March 2022

March 2022

Covid Status: I'm Not Sure Where We Are

PA, CO, NC, SC, VA, DE

1- T- CO/PA

Much to my surprise, we went to Wibby's Brewery (1) in the afternoon.  I am surprised because KT does not like to drink and drive and she has to drive me to the airport around 5.  But I think she just wanted the experience fo going there in the middle of the afternoon.  This seems to be a place where she finds comfort because she can sit there by herself with her big ass dog and people will come up and talk to her.

I got to the airport in plenty of time and had intentions of going to a brewery there but didn't go because of our afternoon stop.  I was just so full. 

2- W- PA

I got home from the airport around 2 AM and I was tired. And I can't really get with the program today so I spend most of the day in bed and I think I am just tired because the last couple of days have been so much longer than my usual days. 

I don't eat anything all day and I barely drink enough liquids. I feel beaten up.

I didn't watch Biden's State of the Union Speech as I was too self-absorbed. however, it got good reviews.  The invasion in to Ukraine seems to be uniting the world and helping to unite our country just a bit.

3- TH- PA

I am nausea and vomiting and I feel weak and achy.  I am still hanging in bed all day and throwing up in spite of taking my anti-nausea medicine.  And now I have a terrible, demanding bout of diarrhea.  I can't stay hydrated.  I feel awful.

I did finally get up enough energy to look at my sandhill crane photos and I am much more pleased with them than I was originally.  Now I have to delete about 90% of them which is always hard for me to do.

4- F- PA

I am not much better today than yesterday. I still have no energy. Everything I consume is immediately eliminated and I am not drinking enough or eating enough.

So I decided to go grocery shopping as I really didn't have any comfort food in the apartment.  But then I thought I did not have enough energy to do that. So I decided just to go to WAWA to pick up a few provisions. I run out and get Gatorade, sandwiches and an ice cream bar and come home and get right back in to bed as the trip exhausted me.

5- SA- PA

It was 17 years ago today that my dad died. He would be almost 94 today.

I am making a greater effort to work on my hydration.  I have taken one of the sandwiches and just left it on he bed and I take a bit whenever I can. But I am doing much better with the hydration issue.  

I have to usher tonight and I really want to go but I don't think I have enough strength to walk to the theater and I don't think I can leave my post as often as necessary to run to the bathroom. So I notify Charlotte and surrender to this stomach bug and I am disappointed. We were showing the Oscar nominated best of short videos. I really like to watch these videos.

I also take a covid test just to be sure and it comes up negative.

I spend the afternoon, listening to dreadful murder mysteries and government conspiracy trials. The world sure can be gloomy.

KT called me to tell me that she put a bid on a house for $515,000.  That makes me nervous.  That is a shitload of money.

6- SU- PA

I think I am going to live.  I was up and active last night for about 4 hours and slept well. I woke up today and felt much better.  I still thought I should go to the doctor but decided against it as I didn't want to go to an Urgent Care Center and spend the whole damn day there getting tested.  So I decided to clean out my sock drawers instead. I can really procrastinate if needed. And now that I am feeling better, I sit here on my big blue, corduroy chair and wonder if I just made up the last four days.  Did I really feel that awful?

It's a warm, rainy day today.  I wish it was sunny.  I need a sunny day in light of the fact that I just spent 4 days in bed.

I'm listening to a great book, The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman. It's a made up almanac of the silliest, funniest topics. The author is also the narrator and also interviews himself throughout the book.  It's really clever.

There are over 950,000 COVID deaths to date in the USA.  Yet, we all act as if we are finished with the virus. We lost almost 3,000 people yesterday.  That means we should reach 1,000,000 deaths this month. That's a lot of people to lose in two years time.

Putin is now having his soldiers roam the streets of Moscow where they are stopping people and examining their phones to see if there is any information about the Ukraine invasion.  The man is falling apart right in front of us and I think he is on the verge of going nuclear on all of us.

