So here it is, another exciting Friday night after a busy week here on Eric's Planet. What do we do for fun around here on a nice, balmy Friday night in the summer? We happen to be in the middle of a pandumbic, so Guvvner Newsance has restricted our comings and goings, limiting us as to where we can go and what we can do.
For good fun, there's plenty of action on the railroad tracks behind the house. Or we can take it up a notch and walk to the corner to watch The Changing of the Traffic Lights, a fully synchronized extravaganza of green, red and yellow LEDs playing every minute on the minute at the Lewisand Adolfo Theater. A well timed, quarter-mile walk will result in seeing a double feature: the traffic light show AND The Passing of the Surfliner, rated as a "rail-ly" good show.
Chimi could use a new layer of bedding in his cage, along with his nightly bowl of food and a fresh bottle of water. Maybe even a chew stick or a mum-mum (that's chinchilla-speak for "treat").
Perhaps later, I'll connect with Mom and get caught up on what's going on at her place. Then a shower and off to bed.
As for tomorrow, lather, rinse, repeat.
*SIGH* Any more excitement in my life and I just might keel over and die from it all.
Just venting... 😊
Friday, July 24, 2020
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
When your ride is over, what's next?
EEE-NUFF ABOUT COVID-19 AND ALL OF THE CRAP GOING ON EVERYWHERE!!1! There are bigger fish to fry, strange as that sounds. I've hinted about this in a few previous posts, but as time goes on, I feel like it's getting closer to becoming real. It's definitely not what I want, but some things are simply out of my hands. "What in the world are you talking about, oh maker of little sense?"
Throughout the Pandumbic of 2020, I have not been able to pursue a favorite activity that has given me untold joy, new friends, new experiences, a few splinters (long story), and brought me a lifetime of memories. That activity? Jumping into a vehicle locked to a track attached to a rickety wooden structure or a rusty steel one with no means of propulsion other than gravity and momentum. Then getting locked in and sent on my merry way. There's no escape. And no one's driving, either. How—and why—would anyone do such a thing? And for FUN too? Just more mysterious stuff about me.
The ongoing COVID-19 situation has kept amusement parks across the U.S. closed since mid-March when non-essential businesses were ordered to close to slow the spread of the disease. Although amusement parks do provide what many feel is the essential service of providing entertainment, they didn't rank as high as gas stations, grocery stores and so forth, and, thus, were closed.
However, my issue and the reason for this post goes beyond the closed parks. Had the parks stayed open, I still would have likely not gone to any. In January, I did make one trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain to attend the media event for their new-for-2019-but-delayed-till-2020 attraction, West Coast Racers. (If you missed my report, read it here.) ACE members are always grateful to be invited to media events. They feed us, we ride as much as we want, we get our face on TV, and they often let us stay in the park all day. All we need to do is provide them with the use of our bodies for a few hours to fill coaster trains with riders for the media in return. In the past, I've had no issues riding these contraptions ten to 20 times over the course of those few hours. A couple of rides, rest, a few more, get out and eat. A few more, etc. But for some reason, this time they sent us on at least 15 rides straight, beginning at 3:55 in the morning. I was actually getting a bit queasy so I asked the lady in charge if I could switch out with another rider. "No! Just one more ride, OK?" It may never happen again, but I was truly not happy about having to take another ride. When in the history of Eric has anyone ever known him to react like that to taking a coaster ride without having to wait? Must be some sort of mental unravelation going on.
The painful truth is that my body is heading to the crapper and taking the fast lane to get there. Thankfully, I'm not in any actual pain, but it's truly painful to have to pass on a favorite activity because it has become too much to handle, physically speaking. I've had lab work done; everything's normal aside from the expected anomalies from diabetes. Right now, we can't have in-person visits with our doctors because of guess what? (Hint: there's a "19" in the name...) Of course, as usual, my team of armchair physicians has all of the answers. And, as usual, my ears provide their badvice with the flow-through ventilation it deserves.
This situation has slowed me down. What I can and should do is to try and build up my stamina. It just so happens that one lap around my block is a half-mile. If I can walk one lap several times a day, I can get back to the point where I should be.
The thought of having to pass up a coaster ride is enough to drive me toward getting up, getting out, and doing the work. It's going to be tough, but it will be worth making the effort. I just might come out of this with a rejuvenated spirit and quite possibly a new outlook on life in general. Not to mention the rides on those awesome thrill machines.
