Living in the Time of Corona

Good evening everyone and as usual I ask and hope that everyone is happy and healthy, and more importantly surviving sanely. I know it is insane for us to live through something like this Pandemic but what is really fucking insane, is that we have a certified unequivocally mentally ill person who is in charge of our well being and the future of this country. Why aren’t we out in the streets demanding that he be committed?  It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I have a very limited, well let me say no affection, for our failed leader and I have been trying to remain neutral in my daily discourse but the gloves are off. I watched a briefing today, generally avoid them, and when they mentioned the latest on children getting this new affliction, he said  not aware they might die. Seriously that is your best answer?  Yes we can say some people were irresponsible and didn’t follow precautions and may have had the misfortune to get the virus, but children not dying?  My generation has raised our kids and now that are grandchildren may be in peril, the gloves are off, you a much uninformed moron.  Why are we even listening to someone who is orange?  I mean we have red states and blue states, and if you mix them up you get purple, and there is no formula that brings us to Orange so that should be our first warning. I mean think about it they do use Orange flashing lights, when they rig up the caution signs on the side of the road that should tell us something about the danger ahead. I wish the lame stream media would stop going to these press conferences and just report after, and do the fact checking. The people who will remain, are going to believe no matter what he says, so let them have it. They all know if they wanted a test, they can have a test, because Cheeto says anyone who wants one can have one, just haven’t told us where we can get one. Apparently you have to have one of the those Make America Great Again hats, with the secret handshake to get one, but you don’t need one because it is a free country and you are free to spread the virus.  I have news for all you people in the MAGA hats, we didn’t need to make America great again, we were already great, but now it is going to take years to gain some credibility in the world and here in our own country.   Just think it only took a Reality TV star, and I use Star loosely, after never having seen the show, a very short time to put us all down in the gutter. He can grab them by the pussy and shoot someone in central park, without consequence, so of course he thinks he can maneuver himself right out of this big doozy he finds himself.  The really sad thing he has the support of so many people who are more than happy to hold their nose and look the other way, no matter what he says or does.

Ok this was going to be a more uplifting rant as I was visiting my grandchildren today and experienced the sheer joy of having a swing/play set installed in their backyard. You know all our parks have been closed for more than two months and it has been so sad to walk by all these places and not be able to use them, but hey its China’s fault or what Cheeto would have you believe.   My grandchildren are the lucky ones as their extended family could give them this gift, while the parks remained locked up. I was so happy to push Maisie on the swing, and watch Charlie go up and down that Fireman pole just made my day.  I should have never turned on the news, but I would have read about it sooner or later and for my children and grandchildren I will not keep quiet. I promise I won’t refer to our President as Cheeto, if the shoe fits, and I will do as my Mom always said if you cannot say anything nice don’t say anything, but I will call out the untruths and hope for better days ahead. Hoping to get back to America loves you, “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses Yearning to breathe free………. Can we get back to what really made us great?

