shadowkat | Entries tagged with corona virus

1. COVID and Family

I think most of my immediate family may have come down with COVID. Mother tested positive on Wednesday. Niece tested positive today, and her mother is testing herself tonight, and if they have it, bro may get it too.
Bro and Auntie N (mother's younger sister) talked Momma into getting the anti-viral agent - Pavloxid (sp?). Apparently Auntie N took it - and it helped her, and bro's friends swear by it. Momma says it's helping so far, lessened the cough, and took care of the shortness of breath.

Momma also told me that she didn't get any side-effects to any of the COVID vaccines, including the Biavalent, nor did she have any to the Flu shot.

On another note - apparently, I was wise to cancel dinner with niece tonight, since she tested positive today and headed home with her mother by train tonight - as opposed to staying in the city another night and leaving on Friday. She thinks she got it on Saturday from a customer who came in sick to the place where she works.

Mother is convinced she got it from her choir members - both tested positive on Tuesday, and she sits between them in choir.

I'd not have been able to see niece this Thursday anyhow, and if I'd met up with her on Wed, I'd have been exposed to COVID - which I so don't need right now.

2. COVID and Crazy Workplace

One of my co-workers told me that she and her husband contracted COVID shortly after they got the last vaccine.

ME: Makes me wonder about getting it -
Co-worker: No, no, do. Mine was rather mild. It makes you less likely to get really sick.
Me: Were you exposed at work?
Co-worker: No, we think we got exposed at church - it was a super-spreader event. Fifty people tested positive.

Meanwhile..in yet another Teams Meeting..
( Read more... )

3. Covid and Neighborhood

Tomorrow, around 5:50 or thereabouts, I have to go to the pharmacy to check in for my vaccination appointment and get the vaccines.

Today they had a little van out front of the pharmacy that was providing COVID Testing, Boosters, and Anti-Virals to folks. I'd never heard of the firm. We also have an Urgent Care next door to the Wallgreens Pharmacy now that offers Free Testing (with insurance, apparently as does Wallgreens), and vaccines. No appointment required. (I wonder if they know how to fill out SL8 forms.)

1. My allergies are driving me crazy. ( Read more... )

2. In other news? Crazy Org now offers the Biavelent Booster via Pfizer/Biomed. ( Read more... )

3. Bro was sick for a few days and self-isolated. He had some sort of stomach bug. But I think his bottled up emotions caught up with him.
( grief is a tricky thing )

4. In other news, Chidi asked for the title of the book that I published, so he can share it with a friend of his, look it up, and possibly buy it himself. It's free on Kindle Unlimited, and about $2.99 regular Kindle, and $12.99 in paperback (printing costs and all that). I refuse to charge more than $2.99 for a Kindle book. It costs me nothing. And I want folks to be able to read it. I'm not going to make that much off of it.

Chidi also told me that we need to be there for each other during this trying time - and be an ear. I hope I'm doing that for others. Not certain.

5. I'm still reading "Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim" - it is book two of her "Blood of the Stars" series. Book one was "Spin the Dawn". There's only two books in the series. She's Japanese-American and her stories feature Japanese and Asian mythology.
( Amazon description of novel )
Unfortunately it's poorly paced, and slow going. Either that - or it's just me, and I am having troubles focusing on it? Hard to know. I like the mythology and the world-building more than the characters - which is a problem. Also the fairy-tale nature of the story. But it's told in first person and the voice is kind of weak? Or whiny? I can't quite decide which, which makes it slow going at times. I'm 60% of the way through and wondering if it will ever end. But want to know what happens.

I'm in a horrible reading slump. Someone needs to recommend a page turner to me, right quick. I did get Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary for about $2.99 on Amazon, along with the audiobook for $4.99. It's not like I don't have a lot of books to read.

Just not a lot of attention span.

6. Twitter had an article about how Marvel Studios Reboot of the X-Men is rumored to be based on Joss Whedon and John Cassadays Astonishing X-men

Which might actually work. ( excuse me while I get geeky or nerdy about my favorite comic book series transitioning to film or television )

My cousin J asked if I'd seen all the Marvel films and what I made out of the controversy over the female Captain America. I had to think about it for a minute - because I got confused and thought he was talking about Captain Marvel. But no, he was talking about AU version - Angela Carter becoming Captain America in another universe (she's in the Doctor Strange film as Captain America).

Then his wife asked why I loved superhero films and comics so much, what drew me to them. ( Read more... )

Re-connecting with family last week - particularly my extended family helped me reorient myself a bit in the world and realize that my parents had given me many gifts, and I'm not as alone as I might think.
***

Okay enough of that. Off to bed. I'm tired. And have to do a site tour tomorrow near Fire Island of all places - it's about two-three hours from where I live, by train. So I travel one hour and fifteen minutes to the office. Get everything together, leave for another train, take it an hour and fifteen minutes to the station, facilitate site tour (basically take attendance and babysit), then hop on another train and go home. It's supposed to rain tomorrow - I'm praying it holds off until the afternoon. Because I really don't want to wait in the rain for a train. I also don't want to do a site tour in the rain. I may beg the project manager for a ride to a closer station if it is raining. (With the threat that I can't work on her addendum if I'm stuck in Sayville.)

I have no idea what subject heading to provide. After binge-watching The Bear on Hulu, it's rather good by the way and deserves a review which I'll get to eventually, I took a walk to pick up a few things. And ran into an unexpected human obstacle course on a hot, humid, sunny day, with a slight breeze. Apparently there were block parties and Art Amageddon 2022, with assorted porch concerts in Ditmas. I live in Kensington, and Ditmas is about a fifteen to twenty minute walk across various busy intersections (the intersections extend the walk time or minimize it depending on how long I wait at a light). Also NYC drivers are insane. Every time I see these people drive - I think, oh gas prices have sky-rocketed in NY, and grin fiendishly. (Sorry to those of you who are also affected, nothing personal.)

Anyhow, folks were camped out with their kids on the grass, lawns, and sidewalks, providing a human obstacle course of sorts. Wish they were on the street instead - but alas, the street wasn't blocked to traffic. And they aren't nuts.
( Read more... )
****

Mother regaled me with my brother's visit to Italy.

Me: So it was all good?
Mother: Good and bad.
Me: Really? Tell me the bad! I want to hear the bad! (I'm not proud of this - but there it is.) ( Read more... )

***

The Bear

This is an eight episode series, by Christopher Storer with three episodes by Joanna Calo.

Synopsis by way of IMBD: "Carmen Berzatto, a brilliant young chef from the fine-dining world is forced to return home to run his family sandwich shop - the Original Beef of Chicagoland - after a heartbreaking death in his family. A world away from what he's used to, Carmy must balance the soul-crushing reality of trading in Michelin star restaurants for the small business' kitchen filled with strong-willed and recalcitrant staff and his strained familial relationships, all while grappling with the impact of his brother's suicide."

It's rather good - and what I'd describe as hyper-realism. The dialogue is exactly how people talk, and they are often screaming over each other, or talking over one another. Cursing. Fighting. And it's very raw. But, also touching in places, and the writer's adeptly show who each of the main characters are - without lots of expository dialogue.

Each character moment is earned, and feels real. And there are episodes that are told in each character's point of view. They don't tell much about themselves, they hold their cards close to their chests, but we are shown just enough to understand. Example? The character of Sydney is shown in her bedroom in her father's home at night, listening to the EL train rattle by. She gets up at the crack of dawn, takes anti-acid meds from a medicine cabinet filled with medications, and takes off that morning, after we see her flashing back to a bank credit being denied. She's the impatient sous chef at the restaurant, a recent hire, with an exemplary resume.

There's references to Chicago throughout and the series is loosely based on and filmed at Mr. Beef on Orleans, one of the only properties in Chicago to have an address of 666.

