LIFE DURING PANDEMIC, JANUARY 2022

 My son thought it was a good idea to have COVID testing done to make sure he's not infected, even though we just had a test about a week ago.  Negative result, whew.  A little bird told me to try the simple, walk-in service at Nathan's Pharmacy at the corner of Bath and 19th Avenues.  Alas, it was closed, possibly because it was Sunday, maybe more so because it was the New Year weekend.  Once or twice I saw some testing van by Calvert Playground so I made a trip there.  Alas, no van.  It was there when I needed it, not there now when I wanted it to be there.  I pulled into a parking spot and searched for "COVID testing near me" in Google Maps app.  I already had my preference for the Brooklyn Army Terminal (B.A.T.), so that was all I could see, in particular a LabQ site in the area.  The site was listed as the LabQ office on some floor in Building A.  I went there once before.  They weren't supposed to take any patience that day, so I was told, but they were nice enough to take me in.  Mobilize to the B.A.T., let's go!

Street parking wasn't readily available as usual.  Cars were double-parked near the few queues in the area.  I decided to park on the pier for once.  There was plenty of room.  A short walk over to Building A and there was a sign on the door that told us to use their Mobile Service on First Avenue between 57th and 58th Streets.  It had to be Rapid Testing because the line went around the block.  Just a block away at the corner of 58th Street and First, near the entrance to the B.A.T. campus, there was another, shorter line.  We took that queue, since the difference is really a day or two, at least from what we experienced on Staten Island, with Pro Health, when we took both PCR and Rapid.  It was a decent day, not as cold as that day we were on the queue for Pro Health.  The line moved fast, too, we were done in about an hour.  With Pro Health, we had to wait for hours just to register, they had to scan our insurance card, asked about our preferred pharmacy etc.  Then we had to go back to our car to wait to be called in.  The queue length maybe the same but because of the extra paperwork the whole ordeal was like five hours versus today's one.  I decided not to waste a test resource and let my son go in by himself, even though I was on the queue for about an hour myself.  Son said it was a saliva test, not the nose-swabbing type that we experienced a few times before.  Whatever, they didn't ask him for his insurance card.  While we were on the queue, a staff member showed us a QR code to scan, to register before going in.  I tried but never got any confirmation email, but the idea is good.  Instead of two or three staff people doing all the typing for the entire queue, let the patients register themselves while they have time to kill.  On an unrelated note, booster shots were still administered, you would enter the gate by the bus stop.  Or wait outside by the gate if the guard tells you so.  Then further toward Second Avenue, there was another test queue, another mobile unit named DocWorks or something like that.

I saw some people carried containers of fried chickens and biscuits so I thought there was a KFC nearby, perhaps in the same building with the Dunkin nearby.  That was not the case.  We decided to patronize Wendy's at Caesar's Bay instead.  Traffic was bad on the Belt Parkway, just before the merge with the off-ramp of the Verrazano.  Took the local to swing by Poly but it wasn't much better.  Once I was on the Belt then it was all good.  The parking area by Five Guys was chaotic, people leaving and pulling in as if they own the place.  There were plenty of space just a few yards away but people just had to park right next to the building.

Now we wait for the results.

WENT TO B.A.T. FOR COVID-19 TESTING

As part of return-to-campus, my son's school requires him to test for COVID-19.  I recalled seeing video footage of testing places having long queue of cars and thought that would be a safe way to get it done.  Everyone in their own cars, whoever getting tested just need to stick their head out the window to get the brush stuck up their nostril.  I also recalled seeing someone Facebook friends' post that the testing site at the Brooklyn Army Terminal (B.A.T. or just BAT) had no queue at all, you get in and out very quickly.  It's a huge place that I drive by whenever the BQE South has too much traffic and I take Second Avenue to the Belt Parkway.  Surely there's enough room for a long queue of cars.

