforts to host some webinars. We are decisions and then someone disagrees and convinces others to do things differently and then I am called in to intervene and this behavior has me so annoyed. And I am so annoyed at myself for being this emotionally involved in this situation. I need to let it go.
My intent was to spend the night and possible the next night in Savannah but I didnt like the city. It was crowded. No one was wearing masks. The streets were under lots of construction. The parking was a bit of a problem and I have had had to park in the street for the night and I didnt want to do that as I had too much stuff to steal in my car. So, as I was checking in to the hotel, I canceled my reservations and headed back up the road a little bit further to my final destination.
I finished the day at the Coastal Eclipse Brewery- (6), my Georgia brewery in my quest to visit a brewery in every state.
20- SA- GA, SC, NC, VA
I got me some cowboy boots. I went in to a western shop in ND last summer and saw hundred of these boots and I wanted a pari. But they were all several hundreds of dollars. And I didn't want to spend that much money on what will partly be a short lived infatuation. So I found a pair of brown boots in the kids section and they were only $100. That wasn't too bad. But now I have to learn to walk in them as they are so damn stiff.
Falling Goat Brewery (7) in NC was a pit stop this afternoon.
I made it to VA, right below DC, and decided to call it a day for driving. I could have pushed the next four hours but I decided not to risk it.
21- SU- VA, DC, MD, DE, PA
We had yet another #MSK meeting and we finally got the women to agree to end the webinar series. We had become so toxic that I could not let it go on in good faith.
My ride home was uneventful. I had thought of going to a brewery in DC but I just wasn't up for the effort it would take to find parking in the downtown area. And I was still wearing my sandals so my feet were cold. And I wanted to come home and slid under the covers and retreat from the aggravation of the moment.
It's cold. My apartment was cold and I could have probably turned the heat on to reduce the chill. But I didn't . I don't want to break my record of never turning the heat on in this place.
Twitter: OMG, since the orange idiot was suspended, Twitter has become so boring. We have resorted to an abundance of "Either/Or" surveys. Really? Who cares if you like carrots over peas. I still want to see Trump go to jail. #LockHimUp
22- M- PA
It snowed all day and I wanted to get a different kind of video of the snow storm so I shot it on slow motion and then posted it on FB. I don't think anyone noticed what I did.
I had entertained the idea of sitting in the lounge all afternoon and drinking beer. but I was too lazy even to sit on my ass and get drunk. Instead, I called my insurance company and tried to find out the status of my cancer insurance claim. It doesn't appear as if they are too eager to pay me.
I had dinner with Debbie and Gabe. It was nice to hang with them. Afterwards, I came back to my place and re-enrolled in Netflix. I think I have done this about 4 or 5 times in the last 10 years. There is a movie I wanted to watch, The Dig, which people had been raving. So I watched it and liked it. Now I found a few more shows I want to see. And then I will cancel in a month or so.
23- TU- PA
We reached the 500,000 death mark for COVID. Biden made a beautiful speech. Trump said nothing,
Jaye sent me a clip of Mile's obituary in the Rolling Stones magazine. What an honor. I wonder if Miles had ever made it in this magazine before.
I had plans to go to a movie and a brewery. But my dinner plans with Sue Descano and Kevin Williams changed and we decided to meet tonight. So I spent the afternoon watching The Trial of the Chicago 7. I was in 7th grade when these riots took place and I remember being very afraid for our country. King had been shot. Kennedy had been shot. The riots were frightening. I thought our country was going to be in another civil war. I thought the blacks were going to try to take over our country.
I don't know how true the movie was in relation to reality. But I found the movie to be riveting. I always want to believe that my government is honest and filled with good will. But this movie showed a side that was shameful and criminal. The judge was either a buffoon or deplorable. I would have loved to have Watched this movie with my dad to discuss his thoughts on this judge and how the lawyers could have gotten around his terrible behavior. I cried during the closing scene. And I want to watch the movie again as I want to pick up some of the subtle nuances I missed.
I got to Sue's house some time after 5 and we didn't break up our conversation until almost midnight. Sue seems really good. She wanted to talk about Tom and his last few months that were just so awful. It's hard to believe that he is gone.
