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Day # 314...Carry On or trying to
Woke up with American Pie in my head...and then clicked on my phone and found myself hearing Carry On in my head.
If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground
Carry on
Carry on, carry on
[Took a brief walk down the median again and around the block. Avoided the smokers - or tried to. The picture above and half-way down are of my walk.]
Me vs. Crazy Workplace and COVID
My workplace is trying to kill me again. But, no worries, I fought back.
At the weekly Staff Meeting From Doom:
Boss: So any questions?
[Crickets]
Boss: Anyone gotten their transportation passes yet? Raise your hand if you have?
[Crickets]
Boss: So when do you plan on doing this? You have to get the transportation pass, the ID, and the transit one, you know.
Me: February.
Chidi: We have until the end of February, right?
Boss: No, you have until the end of this week for the transit/subway pass. Why do you think I'm here, folks? I'm normally at home.
Me: Uhm, wait, what? We had no notification of that. According to my card it expires in April.
Gabe: It expires at the end of March, I think. And we have until Feb 28 for the transportation.
Boss: No, end of this week. January 31
Me (under my breath): Shit. We have to go in tomorrow and get it? Really? We have had no notice - and where?
Boss: You go to the headquarters building, up to the third floor, President's office, and get it. You can take the subway, if I can do it - you can. [It's a good thing my video isn't on - because he would be the recipient of my death glare.]
Bright Young Thing: Oh, and I may actually have to put some pants on tomorrow (laughing)
Me: I have pants on, can you just go - I mean do I need an ID? How do I get in? Where? Some details please.
Chidi and others chime in making and cracking jokes.
Babs: Uhm I'm under quarantine, what do I do?
Boss: Okay, that's a good question - as long as you set it up with me first -
Me: All joking aside, for those of us who have never been to the headquarters building, where do we go?
Boss and Breaking Bad: you go to guy at the elevator, get your temperature taken, take the elevator to the third floor, turn the corner, and there will be someone to hand you the pass - don't go at noon.
Boss: We tried to get them to let us just hand them out.
Breaking Bad: Point of clarification? The transit pass deadline may just be for managers, not union employees. They are union - and that's a different date.
Boss: Oh. That hadn't occurred to me.
Breaking Bad: I'm looking at the list - and Babs name isn't on it - so I'm guessing this is just for managers, and the email only went out to the manager who need the pass for meetings. The union is different.
Boss: Okay, we'll get clarification on that.
I get off the call, and immediately send an email to the Office Manager, who does know these things. She emails me back about twenty minutes later that the Transit Passes don't expire until April 2021 and are not ready for pickup. Transportation ID's and Railroad passes can be picked up from the office - the old ones expired in December, but have been extended until February 28. We have until the 28 of February to pick them up.
I forward her email to everyone at the staff meeting from doom, except for boss and the other two managers.
Meanwhile..during this whole meeting, I'm watching cubical mate, who has lost over 100 pounds, is pale, and looks like he's been through the ringer. He says he's a lot better, but still has a persistent cough and this thing, just keeps coming back...when he least expects it.
Seriously, after my panic attack - I got a CBD and popped open a vodka soda that I had in the fridge. (It's sugar free - the only caloric substance in it is the vodka, which has no calories.)
My workplace is driving me crazy. Although did talk to Jay today, who helped talk me off the proverbial cliff. She informed me that regarding work loads, everyone was frustrated. And nothing was coming out of C&D.
So, I wasn't the only one light on work at the moment. Regarding the vaccine - it was chaotic, and she was just going to hunker down and wait until she had a confirmed appointment - to get it.
I took a walk to get rid of some of my fury. I woke up furious at my work place - because of all of the misinformation regarding registration for the vaccine. [Gabe was funny, she wanted to know if the vaccine was going to be administered by real doctors or fake MTA doctors. Which greatly amused my boss, and most of the staff. She's afraid of needles and tends to faint - so it was something that deeply concerned her. ] They were badgering me to register, then telling me I might not be eligible due to pre-existing conditions? Which contradicts the CDC and the NY State protocols.
Family
Good news. My parents are scheduled to take the vaccine on Saturday. Father and mother will get it.
Yay.
