By: Revanche

Living in the time of pandemic: COVID-19 (174)

October 2, 2023

Year 4 of COVID in the Bay Area.

Year 4, Day 185: I spent most of the weekend on the shopping and tracking and all the admin work for our September Lakota families (background). I am thinking very sadly that last year we did SUCH an amazing job fundraising for shopping the Black Friday sales but I’m doubtful I’ll be able to do more than a small fraction of that this year. I can’t tell if it’s primarily because reach has shattered since the loss of Twitter or if everyone’s having a harder time than usual, financially. I hope that it’s just the former. It feels like I’m giving up when the going gets hard. People need the help more than ever, this year, and instead of getting revved up, I’m deflated.

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Email from CVS: “You’ll find COVID-19 testing at your nearby CVS® for $69.99.” $70???? I am so tired of this country’s lack of affordable access to care.

My hormones are overactive today, setting off waves of cramps so strong that I’m nauseous and sweating. No wonder I hate everything today.

Year 4, Day 186: We’re still about ten minutes behind our usual morning routine and it’s been over a week of recovery. I’d expected to be back on it by yesterday, but I’m still dragging and waking up later than I should. Normally Smol Acrobat is my alarm.

The first rain of the fall season fell overnight, so everything’s wet or damp. It’s like a gentle warning of what may lay ahead.

Lots of bits of bad news from friends today. Two were injured, one with broken bones, and another one lost a job offer they’d been overjoyed to receive after months of hunting. Boy I hope things look up from here for them.

Year 4, Day 187: We finally got back on track this morning! Dropoff and sendoff (of PiC and Smol Acrobat) achieved before 8:30 am finally.

Following on from the weekend when I made the time to tackle some desperately needed floor scrubbing, floor scrubbing I haven’t had time or energy for since the entire pandemic started, I feel the urge to learn how to sew something new this year. I haven’t felt this pull all year. I’d love to figure out how to make these designs: Japanese knot bag and gift bag. Is it a coincidence that this coincides with the upcoming holiday gift season? I’m sure it’s not at all. Still, the desire to create doesn’t often wake up in me so I try to listen to it when I can. I most definitely don’t have time for it today but I CAN check to see where I can get for liner material on sale.

Year 4, Day 188: We’ve had forecasts for warm weather all week but it didn’t pan out a single day this week. Luckily it was dry enough that PiC and Smol could do their usual bike commute.

Last week, I started a new jug of detergent. Bought it on sale ages ago, so long ago I’d forgotten it was slightly different from our usual. This one came “plus oxi-clean with odor-blasters!” I’d focused on the oxi-clean part, which I like, and failed to understand “fresh burst” tucked into the corner meant scent. Oops. We’ve used fragrance free detergent for several years now so this was an unpleasant surprise. I crossed my fingers that I’d get used to it. I think we’ve achieved scent neutrality today. I’m accustomed enough to it not to be irritated. Small win!

You’d think I’d be accustomed to being tired all the time, but that’s not how it works. I’ve been fatigued since 2013 and every day is still a mystery of “why am I so tired today?” Last week made sense, we were recovering from a very strenuous weekend. This week, I caught up on most of my backlog and found 20 minutes to dig in the potatoes and onions garden. Why does reaching the end of the day still feel like crawling to a mirage in the desert?

Having chronic fatigue is weird. You know you’re always going to be operating at 10-20% at best and yet still try to find a “reason” for it as if it’s not just a built-in feature.

Year 4, Day 189: Friday food review! I heated up a Kevin’s premade meal, Korean BBQ flavored chicken and added a box of tofu to it to serve with rice and creamed spinach one night. Another night I whipped up a tray of panko chicken, served with rice and salad. Go figure, JB was in love with the Caesar salad, and Smol Acrobat was willing to eat anything in exchange for cheese from the Caesar salad.

Are there any good frozen waffles? Thick heavy hearty waffles? The kids love Trader Joe’s frozen waffles but they just make me sad. They’re probably about as good as Eggo waffles were back in the day but I haven’t had those in eons.

2 Responses to “Living in the time of pandemic: COVID-19 (174)”

  1. bethh says:

    I can’t speak to the waffle question but hopefully someone else will. Kinda seems like it might be a product that is hard to do well in the freezer section, or maybe that’s my kneejerk negativity! I was at a kind of foodie party this weekend and one of the biggest hits was a bagged salad, to the bringer’s semi-shamefaced delight. It was pretty funny! (I didn’t recognize the brand but am guessing it was a costco number.)

    Your CVS post reminded me to schedule my Covid boost. I’ve been waiting for it to be available at a certain chain, but it’s still not, so fine – I scheduled at another pharmacy chain, even though I have to wait 3 more weeks. I’ll be nice and baked in before the holiday travel season.

    • Revanche says:

      That’s possible! Some days, I am endlessly hopeful when it comes to food.

      Haha what type of greens were in the bagged salad? I love any salad I don’t have to make.

      Yay for scheduling your booster! I don’t think we’ll be able to schedule ours for another week, hopefully it won’t take longer than that.

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