24- W- PA
For some reason, I woke up earlier than usual today and I actually got out of bed. But i didn't know exactly what to do. So I watched the movie, The Social Media. Of course, the movie highlighted the evils, addictions and lies of social media and as it should. But i continue to be stunned at people who naively believed our government is following them and recording information about them and all the while, spend hours on social media. Last year, I bought some bras and used my debit card to make the purchase. I hadn't purchased bras prior to this for a few years. that night, my social media sites all directed me to bra sites. it isn't the government that is spying on us. It's the insaisable appetite of capitalism that is stalking us.
I went to Pica's restaurant for Prime Rib night. I thought it was just Debbie and me but Gabe and James came along and I was not comfortable with that much interaction. The waitress wanted to put us at a table for 4 but I insisted on a table for six and that seemed to be a hard concept for her to get. But she acquested and we pushed it to a limit that was a bit uncomfortable for me. BUT!!!!, the prime rib was delicious.
25- TH- PA
It's a gorgeous today The sun was shining and the snow is melting and I think I will survive the rest fo the winter.
I went to a matinee movie to see Nomad Land. I read the book two years ago and loved it and I loved the movie just as much even though the econimc injustices addressed in the book were not in the forefront of the story.
I stopped at brewery on the way home but it was much too crowded so I didn't go in. I will have to wait until covid passes.
At 6PM, it was just beginning to get dark and that realization made me so damn happy.
I spent the evening watching a docuemtnary series on Fran Lebowitz, Pretend It's A City. It was a 7 part series and I watched the whole damn thing. She is a crotchety, angry, old bitch and I think she is so funny. For the last fifty years, she has limited herself to cuffed blue jeans, a dress shirt (not a blouse) and a jacket. After the age of maybe thirty, her looks have remained exactly the same.
26- F- PA
I was a bit of a lazy ass today which is nothing really new. I am my worst enemy. I spent the afternoon on a long call with Sharon and then I watched The Trial of the Chicago 7 again. Again, I was horrified by the judge and the political disconnect of our courts.
Tomorrow, we have a zoom call with the Germans. So Sue texted me because she didnt full understand how to do a zoom call. We worked through it and now we are set to meet up. Sue seems happy to have this moment with them.
27- SA- PA
Vaccination #2 Day @ 10:10 AM. I left my apartment at 9:30 for my 10:10 appointment. I arrived a few minutes early and had my shot by 10:08 and I was home by 10:40. That's an hour well spent and I am so damn happy.
We had a zoom call with the Germans as a way to honor Tom Descano. Really, most of us didn't want to go there and talk about Tom. We didn't want to mention him for fear of upsetting Sue. But I think it was great for Sue to connect with all of us. I missed having the Germans come visit this year and we think it will be another 1 1/2 before they are back.
I watched Wild Oats with Shirley McLean, a silly, girly movie about old women who are hoping to have one last fling of excitement in their lives. I can't stand these types of movies.
Over 2.3 million people were vaccinated today and Johnson and Johnson has been authorized to start to administer a single dose vaccine. If we keep this momentum up, we could have 200,000,000 more people vaccinated by July. That is hopeful.
28- SU- PA
I took a sleeping pill last night so it was hard to stay awake today. I need to find some way to address my terrible sleeping habits. To add to this situation, it was a cold, rainy day so I didn't go anywhere today. I laid low.
We had a meeting to plan our next MSK webinar on domestic violence and it seemed to go well. I can not wait to be finished with this project.
I watched The Professor and the Mad Man, a movie about the history of the Oxford dictionary. I remember my grandfather's dictionary. It was about a foot thick. ig house. It was in my father's den for years. It must have gotten tossed out in 1995 when my parents moved out of our b For years, I always kept a dictionary right by my reading chair. But once smart phones put the whole world of information at my finger tips, I got rid of my dictionary that I had carried around with me since i was 19. I ripped it up, several pages at a time, and burned it. I knew if I throw it out, I would just go back to the trash and retrieve it. I had to let its bulkiness go. Now, I just call on Siri to look a word up for me.
Tomorrow, the month of March starts. This month is my month of rebirth from the winter. It brings me so much hope for lovelier days ahead. I go in to this month, hopefully cancer free and with two covid shots. let it be a great month.
Highlights of the month:
- Tom Descano and Miles Seaton died and I learned of the death of Lynn Schoch, Al Schoch, and Jane Asher.
- I took a road trip to Florida.
- I got both injections of the Covid vaccine.
- I visited 7 breweries.
- I've watched all the available free episodes of Mountain Men. If I want to watch any more, I will have to start to pay for them which I will not.
- I went to a movie theatre twice.
- I bought cowboy boots.
- I joined Netflix yet again.
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