Living in the time of pandemic: COVID-19 (324)
August 17, 2026
Year 7 of COVID in the Bay Area.
Year 7, Day 104: I’m doing the math for next week and with the kindergarten class letting out at 12:30 for a month, I’m only going to have roughly 4 hours of kid-free time per weekday once school starts. After that month, they add one hour.
That’s a mere half of the solo silent hours I need to stay sane generally. ðŸ˜
And if PiC chooses to flex work more, to help out with kid stuff, that further cuts down on my solo silent time. It’ll help with the kid errands but I’m going to struggle with so little quiet time to recharge.
(Cautiously) I think I’ve finally kicked the most recent set of viruses and my mouth has also healed from the three canker sores that sprouted around the same time (could have been related). Rude, body, very rude. But finally I can take a bite of food and not be in pain all the way until the food gets past the esophagus! 🎉
Year 7, Day 105: Both in an attempt to keep my mind busy, and to stack a few more bricks of cash against the rapidly approaching last day, I’ve been working a number of deals these past few weeks.
We opened Wells Fargo accounts for the bonus and reaped $800 for both. I’m working the Chase Ink Business card bonus now that all the approval rigamarole is done with. I saved T-Mobile Tuesday deals four weeks in a row on both our phones to earn a $5 gift card for each of us.
I’ve submitted all FSA receipts to date and my reimbursements for work expenses have been paid so I’m very nearly done with all the work related things I’ll need to wrap up.
I’m kinda drawing a blank on what I can be doing next so best to focus on hitting the minimum on the Chase card in a smart way before picking up another money project.
Year 7, Day 106: I’m using the library’s MakerSpace a lot this month: learning how to use the 3D printer, using their sewing machine while mine is in the shop, etc. I’m hoping to learn how to use their Cricut soon but that has to wait until my hands are under control. They’ve been so swollen this week that I’m up a full ring size and it’s been hard to do basic things like bend my fingers. This is like a reversion to my hands 30 years ago when my fibro first started.
We’re borrowing a lot more books and DVDs these days. Well, I am. PiC has always kept the kids stocked to the borrowing limit but we’ve only just started finding shows that we can all enjoy that isn’t just Bluey. Right now, it’s Robotech which I spotted fortuitously. We’ve finished the Mscross Saga, and have the Masters Saga and The New Generation (10? Discs). Then we’ll be on the hunt for something else. Remember a few months or so ago, SmolAc hated everything we screened because they decided all antagonists were bad and made the show bad. It’s made finding something to watch a lot more challenging.
I’d like to try Doctor Who but maybe that’s only possible if we can get the really old doctors. My theory is that the fighting in Robotech is only acceptable (to SmolAc) because it’s robots and very old graphics/ technology. Perhaps very old Doctor Who might maybe slide under their radar? If not, maybe it’s time for anime – One Piece might be acceptable. Open to suggestions for favorite anime appropriate for a 5+ year old and the rest of us!
Year 7, Day 107: My little Janome is home! It’s been serviced for $150 and is home home home. I’m hoping that the service means I won’t run into tension issues with the thread seizing up under the sewing plate again any time soon. I’ve got several bags in various stages of completion, I’d love to finish them off.
Today is a SmolAc and me day so we’ve planned for them to do some coloring, some drawing, and then we’re going to pick up our neighbor and their two big dogs for a session of ball throwing. It’ll be good for everyone. I desperately need dog time, SmolAc has been more and more interested in dogs, the dogs need the exercise, and our neighbor kid is bored so we’ll be rescuing them for a little while.
Year 7, Day 108: A discussion about blood donations in a Discord led to a mention of plasma donations (paid) and that roused my curiosity so I did a bit of searching. It looks like you can make a decent amount of money a month doing 5-8 donations but none of the many locations they have in California, across three companies, are anywhere near us. Darn. Not that I know if I COULD donate plasma but September is for learning new things!
Had an online chat with Comcast because they are no longer showing the relevant details of the promotional rate I wangled out of their last chat agent AND they double charged me. It looks like the double charge will be offset by next month’s billing negative $1 but I still don’t like how the site no longer shows the correct promotional rate with discount AND when the discount ends. It SHOULD be $50/month for 60 months, but their site is just blithely showing a $100 monthly rate. The chat agent kept telling me to “trust me”, that the rate is correct in the system but a) I don’t and b) there’s no reason Comcast itself would ever take “trust me” instead of cold hard proof of the agreement. So for now, I have to settle for screenshots of the chat agent assuring me that my monthly rate is $50. Doesn’t leave a good taste in my mouth but if this buys me peace for another 4.5 years on the internet front, that is good enough.