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shadowkat
No walk today - see picture above, cloudy with snow and freezing rain, mostly freezing rain.
We've been having a warm and for the most part, dry, winter.
Crazy Workplace vs. COVID
[Personally, I think COVID is winning.]
Crazy workplace is stressing me out about the COVID vaccine. I'm afraid the idiots are going to do the same thing they did with H1N1 which is deny me the vaccine because of my essential tremor (which has nothing to do with it) or the gluten intolerance. And force me to get an unnecessary waiver because of their incompetence.
Deep breaths. It will be okay.
I filled out the form and I'll make it easy for them by stating that no, I do not have any health concerns that would prevent me from taking the vaccine.
I keep getting emails to register. So I did. Then I got an email to tell my management that I registered. So I did. Then I got an email that I might need a waiver - when I clearly stated that I responded no to the healthcare questions. Then when I said, I had stated no to the health care questions, they sent me an email that they'll ask again, and I might need a waiver - but I should ask now if my conditions qualify. Fed up - I responded, No, I don't have any issues outside of high blood pressure, pre-diabetic. Unless they count gluten intolerance and essential tremor which are not immune issues and don't count. If they think they do, I'll send a quick email to my doctor to waive it. It's easier now - because I have a good primary care doctor finally.
Meanwhile, crazy union keeps sending me emails of a few doses available at various sites. First Community Centers in Suffolk County, then a Community Center in Westbury. With the scheduled date the next day, and apologies for short notice - they just found out. I can't get to any of these places, and I'm working remotely, so I'm ignoring the emails.
Although I don't know why I'm concerned, since according to the Governor's email and my work emails, I won't be getting it for quite some time.
New York vs. COVID
[COVID appears to be winning here too. Despite what our leadership thinks.]
President Biden announced allocations to states will go up 16 percent and that we can count on that allocation for the next three weeks. So far, we've been going week to week and now with advance notice we can plan better and that is good news. New York stands ready to administer more vaccinations the moment we receive more supply. However, even with this increased allocation, supply is likely to continue to be extremely limited in the near term.
And..
The Biden administration also announced that it would "soon be able to confirm" the purchase of an additional 200 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. These additional doses, if secured by the federal government, would not arrive until the summer and will not solve the immediate supply crunch.
As of 11:00am today, New York's health care distribution sites have administered 93 percent of first dose vaccinations. We administered 1,210,339 first doses out of a total allocation of 1,304,050 first doses (this data excludes the federally run Long Term Care Facility program). These sites have administered 74 percent of first and second doses.
Meanwhile the Mayor of NYC wants to give out the second doses as first doses, which means people due for a second dose, may have to wait longer to get it.
Reporters:What about the people who need to get the second dose?
Mayor: Don't worry they will.
Reporters: How, if you give their dose to someone else?
Mayor: No, you don't understand. I think it would be better to have more people 50% protected than only a few people 100-95% protected. They'll still get the second dose, just maybe 35-65 days instead of 20?
Reporters: Uhm, how is that helpful again?
I agree with the reporters, I'm somewhat skeptical of the Mayor's plan. So too is the Governor for that matter. The Governor was also skeptical of the Mayor's decision to open up vaccines to everyone in group 1B, without 1A being fully vaccinated. I think the Governor caved a bit too soon on that one.
Every day, 162 New Yorkers die of COVID, it's been 162 for the last six to seven days now. I don't know why that number exactly.
MTA vs. Brooklyn Borough President, Late-Shift Workers and COVID
On FB, the Brooklyn Borough President (who as far as I can tell does absolutely nothing but whine about stuff on FB) was whining about the MTA not re-establishing 24/7 service on the subways. This round he posted an article about how it didn't save any money doing this. Which resulted in myself and about a million other people explaining that the MTA didn't halt service from 1- 5 AM for financial reasons, but to frigging clean the trains so that they would be safe and clean for essential workers. Like every other subway and transit system on the planet. It was a catch-22 situation - clean/safe trains or 24/7. If they could do both, they would - they haven't figured out how. Perhaps if he could find an alternative or a solution which would allow the MTA to do both that might help? (As opposed to just whinging about it? Is it just me or do people whine a lot on social media? Granted, I'm probably whining or venting now, I get that...but still.) Crickets.