Just sayin…

Hello everyone and Happy Mother’s Day to all who celebrate I was super happy to see that the Florists could open, so we could be sure there was a nice centerpiece on all the Zoom celebrations. I believe this holiday is one, if not the busiest day, of the year for restaurants and because of Corona we are once again denied our usual celebrations. I noticed this past week a lot more restaurants that have been shuttered were opening for takeout, probably because of Mom’s day, and anticipation of maybe one day returning to normal. They all seemed to offer a special package, complete with flowers or a special gift. I’m just glad the box didn’t come from Amazon. We had a special dinner ordered from the UMass Club here in Boston, and we were able to deliver to my sister and daughter as well.  My roommate did a very nice job and managed to heat the dinner properly and set a very nice table, even some nice music. I did my son in law a favor and he didn’t have to plan and even though he is a proper cook, this time just reheating was required. This time last year we had a lot of friends and family travel to Boston, for a wedding celebration for my son Max and Alana, thank goodness for those Facebook memory reminders, although I am sure I would have remembered without it. It was such a great weekend, meeting our new Aloha family from Hawaii some for the first time, and the sun actually came out that Saturday, after a month of cold rainy weather. How could we have imagined that was the last big family celebration, we would have for a while and if we do have another soon will we be masked, will there be tape on the floor marking the spot for each person not to get to close?  I am hoping we can dance again and even in a big open space outside. Today we were going to stroll around and find a nice spot where we could safely distance and have a picnic, but the weather didn’t cooperate and then it was naptime. I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way, but to see my six year old grandson coming down the street with a mask on, as well as Mom and Dad just about unhinged me, but luckily I was also wearing a mask.  Hey if this is what we have to do to keep us all safe especially my grandchildren I will wear a full size body condom when I go out. I noticed that some states are slowly reopening and find it funny that Nail salons and massages were in the first phase. I get the barbers and hair salons, and no one wants  a Pedi more than me but what about retail that doesn’t require a lot of touching, and can give you space to distance?  Believe it or not in Thailand one of the first thing that reopened were the pet grooming places and they have been overbooked. Apparently pure bred dogs are the favorite, and often the ones that do better in a cold climate, now it is 100 degrees there and these pooches need to shed some fur. I am not sure what the first thing I would do if I woke up tomorrow and found that this was all a hoax or fake news, and we could resume were we left off. I can tell you one thing for sure this cooking thing every day, is the first thing to go and when I go down to my favorite bar, will they make the drinks as strong as I have been making them at home. Doubtful unless Jared is at the bar, he knows how I like them, otherwise I will continue with my own heavy pour. Techie has even managed to have a drink or two this past week, which is not his nature, especially never at home. I may finally be getting to him and he has had enough with this constant tech support and is turning to the bottle, well that would be a switch but a few drinks in more than a week is too small a sample so I will keep my eye on him, we can’t have two booze bags in the house.  May 11^th was going to be the end of our quarantine but now we are pushed out a week and I am sure it will pushed out further and before you know it its Memorial Day, and there will be no day at the beach. Damn good thing because I have a monster truck spare tire for a gut right now and keeping me locked up is not going to make it go away. I keep watching the workout videos and nothing changes, going to have to try something different.  Biking doesn’t really burn calories and this gunt is getting in the way big time, so going to have to do some hills. My roommate and I take a lot of walks around the city and try to explore different neighborhoods and we were down near the shipping docks a few days ago and came across these Ducks and their ducklings, so adorable but at the same time thinking of Make Way for Ducklings in the Boston public garden and then these in the yard looked like they had been through pandemic.

