Work

It’s been pretty quiet. I can’t even compare it to this time last year because I’d be on campus and not working from home. I did have to go to campus for a few hours—the first time I put on real clothes and did my hair and makeup in months—and it was nice to be back but it was so weird because hardly anyone was there. I took Monday off and I have Friday off for the 4th of July observance.

Running

I did the UConn Health 10K in the beginning of this month—virtual of course. The running group I joined prior to COVID shutting everything down is doing a miles challenge and fundraiser for the month of July. My goal is to run 50 miles, which I think is possible considering I just cracked 50 miles for June. Running and walking miles count, so worst case I can always make up miles with some walks.

I always keep track of the animals I see on my runs; normally it’s dogs, cats, bunnies (the wild brown ones), and chipmunks. But lately I’ve been seeing some weird ones. Like two baby raccoons climbing up a tree in someone’s front yard at 7:30 a.m., and a family of deer! Deer!!! I had to stop and take pictures because the area where I was running was a neighborhood and deer aren’t too common in the area. Granted, there are woods around but it was so weird to watch a mama and her three babies cross a busy road—they were fine, though, all was good.

Sports

Baseball is back?! I’m gonna be honest, I’m not as excited as I know I should be. It just seems like something else to worry about; I know I’m not in charge of figuring out the logistics for what playing baseball during a pandemic looks like, but it’s like now I have to worry about half of the Red Sox getting it. I would have been totally okay with no baseball this year, but I’m not a billionaire owner complaining about loss of revenue because fans can’t attend the games BECAUSE WE’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC.

What I’m Watching

TV

• North Woods Law
• The Zoo
• The Aquarium
• In The Dark
• Home Town
• Bargain Mansions
• Renovation Island
• Bar Rescue
• Celebrity Watch Party
• NCIS
• Las Vegas
• Psych

Netflix

• Explained
• ZZ Top: That Little Ole Band from Texas
• I Am a Killer
• Zion
• Studio 54

What I’m Reading

• Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens: DNF (I read the first ~100 pages and just couldn’t get into it)
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: 4 stars
• Heavy by Kiese Laymon: 4 stars
• Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman: 5 stars
• When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors: 5 stars
• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds: 5 stars
• The Cactus League by Emily Nemens: 5 stars
• My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite: 4 stars
• The Witches are Coming by Lindy West: 4 stars
• All My Mother’s Lovers by Ilana Masad: currently reading
• Followers by Megan Angelo: currently reading

Extra Stuff!

I’ve taken up painting as a hobby. Yeah, I know, like three months into quarantine and I finally found a hobby. I’ve painted things before—like letters for the girls at the ice cream shop and canvases for my office—but it sparked again after I painted my dad a canvas for Father’s Day of the Detroit Tigers tiger logo. I ordered a pad of painting paper for acrylic paint and have been painting some doodles. I’m trying to do one painting per week, so I don’t put too much pressure on myself but to also hold myself accountable and actually use the paper. Once I get a bunch made, I’ll do a post about them!

I also went to the library for the first time since March! That was a big thing for me since I hardly leave the house. My experience back inside the library went great, and I’m happy that I can go again.

My plans for the 4th of July are pretty boring—obviously I’m staying home. We had to get a new pool, and we set that up this past weekend, so it’s ready for tons of floating this weekend. We’re going to do hamburgers and hot dogs, you know, the normal cookout stuff.

My Questions For You!

1. How was your June?
2. What’s the weather like where you are?
3. Do you have any plans for the 4th of July?