Aw Snap, Here We Go Again

Hello world, 

Things are moving forward, but things are volatile. It's like a caffeinated squirrel running around a funhouse of mirrors. You really never know what you're going to get. That's where we are right now. I'm mostly speaking in terms of the bigger picture, not just my own individual life. Here I'd like to jot down some notes on what's going on, what I think is the answers to it or possible answers, and just a general outlined update on what I've been up to and what I've been working on. 

First, the turmoil surrounding the larger story arc of the world, Russia vs Ukraine, but right now I'm especially worried about the turning point in the middle east, as we have the Israelis causing chaos there. I believe the Israelis are causing all this damage right now because they are trying to force the US into a large scale war inside the middle east, and, this part is very important, they want to try to force a Trump victory this November because they know Harris won't support Israel's proxies and killings. The best thing we can do is deescalate and not send troops to the middle east. 

In addition, there's more to this of course. I believe the disconnection between Americans has become so great that not only is democracy at risk, I believe that in a way, the citizens have already lost, regardless of whoever wins the election. Walk outside your door on any day and you can see, think, feel, hear, and maybe even smell the differences between everyone and everyone within every facet of life that you may encounter on any other day. And guess what? Almost all of those people see other Americans in this divided categorical way. Why? Because that's how this country has made their impact upon them, especially foreigners but also just average Americans. We need to keep moving forward and learn to see each other as human beings, not as these divided categories. 

Second, the disintegration of community within this country. Look around you everywhere you go. Everyone is all looking at something different; a different smartphone screen, a different political ideology, a different style of music, a different tribe in any and every way. This is almost too good to be true. How can a country be so mindlessly cast apart and separated as people? This is a question one should not answer, as I think there are many variables; infinite mass amounts of information, infinite mass amounts of bad and/or false information, and divide division and conquer tactics used by the boogiemen [like Trump and Maga Republicans] who are counting on their supporters to be a stupid b lazy c never change their opinions even though they know they are bad and/or wrong and harmful to their communities. 

Third, look at your own personal life for more examples of what I'm describing. I work at a grocery store where the division of work is highly routinized. There are clear divisions and separations between the hierarchy of the workplace. For example, on the front end where I work, there are from lowest to top; baggers, combos, cashiers, sales managers, front end managers, co-director, and store director. You find once you become ensconced in this line of work that there is a clear division and hierarchy. The managers at my store never once tried to lift me up and get me promoted for years even though I've stayed a very long time and showed my loyalty to the company through hard work, good work, and some customers may have even said that I've even had good cheer and all that good stuff. 

The problem is that through these divisions not everybody wants to see you succeed. In fact, a lot of people out there want to see you fail and lose everything; your wife, your children, your girlfriends, your job, your stuff, hour apartment, your home, everything. I've found that in particular, sales managers, front end managers, and co-directors especially have more than sometimes used their power to bring me down, take away privileges, write me up for bogus things, and in general try to get me not promoted to keep getting higher in the company. Why do you think that is? The answer lies in the psychological nature of the divided moment we live in. Even my co-director wants to see me fail, even he sees that because he is who he is with a better job and much more money and higher status, that whatever he says go and if I don't like it I would have to leave, and he doesn't see me as a good, hardworking, loyal employee, rather he wants to see me fail, and I would like to see him fail as well. 

Lastly, what does this mean? This means that the world that's described by the people you know or watch on TV or see on a smartphone or webpage screen is just one part of it; their world, but what is your truth, your story? No matter what ideological background that you originate from, most smart and good people want to bring more good to this world and keep working very hard to keep it good. But not everybody wants that. Like me, you might have a boss that wants to see you fail. I can respond by making his life hell in any way I can, but therein does not lie the true answer. The answer lies in fighting the good fight, fighting for what you believe in, and fighting to the very end. Those people out there, like the hateful boss, they want to see you fail, they want to see you give in to despair and become like many others or even themselves, who have given up with their lives in despair. Your life might not be great or even good right now but nothing lasts forever, even happiness. You might have to surprise yourself by how much fight you have in you, that you're actually made of much tougher stuff, and if given the chance, you would trounce any and all of your enemies in one attack like a ferocious lion. 

Take on thy sword of the spirit and fight on. Metaphorically speaking of course. Give them hell or worse. Replace their system with your own system, be more than a leader, be a creative leader.

Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse Virus pt. 4

So far I've been writing about the virus from a more personal perspective. Here I'd like to jot down some of the more world and/or historical facts and headlines. Keep in mind that we're somewhere in the middle of week four of the zombie apocalypse virus, our facsimile plague. I believe the one very sad thing about this historic moment other than the deaths and the continuous spreading of the virus throughout California, America, and the world is the fact that most people aren't taking this seriously. 

Not even close to taking it seriously enough. A lot of my friends are still congregating, eating together, drinking together, smoking together, partying together, and gaming together. Not good. The President's thoughts seem to tell the American people that this will be over in two weeks, fourteen days, that's when he wants to reopen everything again. Hence the lax citizens continuing to party. Anyways, here are some headlines that will put more of a worldly context on my series entitled Plague Journal, or you might recognize more as part of Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse Virus Parts 1-4, so far. 

3/24 Headlines
Trump, defying experts, talks of easing restrictions by Easter.   
People who left N.Y.C recently are asked to self-quarantine. 
China to ease lockdown. 
Bernie Sanders to participate in the next debate. 
Some pregnant women in New York City will have to deliver babies alone. 
US and U.A.E troops hold major exercise amidst the virus and Iran tensions. 
Women should have to register for the military draft, Commission tells Congress.
States say some doctors are stockpiling trial coronavirus drugs for themselves.
Density is normally good for us, that will be true after coronavirus too. 
Virus knocks out thousands of healthcare workers in Europe. 
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas said he and other grandparents might be willing to die to keep the economy going.
Terrence McNally, Tony-Winning Playwright of Gay Life, Dies at 81. [from the virus]
Nearly a million children left behind in Venezuela as Parents Migrate. 
Here's how to give your space a makeover while you're homebound.
Olympians have another year to prepare, a blessing and a curse. 
Prime Minister of India orders total lockdown of India, including all 1.3 billion Indians. 
Facebook is "just trying to keep the lights on" as traffic soars. 
Waves of suspect websites look to cash in on pandemic. 
Helping your neighbor could hurt the neighborhood. 
For abused women, a lockdown holds dangers of its own. 
How to stay sane when the world seems crazy. 
Why mundane moments truly matter. 
Be more productive in 7 days. 
Burnout isn't just in your head, it's in your circumstances. 
A D.I.Y dance for your home. 
The Doctor and the "Apocalypse." 
Young adults come to grips with the coronavirus health risks. 
What does our body temperature say about our health? 
Share blood with your friends for vampire bats, it's good manners. 

3/25 Headlines
Senate approves a $2 trillion-dollar economic stimulus package. 
New York City has over 20,000 confirmed cases, and the death toll stands at 280.
13 Deaths in a day: An 'Apocalyptic' surge at an N.Y.C. hospital. 
Calls for federal intervention as the need for ventilators grow.  
The fine print in the bill contains special industry deals.  
Can you become immune to the virus? 
Governors tell outsiders from 'hot zone' to stay away as virus divides states. 
"Hi, please cancel our cleaning for tomorrow." Undocumented household workers are being cast out with little help. 
Europe's leaders ditch austerity and fight pandemic with cash. 
A deluged system leaves some elderly to die, rocking Spain's self-image. 
Arts groups, facing their own virus crisis, get their own piece of the Stimulus. 
Food supply anxiety brings back victory gardens. 
Even before coronavirus, the U.S. population was growing at the slowest rate since 1919.  
How to see the world when you're stuck at home. 
How to get more sleep tonight. 
Britain enlists an army of volunteers to fight the outbreak. 
Sanders is ready to debate again. Biden says, "We've had enough debates." 
White Supremacist Pleads Guilty to New Zeland mosque killings. 
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe wins a victory in the Pipeline case.  

3/26 Headlines
Markets shrug off jobless claims; Pelosi predicts bipartisan aid vote. 
S&P has the best 3-day run since 1933 as U.S. deaths top 1000.  
Jobless numbers convey the scale of economic wreckage. 
With a doctor in Brooklyn E.R.: "We're in disaster mode." 
Wallstreet shakes off the unemployment report as aid nears. 
Will I get some money? How much? And when? 
6 die as coronavirus races through an upscale retirement community. 
Europe fumbled coronavirus at first. Can it manage the pandemic now? 
Louisana may be experiencing the world's fastest growth in new cases. Mardi Gras may be why. 
Japan's virus success has puzzled the world. Has its luck run out? 
Trump wants to 'reopen America.' Here's what happens if we do. 
How to look your best on a webcam. 
What you can do about coronavirus right now. 
The baseball season opens with a dash of imagination. 
A promoter's screen test involved sex on camera, lawsuits charge. 
Venezuelan President is charged with drug trafficking in the U.S. 
Jane Goodall is self-isolating too. 
Life on the planet Mercury? It's not completely nuts. 
Take steps to counter the loneliness of social distancing.

