Sophia, I want to tell you to stop worrying and enjoy your vacation, but I'm pretty sure you're going to have another absolute shitshow on your hands, so...

I'm still testing negative for COVID and I'm scheduled to fly back to California tomorrow. When a relative asked me yesterday if I was going to stay in Michigan through my birthday, I managed to reply with a breezy no even though I wanted to say, "Are you fucking kidding me?" I'm ready to be in my own home by myself.

I think I just need to have radical acceptance that this will happen and it will be terrible. I feel like I am stuck being David in an eternal loop of “fold in the cheese” from Schitts Creek.

I am glad you are testing negative.

I'm sorry about the shitstorm, Sophia, it does seem inevitable. Although it also seems very preventable if other people would just be sensible, which is even more frustrating.

Ugh Sophia, good luck with all that. Just FOLD in the cheese.

I'm trying to get my old computer ready to bring in for them to transfer the data onto my new computer I am buying, and I can't figure out the password. IT people can get past that, right? Argh.

Ugh Sophia, good luck with all that. Just FOLD in the cheese.

Sophia, we cannot show you everything.

ltc is at my inlaws house for two days! She woke up before 6 AM for them, and we slept in until 10:30. She is having so much fun that she could barely spare us 5 minutes on the phone.

How has this meeting already lasted 15 minutes?!?

It seems like we got through the family wedding and Christmas celebrations mostly unscathed. One person tested positive a week later, but no one else in her family, including kids.

I have such mixed feelings about it all. Was it a bad idea to have these gatherings? Probably. But it was also important to gather the family together. I'm angry that I missed two years in the lives of my parents and relatives. And the day after we got there, my parents had to put their dog to sleep, so we missed the last two years of her life when she was mostly healthy. (Sad animal news white-fonted)

Really pissed about all of that. Everything is such a fucking mess.

That's fair. Um, you being angry, I mean, not the meeting. I doubt the meeting's existence is in any way fair.

Ugh Sophia, good luck with all that. Just FOLD in the cheese.

Sophia, we cannot show you everything.

Can you show me one thing!?!

Yeah... everything is a lot right now. Virtual... whatever-you-wants all around.

We just canceled our NYE plans (just having two friends over for dinner), because all four of us have been out and about to various degrees, and... just not worth it. I'm going to test tomorrow if I can find an appointment, just given that I was really doing more than I should have during the break -- for my own reassurance and so that I can let anyone know if I need to. Feel fine, but... yeah.

My pandemic game night group is going to do a NYE call now. Sort of free form. We'll see how it goes! But no one's really doing anything this year anymore, for the most part, so why not.