The Oscar Shorts Documentary Nominations were showing at Uptown tonight and I felt well enough to usher. Tonight was the first night of a mask optional viewing and I was a little uncomfortable with the idea. Too many people in the USA are still dying of covid so I wonder why we are surrendering so soon.  Everyone still needs to be vaccinated so maybe we have just established a "fuck you for not being vaccinated" attitude now.

7- M- PA

Some asshole drove in to the parking garage door and damaged it. Now we are all stuck here until further notice. And on most any other day, that would not be a problem fro me but I had a noon appointment to meet up with a former student to help him with some of his banking.

It was warm enough to sit on my balcony this morning.  But it was so damn windy that it made me nervous to hang there. But on another positive note, I pulled out one of my spring denim jackets to wear today and it felt great not to be bodged down in a bulky jacket.

I couldn't meet up with my student so we will meet later this week.  And that is a drag because too much of today centered around waiting for this damn door to be fixed and then waiting to try to reconnect.  I didn't get much accomplished today.

I did go food shopping at Aldi's and that store is intense.  Those shoppers are no bullshit.  They are driven.  They get in there.  They stay focused.  they buy good deals and then they get the hell out. After this visit, I went to a similar store and picked up a few more things and the vibe was completely different.

Twitter: Isn’t it funny that almost 100% of the “best people” trump hired would eventually all be viewed by him as stupid, lazy, dishonest, worthless, cowardly, incompetent, etc. #TrumpisaNationalDisgrace

8-TU-PA-  International Day of Women

I hung around here all day.  The new increases in gas prices are causing concern.  I think we are about $4.45 here in PA. So I've decided to drive less in my efforts to distort the supply and demand cost configurations.

I ran in to Gina in the hallway.  She is the only neighbor I ever see.  Our usual conversation now centers on our health procedures updates and complaints about our health care system.  In other words, we mostly talk old lady talk.

The balcony door was opened most of the afternoon and after a while, my apartment got so cold, I had to retreat to the lounge to warm up.  When I opened the door and stepped in to the hallway, it was as if I was letting a cold, winter vortex wind in to the rest of the building.  There was a slight bit of resistance as I pushed the door to let me back in my apartment.

I put my winter coats away for the season. That's always a welcomed moment of relief.

One of my students posted a podcast on her FB page.  She is recovering from Stage 4 breast cancer and has had to have two hip replacements and a spinal replacement as a consequence of her treatment.  Her comments left me speechless as I reflect on my damn, good luck with my cancer.  I got away so damn easy.

In the evening, I hung in the lounge.  I found a file on my laptop that is hidden and had 40,000 photos on it. Damn, I was just beginning to work on deleting these photos when Steve and Phyliss came by and interrupted me.  Now I have to find this file again and begin the tedious process of deleting like crazy.

9- W- PA

A memory came up on FB today.  A year ago I put my winter coats away and everyone warned me that it was too early.  Well, yesterday, I did put my winter coats away for the season.  And today I went out with just my spring jacket and no socks and it was rainy and miserable and I wish I had my winter coat.  I put them away too early.

I had a meeting with Andrew Bradell. In 2006, we raised $20,000 for him after his mother died in a freak accident.  I am the guardian of this account for him.  And over the years, he found ways to circumvent the need for my signature to get to his money.  Today, I turned what is left over to him to manage himself.  I wonder how long this $7,000 will last.

Afterwards, I had dinner with Sue and Kevin.  We've started getting together for Chinese.  I could eat Chinese every day.

10-TH-PA

There is a house finch who has been hanging on my balcony and singing away.  He's been there for the last few days and I have been chasing him in fear that he is checking out the neighborhood for a good place to build a nest. So far, I don't see any construction going on but I will continue to chase him jut to be sure.

One of our national legislators just called  the Ukraine president a "thug" because he is too liberal.  I can not believe there isn't anyone in the world who is not doing anything but praising this courageous man who is standing up against russia.

Glenn made a delicious Italian veal dinner for us and it was delicious. Sharon, the girls, their spouses and the kids were there.  It was fun.