Just sayin

Hello everyone and I hope we are all breathing a sigh of relief, we made it another week. TGIF.  When I look back at 48 days and I started this about a week or so in to the shutdown, I can’t believe I have made it this far considering I am shut in this one room, albeit a nice big room, with my roommate.  It’s amazing of what we are all capable of even when the thought of being shut in for two weeks a few months ago seemed insurmountable.  You do realize how truly lucky and loved you are, when your lover still thinks you are beautiful and awesome to be around, of course I have mentioned that I do prepare just about every meal, every day, so you don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, in other words beggars can’t be choosers.  Well I choose to be with my techie and today I celebrated that I successfully copied and pasted, something on my own today. I know that is just routine for everyone else but a major step for me, and I am taking the win. I have kind of refused for years to embrace any technology and only learned the parts of our software system that were relevant to my job, today even Techie was very proud of me. Secretly I think he likes it that I have to yell across the room for assistance, even now I yelled for him to ask what you call copy and pasting, and he walked over and said yes that is what it is called. I completed one week of back to work today, and for that time away I almost felt normal, but it is a long way from normal and counting the days.  Good news is they opened up the golf courses today, and I am not a golfer, more of a bowler,  but I know a lot of people were just so anxious for this to happen, and I am so grateful for our beloved JB to get back on the course, he needs to have some joy. He is our most treasured person at work and if it makes him happy, we are thrilled, and love to celebrate the wins.  I understand you may have to walk the course but he has been doing evening walks so he may be ok, but I don’t think there will be the beer cart guy travelling the course but baby steps, soon enough. Just be sure to keep six feet apart and enjoy the winter weather that will be experiencing this weekend. Don’t worry better weather is coming even though they are predicting snow tomorrow, maybe an inch and it melts quickly. I hope we are all stocked up on our favorite snacks for the snow day and I read today that we are all resorting back to some old time favorites.  Forget about the baked brie and veggie chips, bring on the Cheez-its, got to love these I have always kept big boxes at our office because whenever you were feeling stressed you might need an alternative to chocolate. Chex Mix was also mentioned as one and I can almost remember when this was born with those bugle chips thrown in at every Tupperware party, never a big fan but good salt content. Pringles this is one I liked because it kept the chips in perfect form, but pretty sure we only ever ate them may have been on a cross country road trip or when visiting islands in the Caribbean back in the eighties, when they wanted to be sure they would have something their American friends would eat. Pizza combos, I don’t even know what this is but apparently they have a following. Cheez balls, I love these you can buy them at Costco in a huge jug and has it all over that skinny pop that is so popular and tastes like Styrofoam. Lastly Hot pockets, which all I know about is the heir to Hot Pockets is part of the Varsity Blue Scandal, cheaters on college SAT, and she is going to jail. I know they must have been immensely popular because she apparently is an heir to millions, so just have to add up how many they sold. Well Techie and I are sticking with the Trader Joes version of nutty buddie mini cones, and yes now that I think of it, could be just like the skinny pop, tomorrow just going to go back to Ben and Jerry’s. Enjoy the weekend and I hope someday my grandkids will not hold it against me for what I share but Maisie is just following in her Grandma’s footsteps.

Just sayin

Good evening everyone and I hope you are still safe and sound, and nursing your second or fourth cocktail during the time of Corona.  I know I joke a lot about the drinking and you know I am only kidding right? People who really know me, will say that I am really a teetotaler. Ok have you stopped laughing yet, just checking to see if anyone is paying attention to who is writing this daily tale.  I feel I have to address it as I read in the paper this morning that liquor stores or “packies’ as we affectionately call them in my fair state, are doing well and their business is actually up about 20%. Quite frankly I think they are bullshitting us and it is probably a lot higher, maybe under reporting?  I was talking to my niece last night and I would never think of her as someone who is a “drinker” I am talking about Kelly, don’t worry Amy no one would think it was you, but she told me she loves the new service at her store. She says the only money they are spending is on food and booze, and it may lean heavily to the latter.  Apparently you place your order and they come out and put it right in your trunk, coincidentally my girlfriend Celia confirmed the same experience as now as any good journalist, I have verified two sources. Well I am still supporting my local store that has no drive up capabilities, but if you find yourself without payment some evenings no problem pay next time, so which would you choose?  I carried my bottle of Ketel One home yesterday and said skip the bag, I just carried it in my arms like a new born baby. I told the guys it is a short walk, and still light out so I don’t think I will get mugged, and out of my cold dead hands, I don’t think so……..

