"So. How About Those Mets?"

[captainsblog]

(That's a catchphrase we use during awkward pauses, in actual conversations or during movies when the characters hit one. A local radio personality, who lost several family members in the span of a few months, encouraged its use with him if any listeners saw him out and about- and he's not even all that much of a Mets fan.)

So let's begin with the update:

-Mrs. Met is home for two weeks. She started feeling headachy and feverish at work yesterday and was relieved of her cashing stool. First thing this morning, she visited the Millard Suburban ER, aka "Our Home Away from Home," where they could not test her for it (thanks, Obama!), but they confirmed enough diagnosis that she will be quarantining here until further notice.

- Meanwhile, Mr. Met is still okay. We've been keeping a reasonable SD, even for a Married Old Couple, and I had my temp checked 4 or 5 times yesterday during a blood donation and it was fine. (More about that below, and for the record: I found out about Eleanor AFTER they finished.) So far, I'm also showing no other symptoms, beyond the traces of the same stupid cough I've had for almost going on 5 months now.

- And Mettle the Mule, aka Pepper, had a case of the sads:



 I got up this morning at about the usual time, put her food out, and for the first time in ages, she would not eat. But as soon as mommy came home from the ER, she chowed right down.  She still knows something is up, hence the corner. But overall, she’s getting a lot of love and more than usual number of treats.

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Where things stand in terms of work and finance and whatnot: Eleanor's sent in her work restriction note: we're not yet sure if they will begin paying disability right away, or if the usual one-week wait will apply. I didn't work all that much this past week, but did settle one long-standing case and got a new piece of business in, and just between them that should cover us well into mid-April, even before counting the $2,400 from Uncle Cheeto whenever THAT shows up, or the almost $1,500 of parent student loan payment I will not have to make in April. And for the second week in a row, when I added up my time for the month, I hit exactly the same number of hours as I'd signed up for the same time period in pre-apocalyptic 2019.  (Similar numerical karma: the hit on my deductible for last weekend's ER visit  turned out to be exactly $666.) Still, with the new medical possibilities come the Abundance of Caution and all: I am not making any in-person appointments, will only be in my office when nobody else is there, and that just to use technology there. If I become symptomatic, I will likely ask someone to act as mule to get daily mail to and from me. I had offered online to do health care proxies for anybody local for no charge, but I've now changed that: I'll do them for anyone needing one anywhere in New York (they're state-specific), but from here on they will have to be BYO2W only; Bring Your Own Two Witnesses and I'll talk you through it on the phone.  We have yet to learn the glories of Skype or Zoom or any of those visual things #OKBoomer

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Other stories and observations from the week:

Facebook reminded me on Monday that this was my most-commented on photo of 2017, posted around Passover:



Most Jewish friends I know are accepting the arrival of this latest plague and adjusting their services and seders to accommodate safety and science.  Fundies, not so much.  (The only reason I'm not rooting for a good smiting of Jerry Junior is that Emily and Cameron live in Lynchburg and lightning strikes sometimes start fires.)  One good sign is that there's a blood-running river in Canada, so maybe the Almighty is moving on from this.

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As for blood:

I'll admit, there's some boredom here- and, until today's news, some guilt that I was only in my office for two-hour stretches while Eleanor was working full seven-hour days, mostly with kind people but with exceptions that puked the rule.  The latter led to yet another round of new procedures, including triaging customers before cashout-



- and, yes, the arrival of off-duty cops as armed guards.  Overall, the place tried to keep as much normalcy as it could manage.  They may have been rationing toilet paper, but were well stocked with butter lambs, a Polish Catholic tradition around here-



- and they responded to one of the biggest complaints of the huddled masses: Where are our Friday fish fries?  Shaddap, you got them:



I'll be the only one in there, if either of us will, for the time being.  But, looking for things to do, I first tried to schedule Zoey for a vaccination appointment. She received a pretty dismal terminal diagnosis back in early December, and our vet didn't push renewing her two scheduled vaccines then. But in the almost four months since, the cat's reaction has been, terminal-schmerminal, as she's been as hungry, and playful, and cuddly as ever. We decided over the weekend to git'ir'done, but when I called, our vet be all, Fine, we'll be happy to see her in late April. At first it sounded like they were just refusing appointments for anything other than emergencies, but no, they're just booked- with adoptions being up, and people being home more to schedule these things.  Fortunately, the in-store vet at one of the local pet store chains was open, and got her in Thursday afternoon. They'd gone to curbside check-in, so after dropping her off, I checked the plaza for signs of Retail Life:

- Bed Bath and Beyond- closed, but rumor has it they'll still accept their infinite numbers of coupons even after expiration;

- Lowes- wide open (this will be important later); and

- Best Buy-  I have a butt-ton of their rewards coupons to burn through. One, for 10 bucks, was due to expire today. I tried to use it while Zoey was at VetSmart the other day, but BB is curbside only at this point. Only thing I could find online was a $9.99 package of the first four DieHard movies. It wouldn't let me use it because the total wasn't the full amount of the certificate. Yup, turned down over a penny. But, after finishing Picard the other night, I wanted to find Generations, one of JL's earlier movies in the series. BB had it for $23.99. I went back today. Throw in the four DieHards, add tax, knock off the expiring certificate and two others, and wow! Are they giving me five movies for under five bucks? Hellz to the no- they gave me EIGHT movies for under five bucks. The "Generations" one was actually a "Next Generation" four-pack of that, First Contact, Insurrection AND Nemesis. 



