#and at that point all I’ve done is force an employee to Collect My Cart Immediately as opposed to the next time someone does a lot sweep

[bsotted]

I have a lukewarm take I’m walking to the microwave to see what happens pls weigh in

When will it be appropriate to suggest we have to pick a new litmus test for basic human decency because I don’t know if putting away the grocery cart you’re done with it should be it anymore..

WAIT DONT GO YET PLWASE HEAR ME OUT PLEASE I PUT AWAY MY CART I DO!!

IM JUST ASKING ONLY ASKING

Because the new grocery carts have an anti-theft feature on them to try to make it harder to steal them and at a seemingly arbitrary point in the parking lot the wheels literally lock… is it just because I live in Seattle now and the housing crisis is just that out of control here compared to other cities?

I want to know because christ alive grocery stores are starting to make it hard as fuck to keep up the universal I’m Not An Asshole baseline behavior.

Also what’s the intention? For stores that have these, are we literally supposed to just leave the cart next to the car, taking up a whole parking space after you drive off, until some underpaid 16 year old in a hi-vis vest in the rain has time to come by with a key to unlock the wheels?? Is that the new normal?

Because if it is god damn we need a new litmus test for “are you the kind of person who does the right thing even if nobody is watching, even if inconvenient, even for no recognition or reward, and also in the absence of any negative consequence” because it was so USEFUL for that and putting the cart away is dead and dying. Ol girl is bleeding out in the Kroger parking lot. Literally.

A ywy is this just something I’m confronting constantly because I live in a city with a wildly disproportionate unhoused population?

By the way please feel free to use that ���other” option to cast a “Sometimes” or “none of the above” or “misc nuance” vote and expand on that in the notes I am invested in this conversation and will be circling back to read what ppl say

[hybridequalist]

VenomXReader Fanfic

So it’s been a hot minute since I wrote any fanfic and I’ve been geeking out about the Venom movie for a few months, so I figured I’d throw my hat into the ring for the fun of it. 

Please note that this is only part 1 of this idea, I just needed to get this out. This is a female reader character who is selectively mute.

This story was inspired by @snarky-badger and their lovely collection of reader inserts, particularly the ones with mutant/powered reader characters.

AO3 Link Here!

Being a mind-reader was like living in hell most of the time. Every day, the secrets of every passerby was bared to you, coming in all shades of ugliness. If you were lucky, the most dishonest thing someone had done was tell a white lie to their mom about how well they were doing. More often than not, you were overwhelmed with the personal garbage of everyone on the trolley. It was impossible to entirely tune out, like hundreds of people shouting all at once, unaware that someone was able to hear them. Nighttime was much better, far fewer mental voices though they tended to be more unpleasant to hear if you encountered them.

    Still, the worst part of being a mind-reader was knowing exactly what everyone thought of you at any given moment. Compliments were few and far between, especially once whoever you encountered realized that you were selectively mute. Sometimes you encountered people who pushed their initial reactionary thoughts aside and tried to keep see you positively, but they were rare gems. More often, you sensed some kind of disgust and a few times even malicious intent. It was incredibly difficult to make friends when you knew exactly what each person wanted from you.

    At least your gift was able to help a few people: you worked as a nighttime janitor for a hospital and were able to sense which patients were the most lonely and in need of a kind gesture. You always made sure to leave them a gift or to nudge their minds into calling a friend or family member. It wasn’t much, but feeling someone’s mood shift into happiness was enough to keep you going.

    It was thanks to that very job that you had met the Demon of San Francisco.

    It was your typical shift, replacing the garbage liners and mopping the hall floors while discreetly visiting those you felt needed it. While you were passing by one of the rooms, you sensed an extra person inside it, someone who didn’t belong. No...two people? One of the minds didn’t feel...right--hostile and primal in a way you had never encountered.

You hesitated, uncertain if you should go in or not. The patient, however, was in distress, mentally pleading for someone to intervene. Plucking up your courage, you softly knocked and entered the room.

The sight you were met with surprised you: the patient was shifting nervously in their bed and across from them was a man in a leather jacket with heavy bags under his steely eyes. No sign of the third mental presence you felt. It seemed to be...attached to the stranger somehow?

