August 26: It was the year of grieving
Yesterday, one of the dev managers sent around the five-step directions to return to the office and collect your things, if you wanted. In my case, it would be out-of-date technical manuals and outgrown exercise clothing, and a half-used bottle of rubbing alcohol. Such is the cruft of a tenure of 15 years this Fall, the longest of any job. Despite our CIO pushing for a return to work, my group is considering making all developer positions remote, because we don't need to be on site.
Yesterday it hit me that the organization I joined 15 years ago is no longer there. And I cried. That part of my life is over. The bad (Jakob not sleeping for two more fucking years) and the good (biking everywhere, that small and close team, lunch with Jorj). Even when COVID is over, so many other things will well and truly be over. Especially my godfather, Ernst, who died in May. As if when COVID is over and we fly to Germany, time will roll back and I can see him that last time. No matter what I do in quarantine, how many miles I ride on the Peloton, how much yard work I do, how much I bake and cook, Ernst is gone, and Mom is gone, and Jakob is a teen, and Trump has destroyed my country even further.
August 18: Quarantine month, part two
We had a wonderful time at Camp Akeela. Apparently, "family camp" is a Thing for away camps; friends Marsha and Tony also attended their kids' camp. The away camp thing is foreign to me: I did Y camp (ugh, nukem and sun poison) for years; Jorj did similar until his grandfather sent him to technology camp at Friends Select. This was far better! We were divided into two pods, each pod had three things to choose from during each of the four activity periods of the day. Activities were an hour, and lots of sleep time was included. Jakob was in the lake or playing games with friends (W. and A. had been with him at camp last year). Jorj did boating with Jakob, hikes, archery, frisbee golf, woodworking. I chose yoga (all three times!), ceramics, woodworking (with Jorj), D & D (once with Jakob), frisbee golf (with Jorj) and a hike (with Jorj). I read on our porch a lot. I brought Mexican Gothic and Lies My Teacher Taught Me, and while Lies is very topical, it shatters all those American exceptionalism illusions, and the horror of Mexican Gothic was more fun.
The D & D group was neat. The first time, there were two teens, another counselor and myself. The DM was had run her first two campaigns the week before. She ran a pre-set scenario for up to five players, and would do great voices. My job was to get the kids to think about the goal. The second session, more kids came (including Jakob) and I chose to be a mouse companion of a player character, and was able to slip my player a note to get the kids back on track.
We were in three pods: staff, teen parent (five families), younger families (six families). We could socialize without masks within our pod, but were expected to wear masks around anyone in the other pods. Outside of being in the family cabin, we were all outside. Lunch on the porch; outside activities; bonfires; yoga on the "beach". Even the arty activities were on the porch of the art barn. Whenever different pod members got close to each other, we'd pull our masks up. Jakob's friend A wound up in the other pod, and A "transferred" in to our pod; all the kids wore masks when they were together.
Despite the literal in-your-face-ness of COVID prevention, I forgot how awful the federal response has been. The camp has no cell service, and wifi only in staff buildings. Parents would sneak off to check the news, or, in my case, continue their Duo streak.
August 10 to 15: It was the week of Akeela
Less than ideal and will trouble-shoot later, but here are the pics from Vermont.
RestStopCovidLine
FixJorjBlanket
BonfireArea
JorjRehearses1
SunsetFromTheatre
SunsetBehindLibrary
BikingTurnOf
VermontRoad
VermontMountains
ArtBarnDeck
GrandmothersSong
MillerPondSunset
MaskUpAtBonfire
Bonfire
VermontField
OneDeckDungeon
JakeAndTylerBreakfast
Fungus1
FriendshipBraceletForJavi
BikingWithBushas2
WoodProject
VermontWindingRoad
VermontField2
PreDinnerMaskUp
PoolAndLakeFromDiingHall
PassedOurSwimTest
MorningWifi
MillerPondFromLodge2
MillerPondFromLodge
MillerPond
JorjRehearses2
GamerGang
Fungus2
FriendshipBraceletForRobb
CabinAwayFromHome
BikingWithBushas
MowedField
VermontTree
AkeelaLandscape
StickStrawBrick
Wildflowers
August 8: Hey, we don't have COVID!
As part of the being allowed to stay at the camp, we must submit a negative COVID-19 test result (testig for active COVID) during the week before we quarantine. Thankfully, all our results are negative, and we've spent the day cleaning and tidying so that we can come home to a clean house, and our cat-sitter — a friend of the family — doesn't think we live like slobs.
Sleeping this week has been terrible — taking Benadryl one night, waking up every night, one night that seemed sleepless except for the dreams, and lots and lots of weird, anxiety-riddle dreams. One good one was being in a car, unable to find the on-ramp to get back onto the interstate, and realizing we were driving with the lights off. Do you think that's symbolic of anything?? There have been a couple of dreams about running through Philly, one in which I swore running would be the fastest way to get through the city.
Today the Orange menace announced defunding Social Security.
August 2: It's the month of quarantine
We're going on vacation.
That just sounds so fucking stupid. I'm too smart to vacation out of state in the middle of an out-of-control pandemic.
The requirements are reassuring: we must fill out a health questionaire, quarantine for at least a week before going (so no Farmers' Market or BLM protesting), get a COVID test and results during that week of quarantine, drive up with minimal stopping, and bring an unventilated mask for each day we will be there. While there, there will be three pods: one for staff, one for six visiting families, one for the remaining five visiting families. Intra-pod socialization does not require masking; cross-pod socialization does. The destination is the Vermont camp that Jakob has attended the last two summers. Lots of out doors!
Jakob was pretty upset not to go to camp, and Jorj was pretty upset not to have a family vacation in New England again. I too miss the thought of going away, but have enjoyed my ride to the Farmers' Market and Sundays on the Meetinghouse grounds, and now I can't do that for the month, because when we come back, we should be quarantining. It also means I need to run at well before 7, when other runners and walkers start appearing (god forbid even the walkers wear masks). And no Rieker's or HMart.