I bounce downstairs grab a the auger, gloves, and a plastic bag. Head back up to the problem. Gloves on I start unwinding the snake into the drain to the stoppage. I twist the cable to grab the clog. I wind the auger back up I remove the repugnant glob of hair, soap, and whatever else. Just to make sure it was clear, I push the cable down again.

Twisting the line I caught another little glob, then I push the cable just a little further. Trying to retrieve the line I realize it is stuck, I tug a little harder and it comes back up. The drain is clear. Brava, me!

So ablutions commenced, as I splashed water on my face, I suddenly noticed, my feet were wet. What the… I realized the drain was leaking, the bathroom floor was flooded. I had pushed the auger right through the corroded pipe. I quickly shut the water off, and began mopping up the mess. Next was to clear out all the stuff in the cabinet. What a fiasco!

So, my brilliant idea of snaking the drain, backfired. Not only did I get out much later than planned, now I had this major mess. I contacted the contractor and he is looking at today. It will be repaired tomorrow.

I am aware that this is not the biggest tragedy in the world, but such an annoyance on top of this sheltering in place. It is just one thing after the other these days. So much for DIY, plumbing edition!

Hmmm…. where to start? Let’s start with some positives. Gas prices are cheapest in a decade, My commute, fantastic! Once I make it through the traffic on the stairs, passing fluffy, fluffy, and fluffy, I make it to my laptop in about 10 minutes with a coffee stop (the kitchen.)

Then it’s breakfast on the couch as the laptop hums and programs pop-up one by one. Cats circle around looking for kitty cookies, a.k.a. Temptations Cat Treats. This is the only purpose I serve to them, that and litter box detail, then they’re back to the big bed.

Flipping on the Today Show, hoping to hear something positive. Trying to start the day without the gnawing feeling of the unknown/what’s next, how many died yesterday. Awaiting daily updates from Governor Cuomo. Nice to see a leader with dignity for a change.

Having the headset for the office phone to check messages, relaying them to everyone. Monitoring inboxes for the office and myself. Touch base with all the staff, attempting to get the office work done. Whilst the fluffys return for round two of cookies, walking across keyboards, tangling charger cords, flipping electronics across the room with me tethered by the headset. Even with the share drive available, getting the work done on a laptop, which I do not care for, is a tedious grind. No one to commiserate with about working conditions. This place needs a break room.

I am in awe of the people on the front lines, and very grateful for them all. Thank God, grocery stores and wine shops are essential! Spend my nights working on this blog, watching vintage television shows, and catching up with old friends. I have always spent a lot of time alone, but being made to stay in is a different thing all together. Right now I am ambivalent about the lock-down. I understand it is what is needed, and just like any other unpleasant task, I slog through, and just do it!

And finally, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE ON THE FRONT LINES, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

La La La Human Steps created by Édouard Lock was a Montreal based dance troupe which began in the 1980s and disbanded in 2015. I had no idea what to expect from the piece. All I can say is that I was blown away by the skill of these master dancers. The strength each performer exhibited was beyond any that I have ever seen. To me it was like comparing Ringling Bros. Circus to Cirque du Soleil both good, but very very different.

The film opens with Amelia, demonstrating her strength standing perfectly still on pointe, slowly stretching waking up her limbs. She begins running straight at the camera, almost as if greeting you to the experience. Beautiful people moving robotically in perfect synchronization flawlessly executing complex and intricate dance steps at blinding speeds. Female dancers standing on pointe in stick like fashion holding the pose for what seemed an eternity. The men all strikingly handsome, well-coiffed, manicured, and incredibly strong. Lifting and swinging females overhead, and low to the ground and then sweeping them back up again in one fluid motion.

Each scene change was abrupt and stark. Spotlights focused on the dancers as they move in staccato at mechanically swift speeds. At times is appears like the film is put into fast forward, but it is the music that speeds up, dancers draw on their skills to keep pace. With each scene comes a different tempo, lighting silhouetting dancers as they pirouette across the stark bamboo floors and walls, circles of light bouncing around the room as if part of the ensemble. Disorienting the viewer as strobe lights flash in front of and behind dancers, music speeding up, and the movements whirl around the stage. Overhead Shots from the ceiling then cut to close up of dancer’s face then cut away to close ups of dancers commingled forms. The camera pans up and down their bodies as they intertwine and zip across the floor.

