One of the most important things I have learned is probably the hardest, because social media is everywhere. The lesson is: Never Compare Yourself or Your Life to Anyone Else. Only compare yourself to yourself. Am I a better person than I was last year. Have I taken better care of myself than I used to? Have I worked at maintaining a good attitude in spite of setbacks. You know. That sort of thing. NOT: am I being as productive during the pandemic as all those people I see on social media? Am I as thin, smart, beautiful, popular as anybody else anywhere, because seriously, who gives a flying fuck? All we need to know is if we did better today than we did yesterday, and if not, how can we do better tomorrow? Better at being a good person, better at taking care of ourselves and those around us, better at being a good citizen. Those are the things that matter. That’s what I think, anyway. This comes down to little things, like ‘did I tip well the person who brought me my order?’. Did I treat the waitperson with respect and courtesy? Did I offer to help someone who needed it that moment, like someone having difficulty on the stairs or crossing the street or whatever? Was I just kind and courteous and generous and polite to all those I met today? These things are important, not only to the other person, but to our own sense of self, and who we are in the world. Selfish, self-centered, self-righteous. All those ‘self’ words are the ones to work at NOT being.

Back is better. Was more better (betterer?) yesterday,and I actually got a few things done. Unloaded the dishwasher, reloaded the dishwasher, ran the dishwasher, did some laundry in my new tub that sits in the bathtub for doing laundry in, I think that’s it. Didn’t need the cane to walk, and don’t need it today, either. Had franks and beans for dinner, and leftovers for lunch. Van Camp’s Pork and Beans, which are cowboy food as you can just eat them cold out of the can. We always had these growing up. I have not had franks and beans in decades, and they were pretty good. A bit salty, but not unbearably so. There is a law that you must have white bread and butter with them, and possibly a glass of milk. I did skip the milk in favor of Polar seltzer with added orange juice.

Much nicer today. Lower dew point, which makes a huge difference. Still warm, but less humidity makes it much more comfortably warm. Yesterday was pretty bad. The muggiest, most uncomfortable day this summer, up here in the highlands anyway. Which is what my friend Tess calls the second floor on which I live. Had to stay in front of the fan or else ‘whew!’ ick, ick, ick. Laundry was NOT fun.

News from online is still not good. Cutting assistance for people, including the no-eviction policies. Other countries treat their citizens like they matter. We here obviously do not matter to our government. They fake it here and there, but their underlying motives for every single thing they do is how rich can they get off it. “Serve your country”. Ha, serve yourself and your cronies more like it. I am soooo disappointed in my country and especially in those unbelievably non-thinking orange man worshipers. Cannot fix anything, though, so I just read on my Kindle and pretend the world does not exist. Except for Gertrude, cause she’s cute. 🙂

My friend who was very, very ill has recovered and tested negative for the virus twice. Relief. Was really worried about him. I have been friends with him and his wife for most of my adult life.

Tv is boring, even things I usually enjoy. I am just doing The West Wing, Small Animal Hospital (with Captain Jack, John Barrowman. He always makes me smile.), and QI, because who doesn’t need a good laugh these days? So mostly I am reading and reading and reading. Was going to catch up on Lucifer before the new season, but just cannot get into it. The first season was so great and then it just went on a slow slide downhill. I am a fan of Tom Ellis since Miranda, but it’s not enough. The pathologist they introduced just irritates the hell out of me and makes it not fun to watch. Also, whiny Lucifer, and the female star seems to get worse at acting every season. Just a wee little critique there, people. I do love the intro music, though. And DB Woodside. Because who does not love DB Woodside? Seriously.

Did not get to have even a glimpse at the comet, due to clouds and trees and light pollution. I cannot see stars, ever, where I am. Or the moon, cause my windows are in the wrong place. Except in October, for some reason if I sat in exactly the right place, I could see it at an angle. Weird. But cool. Yes, the round white light is the moon, rising. Surprise! First year I ever noticed it, but maybe earth orbit changed just enough to make it possible.

‘I failed my fellow Americans’: the white women defecting from Trump https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/29/women-who-voted-trump-who-regret-decision

Did you ever, ladies, and we will be paying for it for a very long time. How anyone could actually believe that a reality TV personality and multi- bankruptcies narcissist knew anything about running a country is beyond me. Makes you wonder what kind of education colleges are serving up these days.