The ongoing COVID-19 situation has kept amusement parks across the U.S. closed since mid-March when non-essential businesses were ordered to close to slow the spread of the disease. Although amusement parks do provide what many feel is the essential service of providing entertainment, they didn't rank as high as gas stations, grocery stores and so forth, and, thus, were closed.
However, my issue and the reason for this post goes beyond the closed parks. Had the parks stayed open, I still would have likely not gone to any. In January, I did make one trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain to attend the media event for their new-for-2019-but-delayed-till-2020 attraction, West Coast Racers. (If you missed my report, read it here.) ACE members are always grateful to be invited to media events. They feed us, we ride as much as we want, we get our face on TV, and they often let us stay in the park all day. All we need to do is provide them with the use of our bodies for a few hours to fill coaster trains with riders for the media in return. In the past, I've had no issues riding these contraptions ten to 20 times over the course of those few hours. A couple of rides, rest, a few more, get out and eat. A few more, etc. But for some reason, this time they sent us on at least 15 rides straight, beginning at 3:55 in the morning. I was actually getting a bit queasy so I asked the lady in charge if I could switch out with another rider. "No! Just one more ride, OK?" It may never happen again, but I was truly not happy about having to take another ride. When in the history of Eric has anyone ever known him to react like that to taking a coaster ride without having to wait? Must be some sort of mental unravelation going on.
The painful truth is that my body is heading to the crapper and taking the fast lane to get there. Thankfully, I'm not in any actual pain, but it's truly painful to have to pass on a favorite activity because it has become too much to handle, physically speaking. I've had lab work done; everything's normal aside from the expected anomalies from diabetes. Right now, we can't have in-person visits with our doctors because of guess what? (Hint: there's a "19" in the name...) Of course, as usual, my team of armchair physicians has all of the answers. And, as usual, my ears provide their badvice with the flow-through ventilation it deserves.
This situation has slowed me down. What I can and should do is to try and build up my stamina. It just so happens that one lap around my block is a half-mile. If I can walk one lap several times a day, I can get back to the point where I should be.
The thought of having to pass up a coaster ride is enough to drive me toward getting up, getting out, and doing the work. It's going to be tough, but it will be worth making the effort. I just might come out of this with a rejuvenated spirit and quite possibly a new outlook on life in general. Not to mention the rides on those awesome thrill machines.
Sunday, July 19, 2020
2020—The Year of Crazy
The other night on Facebook, I mentioned that I was going to write in my blog. I did get started, only to nod off and, as only I can, managed to hit the DELETE button in the process. All of my work was sent to the cyber dump. But it gave me a chance to sleep on a few ideas for a replacement post to add to this ongoing saga of my existence. Upon getting a fairly reasonable amount of sleep and a second wind, I got off to a fresh start. Here's what spent the night brewing in my mind.
As time has gone on, it appears that the year 2020 has turned out like what happens when you serve a plate of food to someone and it slips out of their hands, falling to the floor face down, smashing into many pieces with food splattered all over. There's quite a mess to clean up, and it's going to take awhile.
As time has gone on, it appears that the year 2020 has turned out like what happens when you serve a plate of food to someone and it slips out of their hands, falling to the floor face down, smashing into many pieces with food splattered all over. There's quite a mess to clean up, and it's going to take awhile.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been at the top of the news for most of the year. 2020 is also a presidential election year. Those two things have kept us jumping. Thanks to at least one incident (in Minneapolis, black suspect George Floyd was held down on the ground by a white police officer's knee on his neck, eventually killing Floyd) touched off racial tension with protests and violence in many areas around the country. In my personal life, there are some rather ungood things going on that I need to deal with. (I'll spare you the details now, but may treat you to a future post about everything once I've untangled and laughed about all of it. Or cried. You never know.)
All of these things make you wonder "what in the world is going on?" as well as "what are we going to do about it/what CAN we do about it?" As I often say, "All we can do is the best we can do." Perhaps picking up the pieces we can handle is a good start. If we grab a friend or six, we can pick up the bigger pieces. There's strength in numbers. While we can't force anyone to feel a certain way about an issue, we can influence some people to at least have some tolerance toward those whose opinions are different. In some cases, the old "agree to disagree" policy will have to do regarding the issue.
