Friday, March 5, 2021

A London Eye


I was walking home yesterday when I found this eye drawn on a sidewalk. I wish I'd seen it when it was fresh as it's very faint now, but it looks like that's supposed to be the London skyline reflected in the pupil. Pretty cool!

Just as I was sure that winter was done with us, we're getting more. Temperatures are supposed to get down to 30º F (-1º C) tonight and the same tomorrow night. No snow, fortunately, but the skies have been gray and I'm seeing mostly clouds in the immediate forecast (and rain later next week). We are not amused.

I brought in all the geraniums again, and I suppose we'll cover the banana and the tree fern over the weekend.

I am also sick of wondering about my Covid vaccine. Another co-worker younger than 50 with no underlying health conditions was invited to get hers, and I've still heard nothing. I'm feeling quite ornery about it. I want to wait my turn, and I don't begrudge others getting their shots, but I don't see why other doctors' offices seem to be processing their patients much more efficiently. I also have the irrational fear that if I inquire again they'll put me at the bottom of the list out of spite! So for now it's a waiting game.

Dave and I are still watching "The Expanse" and "The Walking Dead." I like "The Expanse," while Dave (who usually loves sci-fi) is less enthusiastic. It is a bit hard to follow at times but it's never dull. "The Walking Dead" is excellent and suspenseful but quite gory, as you'd expect from a show populated by flesh-eating zombies. (I was going to say it's a nail-biter!) The ensemble cast and the characterizations are excellent, and I can see why it has such appeal. We often watch it right before bed, which might not be the best idea because, yes, I have had zombie dreams.

49 comments:

  1. COVID Vax, noisy wheel receives oil.

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    1. Yeah, but I don't want to be obnoxious about it. I DO have to wait my turn. I just don't understand why my turn is behind certain other people who are younger than me!

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  2. I guess that the sidewalk was shipped over specially from America just as the original London Bridge was dismantled and shipped to Arizona. Seems a lot of trouble. The artist could have just created his/her eye on a regular English pavement.

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    1. No, the person walking on the "regular English pavement" was "shipped over specially from America" -- hence, it's a sidewalk. :)

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    2. My English brother-in-law once laughed when I told my 3-year-old niece *she's now 46) to get on the sidewalk and she had no idea what I was talking about. "That is the pavement and she is in the road," he explained. "So, the road isn't paved?" I asked in my New York wise-ass way. He did concede that point. (I think it was the only one... ever).

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    3. Exactly! Anything paved has pavement!

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  3. I'm sure there are people taking advantage of connections for the covid vaccine here in Spain, but it's not as easy or as common as in the UK and the States. We simply wait until Public Health notifies us it's time to schedule our appointment. Everyone is treated the same (supposedly). We're waiting longer in Europe, unfortunately, but at least we don't have the added frustration of watching other people go out of turn because they have a different doctor or a friend or they're pushy. THAT would drive me crazy. And I think you're right to not push it yourself. Your time will come... although I don't understand why you, in education, wouldn't be at the top of some list. I love the sidewalk art, even in its faded state.

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    1. I'm not even sure it has to do with contacts -- in the case of my co-worker, she has no special contacts. I think it's more about which GP clinic you attend, how many older/more vulnerable people also go there, and how strict the clinic is being about adhering to the priority groups. (There have been stories about some clinics literally running out of patients in current priority groups, so they step down to the next one earlier than they're "supposed to.")

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  4. For some reason the health Authority decided I was vulnerable and so i got an early vaccination! I did mention to the doctor doing it that I wasn't sure why but he just shrugged. I am very happy to have had it. Hope you get yours soon.
    I've recently watched Pretend it's a city. Fran Leibowitz sees lots of interesting things on the ground in New York. It made me want to go. Your eye reminded me.

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    1. Well it's great that you got it! Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, as they say! I've heard "Pretend it's a City" is good. It's on my Netflix watchlist. Probably better late-night viewing than zombies. :)

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  5. We've discovered "Murder Among The Mormons" which is right up my alley since I've been listening to Mormon Story podcasts for years. I already knew a lot about the situation but it's cool to put faces to names and voices.
    Our temps are dropping again too but not down to freezing. Still- in the thirties at night soon. I love it. I am now at the age where I totally understand people who move up north in the summer. And when I say "north" I mean, like, North Carolina.

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    1. We just watched "Murder Among the Mormons" last night! Fascinating!

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  6. Clever ...the Eye in the eye.

    We vacillate between grey and rainy and sunny and gorgeous. Today is the latter and I'm loving it.

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    1. It would have been the perfect illustration for my post the day before, and Aram Saroyan's "eyeye" poem!

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  7. Love the eye! That vaccine situation would frustrate me too. Sometimes there seems to be no method to the madness.

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    1. I just have to relax about it. They'll get around to me. Stressing does not help.

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  8. I love that eye! I kind of like how it's almost not there...

    My arm is sore, but I don't think I've had any other side effects from my jab. I actually think the antibiotic for my tooth abscess is bothering me more.

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    1. Ugh -- a tooth abscess! Sorry you have to deal with that!

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  9. I was finally able to make an appointment for my first shot. I did it online on the CVS Pharmacy website. I spent the whole day Wednesday checking in to see if any were available. Nope. Then on Thursday, there were, so I booked it. I get it this morning, and I'm nervous! It's crazy making every single person figure out how to get their vaccination. Sure would be nice if there was a true plan for safe mass vaccination sites. No worries and easy access. I hope you get yours soon, Steve.
    Nice sidewalk art.

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    1. Yay! I'm glad you got an appointment. Here the NHS has organized the whole thing so we don't have to scramble around for an appointment. We just wait to be notified. Unfortunately, the waiting can be a drag.