Also, Jeremy Allen White who plays Carmen in the series - went to cooking school for two weeks and worked in the kitchen of multiple Restaurants, among them the Michelin star-rated Pasjoli, to train for the show. It shows, he's comfortable moving around the small kitchen, chopping vegetables, and working with his colleagues. One of the actors, the one who plays the handy-man is an actual chef, and very good in his role as handy man.

The entire series with the exception of a few scenes here and there - takes place in the kitchen of the restaurant, or a restaurant, with food preparations going on. It's the first fictional series that I've seen that takes place completely within a kitchen and shows food prep in detail. It's also innovative in that the lead character and chef isn't an asshole - he's not a womanizer, he's not an addict, he's not arrogant. And some of the best scenes are between him and his sister, Natalie aka Sugar.

One of the better hyper-realistic series that I've seen. It's not a downer. It's not exceedingly violent. It's not nihilistic - if anything the opposite. And the episodes are about thirty minutes in length.

Oh, it also treats COVID as if it happened a while ago. I wish television series would stop doing that. Either don't reference at all, or reference it realistically. Particularly if you're going with hyper-realism.

It's on F/X and currently streaming on Hulu.

Covid

Between COVID and the merger, my poor little work place has been decimated.
( Read more... )

Safety Meeting From Doom

Breaking Bad is a bit of a hoot. Considering he looks like a deranged screech owl this kind of makes sense. Imagine Walter White mixed with a Screech Owl, and a scraggily beard by way of Dumbledore, and you've got Breaking Bad.

Breaking Bad lead it. Of course. It's gotten more entertaining since he took over from Boss (who avoided it like the plague) and Jay (who took it too seriously).

BB: Stress..well they have all of this stuff about dealing with and suffering from stress. But stress is kind of relative. I mean we're not primitive cultures hiding from wild boar that are hunting us down. Now that's stress.
BYT (Bright Young Thing Manager): Yes, but we do suffer stress. This is a stressful environment.
BB: Well that is true - we have an insane management and a crazy agency that feels the need to stress us all out ...but I choose to take the philosophical approach to all of this. It's temporary. It won't last for long. Sooner or later the sun will explode or die, and the earth will go out with it, killing all of us.
BYT: In short we're dead, and won't care?
BB: Pretty much. It helps to keep things in perspective.
BYT: Well, on that incredibly depressing note..

[I shared this with mother, who cackled.)

***

Face Book

Mother's Cousin: Which pill would you choose? The Red Pill - you get to relive your entire life from the age of 6 onwards, knowing everything you know now OR the blue pill - you get 10 Million Dollars.

Most of the people responded, including cousin with the Red Pill.

Me: The Blue Pill. I've watched one too many time traveling science fiction stories that explored this very concept. (Including the X-men comics.) None of them ended well. And they explored it from every angle imaginable. Plus, call me crazy, but I really don't want to relive my life, it wasn't that entertaining the first go-around. I can do stuff with $10 Million, like buy a condo in NY (near the park, with a balcony, and a washer/dryer, and elevator and doorman, and pool and exercise room, and mail room, and dishwasher), and retire in comfort. Heck, I'd be happy with $2 Million. Seriously you have to be a trust fund baby or have a million to buy a home in this town.

Cousin who is retired and rich, probably doesn't care about the money. This is one of those memes that depends on a) whether you are rich, b) how old you are - cousin is in his late 70s, c) whether you've watched or read any time traveling sci-fi in your lifetime that explored this topic every which way imaginable.

**

I told mother, I'm languishing. I'm not exactly depressed, I'm just...

**

Former Minister decided as a former economics major (how he an economics major ended up becoming a Unitarian Minister...I've no clue), that this isn't inflation this is greed and the result of capitalism.

Eh, no, it's a little bit of both. But I decided not to try to explain that to a Unitarian Minister, socialist, former economist - on FB (aka social media).

The reason prices are escalating across the board is the pandemic. The Pandemic shut down various supply lines - resulting in various items being either delayed or no longer shipped at all. So, you are building a house, you need certain materials to complete the foundation - those materials have been delayed and there's a limited supply as a result - this delays your house being built, which in turn means you are renting longer...

Or say you need to paint your walls, and require a specific color - but they are back ordered months - because the paint comes from China, and China is under quarantine...

Inflation happens when demand exceeds supply. I grew up in the 70s, I remember this well.

Sometimes I wonder about folks on social media. Does posting on it too often screw with the brain? (Checks brain - doesn't appear to.)

Which makes it tough on archiving, but oh well. (I'm almost done with 2006. I'm basically snatching my book reviews and throwing them into Good Reads, and snatching movie reviews, fanfic, meta, television essays, and book review/essays and throwing them into Archive of Our Own. Right now, an old fanfic that didn't get much attention in lj or dw, is getting attention in Ao3, which is interesting. You should post your fanfic over there.)

I'm behind on my journal correspondence. I'm not ignoring you - I've read your responses at work - I just don't know how to respond to them yet?
Brain fog. Partly.

More on Ice Cream

( Read more... )

Family

Mother figured out why niece wants to go to Milan ( Read more... )

Also, mother's physical therapist is a huge theater buff - she's been to NYC this year and seen four musicals, and is traveling to Houston to see another one, and then to Atlanta to see several more. ( Read more... )

On the movie front, mother and I agreed that we both wouldn't mind seeing the Elvis movie.( Read more... )

***

Covid

Crazy workplace has decided COVID is pretty much over. OR as long as there aren't massive hospitalizations or deaths - there's nothing to worry about. ( Read more... )

***

Tired. Signing off.

I'd suck at writing headlines for newspapers, wouldn't I?

Decided today that if there were more Mr. Spocks in the world than Captain Kirks, life would be a whole lot easier for me to navigate.

I mentioned this to various folks, including mother who steadfastedly ignored it. Only sci-fi coworker got the reference.

Me: You may actually understand this reference...I wish there were more Mr. Spocks than Captain Kirks in the world, it would be easier.( Read more... )

***

I don't want talk about work, so I won't. I've still a bit of a brain fog, I keep forgetting things - it will be on the tip of my tongue or in my head one minute, then gone the next.

Trying not to worry about it. Could be menopausal.

Wales: You realize you're probably super immune now?
ME: No, I don't buy it.
Wales: Come on -
Me: Because of my workplace. I know too many people who have had COVID three times. I have a project delayed twice, because the attorney got it three times. Really sick with it too. He got it in fall of 2021, was out five-six weeks. Then again in May and out four-five weeks.
Wales: But you had a mild case, right? I did -
ME: What was your case like?
Wales: Oh muscle aches, dizziness, and tired for three days then I was fine. Kind of like the flu - but no cough, or cold like symptoms.
Me: Well, mine was a bad head cold, with a 99.9 fever, brain fog, shortness of breath, lost my voice, sour throat, a bit of a cough, headache, and fatigue feeling as if the wind got knocked out of me.
Wales: Oh, I didn't have that bad - no wonder you're being cautious and don't want it again.

Plus stupid work place isn't being helpful. AA had a cold today or so he says, yet he was at work with cough, runny eyes, and sneezing and feeling miserable. I had to interact with him. I did wear the KN95 throughout and kept six feet apart at least. Also found out various co-workers had COVID three times.

I'm doomed. If I die - it's the fault of my workplace.

Meanwhile, commute isn't getting much safer. According to the news this morning there was a heightened police presence on all the subways, because of another shooting. Said something about a man pacing back and forth on a subway car and randomly attacking someone. Learned later that the man randomly pulled out a gun and shot an financial analyst from Goldman Sachs in the chest - the guy was 48 years of age and going to Brunch on Sunday via the subway.

That's the fifth shooting on a train in under two months. (The others haven't really been advertised, we just see police actions. Plus the ones wielding knives.)