I'm voting against him in the next election - I may vote for the Theater Teacher that I accidentally friended on FB, who keeps organizing neighbors to clean up the neighborhood, instead. [I'm not kidding, he actually is running for Brooklyn Borough President. None of the above is a joke. I wish it was, but you know...]
[Also, if a theater teacher, a corrupt real estate developer, and a paralegal can run for office, maybe I should get into politics? Eh, no, I don't like people that much. Or the media for that matter.]
The fight is between the late shift workers (who have been spoiled living in a huge city with a 24/7 transportation system, which simply doesn't exist elsewhere) and everyone else (who wants clean trains that don't have homeless people or anyone for that matter camped out asleep on the seats).
No one else tries to do a 24/7 subway system. For years, people would compare NY's grungy, dirty subways with others around the world, which were pristine in comparison. And I'd say the same thing - they aren't doing a 24/7 transportation system, hello.
London's closed at midnight and opened at 6 for cleaning and round the clock maintenance, so was closed longer than ours in the 1980s (I don't know if that changed), Paris, Dublin, Germany, Tokyo, etc - the same. I know that is true of London's Tube, because I remember getting out of a movie around 11:30-midnight, and having to take a bus back to where we were staying in 1987. New York is the only idiots around the globe, who decided it was a smart idea to do a 24/7 system.
So, when the subways were a mess and running 24/7, Brooklyn's Borough President whined as did everyone else. Then the MTA figured out that if they closed them for five hours each night, they could clear out the homeless and clean the trains. It worked like a charm. But the late-shift workers are upset. So the MTA provided shuttle buses and uber passes.
Honestly, no one is ever happy.
Family
I seem to be crying every day about my Dad. Maybe by the time I actually do lose him - the grief will be out of my system?
Mother: Well, I had a long talk with your Aunt K, and she has some interesting ideas. Also she's having issues with your Aunt D (youngest Aunt) because apparently your Aunt D is buying her daughter's medical advice as gospel over your Aunt K's medical advice.
Me: And my cousin is -
Mother: Not exactly a doctor, while your Aunt K is a nurse.
Me: My cousin is a dentist. She's not a doctor at all. And Aunt K is a retired school nurse.
Mother: And they both read a lot and think they are right about all health issues.
Me: Yeah, I know. (Aunt K at one point was swearing by Doctor Oz, so I do take some of what she says with a hefty grain of salt. Fact checking apparently wasn't in her repertoire.] Also, didatic lecturing or opinionated views appears to be a family trait. I see it in myself, my father, my brother, and all his siblings. We all have a tendency to act like we're right and know everything.
[Pause]
ME: Anyhow, what interesting ideas does Aunt K have exactly? [You have to get my mother back on track - she has a tendency to jump about and go off on long subtangents.]
Mother: What? Oh, yes.. your Aunt K thinks that you and your brother don't understand the situation with your father and need to actually visit him and spend time with him to get it. I told her that you'd both seen him recently, far more recently than she had, and you talk to me every day on the phone - so yes, you get it.
Me: Sigh. Aunt K is very opinionated. It admittedly runs in our family. I've decided its a family trait.
Mother: Not entirely. Anyhow, she's just convinced you don't get it.
Me: Well, I tried to convey to her what the situation was - but she doesn't like to listen. So didn't hear me.
Mother: I think she was surprised a little. Your father was better the last time she was here, but it was also different.
Me: Yeah, he was. He was also better earlier in 2020, he slides back and forth into dementia. Some days more lucid than others. And he had a major set-back in July, and we thought he'd get better and he didn't...that's no one's fault.
Mother: I don't think that's what she meant.
Me: No of course not. But what does she expect us to do? We're in the middle of a pandemic. We can't get down there, we can't help, and they won't let us in.
Mother: You did the right thing though in bringing her here for that brief period of time. [PAUSE]
She was able to help your father, and also got to spend some quality and very special time with him. At one point, when he had to lie down, and she helped him to bed, he asked her to sit beside him for a little while and hold his hand...[mother's voice catches, and I realize after a moment that tears are streaming down my face.]
Later, mother told me that she'd called her sister, and my brother.
Me: Did you commiserate with your sister about Aunt K's ideas.
Mother: No, I did that with your brother.
