Hi everyone. [View all]

[LuckyCharms]

I've been ill for awhile (not Covid), so I took a break from posting. I'm starting to feel a bit better, so I figured I would come in and say hello.

I don't have too much to say really, but here are some random things:

1) I/we completely ignored the CDC guidance about people who have been vaccinated being able to go maskless indoors. I've been pretty much staying under lockdown as much as is practical, And when I did leave the house, I was always masked with a well fitting N95 mask and wrap around sunglasses. The N95's that I use are not the medically approved ones (ie:FDA approved), but they are NIOSH approved for non-oily particulates. I love these masks because I can get an incredibly tight fit with them, and they have the headbands instead of the ear loops. I have found that I would be able to purchase FDA approved masks, but I figured it would be best to leave those for the first responders, so I purchased a shitload of the next best thing.

2) There's been a window of time where we have both been going to the grocery store and to the big box DIY store. That is ending today. Back to Instacart and curbside pickup. I went to both of these stores very early yesterday morning, and I'd say that only 10% of the people inside were masked. Knowing how many people around here are anti-vax AND anti-mask, I am assuming that most people who are not vaccinated are not wearing a mask. My intuition is telling me this because a lot of the vaxxed individuals I know are still refusing to go maskless.

3) To those here who may doubt that there are people out there who try to intimidate those who are wearing a mask, I will share this story from yesterday. I needed to go to Home Depot for 5 bags of soil and 5 bags of mulch. The Home Depot here has an outside area for that kind of stuff, with an outside entrance a gate). I figured if I went early (but not too early...I wanted to give them time to open up the gate for the outside area), then I could get what I needed without having to go into the store proper.

When I pulled into the parking lot, the outside entrance was still closed much to my dismay. I weighed my risk about going into the store to access the outside area, and decided to go in. I had an N95 mask on, with a cheap surgical mask over it, and my Cocoon sunglasses. I grabbed a flat cart, ran in and loaded up my shit, and headed back to the register to pay. There were about 30 people in my line of sight, including the employees. Only one person had a mask on.

I noticed that this semi-toothless hygiene lacking hick looking fucker was looking at me as I walked toward him. I looked at him, then diverted my eyes. I looked at him again and he was still looking at me and smiling. I diverted my eyes again. When I looked back again, he was still looking at me.

So I said "What's up"?

He said "Heh, nice masks".

I said "Oh no, really"?

And then, no word of a lie, He went "Baaaaaah" like a sheep.

I won't post what I said back to him...but it muzzled him and made him walk away.

Please be careful out there. I think most of you intuitively knew to keep masking after the CDC guidance. Personally, I knew that the "honor system" would never work with the anti-maskers/anti-vaxxers.

Stay safe, we are in for another long journey (or more accurately, a continuation of the previous journey).