Suddenly realizing that you were being stared at, you felt your throat close up and you fumbled in your pockets for the notecards you kept on hand for situations like this. Rummaging through them, you pulled one out and flipped it around. The stranger stepped forward to read it aloud.

“‘Is everything okay?’ Um, yeah, we’re fine,” he said, confusion coloring his mind and tone.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER, EDDIE?”

The mental voice cut through the room and you reflexively flinched. It was so loud, aggressive and distinctly masculine. But despite being its own voice, it seemed amplified by the mind of the stranger. Who was this man?

“Oh no, she can’t help.”

The patient’s thought interrupted your alarm. Pulling yourself back into reality, you extended the notecard towards them and nodded, trying to seem encouraging and not as shaken as you really felt. The patient glanced at the stranger and you rummaged for a different card, holding it up to ask “what is going on?”

“This gentleman was interviewing me about my...accident,” the patient replied slowly. “He believes...there could be a connection to something criminal.”

You didn’t have a card to express your next question, so you pointed at the stranger and then gestured to the door. After repeating the motion a few times, the patient understood.

“No,” they said, shaking their head. “No, I don’t need him to leave. I just…”

“Would you feel more comfortable if she stayed?” the stranger inquired, stepping towards the patient. Upon getting a nervous nod in return, the leather-clad man turned to you, extending his hand. “Eddie Brock, reporter.”

You pointed to your nametag before taking a seat next to the patient and listening in to the rest of the interview. As the conversation progressed, you made certain to hold the patient’s hand or rub their shoulder soothingly to help keep them calm. You tried to block out the strange mental voices of Eddie Brock and whoever else seemed to be speaking in his head, but the loud second voice was distracting. Even stranger, it seemed to be speaking directly to Eddie and he was responding to it, though not with worded thoughts.

When Eddie had finished his interview and shook both yours and the patients’ hands, he left without another word. You made sure the patient was settled back in and comfortable before leaving yourself and returning to your janitor cart. To your surprise, Eddie was standing next to it, very obviously waiting for you.

“Hey,” he greeted you. You were frozen in place, unsure what he was doing.

“WHY ARE WE STILL HERE?” the mysterious loud voice complained. “I’M HUNGRY.”

“I just wanted to say thanks for helping out back in there,” Eddie continued, ignoring the strange comment you know he must have somehow heard. “I really needed this interview to wrap up a pretty complicated case.”

“YOU SAID THANKS, NOW CAN WE GO?”

“So...yeah. Thanks again. Hope you have a good night.”

With that, he turned to leave and you stepped up to your cart. As you returned to work, you caught another thought from Eddie and his...friend?

“Well that wasn’t an incredibly awkward goodbye.”

“WE’RE ALWAYS AWKWARD WHEN IT’S YOU TALKING.”

You had initially brushed off the encounter with Eddie Brock as a one-off event. While it was an odd experience, it wasn’t the first time you’d met a mutant--if that’s what he was--and ultimately wouldn’t be something that would happen again.

Except it did. Sort of.

You had been at the store, waiting in line to check out and eager to get home when a rowdy group of gang members came in and started harassing both employees and customers. It had suddenly escalated when one bold cashier had asked them to leave and a man with at least ten piercings had pulled a gun out. The store almost immediately went into a panic and you found yourself knocked to the floor in the stampede. You barely managed to haul yourself behind a snack rack before the gunfire flew wildly through the air. You were paralyzed, unable to scream or do anything to release some of the terror holding you bound. The fear of everyone in the store rebounded in your head, clouding your brain in a haze of collective emotion.

And then you felt him. Them.

The mental voice was a primal roar, echoed by the same outward sound that interrupted the gang’s wild shooting for a moment.

You couldn't see any of the action, but you didn't need to: the minds of the gang members supplied more than enough. You could feel their horror and revulsion, catch flashes of the unnaturally huge, black creature with too many teeth...and feel the sudden silence as minds were torn from consciousness into nothing.

The shooting stopped, but there was still a single gang member left. You were unable to pull your mental focus from the panic and the visual of the black monster stalking forward, reaching out a clawed hand. The moment of their death was awful, the sounds and pain so clear and so suddenly cut off that you retched, unable to hold back being sick any longer.

You distantly heard sirens approaching, thoroughly detached from the feelings of relief everyone else shared. You couldn’t get the sensation of being eaten out of your head, the noises and sudden silencing of thoughts.

