07/26/2020-08/01/2020
The week started off in auspicious manner as Trump decided to visit texas and hold a small fundraiser despite there being a whole uproar two weeks ago about the “largest gathering of the largest political gathering in the free world” being cancelled in Houston due to, you know, the whole global pandemic thing. Not only were masks not worn by Trump, but they were also not worn by many of the attendees as well. In totally unrelated news, former candidate for the Prez Herman Caine died of coronavirus after attending Trump’s rally in Tulsa several weeks ago, which saw him maskless in one of the final public photos taken of him.
To make matters worse, one of the people who was supposed to be flying with Trump, a known (mostly) anti-mask advocate Texas Congressman Louis Gohmert was diagnosed with Coronavirus literally hours before boarding the Air Force 1 w/ Trump. Congressman Louis Gohmert would later suggest that perhaps the reason he caught the Coronavirus was because of the mask. Seriously dude?
The great state of Texas continues setting grim milestones by passing 6,100 deaths on the same day that the U.S.A. passed 150,000 death nationwide. On the bright side, Texas as a whole looks to be slowing down in in terms of cases being reported. However, after last week it was revealed that these numbers might not be 100% accurate due to folks not following up w/ their doctor or coming in once it’s too late, Texas officials say it’s hard to know exactly what the numbers are.
While Texas as a whole might be slowing down, unfortunately it turns out that San Antonio and the surrounding Bexar County has been picking up the slack a little by reporting more than 760 new cases per day in the last week.
Meanwhile, it appears that San Antonio congressman Chip Roy didn’t get Mayor Ron Neirenberg’s memo last week about how the Coronavirus is NOT a hoax. Maybe he needs to watch John Oliver tackle COVID-19 conspiracies as well.
Meanwhile, work is still going along, though not without some more changes that don’t exactly feel “safety” related per-say. In order to take some extra social distancing steps, it’s been decided by management to cut the number of trainer stations down, meaning all trainers will now need to use the same 3 cubicles. Hmmm…..
Speaking of work, at the end of the week it was revealed in an email that another person who had coronavirus still came to work last week on the only day I had to be in the office. However, we’ve been assured they had no direct contact w/ anyone, sooo…. fingers crossed. This brings the grand total of work related cases to 2 (that management is aware of), which isn’t so bad considering how bad things have been in Texas as a whole. At least, that's what I keep telling myself.
After changing Fifi the cat’s food from exclusively dry to a wet/dry combo (the dry food being grain free now), her mood is now much more mellow, and she doesn’t bother nearly as much between 2-6 in the morning. Guess that means she likes the new food??
In totally unrelated news, it looks like Fifi the cat is beginning to gain a little bit of belly.
Those mystery seeds sent from China that have been baffling folks all over the U.S. have finally made their way to Texas mail boxes.
Speaking of seeds, in the wake of two teams having to quarantine, MLB officials had a challenging and nerve-wracking week pondering if the season should/could even continue. Guess that’s strike one?
As the week wore on, several other teams saw outbreaks emerge which in turn caused about 20% of MLB teams to see their games postponed. The Comish of the MLB warned that he may cancel the season if things don’t improve soon. Guess that’s strike two?
In other sports news, the NBA resumed it’s basketball season with a confusing, convoluted schedule in a bubble. However, judging by the start of things, basketball season (and several other sports) might be primed to go… all… the… way thanks to their bubbles.
This week also saw a Medical Marijuana facility come to San Antonio, so that’s… something?
But because we can’t have nice things and the old white people in charge of Texas don’t understand how marijuana works, Texas officials decided to focus their energies on banning the sale of legal, smokable cannabis (the kind that has more CBD than THC) in the midst of a global pandemic ravaging through Texas. Way to show your priorities.
Speaking of priorities, The Prez of the United States shows he’s continuing to take the continued threat of the global pandemic seriously by… banning the tiktok app in the U.S.?
.
It’s good to see Governor Abbott taking into consideration the fears of school support staff like cafeteria workers, bus drivers and others among the most at risk for catching the COVID-19. Good lord! I can’t imagine why teachers in San Antonio would rather resign than risk their lives. Between school shootings and now this pandemic, either teachers are going to need be trained armed forces medics or we’re going to need to change the systems that got us to this shitty point.
One of the major topics of the week for many states, including Texas, has been the upcoming school year. Despite beginning to think about the new school year back in April, Texas officials still don’t seem to have a solid plan in place. Despite Texas health officials recommending 2 weeks ago to delay the opening of schools, The Texas State government, including Governor Greg Abbott decided to once again weaken the power of local officials by saying that health officials cannot preemptively close schools.
This week saw me start changing up my exercise routine slightly. Now, instead of focusing mostly on core, I starting incorporating some cardio and more weight based exercises as well.
Also been enjoying HBO Max’s old school looney toons section on their app. It’s fun getting to rediscover some classic shorts I remember my Uncle would occasionally record on VHS, like the one w/ the beatnik rooster that disguises it self as a baby so it can sneak into a hen house to see all the chicks.
Also been binging on episodes of Ms. America on Hulu w/ Erika Paradise, which has made us both realize how doomed America is to continue repeating history since it doesn't seem to learn from it too often.
This week Erika Paradise made it a point to mail out something she’s been meaning to send for a few months now.
Been finding a groove and making progress in a novel I’m working on.
By the end of the week, San Antonio and the greater Bexar county saw cases of the coronavirus continue to increase (as well as deaths), but the hospitalization rate keeps dropping. So the mixed bag continues!
Oliva de Havilland, one of the last remaining stars of old Hollywood, died this week. RIP.
Erika Paradise and myself found ourselves inspired for the first time in a while after watching Obama's eulogy at the funeral of civil rights icon John Lewis.