11-F-PA

I woke up from a dream just as I was about to die.  Apparently, I had cancer and was on a morphine treatment protocol and I was just about to slip in to my last conscious moment. And I was afraid. I woke up a bit shaken from the moment.

I watched the documentary, Desi and Lucy.  What a team and what a comic.  Lucy made everything seem so easy but her comedy was so physical.

12-SA-PA

It's snowing today and everything is shut down because of this pain in the ass weather. And I stayed inside because I already put my winter coats away for the season.

I am listening to one of my favorite books, Blue Highways.  I think I have listened to this book at least five times now.  It goes on for 18 hours which is more time than anyone should commit to a book.  So I am just about playing it non-stop and I drift in and out of the story which is really OK because it's just a collection of hundreds of stories.  But this guy is a good storyteller and his voice is soothing.

We are at the 966,000+ covid death mark for our country.  I wonder why so many people think this covid thing is over. That's over 16,000 new deaths just this week. We should be at the 1,000,000 mark in a few weeks.

Putin is bombing hospitals and maternity wards. Today, someone posted a photo of a young family that was killed yesterday. I have a burning desire to go over there and do something.

Lauren just texted me to tell me that she got engaged today. She plans to elope in December.

My blog has 1,093,233 hits to date.

13- SU- PA

It's Day Lights Savings Day so my life won't get darker until much later today and that is a good thing because it's a miserable day. It feels like a cold, dark January day.

Lauren and Mike announced their engagement on Facebook.

I chatted with Jaye.  She is half way through her chemo treatment and in good spirits.

I chatted with Tricia.  She is very excited about Lauren.  She is planning a baby shower for Deirdre in May. and a Christmas family party in July. I have to bring dessert for the May event.  I hope I remember.

Rickie lee Jones performed at the Uptown theater and I ushered.  I have been a fan of hers for 40 years and she played all of her great hits.  The crowd was very receptive. But now that she is 67, she's lost some of her oomph. She was so cool and edgy in the 1980s.  Now, she just seems tired.

14-M-PA

Around 2 AM, I went on line and found an Alice Walker book in my library option.  It was only 2 hours so I just played it start to finish. She referred to this writing as a book of poetry. Mostly she talked about the horrors we impose on children. The book was not a good choice for bedtime listening.

The sun was out today.  It was warm.  My balcony door was open well in to the late evening and the beauty of the day just begged for me to go somewhere but I didn't. I had thought of going to Middle Creek to see the snow geese.  But I didn't get it together. i jusive.st don't want to drive now that gas is so expensive

I took a walk through town.  I haven't done that for the better part of two years.  So I just strolled around and later ran into Steve and Phyllis and they showed me a new ice cream place. I got my first ice cream cone of the season.  Let's home that it will be my last. It was too easy just to sit and eat ice cream. I almost got my 5,000 steps in today.  I have to get back in to that routine again.  I am so sloughed.

The sun was out until 7 PM. Longer days bring me hope of the summer and warmer, sunnier days.

Twitter: Tomorrow is the Ides of March. Putin should watch his back. #PutinWarCriminal

15-TU-PA

I started the day with a Dr. appointment. I really don't like this woman. She is too abrupt for my taste. But she is looking at my pancreas and I think I need someone who will stay on top of me. She's ordered a ton of bloodwork, MRI and other procedures.

I attempting one more birding moment at Middle Creek but it looks as if most of the snow geese are gone for the season. I miss them already. But I had a pretty good migration season. I started at Bombay Hook in December and I saw more birds there than I have ever seen. I got to see the Mandarin Duck in Philly just a few days before it died. My trip to CO to see the Sandhill Cranes was a home run. I spotted a Sandhill Crane in PA. I saw lots of egrets and herons at Bombay in the fall.

Later in the afternoon, I made my way to the Rotunda Brewery (2). I liked this place.

In the evening, I watched a movie, Woman At War. It was a British movie and it was intriguing.

