LOCKDOWN!

Posted on March 20, 2020 by cordeliasmom2012

It’s official:  Since my office does not offer work-from-home, I am unemployed for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As much as I’ve been wishing for a vacation, this was definitely not the way I wanted it to happen.  Nor did anyone else in New York State who is in the same situation today.

The phone lines for NYS Unemployment are overwhelmed, and the website crashes frequently.  When I did finally get through, I was able to enter all my information only to be told that since I had worked this week (got my walking stay-at-home papers just this morning), I can’t apply for benefits until next week.  Which is ok, except I can only imagine what it’s going to be like to get on that site next week.

Oh well.  Nothing I can do to change anything.

Fortunately, despite all the recent grumbling about panic shopping, hubby and I had enough sense to stock up just in case this scenario came to pass.  As of this moment, the Governor has not mandated a full lockdown (although the Governor has advised all New Yorkers not to go outside, supposedly we can still go to grocery stores, doctors, etc.), but I suspect it’s only a matter of time before total shelter-in-place is mandated.

After having gone through serious financial hardships in the past, I learned to always maintain enough cash in the bank to cover at least a couple of months’ household expenses, and my mortgage and other obligations are current through April.  So, it won’t be overly distressing as long as this pandemic doesn’t last more than a few months.  Sure, I’ll likely have to dip into savings a bit, but at least I have some savings.

My heart goes out to all those who live paycheck-to-paycheck and who are also now out of work.  This is going to be tough on everyone; hopefully, it won’t also get ugly as the situation goes on.

While we’re all on an enforced vacation, but are unable to physically visit one another (even if we live nearby), perhaps someone can set up a virtual party?  I’d be up for that.  Anyone out there bored and looking for something to do?  If so, go for it!

BTW, my photo sessions will, of course, be limited to inside my own house, or my own backyard, for the time being.  I’ll do my best to make it worth your while.

Hugs, Everyone.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Image by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

 

 

Posted in Covid-19, Health, That's Life | Tagged , , , , , | 26 Comments

Pandemic Panic

Posted on March 14, 2020 by cordeliasmom2012

Gone shopping in the last few days?  Fun, wasn’t it?

Here in Western New York, we know to keep our pantries well stocked in the event of winter storms and power outages.

But I have never seen panic shopping like I’ve seen recently.  Store shelves are wiped out of pretty much EVERYTHING.  I saw this posted on Facebook:

“I swear I was not panicking before today. But I ventured into the world today to pick up a few groceries to make dinner. There was absolute mass chaos, people buying 15-20 gallons of milk at a time!!! The milk ran completely out, people were getting mad. There is no milk, no bottled water, no butter, no bread, the canned good and pasta aisles were COMPLETELY sold out, the toilet paper and paper towels were completely wiped out too. It wasn’t until I fully looked around me, saw people with MULTIPLE carts filled to the brim frantically piling the last of the food left in the entire store in their cart. It was then I realized I couldn’t buy the basic foods I was planning to get for dinner. So I’m ashamed to say, my heart started racing realizing this ENTIRE store was being ransacked and shelfs were going completely bare and I think it’s safe to say I’m starting to panic a bit. What about the elderly that can only go out once a week? What about the people that don’t have vehicles to run out before everything’s gone? What about the people that live pay check to pay check that don’t have enough money to stock up months in advance?? Its not the Corona Virus that’s making me panic, its watching people lose their damn minds that’s making me panic!!!”

The poster added:

“Like what are you gonna do with 20 milks??? they will probably expire by the time they’d get used…and then the milk ran out by the time a family of 8 came in and could have really used a few gallons.”

And that pretty much says it all.  It’s not so much that people are afraid of Covid-19 or quarantine – after, most people manage to keep a couple of weeks worth of supplies in their houses.  I think people are more afraid that when they need something from the store, there won’t be anything left – so let’s stock up now!

I admit that I also felt some panic and stocked up on certain items (like toilet paper – hey, I have colitis!), but I didn’t hoard.  Between hubby and me we have plenty to get us through whatever is likely to happen in the next couple of months.  However, we have a small house and there’s limited storage area so we couldn’t go totally nuts.

Although I did have to laugh when hubby called me from the store to say he had a nice supply of flour and other baking items.  Those of you who bake will appreciate my amusement when he said he had FOUR cans of baking powder.  (I told him to put three of them back.)

While  he was shopping, it occurred to me that I’ve always wanted a small freezer, so I went online to check out prices.  Everywhere I looked, the smaller chest freezers were sold out.  Guess lots of people had the same idea.  That was confirmed when I next stopped in a store and discovered that the ENTIRE MEAT AISLE had been wiped out, as well as the ENTIRE FROZEN VEGETABLES AISLE.

Today, at least one store is limiting purchases – one family pack of toilet paper, two cans of a particular fruit or veggie, two dozen eggs, etc.

I’d like to think the stores will all restock in the next week or so, but then I remember that this particular panic is nationwide.  I’ve heard from friends all across the country who are facing the same empty-store situation.

Is it time to start worrying?  Probably not, but just in case, I’ll be fattening up Puppy Cody – I’ve heard dog meat can be quite tasty if prepared properly:

Nooooo – not Puppy Cody!

On second thought, I may need Puppy Cody to guard the house against ransackers.  You’re safe for now, Puppy Cody.