**

It was cooler today. In the 70s. Made commuting more pleasant. Also trains weren't as crowded. Everyone was probably afraid to take them after the shooting on the Q on Sunday. (It happened in the city, not in Brooklyn, as far as I know. I've not really looked into it. The last one happened in Brooklyn.)

**

I want a vacation. I'm currently day dreaming of going to the Maldives or Belize. I want to go somewhere tropical with lots of pretty things. And not that many buildings.

This is why I'm daydreaming of it...saw the below photo on Instagram or FB...

I want to go, hang out near the water, swim, snorkle, write, read, listen to music, and relax. I'm willing to go by myself at this point. Frak people.

Beautiful day, also cool, not too hot and not too cold (except inside my office, where I found myself wearing the union sweatshirt hoodie that they gave me way back in 2021. First time I wore the thing. It's huge, black, and very comfy. Well, I was cold, down to my fingertips, until that is - a hot flash came along and made me hot again. My internal heating and cooling system has been on the fritz for a while now. I'm either really hot, or weirdly cold. It's annoying.)

Sky was blue. It was sunny. And I was stuck in an office with no windows trying to stay awake, and focus on work. But my brain just kind of meandered. (Management should die a long slow death in a closet.)

According to mother, my brother is livid that they forced me to go back to work after only five days, and just because I wasn't running a fever.
Apparently his daughter keeps testing positive for COVID. She tested today and was still positive for COVID, so she's deferred her International Law Final to August. (I guess she'll take it remotely in the states. It's not in-person anyhow - it's down by computer and is eight hours.) But she is feeling better at least, and the scare is over - just kind of knocked for a loop.

I've not taken another test - and I don't see the point. I'd have to come in anyhow. They only let you stay out if you have symptoms and a fever. (Because they are idiots.) Plus, I don't have that many tests available at the moment. One of my at home test boxes didn't come with any cotton swabs, it had everything but the swabs. So I ordered eight more tests, and another box before that. The government tests are reliable at least.

I've also upgraded to a KN95 mask now. And bought more. As have many of my co-workers. Most don't wear masks at all. Also, more and more folks aren't wearing them on the subways and trains.

NYC is on high alert now - not that anyone seems to care - although I did notice that there are less folks on the trains this week. And less going in and out of the air train building.

***

Television Cancellation List...

Latest additions: Pivoting (FOX), Our Kind of People (FOX), In the Dark (The CW), Roswell, New Mexico (The CW), 4400 (The CW), Charmed (The CW), Dynasty (The CW), Legacies (The CW), Naomi (The CW), The Endgame (NBC), Mr. Mayor (NBC), Kenan (NBC), How We Roll (CBS), Good Sam (CBS), Magnum PI (CBS), B Positive (CBS), United States of Al (CBS), Dollface (Hulu), Queens (ABC), Saved By the Bell (Peacock), DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (The CW), Space Force (Netflix), Batwoman (The CW), Pretty Smart (Netflix), The Last OG (TBS), Kill the Orange-Face Bear (TBS), Raising Dion (Netflix), On the Verge (Netflix), The Real (syndicated), Locke & Key (Netflix), DailyMailTV (syndicated), Archive 81 (Netflix), Maury (syndicated), The Baby-Sitters Club (Netflix), Nick Cannon (syndicated), The Good Dish (syndicated), Judge Jerry (syndicated), Flip or Flop (HGTV), Muppet Babies (Disney Junior), Gotham Central (HBO Max), The Big Leap (FOX), Ordinary Joe (NBC), Adults Adopting Adults (A&E), The Wendy Williams Show (syndicated), Another Life (Netflix), Promised Land (ABC), Love, Victor (Hulu), The Boondocks (HBO Max), Saints & Sinners (Bounce TV), American Rust (Showtime), Bringing Up Bates (UPtv), Work In Progress (Showtime), Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol (Peacock), Bull (CBS), Gentefied (Netflix), I Know What You Did Last Summer (Amazon Prime Video), Hawkeye (Disney+), Head of the Class (HBO Max), After Life (Netflix), The Dr. Oz Show (syndicated), Cowboy Bebop (Netflix), and Gabby Duran & the Unsittables (Disney Channel).

And the rest can be found HERE - the CW went nuts, I think they are struggling to keep the lights on over at CW, hence the cancellation craze.

Shows that I watch which were cancelled, neither surprised nor really upset me that much, they were kind of winding down or felt concluded. Or I'd given up on a lot of them after five episodes.

Meanwhile there's the shows that cannot seem to die.

Me: Grey's Anatomy was renewed for a 19th season.
Mother: You are kidding me.
Me: Really not. So too was NCIS for a 20th season.
Mother: I stopped watching it - it reminds me of your father, and I get depressed. If that makes sense.

She used to watch NCIS with my Dad, who can no longer follow it now.

***

Mother has gotten nostalgic, or morbid. She's scanning the obituaries for all the people she knows, or looking up their death notices to see if they are still alive. She even calls the ones that are. Then regales me with stories of how folks she once knew, and I vaguely knew, died or their kids died.

Mother: It doesn't really upset me that much.
Me: No, I think you get some odd satisfaction from it - hey at least I'm alive and my kids are!
Mother: This is true. (giggles).
Me: You also remind me of your own mother. Granny used to do this too. I have deja vue. She'd read obituraries to me over the phone. You've inherited her morbid tendencies.
Mother: (giggles) I am her daughter.

Sigh.

**

Work is slow, and I'm debating taken the 27th off - assuming I can. I'm in a holding pattern, waiting on other people to provide me with stuff. It's hurry up then wait. Coordinating other people is frustrating.

**

Also I managed to completely forget the Senator from Kentucky's name. I think my mind mentally blocked it out finally. With any luck Booker will beat them both.

But, my health is bouncing back. I have energy again. I'm not insanely tired all the time. Also the brain fog is for the most part gone. Yes, there is life after COVID. Although still have lingering cough - no doubt due to allergies.

Just hope my niece comes through okay. She experienced "shortness of breath today" and it scared her. So she went to the health clinic - but they couldn't help. Instead, her parents, who are in NYC, convinced niece to go to the emergency room. So niece spent four hours in a London Emergency Room. They told her that her chest was clear and she was fine. (I actually had a little of it too - but I'm in my fifties, and have had it before, and did the breathing tests that my Aunt taught me. ) Poor niece is all alone in London, self-isolating, her roommate is elsewhere. And she has a final exam on Friday in International Law, which is eight hours long, and several essays, and she still has to study for it, so can't just relax and veg.

I worry about her. Her parents wish they could come and take care of her. I've been texting her back and forth as well - and let her know I had the shortness of breath too - it feels like the wind has been kicked out of you.

In other news, regarding COVID - NYC is now under high alert - the case level has risen to almost 10%, and is on the rise. The hospitals however are still okay - so they've not imposed the restrictions as of yet, but they are asking everyone to wear masks indoors and in public areas, also on public transportation. Not everyone is - because, sigh, people.

***

Commute

I need to set this up right. I take the G subway train every morning at around 6:40 - 6:45 am. I leave my house at 6:30-6:31, and it takes me about five to ten minutes to get to the train, which stops halfway down the platform.

The first and last stop on the G is Church Avenue, my stop. The Southbound train stops at Church, they take it out of service, clean it, and empty it, and circle it around to take the next group of passengers north to Court Square. (I get off about 10-15 stops at Fulton St or twenty minute ride. )
Sometimes you have to wait for it , and the conductor who gets on it at the same time we do.