And then you heard it.

“THIS IS THE ONE FROM THE HOSPITAL. I TOLD YOU I SMELLED SOMEONE FAMILIAR.”

The snarling, primal thoughts dragged you into the present, your eyes locking onto a familiar face--Eddie Brock, the reporter. You instinctively jolted back, unable to make a peep in your panic.

“Hey, hey, you’re okay,” Eddie rushed to say, trying to sound soothing but his flustered thoughts betraying him. “The police are here and the gang is gone.”

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER, EDDIE?”

You recoiled and curled into the fetal position. Eddie was the thing that had killed those people. And yet he was trying to pretend that he hadn’t just eaten someone. You had to communicate, but your voice was useless. You had only one option.

Psychically speaking with words to was harder than communicating with emotions or offering mental suggestions, but you were desperate to get the monster away from you. Mustering your strength, you lashed out with all the mental will you could muster.

“Get away from me!”

Eddie flinched at the force and the second voice went silent. And then a sensation you could only describe as a vicious, toothy grin came from the strange, loud mind.

“YOU CAN HEAR ME, CAN’T YOU LITTLE MORSEL?”

Nope. Too much.

The world slanted violently and then everything went blank.

[bifrostbookreviews]

How to Read 200 Books in 1 Year

Trust me, I’m a Professional

Note: this picture does not include every book I read, it’s just how many bookmarks I filled up in 2018.

Post below the Cut for Brevity:

So, I read 200 books in 2018. It was my third attempt to do so; in 2016 I read ~150, in 2017 I read ~110, and this year, come hell or high water, I was going to finish this stupid challenge so I’d never have to attempt it again.

I want to start this post off by saying I absolutely do not recommend reading 200 books in one year. I felt the book hangover in the very fibers of my being. I had to cancel plans so I could get my reading done. At one point, I had some personal things going on so I didn’t read for ~3 weeks when I was already behind, ended up like 26 books behind schedule and Goodreads was telling me I had to read 5 books a week to catch up and I was absolutely freaking out. There were books I couldn’t fully enjoy because I was pushing myself so hard to get to the end that I couldn’t just stop and process and enjoy them. It was annoying and I’m personally never doing this again. If you are on the fence about trying to do a challenge like this... don’t. Or pick something more reasonable, like 100-150 books.

That said, this post is written for the hardcore book nerds like me, where the struggle doesn’t matter, you just want to be so over the top in your book nerdiness you’re gonna attempt 200 books anyway. It took me 3 solid attempts to be successful, and I’ve learned a lot about what to do. I want to impart this knowledge out there, so anyone else trying it can have a general guide on how to get this done. 

Without further ado, here’s how to read 200 books in one year. These aren’t in particular order, they’re just written as they came to mind.

1. Understand what you’re getting into. This was the biggest mistake I made in the previous two years. There’s only 365 days in a year, and if you have 200 books to read, guess what? You basically have to finish a book every 2 days. You need to go in understanding that 3-4 hours of your day will be spent on uninterrupted reading every day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks in a row. That’s what it takes to pull this off, and the sooner you grasp that, the more successful you’ll be over all.

2. Read every genre / don’t read bad books / don’t be ashamed of short books / don’t avoid long books. I know this is a 4-in-1, but they all come down to the same thing: avoiding BOOK BURNOUT. I cannot stress this enough: do not go into this challenge thinking you’re only going to read books in one or two genres. You will drive yourself crazy. Even if in the past, you only read mysteries or you’re only here for YA, trust me when I tell you that you’ll get absolutely sick of your regular genre. Make sure you find books that are completely different from each other. Even if you don’t like them, it’s important to try and switch things up.

That said, don’t force yourself to slog through a book that you aren’t feeling. I give all of my books 50 pages to hook me, and if I’m not absolutely into it by then, I move on. I do this intentionally, because if I’m not enthralled, I become a slow, distracted reader, and then I fall behind, and then I’ll end up 2 weeks behind and it’s not even that I didn’t want to read, it’s that I didn’t want to read this one particular book. I will also sometimes give up at the halfway point and count them as read, because I gave them a solid chance and I’ve gleaned enough to write a Goodreads review about it and spent upwards of 3 hours on it.

