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kinetic-elaboration · 3 years

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May 29: An Adventure... Outside

Today I celebrated being fully vaccinated by going out on an adventure using public transportation for the first time in 15 months. It went really well! I’m exhausted now but I’d say I had a very good day.

It felt nice to be independent again, and to go and be outside and away from my neighborhood for no particular reason other than I wanted to. It felt indulgent. And honestly, I even missed the bus. It was kinda a big part of my life and my daily routine, and then one day I rode the bus to work and didn’t ride it back and didn’t step foot on it again for over a year. It’s just so bizarre. So just following that old routine, the bus stop, the route into town, waiting for my stop, keeping track of the time to catch the bus back--it was comforting.

My original plan was to head out in time to catch the farmers market, but then I decided to take a shower in the morning and it threw off the whole thing. So I ended up heading out an hour later, which was fine. It felt like a big enough deal to have a mini-adventure out among other people without adding in something as...potentially crowded as the farmers market.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect, mask-wise, though I did know that the bus requires masks and that I was going to be outside for a lot of the day, where masks aren’t really necessary in general. At some point, I made a vague rule to myself that I’d wear one inside but not outside but also... see what other people were doing.

So I walked up to the bus stop without one (outside, by myself, not necessary), and then put it on as I saw the bus approaching. I have to say, I’m glad I didn’t ride the bus until I was fully vaccinated because it was more crowded than I expected it would be, and a lot of people were not making any effort to wear their masks correctly--they’d have them under their nose, or they’d pull them down to talk, which is just absolutely fucking baffling to me--and if I didn’t feel basically, roughly safe, I’d probably end up having a panic attack about the whole experience. As it was, I just felt like, you’re dumb but I don’t care.

I kept the mask on as I walked to the farmers market. I knew it was over by then but I wanted to make sure I did, in fact, know where it was, since it’s moved locations since the last time I went. The newer location isn’t as nice, and I’m kinda bummed about the move, tbh. The old location has been filled in with new tables and chairs to allow for more outdoor seating, which I 100% support, but it doesn’t leave room for the stalls. I wish they’d moved it down the street but idk, maybe that wasn’t possible.

Anyway, I saw the Farmers Market vendors putting their stuff away (exciting), and then I basically made a circle and headed back. I saw that even the vendors didn’t seem to be wearing masks--though Idk if that was because the patrons had gone by then and they were taking stuff down, or because they didn’t wear them at all anymore in the outdoor market--so I took mine off. I went on my usual walk, my old usual, and just enjoyed the fresh air and the casual being-in-a-crowd public-anonymity thing. There were a decent number of people around, most unmasked. Some had visible masks they weren’t wearing, most not even that. That didn’t really surprise me much, since we were outside. Seeing people go in and out of buildings unmasked was weirder. I’m not entirely sure what to make of it. On the one hand, it’s hard to believe that all of them are actually fully vaccinated, given that only 50% of the whole state is. On the other hand, again, most people I saw were outside, and it is possible this is a skewed sample--the people who are out and about, and especially out and about in a tourist-y area they might have traveled to are more likely to be vaccinated. I mean, I didn’t leave my neighborhood until I was! I dunno, maybe I’m being naive. I want to believe people though.

I was worried about the weather because it was supposed to rain literally all day, including some thunder. But actually it turned out to be really nice! For most of my walk, it was cloudy and cool but not actually raining, or there’d just be short little gusts of rain here and there. It felt like fall. I even saw a tree with orange leaves in the distance. I loved it. Nice, crisp, cool air. Great to walk in because it’s not too cold. Honestly, it felt like September--way more like September than actual Septembers around here.

It did start to rain a bit harder and more obnoxiously as I finished my circuit and got back to the shops. I had been thinking about walking a little more but I wanted to get out of the rain at that point.

Then I noticed that the Italian restaurant next to D-- S----- P-- was different. It’s still an Italian restaurant, just with a different name. So that was weird, and right after I noticed that, I noticed that my favorite tea shop was right next to it! I thought it had closed down entirely when I saw the empty store front last December. I’m not even really sure what space they took to be honest... they’re between the Italian restaurant and the Christmas shop. I don’t think there was anything there before, and the Christmas shop can’t get any smaller, really. I suspect the Italian restaurant split off a bit for the tea shop. I’ve only been there a couple times, and I don’t remember the layout very well, but it easily could have take a smaller space in the rebranding. Also the entrance to the restaurant and the tea shop is the same: you come in and go right for the restaurant, left for the tea shop.