This morning, I ran to catch it - it clearly was running a bit later than usual and was full. I wondered why? Apparently there was a homeless guy at the very back of the car, or away from the conductor's cab. I was in the last car. It's a six car train - since the G is always smaller than other trains which are usually twelve cars. G's tend to be six to eight cars.
The homeless man had a very full grocery cart with all his earthly possessions, not a lot of clothes on, was filthy, and rambling. People understandably gave him a wide berth. He'd camped out at the end of the train, wasn't wearing a mask, and it was best to move as far away as possible.
( adventures in NYC commuting during pandemics )

*********

Dyslexia and Learning

Good and Bad News. NYC to Mandate Dyslexic Screening for all Students and Phonics in Elementary Schools

Good? Dyslexia Screening.
Bad? Mandating Phonics - Phonics was first dictated in the 1970s, Michael Landon got behind it. And it was introduced in all the schools at the time. The next best thing. It is also the reason I couldn't learn how to read until the second grade. And I wasn't alone, a lot of kids couldn't learn to read because of Phonics. My second grade teacher figured it out, Mrs. Viola. I'll never forget her. I desperately wanted to learn how to read - and she taught me and several other students - by pulling out an old sight and sound reader, it was the Dick and Jane books from he 1950s. See Dick. See Jane. Suddenly reading made sense to me. It wasn't a bunch of weird ass sounds that connected to nothing and sounded like machinery grinding together. It made sense. I thought visually. And the pictures didn't flip around on me. If it weren't for the Sight and Sound readers - I don't know if I would have learned to read. Phonics had been the bane of my existence, and I've met many others in my life who said the same thing.

It would help if people understood dyslexia better than they do. It's not just flipping letters around, or words around. It's far more complex than that. I remember a friend trying to explain it to two mutual friends doing a paper on dyslexia. They didn't have it. She said it was close to impossible to explain it to them - it's how she thought and viewed the world, she didn't know the other way - or how they saw things. It was normal for her.

Same. ( how I found out I was dyslexic or my journey with dyslexia )
I could go on and on...but my point is merely this, no one form of education should be mandated. You are actively discriminating against the poor students who cannot learn that way, and that's cruel. No student should be made to feel stupid or less than because they can't learn the way that is currently mandated or dictated by some well-meaning adult who has never met them.

We do not live in a one size fits all world, no matter how much we wish we did.

*******

Off to bed. Sorry for the long entry. It happens.

Downloaded more music albums, but stupid Apple Itunes Library account keeps playing the same stuff. I'm getting annoyed. Oh well - it might switch it up soon - but I've heard Kenny Rogers The Gambler three times this week, and if I hear any more of Les Miz, Spring Awakening, Into the Woods or Fiddler on the Roof - I'll go insane.

I want Earth Wind & Fire, La Belle, Belle & Sebastian, Donna Summer, Ike and Tina Turner, The Magnetic Fields, St. Etienne, Elle McIllwaine, the Magpies, Aretha, Etta James, etc.

Sigh.

It's stubborn and may require some tweaking. Or I may need to delete the musicals from the library.

This is the downside of being insanely eclectic in regards to music taste.

**

Work was frustrating, but what's new? I'm waiting on other people - which is nice in a way, since down time, but also aggravating, because when they send it to you they expect you to jump and do it all in a nano-second, which is stressful.

Unnecessarily so.

Making me grouchy and snappish.

Talked to Gabe, who got Covid two weeks before I did. Was asymptomatic, but stayed home. Then a week later ended up with bronchitis, and got really ill with it. Now she's on antibiotics. She had a tightness in the chest that wouldn't go away.

This unnerves me. Mainly because I'm really hoping I don't get it too. A lot of folks at work ended up fighting off pneumonia.

In better news, niece is better, just feeling spacey and brain foggy. Her international law final is on Friday, not Monday, apparently. And according to mother - she can't transfer her grades, so they don't affect her GPA in anyway. It's all Pass/Fail and gives her credits towards graduation, that's it. The reason is that Britain grades on a different scale than the US and isn't transferable as a result. Britain does it on a number scheme - levels 1, 2, 3, while the US does it on a letter scheme - A, B, C, D, F. See? Not transferable.

***

Lucked out. The weatherman predicted thunderstorms from 4-7pm. Outside of a brief one in Jamaica while I was under the platform shelter waiting for the train, there wasn't any. It cleared off by the time I reached Brooklyn. The next storm happened around 7pm and lasted until 8:30pm.

I was drenched with sweat by the time I got into my apartment, so stripped, took a shower and changed clothes. Then called mother, who had called me while I was getting ready for a shower. Talking to her gave me a headache, she kept coming in and out on her cell phone speaker.

**

Have chosen to stick with the Throne of Glass novels by Sarah Maas for the time being, mainly because they require 0 concentration, and I'm curious how the writer does certain things. There's a fantasy novel percolating in the back of my brain, and the lead character was a half human, half fae former apprentice assassin but has no memory of it. Here the character is a half human, half fae assassin but much younger and with memories intact. The fantasy novel percolating in my brain may or may not see the light of day. There's a lot of novels that never do. It wouldn't be the first or the last.

***

Avoiding the news - mainly because it makes me angry and upsets me. Also, I keep wishing the Universe would off various folks for me. But it's being stubborn and refuses to budge on this issue.

I didn't want to call this entry shootings...or anything like that.

What continues to haunt me from all the news reports of the grocery store shooting in Buffalo, NY - is the story about the 86 year old mother who stopped there to get a quick bite to eat after visiting her husband in the nursing home. Only to be killed by an 18 year old gunman.

According to the blurb in the New York Times this morning..."Ruth Whitfield, 86, was a mother of four and “a mother to the motherless,” her son told The News. Her husband had moved into a nursing home years ago and she still visited every day. She had just visited him when she stopped at Tops to get something to eat, WGRZ reported."

She apparently visited him every day. And on that day, she decided to stop off at the grocery store to get something to eat, as opposed to going home or to a fast food joint.

This haunts me. I cannot get it out of my head.
( Read more... )

***

Been binge watching "Star Trek Discovery" on Paramount Plus all weekend long. Did take a break today, and took a walk to the two health food stores to pick up supplies. (I don't go often - they are a thirty minute walk, and expensive, and it's a chore to lug the stuff back. But it was a lovely day in the 70s, clear blue sky, after nothing but rain on Saturday.)

"Discovery" - the second and third seasons, I've found to be very comforting. ( Read more... )

I'm finding the series comforting, inspiring, and hopeful. I kind of need that right now.

****

Also been watching New Amsterdam - which has one season left. It's been renewed for a final shortened fifth season. I've found it to be one of the more realistic medical series on television, with extremely interesting and multi-faceted characters. Reminds me a little of St. Elsewhere.

**

On the reading front - in a bit of a reading slump. Am still making my way through book one of the Throne of Glass series. I bought on Kindle an 8 books in One for $5.95. We'll see if it holds up, though. I read reviews that some of the later books didn't transfer well to the Kindle.

Also it's very juvenile - both in writing style and plot. I have a feeling the writer wrote this for a young adult audience, and geared her writing to the less well-read portion of that audience. Makes for easy reading - I can skim - so there's that. I think it's also why these books sell so well? People don't have to work that hard at reading them. Tolkien or Marlon James or Octavia Butler or Ursula LeGuinn they aren't. I'm not even sure they make it to Andrea Norton or Anne McCaffrey, or Joan D. Vinge. A lot of modern fantasy writers in the YA field are kind of boilerplate - they seem to copy each other, and their writing styles are rather simplistic.

It's disappointing if you've studied writing technique most of your life and worked hard on mastering it. It's not if you haven't. Also, I expect more from the fantasy genre than the romance genre - I have no clue why, considering the publishers are more or less the same. Fantasy writers appear to fall into one of two extremes - juvenile YA writers interested in lackluster love triangle romances or academic writers interested mainly in the world building and little else. I want something in between the two with a focus on character development. And I can't find it.