I also want to talk about book length, as well. This also has a lot to do with pacing, which I’ll talk more about later so forgive me if this is wonky, but here goes. You need to read books that average a certain page limit. My personal reading limit is ~200 pages a day without inciting a major book hangover. This may be different for you, but it’s important that you become really familiar with where that boundary is, and pick books to read that are no more than twice your daily limit for your day to day reading. If you can muster 150 pages a day, then you should be reading ON AVERAGE books that are around 300 pages and finishing one every 2 days. 

That said, one of my life-savers when I got behind was keeping a stack of novellas, poetry collections, and Goosebumps on hand. There are going to be days you’re too busy to read; you will need emergency books that only take half an hour of reading to get through.

By the same token, don’t discard long books. The Game of Thrones series actually got me out of a reading slump in 2018 despite each book having 1,000+ pages. I just didn’t try to read them in 2 days; instead I would read 30 pages a day on days where I had wiggle room or some extra time to pick at it. I recommend doing the same on books that you really want to read but can’t justify reading all at once, because otherwise, you’ll just wind up frustrated that you’re reading things you don’t want to be.

3. Befriend and support your local indy bookstore. Fair warning, I’m biased, but hear me out. When you’re trying to read 200 books in one year, you need a HUGE supply of books. You’re going to read new books, old books, books you’ve wanted to read for years and books you’ve never heard of before. You’re going to get books online, through friends, through the library, through thrift stores--everywhere. You will be a reading machine. Even if you own 200 books and you get rid of them as you go, you’re going to end the year owning more books than you started with--trust me. You may not know it yet, but you’re signing up for this.

If you have a local independent bookstore, go talk to the employees/owners there. Their job is not to go mark clearance, scan things, rearrange endcaps, and try as hard as possible to avoid you interrupting their daily work task, like it is at any big box retailer. Their job is to find you exactly what you want to read. They will be your Book Person. They will know what books are hot right now, they will have more recommendations than you know what to do with, if they have used books and do a trade in program their books will be cheaper than anything you find online, and if you reeeally get to know them they will probably throw in books - particularly pre-published galleys - for free (don’t tell them I said that). They also sell incredibly discounted books; at my store, specifically, we have a whole cart of books that are $1 each, and multiple bookcases of used hardcover books $3 each. It can be a lifesaver if you’re attempting this challenge on a budget.  

4. Read on different formats. Research shows that the majority of people read faster on digital devices than they do on paper, but that their comprehension is cut in half. I’m sure right now you’re probably thinking “ok, you just said to support local bookstores; why are you telling me to read on Kindle? Amazon is evil.” First off, you can procure e-books through the websites of some indy bookstores (like mine), which supports us and which we greatly appreciate. Second of all, there’s a lot of books offered online that simply aren’t available in bookstores (ex Chuck Tingle novellas). And third, I DO NOT recommending doing ALL of your reading on e-readers; your comprehension is going to suffer. With all of that said, I personally read twice as fast on my Kindle than I do reading the physical copy of a book (I tested it). It’s something to keep in mind.

5. Keep a steady pace / accept that you’ll fall behind / DON’T BINGE READ! I touched on this earlier with book length, but it’s SO, SO important to maintain a steady pace. What I ended up doing - and wish I had done from the beginning - was on any given book, I’d see how many pages total it had and mark the exact halfway point. That was how far I had to read. The next day, I knew I had to read to the end. Rinse, lather, repeat.

So what happens when you have a couple off days and you don’t get your reading done and now you’re behind? Your first inclination, I can tell you from experience, will be to try and catch up. ‘I can read 400 pages in a day,’ you’ll scoff before eating an entire book like it’s no different from a Netflix binge watch. Now you’re caught up. Problem solved... except it’s not, because the next day, you’re not going to want to look at a book. You’ve won yourself a book hangover, and you’re going to wind up even more behind than you started.

This is the reason why it’s important to keep short books on hand. Instead of binge reading, maintain your pace. Read your short books when you’re behind. If there’s a book you have to give up on, use the day to get farther in whatever long book you’re reading. DO NOT try to jack your pace beyond your daily limit and tell yourself that you can binge read without consequences. You can do that when you’re not doing this challenge.