16- W- PA

The world watched a zoom meeting between President Zelansky, of Ukraine, and the USA Congress. His bravery inspires me and I feel a need to go over there and do something, anything. But what would I do? I couldn't take up arms and kill anyone. I couldn't haul heavy supplies. I don't have a medical background. What would I do? I feel a ridiculous need to do something.

After months of not seeing each other, I met up with Bill McRae for lunch.

I watched a movie about a woman starting over after an ugly divorce. She is challenged to take a leap of faith and risk falling in love again. I was taken aback by this challenge as I only think of a leap of faith as it relates to christianity.

17- TH- PA

It's St Patrick's Day and the world is celebrating after a two year hiatus because of covid.

I started the day with a variety of texts from people, wishing me a happy day. I have spent most of my adult life convincing people that this is my holiday. So now, today, I hear from all sorts of people from all periods of my life.

In the afternoon, I caught up with Sally Doan and her friend and we had several beers at the local bars. Sally's friends were wandering the streets and going in to bars and playing the bagpipes.

In the evening, I had to usher at Uptown. An Irish trio was performing. They didn't play enough rebel songs so the crowd was not as worked up as it could have been.

Quentin texted me to tell me that he is engaged. He popped the question yesterday and she said yes. No date has been set.

18- F- PA

After way too long a time, I got a haircut this afternoon. I looked in the mirror and couldn't believe how long my hair had gotten. Now it feels too short.

Again, I ushered at the Uptown Theatre for a comedy show. The two men were ok but the headliner was hilarious. OMG, she was funny. It was fun to be a part of this event.

19-SA- PA

I leave for my quick trip to Myrtle Beach tomorrow so I left today as a day to tie up lose ends here in my apartment and to organize my car and to pack and so far, I've just spent time, sitting on my balcony, drinking coffee, on this lovely, bright, quiet afternoon.

About 12 plants have started to show some sort of life in my balcony garden. I looked at one pot last night and there was nothing. This morning, there was a one inch sprout. How did that happen?

I have been posting lots of responses to people's posts on Twitter and I am getting more hits than usual. So now, I am talking myself in to believing that I am on my way to being a social media influencer. LOL!

20- SU- PA/NC

Today I started my journey to Myrtle Beach, SC. I drove for 6 hours and would have made more headway but there was tons of traffic going around the DC area. The trees have sprouted up these last few days and it was great to see the beginnings of the cherry blossom season.

I passed gas stations in MD that were charging $3.53 for a gallon of gas. I am going to fill up there on the way home. I am paying $4.23 in PA. That's a big difference.

I found a hotel in NC and checked in around 7 PM and called it a day. There was a Crackle Barrel in the area so I went there for a late dinner and it was pathetic. My waitress was a 60 year old, tired woman who also works there with her daughter. Her grandson, age 12, just died suddenly from heart failure. She is poor and there are two generations behind her who are just as poor. She was a sad character.

21- M- NC/SC

I only had 3 1/2 hours drive to go to get to Myrtle Beach. It was a beautiful day and I was anxious to get to the hotel and to the beach.

I stopped at Independent Republic Brewery (3) for lunch and it was awful. There were only two beers available from this brewery and these beers were a pilsner and a lager. I did order two additional beers, IPA, but they were made by the guest brewery. The food was mediocre and I was happy to leave this place.

Around 4 PM, I checked in to my hotel and just hated it immediately. I am right on the beach and my balcony overlooks the busy main road and a parking garage.

There is a jet tub in my room and I soaked for a little bit. I miss my hot tub.

Senate hearing started today to determine a new Supreme Court Justice. Biden has nominated a black woman. And Republicans just can't hide their uncomfortableness with this smart, educated, poised, articulate black woman.

22-TU-SC/NC

I went to two breweries this afternoon and they were in NC which was just so funny to me because I am staying in SC.

Makai Brewery (4) was my first place and I wasn't thrilled about this place. The beers were good but the vibe was just OK. The bartender got on my nerve.