Father was more lucid when mother spoke to him today. The only problem with that - is when he's more lucid, he wants to go home. And asks when he can leave. My mother apologizes to him profusely, and says she's trying to work it out - needs more time. He doesn't understand why they both can't be home with the home health care aids taking care of them both. Mother told my brother this - and he responded, "It's not like Dad's happy at home? He complains there as well. He's at home, he wants to leave and go to the Preston or somewhere else, and if he's at the Preston, he wants to go home." This is true. My father has become the Rum Tum Tiger from Cats.
New York vs. COVID
As my brother told my mother today - COVID is everywhere in NY.
Although the Governor decided anything under 6% infection rate - was not bad, and loosened restrictions again. (Loosening, basically means we go from Orange to Yellow Zones, and outdoor dining, shops, and schools get to open. Maybe some indoor dining, but curfew is still in place. That's it. No indoor dining in the city.
Per the Governor's live-briefing (which I tend to watch on FB after the fact), they don't have enough vaccines for everyone, and right now it doesn't look like they will for quite some time. It's not that they can't distribute a high volume, it's that they don't have the allotment. And as, he advised the reporters, people are driving over a hundred miles to get it at different locals. People across the state are shopping for the vaccine or following it about - it's become a kind of free-for-all. He'd love nothing better than to open Yankee Stadium and vaccinate the Bronx through it. But they just don't have the vaccines. The Federal Government fouled up on the distribution.
He's right, it has become a free-for-all in NY. The good news is they have vaccinated 70% of the nursing home folks. (They offered it to 100%, but only 70% agreed to take it.) Also about 86% of the health care folks (but people refused.) There's a lot of misinformation out there.
The bad news is there are now, 42 UK variant cases that have been detected. I'm certain there are more.
New York has vaccinated about 6% of its population or approximately 1 Million people, but it only has a little over 1 million doses.
Other states have fared somewhat better.
Per the Governor's email : Additional cases of the UK variant have been identified in New York State. The new cases have been found in Long Island, New York City, Westchester, Saratoga, Tompkins, Niagara, Onondaga, Essex and Warren Counties, bringing the statewide total to 42 known cases.
- In short? It's everywhere.
Other News
President Biden signed a series of executive orders that will fight climate change at every level of the federal government.
“We’ve already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis,” Mr. Biden said. “We can’t wait any longer.”
"Looking to counteract Republican claims that his climate policies would hurt an economy already weakened by the coronavirus pandemic, the president cast many of his orders as an economic boon that would create millions of jobs.
The orders include a pause on new oil and natural gas leases on public lands and offshore waters, and eliminating fossil fuel subsidies. Mr. Biden also pledged to announce specific targets detailing how the U.S. would lower its carbon dioxide emissions under the Paris accord.
The orders also specified that climate change, for the first time, will be a core part of all foreign policy and national security decisions. That will most likely bring big changes for America’s role in the world. Here’s what to watch for in the coming months."
I'm very happy about this turn of events. I had two things I prayed for in this election - 1) Trump gone and out of office. I don't care how. I just want him and his administration gone. 2) And the environment, specifically climate change. That was it. And I got it! I also got Kamala Harris, who I adore as a bonus. I've been patient and very good, I think I earned these three things.
And..
"Pres. Biden signed an executive order Tuesday that orders the Department of Justice to not renew any federal contracts with privately operated prisons. It is part of a push by the Biden administration to root out systemic racism from federal programs and institutions. During last year's nationwide protests calling for racial justice for Black people who face police brutality, Biden voiced his regret and promised that he'd address racial justice and equity if elected.
The executive order applies only to facilities under the Department of Justice, not the Department of Homeland Security, which has its own privately operated immigration centers. Some private prisons doubled as immigrant detention centers during Trump's presidency. Undocumented immigrants, even those seeking legal asylum, were kept at these facilities.
The private prison complex is a billion-dollar industry paid in part by U.S. taxpayer dollars. Under the Obama administration, the federal government had begun phasing out its use of private prisons. That policy was rescinded by the Trump administration.
Some private prisons have been called out for their poor conditions for inmates and programs for inmate workers that have been described as ‘slave labor.’"