6. Use a focus app. So this is my final advice, and it was an absolute lifesaver. I honestly don’t think I would have been able to complete this challenge without the Forest app on my phone. There are other focus apps that work just as well, but that’s the one I use. The way the focus app works is that you set a timer and it blocks you from using your phone until the timer goes off. In the case of Forest, it plants a tree and any time you unlock your phone it gives you a message like “stop phlubbing!” or “get back to work!” If you complete the timer, it plants a tree in your forest. If you ignore the timer and go on Facebook, it plants a dead tree in your forest.

I used to be really addicted to my phone and I would waste so much time just scrolling through social media or sending random texts, w.e, but because of this app all of my distractions were eliminated and I was able to consistently eke out time for my reading. I normally set 45 minute timers and I would usually be done with my scheduled reading within 3 or 4 rounds. Honestly, even if you’re not trying this challenge, I still recommend a focus app. It’s just a game changer with anything you’re trying to get done.

So yeah, that’s all. If you’ve kept on till the end, thank you SO MUCH! I know this is the longest post EVER, but reading 200 books a year isn’t easy--and I’m talkative. Please let me know if you’re trying this challenge out, or if you’re trying another challenge! How many books are you reading this year? Have you tried this before? Let me know.

[aldefi1]

Frame to cause an accident, 1 pm, as I ride on the bikers’ lane, a white van is following me, having room to pass me, when I see the delivery spy with a cart, I know I cannot move to my right that is better to stop, to avoid being, “accidentally” hit by the spy white van. General statement: I say, the spy network, based on my experience, involve percentages of the population, impossible you say, that means millions. In WW II, five million were involved in the Manhattan project, in absolute secrecy, President Truman didn’t know until he was told about it, therefore, do not tell me, it is impossible. You reach secrecy with large number of spies, because they know very little, just enough for a specific task and swore to absolute secrecy, and heavy penalties in case their open their mouths, some legal and others not so much.

As always, most details in my videos are relevant, I can’t describe everything, it would take me much longer that is taking me now to describe all spies attempt to cause an incident or setup a frame. Reviewing the stores’ surveillance video recordings at least ten minutes prior to my arrival and after my departure, should help to understand the way the spies operate, also helps to put in context my videos. Ninety five percent of the time I visit a business, no matter the time of my arrival, there are individuals who start or are, unloading merchandise at that instant, the underlying idea is to cram my space. It appears, some of the stores’ surveillance videos are being collected, I’ve noticed, occasionally, a decrease in the number of spies either standing by in the stores, preceding me or exiting as I arrive, entering as I exit, following me, and gathering at the registers at the time of paying.

The videos and photos I am posting in the net, should be downloaded by the authorities, the spies could delete all my uploaded files with just one click, they know all my passwords. In fact, I do not know how many of my videos and photos are actually reaching others unaltered, or reaching the net at all. I video record as much as I can, because I feel I am alone on this, I cannot trust witnesses, they can easily be intimidated or worst, considering the size of the spy network. I do not understand why the anti-terror laws are not being applied to the spies stalking me. It is obvious, that a network of this size, acting in such illegal manner, can do anything it wants, against any person, institution or company, perhaps Guantanamo can be a destination for the members of this domestic spy network.

Exiting home has always been one the most dangerous instances when I go out, the spies prepare the ground by saturating my apartment with toxins from the moment I state I will be exiting. I’ve been assaulted at the exit, threatened, situations that can quickly escalate are regularly set up. It is not a coincidence that 95% of the time there is no one reliable present when I exit and return home. Objects are regularly left near my apartment’s door, as a way to make a bit more difficult to move my bike around, the spy who normally does it, is 2B, but can be 2C or any other spy from this building.

The authorities should be questioning the employees at the stores I have visited, by asking simple questions, such as: “if they work for any entity, public or private dealing with matters of intelligence or national security”, also, “if they have been instructed about my persona”. All individuals at the building where I live, specially at units: 1B, 2B, 4B, 5B, should be questioned along the same lines, I have the strong impression that no one is being questioned at all. At the building where I have to live, one person was murder at 1A, another one died in very suspicious circumstances at 1B, another one at 4C, a person at 3C, became insane and disappeared from here, two more, I’ve been told and I’ve observed, suffer of some serious mental illness, 2B and 5A. These are the things I know, there could be many more suspicious situations I simply do not know about it.

