COVID Vaccination Roll-Out Say What Now?!

 What seems to be like a never ending fever dream just seems to continue to persist. Covid is almost comparable to the new seasons of It´s Always Sunny (no offense, it´s just that the earlier seasons are way better and FX just doesn´t seem to want to cut em loose, hell I wouldn´t either). Where do we go from here?

The vaccine only protects those who have it. AKA everyone and their fricking mom, dad, dog, cat, and pet hamster have to get vaccinated. Of all places, Israel is doing the best. What, like, 40% of the population has the first shot? I got that from the Global News Podcast, so don´t quote me on that. France is so far behind on their actual plans to get the nation vaccinated. South Africa has stopped their vaccination program. The US is ordering more doses, but still lags as the world´s richest country. Palestine got a measly 2,000 doses of the Russian vaccine, and only has been able to spare Palestinian workers working in Israel (free Palestine) the first dose. 

WHEN.

DOES.

IT.

END?

Who knows. 

I´ve been on a podcast binge these last few days since that´s what I listen to at work to help time go by faster. A guest on the Aspen UK pod (if you follow my Twit, I dropped the link) was speaking about how the future of travel could mean having chips implanted into our passports that show whether we have been vaccinated or not. Authoritarian, much? In this case, I don´t know. It´s almost as if HIPAA has entered the chat or something. 

In m very honest and less than candid opinion, the vaccine roll out in the US is defined by it´s accessibility. NY, por ejemplo. Do you have internet to book the appointment at 6am, while you work from home, and are in the comfort of your own bed, along with the metro fare to make it to the vaccination spot? You´re good to go. Hell, you´re lucky if you have a whip to make it so you have less contact with unknown objects/ people. But those MORE than essential workers who are out delivering food at all times of day and night, who work hours that nobody should be forced to, don´t work from home, and sometimes don´t have the metro fare or the luxury of a car to make it to the vaccination site? These folks are getting left behind with nobody to give a rat´s ass about. Dude, the Times even dropped an article about how some delivery drivers aren´t even being allowed bathroom services at the places they deliver for, or the appropriate amount of PPE to go on with their day. 

If anything, this pandemic has hemorrhaged the ongoing racial inequity and disparity that has plagued this county for oh so long. And for many of us, it comes to no avail. 

WHEW! This could not have fit in a 140 character tweet. 

Here are some links to some info that I mentioned above:

South Africa: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55975052

Israel: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/world/middleeast/israel-virus-vaccination.html

PPE and Worker Absue: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/30/nyregion/bike-delivery-workers-covid-pandemic.html

Anybody else hip to the Myanmar coup? 

Journal Entry 001 (Language Barrier Much?)

 Sentándome ¨on a curb¨ en tú barrio. Un sentimiento de progreso ha aumentado dentro de mí. En vez de solamente pensando en ¨acá e ahora¨, estoy tratando imaginar un futuro que será hecho de lo que yo hago hoy, manana (still haven´t figured out how to put the enya over the N on my keyboard), etc. El Tiempo es largo cuando se espera con paciencia. Me siento bien donde estoy ahora. Escribí eso en mi Twitter personal, pero cuando veía los numeros de desempleados en el país, inemdiatemente me sentía gracioso por todo que tengo, incluyendo un salario que me sostene, la habilidad de proporcionar comida, de no preocuparme sobre donde me dormiré, que mi familia ha sido segura e afuera del caos del virus, y por Dios bendeciendome otro día de viviendo.

Es más que fácil olvidar sobre las vidas que hemos perdido, y los sentimientos graves que sufren cualquier comunidad alrededor del mundo. Desde Bushwick a Virginia, todo y todos. La unica cosa que ha prevenido mucha gente de faltar la esperanza, es la esperanza. La esperanza que tan pronto que termine la pandemia de beber cervezas con sus amigitos, la esperanza de dando un abrazo gigantesco a sus abuelos, la esperanza de siguiendo una vida cerca a ¨normal¨ que sea posible... todo desde la esperanza.

No he pido pa´ algo especifico nunca, otro que mejorar a mi trabajo y mantenerme en forma (por ejemplo: corriendo 2 o 3 veces cada semana). Para quejarme sobre cualquiera cosita sería vergonzoso. Tengo mi salud, un lugar para vivir, comidita, un coche... Quiero decir mis gratitud a Dios arriba, que sigue protegéndome desde los malvados que persisten en la vida cotidiana de todos. Ojála que pueda crecirme cómo un humano de valores fuertes, con una corazon de miel, que será listo de darle a una causa más grande que a si mismo.

chicken parmesan during a nor´easter

 It is now February. Which means Black History Month. It´s the shortest month of the year. Was originally a week, now a month. Still, shortest month of the year. I digress.

Moving to New York means a shit ton of snow for absolutely no reason. So much that I get to not go to my jobbie for an extra day, and that this fine Monday is Sunday pt.2.

Now, time to get down to business...