[Also good news. My church has been fighting for the last four years to end these contracts. The contracts had resulted in more persons of color who had done the equivalent of petty crimes being imprisoned. It also, was pushing poor conditions and inhumane ones - which contributed to a rise in cases during the pandemic and the spread of the virus.]
Social Media
Or meanwhile on the internet...you should be proud of me, I resisted saying nasty things to folks on Facebook. It wasn't easy. I also resisted getting into a pointless debate to two folks on racism. I watched from the sidelines as a social media friend that I'd met on ATPO tried to do it.
The argument? Sigh. "Why would someone want to make a big deal about being black - isn't the point to be colorblind? It's not like we make a big deal about being white?" Then, when folks tried to gently point out to them (and some not so gently) that colorblindness did not remove racism. Some going so far to rec the book "How to be an Anti-Racist" with mixed results. (I could have told them that throwing that book at folks won't work.) They responded with - "But black people sold blacks into slavery in Africa, and whites were slaves ages ago, why should we be held responsible?"
Dear ghod. I wish I could shake folks. I could go on for hours about what is wrong with these statements. They are self-serving, illogical arguments. (Do not fight with me on this people. I warn you. Do not. I don't have the patience.)
One of the things that Trump revealed is how racist and self-serving so many people are. And incapable of taking responsibility and learning how to change their views.
I've learned the hard way not to fight with folks on Facebook or Twitter for that matter about these things, or even DW. People don't listen or read any longer, and tempers flare, and it usually degrades to name-calling. It's often wise not to fight with people you don't know very well about political and religious issues. Not always but often.
I'm tired. And frustrated with the world outside my window. Hunkering down in my she-cave, leery of it. Today, I fell a bit in love with this song by Aloe Blacc entitled My Way.
People say I’m foolish
People say I'm blinded by faith
But if I run out of air
If I crash I don’t care
I’m gonna do it my way
I can make it through this
You can throw the world in my face
But the fear gives me life
And I swear 'til I die
I’m gonna do it my way
It came up on my apple music feed after the Staff Meeting from Doom, and it helped. It was if the Universe touched me on the shoulder and said, keep on going, ignore the world, and keep on doing it "your way". No matter what.
If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground
Carry on
Carry on, carry on
[Took a brief walk down the median again and around the block. Avoided the smokers - or tried to. The picture above and half-way down are of my walk.]
Me vs. Crazy Workplace and COVID
My workplace is trying to kill me again. But, no worries, I fought back.
At the weekly Staff Meeting From Doom:
Boss: So any questions?
[Crickets]
Boss: Anyone gotten their transportation passes yet? Raise your hand if you have?
[Crickets]
Boss: So when do you plan on doing this? You have to get the transportation pass, the ID, and the transit one, you know.
Me: February.
Chidi: We have until the end of February, right?
Boss: No, you have until the end of this week for the transit/subway pass. Why do you think I'm here, folks? I'm normally at home.
Me: Uhm, wait, what? We had no notification of that. According to my card it expires in April.
Gabe: It expires at the end of March, I think. And we have until Feb 28 for the transportation.
Boss: No, end of this week. January 31
Me (under my breath): Shit. We have to go in tomorrow and get it? Really? We have had no notice - and where?
Boss: You go to the headquarters building, up to the third floor, President's office, and get it. You can take the subway, if I can do it - you can. [It's a good thing my video isn't on - because he would be the recipient of my death glare.]
Bright Young Thing: Oh, and I may actually have to put some pants on tomorrow (laughing)
Me: I have pants on, can you just go - I mean do I need an ID? How do I get in? Where? Some details please.
Chidi and others chime in making and cracking jokes.
Babs: Uhm I'm under quarantine, what do I do?
Boss: Okay, that's a good question - as long as you set it up with me first -
Me: All joking aside, for those of us who have never been to the headquarters building, where do we go?
Boss and Breaking Bad: you go to guy at the elevator, get your temperature taken, take the elevator to the third floor, turn the corner, and there will be someone to hand you the pass - don't go at noon.
Boss: We tried to get them to let us just hand them out.
Breaking Bad: Point of clarification? The transit pass deadline may just be for managers, not union employees. They are union - and that's a different date.
