Are you barely hanging on? Are you in disrepute?

[sovay]

To my interest and distress, the smoke drifting down across Boston from the Canadian wildfires has produced a perceptible change in the color of the sunlight on top of a twenty-four-hour air quality alert. It looks conch-tinted, brassy. I gather it is supposed to rain by evening, depriving us of a compensatory Krakatoa sunset.

Yesterday's doctor's appointment for which I got up on two hours' sleep and ate breakfast was not only not helpful to me, it was so actively bad that I came home and cried on spatch and cats and spent most of the afternoon in bed, after which I spent most of the evening on the couch with my three-months-early birthday present of J. Greco's The File on Robert Siodmak in Hollywood, 1941–1951 (1999) and a bunch of on-ride videos of roller coasters from parks I have never been to. The book is terrific. I am enjoying the detailed technical discussions of emotion and atmosphere and Greco's complaint: "What's worse than finding no materials on a significant film is finding too much on a mediocre one."

Comments

[asakiyume]

YES. It was freaky-odd this morning: sunset-tinged light at ten in the morning.

Very sorry the appointment was so actively and aggressively unhelpful.

[gwynnega]

I am sorry about the awful doctor's appointment. (The book sounds excellent, though.)

[rydra_wong]

FUCK shitty doctors.

[redbird]

I'm sorry the doctor was actively bad.

[yhlee]

I'm so sorry about the awful doctor. :(

[kaffy_r]

I'm so sorry about the actively bad doctor appointment. You had every right to cry on shoulders and cats. I'd do that. May your next medical appointment be actively useful and helpful.

A few of the Nova Scotia fires are more under control thanks to some much-needed rain, but the forest fire in southern Shelburne county is still out of control and has taken 60 homes and more buildings. The first fire, near the Halifax exurb of Tantallon, is under control, but has destroyed or damaged 150 homes. There are thousands and thousands of hectares of flame and ash; it's not big compared to fires in Alberta or California, but for my tiny province, these are the worst fires in its history. A friend of mine, one of the people who organized our 50-year high school reunion, learned that her son and his family lost everything.

*has a thought*

You may also be getting some smoke from a Quebec fire.

[pameladean]

UGH, useless doctor!

We've been getting smoke here from the Quebec fires. It has so much range and striking power, that smoke. We also missed any good sunsets because of an overcast that promised but did not deliver any rain.

P.

[kore]

NOOOOOOOOO those kinds of doctors appointments are the FUCKING WORST. Illness exacerbated or even caused by doctors' lack of care or doing Very Wrong Things (I'm fat, not diabetic. I can't tell you how many times I have been tested for diabetes because "Let's just make sure!" and then they actually look disappointed when my glucose levels are better than average). Ugh.

[choco_frosh]

:(
Screw that doctor.

[ethelmay]

Arrrggh. So sorry about the doctor's appointment. I hope the smoke abates everywhere. It can't be good for you either. We get enough of it in Seattle (usually later in the year) that I have an air quality monitor going all the time, and run air purifiers and the furnace fan with a new air filter when there's actual smoke.

[umadoshi]

I'm so sorry about the wretched appointment. :(

[julian]

Down here, it neither rained NOR gave me a good sunset, which I consider unfair.

(Also, I growl at the universe on your behalf.)

[sovay]

FUCK shitty doctors.

Thank you!

[sovay]

I'm so sorry about the actively bad doctor appointment. You had every right to cry on shoulders and cats. I'd do that. May your next medical appointment be actively useful and helpful.

Thank you. I had truly not expected this one to be so bad.

*hugs*

There are thousands and thousands of hectares of flame and ash; it's not big compared to fires in Alberta or California, but for my tiny province, these are the worst fires in its history. A friend of mine, one of the people who organized our 50-year high school reunion, learned that her son and his family lost everything.

I'm so sorry. I hope everyone, at least, is safe.

(I think we are getting a sort of multi-province effect.)

[kaffy_r]

I'm so sorry. I hope everyone, at least, is safe.

That is one of the very broad silver linings, at least thus far; we've had no deaths, and I haven't heard about any bad injuries, which is always a possibility - especially amongst the firefighters, who have to really, truly, walk into smaller and larger hells. (Two of them rescued an old gentleman who didn't know what was going on, and they had to drive back through flames to safety, but that's the closest I've heard of.

(I think we are getting a sort of multi-province effect.)

Yeah, totally likely. I hope the air quality near you gets better quickly.

[sovay]

It was freaky-odd this morning: sunset-tinged light at ten in the morning.

We could barely see the skyline in the haze—I could see the haze even over the river when I drove beside it. The whole day looked volcanic. And it was supposed to clear with rain tonight, but it hasn't rained, and I don't know what it will be like tomorrow.

Very sorry the appointment was so actively and aggressively unhelpful.

Shockingly so! I thought it would be the opposite! I am almost starting from scratch on this front now.

*hugs*

[sovay]

I am sorry about the awful doctor's appointment. (The book sounds excellent, though.)

Thank you. (I am treasuring the book. It could desperately have used a copyeditor, but it is informationally dense and beautifully observant and has made me want to see the rest of Siodmak's noirs even more than I already did.)

[sovay]

I'm sorry the doctor was actively bad.

Thank you.

[sovay]

I'm so sorry about the awful doctor.

Thank you! I really thought it was going to be a useful appointment.

[sovay]

UGH, useless doctor!

Like I need a hole in the head!

We also missed any good sunsets because of an overcast that promised but did not deliver any rain.

That is totally cheating. I hope everyone is breathing all right.

[sovay]

NOOOOOOOOO those kinds of doctors appointments are the FUCKING WORST.

I waited almost two months! I could have done so much else with the day! I don't know how long I'm going to have to wait to see a doctor who is actually useful!

when my glucose levels are better than average

Hey, that's cool.

[sovay]

Screw that doctor.

*hugs*

[sovay]

I'm so sorry about the wretched appointment.

Thank you.

[sovay]

Arrrggh. So sorry about the doctor's appointment.

Thank you. I had looked forward to it helping.

I hope the smoke abates everywhere. It can't be good for you either. We get enough of it in Seattle (usually later in the year) that I have an air quality monitor going all the time, and run air purifiers and the furnace fan with a new air filter when there's actual smoke.

Understandable, but let me express a reciprocal eugh. We ran the air conditioner all day as a form of filtration and I didn't go outside without an N95. And also used my inhaler.

[sovay]

Down here, it neither rained NOR gave me a good sunset, which I consider unfair.

It didn't rain here, either, which worries me for tomorrow, but did produce a sort of apocalyptically haze-orange sun in the late afternoon before it clouded over, which spatch and I thought we had last seen in some science fiction.

(Also, I growl at the universe on your behalf.)

(Thank you.)

[sovay]

That is one of the very broad silver linings, at least thus far; we've had no deaths, and I haven't heard about any bad injuries, which is always a possibility - especially amongst the firefighters, who have to really, truly, walk into smaller and larger hells.

May they all stay safe.

[kore]

T's primary doc at the low-cost clinic left, so he got transferred to a new doc, who was swamped with all the new patients so T had to wait two months for an appointment. Day before he was scheduled to go in....they called and bumped him another two months. But hey, he's only someone with like eight cardiac artery stents, a history of MIs and a new diabetes diagnosis, no rush, right? Who also got long covid!

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[kore]

Yeah, we also live in Seattle, and after the past couple of years, I now have like four AQ apps on my phone, and we got a giant air purifier. I guess we just have a smoke season now.

[kaffy_r]

Indeed.