Not sure the review does justice to the art of this piece or not. I was drawn into this film, mesmerized by the skill of these dancers and the elegance of their movements. The film pulls you in, you cannot look away. Viewers are left spellbound by its execution and presentation. In the end, my mind was spinning at the fantastic performances.

This is crazy. Working from home is flat-out weird. Trying to maintain the normal schedule is very challenging. Many distractions, especially the Governor Cuomo daily updates on New York State. It is scary and surreal. It makes is difficult to concentrate on forms for the a summer program, when they keep saying that social distancing is going to continue for several months. It seems futile to continue completing applications.

The other distractions around the house include the four legged roommates, the cats. Tucker likes to walk across the keyboard of the laptop. This is strange, because this behavior only just started since telecommuting. So, that distraction was not enough for him, he decided it was time to develop a urinary tract infection (UTI) . So going to the vet is stressful enough for these furballs, but this was a whole new magilla. Not being allowed into the animal hospital, and dropping Tuck in his crate in the middle of the parking lot was excruciating. I never leave them at the vets by themselves. He was taken into the hospital by a stranger. He had to be so frightened. An hour and $500 later, the stranger brought him back outside. My poor little guy.

So, I get him home, set up to get back to work. The other two, Sophie and Luciana chime in on the Tucker sitch. They do not care for his new fragrance, eau de veterinary hospital. So not only is he sick, he comes home to the cacophony of hissing, growling, spitting, screaming, and chasing. Three days later, he seems to be feeling better, but the females are still hissing and spitting at him. Freaking females!

So trying to focus on work has been a challenge. Keeping in touch with office staff, and act as if things will be back to normal soon, also seems futile. Anyway, inside until further notice. Hope we all stay safe and keep well.

So, my father and the generations before him were produce farmers on Long Island. This Day Light Saving Time thing, worked out pretty well in the days before automation, and robotic tractors. The human element was not quite at that speed, so longer days were beneficial. But, why are we still using this system?

It begins tonight, and I am dreading it. After working in the museum shop during the day, catering until midnight, and I am due back at the shop at 9:30 A.M. Forfeiting and hour tomorrow is going to suck!!! I really need to look at my calendar before committing. But, I will be happy when the checks come in, so it’s all good.

Oh well, I will sleep in next Saturday, with no alarms. Can’t wait!

For nearly 90 years Helen Rita fought the good fight. Born in 1929, only months before the start of the Great Depression, Helen was the youngest of eight. Born to Bridget and William Deasy, a head housekeeper and the estate keeper for a wealthy family on the Gold Coast of Long Island. Growing up on the estate overlooking the Long Island Sound, she was instilled with a love of nature and sport.

Mom was a tomboy. Palling around with my uncle, Sonny, climbing trees, hiking the dunes, swimming, playing baseball and football, and learning to show jump. She became a cheerleader, which until the 1940s was a male sport. As a member of the Greatest Generation, she did her part. This would all come to an abrupt stop in 1945. Coming home from school with a cold, she was rushed to the polio treatment center in Port Jefferson, St. Charles Hospital. Within days of the diagnosis, Mom was paralyzed from her face down. For nearly 14 months Helen, fought her way back to health. Only discharged when she was able to touch her nose to her knees.

Post recovery Helen became an X-Ray technician. While watching Sonny play baseball she met her husband, Robert J. Iberger, and they began their life together. They raised a family of 4 children, sent them all to parochial school, and started a successful business. She was the favorite aunt to more than 50 nieces and nephews. She bred German Shepard puppies, and landscaped 2 wooded acres into beautiful gardens. Carving little vignettes through the woods, planting shrubs, ornamental plants, and flowers chosen to draw in songbirds and butterflies. She created wildlife sanctuaries thoughtfully placing water features for birds, squirrels, chipmunks, deer, bees, and butterflies.