Here in my blog, all I can offer is my two cents' worth, so bear with me or go fetch a bear to chase me into the woods. But you'd better not catch a cub. Otherwise you'll have mama bear on your tail, and you won't like that...
On the racial issue, when the slogan, "Black Lives Matter" went viral, my initial response to it was, "All Lives Matter." After some thought and discussion with various friends who "got it," I came to understand the reason and need to single out black lives here. While every life does matter, the attitude taken toward black people seems to be that they're somehow "expendable." Several hundred years of slavery in certain U.S. states was reprehensible. Sure, it might have been "just the way it was" at that time, but wrong nonetheless. Imagine if we treated everyone with kindness and respect regardless of what their race is. Sure, we have our Karens and Kens out there, but they come in all colors, shapes and sizes.
But under NO circumstances is crime and violence acceptable. Peaceful protests are fine, but as soon as protesters start blocking traffic, throwing things, etc., the protest is no longer peaceful.
COVID-19 has kept most people at home and has caused many businesses to shut down for good (RIP Souplantation 😔). It's perfectly understandable that we want our lives back to normal, but as long as we flout what really amounts to common courtesy toward others in terms of doing what the CDC says, normal won't be back very soon. Masks are a pain, and wet hands make your fingers all wrinkly, but it's all temporary. The more everyone does their part, the temporarier it will be.
So there you go. A bit long and rambly, but just a few thoughts with good intentions straight from my heart and soul.
Here in my blog, all I can offer is my two cents' worth, so bear with me or go fetch a bear to chase me into the woods. But you'd better not catch a cub. Otherwise you'll have mama bear on your tail, and you won't like that...
On the racial issue, when the slogan, "Black Lives Matter" went viral, my initial response to it was, "All Lives Matter." After some thought and discussion with various friends who "got it," I came to understand the reason and need to single out black lives here. While every life does matter, the attitude taken toward black people seems to be that they're somehow "expendable." Several hundred years of slavery in certain U.S. states was reprehensible. Sure, it might have been "just the way it was" at that time, but wrong nonetheless. Imagine if we treated everyone with kindness and respect regardless of what their race is. Sure, we have our Karens and Kens out there, but they come in all colors, shapes and sizes.
But under NO circumstances is crime and violence acceptable. Peaceful protests are fine, but as soon as protesters start blocking traffic, throwing things, etc., the protest is no longer peaceful.
COVID-19 has kept most people at home and has caused many businesses to shut down for good (RIP Souplantation 😔). It's perfectly understandable that we want our lives back to normal, but as long as we flout what really amounts to common courtesy toward others in terms of doing what the CDC says, normal won't be back very soon. Masks are a pain, and wet hands make your fingers all wrinkly, but it's all temporary. The more everyone does their part, the temporarier it will be.
So there you go. A bit long and rambly, but just a few thoughts with good intentions straight from my heart and soul.
Thursday, July 2, 2020
Quarantine, take 2!
Just when we thought we were well on our way to returning to normal, the number of COVID-19 infections has skyrocketed into oblivion. Around here, our governor has sent us back into quarantine, complete with the requirement to stay home and only leave to take care of essential business. Once things started to reopen, I had a feeling that this would be the result. For reasons only known to them, so many people have not taken this crisis seriously. They act like their rights have been taken away. (I wrote a bit about this in my last post.)
How do we get people to get over themselves and do the right thing? No one alive today would remember the flu pandemic just after World War I. My guess is that people at that time did whatever they had to do in order to protect themselves and others. But these are different times. Many people don't have the sense of doing what's best for everyone as a whole. "Me first!", they seem to think.
Within the last week, I posted a Facebook update where I suggested that not taking precautions would result in more infections. One (now former) friend responded to my post and said that she proudly does not wear a mask. Pretty dumb and irresponsible when you have a six-month-old child. She got an earful from some of my friends, so she deleted her post, which also took down all of the responses. Then she unfriended me.
Everyone has their own opinion, and they're entitled to that. But this situation requires that we follow the lead of the doctors and scientists who are as on top of this as they can be. This pan-dumb-ic is certainly frustrating and inconvenient. But it's here and we need to deal with it. So why not do things right? A little patience will cut down on the number of patients.
NOTE: I said "pan-dumb-ic" simply because we're all frustrated and can't do much. Just me messing around with the words as usual.
NOTE: I said "pan-dumb-ic" simply because we're all frustrated and can't do much. Just me messing around with the words as usual.
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