I drove my son to BAT around 12 noon.  It was not an ideal time to be in the area.  Years ago there may be plenty of room for a long queue of cars but much has changed in the area.  There's a relatively new building erected to house a Ford service center, taking a chunk out of the parking lot.  Then there was some road construction along Second Avenue, running from 58th Street toward the entrance to the Belt Parkway, two-way traffic was controlled by a few road workers with STOP and SLOW signs.  The nearby hospital, now under NYU Langone, expanded and took a few new buildings, resulting in more traffic in the area.  The COVID-19 test site is a walk-in.  What's worst was that just north of Third Avenue it was alternate-side street cleaning between 11:30 A.M. and 1 P.M. that day. I could have just dropped off my son, he's old enough to do the test himself, but I was already in the area, I wanted to accompany him in.  Alas, with the construction and alternate-side sweeping, there was just no place to park, not even the parking meters were available.  We went to have lunch elsewhere and came back to squat in a place and waited in the car for 1 P.M. to arrive.  Supposedly, they cannot ticket a car that has a driver sitting in it, but I have no faith in the ticket agents, but I also have no choice.

At 1 P.M. or so we walked the few blocks to the test site.  There was no queue at all.  Literally in and out less than 15 minutes.  Fill out some quick form, verbally, sign some electronic pad, look up to the sky and let the lab technician stick the brush up your nostril, all done at walk-by windows.  There was even a mobile restroom that we used before heading back to the car.  Restrooms in NYC are even more difficult to come by these days.

The B.A.T. COVID-19 test site was really quick.  There were many booths to take care of clients if the queue was long.  Some bus stops right by the entrance so it's not totally unreachable by public transportation.  Depends on where you live, you may need to spend time with subway-to-bus transfer etc.  If you drive, find out the street-sweeping regulation, which days of the week, between what hours of the day, and time your arrival so you can easily get a spot.  There's no drive-in testing so be prepared to park or just to drop out your "patient".

THE NEW NORMAL, UGH

The new normal is the new phrase in this trying time.  I hope it won't stay too long and we will eventually go back to the old normal that I was familiar with.  Something as simple as a grocery trip is all too complicated.  I used to just go to the store and buy what I need.  Ordering for delivery or pickup never crossed my mind, but last week I used the service, to avoid spending too much time outside of the house.  At first I thought delivery service was a no-brainer but it turned out delivery would take longer, list a week away.  So the next best thing was pickup service - you order what you want, you pay for it ahead of time, then you go to the store between certain assigned hours to pick the items up.  Simple, right?  There was a mention of a verbal confirmation will be made but it just didn't click in my head what that means.  So I went to the store, with mask and gloves, and learned that they were still one day behind with the order.  I get it, people not working, maybe things didn't get delivered, whatever.  I guess at least the store is still open, that there's a system for people to order online for pickup or delivery.  I'll be back out tomorrow to get the stuff, once verbal confirmation is received.

THE HISTORY OF LOVE

I picked up the book The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss, off the front porch of some house in Park Slope when I went for a run there last month, some day around Valentine's Day.  It is a common practice in that area of town, people just put stuff out on their porch to give away, sometimes with a sign that says "Free", other times none.  Sometimes I even carry books to the area and donate to the few Little Free Libraries in the area.  On that day, I failed in my mission to declutter because I think I also picked up some other books.

The History of Love sounds like an ambitious title, so grandiose, so historic.  It's sorta like the movie Inception, a book within a book.  Yes, there are characters inside the book that are connected to a book called, surprise surprise, The History of Love.  The beginning was pretty sad, much about an old man with no relatives counting the days until he dies.  So depressing, maybe that's why I couldn't get far.  Then a girl named Alma was introduced into the story, I didn't catch on right away that she was in the same universe as the old man.  As a matter of fact, in the same city, this great New York City of ours that is mostly a ghost town because of COVID-19.  In theory, with NYC on lockdown I should have plenty of time to read etc but I was just not in the mood for it.  Eventually I did and finished the book after a few nights as before-bed reading.  Once I saw how the story turned out, that the girl was trying to find the real people behind the book, that she would eventually meeting the old man, I went through the book much faster.  I did have to read the Wikipedia entry afterward to make sure I didn't miss anything.  In the old days, that would be a Cliff Note or Monarch Note.  Yup, I pretty much got the gist of the story.  Supposedly a movie was made out of it, but I am reluctant to see it so soon.  I'd rather see the movie, if I ever will, some time later when what I remember of the book is gone or mostly gone.  I think it's more enjoyable that way.