Recs are welcome, if you have any and you aren't terrified I'll rip apart a favorite. (I probably won't, I hate conflict. It's exhausting). Note: I'm not interested in children's fantasy novels or middle grade. (I don't have any kids and am in my 50s. So it's the wrong demographic for me.)

***

In other news...

Niece is improving. She appears to have gotten the same variant strain that I did. Which is fairly mild. It knocks you out for about two days. You turn a corner on the third day. Feel winded on days four and five and six. Better on day seven. Almost normal on day eight, and just tired after that.
Each day, I'm less tired. And the fatigue pretty much lifted on day six.

So she might be able to do her exam on Friday. It's apparently on Friday not Monday, but she needs time to study.

Niece has COVID now. (Niece is in London, England). She got it on Friday, and has a final exam on Monday - it's an at-home, eight hour, exam with various essays, due for her international law course. If she is feeling poorly on Monday - she can try to defer it to August.

I'm hoping she's okay. She has a sore throat and feels very tired and spacey.

That's kind of how I felt. And hopefully it's a mild case.

Sigh.

Wales: So Covid really isn't over, is it?
Me: Nope.

***

It's been raining most of the day. I made up my bed up clean, cleared out the winter/fall clothing and replaced fully with spring/summer clothing.
Charged and sent the Robot Vaccuum around the apartment. (I like the ILife better - it was easier to charge and more reliable. So if you are looking for robot vaccums, get the ILife instead.)

Raining now.

Turned on the A/C, and my allergies lessened, also I stopped sweating. It somehow cleaned the air in apartment, while cooling it down a notch.

**

Still binge watching Star Trek : Discovery on Paramount Plus. I've made it to S3 now. It really takes off after episode 12 of S1. Season 2 is excellent, by far the best Trek that I've seen to date - character centric with good plots, and social issues examined. Also it's tights. Now, I'm in S3. Burnam and the Discovery Crew in order to save the Universe jumps ahead about 930 years in time. Which helps explain why Discovery was never mentioned in prior Trek lore, and Spock never mentions his sister in previous Trek series.

The leap frog to the future, also brings a bit of Farscape into it - we have wormholes, and couriers, and the black market. It also has a touch of Deep Space 9.

S3 is a big improvement - in part because we got rid of the Klingons and Lt. Ash Tyler (who I had mixed feelings about...he's a bit too romantic and tortuous for his own good) and Burnham's family dynamics (which I loved, but also diluted the focus). So, the focus is a bit tighter.

Off to bed.

Past it now, the fatigue is lifting.

Also managed to accomplish quite a few things at work. I've made serious headway, and pretty much completed everything management tasked me to complete this week.

Came home and did laundry. Ran into the Super's wife (who has taken to wearing a mask again) and the young mother I'd run into previously. (Both thankfully wearing masks.) I'm wearing a KN95, I upgraded for this week.
I may up grade again, we'll see.

Super's wife (Monica): Are you okay?
Me: Yes, I'm okay now.
Monica: Are you certain?
Me: Yes, or I wouldn't be down here. Free and clear. It's past. I got a mild case.
Young mother: I'm so sorry that you got it.
ME: It's not your fault. I got it at work.
Young mother: Of course, but still. Very sorry.
Me: I was lucky - it was a mild case.
Young mother: Were you vaccinated?
Me: Yes, which probably is the reason it was so mild and didn't kick me as bad as some.

One of my co-workers got it a few months back and was out for six weeks. I have co-workers who almost died from it, and have family members who have. You'd think this would motivate folks to wear masks and get vaccinated, but nooo.

Although this co-worker had taken to wearing a mask again. Mainly because they realized it had gone through our department like wild fire.

Mother wanted me to stay home today - if I wasn't feeling up to snuff. She wanted me to stay home yesterday. I told her that I kind of had to go to work to get stuff done, also to pay bills. I can't just stay home and binge watch Discovery for the next three days. (I'm glad I went back Wed and Thursday - if I hadn't, I'd have been overwhelmed next week and blind-sighted. I had to get ahead of the work load, to stay on schedule.) We're currently being micro-managed to death and beyond.

**

For dinner, I opted for a spinach and cheese omelet. And hot tea. It had gotten too late - due to laundry, and having to make tomorrow's lunch, so an omelet works in a pinch.

***

Soap Twitter is frustrated with our soap opera. So are mother and I. God, I'm a fandom dinosaur now - the fights all feel familiar. Anyhow, I've decided that if the writers let the local serial killer loose on the soap's residents this may work in our favor. Maybe he'll kill all the characters that are beginning to annoy me? The nature of soaps? The writing comes in waves - right now it kind of sucks, and we have too many characters and storylines.

Mother: And they added yet another storyline that isn't going anywhere.
Soap Twitter: So, could they please make some progress or wrap up at least one storyline?
Me:Preferably before the end of May, and not wait until mid-August to do so?

Being a soap fan ....requires a weird amount of patience and well, a capacity to handle colossally in consistent writing.

***

In other news, NY1 stated we had passed 1 million deaths from COVID in the US, but the John Hopkins COVID DASHBOARD OF DOOM (it used to be map - they changed it when it began to get to hard to read the map for all the cases and deaths - the red pock marks kind of took over) - states it's still 999, 711. Which well...

Also the weather woman on NY1 ...is not the most reliable weather forecaster on the planet.

Weather woman: You won't see any sun today, it will be overcast all day long, but in the 70s.
Actual weather: Bright blue sky, no clouds, sunny, in the upper 70s, almost 80.
Weather woman: Will be turning to drizzle tonight.
Actual weather: nothing, just some clouds.

See? Not reliable. Also she needs a window.

So, I dragged my sorry ass to the office today. (For those who haven't been following along? I live in South Brooklyn and work in Jamaica, Queens - which is an hour and a half commute give or take. I walk, take a subway, walk, train, walk. Plus lots of steps in between - because trains being trains aren't at street level.

The commute is mostly exhausting because of other people. It's public transportation. And the public is annoyingly self-centered.
( commute )
By the time I got to my cubicle, put away my lunch, went to the bathroom, and filled my water bottle - I was about ready to collapse on the floor in a bedraggled heap. Instead of sitting down though - AA waylaid me and proceeded to throw a ton of information my way on a whole new process that management had bugged him to tell me first thing this morning.

I'm not a morning person, normally. Add recuperating from COVID to the mix, and well. I just stared up at him...in bewilderment. Up, because I managed to make my way to my chair somewhere in the midst of the diatribe, and collapse. Afterwards, I told him that I got maybe half of it.
( Read more... )
At any rate, Crazy Workplace decided to come at me full force, in the face, guns blazing. "WELCOME BACK! HERE'S WORK! YEA!"

And I'm like, frigging hell, back off, work. I'm here. What do you want? You gave me this bloody virus, now back the fuck off.

It did. Kind of.
( recovering from COVID in nutty workplace )
I swear, I'd have been better off if I had tested positive on Monday - then I'd have gotten the week and the weekend.

The cough, sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, head ache, are pretty much gone. Well there is still some congestion in the chest, and an occasional cough here and there - but nothing major. I never had much of a fever to speak of. I honestly can't remember the last time I ran a fever over 100 degrees or even a 100 for that matter. It may have been in 2019. But god, the fatigue and brain fog are the absolute worst.

I felt like I'd run a marathon by the time I got to work this morning. Or climbed fifty flights. I felt dizzy, and kind of wobbly. Also very winded, like I had to pause for a bit to catch my breath.

The brain fog is also present and comes in waves. I be going along, and then forget what I was doing. Or head to pick up something from the copy machine, get interrupted and forget about the copy machine completely.
I can't do Wordl at all - not that I was brilliant at it to begin with.

