John Lennon: It can't get much worse [Covid 2022]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was covid times during the second month of 2022. Here I thought I'd jot down some notes on what life's been like during this stage of the pandemic, two years running, with no end in sight. 

Okay, so for starters, if you haven't kept up to date on my writings about what retail grocery has been like, be sure to go back and read this most recent most on the subject, here. Thumbs up if you have a thing for the common working class man like myself. 

There's a deep sense of animosity at this point in the pandemic. Americans are more divisive than ever. Customers want to fight me at the checkout line for almost anything nowadays. My most trusted friends, family, and associates are all in the dull drums, saying that they're owed much more in this world. That their jobs, their social circles, their vast quality of "stuff," isn't good enough, and that things are quote, "shitty,". Well, to play up to the satire, "was their whole lives anything else but that?" 

But let's be kind. But no, seriously, none of the people I associate with have really been heavily impacted upon by the pandemic. Rather, almost all of them has flourished and seem to be in perfect health. Oh, fancy that! 

But there seems to be this endless dread going on everywhere around me. It's possible that these people simply aren't happy, they simply lack the capacity for happiness, or the satirist in me will sometimes go on to believe that it could simply be a ruse or charade, one meant to simply fit in and be conformist. Hey, everybody's miserable, I should pretend to be miserable like them to see if they like me more! Misery loves company! I'm a miserables! I like to believe I haven't lost my sense of humor out of these some 700 posts. 

Things are getting better all the time. My life is awash with high culture: music, books, nature, good health, good demeanor, and general happiness and well being. Now, I'm not a guy who's particularly rich in anything in particular, except possibly a capacity for happiness. So what's wrong with all these other people? Well you know what Sartre says about that. "Hell is other people."

Covid America has taken on a sly fake sardonic smile. Every customer at the checkout line has become a hooligan. Even some of my friends, coworkers, and associates have become hooligans. In a world where everybody says everything "sucks," or its "shitty," how can you stay cool and level headed when the world outside your house is super negative and shitty themselves? I think they're probably out to lunch [Frank Zappa]. 

In other news I've been reading Orlando Innamorato. A classic romance knight errantry story from Italy during the 16th century. I happened to read Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, which is the sequel to Orlando Innamorato. I liked it so much I decided to back and read the first installment, written by Matteo Maria Boiardo. And tonight a customer from work is donating to me a Fender Stratocaster guitar. Oh, happy day! 

But now I've come to the end of this story. A new tale awaits in the next coming days. Watch this space, eight days a week! 

Retail vs Corona

It's been three days since I've been back to work after a two-month personal leave of absence. Here are my thoughts about the safety conditions of working at a grocery store at this stage in the pandemic. 

Okay, so I would say that things are a little safer overall but not that much safer. Most of the customers are all wearing facemasks but there are always a few bad apples; eating, drinking, and talking. Management has called for a rule in the breakroom that only allows up to four people to be in there.

As for customers' wellbeing, there's always a courtesy clerk outside cleaning cart handles for each individual customer. I've actually never seen that kind of service at a grocery store and question if other grocery stores are as precise and on the ball as we are in regards to cleaning cart handles. We're doing it every hour for every customer. Many customers have told me that other stores aren't doing this and that's the reason why they come to my store. 

But to the detriment of everybody's safety, there is no longer a limit on the number of customers that can be allowed to enter the store. So at any given time if the store happens to be busy, it's a zoo. Management is no longer limiting the number of customers, probably as a way to boost sales as they are way down. However, late at night, there aren't as many customers as two months ago, so there are times at night now that don't require a limit on customers in the store. But I would say, overall, that during the peak business hours in the morning and afternoon, it's a very unsafe working environment with too many people too close to each other. I only wish management would put the limit back in place in order to make us that much safer. 

In terms of things that I do personally, one must be smarter than ever before in terms of safety. All the associates are wearing masks but unfortunately, most of my coworkers aren't wearing gloves. This is a grave mistake and management should step up the requirement of facemasks with the addition of gloves. The store has free disposable gloves but for some reason or other, most of the staff aren't wearing them. This is especially dangerous for the courtesy clerks cleaning the cart handles and doing carts. Personally, I wear thick latex gloves that I clean and sanitize every day. It's a hassle to wear them and my hands do get sweaty sometimes but it's worth it to be safer. Again, I wish management would step up and require gloves for the safety of everyone.

