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the chicken lives!
13 Mar 2020 19:41* COVID-19 everywhere, most of NYC shut down, and I'm still taking the subway to work because my employer hates paying us not to work exactly that much. Also, it's cheaper for them if we get sick -- they only have to pay us for as long as we have sick days. And being as I am recovering from flu, I have practically none. Is anyone in my department an essential employee? No. Are we so much as being given hand sanitizer? Also no. Have I looked up a copy of my union's Short Term Disability form in case I get sick? Yes.
Every university is looking like the Good Guys for sending the students home and switching to remote learning to avoid crowds. And behind all of that are the people like me, non-teaching staff at universities that don't give a crap about our well-being because we are a financial drain (i.e., they have to pay us) as opposed to the students (who pay them). In the meanwhile, the official recommendation for my class of serfdom? Wash your hands.
* Speaking of the virus, however... Support your local small businesses during this time. The big places are gonna be fine -- and in fact are totally necessary -- and so will the folks who work there. But your local Chinese restaurant? Your favorite taco joint? The independent bookstore? Go into those places and ask if they have gift certificates. They get the money from those now, you can redeem at a point in time that's best for you.
(I just found out a Chinese joint by me does Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts. I am there for those.)
* There's no baseball and no hockey and I'm going to have to watch the three streaming services I have subscriptions to, aren't I.... On the bright side, Chris Kreider will be ready to play if the NHL resumes instead of missing the rest of the season. And Michael Conforto won't come back from his oblique injury too soon and hit .195 and wreck both his and the Mets' season.
* If you get to self-isolate, or at least work from home, try to be a quarter as cool as the Sicilians.
Every university is looking like the Good Guys for sending the students home and switching to remote learning to avoid crowds. And behind all of that are the people like me, non-teaching staff at universities that don't give a crap about our well-being because we are a financial drain (i.e., they have to pay us) as opposed to the students (who pay them). In the meanwhile, the official recommendation for my class of serfdom? Wash your hands.
* Speaking of the virus, however... Support your local small businesses during this time. The big places are gonna be fine -- and in fact are totally necessary -- and so will the folks who work there. But your local Chinese restaurant? Your favorite taco joint? The independent bookstore? Go into those places and ask if they have gift certificates. They get the money from those now, you can redeem at a point in time that's best for you.
(I just found out a Chinese joint by me does Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts. I am there for those.)
* There's no baseball and no hockey and I'm going to have to watch the three streaming services I have subscriptions to, aren't I.... On the bright side, Chris Kreider will be ready to play if the NHL resumes instead of missing the rest of the season. And Michael Conforto won't come back from his oblique injury too soon and hit .195 and wreck both his and the Mets' season.
* If you get to self-isolate, or at least work from home, try to be a quarter as cool as the Sicilians.