None of this is helped by the hot flashes. I'm averaging three - four a day at the moment. And they bring on the wobbly and light-headed off feeling.
I get hot, sweat, and suddenly cool down. Body's air conditioning system is out of wack. Doctor refuses to fix it. And I'm hoping it passes. It does eventually. But I have noticed that COVID does tend to cause it to spike. The vaccines did. And so does getting sick with COVID, apparently. COVID and its vaccine throw my body's heating and cooling system out of wack.

Messaged Doc about these entertaining side effects, and she informed me that they were normal, and unfortunately the fatigue would last a while. They'd monitor it of course, and keep them updated.

Anyhow, after about two or three hours at work - I was more or less fine. Although, in hindsight, deciding to eat the five day old chicken salad I made myself last Thursday night, probably wasn't the brightest thing I've done. I picked at it, and ate a little. I threw out the rest. It was disgusting. It's a minor miracle that I didn't have digestive issues.

I did get a lot done today - things that would have been harder to do at home. (Although not impossible). More than expected, actually. And I didn't let work overwhelm me - so kudos.

The main side-effects of this thing seem to be:

* Irritability
* Exhaustion (most likely the cause of the irritability)
* Fatigue
* Brain Fog
* Hot flashes/night sweats (which may just be menopause)

It's so much fun to go through menopause during a pandemic.

Tomorrow, I've got to do laundry when I get home. And hopefully make my bed up clean.

***

Discovery S2

As stated in a previous post - I finished S1 Discovery on Monday, I think. The ending was better than well, everything prior? Fuller and Star Trek are unmixy things - keep show-runners like Fuller out of the franchise. They don't understand Trek. Really, you should just have Trek fans run Trek, anyone else will just muck it up.
( S2 Discovery )

Kind of skipped day 4. Didn't have much to say.

Feeling lots better. Sinuses have for the most part cleared up. I'm not coughing, and I don't feel congested. Also, the brain fog is gone. Just kind of tired or winded, but less so than yesterday.

Will be venturing back into the office tomorrow. Had to fill out and sign the "Return to Work" Form today. I work for a government agency - they are form happy. (Or paranoid).

* Turns out I was wrong about Superman & Lois - it has 15 episodes not 11. The last four air between May 31 and June 30. Apparently the new season total is 15. Or it varies between 6-15. Makes for tighter television seasons at any rate.

S&L has been approved for a 3rd Season, while DC Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman both got cancelled. I'm surprised that the Flash is still hanging in there.

* Been binge watching Star Trek: Discovery. Finally made it out of S1, which was just 15 episodes long but felt much longer. (Ugh, can I be a Trekkie and hate the Klingons? Because I despise the Klingons. I find them gross and annoying.)

The problem with S1 Discovery is Fuller apparently thought it would be cool to take Farscape by way of Trek. Eh no. In case you ever wondered what Star Trek would look like if it resembled Farscape? Check out S1 Discovery, except with the Klingons in the role of the Scorpius and Peacekeepers, and just no.

If they wanted to go that route, I really wish they took the stuff from Farscape I liked, not the horrible BDSM torture sequences with Scorpius - except now with Klingons. My eyes. My eyes. It's why I got stuck in the middle of S1 and kind of gave up on the series. I finally got past it.

Anyhow, Fuller leaves somewhere around episode 11, and the show takes helprin turn by Way of Albuquerque. Basically they fix everything. Jason Issacs is out, Michelle Yeough is back, and the Klingons are slowly written out and their arc resolved by episode 2 of S2. (It took awhile.) Hopefully, never to be seen again. (I've been told they are gone for the most part).

At any rate S2 is a huge improvement. We have Anson Mount instead of Issacs. I'll miss Issacs, but not his character or the Klingon warfare story arc. S2 has less episodes, apparently. And I think S3 and 4 are available on Paramount Plus via Amazon.

___

Little nervous about going back to work tomorrow. Although Babs and BYT both checked up on me. And the things I was waiting for appear to have arrived in my absence.

In short, I can't afford to be out much longer.

It's a beautiful day - I may venture out a little later and pick up supplies - also test my stamina. I've not left my apartment in five days.

Oh dreams last night were funky. ( Read more... )

Mainly an upper respiratory ailment, although it is now in throat and chest and not head. So I'm coughing, as opposed to sneezing, no more watery eyes, and the headache is gone finally.

Also I feel like I've had the wind knocked out of me. The fatigue is akin to feeling like I've just climbed fifty flights of steps.

I'm hoping this is mostly over by Tuesday, so I can head back into the office on Wednesday.

Meanwhile mother regaled me with all the day trips my brother is taking in upstate New York, visiting various small towns. I'm not really envious, maybe a little, I'm just kind of ...blank at the moment?

**

Finished binging Superman and Lois - which ended with Clark revealing that he was Superman to Lana Lang with his family's approval.
I don't think there are any more episodes in this season. But they did approve a third season. This is a tightly written series, and filmed rather well - it's kind of Superman filmed with the same production value as say Friday Night Lights. So Superman by way of Friday Night Lights, is a good description of it.

My only quibble - is for some reason all the men have a five o'clock shadow, which is kind of odd.

I do however like Tyler H's take on Superman and Clark Kent, also the rest of the casting is rather well done. Having Lana Lang and her family be Hispanic is a smart move. Also the addition of John Henry Irons and his daughter Natalie from a parallel universe, and as a kind of a DC take on Iron Man works rather well, and builds diversity.

It was good. Tight. And for the most part engaging. I wish I could have streamed it on HBO Max like the previous season - because the commercials were driving me nuts.

Next up? Star Trek Discovery, Picard, and Strange New Worlds. Twitter/DW friends made me curious.

***

I appear to be coughing more today than the last two days. Not a good sign. It always takes me forever to get rid of the cough. Been making various versions of homemade chicken and zuccini noodle soup for lunch and dinner.

Well, this variant either is a mild version or the vaccines work? Because so far it's just a head cold, with an occasional cough, headache, fatigue and brain fog. Also low grade fever of 99.9, which was over by about 10 am.
Tynenol pretty much took care of it.

Either caffeine or tynenol sever sinus headache/congestion took care of the headache, possibly both.

Steady diet of unsweetend quick cook steel grain oatmeal, with milk (breakfast) (today added berries), homemade chicken and veggie soup (recipe below), cheese, proscuttio, apples (running out of them - damn it), and water.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
( Read more... )
I may have to escape my self-imposed quarantine on Monday or Tuesday and make a quick run to the pharmacy and Carnival store for supplies - such as apples, kind energy bars, and other things. But I also might use Fresh Direct Express.

I don't think I'll have the viral load on Monday. But who knows? Workplace has set five days, which I'm pleased by actually with a possibility to extend. The HR department at new organization that I've been thrown into, seemingly randomly, is actually pretty efficient in this regard.

***

Facebook.

ME: I've this weird aversion to meat
College buddy: Could be medication related. Something similar happened with metroformin for me - I found the smell of cooking chicken disgusting all of a sudden.
ME: Ah, that's it. This started roughly after I upgraded the amount of metroformin I was taking.
Aunt: You probably got bitten by a tick and have an allergy.
Me: No, this is an aversion not an allergy. It isn't life threatening. The allergy has severe side effects. I just find meat disgusting right now.
Former massage therapist (who ironically told me to eat meat ten years ago, specifically lamb and beef): You are upgrading.

Sigh. No. It's the metroformin.

***

I've taken up knitting again. See below my first and second attempts at a scarf.
( two attempts at a scarf, guess which is which )
Goal is to complete one decent scarf. Then move on to a hat. Then maybe socks, and maybe a sweater? Although that may be impossible since I suck at counting and measuring.

But it gives me something to do with my hands while watching television. And it's oddly calming and meditative.

***

Overall, I think I'm doing okay. And I'm grateful to be working for an organization that provides me with plenty of time to get over a virus. Not everyone does - if everyone did, we probably wouldn't be in a pandemic. Our priorities - as you've no doubt realized by now - aren't exactly in the right place.

