June 16 [Wednesday]
The June 15thlifting of the mask mandate does not yet seem to have landed at local retail stores. I visited Vons and the pharmacy on this evening’s walk, both still require masks despite Governor Newsom’s mask abdication. So, no real local change yet despite slackening the reigns on Covid restrictions. It’ll be interesting to see how many more weeks or months this continues.
June 17 [Thursday]
[The boy] heard from Cal State Fullerton, he has received approval for on-campus housing in the fall for the return of live-action college. He’ll be in a student apartment sharing a unit with three other students. Each student has their own bedroom plus shared bathroom, kitchen and living room. He has mixed feelings saying he’s ‘fine with it.’ I like it. I’ll miss my guy, but think it important he be on his own to make his own decisions, mistakes and life’s progressions. The Covid angle is that the density of on-campus living occupancy was reduced, but he was still awarded a slot.
June 19 [Saturday]
A Saturday double date with [my daughter] and her boyfriend, then me and his dad. Spooners in Claremont. We lunched at different tables, the other father and I, so we could speak freely. Still feels odd demasking at a table with a non-pod person. I requested the ‘dad date’ to clear the air of several concerns that have come to our attention, [Wife Klem] and I. Clandestine behavior between those two. A courtesy, I thought, to advise a fellow parent. He said he was not aware of what I’d mentioned and that he’d speak with his son. We’ll see what happens, if anything, in the coming days. He otherwise seemed like a nice man.
[Note: I’m left with the impression the other parent may be more into appeasement than parenting. Bummer. We’ll do our job, [Wife Klem] and I, and move forward.]
June 20 [Sunday]
We enjoyed a Safehouse [my parents’ home] Sunday dinner with all the regular crew. We ordered out for Mediterranean food from Café Bravo. Oh boy, the deliciousness flows thickly from that place. We dined indoors, hugs issued all around, no masks and it was completely delightful. [My nephew], the youngest at 14, has also been vaccinated with the recent reduction in minimum age for vaccines. It did not feel like the old days where so much interaction was taken for granted. This felt very novel. The return of taking this all for granted, our time together as a family, will probably not return for another few visits yet.
June 23 [Wednesday]
I went to Vons this evening for my post-supper walk. Whoa! Masks are optional. I saw one dude down the cereal aisle without a mask and thought we had a rogue on premises. Then I noticed all around me, maybe 33% without masks. I took mine off, but it’d been so long that it didn’t feel right. I completed my shopping in mask. How long will I carry this on? As long as the cashiers don masks as a courtesy to them?
June 26 [Saturday]
South Pasadena library book sale was very crowded this morning. Everyone was masked, but there frankly was not enough room to socially distance. People were allowed in incrementally to manage the occupancy numbers, but really, it’s as if masking has become a clothing accessory. Nobody seemed concerned with social distancing other than as a formality, but not enough concern to actually comply. I was not concerned, the books had my full attention. A very good haul of more than 30 books for the four of us for only $20!
June 27 [Sunday]
The 2020 European Championship soccer tournament is in progress and retains the 2020 prefix despite being played in 2021. This tournament is played every four years, staggered two years between World Cup years. Last year’s slated tournament had a one-year postponement due to last year’s Covid restrictions. Games are being played with drastically diminished spectators in attendance.
June 28 [Monday]
[My daughter] got a job a few weeks ago! She’s working at her favorite café, Butter. The food is delicious and she’s happy working, her job tasks and people with whom she works. Employees are required to be masked despite the lifting of the mandate on June 15. Masks are optional for patrons.
[Note: In non-Covid news, her Roth IRA is now funded and live. My fatherly pride swells.]
June 29 [Tuesday]
[My daughter’s] boyfriend came over for dinner. Our first non-family non-pod dinner guest since pre-Covid. There’d been some tension between her boyfriend and [Wife Klem] and I. This was an effort to see if amelioration was a possibility. The evening was pleasant enough and that possibility remains alive. A positive remedial step.
June 30 [Wednesday]
My evening walk took me to Vons. I like Wednesday’s for strategic hits on the weekly price changes, they occur weekly every Wednesday. At [Wife Klem’s] request I wore a mask despite the optionality. She voiced concerns pertaining to Covid’s Delta variant. What can I do, she loves me. I comply.
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