3/27 Headlines
Trump signs a $2 trillion dollar coronavirus relief package.
Some U.S. cities could have outbreaks worse than Wuhan.
'White-collar quarantine,' Virus puts a spotlight on the class divide.  
'We take the dead from morning till night." 
I became a disciplined investor for over 40 years. The virus broke me in 40. 
'The other option is death,' New York starts sharing of ventilators.  
Blood plasma from survivors will be given to coronavirus patients. 
In the U.S., luxury brands board up the store.  
These stores are deemed 'essential' in the pandemic but not everyone agrees. 
The U.S. now leads the world in confirmed coronavirus cases. 
Updates: States plead for more federal help. 
'It's a wreck,' 3.3 million file unemployment claims. 
How the largest stimulus in history united a polarized Senate. 
$1 Billion price tag for ventilators gives White House second thoughts. 
A nurse dies, angry co-workers blame a lack of protective gear. 
Trump says he will label regions by the risk of coronavirus threats. 
The stimulus package will fundamentally transform the government.
Fact check: Trump's claim that recession will be deadlier than the virus is baseless. 
I was an accidental playboy pinup.  

3/28 Headlines

• President Trump says he is weighing enforceable quarantines for hot spots like New York, New Jersey and Connecticut as U.S. cases pass 104,000.
• New York State’s primary is delayed, and New York City may fine those who break social-distancing rules.
• Federal civil rights office rejects rationing medical care based on disability or age.
• As deaths surge, Spain and Italy look for signs of a turning point.
• Ireland enters a strict lockdown, and the U.K. checks its rule book.
• Japan is ‘barely holding on,’ Abe says, but declines to order a lockdown.

Don’t overlook the good news (yes, there is some).  

3/29 Headlines

• C.D.C. issues a travel advisory for the New York region, after Trump backs off his quarantine threat.
• U.S. civil rights office moves to prevent discrimination over who gets lifesaving care.
• A sudden lockdown in India leaves hundreds of thousands of migrants homeless and jobless.
• Illinois reports first known U.S. coronavirus infant death; Louisiana inmate dies.
• A surgeon on the front lines dies as Britain is warned of a ‘significant’ lockdown.
• America’s lost month: How the U.S. fell behind on coronavirus testing.
• Wealthier Europeans escape to second homes, stoking fear and anger in smaller communities. 

 3/30 Headlines

• As the virus’s impact expands, Washington mulls more emergency measures.
• Roughly three out of four Americans are under orders to stay home, or will be soon.
• China says it’s halting the virus’s spread. Is that true?
• Agony in Spain and Italy as deaths climb and lockdowns are extended.
• “Doctors are getting sick everywhere.” Health workers confront fear as colleagues fall ill.
• As the virus spreads behind bars, there are calls rising to free inmates.

The virus sweeps into Detroit, a city that has seen its share of hardship.

4/3/2020

• New York State records its biggest daily death toll, and pleads for the nation’s help.
• Should you wear a mask? The White House and public health officials are debating the advice.
• U.S. tries to bar 3M from exporting face masks.
• With joblessness soaring, Pelosi says it’s time to “go bigger” on another economic relief bill and wait on infrastructure.
• Half the planet is on lockdown, but not every U.S. state.
• Britain has its deadliest day as the government races for an “immunity passport.”
• Small businesses seek a share of $350 billion as some predict a chaotic process.

4/9/2020 

• As millions more Americans lose their jobs, more aid from Washington is uncertain.
• European officials agree to spend more than half a trillion euros to blunt the economic effects from the virus.
• OPEC and Russia reach a deal to cut oil production, as the pandemic drives down demand.
• New York State and Pennsylvania set new single-day records.
• In California, Newsom defends his decision to send ventilators to other states.
• In the race for virus drugs, a scientist on the front lines is urging caution.

The outbreak spreads to the South, home to some of the nation’s poorest states.

5/1/2020

• As many businesses open their doors around the country, some governors face growing resistance.
• W.H.O. extends its declaration of a global health emergency.
• Labs across the U.S. join a federal initiative to study the virus genome.
• As stay-at-home orders lift, individuals are wrestling with decisions that feel life-or-death.
• Mnuchin says private schools with large endowments should return funds.
• Texas moves aggressively to restart businesses, with restaurants, malls and movie theaters all open.
• Schools across N.Y. State will stay closed through the end of the school year, Cuomo said.