Always ahead of her time, she was an animal rights activist from a very young age. Raising her children to respect, support, and love animals. While we always had two German Shepherds and two cats, we also had a flock of chickens, a peacock, rabbits, a pair of mallards, a Koi fish pond, a racoon, a parrot, parakeets, hamsters, guinea pigs, snakes, and an aquarium filled with tropical fish.

She taught us kindness, integrity, fortitude, and that our actions mattered. She taught us to be strong and always do the right thing, even if it hurts. She never complained about her troubles, she just did what needed to be done. She lived by the Golden Rule.

Time marches on, and unfortunately polio was not Mom’s only health challenge, over the next 6 decades she survived: Miscarriage, birthing 4 children, postpartum hemorrhaging, double collapsed lungs, bee venom anaphylaxis, a ruptured appendix, caring for her dying husband and his death, a ruptured peritoneum which resulted in severe malnutrition and depression, the death of child, chemo and radiation therapies, 3 years with stage 4 lung cancer, and the final blow, a right-sided stroke losing her ability to walk and speak.

She was living independently, driving only 3 days before the stroke. For 3 months she endured the physical therapy, pureed nursing home food, and 3 kids hovering over her, fighting like hell to get back home. She began to make progress, but the cancer took over. My mom, Helen Rita Deasy Iberger, was unbelievably strong both physically and mentally. She lost her last battle in July of 2019. The end was cruel and unfair to someone who played by the rules, who worked hard to be strong and lead by example. My mom was amazing!

With the current climate, and general hysteria regarding the Corona virus it is amazing how quickly people forget the history of diseases throughout mankind. It was essential in order for man to survive, we needed to evolve our immune systems. Whether it was the 1800s Small Pox, the 1920s Influenza, the 1970s Swine Flu, 1980s HIV/AIDS, and more recently SARS, MRSA or Ebola from the 2000s. Epidemics and pandemics have been around since the existence of international commerce. Our survival has depended upon the body’s ability to fight disease.

Interestingly, the first deaths from Bubonic Plague were recorded in China… sound familiar? The virus spread via the trade routes on fleas piggybacking on rats through Western Asia, Northern Europe, and finally throughout Europe. Twenty-five million people died from the Black Death between the 1300s and 1600s. That number seems astonishing today in a world of perpetual medical breakthroughs. Surviving the Plague meant our immune systems were now stronger and thereby, our bodies more resilient to disease. We would survive as a species.

In the twentieth century, scientists took that same virus and tweaked a strain for the purposes of cosmetic and medical procedures. The medical community has been using this strain for Botox for several decades to rid facial wrinkles and preventing facial expressions by paralyzing muscles. More recently, migraine suffers have benefited from the same strain, more uses are being researched every day. Only fifty years ago, this would have seemed insane. There have been 2 recorded deaths from Bubonic Plague as a side effect from Botox. https://www.ehealthme.com/ds/botox/plague/

So my question is this, is Corona Virus, the next plague? And if it is, could it be another medical miracle down the road?

Well, it is a new decade. Woohoo, the 20’s!

While still reeling from the previous 10 years, my mindset was not first and foremost on getting back into the workforce. A rather an expensive decision to delay my return, pushed me into the current ‘gig economy.’

Who knew that one full-time job with benefits would not be sufficient to live on? Despite the frugality of keeping the same vehicle for 15 years (Volvo for Life!), little or no travel, and even with no rent, more income was needed to maintain a certain lifestyle. During the previous decade bills racked up, interest soared! So, the 2010’s were literally spent paying back the previous decade’s hard choices.

For the past 8 years, I have been juggling 3 jobs. One full-time and 2 part-time jobs. I am administrative assistant, a museum shop clerk, and a personal chef. There are times when I will work as many as 9 weeks straight. It is stressful, it is exhausting, but it is necessary. I took the first part-time position offered. I worked for the U.S. Census Bureau, pet sat, house sat, and even tutored. After taking nearly 5 years to find a full-time position, I have been reluctant to surrender my two main side hustles. Hey, you never know. So, living in a gig economy, the 2020’s another roaring decade!

If you are interested in more information, the link below defines the current gig market, and describes California’s new law protecting ‘gig’ type of employees.

https://zety.com/blog/gig-economy-statistics