Boss: Oh. That hadn't occurred to me.
Breaking Bad: I'm looking at the list - and Babs name isn't on it - so I'm guessing this is just for managers, and the email only went out to the manager who need the pass for meetings. The union is different.
Boss: Okay, we'll get clarification on that.
I get off the call, and immediately send an email to the Office Manager, who does know these things. She emails me back about twenty minutes later that the Transit Passes don't expire until April 2021 and are not ready for pickup. Transportation ID's and Railroad passes can be picked up from the office - the old ones expired in December, but have been extended until February 28. We have until the 28 of February to pick them up.
I forward her email to everyone at the staff meeting from doom, except for boss and the other two managers.
Meanwhile..during this whole meeting, I'm watching cubical mate, who has lost over 100 pounds, is pale, and looks like he's been through the ringer. He says he's a lot better, but still has a persistent cough and this thing, just keeps coming back...when he least expects it.
Seriously, after my panic attack - I got a CBD and popped open a vodka soda that I had in the fridge. (It's sugar free - the only caloric substance in it is the vodka, which has no calories.)
My workplace is driving me crazy. Although did talk to Jay today, who helped talk me off the proverbial cliff. She informed me that regarding work loads, everyone was frustrated. And nothing was coming out of C&D.
So, I wasn't the only one light on work at the moment. Regarding the vaccine - it was chaotic, and she was just going to hunker down and wait until she had a confirmed appointment - to get it.
I took a walk to get rid of some of my fury. I woke up furious at my work place - because of all of the misinformation regarding registration for the vaccine. [Gabe was funny, she wanted to know if the vaccine was going to be administered by real doctors or fake MTA doctors. Which greatly amused my boss, and most of the staff. She's afraid of needles and tends to faint - so it was something that deeply concerned her. ] They were badgering me to register, then telling me I might not be eligible due to pre-existing conditions? Which contradicts the CDC and the NY State protocols.
Family
Good news. My parents are scheduled to take the vaccine on Saturday. Father and mother will get it.
Yay.
Father was more lucid when mother spoke to him today. The only problem with that - is when he's more lucid, he wants to go home. And asks when he can leave. My mother apologizes to him profusely, and says she's trying to work it out - needs more time. He doesn't understand why they both can't be home with the home health care aids taking care of them both. Mother told my brother this - and he responded, "It's not like Dad's happy at home? He complains there as well. He's at home, he wants to leave and go to the Preston or somewhere else, and if he's at the Preston, he wants to go home." This is true. My father has become the Rum Tum Tiger from Cats.
New York vs. COVID
As my brother told my mother today - COVID is everywhere in NY.
Although the Governor decided anything under 6% infection rate - was not bad, and loosened restrictions again. (Loosening, basically means we go from Orange to Yellow Zones, and outdoor dining, shops, and schools get to open. Maybe some indoor dining, but curfew is still in place. That's it. No indoor dining in the city.
Per the Governor's live-briefing (which I tend to watch on FB after the fact), they don't have enough vaccines for everyone, and right now it doesn't look like they will for quite some time. It's not that they can't distribute a high volume, it's that they don't have the allotment. And as, he advised the reporters, people are driving over a hundred miles to get it at different locals. People across the state are shopping for the vaccine or following it about - it's become a kind of free-for-all. He'd love nothing better than to open Yankee Stadium and vaccinate the Bronx through it. But they just don't have the vaccines. The Federal Government fouled up on the distribution.
He's right, it has become a free-for-all in NY. The good news is they have vaccinated 70% of the nursing home folks. (They offered it to 100%, but only 70% agreed to take it.) Also about 86% of the health care folks (but people refused.) There's a lot of misinformation out there.
The bad news is there are now, 42 UK variant cases that have been detected. I'm certain there are more.
New York has vaccinated about 6% of its population or approximately 1 Million people, but it only has a little over 1 million doses.
Other states have fared somewhat better.
Per the Governor's email : Additional cases of the UK variant have been identified in New York State. The new cases have been found in Long Island, New York City, Westchester, Saratoga, Tompkins, Niagara, Onondaga, Essex and Warren Counties, bringing the statewide total to 42 known cases.
- In short? It's everywhere.
