The third quarter of 2021 was not a return to a new normal as I had expected it to be. I had been looking forward to a day trip with Pat to the new Galerias Santa Anita shopping mall in Guadalajara, but we did not go. I was looking forward to going out to resturants regularly again, but we did not. The Delta variant changed our expectations. However, we continue to be quite content to mostly stay at home, going out only as necessary or to a nearby coffee shop.
On July 11th Pat and I watched Richard Branson rocket to the edge of space. I enjoyed Pat's interest and excitement. Later in the month I watched Jeff Bezos liftoff in Blue Origin.
On July 14th Pat did go to her hairdresser which she had not done since March 2020. Her dyed hair grew out revealing its true color, white. And she had it cut short, a look I had never seen before. It took her a while to adjust to seeing herself in the mirror but others who saw her new look liked it. And it was not a difficult transition for me. And I continued to let my own hair grow and wear it as a pony tail when I go out.
I watched some of the coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics which were held from July 23, 2021 to August 8, 2021. I enjoyed the opening ceremony but found it less spectacular than those in China five years ago. I watched the women's gymnastics and followed the Simone Biles story. As always, I particulary enjoyed watching athletes run and especially the 10k and marathoon competitions.
But any talk of the Olympics as an event that unifies the world sounds nonsensical to me. China is becoming a growing disruptive force in the world and the 2016 Olympics did not change that trajectory. Geopolitical realities are currently deepening divides between countries.
The Ajijic Book Club met in person in July for the first time since the pandemic began. But in August we were back on Zoom. Our book selection was Caste and it was my turn as discussion leader.
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
I read and wrote a report on one other book in the third quarter.
The Art of Self-Improvement: Ten Timeless Truths by Anna Katharina Schaffner
I wrote two articles and two essays.
About Communitas, posted August 7, 2021
About Self-Help and Self-Development, posted September 13, 2021
August 7th was my birthday and the above article describes how I celebrated my special day. On my birthday I began another new project, reading and writing about My Diary which I kept in 1967. It is my intention to burn my diary at the completion of this project, hopefully within the next year.
In August I watched coverage of the defeat of the United States of America in Afghanistan, the stunning rapid takeover of the country by the Taliban and the messy final withdrawal of the Americans.
Alberta was home for me for over forty years and I have family and friends living there. Since the start of the pandemic I have been following current events in Alberta with renewed interest. On September 15th I watched Premier Jason Kenney's news conference in which he announced new restrictions for the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. And he took a lot of heat from the media. The mess in Alberta makes me sad.
On September 25 & 26 I attended the Rebel Wisdom The State of Sensemaking conference via Zoom. The number of attendees ranged from about 100 to 180. I very much feel part of this community and I saw a few familiar faces.
My attempt to deepen my friendship with Ken Lewchuk failed but I will say no more at this time. I allowed our relationship to drift back to what it was before my effort. Subsequently, Pat and I had a very pleasant Zoom visit with Ken and Trish, much as in the past.
Other relationships with family are changing because of differing views on Covid-19 vaccinations and related matters. But my friendship with David Bryen continues to deepen and is becoming special to us both. And I am becoming more involved with Emergent Commons, now a project.