Day #134 - anyone have good news?
Jul. 28th, 2020 05:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatCurrently watching storm clouds form on the horizon and debate coming through my area. They already came through once, but didn't do all that much, and it cleared off. This is their second go around.
That's the view outside my window, in case you are at all curious.
I wish the storm clouds would make up their mind- they are making me edgy or the chocolate I ate today is, or various things I'm trying really hard not to think about are. I'm dreading the staff meeting on Wed. I desperately want good news. Just a little. Doesn't have to be major. Something along the lines that yes, you are telecommuting until January 2021, would be lovely.
Ugga Bugga.
Family
I contacted my brother - who took the opportunity to invite me up to his barn. I'm thinking my mother pestered him into it. (She does that.) He's refurbished his screened in barn as a kind of guest suite, with bed, couch, kitchenette, toilet, and outdoor shower. So basically it's a screened in porch with a bed, kitchen, couch, toilet downstairs, and outdoor shower behind it.
He's been having guests visit his barn, they social distance outdoors, and stay in the barn. Then he and sis-in-law thoroughly clean the barn.
I don't know, I'd have to get up the courage to take public transportation and the train, and wait around in both. It was a nightmare prior to COVID.
Since it requires taking two subways, and an Amtrack train. He said he has a friend coming up on August 8 - 15, but other than that it's empty. Showed me photos of it and everything. My brother lives in upstate NY, about fourty-five minutes outside of Hudson, in the Hudson River Valley and just a stone's throw from the Berkshires. He's in the Capital District/Region, which has only had about 800 cases altogether if that.
Showed me photos of the barn, which looks okay, and my amazing niece. Also sis-in-law who is a fashion designer and runs her own fashion line. Bro is tending his massive garden and is awash in veggies, looking into salting them as a way to preserve them.
I'm wondering if this is what the Universe considers my good news quota for the week? I don't really see it as fitting that. Maybe by mid-August, I'll get up the courage to visit my brother. What am I afraid of? Public transportation. I get nervous visiting him anyhow...so there's that, but I'm also nervous about traveling anywhere and lugging stuff across the city. Granted, I could just put everything in a backpack and go. It's cool in the evenings up there - in the 60s. I'd do it this weekend and next week, but I have a conference call on Friday, and I need to face the things I'm dreading. Also, I'm not sure right now which is less safe, having workmen re-wire my kitchen while I'm working in the living room, or taking public transportation to visit my brother in upstate NY.
Also called mother. I'd accidentally called her this morning at 7 AM, when I was hunting my headspace app on my phone.
Mother: Not to worry I was up, so was your father.
Me: How are you doing.
Mother: Well, we're okay I guess. Although your father is seeing people again.
Me: Seeing people?
Mother: Yes, there were apparently nine people in our bedroom this morning. Your father counted them.
(I burst out laughing.)
Mother was not amused.
Me: What were they doing?
Mother: making the bed and cleaning apparently. Although I told him they hadn't done a very good job since the bed still needed to be made. He got disgruntled and told me that he knew I wouldn't believe him. He also went to the bathroom and said he had issues due to all the other people in there with him.
The pandemic has a done a real number on my poor father. He was doing much better prior to it - but being cooped up in his house with just my mother for company is making him a bit nuts. She gets out occasionally - to go grocery shopping, to visit neighbors, etc.
Mother is worried about Tropical Storm Nine.
Mother: They've named it?
Me: Yep, Nine.
Mother: Nine.
Me: I think they are running out of names to call these things. It's headed towards Puerto Rica and Florida.
Mother: And right towards us.
Me: It's only a tropical storm at the moment, you may have nothing to worry about.
Mother: Your uncle the priest said that his group is staying put in Florida.
Me: Maybe you should too?
Mother: Can't. They force us to evacuate - there's no security, etc. If we stay we have to sign a bunch of things releasing them from responsibility.
Me: Okay, I'm not going to worry about this right now.
Mother: You shouldn't. You have enough to worry about as it is, you don't need more.
I envy people who don't experience anxiety or worry about things.
Crazy Workplace
A friend from Transit and I determined that the whole "return to work" phrase came about because there's a lot of folks who couldn't work from home - so they were sent home with pay, but weren't working. (The lawyer in me wants precise language - also she agreed 100% with my annoyance regarding that catch-phrase.) That was the weird thing about the lock-down - half the folks were bored at home and the other half were working.
She's on pins and needles because she doesn't know what they are going to do in regards to her job and the huge merger/transformation - which has been in the works since last year. We had been hoping that it would be dropped because of COVID, but no such luck.
Meanwhile, we have the first Safety Focus Meeting we've had in months. Which may be good or bad news? Honestly, that workplace is not conducive to social distancing. It's kind of impossible. And we have shared air.