I avoid having a routine, that is the reason I go to as many stores as is feasible, in that way the spies are forced to spread across a larger area, otherwise, it would be easier for them to concentrate their forces. I keep my bike with me at all times, without chaining it outside, no only because it would be cumbersome to remove and replace my cameras, but because when I have done it, it has been vandalized, sabotage, break cable cut clean, or stolen. The bikes also provide a platform for the cameras, consequently the images are clearer, stable, I believe. I have a camera facing back, this camera dissuade, to a point, the spies, bikes and vehicles, from following me too closely. Before I setup this camera, spy bikers would followed me one feet or two feet away from my bike’s rear wheel.

The presence of ambulances, wherever I go, isn’t just about harassing me with their sirens, it is also about to be the first to pick me up in case of an “accident”, during my month trip trough Canada, in 2009, I could see, practically always, an ambulance behind me, at a subtle distance.

I think CitiBike rentals go up, at least one hour before I leave home and it decreases after I’ve returned home, the few honest authorities left, by checking if I am right, would have another evidence to realize how big is the hunting of my persona. Many of the spy bikers in order to cause an incident, ride in a collision course toward my persona. Also, I strongly believe, street lights, traffic ones, the famous red, yellow and green, are being manipulated, to get me into an accident, specially with pedestrians. Many spies of all ages and look place themselves at many, many corners trough Manhattan while I’m out.

These photos and videos shouldn’t be ignored; these individuals and vehicles are involved in dozens of, mostly, illegal activities. These activities are designed to manipulate the political development of the country, its direction, at a local, national and international level. You might be tempted to think how some of them can be spies at all, to build a credible scenario to put their victims out of circulation, specially trough frames, this diversity is crucial to the spy agencies. It will confirm my assertion when you check the background of these individuals, you will see, the majority of them are already either “victims” or “witnesses” of incidents, the spies always work in very well coordinated packs, these packs always include first respondents. I calculate that around twenty percent of the police force and other first respondents, trough out the country, works for the CIA, they are chosen with only one consideration, their loyalty to the CIA. Most of them, if not all of them, lack of the actual skills to be a good policeman, therefore, incidents, were people get arrested or shot, in many situations where a good policeman would have never arrested the person or diffused the situation without having to shoot, will keep happening.

The majority of the spies start their training very young, in fact, in their early years they are prepared by being subjects of abuses, of all sorts, then, they train by bullying, framing and conning other kids, gang rapes are standard to destroy psychologically their victims. In sum, spies are being manufactured. I believe three percent of the country is involved in domestic espionage activities, although, due that around me they concentrate, the numbers wherever I go, in the streets, might reach up to twenty five percent or more of those individuals you see in my videos, no matter how casual they might appear. In the stores themselves, the spies numbers can easily be one hundred percent.

As far as I can tell, everyone in my family is part of this spy network, I believe, they were incorporated as adults, therefore, their participation, I assume, is forced, trough blackmailing and fear, than professional training. When I discovered that, a very close surveillance was around me, back at the end of 2005, and I told my family about it, their answer was “do not tell anyone because people will think you are crazy” this attitude has not changed. It is very possible, they are telling others, specially authorities, that I am someone with mental troubles, in spite of all my recordings and other evidence. I believe, this spy network has been around me, since I was at least a teenager, therefore, many comments coming from “friends” might also align with the same line my relatives might be stating.

The use of, mainly, minorities, including LGBTQ people, old people, disabled, females, pregnant women, couples, minors, to harass me, is no casual. The idea is, in case I loose my patience, I fall into a trap, I could make comments that the spies would greatly exploit, at a subsequent trial, hence, I would look as bad as is possible. The CIA normally employs this scheme against its many targets. Before I started to upload videos to the net, spy couples, many of them kissing as I bike, would be used in large numbers at any day or hour when I was out, no matter the weather. Since I started to post these videos, the spies have been using them in large numbers and more subdue, mostly on weekends, to make it look more “natural”

Although, I start video recording as I exit from home, and I do not stop recording until I am safely back, I do not post every video in the net, as a way of keeping under my sleeves a few aces. Many spy vehicles keep their headlights on, regardless of time and weather, on most occasions when I go out. License plates from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and DC, appear often when I am riding.

