april 16
Hi friends,
Seems like I may have tempted fate last week by talking about the mildness of my POTS symptoms. I got over-confident and upped my indoor exercise and then had a little flare up over the weekend. Whoops. More than physically feeling worse, though, I kind of hit a wall emotionally. Earlier this week I reached the one month mark of being alone in my apartment, which has been rough for an neurotic extrovert (even a chronically ill one).
In related news, Vinnie has had a slightly scratchy throat for about a month now. He couldn’t get tested in Santa Cruz, so we decided to play it safe and wait for him to feel better. After a month of feeling more or less the same, we were pretty sure it was just allergies and made plans for him to drive down tomorrow. Today, however, he woke up feeling worse, so those plans are delayed again. He is (potentially) getting tested tomorrow, so hopefully definitive answers are imminent. Still, I’m keeping my expectations low.
Beyond the immediate future, I’m trying to process the prospect of several years spent mostly inside. I know that’s not certain, and it likely won’t be the case for everyone, but barring a faster than expected vaccine roll-out or an effective new treatment, I’m not sure what a safe alternative for immunosuppressed folks would be. I’m grateful that I will have a place to stay, but it’s strange to hear people talk about the plans they’re making for this fall when I’m pretty sure I’ll still be inside.
On a better note, today a friend brought me two slices of homemade kabocha pie. They were delicious. If anyone else would like to bring me pie, I certainly would not object.
Links, Etc.: Coronavirus Edition
Lots of good reading this week, but if you’re only going to click one link, make it this one
Glad I’m not the only one who’s been having weird ass dreams
From Talia Lavin: Calling Healthcare Workers War “Heroes” Sets Them Up to Be Sacrificed
I guess it’s not surprising that this myth comes from a right-wing think tank: No, You Did Not Get COVID-19 in the Fall of 2019
This really resonated with me, in part because the author and I share a diagnosis
We snake people are forever screwed
Profiles of women living alone during the pandemic
Bad news for transit is bad news for everyone (making the Untokening’s Mobility Justice principles more important than ever)
Recommended reading for everyone, but especially my TP/SS folks: An immigrant community faces a ‘catastrophic’ pandemic without help
And finally, my wonderful friend Lauren Moon is starting a project called AT HOME, “a weekly newsletter of things that are getting us through, collectively”
Links, Etc.: Non-Coronavirus Edition
Passover ended tonight, but you can still appreciate this: 11 TV Seders, Ranked by Mishegoss
So extremely up my alley: Phoebe Bridgers talking about Elliott Smith (and here’s the cover she mentions)
Semi-covid related, but I’ve been listening to a lot of Fountains of Wayne and John Prine over the past few weeks
ESPN re-ran old National Spelling Bee finals over the weekend, including this amazing moment of eventual 2008 winner Sameer Mishra mistaking the word “numnah” for “numb nut.” (I was watching this live in 2008, in case you’re wondering how much of a dweeb I have always been)