***

Television? I don't know what too watch. Decisions decisions. Also I have brain fog. ( what I managed to watch )

The fatigue and the brain fog are the worst. It's like this type of malaise, in which I just want to sit and do nothing or sleep. Also certain things give me a headache, like wordl. I'm not bothering to revise my book at the moment - while writing blog posts isn't a problem. Also no energy.
From what I've read - that's the worst part of this particular variant, and the hardest to overcome. But at least there's no pressure on the chest, or a feeling of chest congestion - like at Christmas or in the Fall of 2019.

All in all - I think being vaccinated for the flu, and Covid three times, boosted my immune system enough to make this fairly mild. Plus having something around Christmas, also helped. Because I had built up about 8,500 antibodies. This means my body could fight it off without too much problem, and it is manageable.

If you've not gotten vaxxed, do so. It will make the virus more manageable when and if you get it.

Tested positive for COVID this morning. It's definitely COVID this go around, no doubt in my mind. First of my immediate family to get definite positive test results. (But also the one most likely to get it - I live in the city and work out of a major international transportation hub.)

Crazy company gave me COVID, nifty. That was nice of them, don't you think?
(Although seriously it could have been anyone on the subways or trains at this point.)

( the story for those interested )

Well that was fun. How am I feeling? It feels like the same thing I had in December to be honest. Scratchy throat. Post Nasal Dip. Dull headache. Runny nose. Runny eyes. Fatigue (very tired). Throat is scratchy. No appetite. Brain fog. And an overall feeling of sluggishness. No voice. Congested. Basic upper respiratory bug or bad head cold. I'm sitting in my armchair, in joggers, comfy t-shirt, under a blanket with my uggs fuzzy flip flops on. (My father gave them to me Xmas of 2020, when he was still more or less cognitively aware.)

I ache, but I was aching before this thing manifested. So I've decided that's probably a combination of the weather and how I'm sitting at work. (I was revising a contract for three days straight, and had neck issues as a result.)

Doctor promised anti-viral, but a lot of pharmacies had run out - next shipment due soon. So waiting on confirmation. For some bizarre reason she required my ethnicity to order it.

**

Ah well, I can binge television shows, sleep, and relax. Hopefully by next Wednesday, I'll be ready to return to work. I'm not that worried about work - considering work gave it to me. I wasn't sick at all in 2020-December 2021, it wasn't until I had to go back en mass to work, and visited mother, that I got sick.

PR: Hi, how you doing.
Me: Hello, PR.
PR: How'd you know it was me?
Me: Your name came up on my phone. (we chat about her retirement for a bit and whether she'll make it in to see us again.) So, what do you need?
PR: I'm calling to advise you that you've been exposed to COVID.
Me: Uhm, by who?
PR: Can't tell you that. But he said you had been exposed, and this is part of the contact tracing.
Me: Anyone else?
PR: About 9 others on your floor.
Me: Where?
PR: At the JCC - the office.
Me: Okay ...
PR: If you get sick, take a test, and call the hotline. If you don't, take a test sometime soon, and if positive, call the hotline, but if no symptoms come to work and wear the mask. If you do have symptoms, stay home until they go away, about five days.

I check with co-workers and we've managed to narrow it down to LD, who by the way was the same co-worker who told me two days before that everyone was going to get it anyhow. And refused to wear a mask. He also is the one with diabetes and colon cancer. He is fully vaccinated though, with a booster.

We think it's LD because he didn't come in today, and we all spoke with him, and were in proximity. And the folks who didn't get the call - well weren't.

I told mother.

Mother: Isn't LD the one who came into the office every day during 2020-2021 but never got it?
ME: Yup.

Taking an antigen test. Took first one - it was defective. Now trying the second. I have three at home tests. Also took two PCR test kits home with me from work - my work place gives them out with a computer scanner id. You pick it up, put the saliva in the test tube, seal it, and drop it in the box within 72 hours. So, I'll put the saliva in it at home on Sunday night or Monday morning, and drop it in the box first thing Monday morning.

It's the most accurate test available - we go through Mount Sinai. Wallgreens also offers three COVID tests with insurance. And there's an urgent care that does it.

So, fifteen minutes later? First antigen test is defective. It just has the blue line. I take another one, fifteen minutes later - it's not defective, and comes out negative.

I printed off the COVID Protocol Flow-Chart at work along with the email providing the COVID Hotline for employees. Which apparently is online, but branded with company logo, so not sharing (sorry).

No one can make heads or tails out of it. But whatever.

I never got close to LD, I talked from his doorway, and always wore a mask.
I do that with everyone. Always wear a mask, or try to. And I thought about it - I live in Brooklyn, NY in a 77 unit apartment complex, commute using a subway and train, and am surrounded by strangers daily, some wearing masks, many aren't. I'm probably exposed all the time.
***

Kidbro's birthday was today. I don't call him that to his face - he'd kill me, and he's bigger than I am. Plus he has a cheerleading section.

He got a cake, with chocolate frosting, and vanilla cake. I texted him Happy Birthday.

That's what we do, we text each other. We handle texting better than phone calls.

***

And I managed to handle two things today that made me feel good about my job, and impressed my manager.

People were generally speaking very nice to each other today. And talkative.

I think we were all glad it was Friday - it's been a long work week.

I'm looking forward to vegging on Television. TV shows to watch:

* this is us
* new amsterdam
* station eleven
* Superman & Lois (I got 9 episodes and counting saved to the DVR, although I may just stream on HBO Max)
* The Batman movie
* Most recent episodes of Julia (season finale) and Moon Knight.

**

My blood sugar was more or less within range today. It only spiked with the oatmeal. Weirdly it didn't go that high with dinner - which technically had the most carbs - but I also took meds with it, and spinach, so that may have evened it out. Who knows, really.

Will state that the following foods keep it down: spinach, broccoli, celery, nuts (particularly almonds), apples. Apple appears to be better than berries in this regard. Although both are good.

What sends it skyrocketing is oatmeal, pancakes.

I may make a quiche tomorrow. Assuming I have the right ingredients.

Went back to the office today - and spent most of it revising various contractual documents.

Then came home, and spent time revising my novel.

Sigh.

Last night started Station Eleven on HBO Max. I'd been avoiding it because it dealt with a pandemic. (The set-up is basically a post apocalyptic world devastated by a flu pandemic.) But, I discovered something while watching it - the author apparently got her knowledge of viruses and pandemics from Stephen King. So, I needn't have worried. (Yes, I've seen and read The Stand.) And having now lived through a pandemic or rather still living through one (it's on-going), and having some knowledge of history (or rather more than most fictional novelists), they get it entirely wrong.
( spoilers for the first episode only )

***

Mother: While talking to your father today, he mentioned keeping chickens. With your brother. And your brother said he wasn't going to be plucking chickens.
Me: Uhm, what?
Mother: apparently the CEO they were working with (mother is laughing hard during all of this, making it difficult to figure out what she is saying), wanted them to get rid of his chickens.
ME: Okay..what CEO, and what chickens?
Mother : The CEO had a warehouse filled with chickens and your father was being hired to get rid of them.
Me: Uhm..
Mother: And your brother had to help him.
Me: You realize this makes no sense, right?
Mother: well of course not. Weirdly your father went back to normal after that and we had a very lucid conversation about our past travels, and our finances. He also wants to plan on what we're going to do next.

I wouldn't have believed this, until I saw it for myself. When I was down there visiting him - we were having a perfectly pleasant conversation, until my Dad decided to ask about the pyramids that were being built in the center of the courtyard. [There were none.]

***

COVID

From NY Times Evening Briefing:

In the past two days, a federal judge struck down a nationwide public transit mask mandate, Uber and Lyft ended mask requirements for riders and passengers, and the C.D.C. dropped every country from its Covid “do not travel” list.