Today was another work day but I did oversleep, I was so mad, I am trying hard to get back into the routine, but not easy. I was up at 5:30 and watching the local news, switched to cable news at 6am and same old crap so just fell back to sleep. Anyway an hour later than expected I was on the road with my coffee in my Yette, that my roommate made for me, but I had to wake him up to make it, someone is getting lazy. I could sense his frustration today when I kept calling him because I couldn’t figure the Sonos out on my phone, and I really want to blast the music when I am working, especially if it is just me and maybe a few others.  I think he was having a lot of techie calls this morning and He was almost a little short with me , I know I am impatient and will just ring and ring, but I need an answer right away. He had to fend for himself today for breakfast and lunch today and I think he was feeling the side effects of not having a personal valet to serve his meals.  Well rest assured we had a very nice dinner this evening, and have to say the routine is not so bad, as the cooking is doable and I love that he does all the dishes, including the pots and pans. We are getting into a routine for meals, but really it is what we have to look forward to, for our activities, and I am profoundly grateful that we don’t have any food insecurities, truly heartbroken when I read and hear about those out there that are suffering, hope help is on the way.  I look forward to the day when I can sit down at our table next to my friends and break some bread, drink some wine and enjoy each other’s company in person and not on Zoom. I know I constantly wish it wasn’t all about the zoom or the distance but dammit it is the world we live in today, so I guess I will just have to figure it out.  Tomorrow is Friday , TGIF, and there will be no Happy hours after work tomorrow, but I can go in and blast the music as loud as I want, and have a dance party with myself, and most people know I love to dance, and I really don’t care who is looking. I want to share a video a friend sent me tonight, it is a bit long, and I know so many people have even shorter attention spans than usual but it is a really good primer to start back to work.

Just sayin

Hello everyone and hope you are happy, healthy and sane.  I feel like we have to check in on our friends and family, every day and not only worry about our temperature but also our mental health. We all have good days and bad days, and those days that no matter how much ice cream and Cape Cod chips we eat, we just can’t seem to feel better. Well now imagine you are a nurse, and you are going to work every day in a toxic environment, and you don’t even get combat pay for going above and beyond what anyone is asked to do in their daily job.  But please don’t fret because today is National Nurses Day, and Hallmark is missing out on this one, because we can’t get to stores or they can’t get to work to make the cards. What we can really do for nurses today is first and foremost a BIG THANK YOU, for doing what you do every day and hopefully with all the PPE you need, in a clean and safe environment. So I want to take a few minutes to personally thank all the nurses, out there who show up every day and do the job that I hope they will still love, when this is all over.  Today was a big day for us in Massachusetts as it was the first official day of mandatory masks and I have to say I am not the most compliant. The Governor did say mandatory when it is not safe to social distance, so I do pull it up and down while I am walking around the city, but I still get my glasses fogged up, and wonder if anyone has found a way to solve the problem?  I know here has to be a lot of us out there that ae experiencing this issue, and I want to know how you are dealing with it. I did see on a news clip today that a woman walked into a store with a mask on but it had a hole cut out over her mouth, and she told the guy working in the store it was because so she could breathe. I don’t believe she realized that her mask was really null and void, but hey good effort. I am grateful for all the masks that people have sent me and also if you have any tips on how we keep the ties tight enough, that they don’t slip down your face that would be great.  I feel like a new person these past few days because I am doing something new, and that is called going to work. This is true I actually get up and leave the house before 8am, and not going to lie the first few days were extremely difficult but I did manage to get out of the house. I am not saying it was easy, the first day was tough, even though I have been working from home every day these past several weeks, it is just not the same when you actually have to get dressed in real clothes, that can be worn in public. I have made trips to the local convenience and package stores shamelessly in my PJ.s, and make no apologies. I mean why bother getting dressed sometimes.  So it was mixed emotions that I ventured out, but I have to say for those few hours spent in the store I almost felt like life was normal and there wasn’t this horrible thing happening outside the door. We are doing a good job of keeping a distance and only one or two of us, so I believe we are following all the rules and guidelines. I am sure the best part about these past few days is Techie gets to have this Loft all to himself, and I won’t be bugging him all day long with my many requests. I did call once today to find out how to connect to Sonos, and happy to report while speaking to him I actually figured it out on my own. Who knows there may be time soon when I won’t need to call on him to put on the Netflix for me, it just doesn’t work every time with the voice activation, and I don’t know what I am doing wrong, but luckily for me I have a very nice roommate to guide me. I did manage to hit a grocery store today, and stock up on treats for my grandkids.  I try to put all the junk food at the end and ask them to bag separately, and of course have to tell the grocery clerks it’s not all for me, sure they have heard that before.  I am doing my grandma duties and bribing my way to be the favorite one.  Of course as I load the bags into the back of the car I do slip half the junk into my own bags.  This crazy thing is happening at our house, that we are just not used to but we are eating our Ice cream sandwiches and Nutty buddy cones late at night, granted they are mini ones. I am thinking it is a side effect of this virus or maybe even a way of combating it because it just overtakes me and I have to have more than a few, I guess I am going to give in and next time I am just getting the adult size, because really nobody is checking on me or shutting me off. Techie is a real enabler because I always pass him one and he never refuses where in the past I have told him to tell me no, but he just says sure.   I wish I could do weight watchers online, but it’s really self-defeating for me as all the points are used up with the first of many cocktails.

