The Dystopian Times, 8. R.E.M. Had it Right.
And, we're nearing the end of August. Already, the summer is coming to a close, when my head is telling me summer is just beginning. There have been no festivities, no concerts, no large get-togethers, no celebrations, no outings. We had a First Communion last month, but immediate family, only. I had my trip in June, but that was it. And next month, there are no festivals, especially the week-long festival of Guadelupe. There's nothing to say we're in the middle of summer except the weather.
And, even that wanted to warn us what fall will be like this week. From this afternoon on, the weather will begin to open up and summer will return. But it's been rainy, foggy, grey and yucky most of the week. I've gone back to wearing lightweight pants again. Lightweight, but pants, nevertheless, and not shorts. Pleasant temperatures, but not August temperatures.
I am entering the last week of summer classes. Next month I don't give classes. I begin the school year in October. Some students have already called asking about when I begin. Others have definitely set hours in stone. Some are returning; other new ones are coming. I don't know yet whether all those I had last year will return, but, hopefully, most of them will. One or two that get my hackles up might well stay away, but I suppose I'll take them with the good if they return.
All are wary about the future. Contagions keep going up, but school will open as scheduled. Masks will be required of all students over six years old. But we all know that it won't be long before some classes, and maybe entire schools, will be in quarantine. I fervently hope that that won't happen in proximity to any of the students I have. If any of them should be quarantined, I would have to shut down classes for that time period. Our economy has suffered enough since the spring because of my lack of classes.
This has always been a period of reflection for me. And it seems I haven't lived this year. It keeps getting stuck in March and just slips forward without the usual steps taking me through the seasons and the months. Other years I would have looked back at outings, at festivals, at some concert or other. This year, I'm still waiting for that to happen. And it won't.
In other news, wildfires are raging in California. Again. There is worry that Trump won't step down after the elections if he loses. Britain continues toward leaving the EU, and no one knows yet what that will entail because no one seems to be talking about it. The job market is getting even more desperate for young people; my daughter has met people at her new job with college degrees like her. And two possible hurricanes that are being born these days might both impact at similar times against Gulf states. The last news means that the slow down in climate change noticed during the quarantine was a simple blimp in the radar that has disappeared.
And that is without mentioning flash floods in Hungary, or an extreme heat wave that is flashing across most of Europe this weekend. 2020 is definitely a year to have a big red X across it. As the song goes, It's the end of the world as we know it...
Life continues.
And, even that wanted to warn us what fall will be like this week. From this afternoon on, the weather will begin to open up and summer will return. But it's been rainy, foggy, grey and yucky most of the week. I've gone back to wearing lightweight pants again. Lightweight, but pants, nevertheless, and not shorts. Pleasant temperatures, but not August temperatures.
I am entering the last week of summer classes. Next month I don't give classes. I begin the school year in October. Some students have already called asking about when I begin. Others have definitely set hours in stone. Some are returning; other new ones are coming. I don't know yet whether all those I had last year will return, but, hopefully, most of them will. One or two that get my hackles up might well stay away, but I suppose I'll take them with the good if they return.
All are wary about the future. Contagions keep going up, but school will open as scheduled. Masks will be required of all students over six years old. But we all know that it won't be long before some classes, and maybe entire schools, will be in quarantine. I fervently hope that that won't happen in proximity to any of the students I have. If any of them should be quarantined, I would have to shut down classes for that time period. Our economy has suffered enough since the spring because of my lack of classes.
This has always been a period of reflection for me. And it seems I haven't lived this year. It keeps getting stuck in March and just slips forward without the usual steps taking me through the seasons and the months. Other years I would have looked back at outings, at festivals, at some concert or other. This year, I'm still waiting for that to happen. And it won't.
In other news, wildfires are raging in California. Again. There is worry that Trump won't step down after the elections if he loses. Britain continues toward leaving the EU, and no one knows yet what that will entail because no one seems to be talking about it. The job market is getting even more desperate for young people; my daughter has met people at her new job with college degrees like her. And two possible hurricanes that are being born these days might both impact at similar times against Gulf states. The last news means that the slow down in climate change noticed during the quarantine was a simple blimp in the radar that has disappeared.
And that is without mentioning flash floods in Hungary, or an extreme heat wave that is flashing across most of Europe this weekend. 2020 is definitely a year to have a big red X across it. As the song goes, It's the end of the world as we know it...
Life continues.
Actually, María, Britain technically/legally left the EU earlier this year. It's now in a short 'transition' period, which could have been extended but wasn't by the deadline of end July.
ReplyDeleteYes, but as I understood it, in this transition period, details like internet shopping, and others things still had to be worked out. It's things like that we haven't heard about, and that may complicate life.
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