Still, some cities, like New York, San Francisco and Chicago, said they’ll keep mask requirements in place for now. As the situation changes, here are some answers about masking and airplane travel.

New York City has been ignoring the Federal Government for the most part since this began.

Here's the justice's opinion for those who are interested.
The complaint was brought by two frequent travelers who selfishly brought the complaint via the Health Defense Fund, based on their anxiety in regards to wearing masks. Daza routinely travels by airplane, and has anxiety that is exacerbated from wearing a face mask. Pope flew prior to the pandemic, but has flown less since the CDC imposed the Mask Mandate as constricted breathing from wearing a face mask provokes or exacerbates her panic attacks. The Health Freedom Defense Fund is a non-profit organization that opposes laws and regulations that force individuals to submit to medical procedures, products, and devices against their will. The Judge dismisses the mandate based on how sanitation is defined by Funk & Wagnell's, the CDC's failure to provide clear guidance, the timing of the initial mask mandate, among other things. I got annoyed and stopped reading.
( here's the article )

Part of me wishes Station Eleven and The Stand were correct, and this virus did manage to kill off 50% of the population. But with my luck, I'd be left with the 50% that I despise. So never mind.

Gad. People are selfish and stupid. If you have anxiety flying and masks make it worse? Do not fly - drive. They don't have to fly. No one is making these people fly. What about the people who are immune compromised and at risk for getting the virus? But no, their anxiety trumps folks who could get it from them and die.

Health Defense Fund gets coal in their stocking for Christmas. (Note to self - Do not ever donate money to the Health Defense Fund. That's bad karma.) Also stay out of Florida. I'm boycotting Florida. I don't like Florida, so it's not hard. The relatives in Florida can visit NY, if they want to see me.

Oh well, at least the MTA is still doing the Mask Mandate, but it will become increasingly hard to enforce. I have N95 masks that I may save for airlines. If someone gives me a hard time, I'll dump a bottle of water on their head or better yet down their crotch. Having a wet crotch on an airplane is not fun.

**

I need a palate cleanser...and am reminded of why I've been avoiding the news. "In other business news, Netflix reported that it lost 200,000 subscribers in quarterly results, sending the company’s stock down 20 percent."

President Biden restored key parts of a bedrock environmental law that was dismantled by the Trump administration.

This is just sad...( tragic result of anti-Asian hate crime )

Moral? Don't move to NYC right now.

Electronic verbal autopsying is a labor-intensive effort that helps developing countries tally death tolls, often for the first time.

( Read more... )

In other global health news, Myanmar is now one of the most dangerous places in the world to do medical work. At least 30 doctors have been killed there since the 2021 coup. [Okay that was hardly a palate cleanser, see this is why I've not been reading the Evening Briefings lately.]

( Jennifer Grey of Dirty Dancing fame writes a memoir )

I'm glad I'm not famous and my family isn't.

I give up, there isn't anything. Unless Cinderella and Mickey Mouse giving kids hugs at Disney Land and Times Square, counts? Personally, I don't think so.

Below is a photo of Fort Green, Brooklyn.

Got the day off today. Too tired from the work week to do much with it - outside of vegging. I did go grocery shopping and took out the trash. Also made it through about six or seven days back on the dw correspondence list.

I've a few posters who post about twenty times a day. Including Smart Bitches - which wrote an amusing (spoiler filled) review of the horror flick Fresh. (I've no interest in seeing the horror movie - I won't watch certain films. Basically anything regarding torture, graphic depictions of cannibalism or gore, or sexual violence are out. I will watch horror films - I'm just highly selective for my own mental health.)

Quote from review..
Amazing that we made it 46 minutes in without someone telling her to smile.

Maya: Better than a lot of workplaces I’ve been in!!!

Yep. There used to be men in my workplace who would plague me daily - by telling me to smile. It doesn't happen now. The next generation is a bit more "woke" in that regard. My generation and the one above me, was woefully not - and kind of abusive about it.

It was always an order. And I'd comply with a look of death attached. My look of death can stop people in their tracks. If looks could kill ...and all that.

Don't do that. Never tell someone to smile. If they aren't smiling it's for a reason. And it's self-centered to ask. People who ask folks to smile, deserve to smacked or squirted with a water gun. (I kind of wish I could walk around with a water gun and just squirt people who annoy me. The only draw back? I'd probably get squirted too.)

Good news? It doesn't happen any longer. We got rid of all of the assholes who did that - finally. Or it got beaten out of them by the #MeToo Movement, and if so? Hallelujah.

Another quote that I found funny, because we've already established the fact that I've an odd sense of humor...
( Read more... )
See? I love reading reviews of horror flicks for this reason - I often find them hilarious. Mainly because whoever makes horror flicks either has a really odd sense of humor, or is really bad at making movies. The bar is set very low - at any rate. Oh, history lesson? Apparently the early slasher flicks in the 1970s were made by the Porn film studios. They did both. Actually they started with porn and slowly gravitated to horror, discovering it was cheaper and more lucrative. Plus not that hard to do. Apparently the leap from porn to well Texas Chainsaw Massacre wasn't that big? Both objectify the human body for exploitative purposes. And are ever so slightly sadistic...and appealing to the puerile and slightly sadistic side of the human brain, which likes to spend money and sit in dank movie houses.

**

My apartment complex got noisy all of sudden, with lots of opening doors, chattering, and climbing of stairs and stomping about. Now quieting down again. And it's quiet - all I hear are police and ambulance sirens howling in the distance, which to be honest are kind of like the sound of foghorns at the beach, one gets used to them.

***

Soap opera also amused me today...at the tail end of it, I was waiting for Harmony to kill Brendan who was blackmailing her - with a giant syringe in a park, next to a baseball field at night. Instead, she accidentally pushed him off a cliff. (which popped out of nowhere).

I burst out laughing.

Why?
( Read more... )
**

Mother reports that her knee is healing quickly. (Note - knee replacements heal faster than hips, mother is living proof of this.) They told her that her knee's healing was faster than most people's. (So it may just be my mother.) As a result, she was able to see father today. Who apparently didn't ask how she was doing, or relate to it at all. He did know she was there. And informed her that his vocabulary was getting better and he had access to more words now. (She confirmed that he did). Then he told her that he had to get back to writing his book - so apparently that's all that is getting better. (He's not "really" writing a book.)

None of us have gotten the fourth shot yet. I'm procrastinating. I don't really want to get it from Wallgreens. Also not so sure I need it yet.

**

Finished New Amsterdam finally - or rather I'm all caught up. Made it through all 18 episodes saved to my DVR. Not today, I've done it incrementally over the course of three months.

New Amsterdam is a medical drama. It's not a medical procedural, nor a soap opera, nor an emotional drama like This is Us. It tends to not lean too heavily into melodrama. And for the most part swings towards realism.
I wouldn't say it's quite as good as ER or St Elsewhere, but it's close.
( Read more... )

**

I'm hoping to do laundry this weekend, clean out a closet, and possibly switch out the spring clothes with the winter ones. But I don't know. I'm tired and I've upped my metroformin now. So we'll see.

Page generated May. 31st, 2025 04:21 pm

Spontaneous Musings

from a curious soul

Entries tagged with corona virus

COVID isn't gone by a long shot...

Allergies, COVID, X-Men, Books...basically this that and the other thing..

Sunday...watching The Bear

This, That and the other thingamig.

Titles still elude me...

No Title Comes to Mind...

Television and sigh COVID

Pretty day, with mild aggravations

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Left Plague House for Office and back again..

House of Plague Redux Day 5

House of Plague Redux Day 3

House of Plague Redux Day 2...

The House of Plague Redux...

Sigh

Sigh...Federal Judge Drops Mask Mandate in US - (the less said the better, eh?)

Good Friday...

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