Just sayin,

Hello everyone and how are we all doing today? Thankful that you woke up on the right side, and yes there is a pulse so get up, and get out it is a beautiful day. Today was a glorious day to be outside and thankful to hit the ride on my bike and get some exercise, at the same time enjoying the sights of the city. I may have mentioned that is almost joyous to ride your bike in the streets of Boston with so little traffic. We have lived in the city for five years and love to cycle but the move brought its challenges, and often on weekends we would leave the house by 6 am so we could get a jump on getting out of the city, to some bike trails. Well put one in the plus column for the virus, boy that sounds obscene even saying it, but we have to look for the good in everything and anything, lest we go mad. I rode around the city today and decided to take the leap and cross over the Mass Ave Bridge and see what was happening in Cambridge. For those who are not familiar with our fair city, the Charles River divides Boston from Cambridge, and hello you have crossed into another country as far as the cultural divide.  My heart will always be in Cambridge and I truly love the culture of Birkenstocks with socks, and I hope my final days will be living in 02138.  If you were living in Cambridge today you would be perfectly comfortable in your pandemic wardrobe, as a matter of fact it probably wouldn’t look to different just indoor and outdoor leisure attire. The “high tech” is located in Kendall Square as well as a great movie theater that serves up a mainstream and and alternative film, along with the best fresh popcorn at the Kendall theater.  Cambridge has their fair share of the “hottest restaurants” but you don’t have to dress and the conversations will be much more cerebral but none the less, just as expensive. I am sure Cambridge people have more bookcases in their homes because it may be in the purchase and sale when you buy a home about how many bookcases you have to have per square foot. Cambridge has a few colleges you may have heard of Harvard and MIT and across the river we have Boston University, Boston College, Emerson, Suffolk, Northeastern and I can’t even begin to name them all, but I can tell you their styles will be different. BU will be more the NYC higher fashion crowd, BC is total prepster, the Dave Mathews concert crowd, and Northeastern has had a makeover and so many more. I can venture a guess that there are more Vegans in Cambridge than Boston but then I could be wrong because Cambridge has Bartley’s Burger Cottage AND Boston has Chloe. I generally like the live music better in Cambridge but then Boston has Symphony Hall. Anyway enough about the tale of two cities, I got off track, and I hope someday we can all come back to exploring both sides of the river at our own pace. I want to see the boats back on the river, having launched at community boating where I learned to sail, about 40 years ago for a few bucks, I am sure it is more today but still open to the community. I just want you all to realize that you don’t need a passport or visa to go between the two cities there are no border agents and it is glorious.  If I may add one more difference Cambridge has more Bike lanes, so you can make your own deduction.

We got home late today and made a frightening discovery really nothing in the fridge for dinner and really need to do a grocery run, have to set the alarm for the elderly tomorrow morning. I am getting so full of myself, because normally I would say to Techie where are we dining tonight?  But I went through our limited pantry and once again I created a feast for my roommate and Mom I am spoiling him rotten. When will this end?  I am using leftovers and veggies that are close to getting tossed, I am a regular freaking Martha Stewart. I don’t even know if she uses leftovers but you pull it out of your tuchas and get it done. It doesn’t look like this lock down is going to end soon , so no dining out anytime soon, and when I start talking about the sour dough starter someone please shoot me.

Just sayin