We all electronically signed the attendance sheet today - you could sort of tell who had printers/scanners and who didn't, and who was smart enough to figure out how to do it electronically.
Work is stressful enough without all this unnecessarily added stress. My department is lean to begin with - we have had numerous retirements in the last two years - from both non-represented (management) and represented (union). I don't think we can handle being cut much thinner. Lando's retirement alone is going to dump a lot of work on people.
Ugga Bugga. Rails at Universe, then meekly sits down and prays for good news.
It's too frigging muggy and hot out to take a walk, so I'm just posting pics from the last walk I took.
My soap opera (General Hospital) comes back with new episodes next week - after being on hiatus since March. Apparently their workplace went out of its way to make things safe for the actors and crew members. It's been showing reruns since roughly May 23, which is unprecedented - soaps never show reruns.
There's a lot of unprecedented things going on at the moment. It's getting hard to keep track. And my country appears to be on fire and there's zip I can do about it - except watch. It's like watching a horror film and knowing that it is real, but you can't do anything. You can't escape it, you can't turn it off, you can't get out, and you can't turn the channel. And even if you do ignore it for a bit - there it is, back again.
My father keeps telling my mother that he wants a vacation - he wants to go out. To get away for a bit. But alas he can't. He's trapped. And my heart breaks for him. My father is a kind and gentle man, who I love dearly. And there's nothing my brother nor I can do for him but sit back and watch, and listen to my mother.
I tried to watch the Mayor of NYC today, but fifteen minutes into it, I began to understand why so many people, my brother included, despise him.
He wants to reopen the courts completely so he can get the criminals off the streets. Okay, but the prisons are over-crowded and unsafe. Also, the courts are not safe - and perfect breeding grounds for a virus. And honestly, can you ask people to do jury duty during a pandemic? He visited the pools - which also looked crowded with mask in place. I can see why the Governor despises him, we all despise him. I gave up, since it was causing my blood pressure to go up.
Oh well, at least I'm somewhat busy at work and getting things done. That's something I guess. And I'm very grateful for this lap-top which has been such a trooper during the crisis. All I have is a MacBook Air, a wireless keyboard and mouse, a lift-up lap top station (it lifts the laptop so the screen is at eye level. Good wifi. An Iphone. And noise cancelling earphones. That's it. Nothing fancy. I'm waiting to see what crazy workplace is going to do, before I start investing in anything else.
I'm tired. Can't think of much else...so I'll leave you with...
That's the view outside my window, in case you are at all curious.
I wish the storm clouds would make up their mind- they are making me edgy or the chocolate I ate today is, or various things I'm trying really hard not to think about are. I'm dreading the staff meeting on Wed. I desperately want good news. Just a little. Doesn't have to be major. Something along the lines that yes, you are telecommuting until January 2021, would be lovely.
Ugga Bugga.
Family
I contacted my brother - who took the opportunity to invite me up to his barn. I'm thinking my mother pestered him into it. (She does that.) He's refurbished his screened in barn as a kind of guest suite, with bed, couch, kitchenette, toilet, and outdoor shower. So basically it's a screened in porch with a bed, kitchen, couch, toilet downstairs, and outdoor shower behind it.
He's been having guests visit his barn, they social distance outdoors, and stay in the barn. Then he and sis-in-law thoroughly clean the barn.
I don't know, I'd have to get up the courage to take public transportation and the train, and wait around in both. It was a nightmare prior to COVID.
Since it requires taking two subways, and an Amtrack train. He said he has a friend coming up on August 8 - 15, but other than that it's empty. Showed me photos of it and everything. My brother lives in upstate NY, about fourty-five minutes outside of Hudson, in the Hudson River Valley and just a stone's throw from the Berkshires. He's in the Capital District/Region, which has only had about 800 cases altogether if that.
Showed me photos of the barn, which looks okay, and my amazing niece. Also sis-in-law who is a fashion designer and runs her own fashion line. Bro is tending his massive garden and is awash in veggies, looking into salting them as a way to preserve them.
I'm wondering if this is what the Universe considers my good news quota for the week? I don't really see it as fitting that. Maybe by mid-August, I'll get up the courage to visit my brother. What am I afraid of? Public transportation. I get nervous visiting him anyhow...so there's that, but I'm also nervous about traveling anywhere and lugging stuff across the city. Granted, I could just put everything in a backpack and go. It's cool in the evenings up there - in the 60s. I'd do it this weekend and next week, but I have a conference call on Friday, and I need to face the things I'm dreading. Also, I'm not sure right now which is less safe, having workmen re-wire my kitchen while I'm working in the living room, or taking public transportation to visit my brother in upstate NY.
Also called mother. I'd accidentally called her this morning at 7 AM, when I was hunting my headspace app on my phone.