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  10. I'm reading the Expanse series of books which I'm enjoying. I'm on #5 right now and the books actually clear up a few questions I had. I loved the TV show. I remember watching the first two episodes and wondering what the hell was going on and then watching as all the threads were woven together.

    I'm still waiting for my vaccine and feel the same way except I'm a nurse who takes care of immunosuppressed patients but my employer doesn't give a shit. We've gone to the bottom of the list. I don't have enough expletives to tell you how I feel about this.

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    1. I didn't realize until we started watching the show that it's based on a book series. I imagine reading them would help knit the plot together. It is RIDICULOUS that you haven't been vaccinated yet! You're a prime example of the kind of person who needs a vaccine right away!

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  11. Where are you up to in The Walking Dead
    The last stand alone episodes are being shown on tv now

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    1. We're on season three, I think? They're living in the prison and the governor has just attacked them.

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  12. It certainly is frustrating when the weather turns on us. Have you thought of calling the board of health to find out if there are other sites where you might be able to get your shots? Just a thought. You have a super day, hugs, Edna B.

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    1. Unfortunately we just have to wait for the National Health Service to notify us that it's time for our vaccine. All shots are administered at NHS doctors offices. I did call my doctor and get myself added to their "reserve" list in case they have extra doses.

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  13. Are the vaccines only being given out at doctor's offices? Here in NYC, they are now being given at pharmacies, churches, senior centers, the big Javits convention center and neighborhood health clinics. The appointments are starting to be easier to get, but I wonder if you might call a vaccination site that is not your doctors office and see if they have appointments? I get the sense that the vaccinators just want to put the medicine in people's arms, and that every person who gets the vaccine contributes to getting to herd immunity. The man and I have underlying conditions, yet when we showed up for the shot, no one asked us about them, though we had our proof all ready. It took some research to find the place, though, which happened to steps from our front door. Good luck! I can imagine you're frustrated.

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    1. Yeah, here it's all through the NHS. No pharmacies or grocery stores or anything like that. We basically have to wait until the NHS tells us it's time to make our appointment. I think some doctors' offices are moving more quickly through their roster of patients than others, and unfortunately, mine seems slower than my co-workers'!

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  14. I mentioned that I got my first dose this week as just a random surprise when I was at Walgreens shopping. They did not schedule me for a 2nd dose, tho, and their online registration says I have to wait until March 30th to try to sign up. I don't know why they wouldn't just want to give me a date 4 to 6 weeks from now so I wouldn't have to chase them down again. It is not very organized at all! But at least I have 1 dose...
    Hope you can get yours soon since you work at a school...

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    1. It seems like there's a risk that some people won't follow through and get that second dose.

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  15. I'm starting to get the messages below when I leave a comment on your blog. So, if I stop commenting, this is why. Over the years, Yahoo has randomly decided to ban me from leaving comments on blogs.

    Your message to sreedxxxxxxxxxxx has been blocked. See technical details below for more information. 554 5.7.9 Message not accepted for policy reasons. See https://postmaster.verizonmedia.com/error-codes

    I did spend a lot of time trying to get an appointment. I finally got the first shot and a follow up appointment, and then received an invitation from another site in Tucson. It was weird. Here's hoping you're in the queue very soon.

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    1. That's very weird! I looked it up and it has something to do with e-mail not being verified? But I don't use Verizon or Yahoo e-mail -- I use AOL -- so I have no idea why you'd be getting that code. I'll turn off e-mailed notification of comments. That might solve the problem.

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  16. I agree on the vaccine. There are several friends who have claimed to be in multi-generational households who are not. It's difficult not to resent their dishonesty. I dislike zombies, so I won't watch The Walking Dead. My late husband loved the show.

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    1. It's definitely frustrating when people lie to get a shot! I think "The Walking Dead" is less about the zombies than about the interactions and relationships among the survivors -- but we DO have to deal with a lot of bloody carnage along the way.

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  17. I finally stopped watching Walking Dead. I didn't watch at all last year and only half the year before. it just got too repetitious and the whole Whisperer storyline put me off. it just seems to me that after nearly a decade the survivors would be more interested in banding together to survive than fighting amongst themselves and why whoever has the helicopter is letting these small communities flounder along. and how is it that they still have gasoline!

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    1. LOL -- you're getting ahead of me here! I don't even know what a whisperer is, and I haven't gotten to the helicopter yet either.

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  18. There should be something definite for peace of mind I get mine at 4:40 PM tomorrow.

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    1. Excellent! I hope the micromanager is getting hers too?

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  19. OK, It is your turn, go get it!!
    The eye on the sidewalk is fabulous!

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  20. It may get to 70 here today and there are lots of hiking trails in the area. Just sayin'.

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  21. Steve, there's some people are lying about their health just to get the shot. They have a clinic here that was charging everyone $25.00 cash only for the shot. Ted Oberg (channel 13 investigative reporter) put them on blast. They pretend they didn't know the rules but they had a line curved around the building. They should fine them or jail time for doing this. Just keep trying different sites (if any) until you get the shot or an appointment.

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    1. They SHOULD punish those people, for sure. It's really dirty for people to try to make money off this.

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  22. Thanks for sharing the eye on the sidewalk. It is wonderful.

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    1. Glad you like it! I found it very intriguing! Like I said, I wish I'd seen it before it got so faded.

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  23. I got my second shingles vaccine today, so I can't have the COVID vaccine for at least four weeks. That's not a problem. In spite of more vaccine becoming available, lots of people have priority over me. So I mostly stay at home and wait and wait and wait. I love the eye.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Well, and you're protected against shingles, which is a huge plus!

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    2. The pharmacist told me her grandmother got shingles even though she'd had the vaccine. That worried me.

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