web-goddess

I was curious to see how the air quality in NYC this week compares to Sydney during the 2019 bush fires. I’m seeing in news stories that the AQI in NY was close to 500 this week… and in 2019 parts of Sydney were over 1000. (Source: https://amp.abc.net.au/article/11782892) Photo below was taken by me from the AWS office in Dec 2019. I remember we were all wearing N95 masks and buying air purifiers, and the smoke permeated everything. (It honestly prompted part of Rodd’s and my decision to move to Germany for a while.) Get used to it folks – this is climate change, and it’s not going to improve unless we take action NOW.

Going to pick up my bag!!

GOT IT. The thief took my bank cards, cash, my hat, and my sunglasses 🤬, but left everything else including my wallet, passports, drivers license, house keys and rental car keys, Moomin scarf, and Gudetama. 😍 Everything is damp because the criminal – who evidently hit like 8 other cars! – dumped it in a drainage ditch. But the passports should be usable once they dry out, and all in all the financial impact is pretty minimal. 🥲 PARK RANGERS ARE THE BEST.

“Beaver Nuggets” from Buc-ees? Surprisingly good! 👍

Kentucky backroads and bourbon tasting…

YOU GUYS THE COPS JUST CALLED AND THEY FOUND MY BAG AND EVERYTHING IS IN IT. 😭😭😭😭 We’ll have to drive back to Tennessee tomorrow to get it, and I’m unclear yet whether Australia has canceled my passport so I may still need an emergency one, but oh my, this is pretty much best case scenario AND I AM CRYING.

So after a very lovely morning at Space Camp and then a beautiful drive through the Smoky Mountains, the day took a turn when my purse was stolen from the car during a 10min stop at a scenic overlook. We managed to cancel all the cards before they were able to use them – and they did try – but I’m currently without wallet, passports, house keys, and rental car fob. Thankfully I had my phone with me; that would truly have been catastrophic. So far it’s just been a hassle. We immediately called the cops and met with some helpful park rangers who lodged a report. I’m optimistic I’ll be able to get emergency replacement passports in Chicago next week. The fob is the really annoying part. (The car isn’t with us; it’s actually parked at my Dad’s place in Indiana.) I’m trying to figure out if I can just get a replacement fob from Thrifty, or if they’re going to want to tow the whole car back to Chicago. FUN TIMES.

Look, we’re all safe. Rodd has all his cards and keys, and so far we’re only out the $50 AUD I had in my wallet. But this is going to cost me hours of stress to fix, and no doubt some money on replacement stuff. And they got my Asian fit sunglasses, and my little Gudetama plushie, and I’m SPITTING MAD. 🤬🤬🤬🤬

Dollywood. It’s *almost* like my vacation isn’t ruined! 😬