Me: What did my brother say?
Mother: He agreed with you and me, that no, you didn't need to see or spend time with your father to get it - you both got it, pretty well.
ME: People who've never experienced dementia, don't get it. Do they? Or they think they do based on theirs, but it's different for everyone and each individual is different.
Mother: Exactly. Your Aunt thinks she gets it - because of her parents, but they didn't have dementia - neither of your father's parents suffered from it.
My poor mother - both her parents had different forms of dementia, and now my father does. I pray she doesn't as well. I've experienced it in three people I love deeply. And I could do nothing to help. But listen to their care-giver, my mother. COVID of course made my father's dementia a hundred times worse.
Mother sometimes prefers my brother to me, she likes talking to him, he's calming. I'm apparently too emotional. Mother has a home health care worker spending the night with her. And she'd made it to the doctor's this afternoon. The doctor wants to run a bunch of tests on mother to determine the cause of the broken femur. Is it bone disease? Is it cancer? Is accute osteporosis? Or something simple like mother put too much weight on it while handling back pain brought on by caring for my father?
Mother: I don't think I should tell your sister.
Brother: But you will anyway.
Me (trying not to be offended): Really?
US vs. COVID...and the Doofus and the idiotic Republican Party
*The Impeachment of the Terrorist Leader aka Trump - the media doesn't think he'll be convicted because sigh, Republicans. The attempted coup aka Big Mutant Zombie Apocalypse (that wasn't) - is the stuff of nightmares. Want to be scared? Tired of the horror movie that is COVID and want to jump to the political one? Listen to THIS.
[Oh, well, at least the Senate is confirming all of Biden's picks without any issues. Yellen, Blinken, Austin, all got confirmed, along with new National Security Advisors, and others. Biden also was able to fire all of Trump political and partisan appointees. I think the Republicans are in for a rude awakening, when they discover only .03% of the population supports them (I got the number by dividing 74 million by 331 million) and over half of that is about to die of COVID-19, because they are too dumb to put on a mask.)
* In better news...Mr. Biden announced new actions targeting racial inequality and police violence against Black people. Among the executive actions are steps to address prison reform, discriminatory housing policies and police reform.
* On military reform, Lloyd Austin, the new secretary of defense, is open to considering an overhaul to the way the military handles sexual assault cases — by taking them outside the military chain of command.
*And everyone is STILL fighting over closing indoor dining and opening schools. I'm thinking a lot of people flunked logic or common sense 101.
Folks - in a classroom, you can wear masks, put up shields, and prevent spread, also do testing. My niece was doing testing and attending school in a hybrid situation. And they've managed it elsewhere.
Indoor dining - you can't do any of that. You can't eat with a mask on. You can't drink with one on. You can't be sure people have tested negative prior to dining. You are dealing with cooks, wait staff, etc.
Honestly, of course it is safer to open schools and close indoor dining, poorly ventilated gyms, etc. Hello. If I can figure that out, why can't other people? [Granted I don't care about indoor dining - the last time I was physically at a restaurant was March 7, 2020, and that was the first time I'd been inside one in over a year. It's not something I regularly do or enjoy. Expensive and annoying if you have dietary issues. But I don't care that much about schools either - no kids. So from a purely objective perspective? It makes sense to close indoor dining and open schools.]
Open schools. Close indoor dining, bars and poorly ventilated gyms.
That’s the view of federal health officials who urged a return to classroom instruction as soon as possible, citing evidence showing it is safe with the right health protocols. Writing in a medical journal, the officials said school administrators must limit risky activities such as indoor sports.
Also kind of sensible and obvious. I mean why would you do indoor sports during a pandemic?
* As of today, the U.S. will require a negative virus test from all arriving international air travelers. France and Britain are considering stricter measures, and New Zealand said borders would remain closed until the population was vaccinated. - FINALLY. Although, I'm wondering if maybe the cat might be out of the bag by now? Of course New Zealand is the safest place on the planet, no big surprise there. (Note to self - if you ever go back in time to talk to your younger self - tell them to move to New Zealand in the 1990s and take your entire family with them.]
The Rest of the World vs. COVID
Bad news? I think COVID is winning here too. We surpassed 100 million cases today, kudos. Way to go world. Great participatory effort all around, folks.
