My back is finally to the point where I can move mostly without pain again. It turns out that adding a pillow to the dining room chair and pillows behind my back gives me enough cushioning that I can at least bear it for ten hours a day. I didn't call the apartment complexes since I saw the prices rise again and it's now $2,000-$2,400 for the non-luxury one bedrooms, which is just insane. I'm officially putting the search on hold until Aug-Sept when the summer rush should be done, and over the past two weeks I'm seeing prices moderate a bit. We've finally hit peak gouging.

July is historically a tough month mentally and emotionally for me, and this year has been no exception as I find myself thinking too often about the past and watching the clusterfucks in society that are happening more often, or at least it seems that way. I always try to remind myself that as humans, we overemphasize our current experiences and have very poor habits of whitewashing the past or remembering it with a distinct bias, so maybe things aren't as screwed up as they appear to be. If (when) I read about this time period in history books, however, I'll be fascinated to see what does make it into the collective consciousness and how the scholars judge the Dobbs decision, Jan. 6th hearings, inflation, wage stagnation, etc.

Only time will tell; for now, we endure it.