David, do you have any benadryl? It might help with the itchiness.

I do! Good point.

Benadryl consumed!

Commence healing, face!

Because you're as irritated as baboon's inflamed ass.

Benadryl consumed!

And, you know, Benadryl knocks you out, and if you’re asleep, you don’t feel itchy!

And, you know, Benadryl knocks you out, and if you’re asleep, you don’t feel itchy!

I'm not there yet but I still have a small stash of stronger meds in house.

My face currently has the texture of an alligator skin purse.

So I think we're at a cautious *mostly* yay for the latest test results.

That sounds like a yay to me. Sorry for the endless testing, My sister had surgery for lung cancer about 25 years ago but still has to have a round of various tests every year to follow up.

I haven't heard all the results yet, but it looks like Ohio, Virginia, and Kentucky did good things.

Yay, Virginia. We held on to the Senate and flipped the house. Eff you, Youngkin.

Also, yay Ohio. And sounds like Kentucky has good news, too, though I haven't gotten that far. (Ah, the governor. Excellent.)

Let me pop in again to advise Benadryl ointment. Won't put you to sleep, but I've found it a great help with insect bites (mosquitos seem to think I'm seriously yummy).

My face currently has the texture of an alligator skin purse.

Yikes, your poor little face!

My new job is still with the same government, but in a new Department and a new building several miles away from current office. Commute remains the same time, just a different location.

Since I'm a municipal employee, yesterday I had the day off for Election Day. The weather was gorgeous. I voted, and then I walked over the Manhattan Bridge to pick up my film negatives, and had lunch. While I was eating lunch I learned that Yo La Tengo released a new EP, and I listened to that on the way home.

Tonight I'm going to Pub Quiz with my team, which is near the comic book shop, where I'll pick up the new issue of Love & Rockets.

Tomorrow I'm seeing The Marvels, and I'll get home with plenty of time to watch the Loki finale. Marvel isn't quite the deal that it once was, but it's still fun for me.

And Friday I have yet another day off for Veterans Day.

I posted all this to remind myself that I am getting out and doing stuff, and things aren't as bad as they seem, or feel for me sometimes.

It still feels like a magic trick I learned in college. "So if I like somebody and think they're interesting, I can make plans with them and talk about stuff and be curious about them, and support them and they support me and it's fun? And then we're friends?"

I never learned how to do this. It's so fucking hard for me. I am just so afraid of rejection, and a lot of the time I have a hard time understanding why people would want to hang out with me. And I am so lonely it feels like physical pain sometimes. But it is so easy for me to come up with excuses not to meet up with people. And it's gotten so much worse since COVID.