Day #130 - Muggy Rage Walk Through Greenwood Cemetery

[shadowkat]

[I posted this on Instagram with the tagline - how I'm feeling right now with a sense of overwhelming despair. Niece, a photographer in her own right - who follows me on Instagram and likes every photo I post, immediately texted me to see if I was okay. "Hi, auntie, how are you doing?" I texted back that I was trying to hang in there, tough week and asked about how her course went. Because what can I say really? Niece, unfortunately doesn't give up easily and asked what happened. So I gave the gist. Niece is the love of my life - by the way. Unconditional love is a rare thing - and I guess I've always had it. I love my parents, my niece, my brother, sisinlaw, aunts, uncles, et all unconditionally. They drive me crazy, but I love them anyhow. Romantic love - or so I've discovered - seems to come with conditions. Niece's response? "I'm sorry,that sounds really stressful ;-( let me know if you ever need anything and it will definitely pass." See? This is the plus side of having a sibling - nieces!]

If difficult to rage walk through a muggy cemetery. Kind of like trying to stride through molasses. Sticky doesn't begin to cover it. It was 77 degrees and 100% humidity. Felt like walking through sweat. And the mosquitoes were out in force. I ended up with five welts, that eventually went away, on my calves - didn't really itch that much, just got red and splotchy for a bit.

Overall a good meditative walk. Although, during it, I kept pushing aside thoughts of bone-crushing despair and rage. This overwhelming sense of futility.



Me vs. Crazy Union

At 8:30 am this morning, I called the Director of Occupational Safety at my organization and voiced my concerns about the fact that my union was going to force my entire department back into the office (social distancing protocols be damned) on August 3. He did manage to tell me that this had also happened with represented employees in his area, who had been telecommuting. That last week they'd been told they were coming back to the office, then the agency and union did a 180 degree turn around and came to an agreement at the eleventh hour. Also, that Occupational Safety Unit which is in charge of administrating and enforcing the protocols at via headquarters was directly involved in the negotiations.

This relieved me greatly. But alas, I also heard back from the Union Rep, the local Chairman of my Union, who I had emailed a couple of times regarding my concerns. I'd learned from Gabe that the Union was not signing the telecommuting agreement due to a desire to have the whole thing judged by seniority and not by management. Basically it's a power play - the union wants a say in who gets laid off, and who works where, not management. I spoke to the Union rep, who blamed Crazy Company, and Gabe (my co-worker who has worked in various fields within our agency under our union) who blames the union. I agree with Gabe. Although I felt compassion for the poor scared man. He's IT - and was forced to return back in May or June. He wears a mask all day, and glasses, which are fogging up in a cubical surrounded by plexi-glass. And he's diabetic.
But IT does kind of have to wander about more than procurement does. They are hardware not just network support.

The problem is we have a "one size fits all" union - whose interests are not slanted in my department's general direction for the most part. I've disagreed with half their decisions over the years and fought with them over it. I've inherited my grandfather's dislike of unions.

But in New York State, you have no choice, you have to join the union. Other states do provide a choice, New York - a pro-union State, does not.

Then I apprised my boss in an email, reiterating my concerns, which he's not read yet - because he's knee deep in meetings and conference calls.

Admin: If you are scheduling meetings with the boss, please go through me or check his schedule first. Don't arbitrially include or invite him. He has meetings overlapping each other.

LOL. Crazy co-workers. Even I know to do that.

Gabe thanked me for writing and talking to folks. Safety guy told me to wait until August 3. If this did happen - to call him again and voice my concerns and he'd see what he could do and would advise. I manage three of their major contracts and am on a first name basis with just about everyone in my agency's safety group. And if there are violations of CDC requirements - that is a Safety issue.

We'll see what happens. But I find myself feeling despair at the moment. I feel as if there's a lot of crazy egotistical bullies in charge of my future and I can't do anything about it. I feel crushed by the weight of it.




New York vs. The Federal Government & the Coronavirus (but mostly the Federal Government which NY would really like to file criminal charges against, if it could get away with it

The Governor was on again today, partly to announce a few things, and partly to rail at the Federal Government for causing the Coronavirus to hit NY and for taking credit for finally removing the Global Traveler Ban - that they had put in place at the beginning of the year. The Governor felt the need to point out in detail how badly the Federal Government had screwed New York with this ban.

See? I told you that NY has not forgiven the Federal Government for what happened in February and March. Honestly, who can blame them? I blame the Federal Government. I've also stopped calling the 45 the Doofus, I call him what he is - the sociopath in the White House, sometimes I call him the Terrorist in the White House. Both apply.

