Went into work again yesterday. My coworker, Cathy, worked in the office too so I felt more normal than I did when I was there last week. I also enjoyed myself more since I could chat with her. We took our breaks together and walked around outside where we ran into a total of 3 people. Pre-covid, when I would walk around, there was always other people also walking. And while there are more people in the parking lot this week than last, it’s still weirdly quiet and empty. Cathy brought me tomatoes she had grown in her yard and she showed me a youtube video of this weird crochet contraption. She physically held her phone up (from a distance) and showed me a video, no linking me via Microsoft Teams. That may sound funny, but text and links are all we’ve had for quite a while now. Being able stand 6 feet apart from one another and have a conversation is a gift I treasure.
After work I went to Wine Wednesday at my friend Robyn’s complex. Robyn and some of her neighbors hang out in a driveway every Wednesday to drink and bond. I love the idea and Robyn’s been inviting me for a couple of months now so it was high time I joined. I brought my ice water and sat in a camping chair for an hour visiting with Robyn, her roommate, Shannon, and her fellow neighbors. I so enjoyed myself and I even got to check out the Pride inspired cupcakes that Shannon made for a work competition. Aren’t those gold stars so cute? She made that rainbow frosting topper.
I came back home so I could attend Denver Nature and Science Museum’s virtual chat about space. I really didn’t know what to expect other than some kind of discussion about the recent space launch. Since I watched the launch live I was excited to hear more about it and it was cool to learn about the rocket and how the two astronauts are going to stay on the space station longer than they thought to help with experiments. But honestly, that was not the best part of the space chat. The best part was learning that we’re sending up another rover to Mars! He’s called Perseverance and his goal is to figure out if life on Mars was a thing or could be a thing. How freaking cool is that?! I am so ecstatic. Curiosity’s going to have a friend now (rip Opportunity). But there were more best parts too, tbh. Like, learning that if we took a teaspoon chunk of a neutron star and weighed it, the teaspoon size would weigh 10 million tons. ONE TEASPOON! I also got to see a video of Venus passing in front of the sun and loved seeing that.
Elisabeth was playing D&D while I was watching this chat and once we were both done she told me, “I could tell you were really into it because you kept gasping and saying “woah!”. I like space, what can I say. It’s pretty incredible, especially since we don’t know everything about everything about it. That in itself is fascinating to me, it’s the big unknown and we’re these tiny little blips who have gotten as far as the moon and sending rovers to Mars. Like, that’s nothing. But it’s still really incredible to us. And it should be! Space is awesome.
Last night, while I was getting ready for bed, I realized that Pippin was obsessed with a moth that had somehow gotten in the apartment. If a bug finds its way inside my home, I let Pippin have free rein of catching and eating it. I’d rather him eat it than me have to kill it. The problem is, Pippin isn’t the best hunter now that he’s no longer an outdoor cat. So last night I held him up to the ceiling, and, as I predicted, he batted at the moth but wouldn’t commit to killing it. I can’t morally let this poor moth be tormented for long minutes without ending his suffering so I gave up on Pippin and decided to handle it myself. I initially planned on killing it but the moth was so large that I just couldn’t do it. Partly because I didn’t want to feel that squish, and partly because I morally opposed it (but not that much, I mean, it’s a moth). So I grabbed a cup and actually captured the thing and took it outside. I was so f***ing proud of myself. I’m not a huge bug lover so this was big for me. I let it loose and I thought, “Perhaps I’m Mothman’s long lost sister, I’m just this good with moths.” Hahaha. Who knows, maybe I’m not Mothman’s long lost sister, but perhaps we share a bit of the same DNA. I was pretty magical last night with my moth handling skills, so it’s possible. 😉
Just Lauren 