Items

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  2021-03-12

  COVAX First Round Allocation

  COVAX first round of vaccines
• 2021-02-07

  Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  Growing up in Tampa seeing the Bucs win is a good thing. The first time in history a team played in their home city for a Super Bowl.... but COVID. It will be interesting to see if they do the parade and if they do what will happen. Undoubtebly people in Tampa are partying. I expect to see a 15% increase of COVID cases in Tampa at the very least. The 7-day average is currently 420 for cases reported. I have to recheck in 7-10 days. It will be interesting to see how big of an impact America's game will have.
• 2021-02-07

  Yearly Vaccine

  Nobody I asked knows when they started doing the flu vaccine every year. With the rapid mutation of this virus, it seems COVID will be with us permanently like the flu. So yearly vaccines for COVID-19 would be necessary. It made me think if in a controlled environment the entire world went into lockdown for a month how many viruses and illnesses would that erase?
• 2021-01-21

  MW: Should I Get Tested

  The CVS next to my house offers COVID tests. The test is the nose swab one and I really don't want that. I have gotten a nose swab before and remember it being very unpleasant. However, I have been exposed to a situation where I may potentially have been exposed. I don't have any symptoms but the thought of the nose swab is stressful. I wish they had less invasive tests near me.
• 2021-01-21

  MW: Travel Nurses

  My sister apparently graduated nursing school at the best and worst time. The tragedy of watching COVID-19 has left the hospital inundated and patients dying. The fear of coming home and being infected. However, new opportunities have presented themselves. My sister is working as a travel nurse for COVID units and this is a rather lucrative situation. If you knew how much these travel nurses were getting paid your mouth would drop. Let's just say the doctors at the hospital are getting jealous.
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  2020-11-26

  Nieces Yearbook

  During the COVID-19 pandemic school year, things have changed. A staple in school has always been the yearbook. This year the yearbook for my niece's school is running into problems. The school is required to pay a certain amount for a contract with the company apparently. Considering most kids are attending via virtual school their not much as far as in school pictures. I wonder how badly yearbook companies as a whole are getting hit this year.
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  2020-11-26

  Fantasy Football woes

  This year in fantasy football provides a new challenge. How to deal with players who contract COVID-19. The app shows a cov symbol by the player's image.
• 2020-10-30

  Cruise I : Fillipinos

  I remember the announcement in the crew area. All internationals were to go to HR. With international borders closing the cruise ship needed to send all the internationals home. Both my roommates were international, one from Colombia and one from the Philippines. It was an incredibly hectic time, something 20-30 year veterans of the cruise industry never experienced. Being sent home before a contract was finished due to an operational shutdown. The Filipinos were the blood of the ship. Nearly every leadership position in management was held by one. So when the announcement was made there were a lot of questions as to how the ship would continue to operate. Regardless however the company needed to get these people home before they had an even bigger problem on their hand. I wonder if they are doing okay. Since cruise ships are down, they must all still be unemployed. The international lines don't really have many workers' rights, so if you are unemployed you don't get paid. I hope they are able to sort things out.
• 2020-10-29

  First Day of Cold.

  It's cold. I usually waited for the cold. I enjoy wearing a sweater, and the escape from the heat of summer. This year, for the first time, I dreaded winter. They said COVID-19 is stronger in the cold. I guess we will find out.
• 2020-10-24

  Into the wild

  Going out is odd. It feels like a battle zone. Is it worth the risk? The virus death rate has lowered significantly... are the masks working? I run errands now, amongst people. We no longer shake hands. Did our interaction rate drop? Perhaps it's the defensive tactics. Washing hands. Sanitizing. maybe most of the weak died... Winter is approaching.
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  2020-10-19

  Will Trump Use Covid to Pull Off A Bolivia?

  In 2019 the right-wing party in Bolivia used an excuse to pull off a coup of the government. Sighting irregular election processes. Riots ensued on the streets and within a few weeks, the right-wing power took control. The US government supported the coup before the election and supported them after the coup. 1 year later Bolivia redid their election and people lined up in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic to cast their votes and re-elect the former government. I wonder if Trump will copy Bolivia. I believe Trump would be able to garner enough people and support for intense riots. As well as make a contention to the validity of the election. Regardless, from examing Bolivia, anything is possible.
• 2020-10-15

  The Olympics

  Crazy how the olympics was postponed and cancelled. I met a Japanese lady who worked as a tour guide. She said the olympics was going to be an amazing time business wise for her. She works with olympic atheletes who need translation for Japanese to English. I remember carrying her golf bags. Everyone on the ship wanted to carry her golf bags considering she tipped $20 everytime!
• 2020-10-05

  for at least the next decade it is now socially acceptable to wear a mask!

  I really just came to this realization! I can now wear a mask whenever I go out for potentially the rest of my life! As an introverted person this is absolutely amazing! Seriously your telling me I can wear a mask! I can actively just not have to show my face anywhere! before in 2019 if you wore a mask to the grocery store or gas station that was a mad shady situation. Now! I can wear it! I hate COVID-19 but I'm going to enjoy this little perk forever!
• 2020-10-04

  Now I Know How My UK Fiancé Felt With Boris

  I remember earlier in the pandemic Boris Johnson got sick. It was weird thinking the leader of England could get sick from such a deadly disease. How the country was panicking wondering what happens if the Prime Minister dies. I could only imagine how it must've been like. Now I actually get to experience it. Donald Trump is officially in the Hospital with covid, but it seems hes doing better then Boris did.
• 2020-09-22

  Step by Step: The World Did The Same

  Doing research on other countries and their covid experience is quite the revelation. It showed what we experienced in America was no different, then in other parts of the world. The same phases of no one taking it serious, to a couple cases, to the complete lockdown. The ways people entertained themselves in lockdown, the rise in internet shopping, and governments bailing out large corporations in their country, Whilst we all watched tiger king in America, Egyptians had tigers entertain them in their homes. While the US printed money, the Egyptians got loans from the IMF. It really is strange how the world all basically went thru the same proess, just in their own unique way.
• 2020-09-20

  Wedding? Forget about it.

  Getting engaged in November 2019 was one of the greatest moments of my life. Planning the wedding for 2020 was confusing, exciting, and often involved me agreeing with her. Me being in the US and her the UK this was no problem. That is, until March 2020. The concept of having a two week quarantine for all visiting members to the UK, makes wedding planning impossible. Instead of guest coming for a weekend or maybe a week, you have to plan at least 15 days. 14 in quarantine and 1 for the wedding. Knowing how work schedules and American vacation time works, this is clearly impossible. So here we are wondering in this world of Covid, will we ever be able to have a wedding? or should we just ditch the ceremony and just get married!
• 2020-09-17

  MW1: Covid University: I: The Chat Box

  The pandemic forced us all to take online classes. We all miss the traditional classroom setting. But we all remember how awkward it was to ask questions. One thing about zoom is you can ask a question or make a comment in the chat box. This is a feature I hope get added to the in person class experience. It adds so much to the productivity and the curiosity of student. Being able to just add a question into the chat log, then the teacher peeks at it and answers when they have time or if its immediately relevant. No classroom disruption, no being shy, just unadulterated curiosity.