Well, that could have gone better...

So I was really disappointed today. Seven years of keeping up with the 2024 eclipse, making sure I was off work, getting glasses and solar filters over a month ago, planning for things like sunscreen and a tripod, and researching settings that would allow me to take pictures on my cellphone--all gone to nought due to the weather. It was fairly clear this morning, but then it clouded up a little ahead of the eclipse and got worse while it was going on. A couple of hours after the thing was done, it was bright and sunny, not a cloud in the sky.  First is the sky during the eclipse. Then is the sky afterwards, and the black with a tiny orange bit is the best I could do with the few seconds I had a couple of times to try to get a picture with my solar filter on. I did look up once (without the glasses) and caught a glance at the sun with the moon almost covering that was being filtered by the clouds, and that was beautiful. But otherwise, the whole thing was a dud. I would have liked to see totality, but I would have had to drive to Indiana or Paducah, and I have major driving anxiety, so I just couldn't do it, plus I hadn't prepared. Post-surgery, I thought I wouldn't be driving yet, as it's been just a bit over five weeks.

Cloudy, cloudy

After the eclipse was over

Well, I tried

So, there you have it. It did get fairly dark and windy, and the birds sang like it was morning. That was pretty nice.

Once I came in, I waited till the end looking for a break in the clouds to no avail. Then I just climbed into bed, threw a couple of pillows in frustration, and I was really upset. I realise now that it was my autism that basically had me hyperfocusing on the whole thing and then melting down when it didn't go to plan. I am still new to the concept of a meltdown, but it perfectly explains my behaviour at times of my life when I couldn't deal with stimuli, emotions, or especially frustration.

I did try to watch the NASA coverage and got to see this (I think it's from Maine, although I also saw the one from Kerrville, TX), but the running commentary over it just annoyed me to no end, so I only watched it on and off. Here's a snip of that:

I just wish I'd been able to see it in person. :( The next one I might see won't happen till I'm 78, in 2045. [There is one in 2044, but it'll just hit Canada and three northern Midwest states]. Here is the path in 2045:

I may have to live out of sheer spite to see a total solar eclipse, therefor, although I will have to travel to do so because while it goes coast-to-coast in the US, it does not go near Kentucky in terms of totality.