Talked to J today, the other manager - who I adore. It was a slow work day - and I was stressed out about the "forced return to work notice from my evil union". We agreed that what happened in March scared the wits out of our Governor and Mayor. They underwent a personality change. Actually it scared everyone. And now, NY is kind of traumatized. He steps in the direction of the other states and screams, Yow! Piranhas...out out..I honestly think it would defect to Canada if it could get away with it.
J said people were calling the Governor, President Governor Andrew Cuomo.

I said, yeah, he's taking it on the road. Apparently three clusters were caused by visitors from Georgia.

J: So he decided, we're going to take care of that right quick - ourselves.
Me: Yep. NY is reminding me of a traumatized child that keeps checking the waters - and goes, Yow! Piranha! Piranha! We have to get rid of the Piranhas!!

J found this hilarious. We get along because J appreciates my sense of humor, not everyone does. I got it from my father. Who got it from his. It's kind of genetic.

The Governor right now has decided to file criminal charges against the heads of Homeland Security, who enforced an illegal edict against NY for political reasons - potentially causing COVID to hit NY in a big way, and costing NY millions. (They prevented the Global Traveler Perk - which caused long lines at airport security in JFK, and undo hardship on business travelers.) The reason they imposed this on NY? NY set itself up as a sanctuary state for immigrants, and refused to comply with ICE for DMV license information. Then NY caved on the DMV information, and the FEDs didn't remove the edict until now - when it doesn't really matter all that much.

That said, NY, New Jersey and Conneticut are apparently the only three states in the nation that have successfully re-opened.

New York is one of only three states that meet criteria to reopen and stay safe. According to an analysis by Vox, only New York, Connecticut and New Jersey currently have strong enough testing and tracing systems to reopen safely. Additionally, our tri-state region has seen falling Coronavirus cases along with a very low percentage of daily new cases per 100,000 people. (source the Governor's email)

I'll say this much for NY, it is not beyond patting itself on the back, repeatedly. Also, the reason those three re-opened safely, is they formed a coalition and enacted the same protocols at the same times together. One by one. Very slowly.

New York Hosts Major League Baseball

New York has found a way to convince Canada to let the Toronto Blue Jays participate in Major League Baseball.

(Canada up until this week was refusing to let the Blue Jays leave Canada.) The Toronto Blue Jays will play their home games at Buffalo's Sahlen Field this season. I spoke with the MLB Commissioner this morning and we are excited to host the Blue Jays this year. The Blue Jays were denied approval to play at their home ballpark due to concerns about baseball teams crossing borders amid COVID.

Reporters: Okay, why did you say yes to this and why us, when Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and everyone else said no? Even Canada said no?
Governor: Because there's no problem in doing it. They aren't that far from Buffalo. It'll be good for Buffalo and its economy. It's good for people stuck at home - they need something to enjoy and look forward to.
And we're doing it without fans. More teams, better play. We have 16 now. It means we will actually have a Major League Baseball Season.

[Honestly, have these Reporters met our Governor? Who has decided to act as President of the United States. I apparently live in the United States of New York.]

Hmmm..tempted to post to FB, but my uncles are fighting over whether or not this is a real baseball season. And I honestly don't care.

Uncle D: It's not a real season, no one will consider anything done to be more than an practice season. Just something to keep the fans entertained while they hope for a return to normal next year.
So no big honors for "winning" anything, and nothing to worry about finishing last. It doesn't really count. Personally, I think they shouldn't have bothered at all.
ME: I think you are kind of missing the whole point of watching baseball?
Uncle D: I've been following baseball since the 1950's and watch most games. It's a fake season, I'll watch, but I don't really care about who wins. I want to see the new guys, how the DH works out, and if certain players can rebound from a t… See More
Uncle P: The team that wins the world series this year will celebrate the same as any other season. Stats like batting average or home runs will simply be asterisked in the record books. The season counts. The game goes on. It's a unique season in which the tea… See More
Me: Exactly - said like a true baseball fan. 😉
Uncle D: How "legit" will it be when two teams with losing records who finished third in their divisions, battle it out for the World Series titles? It's a joke season. The only good news is that they finally decided to settle the DH problem.
They missed an opportunity to experiment with some concepts. I'd like to see them use an expanded roster with "offense" and "defense" squads with unlimited substitution. Heck, include the pitcher too, open sub for him too as long as you get a pitch thrown within a certain time, like 35 seconds.


