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Quarantine Tuesday Reading Kaffeeklatsch: 3/16/2021
Ah yes, a corned beef on rye-we have a deli here in town that makes a gigantic one-may go get one to munch on while I volunteer at the library today!GOOD NEWS: I finally secured an appointment for the vaccine. I have to travel about an hour away, but I would have gone further if necessary. Saturday at noon I get my Fauci ouchie and the relief I feel is fantastic!
My favorite is always light amount of turkey on light rye, with a little lettuce and a little thousand island.... and of course, a potato knish and Dr. Brown's Cream soda or Black Cherry. I also like a little egg salad on wheat, and whitefish salad on holidays...
So happy for you Joanne! I really feel the shift starting to happen these days. its coming around for everyone!
My daughter is able to go off weekly chemo for a while, which means she can get the vaccine any time. People with medical issues are eligible now in her state so she has signed up but hasn't yet gotten an appointment. I should be getting my 2nd round next week. Several medical experts are saying that the government guidelines are too cautious. Hopefully we will soon get confirmation that risk of passing on the virus from a vaccinated person is extremely low.
NY Times today has an article on how easily the virus can spread in a closed setting like a classroom, and how much help it is to have open windows. Well, that is great if you live in a warm climate, but in Wisconsin, Mass., etc., it's unrealistic for most of the year. And the schools with the least money often have the worst ventilation. Years ago when I was teaching, the building had been built in the 1970's with no windows in any of the classrooms!
A friend's son attends Hunter Elementary, NYC premier public school where kids learn to play chess starting in first grade and graduates include people like Lin Manuel-Miranda. It is a tough school to get into. It is in an old armory building meaning no windows. They are still mostly still zoom learning.
@Robin--that's wonderful for your daughter!@Joanne--congrats on landing an appt!
I am going to teach my first piano lesson on Zoom tomorrow as a make up lesson, but given how our house is set up, I won't be beside one of the pianos. However, he's 16, so we can make it work this time.
I have no idea how anyone can teach young beginners piano well via Zoom, because in all of my years of teaching I don't know how many young children, plus in all of the pedagogy training I've had, kids need physical reminders of things (such as holding something under their arms to help them know when they drop them, or putting a book over their hands so they read the music not watch their hands, etc, etc--no rapping on knuckles!!!)
Plus you can't give them stickers, and most young kids are tactile and want to handle them.
All of my friends and colleagues who are still teaching have been teaching on Zoom for the most part, but I haven't asked how many of them have taken on young beginners.
@ Joanne - Yay!!! We did the same for my mom, we drove an hour. I told her I would drive up to three if it meant getting her vaccinated. She got her 2nd shot last week. The place we went was a mass site at an airport and they told us they get more vaccines than anyone in the area so it's the place to go when my time comes. @Robin Yay!
I keep stalking the site to see when it might be my phase. Fortunately/unfortunately? I don't have enough pre-existing or underlying to qualify and they are moving slow here. All my friends in FL are getting vaccinated now.
It's frustrating because it's easy to find appts now. So open it up more! Allow more people to get vaccinated!! Let's move on to the next phase!!
All here who live in New York State - as of today all can get vaccines. The state continues to open mass vaccination sites across the state. So get online and keep checking for appointments - there are more and more opening up everyday. If you are over 60, drugstore chains are providing vaccinations. @Robin - that is such great news about your daughter! Just think, once you are all vaccinated you can see each other in person again.
@Charlotte - so happy about your mom! Keeping my fingers crossed that you get yours soon too. I know I was willing to pay for expensive taxis to go wherever I needed to go. Ended up being walking distance...but I could easily have needed to go to another borough!
I want to add my cheers for those of you and your families who have been able to get vaccines/appointments. I was fortunate to get mine just five minutes from home, but my husband traveled over an hour to get his.Here in my state, getting an appointment has taken persistence. The web sites are anything but user friendly. There are two semi-local women who are being called the "vaccine queens". They have been helping numerous people with finding/getting appointments. (They have helped about 700 people already.) Blessings on them.
Robin P wrote: "My daughter is able to go off weekly chemo for a while, which means she can get the vaccine any time. People with medical issues are eligible now in her state so she has signed up but hasn't yet go..."That's great news for your daughter, Robin!
Charlotte wrote: "I keep stalking the site to see when it might be my phase. Fortunately/unfortunately? I don't have enough pre-existing or underlying to qualify and they are moving slow here. ..."I'm with you on that, Charlotte. They say everyone in Canada who wants one should be vaccinated by the end of June, but I still feel like that's optimistic. Even if not, I'm sure I'll be in the last group of "leftovers" who didn't really fit any of the categories! LOL!