In the spirit of decluttering the house, I am thinking of offering the book to my local Buy Nothing group, although I am not sure if anyone will want it.  Who knows, when my local library first closed down for the immediate future I thought about raiding the nearest Free Little Library but I never followed through with the idea.

HIGHLIGHTS: CLASS OF 1982 WILLIAM COWPER JHS 73

Even before the current self-quarantine/lockdown scenario in New York and across the U.S., I already put in a lot of work for the general Newtown High School group on Facebook.  It helped that I inherited a stack of yearbooks from a popular teacher after his passing.  Besides scanning the yearbook pages, I also arranged for occasional luncheons and do research to help the members locate old friends.

With even more time on my hands, I also scanned pages of the yearbook for my own Class of 1985 at Newtown and even went back to JHS, namely William Cowper JHS 73 Class of 1982.  I know, the school is now named after a popular teacher who passed away in an accident, but for some reason the name has a hard time sticking in my head.  The yearbook, named Highlights, is not complete yet but you can find the first 10 or so pages at the following link:


https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10150384086182542&type=3

TERRANCE QUARANTINO

Coming soon to a screen near you, the long-awaited Kill Bill: Volume 3 by yours truly!  It's my life-long dream to direct it and now that I, for all intent and purpose, have no job, no public library to go to, cannot even go out for a run, I have plenty of time and with today's technology, a movie can be made with just a smartphone and one person playing many different roles.  I already have an alias to go with the movie - Terrance Quarantino!

Seriously, I have no plan to direct any movie during this self-quarantine period many residents of New York City are going through.  No, I have no signs of infection, just no job because the place I worked have most people work from home.  Being a contractor doing physical computer setup, there's no future for me when this pandemic struck.  Normally I would spend a lot of time at the public library but that too is closed.  At first Brooklyn Public Library announced that they would operate at reduced hours, something like 1 P.M. to 6 P.M. and closed on the weekends.  Shortly after, it was announced that all Brooklyn libraries would just shut down.  Not that I would travel that far, but same thing for Queens and NYPL (which covers Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island).  So what's left to do?  Again, the normal thing, oh not so long ago, would be to go for a run.  I'm a slow runner but I can do a few miles out then back.  Ten miles, eight miles, whatever, something to do to take one's mind off the pressing matters.  Not anymore.  Now the outdoor is a dangerous place, you don't know who can infect you.  Who knows, soon we may be in lockdown mode like some other cities.

Time to hunker down and stay at home as much as possible.  Here's what I plan to do:

• Work on maintaining a Facebook group for alumni of Newtown High School (Elmhurst, Queens, NY).  If you attended that school and don't yet know about it, check it out at https://www.facebook.com/groups/47486807610/
• Resume maintaining a family tree that I started some years ago.  It is a lot of work, with people dying, being born, getting married etc, it needs updating every so often.  Well, for the immediate future, I do have time.
• With the library closed, one of my source of entertainment is no longer available.  Sure, Overdrive is available for digital content but I'm an old-school guy, I still watch movies on DVDs and such.  A sister of mine left a box or two of VHS tapes in my attic, I might watch some of those old movies after all.
• Last but not least, this blog needs more regular posting.  Facebook et al are nice but can be so chaotic sometimes.  I like to go back to old materials every now and then.  A blog is good for that.  It's just me and my own stuff, no need to wade through pages and pages of other people's stuff.

Hang on, COVID  Cave-Dwellers!