There´s a bodega down the street, right? Great. There´s also a pizza place within sight from my crib. OK. 

Critically acclaimed pizza place that sells chicken parm on a hero. $12 after taxes, probably. The bodega has the same thing, cheaper price, and probably same quality. I mean, Boar´s Head literally owns all the meat in New York. I can´t even believe that´s a real sentence.

Yesterday, I put a poll in my GC on whether I should do a deli combo sandwich with fries and a drink or pay for the more expensive sandwich right across the street. I decided to do the former, and to my pleasure, I was happy with my purchase. I´m thinking to myself that it´s Sunday, I´m about to watch the Nets play Bradley Beal and Co., why not enjoy it, right?

Well, that´s how I´m feeling today. I cannot make a decision. My girlfriend has abandoned me in the decision making process. I am at my wit´s end. Do I do the deed once again? Can I handle spending another $7 without thinking that I am a worthless subject to capitalism? Will Dogecoin ever get past $.038? Did Trina ever perm her weave? There are so many things that are going on in my head with relatively zero consequence on what happens on my day to day that it is actually kinda hard to believe. This is what is happening on my day off. And, ya know what, I am NOT that mad about it. 

What else is new? Myanmar and their PM (I think) just got sacked in a golpe de estado. COVID is still, ya know, a thing. Biden is president (?), yet the Times still gives Trump a headline online (double ?), I ran 3 miles yesterday, am using my diffuser, and the snow literally just won´t stop. 

Purchase of the week: A lint-roller from the hardware store. 

L Train to Rockaway Parkway/Canarsie

 My commute to work has changed, but not that much. Moving within the same neighborhood can also mean a different train line. Bushwick has about 3 of them, and I´ve used them all to get to work at some point. But, every part of the neighborhood has their beloved subway station. Ironically, I´ve used both train lines that spell out my name.

Similarly like my route to work has changed, so has my role at work also changed, but ever so slightly. To my relief, or dismay, however one may take it, there is less oversight on the work that I do. LFG! Or, WTF?

Some days I feel as if I have taken the sword out of the stump, breezing through work as if I was careening through a wormhole to take me to the year 3000 (everything has changed, we don´t live underwater, and the $2,000 stimulus was actually given). Other days I feel jaded, under the all too familiar guise of what the reality of being an entry level worker in an industry that has never, and will never, go out of business.

On the way home last night, one of my coworkers, who is surprisingly my age and takes the same train to and from work, engaged me in conversation about what our contributions really mean right now at this point in our careers. TLDR: we are more than qualified for higher level positions, given the accolades we have accrued, but how is that going to stand out in a group of boomers and corporate vets who see us as nothing more, or less, than early to mid 20´s number crunchers?

And I kind of agreed with her. Now, I´m not saying that I have a rap sheet that stretches from the Hudson to the James that is chalk full of achievements. Rather, I´m saying that I worked my ass off to be here, and what is there, is there. Nothing more (LOL), and nothing less. Take it or leave it. 

We both came to the conclusion that to even attain the success that we desire is going to take years to achieve. But, if we´re being honest, you have to be naive to think that a senior level position is going to fall into your lap not even one year into your job. It´s been 10 months for me, and this is the longest I´ve ever had a full time job to being with. Drinks up for that one, chief!

Circling around to having less eyes on my work at work. My supervisor had a mini-meeting with me in his office today. Although the masks were on, I couldn´t help but notice the goatee that he was sporting on his ID badge. That will be another story for another day. Anyways, he reviewed my work out of my audit range (fine, for the time being), laid down some areas that I could improve on, and ended the conversation with the age old ¨Good work, but...¨

So... what do we have hear? It begins with a C, end with an M, and is the absolute worst thing for people who already live inside of their head M-F during regular business hours.

CRITIC-FUCKING-ISM.

Yes. that´s the one. 

I get that I´m not going to be perfect in my first year of work. If you are, you are a unicorn, and should try your hand at investing in the stock market (if you get that reference, you will probably have a chuckle). But there´s something about being told by anybody that you could improve on a certain subject. It´s like you´re telling me that I come into work for 8-9 hours a day, do what is expected of me and often what is not even in my job title, and you are going to sit here, in my face, and criticize my work? On the job? in 2020? DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC? ON A TUESDAY? WHEN THE CLUB IS GOING UP? ON A TUESDAY? 

I had to take a deep breath going back to my desk because honestly he didn´t even go in on me like that. He didn´t yell. He didn´t give me any flack. He was simply trying to better my understanding of my work, show me the areas that need improvement, and inform me that he believes my on the job knowledge is where it should be at this point in my career. It only took me reading a Forbes article on how to deal with criticism, Die Lit, two packs of peanut butter crackers, taking out my recycling, and a cup of iced coffee to understand that my world is not falling apart and that my job isn´t fed up with me. If they didn´t care, they wouldn´t be showing me where I could improve. I guess the moral of this story is that criticism sucks, but internalizing it in the wrong way is worse. 