Congrats on the vaccine appt, Joanne! Good news for your daughter Robin :-)Mine is tomorrow (Friday) afternoon. I'm actually a wee bit nervous because I usually have a localized (allergic?) reaction to the flu shot that lasts about a week and am hoping that won't happen with this shot. For that reason - and that the flu shot is only about 35% effective - I have stopped getting the flu shot. But the COVID vaccine is too important. My mother has tried hard to get me not to take the shot - or at least wait until a non-RNA vaccine is available (apparently the Russians are working on one). But I have multiple friends who are still dealing with the after affects of COVID and may for the rest of their life. I'm getting the Pfizer vaccine.
Karin, How did the Zoom piano lesson go? I've been doing workouts with my trainer by Zoom. It's OK, but would be much better in person. Am hoping that weather will be warm enough starting next week that we can go back to outdoor training sessions.
Doughgirl5562 wrote: "Congrats on the vaccine appt, Joanne! Good news for your daughter Robin :-)Mine is tomorrow (Friday) afternoon. I'm actually a wee bit nervous because I usually have a localized (allergic?) react..."
I will be getting Pfizer too D Girl-we can compare notes ;) after shot 2
Doughgirl5562 wrote: "Karin, How did the Zoom piano lesson go? I've been doing workouts with my trainer by Zoom. It's OK, but would be much better in person. Am hoping that weather will be warm enough starting next we..."
Not well, although apparently my student was quite positive about it. The laptop he was using had a poor mic, sounds were cut off, "Original Sound" made it worse (when I take voice lessons I have to turn that on), etc and there was a lot of static.
That said, it was to make up for one he missed, so it was better than nothing.
Lynn - my sister the health care worker had Pfizer with minimum reaction and we all tend to bad reactions with any shot. I had Moderna with a reaction but much less than I have ever before. I do not get flu shots for 2 reasons: I have terrible reactions, and I rarely catch the flu and when I have, less sick than shot reaction.
Just had my second dose of Moderna. Sure feels good !
I should thank my American friends. The US is allowing us to borrow 1.some million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. It's not yet approved in the US, but it is here. Initially, they recommended under 65 for that one, but they've opened it up a bit more due to real-world accounts vs the trials that said it wasn't as effective on older age groups.Anyway, I think I initially said they say in Canada, we should all have at least our first shot by the end of June. I was slightly mistaken. That's what they are saying here in Alberta, but Canada-wide, they are saying by the end of September.
I likely have a while to wait. I'm ok with that, though. I want to continue to work from home as long as I can. :-)
Booknblues wrote: "Just had my second dose of Moderna. Sure feels good !"I got the confirmation today of my 2nd Moderna next week.
I have been doing Jazzercise (exercise class to music) on Zoom for a year. It's better than nothing but basically we can only see the instructor and she can't see any of us. I know I don't work as hard as I would in person. We are planning to have an outdoor class this Saturday with multiple instructors and I am excited to be there.
Theresa wrote: "Lynn - my sister the health care worker had Pfizer with minimum reaction and we all tend to bad reactions with any shot. I had Moderna with a reaction but much less than I have ever before. I do no..."Thanks. That makes me feel less anxious.
So Pfizer and Moderna created they’re almost identical technology is obviously in parallel but without communicating or collaborating with one another, Because obviously each was in a race to get there first with efficacy. So what we see is that Pfizer has 30 million of the mRNA, and Moderna has 100 million of the mRNA. And yet both of their efficacies are the same. This is why my daughter is having such a much tougher reaction than the Pfizer. Obviously, Moderna has realized that they could make this vaccine with a lot less of of what needs to go into it with the same efficacy. But they don’t have the time to do the trials. So what this means is that in later versions they will probably have trials with less Of it, to mitigate the side effects. But in the meantime, the Pfizer people are better off. So I wouldn’t worry Lynne or Joanne. And Lynn, think about how much fun we’re gonna have because I’m already 7% into drums of autumn! You my friend are going on more cruises! Be well everyone.
This is for all you just getting the shot: a little Dolly Parton to cheer you on and give you wardrobe tips on best vaccine fashion.https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OjbSWeb...
P.S. the shot itself will be given far faster to each of you than here.
PPS I may have posted this before but it is just too good to not post again.
Many pharmacies in my area (upstate new york state) received more vaccines than anticipated recently - and many people are not responding when called, or they're NOT SHOWING UP for appointments, because they were on many waiting lists. So consider calling your own pharmacy to see if that's the case for them. Or show up at a pharmacy mid afternoon to see how their schedule looks.I have an appointment next Wednesday but when my husband picked up our prescriptions Tuesday they said we could come in sooner if we wanted to. I imagine they'll have more people now that they lowered the minimum age. Those of us in the 60-64 age range only had one week where we had an advantage.
