Tag: #Covid

  • Short Story Review: “Hello, Goodbye” by Yiyun Li

    (The short story “Hello, Goodbye” by Yiyun Li was featured in the November 15th, 2021 issue of The New Yorker.)

    Getting old sucks, but having old friends makes it tolerable. Boom! That sums up “Hello, Goodbye” by Yiyun Li. I am being a little turdy right now in my review, as this is a story, I thought I would like, and I don’t think I like it, but as I’m writing this, I think I do like it. I’m very conflicted, and there is a good chance that was the point.

    Li’s story revolves around two old friends who met at Berkley, and live in Silicon Valley/Bay Area. Nina is married to a pediatric dentist with two tween/teenaged daughters. Nina’s best friend Katie is in the process of divorcing her much older and very rich husband. As this story takes places in the time of Covid, Katie moves in with Nina’s family, and reflections ensue. Mainly, teenagers think they know more than their parents, and the parents reflect on how right and yet wrong that is. Also, how some people live for contentment, while other people live for experience. Contentment might be an emotional plateau of stability; experience brings the excitement of the highs and the depression of the lows with everything else being forgotten.

    See! I should like this. It is totally up my alley as these are the conversations, I am having with my friends of twenty plus years.

    But something stuck in my craw with this story. (It could be that the title of this story is the same as a very famous Beatles song.) And I think it might come down to sticking the landing of the piece. The story did have a tinge of melancholy of the past without dipping into misplaced reverent nostalgia. Li created ideas and images that I identified with, and enjoyed. SO, I think my unease is purely academic. I can’t identify the climax, and the resolution feels too easy.

    It’s too bad, as I would like to see what Nina and Katie do next in their friendship and their lives.

  • It’s the Media’s Fault: The New Godwin’s Law?

    There is a Kids in the Hall sketch where an employee is reprimanded for using the word “ascertain” too often. You can see for yourself. I started thinking about this sketch again when I see some political post from friends, and even non-political posts.

    Such as, no matter what the topic is, at some point someone will chime in that the “problem” of the topic is being caused by the media. That the root cause is the media, or it is being made worse by the media.

    Example: Supply chain issues? Being blow out of proportion by the media. Covid infection rates among children? Media is making it sound worse. Debt ceiling debate? Media.

    I think you get it.

    But now, the more I hear someone say it’s “the media’s fault” the more I begin to think that the person saying it is just lazy. I think it’s a new form of Godwin’s Law, which states that the longer an online discussion goes, the likelihood of a Nazi comparison increases.

    Personally, I think it’s a thought-terminating cliché, meaning a person thinks they are saying something insightful and profound to bring a discussion to their desired end, but in reality, I think they gave up on trying to think through the problem and defaulted to the cliché.

    Seriously, everything can’t be the fault of one industry. Somethings, sure, but not everything.

  • The Weekday Morning New York

    I do the grocery shopping for my family. I sort of like it. And when I say sort of, it is a taxing errand that has to be accomplished each week. Carrying two heavy grocery bags from the Upper West Side Trader Joe’s to Harlem isn’t the easiest, even with using the subway. My shoulders and elbows hurt. The part I do like is the time to myself, and I get to listen to my music. Little silver linings but necessary ones.

    As a stay at home parent, I do all of this after I drop the kid off at school. As I observed, I am one of the younger people at the Trader Joe’s. Sure, there are some young creative professionals there, as well as the kids who work at night, but really, the store is full of retired people. I would also say that this group covers a gamut of ages too; newly retired 65’s to one guy who had a WWII Navy Veteran ballcap on which lead me to believe that he was 90+.

    And now that the world is sort of getting back to normal, and I’m beginning to relax into this new life style, I am beginning to see the different people who occupy the same space in the City, but at different times. I had worked, pretty much, a 9 to 5 existence at my day job for ten years, so that was the New York City I encountered; Professional people commuting, eating, and commuting again, Monday through Friday. My Trader Joe experience used to be with other professionals shopping on their way home from work. Now I’m with people who don’t work. Same city, but different world.

  • Getting Fired Over Nothing?

    So… Vaccine mandates are all over the news. And I get it. Not everybody thinks it’s a good idea to force people to get a vaccine, even though we force people to get vaccines all the time. But hey, whatever.  As the security guard at the corner CVS said to the unruly patron he was throwing out of the place, “You do you buddy, follow your heart.”

    I do find one group of people who are objecting to vaccine mandates rather odd, as their upper middle-class privilege is showing.

    See, there are some employers that are mandating that you have to get the shot by a certain date, or you will be terminated. Now some celebrities, athletes, and well, white collar workers are shocked and surprised that it’s come to this; termination for not following a company policy.

    And my first thought is, “Wow, you’ve never had a low paying job before.”

    I remember working at or around minimum wage, and you’d get fired for any reason. Two minutes late; fired. Shirt isn’t starched; fired. Forgot to shave; fired. Boss wants to hire his friend; you’re fired. Need to take a day off to stay with your sick kid; fired. First infraction; fired. No warning; fired. Poor people get fired all the time, and for no reason, or just cause.

    This is how the rest of this country works; in fear. That any day, for any reason, you could get laid off, or fired for nothing.

    And you are right middle-class white-collar workers, it’s not fair, but it is late-stage capitalism. So just go find another job…

  • Personal Review: “The Monkey Who Speaks” by Han Ong

    (The short story “The Monkey Who Speaks” by Han Ong, was featured in the September 13th issue of The New Yorker.)

    Sincere and gentle are difficult qualities, and also odd descriptions to use for a short story, but those were the first two words that popped into my head as soon as I finished reading “The Monkey Who Speaks,” by Han Ong. And as I sat longer thinking about it, this story also made me feel like I followed the protagonist on a journey of growth.

     “The Monkey Who Speaks” is about a home health care worker named Flavia, who is from the Philippines, and her decision to leave her agency to care only for the elder Roscoe. Flavia is actually hired by Roscoe’s daughter Veronica, and through this new arraignment, Flavia begins to earn more money, but also has the time to start going to community college. What we see is how Flavia takes care of Roscoe, his love of movies, and the trust between caregiver, patient, and family. It also covers how we move on in life, how things change, and how little events, comments, actions, linger on in our lives, reminding us of people from our past.

    This was my first time reading a story by Han Ong, and I was impressed by the work. The story never felt predictable, and unfolded in a way that was very honest to the sometimes monotony of caring for an elder individual, while also highlighting those moments of connection between people. I felt Flavia’s concern for Roscoe, while she also tried to keep the relationship professional with him and his daughter. It reminded me of how even I, especially over the pandemic, found myself thinking about clients from my former career. I would wonder how they were doing, if they survived all these changes. And just like Flavia discovered,  I also found myself realizing that all these years later, those interaction are still with me, and still make me glad that I had that time with that person.