Good news? Except maybe for France that is, which is attempting to renovate the Louvre during its lock-down. But then France never did like to follow the crowd.
* In Hong Kong: After an outbreak in the neighborhood of Jordan, officials locked down 10,000 residents over the weekend, most of whom live in tenement apartments, where spaces are so tiny and restrictive that they are called cages or coffins. (And I thought I had it bad. Note - it can always be worse.)
* India: Thousands of farmers poured into New Delhi to protest new farming laws, using their tractors to pull barricades apart and prompting police to use tear gas.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was overseeing a lavish parade and saluting military officers as chaos broke out in several parts of the capital just a few miles away. At least one person died, and our reporters in the area saw wounded people being carried away after a tractor tipped over.
Farmers say they will not stop their efforts until the repeal of laws that they say will strip away their protections in hopes of drawing investment.
* Italy - Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy resigned, triggering the collapse of the government as the country faces a still serious coronavirus outbreak and halting vaccine rollout.
President Sergio Mattarella was holding talks with parliamentary leaders to determine whether Mr. Conte, or someone else could garner enough support to govern, or if a limited technocratic government was a better option. If not, early elections might be necessary. [Apparently Italy felt it was in competition with the US and UK for the worst federal government? Guess, what Italy? You win.]
* Indonesia passed one million coronavirus cases, and many of its hospitals are near capacity.
* Australia suspended it's bubble with New Zealand, when the Brazil varian snuck past New Zealand's strict quarantine. So New Zealand locked itself down completely - no one else in or out until all residents get vaccinated.
* Violent protests erupted for the third night in cities across the Netherlands, in response to a national 9 p.m. curfew that went into effect on Saturday.
*In Britain, coronavirus deaths surpassed 100,000.
*France - There are no tourists or selfie sticks in the Louvre, but the halls are abuzz: The world’s most-visited museum is getting a makeover.
During the museum’s longest closure since World War II, hundreds of experts are working on renovations. Some of the work is relatively simple, like dusting the frames of nearly 4,500 paintings. Some is herculean, like makeovers in the Egyptian antiquities hall and the Sully Wing.
“Despite Covid, we continue to work as always,” one curator said. “We must be ready to welcome back the public.”
A few arrondissements over, the Pompidou Center, the striking, inside-out museum and cultural center, will close for renovations from late 2023 until 2027, France’s culture minister said. [Sensible France is working on infrastructure - apparently France was watching Governor Cuomo's live briefings and got the idea, hey, what better time to improve the Louvre then during a pandemic, when no one can visit it anyhow? Note to self, if I survive the pandemic, I'm going to Paris and visiting the Louvre.]
Oh and Israel is actually doing pretty well in regards to the vaccine. And Johnson & Johnson released more data on its vaccine. I want that one to succeed - it's only one dose, and right now, close to 100% effective.
Other items?
* Apparently MLB baseball decided not to induct anyone into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020, everyone up for it was rejected by the voters. I don't know why - but they didn't like Roger Clemmons, Barry Bonds, and Curt Schilling - who'd been nominated. [2020 really wasn't anyone's year, was it?]
* The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction was released online today. It provides the origins of words like Warp Speed, transporter, moon base, and deep space.
Sigh...I'm tired. Sleep is sporadic these days. I'm meditating each morning, so that is helping with the depression which hovers, along with the anxiety.
So far, doing pretty well all things considered. Wish work was busier, but it's probably just as well that it isn't.
There wasn't a winter storm, just rain. I wanted snow. But alas, rain.
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Date: 2021-01-28 02:53 am (UTC)I also know nothing about these people. LOL!
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Date: 2021-01-27 07:16 pm (UTC)You might be right. My Dad was sent away when I was about 2, and my contact with him was limited by my mother until I was about 13. We never lived in the same place, so meetings were not frequent. And After the initial shock of seeing a photo of him lying dead at Christmas a couple of years ago, my grief was not as great as I felt it should have been, especially in comparison to earlier bereavements. So I think maybe I had done my grieving as a child, when I first "lost" him, with no explanation.
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Date: 2021-01-28 02:57 am (UTC)But maybe it doesn't matter - grief is grief, anyway we shake it?
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Date: 2021-01-28 09:59 am (UTC)