@Theresa, I loved the video and have just posted it to my own FB page.When I worked at the hospital, there were many times that staff would do creative things like this. One example is a pediatric neurosurgeon who would periodically impersonate Elvis and make a dramatic, fun appearance.
Almost everyone I know has gotten Pfizer, including my mom. My mom had no issues. Both her and my BFF were a bit more fatigued after the 2nd one. I do have a friend's husband who had a reaction but it was mild and he is fine. I do worry about my husband because his immune system reacts with hives whenever his body receives trauma. He even gets hives when he gets tattoos! He just goes to the walk in clinic the day after the tattoo and gets a steroid shot and anti-histamine prescription and he's fine.
Thanks for posting, Theresa. Loved it.Reminds me of the many creative "pink glove dance" videos supporting Breast Cancer awareness.
THIS is my favorite one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOJxX...
Theresa wrote: "What we gave all been waiting for:https://www.sacbee.com/news/californi..."
Yess! I have already forwarded the link to several people. They did a really good job of adapting the lyrics!
Theresa wrote: "What we gave all been waiting for:https://www.sacbee.com/news/californi..."
Thanks so much, Theresa! I don't know how I missed this until now as it is was in the Sacramento Bee which we have subscribed to for years and now have an online subscription.
These doctors are mostly from Vacaville and Davis local towns and some of it was filmed at UCDavis, hubbies home town and where we lived until mid 1990's.
It was really so well done.
Charlotte wrote: "Almost everyone I know has gotten Pfizer, including my mom. My mom had no issues. Both her and my BFF were a bit more fatigued after the 2nd one. I do have a friend's husband who had a reaction but..."Charlotte - suggest he take an over the counter antihistamene before getting the shot. A doctor suggested it to me and it may have helped reduce my reaction. I have never had such a - for me - mild and short reaction to any shot.
Can't hurt. I use them for sinus allergies any way.
Loved the video! My phone just kills me! I never make any sense. And I’m actually quite the articulate lady.
Amy wrote: "Loved the video! My phone just kills me! I never make any sense. And I’m actually quite the articulate lady."
I think your phone means to be kind to you. Look it even gives you additional children?
I'm happy. I just got a vaccine appointment for me scheduled through my work. My fiance becomes eligible here next week and I'll be looking everywhere to get him vaccinated. His daughter is eligible in April. Once we all have been vaccinated I'll breathe a huge sigh of relief. I have no idea which vaccine I'll be receiving but any of them is better than nothing to me.
I have GREAT NEWS!I think I've mentioned that since April 2019, one of my clients, a condominium in Brooklyn, had a devastating fire leaving 54 unit owners dealing with decisions and provisions in the Condo Act and their by-laws that no one has ever had to use before -- specifically, determining if they want to restore the building (they voted not to do so). This is for a lawyer like being counsel on an airline crash case - complicated and all consuming which explains in part my insance workload pre-pandemic and since. One aspect is that 17 of the 54 units were occupied by rent regulated tenants -- owned by an investor entity who purchased those units from the sponsor in 2013 (buildng converted to condominium in 2009 - under what in NY is called a non-eviction plan - existing tenants could stay under their rent regulated leases (meaning limited ability of landlord to increase rent or evict you) if they chose not to purchase the unit.
What did that mean and what is the good news? the rent regulated tenants sued the condo and their landlord claiming the building had to be rebuilt and the condo obligated to do so. We just got a court decision that dismisses the tenants case completely against my client the condo! This is a big deal as this is the first time such a case involving a condominium has been before the courts.
I am general counsel to the condo. I had litigation counsel hired - someone I recommended was chosen. I worked closely on it and my argument from the beginning - that the tenants had no privity of contract with the Condo only their landlord - was the one that won the case!
This is such a bit of good news on a Friday! And a big deal as a case of first impression decision, having serious influence in future.
Theresa wrote: "I have GREAT NEWS!I think I've mentioned that since April 2019, one of my clients, a condominium in Brooklyn, had a devastating fire leaving 54 unit owners dealing with decisions and provisions i..."
Yay for you and your client! That was a big case. As a condominium underwriter, I know exactly the clauses that you are talking I have only heard of one other instance where the unit owner decided not to rebuild - and that was because it was in a flood zone and kept getting flooded. And in NY the condos - especially condo conversions from apartments - are frequently complicated by rent control. Part of what makes my job interesting :-)
Doughgirl5562 wrote: "Theresa wrote: "I have GREAT NEWS!I think I've mentioned that since April 2019, one of my clients, a condominium in Brooklyn, had a devastating fire leaving 54 unit owners dealing with decisions ..."
Girlfriend - we could talk on this for HOURS! We have a partition suit pending in NY Supreme Court Kings County that also just had a partially favorable decision - it's not yet the order to sell but the step before appointing a referree.