Meanwhile, I did stock up on the most important item:

Stay safe and healthy, everyone.  This, too, shall pass.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Images of empty store shelves by Tia; other images by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

Posted in Covid-19, Health, That's Life | Tagged , , , , , | 65 Comments

When a Good Student becomes a Bad Student

Posted on March 6, 2020 by cordeliasmom2012

How many of you remember your high school algebra class?

Yep, quite a show of hands there.

Now, how many of you enjoyed that class?

…

Where did everyone go?  Oh, wait, I see someone way in the back of the room with a hand up.  You must be the guy who became a number-cruncher for the Federal Government.

As for me, I had always been a straight-A student; in fact, I nearly finished high school in the top 10 (I was #11, grr).  Never did I have a problem with any math class, not even in elementary school when, for whatever reason, my teacher enrolled me in an experimental class for the “new (Base 10)” math.

Algebra was a whole ‘nother story.

A little background:  Back then, grades were A to F, with F meaning failed.  The quarterly tests were based on a 100-point scale, with 65 meaning passed (but just barely), and 64 meaning failed.

The lowest grade I had ever received in any academic class was a B+, and I beat myself up over that one.  (Note, I said “academic” – we also got graded for gym, and I’ll never admit what my sorry grade was for that.)

There were two math teachers, and the one I was assigned to for algebra could not teach.  She was very smart and knew her subject, but at least in my case, she could not relay it in any manner I could understand.  Despite that, I got the basics well enough to squeak by with an 85 on the first quarterly test.

Foggy

The second quarter, it became apparent to me that I didn’t have a clue what was going on in that class.  No matter how  hard I tried, I could not understand what the teacher was saying.  Perhaps she wasn’t really speaking English?  No, she was born and raised in the good old USA, same as me.  And what were all those chicken scratches up there on the blackboard?

It didn’t help that this particular teacher had absolutely no patience for stupid students  (’nuff said).

My test score for the second quarter was 64.

This was a Regents course – the final grade at the end of the year would count toward my ability to qualify for college.  Did I mention that I had never, ever failed a test in my life?

My mother looked at the report card and asked what happened.  I told her I couldn’t understand the work but would try harder.  She let it slide because she knew I was a good student – and she knew I wasn’t being distracted by outside stuff like boyfriends (there were none, they weren’t interested in “good” girls), drugs (I didn’t even smoke cigarettes), or too much socializing (I had one friend, and she went to a different school).

In the Fog

By the time the third quarter testing rolled around, I was scared – and desperate.  Never in my life had I cheated on an exam, but I did this time.  The desks were close enough that I could see the answers being written by the boy sitting next to me – and I copied those answers.  Apparently, he was as clueless as I was.  I got a 63 on that test.

My mom was such a good woman, and had such faith in her children.  When I admitted my failure and asked for help, she drove me to the nearest bookstore to buy a Regents Algebra review book.  For the next few weeks, I immersed myself in that book – and I taught myself the entire course.  OMG, now it actually made sense!

For the final exam – the actual Regents exam, the one which counted toward college – I scored a 98!

The teacher was flabbergasted.  How could I go from a 63 to a 98 in just a few short weeks?  She accused me of cheating on the final exam.

Fortunately, when all was said and done, the school authorities accepted my tale of woe and how I had to teach algebra to myself because the teacher was incompetent.  They let the 98 stand.  For all I know, maybe I wasn’t the only good kid who failed with that teacher.

The next year was Trigonometry and Statistics, both of which I passed but neither of which I enjoyed – although the Statistics teacher did try to make Probabilities fun.

My final high school year, I had had enough.  I switched to business classes instead of college-entrance courses.  I did so well with the bookkeeping course that I went home and took over some of the bookkeeping for my father’s small home business.  As a plus, I discovered that the students in the business classes were so much more fun to be around than the brainiacs in the college courses.

The decision served me well.  I would have hated college even more than I hated high school, and the business courses got me a good start in life.

Math is a fact of life.  Perhaps whoever did this parking lot should have paid a little more attention in school (or had one less beer before drawing the lines):

Happy Friday, everyone.  Don’t let the numbers get you down.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Images by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

 

Posted in That's Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 34 Comments

Sunday in the [Frozen] Park

Posted on February 23, 2020 by cordeliasmom2012

How could I resist?

The temperature was in the 40s (F), and I was at the library anyway.  I figured the park pathways would be mostly clear, and heck, I don’t have a lot of “frozen” photos.  So, once again I strolled into Walton Woods Park.

There was some ice on the paths, but not enough to prevent people from walking.  And there were a lot of people – and dogs galore.  Despite the distractions, I managed to take a few photos.

No one was using any of the park benches.  I can’t imagine why:

There were footprints on the frozen pond, but no way was I venturing out there to photograph them.  I figured photos from shore would be sufficient, even without showing any footprints:

Even the streams were still frozen:

But not frozen enough to keep the deer from coming out:

“Hugs”

“Who Dat?”

Aren’t they precious?  After awhile, they got tired of posing, and the smaller one thought it would be delightful to  moon the human:

“Mooning the Human”

That’s probably the most pornographic photo you’ll ever find on this site.  Silly critter.

Hope your  Sunday was fun, too – and I sincerely hope our weather continues to warm so I can get out there and enjoy my hobby!

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
__________
Images by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

Posted in Photography, Road Trips & Cars, That's Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments