Lake Lewisia #506

Alert to all birdwatchers: thunderbirds have been sighted in the skies north of Pursh’s Peak, circling and calling and discharging lightning. While more commonly associated with the high summer, when thunderstorms presage their nesting season, the recent spate of intense weather has brought them out early. Those wishing to view them are encouraged to use personal protective equipment to ensure a safe experience, including rubber-soled shoes in case of lightning strikes and earplugs to guard against their earthshaking cries.

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LL#506

plague journaling

I saw this post about keeping some kind of record of one's experiences during the current unpleasantness. That seemed sensible, and possibly therapeutic.

Today, the grocery store where my father works implemented a new policy, based in part on his suggestion: if you bring in your own reusable bags, you must bag your own purchases. Clerks will only bag for you if you purchase fresh bags. Reusable bags are great and all, but they get revolting even when there isn't a plague going round. So that was a nice (small, late) effort to protect the poor bastards out here making food shopping possible for everyone else.

I'm already hearing about there being national shortages and backorders on hydroxychloroquine, one of the drugs President Tang has been blathering on about as a possible treatment for covid-19. Which is, you know, what I'm on for the lupus. It's swell that they have potential avenues of treatment they want to investigate, but goddamn. Maybe don't ruin life for those of us who already know this is a treatment that works for us. I've got a little bit of a stockpile on my prescription (I only take it 6 out of 7 days for reasons that needn't be elaborated here), so I can potentially ride it out for a while.

My anxiety is ramping up because of that, and worry about my parents' safety, and the pressure of working under these circumstances. I'm also having a flare at the moment, which creates a vicious cycle of stress making the symptoms worse, which worries me more, and so on. I've hit the skin lesion stage, which are not painful on their own, but the swelling that comes with it hurts like hell. Can't sleep well, which makes everything worse.

Chronic illness! Makes even the apocalypse worse! *jazz hands*