Lynn - if you would like copies of these decisions, pm me your email and I'll send. I'm also happy to get on the phone to chat -- part of what is so unique here is that the entire condominium building was destroyed - every unit -- not just one or two units in the building. First time anyone has seen this type of case in New York State, and we haven't exactly found one anywhere else that is the entire condominium.
These first impression cases are what make being a lawyer exciting.
Theresa wrote: "I have GREAT NEWS!I think I've mentioned that since April 2019, one of my clients, a condominium in Brooklyn, had a devastating fire leaving 54 unit owners dealing with decisions and provisions i..."
This sounds great for the association but what happens to the people who had the rent-regulated leases? I can't imagine there are many other places in NYC they could afford. Or have they already found new homes?
Seems like this is a real feather in your cap to add to your resumé. Or maybe you could publish something about it?
Robin P wrote: "Theresa wrote: "I have GREAT NEWS!I think I've mentioned that since April 2019, one of my clients, a condominium in Brooklyn, had a devastating fire leaving 54 unit owners dealing with decisions ..."
Rent regulated tenants have been all relocated to new rent regulated apartments if they wanted. Maybe not quite as low a rent but still far far far below market. There are numerous agencies that assisted them immediately after the fire to find housing. None of them had renters insurance on their possessions which are not the landlords or condo's responsibility.
Owners meanwhile have lost all equity, are still paying mortgages and real estate taxes on destroyed units (the entire top floor and half the floor below are completely gone except for exterior walls), as well as market rent on new apartments. They also had zero help from any state or city or federal agencies immediately after the fire, being told that as owners they were not entitled to such help, only the rent regulated tenants were. All who had insurance are still fighting with insurance companies 2 years later for payment. When building ultimately sold, they will recoup some money but it goes to pay the mortgage. I did get the Real estate taxes reduced to land value only mostly but it took 1.5 years. Many owners are on brink of bankruptcy. They too lost everything they owned.
I don't have a lot of sympathy for rent regulated tenants here - sorry if that seems cold hearted but everyone lost here and owners lost multiple times more. Including the owner of those rent regulated apartments. This was a lower middle class building even working class building where 90% of the non-investor owners lost life savings in these apartments they bought and have jobs in restaurants and nail salons and social work. At least half the owners are asian immigrants.
BTW I was a rent regulated tenant for over 25 years -- not so long ago. Even when I was benefiting from the system, I realized how unjust and inequitable it was and still is.
This sounds like a very complicated and time-consuming case for you and everyone involved. All of your hard work has come to fruition. I am so glad for you, Theresa. Will you have a bit of bubbly tonight?
Holly R W wrote: "This sounds like a very complicated and time-consuming case for you and everyone involved. All of your hard work has come to fruition. I am so glad for you, Theresa. Will you have a bit of bubbly t..."I closed down work earky and took a nap. 🤣 Bubbly is saved for when we get the order of partition for a private sale. Then it will be all downhill. I see another year of heavy work.
Way to go, Theresa! A nap sounds like the perfect restorative treat to celebrate this victory.
First Fauci Ouchie in the arm and I feel so much relief!I was mistaken, the clinic I attended had the Morderna-no matter, on my way to some type of normalcy-# 2 comes April 17th.
I was so impressed with the efficiency and organization. My appt. was at 12:15, and including the 15 minute wait period, I was done and done at 12:45! When your turn comes, don't be intimidated by the line. I had at least 50 people ahead of me.
Congratulations, Joanne. What a relief for you!
Am happy to hear that my parents will be getting their (first) shots next weekend! Mom thinks it will be 4 months before the next one. (Which is what many provinces have started doing... I don't like it, but they want to make sure every gets their first shot sooner.)
LibraryCin wrote: "Am happy to hear that my parents will be getting their (first) shots next weekend! Mom thinks it will be 4 months before the next one. (Which is what many provinces have started doing... I don't ..."
That's great Cindy! And I think that - at least in the US - vaccine production is really being ramped up. Maybe it's the same everywhere and it will end up being less than four months. In the meantime they will have some protection from the first shot.
This week marks a year since NY went on full quarantine. I am still astounded at how my city of millions just packed, went home, and stayed. I can't believe it has been a year.
Leaving that behind... Happy St. Patrick's Day! I am wearing green tomorrow, maybe even my Kinsley Family tee-shirt from one of the reunions (Mom's side of the family). Might even remember to wear my green shamrock earrings! Oh, actually I have some gold ones bought in Ireland. I have to dress tastefully as I have 2 zoom meetings involving court cases.
Now if only I had time to go to Ben's Kosher Deli Restaurant to get a corned beef on rye with mustard...