Red Hare (5)- I had a stout sour and a chili hot lager and I found a quiet corner where I could sit and catch up on my social media.

In the late afternoon, I hung at the pool. I wanted to dip in to the lazy river pool but it was just too cold. I waited until 5ish, hoping a day of sun would heat it up a bit but it was still too cold for me. So I hung in the hot tub and the heat wore me out. I had to come back to my room and take a little nap.

Our Covid deaths are really down at the moment. We aren't finished with covid but it just isn't in our face anymore.

23- W- SC

I had a dreadful two hour high pressure presentation on why I should buy a $106,000 time share for 20 nights/year at hotels around the country. At one point, three sales reps were on me. But I didn't crack.

Afterwards, I drove to an IBA: Important Bird Area. I had never heard that term before. But apparently, there are lots of birds in this area.

My first brewery of the day as the Grand Strand Brewery (6). They served a mint stout that tasted just like a Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie. I bought a 4 pack. This place had an ATM machine and offered bitcoin as a currency option. I was going to try buying some but I just don't know enough to take that risk.

Next I went to the New South Brewery (7)- I only had a coffee porter here. They didn't serve flights and 10 ounces was the smallest pour. I just couldn't drink more beer and drive. And they also brewed coffee so I had a great cup of coffee.

I went back to my lame hotel and soaked in the hot tub for a little.

24- TH- SC/VA

I was so glad to leave Myrtle Beach. I do not like this place. Hopefully, this will be my last time here. I drove to Virginia Beach and found a great hotel right on the beach. And I had a huge balcony with a stunning view. I decided to run out to a brewery nearby and then come back and spend the rest of the evening on the balcony.

I headed over to the Smart Mouth Brewery (8)- VA. This place is right near the beach. I had a flight and had thought of having another one since I wasn't driving but didn't. I just wasn't sure how safe I was to be walking around by myself.

On the way home, I stopped at a corner pizza place and grabbed something quick to eat. They also served up pint size servings of delicious, high alcohol intensity, fruity drinks. I ordered something with vodka and pineapple juice. It came with a big straw which is dangerous for me. I drank that sucker, came home and decided to rest, just a bit. I woke up several hours later and still had no energy. So I missed my moment of hanging on my wonderful balcony and listening to the the beach and the waves. I had just enough energy to get under the sheets and call it a day.

25- F- VA/PA

I had two of my reoccurring work dreams. These dreams wear me out sometimes.

On the drive home, I was stuck behind a Tyson's chicken truck. OMG, that thing smelled. It smelled so bad that I couldn't keep my windows down. But I also could not use the air conditioner as I did not want to pull any of that awful air in to my car.  

Then I passes miles and miles of pulled up railroad line. It was hard for me to understand why the railroad company would pull up an existing line. It probably took years to put the line down and months to pull it up. And now, there will probably never be a rail line here again.

Driving through Delaware, I stopped at one of my favorite places, Dewey Brewery (9). I had thought of spending the night there but the weather did not look promising for Saturday and I was only two hours away at that point. So I had a flight of beers and went home. This brewery experiments with sour beers. I had a blueberry, raspberry, blackberry sour and it tasted like a smoothie.

The news was filled with stories of a supreme court justice's wife who is being accused of participating in the January 6 insurrection.

26- SA- PA

I had yet another work dream. This time I had to arrange a pep rally. And I woke up in the middle of the dream and that always leaves me in a state of befuddlement. I feel like I am in a brain fog.

In the evening, I went to Tricia's house for a light dinner and to watch a movie but we ended up watching two movies: Summer of Soul and The Lost Daughter. Both of these movies are up for an Oscar tomorrow night. I don't think either of them are best picture movies.

Twitter: Biden has no interest in these rallies and neither do we, his supporters. We vote. That’s how elections are won.

27- SU- PA

Damn, it was really cold today. At one point, it was 39F and very windy. It was a bitter, cold, unpleasant day and it snowed a little bit which just made me more cranky.

