Tag Archives: masks

Kicking 2020 goodbye

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The year hasn’t been all bad for us. But I’m definitely ready for it to go away.

I know that things aren’t going to magically be better starting Friday. The loss many of us have experienced this year isn’t something we can just undo. 2021 isn’t going to bring back the loved ones we lost, it isn’t going to magically return everyone’s employment, or make gatherings okay again and masks obsolete, but I do think it will bring us some semblance of hope. Just a smidge. A taste. An amuse-bouche, if you will.

I’m worried the vaccine rollout (no matter how achingly slow it is, atm) will cause people to slack up on their diligence. Many people really aren’t taking this very seriously anyway. They’re fatigued of the new normal. They think wearing their mask is enough.(don’t get me wrong, please wear your mask! but it’s only 70% effective at keeping you safe) They don’t wanna live in isolation even if the temporary change is better for their neighbors. They wear their masks and move about the cabin like they are 100% protected.

I lost 2 friends who were healthy, with no underlying conditions, in their 30s, mask-compliant at all times, but they had to work in the service industry and in education. Where they had to depend on others to be compliant. So when I hear of people who do have underlying issues moving about the cabin as if this is a normal year, it really frustrates me. Our country has failed us. Our government has failed us. And now our fellow citizens are failing us.

But still I hope.

I am thrilled for my healthcare friends who have gotten the vaccine and am so happy to hear some of my educator friends are getting them now, too! I am looking forward to the day when we can all receive the vaccine…and then maybe, just maybe, life in 2021 will start to return to a recognizable normal. Not this new normal we are currently living in. I’m grateful for my bubble and my safety net and my ability to work from home and adapt my normally “outgoing” lifestyle to a more subdued life at home. It’s worth it to keep my family and friends safe. I miss going out, but hell, my bank account is proud of my staying in. My kids know the importance of isolating as much as possible. They’ve adapted well, even if they are a little lonely. It’s a temporary lonely, one that will be over soon, if we can just hang in there.

I still have hope.

I do hope that by Fall of 2021 we will be mostly vaccinated. I hope that people who are refusing the vaccination for reasons that make zero sense, will follow the science behind the development of the vaccines. I hope that the Crybaby-in-Chief will sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up soon. January 20, 2021 soon. 21 days soon.

I hope all the idiots crying about violations of their “freedoms” because of mask wearing will eventually get the help they need to overcome the 4 years of gaslighting that our country has endured. I hope that Georgia turns full blue. I hope that even though Biden wasn’t my first, second, or third choice, that he and Kamala Harris will succeed in undoing much of the harm the great orange one has caused. I hope we can come together to discuss our differences (not including racism. Fuck off with that. That’s not a difference in opinion, that’s a difference in morality). I hope with all hope that Mitch McConnell retires. (ok, that’s more of a giant pie-in-the-sky dream, but maybe when he becomes MINORITY leader McConnell, he’ll stop being such a roadblock)

So yeah, I have hope. But I don’t have ANY expectations. 2020 taught me a hard lesson on that one.

Cheers my friends. Raise a glass of your favorite drink (non-alcoholic is perfectly acceptable) and let’s toast to hope in 2021. I’ll see you on Inauguration Day.

Love,
Melf

it’s been a while…

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Well, 2 years or so to be exact. Have you missed me?

Whoa. What the fuck is going on in this world? Like, Trump got elected in 2016 and our world just kinda started going to shit, didn’t it? Like him or not, there’s no denying the division in America has grown. And gotten louder. Ugh I’m so tired of the noise. The rhetoric. And the downright lies.

A lot has happened in my life these past few years. I’ll start with the highlights.

My youngest kid started and graduated from college. He was supposed to start an international job, but since our esteemed “leader” fucked up our pandemic response (or lack thereof) so he is currently at home, playing video games and reading. He’s being very cautious and isolating so that if and when the job is available again, he can just pack his bags, grab his passport, and fly away.

My oldest kid bought a house, then the pandemic hit and his hours were severely cut and his roommate lost his job…so the Manpanion and I have been doing our best to help him make ends meet. We’re happy to do it because we can, but it’s tough sometimes.

My sweet girl Ruby died this past May. RIP you old crank. I miss you even though you loved to shit on my shoes. We did a final photo shoot for her the week prior to her endgame. Please go forth and see the beautiful photos my dear friend Jeff Fuller-Freeman did for us. Also, call Jeff and hire him for every event you may have in the future. Here’s one of my favorites

The Manpanion and I recently bought a house that we are renovating.

Oh, and we finally voted out the Dictator in Chief, have a woman VP-elect, and finally we have a team of scientists in place to actually start fighting the pandemic.

I’d also like to mention that four years ago, I accidentally predicted the Trump Virus.

The Manpanion called me a witch all weekend. Strangely, I’m ok with that.

But seriously, what the fuck is up with the craziness? People yelling that wearing masks during a pandemic is infringing on their freedoms, (funny, “my body, my choice” applies to face coverings, but not to women seeking fucking medical care) never mind everyone else’s intrinsic right to remain free of your aerosol spatter* during a viral pandemic. (*We’re going to say those are official scientific descriptors even though we know they are not). Governors requiring in person school (I’m looking at you ASA) meanwhile our educators are overworked, underpaid, and exhausted. Not to mention dying…because, you know, PANDEMIC. People crying about “it’s only 1% death rate!” Which is actually 2.5% currently in the US, but whatever. These people are fine with 2.5/100 deaths. Let’s just start grouping Americans together by 100, and then randomly pick off 2 or 3 of them at a time. Maybe we can line them up on 5th Avenue and let Trump shoot them himself. He wouldn’t lose any voters and hey, the results would be the same. Only maybe less painful, because they wouldn’t die by drowning in their own fluids.

I’m a little mad about it, can you tell?

Since when did FOLLOWING SCIENCE and DATA become political? (can we stop saying “believe in science” please?) You follow the science. You don’t have faith in it.

To say I was relieved with a Biden/Harris win is an understatement. I can now breathe easier for my black and brown friends. No, systemic racism isn’t over by any stretch. 70M Americans still voted for a racist. We have a lot of work to do. But at least we have elected 2 people that acknowledge there’s a real problem and has indicated they plan to address it. My queer family and friends are a little safer now. Sure, McConnell pushed through the Handmaid’s Tale lady for the Supreme Court instead of pushing through a stimulus plan to help Americans during a PANDEMIC but you know what? We can’t have everything, I guess. I feel like with Biden/Harris in office, at least we won’t be force into wearing the red capes any time soon. Gilead has been put off for 4 more years. I do hope my queer friends’ marriages and healthcare are still safe. I feel strongly Biden won’t allow that to change if he can help it.

Thank you for listening to me. I just needed to get it all off my chest. I want our country to reunite, to fight racism, to fight fascism (aren’t we all supposed to be ANTIFA?) to help those who need help, to make sure everyone has healthcare and food. That is what would make America great. Not whatever fucked up timeline we actually collided with. Once the pandemic is past, can we put the scientists to work on finding exactly where our real timeline and this awful one crashed into each other? And maybe fix it?

Asking for a Nation.

xoxo,
Mel