Mother: Not to worry I was up, so was your father.
Me: How are you doing.
Mother: Well, we're okay I guess. Although your father is seeing people again.
Me: Seeing people?
Mother: Yes, there were apparently nine people in our bedroom this morning. Your father counted them.
(I burst out laughing.)
Mother was not amused.
Me: What were they doing?
Mother: making the bed and cleaning apparently. Although I told him they hadn't done a very good job since the bed still needed to be made. He got disgruntled and told me that he knew I wouldn't believe him. He also went to the bathroom and said he had issues due to all the other people in there with him.
The pandemic has a done a real number on my poor father. He was doing much better prior to it - but being cooped up in his house with just my mother for company is making him a bit nuts. She gets out occasionally - to go grocery shopping, to visit neighbors, etc.
Mother is worried about Tropical Storm Nine.
Mother: They've named it?
Me: Yep, Nine.
Mother: Nine.
Me: I think they are running out of names to call these things. It's headed towards Puerto Rica and Florida.
Mother: And right towards us.
Me: It's only a tropical storm at the moment, you may have nothing to worry about.
Mother: Your uncle the priest said that his group is staying put in Florida.
Me: Maybe you should too?
Mother: Can't. They force us to evacuate - there's no security, etc. If we stay we have to sign a bunch of things releasing them from responsibility.
Me: Okay, I'm not going to worry about this right now.
Mother: You shouldn't. You have enough to worry about as it is, you don't need more.
I envy people who don't experience anxiety or worry about things.
Crazy Workplace
A friend from Transit and I determined that the whole "return to work" phrase came about because there's a lot of folks who couldn't work from home - so they were sent home with pay, but weren't working. (The lawyer in me wants precise language - also she agreed 100% with my annoyance regarding that catch-phrase.) That was the weird thing about the lock-down - half the folks were bored at home and the other half were working.
She's on pins and needles because she doesn't know what they are going to do in regards to her job and the huge merger/transformation - which has been in the works since last year. We had been hoping that it would be dropped because of COVID, but no such luck.
Meanwhile, we have the first Safety Focus Meeting we've had in months. Which may be good or bad news? Honestly, that workplace is not conducive to social distancing. It's kind of impossible. And we have shared air.
We all electronically signed the attendance sheet today - you could sort of tell who had printers/scanners and who didn't, and who was smart enough to figure out how to do it electronically.
Work is stressful enough without all this unnecessarily added stress. My department is lean to begin with - we have had numerous retirements in the last two years - from both non-represented (management) and represented (union). I don't think we can handle being cut much thinner. Lando's retirement alone is going to dump a lot of work on people.
Ugga Bugga. Rails at Universe, then meekly sits down and prays for good news.
It's too frigging muggy and hot out to take a walk, so I'm just posting pics from the last walk I took.
My soap opera (General Hospital) comes back with new episodes next week - after being on hiatus since March. Apparently their workplace went out of its way to make things safe for the actors and crew members. It's been showing reruns since roughly May 23, which is unprecedented - soaps never show reruns.
There's a lot of unprecedented things going on at the moment. It's getting hard to keep track. And my country appears to be on fire and there's zip I can do about it - except watch. It's like watching a horror film and knowing that it is real, but you can't do anything. You can't escape it, you can't turn it off, you can't get out, and you can't turn the channel. And even if you do ignore it for a bit - there it is, back again.
My father keeps telling my mother that he wants a vacation - he wants to go out. To get away for a bit. But alas he can't. He's trapped. And my heart breaks for him. My father is a kind and gentle man, who I love dearly. And there's nothing my brother nor I can do for him but sit back and watch, and listen to my mother.
I tried to watch the Mayor of NYC today, but fifteen minutes into it, I began to understand why so many people, my brother included, despise him.
He wants to reopen the courts completely so he can get the criminals off the streets. Okay, but the prisons are over-crowded and unsafe. Also, the courts are not safe - and perfect breeding grounds for a virus. And honestly, can you ask people to do jury duty during a pandemic? He visited the pools - which also looked crowded with mask in place. I can see why the Governor despises him, we all despise him. I gave up, since it was causing my blood pressure to go up.
Oh well, at least I'm somewhat busy at work and getting things done. That's something I guess. And I'm very grateful for this lap-top which has been such a trooper during the crisis. All I have is a MacBook Air, a wireless keyboard and mouse, a lift-up lap top station (it lifts the laptop so the screen is at eye level. Good wifi. An Iphone. And noise cancelling earphones. That's it. Nothing fancy. I'm waiting to see what crazy workplace is going to do, before I start investing in anything else.
I'm tired. Can't think of much else...so I'll leave you with...
no subject
Date: 2020-07-29 08:14 am (UTC)