I went to Bill's Best Brewery (10) with Deb and Lisa. It's a small, fun, friendly place. It was packed and we found a table in the corner. I had a winter ale, a DIPA and two hazy IPAs and I liked them all. And, on Sundays, hotdogs are only $1. This was a sweet place to hang.

On the way home, I stopped at IKEA and bought shit that I just do not need. Some days I just hate me.

As I do every damn year, I am sitting at my computer, trying to retrieve a copy of my pension tax form. I have an appointment with the tax man on Tuesday. As usual, I can not get in to my damn account. The fucking system does not recognize my email address which I have had for 15 years.

Social media is on fire tonight. At the Oscars Ceremony, Will Smith got up and interrupted Chris Rock in the middle of his presentation and slapped him for a thoughtless joke he told. It was shocking and now the whole world is weighing in on who was right and who deserved it.

28- M- PA

Fuck, it is 28F today. It's colder today than it was yesterday and it is late march. This is maddening.

I've started a new podcast: The Thing About Helen and Olga. The story is similar to another podcast that I listened to last year: The Thing About Pam.

I spent the afternoon in the lounge, working on my damn taxes. It took 6 hours to sort through all of my paperwork. It probably could have been done more quickly if I had not spent a lot fo time talking to two people about the Will Smith incident at last night's Oscar Ceremony. And I also spent a lot of time jumping in and out of conversation with Gina and Judy.

Tweet: Is there anyone else who thinks Will Smith's wife could have handled the situation by herself? Isn't she an adult? Was this response really his battle or his ego? #MaleToxicity

29-TU-PA

It is still fucking cold today. I am tired of it.

I had a 12:30 tax appointment. I went there with all of my paperwork and asked if I could just hand in my documents and then have them call me when the guy was finished with my return. That offer was well received as I am sure they are very behind as us planning try to push our way in to the tax office for an appointment.

Tricia and I went to a lecture series event at PSU. It's been two years since we went to one of these talks. Our speaker was a poet who work a poem/novel on the life of the Scottish poet Richard Burns. This poet was brilliant and way over beyond my level of interest, knowledge and passion for this topic. But her work was admirable.

30- W- PA

It is yet another cold day. I really should go to the post office to pick up a box but it is too cold to walk there and the distance is too short to drive. Maybe tomorrow.

I am stuck one another binge show, The Thing About Pam. I listened to the podcast last year and don't remember anything about it. So I am listening to the podcast and to the TV show simultaneously.

I haven't heard back from my tax man. So I guess he took me up on my offer to do my taxes at a later date and I am ok with that.

I went to DE to have dinner with Jaye and Dom. I haven't seen either of them since December. In spite of her cancer, Jaye looked pretty good, not too thin, a little grey and without energy. But she was eating and stayed in the conversation. I only stayed about 1 1/2 hours and then left because she needed to rest.

Tweet: Apatheism: a portmanteau of apathy and theism) is the attitude of apathy towards the existence or non-existence of God(s). It is more of an attitude rather than a belief, claim, or belief system. #Apatheism #IAmAnApatheist Please don't bother me with your religious views.

31- TH- PA

I caught up with Kathy Flatley.  We met at the BMFI to watch a movie at 1:30.  But I screwed up the times and the movie didn't start until 4PM. So we went to lunch and caught up after not seeing each other since the wedding in November. She left and I went back to the movie house, bought my ticket and discovered that the movie really didn't start until 4:30PM.  Damn, it is taking me all day to see this movie.

I went to see The Automat, the documentary about Horn & Hardart's Restaurant.  I vaguely remember this place.  I think it was on the corner of Broad and Chestnut.  The movie made me painfully nostalgic.

Highlights of the month

• Lauren got engaged to Mike Blake.
• Quentin got engaged.
• Deirdre is beginning to show her pregnancy bump.
• I had a beer week. I visited 8 breweries in one week.
• I went to ten breweries this month.
• Finally, after three months, I got to see Jaye again.