31 de Agosto

Good evening, ladies and gents. 

Today is the last day of August and it's been one of the best weather days of the summer. Its only 67 right now, cloudy, cool, and not humid at all. In all aspects, it's just perfect. It reminds me of the Midwest, especially Chicago. Here I'd just like to jot down some general thoughts on life. 

First, work under covid has been stressful per usual but I have a good spirit. As those raggedy Andy dolls from Liverpool sang, "it's getting better all the time." In most respects it is getting better. For me, the store, and other coworkers. 

The work hours are grueling but it's nothing that I can't handle. Nobody at the job has caught covid recently and my cashier station is pretty boxed in, keeping me socially distant from customers. It's strange working in a box for eight hours, but hey, c'est la vie. 

I've been spending a lot of time reading classics of the western canon and philosophy. As well as playing guitar. And the daily hangouts with friends, mostly one or two at a time to keep things small and socially distant. I've met some new friends here and there, and I've been getting out of my gamer shell more and have begun to meet more people.  

However, the main event here is how are we all really doing under the new reality, el nuevo realidad? Are you adjusting to this new life? Covid has taught me many things about life and the world in which we live in. The most important lesson being that you have to find a new way to live and do just that---live. 

You can't just go on living life the way you did before covid. Everything's different now and you have to adjust your mind, body, and spirit to really enjoy life to the fullest now. Simply put, it's different now, and if you can't readjust to that difference, you're going to get left behind. 

What does finding a new way to live mean for me? 

It means finding yourself, finding out who you are as a person and developing that inner self, enjoying nature and solitude, enjoying Beauty in the world, good books, good music, good people, good conversation, good food, good friendships, good relationships, etc. How do you get to that level? Practice, practice, practice. Mucho practico todos los dias para divertirme. Remember to live life in every moment as opposed to the same old, Sein und Zeit existiert im Moment. 

Sometimes I feel as if all I need is a garden and a library [as said by Cicero]. Of course there's more to life than that but being content for a little while is okay. To have the capacity for happiness. To truly love and be loved. To enjoy Beauty ad infinitum. To find joy in solitude as well as in the company of others.

These are a few of my favorite things. 

Photo uploaded by BlueBlackRose on Pinterest

Summer's Almost Gone [Quarantine 2021]

Hello world, 

It's been a bit of a hiatus but now I'm back and hopefully will resume my regular scheduled programming, aka the blog and keeping up to date with things via blogging. First off, I'll describe the scene in regards to covid and work. 

Things have been going pretty well at the store although things could be better of course. My one complaint is that we lost the $5 increased pay and now I feel ever so sad that my paycheck isn't what it used to be. Yes, we deserve that $20 per hour and I hope we get it back considering that we're still in the midst of the pandemic. 

In terms of covid and everything there's been no new cases at the store. However, in terms of social distancing in the lines there's none of that. In addition, there's hardly any cleaning of any kind except for when customers ask us to clean the register belts when they look dirty. However, most customers are wearing masks so at least there's that. But there isn't much social distancing of any sort. 

I've just been coping with the sustained quarantines. I've been reading a lot per usual, chilling with friends, and enjoying life in general while social distancing. 

Right now I'm reading Ulysses by James Joyce. This is an amazing work of literature. It reads like an off the cuff stream of consciousness. Like a jazz song. I can't go into all the details here but it's something of a monumental work in the western canon. It reminds me of Coltrane sometimes, that sheets of sound mentality in the words and phrasing. 

The direction of the company at work has become a more severe one, in which the workers get exploited just a little bit more. I believe its because of the pandemic that this has happened. The fact that we only got the hazard pay for three months is a shame, we should be getting that pay during this entire period of the pandemic, considering we are frontline workers, around hundreds of people each day, putting our lives on the line to make groceries sales, beholden to the company to give us hours and paychecks.

The name of the game for me since covid has been finding a new way to live and I believe I've succeeded in that. I have friends, family, my job, my reading, my games, my guitar playing, everything seems to be falling into place despite the pandemic. I'm the kind of person who never gets bored so I've found this entire quarantine experience to be highly enjoyable and I've been able to spend time doing a lot of different and new things. 

For example, I started working on a lot of language learning, particularly Spanish, but I've also been learning French, German, and bits of other languages. I'm not saying I can become a polyglot but it is quite fun, entertaining, and something different to do rather than my usual. 

I've also still been jamming once a week with my saxophone player friend Jason Thomas. It's been going quite well and I've learned a lot about comping [accompaniment on guitar, rhythm] through our duo jam sessions. My sense of guitar chords has become vastly more interesting. 

Lastly, I've been reading a lot. My goal for this year is to read 50 books and I've already read 32. Check out my goodreads account https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/56122996-og-space to see all the great works of literature that I've been reading and/or have read. In a world of chaos, reading is the one solace I that puts my mind at ease. 

Want to read more about what it's been like working grocery retail during the pandemic? Check out my plague journal, where I've documented my version of events starting from the day before the pandemic was announced, check it out https://ofigueroamusic.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html.

Gracias por leer 

Bonne Nuit