Corners where the spies normally set up frames when I go out: Every corner at 4th street from Broadway to my home; Houston and Avenue B; Houston and Broadway; 10, 11th streets and Avenue A; Avenue C, from 2nd Street to 11th St; Avenue B and 6 and 7 Streets; 6th St and 1st Avenue; Bowery and 3rd St; 23rd St 23rd and Third Avenue.

From March to September 2008, PS15 went trough renovations, with all the loudness made by the tools employed, many times you could see the workers playing with those tools just to make loud noises. From that period to now, the spies have used all sort of excuses to bring large loud machinery to the street where I live, many times next to my apartment. The spies have extended this excuse to do all kind of work, construction or maintenance, utilities, at buildings and streets, in the area that goes from 14th St, Houston, Broadway and Avenue D, to create situations were I can potentially be put out of circulation due to an “accident”.

[xsmom2000]

Our lives have been turned upside down and we don’t know what’s normal anymore. In fact, we are all having to adapt to a new normal.

In December 2019, Covid -19 and coronavirus, were words bandied about in reference to what was going on in China. For many of us, it was a news story from another part of the world, one that didn’t touch us directly unless we were watching the stock market.  The facts were unsettling, and people were dying, but like all events that take place thousands of miles away from our first world couches and our 9 to 5 jobs, it wasn’t about us and it probably wouldn’t make it this far. For that moment, it was interesting and gripping, but still just news.

How quickly things change.  Today Covid-19 is affecting the entire world and no matter where you live in this great big world of ours, your lives, by now, are in various stages of upheaval. Our normal lives have changed dramatically and most of us are desperately trying to adapt to our new routines.

Today marks 14 days of a government-sanctioned lock-down here in Spain. This meant staying home unless there was an essential or imperative reason to be out:  Essentials – having to work; to purchase food, medicine or fuel; transportation to airports to return home or driving home; to walk the dog within a short distance from home. Imperatives – immediate health emergencies; ongoing medical appointments such as dialysis and cancer treatments; country-wide delivery of essentials to stores and medical facilities.  Initially, the lock-down was slated for two weeks but has since been extended until April 13th – I won’t be making bets on it. The number of new infections, hospitalizations and fatalities are still rising, and until the curve flattens, I know the lockdown will continue.

Here in Nerja, all levels of the police force and some military have been called upon to monitor peoples’ compliance with the regulations and to help out wherever they are needed.  Police cars constantly patrol the streets, loudspeakers are used to tell us (in Spanish, English and German) to stay inside, to not leave our homes unless absolutely necessary.  Fines are handed out for breaking the rules.  Woe unto to those who slip out to get a pack of smokes, a 6-pack and a bag of chips, go for a walk day after day with the same rock hard loaf of bread in your back-pack or walk your dog 3 kilometres from home because it takes her a while to find the perfect place to relieve herself – it will cost you big bucks or worse.  There are few tales of non-compliance and most people in this town of 21,000 are doing their best to keep ‘un bicho (the bug)’ away.

The strict precautions seem to be working in Nerja because as of yesterday, there had not been one reported case of Covid-19, which means no deaths resulting from it either. Such amazing news in light of what’s happening in other parts of Spain.

So, amidst the lockdown procedures, we have adapted to a new normal.

First of all, my partner and I decided that I be the one to venture out into the public spaces for shopping and such, and he would bring out the trash and recycling.  I go out every six days to pick up fresh vegetables, buy food and other essentials (including toilet paper we haven’t stockpiled).

An organic bounty – how we manage to eat it all, I don’t know.

This once a week food excursion is my social event of the week. First on the list is to pick up a box of fresh organic vegetables. Money is exchanged in a plastic baggie slipped out through a half-opened car window and the freshly picked vegetables are placed in the trunk. I can smell the onions right away! After a smile, a thank you and a brief conversation, I am off to the supermarket.

Once inside the store, I sanitize my hands, don my plastic gloves, grab a cart and away I go pick up according to my list.   I keep my distance from others, step back, move aside and with a grand sweep of my plastic gloved hand, give leeway to others when they venture too close – my Covid-19 waltz of the supermarket aisles.