Other News
President Biden signed a series of executive orders that will fight climate change at every level of the federal government.
“We’ve already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis,” Mr. Biden said. “We can’t wait any longer.”
"Looking to counteract Republican claims that his climate policies would hurt an economy already weakened by the coronavirus pandemic, the president cast many of his orders as an economic boon that would create millions of jobs.
The orders include a pause on new oil and natural gas leases on public lands and offshore waters, and eliminating fossil fuel subsidies. Mr. Biden also pledged to announce specific targets detailing how the U.S. would lower its carbon dioxide emissions under the Paris accord.
The orders also specified that climate change, for the first time, will be a core part of all foreign policy and national security decisions. That will most likely bring big changes for America’s role in the world. Here’s what to watch for in the coming months."
I'm very happy about this turn of events. I had two things I prayed for in this election - 1) Trump gone and out of office. I don't care how. I just want him and his administration gone. 2) And the environment, specifically climate change. That was it. And I got it! I also got Kamala Harris, who I adore as a bonus. I've been patient and very good, I think I earned these three things.
And..
"Pres. Biden signed an executive order Tuesday that orders the Department of Justice to not renew any federal contracts with privately operated prisons. It is part of a push by the Biden administration to root out systemic racism from federal programs and institutions. During last year's nationwide protests calling for racial justice for Black people who face police brutality, Biden voiced his regret and promised that he'd address racial justice and equity if elected.
The executive order applies only to facilities under the Department of Justice, not the Department of Homeland Security, which has its own privately operated immigration centers. Some private prisons doubled as immigrant detention centers during Trump's presidency. Undocumented immigrants, even those seeking legal asylum, were kept at these facilities.
The private prison complex is a billion-dollar industry paid in part by U.S. taxpayer dollars. Under the Obama administration, the federal government had begun phasing out its use of private prisons. That policy was rescinded by the Trump administration.
Some private prisons have been called out for their poor conditions for inmates and programs for inmate workers that have been described as ‘slave labor.’"
[Also good news. My church has been fighting for the last four years to end these contracts. The contracts had resulted in more persons of color who had done the equivalent of petty crimes being imprisoned. It also, was pushing poor conditions and inhumane ones - which contributed to a rise in cases during the pandemic and the spread of the virus.]
Social Media
Or meanwhile on the internet...you should be proud of me, I resisted saying nasty things to folks on Facebook. It wasn't easy. I also resisted getting into a pointless debate to two folks on racism. I watched from the sidelines as a social media friend that I'd met on ATPO tried to do it.
The argument? Sigh. "Why would someone want to make a big deal about being black - isn't the point to be colorblind? It's not like we make a big deal about being white?" Then, when folks tried to gently point out to them (and some not so gently) that colorblindness did not remove racism. Some going so far to rec the book "How to be an Anti-Racist" with mixed results. (I could have told them that throwing that book at folks won't work.) They responded with - "But black people sold blacks into slavery in Africa, and whites were slaves ages ago, why should we be held responsible?"
Dear ghod. I wish I could shake folks. I could go on for hours about what is wrong with these statements. They are self-serving, illogical arguments. (Do not fight with me on this people. I warn you. Do not. I don't have the patience.)
One of the things that Trump revealed is how racist and self-serving so many people are. And incapable of taking responsibility and learning how to change their views.
I've learned the hard way not to fight with folks on Facebook or Twitter for that matter about these things, or even DW. People don't listen or read any longer, and tempers flare, and it usually degrades to name-calling. It's often wise not to fight with people you don't know very well about political and religious issues. Not always but often.
I'm tired. And frustrated with the world outside my window. Hunkering down in my she-cave, leery of it. Today, I fell a bit in love with this song by Aloe Blacc entitled My Way.
People say I’m foolish
People say I'm blinded by faith
But if I run out of air
If I crash I don’t care
I’m gonna do it my way
I can make it through this
You can throw the world in my face
But the fear gives me life
And I swear 'til I die
I’m gonna do it my way
It came up on my apple music feed after the Staff Meeting from Doom, and it helped. It was if the Universe touched me on the shoulder and said, keep on going, ignore the world, and keep on doing it "your way". No matter what.