Is anyone else worried enough about civil unrest around/after the election that you're buying extra nonperishable food and TP (and pet food, if applicable) in case supply lines get disrupted?
Not exactly, but similar. Last night I spoke to mom and sis in Louisville about having gas and charged phones and a go bag ready in case they should need to leave quickly. And I've talked to dad and step mom in San Francisco similarly re: the fires. And while I've made similar preparations during hurricanes and blizzards it's occurring to me that some cash, a few days of meds, etc in one place might be wise.
Sorry for interrupting any on-going conversations. I skimmed a lot.
It's the first year in forever in which I can try to write what became my once-a-year-only post, apologizing mostly for my absence, when it's not my one-and-only post during the year, and I don't have to start it with how much I skipped, because I haven't skipped! I've skimmed! Actually skimmed and even read a few posts, some of them from beginning to end, with all the letters and words and sentences inside. All it took was a global pandemic. Sigh.
Once my quarantine was over (goodness, six whole months ago), and I had to teach via Zoom for way-too-many hours a day, my schedule became so hectic I couldn't keep on regularly following Natter, let alone write. But I couldn't *not* skim. I had to know how y'all are doing. Both in the usual sense, of you being important and of how much I care about you, and definitely in the sense of extra-care-and-worry during these crazy COVID19 days.
And yet, it's that time of year again, and, yeah, still (and probably forever) in a risk of sounding a bit strange:
On Sunday evening (as most of you clever people probably already know) starts the Jewish holiday of 'Yom Kippur', which means 'Day of Atonement'.
This is a day of soul searching, of trying to better define our faults to ourselves, and try to accept it upon ourselves to become, at least a little, better people. A day of repenting past wrongs we did, looking and finding it in our hearts to forgive wrongs done to us, and trying to remember to learn from this process in the rest of the days of the year. The holiest day of the year for practicing Jews.
On a rough division, there are two kinds of wrongs people can do: against G-d, and hurting their fellow human beings. In Jewish tradition, if the person committing a sin against G-d is truly sorry for what they did, repenting and taking it upon themselves to try and avoid repeating it, G-d forgives those sins.
The deeds which hurt other people, though, are not so 'easily' and personally forgiven. If somebody did anything to harm another person, they would not be able to cleanse themselves from that deed, no matter how much they'd pray and be sorry and repent and try to do good in the future, unless they make amends with the person who was hurt by that deed. As long as peace between people is not achieved, the 'sin', so to speak, is not 'erased from the books' above.
Regardless of the date in the year, I'd hate to think I'd offended somebody, anybody, in any possible circle of my life, in so many circumstances. I don't think that the attempts of becoming a better person than one already is, is something that needs a date or a certain holiday for it, of course. It's just that, for me, having a certain day in the year to stop my daily runnings around, and think of nothing else but the really important things, is a good reminder of the order of priorities I'd like to have in my life.
(Well, I wish that were true. Frankly, I spend more time thinking about how much a sip of water would be just what I need, and wonder how long I have left until the fast is over and I can start hydrating again, than about the actual important stuff. And in between comes the whole being responsible for two still-too-young to fast and still-way-too-young-to-entertain-themselves-on-their-own-for-long-streches-of-time very lovely kids, so mostly the important soul-searching stuff has to be pushed aside by the practical and urgent stuff. But still.)
So, since Monday will be, for me, this day of at least trying to perform some soul-searching, of trying to create a new start in my on-going effort of 'becoming a good human being, or at least a slightly better one', I would like to ask all of you here, if I offended anybody, or hurt any of you lovely people, to tell me about it, and give me the opportunity to apologize, fix it if possible, and also learn from my mistakes, and try to not repeat them (there are so many new ones to practice, why repeat old ones, you know?).
In case I offended anybody, and can't communicate (continued...)
( continues...) directly with them about it (for whatever reason, especially with my ongoing absebce from the computer in the last few - I'm not even sure how to call it, years? ice-ages?), I can already say that I'm truly sorry. I can honestly say that I didn't mean to - you're all so considerate and thoughtful and generally all-around lovely, that there's absolutely no room for such a thing here. However, I might have had a slip of a keyboard, or mistaken somebody's intentions, or many other possible so forths. Y'all are so understanding, you probably tried to find excuses for me and didn't take offense anyway, but I want to make sure, all the same.
Please don't get me wrong - I'm definitely not trying to go around in a 'holier-than-thou' show off, or force my personal beliefs on others, or make statements which may be understood as criticizing anybody else's beliefs (or lack thereof) and way of living. If anything, being around here, among such a rich versatile group of kind and clever people, has exposed me to a lot more ways of choosing to lead one's life than I've ever had a chance to see before, and has shown me much more of the beauty and richness that is the world we live in.
[Edit: Oh, I should've known I couldn't keep myself in just the one post, ha?]
[Another Edit: this is especially true these last recent years, with my oh-so-short time-not-in-front-of-students-or-kids, computer time and internet access, which gave way for too many opportunities to unintentionally miss stuff or seem to ignore (undeliberately!) people or their posts. And even more so this year, in which I managed to briefly post while in self-quarantine, and then disappear of the face of B.org again.
Sometimes in absence you can hurt people just as much as when you're present. Or even more so, only differently. And at the same time, you guys are always so there-for-anybody-who-needs (including little me - even when I don't get to get to the computer, I still know that you're there, that no matter what, if I ask, you're there for me, even after all my absence and lack of giving back).
So this is a chance to also post: Thank you.]
You have the (I suspect) the unusual Yom Kippur practice of making a bunch of people glad to see you.
It is particularly welcome this year.
It helps my year so much to see Nilly fonts.
I suspect by election day I won't be sleeping at all...
This. I also had to look back for that link because it seems more important than ever to be prepared and informed. Stocking up isn't a bad plan. I know we will survive this, but this is not going to be a fast or easy transition.
An easy fast to you, Nilly!
it's occurring to me that some cash, a few days of meds, etc in one place might be wise.
Oh yeah, that's the other thing I've been meaning to do -- have have cash on hand. I pay for every dang thing with my credit card now, and can go weeks or more without using cash.
I'm still alive. I returned to work Monday, which was a mistake. By the end of the day, I was totally spent. Tuesday I slept. After that, it's been basically work and sleep. For the first time yesterday I was fever-free for a significant chunk of time, though my fever wandered back up to 102 by evening. Today, I've been fever-free so far, but I'm utterly exhausted.
Gud, I think you should call your doctor or a nurse line and tell them you've had a fever for X number of days.
Also, use sick time! Your employer would rather have you take the time to recover from being sick instead of pushing through and possibly prolonging it.