The Mitch McConnell slander tweets are providing comedic relief for me today. If they ever regulate Twitter, the real WW3 will happen. Deuces. 

12 dollars for a 6 pack of tecate

 I have experienced my first price gouging in my neighborhood. My old apartment had a convenience store about 100 feet to the right of my fire escape. You can buy a 12 pack of Northeast PBR (Narragansett) for about $11. A steal, right? I love that place.

The convenience store next to my new spot? I hate that place. The title says it all. $12 for 6. Who did the math on this one? Get me outta here!

We apparently had the biggest snow storm that the northeast has seen in a while most of yesterday and part of today. All that remains is a brownish/gray wocky slush. That´s a twitter reference.

Stimulus. $600. Our country is..... ya know what? Not even gonna finish the sentence. There is no need to. But, what in the hell is $600 for a single person going to do for all that has been lost during this dagum´ pandemic? I mean, don´t look a prized horse in the mouth, but come on. Senate/House majority and minority leaders have been working ¨endlessly¨ to secure a deal of SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR EACH AMERICAN CITIZEN. WE ARE THE RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, AND WE ARE ONLY GIVING THAT MUCH TO PEOPLE? 

I am... at a loss for words...

What else? I stumbled a shoe repair shop and found a pair of very gently used Vans in my size for a measly $12. And even though the 6 pack of Tecate for $12, I am thoroughly enjoying my financial faux pas. 

Vans and Tecate for the win. 

NY During uhhhh Covid

 For some reason, being in a new apt. has got me in the mood to just scribe more on my nice Chromebook that I´ve gotten chop cheese grease all over.

This one is about how I´ve seen the effects of Covid during my time in New York so far. The headlines are all right. It´s a nightmare (for some). I have a plethora of colleagues that have been given the ability to work from home, which is great. On the other hand, there are thousands of people who have been pushed to the margins because of this, and those who were already there are on the brink of poverty, it seems. 

Lines for food pantries are spanning 10, 15 blocks in Brooklyn. Relatively speaking, Brooklyn as a whole isn´t even one of the most hard hit areas. I may be wrong, but at least my zip code has been faring ¨well¨ in comparison to other areas that have higher density, aka the Bronx. That part of the city has years been hit hard by crime, car accident deaths, and affordable housing. Covid has made it a living nightmare. Although I typically don´t spend that much time up there (dude, it´s like an hour and a half to get to Pelham Park on the 6), enough news outlets have been able to showcase what is going on in borderline upstate NY. 

The Times  recently put out an article about undocumented workers who have been more or less forced to sell food on the streets because of their immigration/nationality status, which realistically does not create the kind of income that is needed to sustain a family. 

Bike delivery workers have become a vital part for the consumption of food with the least amount of contact, well, at least those who can afford it. Not to mention that even before this pandemic, these essential workers were getting stiffed on their tips, being denied PPE, bathroom services, you name it. For a lack of better words, it is unreal. That´s not what I really wanted to say. It´s crazy as fuck.

To end on a good note (as good as a note as I possibly can), Senate Republicans just brought a relief bill to Pelosi and the House Democrats that was constructed by McConnell and his team, which may mean the arrival of new stimulus checks sometime in the new year. 

Plus, the UK just started giving out the Pfizer Vaccine. I bought one share in it before it was even popular. (aka I bought the share last week.)

Im Walkin Hea´

 Here is a small update.

Word on the street is that my job may be getting the vaccine very soon...

How do I feel about that? Hm, not sure. Do I need it? Maybe. Do I deserve it? Um, subjective question. Will I take it? Odds are yes, but part of me wants to say no. Who knows! Because I sure as hell do not!

I have been slowly but surely getting better at my job, at least judging from what my mentors have told me. I even got a perfect audit the other day, which is, for a lack of better words, fire.

Winter is cold in New York, but then again winter is almost cold in every other state. I think that it´s time to buy that fake Moncler jacket from Chinatown that I have been talking about for the last few weeks...

This weekend I visited a small town in upstate-ish NY named Beacon, which automatically makes me think of bacon. That´s besides the point. It reminded me of Boone, NC. The Main Street shops were made all out of brick. Dinner on Saturday was the first time that I had feta on a burger, and I would do it again, but only if you asked me nicely!

SO...this vaccine again... what´s up with that? I mean, am I going to be a guinea pig for something that has yet to be tested on US citizens? It probably has and I have not surfed the internet waves long enough to find an article or succinct evidence that shows it. Should I become one of those essential oil stans and just drink a whole bottle of lavender? IDK MAN! THIS SHIT IS CRAZY. 

I also just bought a new pair of shoes from Marshalls. They are very ¨trendy¨ and I bought them from Marshalls in Long Island. Did I mention that they are from Marshalls and that they are Reebok, and that I got them from Marshalls for $30? My $30 shoes from Marshalls? I love them and they love me. Together. Forever. And forever means 2 months until I decide go and get another cool pair of Reebok from my beloved Marshalls......

MARSHALLS!