* New York vs. Party-Goers or Virus Spreaders

Governor in his email to me tonight: "We continue to make progress against the virus—yesterday, hospitalizations were at the lowest level since March 18th and there were 156 patients in ICUs, the lowest since March 16th. As we enter the weekend, once again I remind all New Yorkers to act responsibly. Avoid parties and crowds. Wear a mask. Set an example for others. And twenty somethings—this means you."

In his live briefings yesterday and today, he reiterated - "yes, I fully defend your right to party, but don't do it now with COVID-19. Or do it in smaller numbers, please."

[I'm restraining myself from telling him that I'm not the audience for this refrain. I'm not in my twenties, and I'm no longer interested in partying. I don't want to return to my office and am dreading people working in my kitchen next week. I barely go to grocery stores.]

The State Liquor Authority and New York State Police Task Force issued 37 violations last night. Businesses found violating social distancing regulations face fines of up to $10,000 per violation, while egregious violations can result in the immediate suspension of their liquor license. A list of licenses charged and businesses served with summary suspension orders, can be found here. Business owners: Don't risk it.

They are really cracking down on the social distancing violations. Somewhat hampered. They tried to go after individuals - that didn't work.
Reminds me of the fireworks, actually. They went after the individuals, gave up, and went after the source instead. The fireworks finally stopped, not because 4th of July was over - but because they ran out of fireworks - the stores ran out. Fireworks are made in China, China stopped producing due to COVID. No more fireworks. YAY! It's the small things..

Reporters: If the Bar has people sitting and drinking alcohol on the sidewalk doesn't that also violate the open container law?
Governor: No. It is serving food. If you serve alcohol, you also have to serve food and have outdoor seating. No parties or happy hours.
Reporters: But not all bars serve food.
Governor: They can't get a license if they don't serve food. Some states have separate licenses. New York only has one license - for restaurants and bars. So bars always serve some sort of food in NY State - it may be nothing more than soup and a salad. (Or buffalo wings or beer nuts or pretzles or hot dogs - aka bar food.)

He is right by the way, the liquor licenses vary state by state. Also, he can't really do anything about "home" parties, but he can do something about parties associated with restaurants and bars.

Some good news..

The number of total hospitalizations continues to decline. Yesterday there were 650 total hospitalizations—the lowest since March 18. The State conducted 76,507 tests, of which 753, or 0.98%, were positive. Sadly, we lost 9 New Yorkers to the virus.

Considering we were at 800-900 deaths a day, and over thousands of cases...this is pretty good. Still, I don't feel safe with these frigging numbers. But hell, I haven't felt safe since 9/11, I kind of getting used to it. Today, I thought, I don't care if I get COVID any longer - frigging tired of worrying about it.



At the end of the day, Wales called. I was in the middle of playing with my photos on my phone. Sometimes the shots are perfect, sometimes they require tinkering.

Wales: Can we hang out tomorrow?
Me: No. Covid. Social distancing. I'm here, you're there.
Wales: Ohhh...I miss my friends. I want to see them.
Me: I hear you. I really do. Look I've had horrible day...and I've not eaten.

The rest of the conversation gave me a headache. Although we were laughing at the end - mainly because much like J, Wales finds my dry wit, hilarious.

Wales didn't understand why I was angry at my union. And felt the need to rail and whine about her workplace again - the evil conservative law firm that she's been at for well on fifteen years now. Yes, if you've been following and remember (no reason you should), the same law firm she resigned from in a huff last summer, only to return, about three months later. Her relationship with her workplace isn't all that different than her relationships with her friends - actually.

It didn't go well. I spent a lot of time smoothing Wales feathers, and we agreed to talk tomorrow. She asked if she could call me. She'll probably forget. I'd call her - but she never answers and her voice mail box is often full.

I seem to be collecting crazy friends and crazy workplaces...it's a wonder I'm sane. Maybe I'm not. Who knows.

Wales is worried about the same things as everyone else. Her workplace is in financial trouble, she fears losing her job, she comes in every other week. Is working there and telecommuting. She's isolated in her apartment. She's social distancing at work for the most part. And she misses her friends and seeing people. And wonders about the friends she's lost.

Friendship is difficult. Relationships are difficult. People are difficult. This is why the world made nieces (and huge pussycats are an added bonus).

I know that I posted this picture before...but you are getting it again. Huzzah! (You can blame my overuse of that word on The Great - ever since I watched five episodes of that series I cannot get it out of my head.)

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[atpo_onm]

it's a wonder I'm sane. Maybe I'm not.

Well, there are advantages and disadvantages.

:-)