So anyway I obviously had to go in. I put on my mask because I felt more comfortable doing that, even though I’m not personally scared and even though the sign said only unvaccinated people had to wear masks. I noticed one of the employees wasn’t wearing one and the other one was, and most (though not all) of the customers were also unmasked. It was a little weird... I was very aware of that uncertainty and discrepancy. I also felt that I was signalling something that isn’t true--that I’m unvaccinated.

The shop itself was very nice. It’s bigger than the old location and I think they have an expanded amount of stuff to go with it. They’re also selling tea to go, which I will take them up on sometime. Honestly, seeing the shop open again and better than ever just felt so good--like finally surprising news was positive, for once.

By the time I left, the rain had let up again. I crossed over to my favorite coffee shop (my beloved!!), stopping briefly at a new soap shop on my way. It’s taken the place of one of those ‘quirky gift idea’ shops and is more my thing--although I will say, I’ll miss the Ambiguously Gay Reindeer display the gift shop used to put up at Christmas.

Seeing unmasked people in the coffee shop was probably the weirdest, just because it really isn’t a big place, and people (like me) tend to set up shop there for long periods of time. Hanging out there was something I’ve missed a lot during the last year-plus, but I thought I’d have to wait a really long time to be comfortable in there again. Today, my compromise was, again, to wear my mask when I was inside ordering, but to actually sit outside to drink, where I did not wear a mask. The last time I had a coffee-shop-day, which I think was Election Day, I sat outside with a mask that I only took off to drink, because even though I was outside, the tables are fairly close together. Everyone else seemed to basically follow the same rules. Today, even though there were people near me, I felt safe enough and also...within the bounds of decency to have my mask off. (They weren’t wearing them either.)

(Literally half this entry is me obsessing about masks but that’s how it is right now!!)

It was a little chilly for sitting outside, but I didn’t mind it. I felt a little more comfortable, people and fresh air wise, and as I said I love this fall-ish weather. Sometimes the rain would pick up again, and then pass. I had a green mint mocha, which was delicious; I hadn’t had one in forever because you can’t get them anywhere else. I did some people watching, and some notebook-writing. It was really enjoyable.

When it was almost time to catch the bus, I finished up and headed toward home. I had to stop off at the Walgreens to pick up my prescription, though. I kept my mask on for the walk because by then it was actually a little too chilly to be out without a jacket--and I didn’t have a jacket, and honestly, the mask does make a noticeable difference re: warmth. The prescription was actually very easy to pick up for once, so I had an annoyingly long time to kill before the bus came around again. I’d initially thought I might just walk home--it’s a bit of a trek but I’ve done it before--but it was too cold and I was too lazy. So I walked down the street and to the Marshalls instead, because I’ve never been to this or any Marshalls, and I figured I could probably waste some time there.

At first, I was very skeptical, because I didn’t think I could find enough to do for 40-45 minutes. Then I found the clearance shelves, which were full of a whole bunch of weird stuff, including a really random Daria mug for $3, which I then became obsessed with. Like, should I buy it? Will I ever forgive myself if I don’t? Is it too random? I wandered around looking for something else I might buy with it, including this nice black dress with flowers on it... but I couldn’t try it on, and I thought the chances of me buying it, hating it, and forgetting to return it were too high. I also looked at the organizational baskets and stuff but I can’t be bringing stuff like that home with no purpose or it’ll be more trouble than it’s worth.

So in the end, I just got the mug. The lines in Marshalls are really surprisingly long! I was so sure that I’d miss the bus by 5 minutes and then end up walking home anyway, just an hour later, with a $3 mug. Luckily, the cashiers were also very efficient, and I managed to get to the bus stop with just a couple minutes to spare--basically ideal timing.

I still had my mask on, between the cold, the going in and out of stores and the bus, and Marshalls actually outright requiring masks. Tbh, I appreciated the requirement, just because it was the only time all day when I wasn’t constantly looking around me and wondering who was wearing a mask and who wasn’t, who was vaccinated and who wasn’t, if I was sticking out or not, etc. Everyone had a mask on and everyone was equal in that sense; it was a non-issue.

I kept my mask on after I got off the bus just because there were some other people getting off at the same stop. Plus, I needed to concentrate on crossing the street with its danger lights. But once I was by myself on the sidewalk, I took it off again.

I got home at about 4:30, so I was out for about 5 hours total. I chilled a little and then I made dinner. Now I’m kinda... lazy and sleepy. I didn’t get that much sleep last night, which was probably good because I need to reset that sleep schedule, and I’m tired now, so I’m hoping I can get to sleep early tonight. Maybe?? Maybe??

#the yea 2021 #2021: rl

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