Make it so, Numbers 1 through 4!

And ZoZo came home all shot up and happy, looking for foamy balls to play with. Our family is good:)

But back to the blood:

I've been a regular donor for years. It was through a donation attempt that I discovered I was mildly hypertensive, and I've been paying it back to them ever since. A few years ago, I did a couple rounds of platelet donation: it takes much longer than just going down a quart, but they're very useful. So when I saw the stories about URGENT NEED, I looked into donating. The local organization (now part of a bigger one) didn't have anything around here anytime this month, but the Red Cross booked me for platelets yesterday.

It's harder with social distancing and the extra screenings they need to do; I got there 15 minutes or more before my 1:30 appointment, but they didn't bring me in until after 3.  I'd been streaming an episode of Dexter on my laptop, somewhat guiltily because of all the spattered blood in it, but once they got me checked out and spread out on the bed, they offered me a DVD that was bloodier still:



The passing nurses all loved the film, too, and I finished my deposit just as Tallahassee was making the Zombie Kill of the Century, so the timing was perfect.

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Today brought more need for errands: yet another Wegmans run, picking up the eight Best Buy films, retrieving a suit from dry cleaning before they closed for the duration after today (not that I have anywhere to wear it), and an unfortunately necessary visit to that Very Open Lowes:



That's our backyard composter, but in recent weeks it's become better known for serving as roof and feeding source for Ignatz the Rat and Family hanging out underneath. Note the clever (cruel, she says) use of Pepper's crate to keep her from foraging for them.

Result of erranding: one (1) large metal garbage can, found at Lowe's to replace outdoor composter.

Casualty of erranding: one (1) very outdated iPhone SE, dropped in Lowe's car park while wrangling garbage can and retrieved 30 minutes later, alive but with water damage- significant enough to wreck the display, but not enough to stop it from backing up, carrying out basic functions and even taking pictures.

Remembered after erranding: Ray never canceled the insurance on the phone.

Monday's erranding: Find a secure case, screen protector and earbud adapter for the new iPhone 7 they are sending me for a $75 deductible and that should be here Monday.  I can still make and receive calls on it until then, but things should improve significantly after the weekend.

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And finally, returning to the subject of garbage:

When I saw this piece in The Times earlier today about the inherent inequities in our work-from-home-if-you-can culture, my first thought was not of anger, or frustration, or desire to smite (don't worry- they're back), but of.... dirty dishes?

And of something written long ago by Newsday columnist Neil Best (under a name used before he went into the Journalist Protection Program). He and I are both Cornell Daily Sun alums, both fellow native Long Islanders, but most to the point, both fellow DMO veterans.

"DMO, the lowest of the low." Mom and Dad thought I'd get a nice work-study job in the library. Nope, dining hall. And I was initially assigned as a Dish Machine Operator. Not skilled enough to even touch clean food, our job was to clear the trays coming by on the conveyor, load them into the giant Hobart washer, retrieve the clean ones at the other end, rinse, repeat. We saw the seamy side of privileged freshmen that never appeared in our classrooms or even in our dorms. Forget feeding "starving children in Africa" with those leavings; you could've outbid the Klingons for Sherman's planet with just a day's worth.

Anyway- Neil's Sun column about it- written no doubt long after he, like me, had risen above the garbage to a higher calling- modestly proposed that rather than a gym class and swim test requirement, every Cornellian, no matter how high or mighty, be required to work at least a certain number of DMO shifts in order to receive a degree. What better way to empathize with Ezra Cornell's visions of equality and hard work?

So you want your $1200 check, Mr. or Mrs. Suddenly Not In Need of a Nanny? Want your employer to be able to write off the cost of installing a remote line into your home so you can continue to mint the coin? Work a shift at your local grocer (trust me- they're hiring). Sign up to deliver Uber Eats. Do SOMETHING to give back when others can't.

I'm doing free health care proxies. What will YOU do?

Comments

[marahmarie]

Can you possibly explain your "Thanks, Obama" reference to me? I'm literally lost.

[captainsblog]

It's mid-teens irony. I'd wish it would have died off by now, but Cheeto's using it near daily, so I'm trying to keep the snark in it.

[marahmarie]

So you were trying to be funny! Never saw that particular snark before - thanks for filling me in.

[warriorsavant]

I rather like your "everyone has to do take the fuzzy end of the lollypop job" idea. I do want my kids to sometimes have the nice summer jobs that will help them get into medical school (e.g. gofer in a lab), but I also do want them to sometimes work in fast food, or something equally scuzzy, because, well, that's half the human race, and they need to understand. Well, not half, but maybe the bottom 10% of the country, and they need to understand.

[angledge]

I'm glad you're hanging in there. Next week, burn a few minutes answering the new DWDQ!

[captainsblog]

I did:)

[angledge]

Your answers were a teensy bit too late. Try THIS quiz!

https://dwdq.dreamwidth.org/40189.html