The morale of the workforce is at an all-time low. Some of the older employees as well as the young new hires have bad attitudes or they're just tired. Well, when you see that we're working for minimum wage with the addition of the company taking away our hazard bonus pay, you realize how demoralizing it really is. Again, I believe this is where management should step up and rally their workers into some sort of happy place or even just a slightly better place. They did this yesterday when management bought us all gourmet food from a high-end restaurant. It takes things like that in addition to personal talks with employees as well as general statements to the entire staff. I don't see that kind of leadership coming out of the store or the company. There's no mutual leadership to bring us together. Rather it is the employees themselves that rally together and brings the group together. Thank God!   

It's safer for sure but it's going to take a much smarter individual to truly be safe. If somebody gets COVID and can't afford to take off work because of bills, is there any incentive to actually stay home? The fear is still there. 

Let's hear it for all grocery store workers! 

Hurrah! 

How are you doing?

Time for a vlog style blog post, spring 2019 style. I like to write these every now and then, talk about real life, as opposed to sharing memes, tweets, and Facebook posts via social media. That stuff is so blah.

First off, I quit soda and energy drinks cold turkey. I've noticed a big difference in my stamina and stress levels. In addition, I'm starting to lose weight again, albeit very slowly, about a pound or two a day. At this rate, I'll lose twenty pounds in twenty days. This might be the way I lose weight and keep it off forever, in shallah. [as the Muslims say] 

I really needed to do something drastic because I don't want to get diabetes. I was drinking soda and energy drinks every day at work. I'm glad I'm not buying and drinking that crap anymore. 

My body is detoxing. My stress levels are down and my stamina is up. I still get tired after one am shifts at the job, however, without the sugar chemicals messing with my system, I don't get as tired as I used to. It's quite a change. 

Speaking of changes, I've been taking things slower with my reading. I'm spending more time reading the news during the day before work and reading physical books at night before bed. I'm letting all the readings ruminate more. Rather than say, reading a book in three days and then starting another one on the same day. I'm guilty of that. 

I'm also guilty of being completely obsessed with classical music. I've always liked it but now its pretty much my favorite thing to listen to. Saying since most modern straight-ahead jazz is pretty clean cut, not many interesting things going on, I mostly listen to classical music, usually while reading. 

My favorites lately have been baroque composers within the last couple months-Bach in particular right now. Coincidentally it was his birthday the other day. I'm getting into piano prodigy Glen Gould's Bach interpretations. I've also been listening to Handel, Telemann, Vivaldi, Mozart, Chopin, Corelli, Marcello, there are tons of composers from 1600-1700s that display beautiful music, composed of functional harmony. I've become a huge fan of harpsichord and clavichord. So much to the point that I'm planning on playing keyboard more seriously and possibly having my dad put together our harpsichord one day [yes I have a harpsichord]. I have the time, I just need to put in the effort. "Or so it goes."

Work is work and I'm glad to get the hours. My jazz trio is coming along nicely, although I need a bass player asap to complete the sound I want, a chamber jazz sort of sound, with bass playing the role of percussion. The plan is still to record at a studio [and release an album on bandcamp], and apparently, the saxophonist can get us free recording time at the studio because he's done session work for the studio, ie they owe him. I'm still working on my memoir, and I've got thirty-four pages to work with so far. I'm at a crossroads with the text at this point, but I'm getting ideas on how to make it flow more thematically now that I've covered all the facts, exposition and lots of dialogue between characters. Lastly, I've been doing well making new friends, of the female variety. As that Ramones song goes, "I don't wanna be a pinhead no more, I just met a nurse that I can go for." 

April will bring hot temperatures and soon summer will be among us Californians. Bring on the one-hundred-degree heat. I love it when its over one-hundred degrees in the Valley.

Not! 

April Fools     :D