Supersol is the closest supermarket to my home and their employees are fabulous.  Plastic gloves and hand sanitizer are provided upon entering the store.  The employees themselves are masked, gloved and aproned, but are still helpful and engaging.  The numbers shopping at one time are closely monitored.  Lines 1-meter x 1-meter are taped off in front of the meat, cheese and fish counters and at the check-out, making it easy and safe for us shoppers to self-distance and to not subject the employees to unnecessary risk.    Employees are constantly sanitizing the carts, trolleys and baskets.  Still, they remain kind and helpful and are still laughing and joking with each other- I guess laughter still works in a 1-meter square space.

Groceries are packed when I get out to the car – bags for immediate use and those that can stay in the car until the next day.  Packing this way is really an excuse to climb the 180 steps to the car and back. We have to take exercise wherever we can get it.  As soon as I get home, I change my shoes and wash my hands. I’m done for another week.

At home, I’ve been cooking up a storm in order to use up the bounty in the veggie box and I now bake all of our bread.  Since yeast (fresh or dried) is non-existent, a sour-dough starter is now fermenting, so in 3 days, it will be sourdough bread for us from then on.

I’ve tried to keep my days as close to routine as possible – get up early, shower and dress (no PJ’s allowed), read, write, study Spanish, have online chats with fellow Spanish students (in Spanish), cook, bake, play very competitive games of Scrabble with my partner, keep in touch with friends and family and let’s not forget the never-ending scourge of housework.  Oh yes… I do watch TV, particularly Netflix, because I can’t handle the news anymore.

Sounds great hey? Normal even.  Not even close. For as mundane and ridiculously ordinary as my life sounds right now, it is damned hard not to feel the weight of what is happening in the world.  Just watch news coverage from places like Bergamo, Italy and Madrid and Barcelona, where the number of the sick and dying still rise, where health care workers and political leaders weep at the loss and heartbreak. It is gut-wrenching to think about the numbers of people who are isolated in their suffering, fighting with each shallow breath or taking that final breath alone.  It’s difficult knowing that doctors are making real decisions on who can be taken off a ventilator in order to let someone else live.

It makes me angry seeing stories of queues of people hoarding toilet paper and bottled water, Coca Cola and flour;  of people treating self-isolation and social distancing as if they were obstacles to overcome, searching for some loophole to enable them to thumb their noses at the system in order to live their lives selfishly, without thought for others. Overcrowded parks and beaches; government leaders who deny or downplay what’s happening before their eyes.  Is it ignorance, invincibility, selfishness, the lure of the almighty dollar?

As much as we seek to flood social media with uplifting and positive thoughts, read bedtime stories via Skype or find creative ways to battle boredom, somewhere mixed among it all is the scary reality stemming from this pandemic. We need to do absolutely everything in our power to slow the spread of the virus, to ease the difficulties of those working and fighting on our behalf, to turn our small actions into a massive collective turning point. And if that means simply staying home, then that’s what we need to do.

Thinking and hoping and wishing…

So, for those of you asking how I am doing?  For the most part, I am doing fine – healthy and safe with enough of everything that I need.  I fill my hours by keeping busy and doing things I never seem to find time for. I try and keep in touch with others. I feel good in that I am doing my part by following rules and check on our elderly neighbour every day under the guise of sharing a meal or a loaf of bread food. Physically, I can do no more. I do try to maintain a  positive outlook, but it’s not easy seeing what’s happening in the world without feeling the hurt and uncertainty of the moment.  It’s hard to comprehend what the fall out will be when the tide has turned.  I long for simple things – the company of family and friends, freedom to come and go, physicality of warm hugs and the joys of laughter shared across a table.

The weight of the world does lay heavily on me at the moment- more so regarding the future of our world.  It causes me to think and question everything.  When this is all over, I will return to a new normal…with gratefulness for people who serve me every day – the shop workers, truck drivers, health workers, and teachers to name a few.  I will endeavour to show more patience and kindness to others.  I will express thanks, admiration, and love often  I will speak and live my truth as best I can. I will use my time wisely and be more circumspect with finances. I won’t take my freedom for granted and most of all, I won’t take this life for granted.

Life has never seemed more precious than it does at this very moment.

      NORMAL IS CHANGING Our lives have been turned upside down and we don’t know what’s normal anymore. In fact, we are all having to adapt to a new normal.