The $1,200 stimulus from the feds was deposited in my bank account today. Hooray!
Added to the Unemployment payments (per some federal ruling, unemployment is paying an extra $600/week), this puts me in the very weird position of receiving more money from the government than I would earn at my minimum-wage job.
That's great for me and everyone else screwed to the bottom of the wage scale. But I hate this unfairness:
that people who HAVE to keep working--and risk exposure--aren't getting extra--or not that much.
I'm finding some ways to share my extra.
I. Strong for the Long Haul
Besides making donations and giving tips ($20 to the mail carrier), I've had the fun of choosing gifts.
First, Maura is sick with "mild" Covid for her fourth (4th) week, plus, she got "furloughed" from her consulting job this week.
Ayayay... Not fun!
A store in my neighborhood that usually prints clothes for high-school sports teams started printing T-shirts reading:
MINNESOTA (or MINNEAPOLIS) STRONG COVID-19 2020
Perfect!
I biked one over to Maura's doorstep, along with a girlette, Hutchette.
I hope Maura won't mind me sharing these photos--she looks... well, like someone who has been in bed for almost four weeks.
She's run a marathon in the past--she knows something about the long haul.
Btw, Maura recommends online Meditation apps, such as Headspace and Calm, for keeping panicky heartrates down.
Second, I ordered a dozen used books from the NYRB Classics series for Mz (who has to keep working in groceries and who is missing bookstores & libraries), including the four below.
(Someone's going to write a fabulous book about our Troubles.)
Third, HM used a spoon to try to change her bike tire---far from ideal. I ordered 3 sets of these fab tire levers to give away---they stay in place by hooking onto a spoke.
II. “Be true to yourself and to your profession. In other words, just be a normal librarian.”
--Scott Bonner, Ferguson Library Director
I've bought unnecessary (even unwanted) stuff from local businesses, to support them.
I've sent cash donations to a few places too--
yesterday to Ferguson Public Library--
--remember them?
The library director Scott Bonner had made that library an oasis during the unrest following the police killing Michael Brown in 2014.
In an 2015 interview, Bonner said the library had had NO programming, and with the unexpected $400,000+ in donations , he hoped they could start running daily programs. And they did.
I ordered a fundraising T-shirt from the local micro-cinema, the Trylon. They chose Toshiro Mifune because it's the 100th anniversary of his birth.
It's Pandemic Drabble in the backyard with HM & her two sons tonight, so I ordered a whole key lime pie from a local coffee shop, and gave a 50% tip.
III. The Stuff of Life
AND... I've received gifts too! Top of the list, Best Gift = Communication
THANK YOU, Everyone who has emailed, phoned, FaceTimed, blogged (and commented), text messaged, prayed, etc.
Keep it coming!
I'm moved by things like Michael of Orange Crate Art making "homemade music" videos with his musician wife Elaine.
...and friends sharing online things that match me.
(I've shared some here--Baked Ham Recipe from Krista, Atlantic article from Kirsten, Meditation School from Denise...)
Some more:
Rupert Brooke poem, "The Little Dog's Day" from Eeva
"Book Spine Poem" from Jen
From John S: "Retired Doctor Walks Camino in His Driveway"
And when communication is matched with a gift of bread, heaven!
This morning bink dropped off fresh (still warm!) sourdough rye from a German bakery:
__________________
No one knows how long this weird situation will continue, of course.
This afternoon, Gov. Walz announced a two-week extension of the Stay at Home order that was to expire on May 4--to May 18, but allowing some businesses to reopen "safely".
Maybe the thrift store will reopen soon?
Or--who knows--maybe the world will end!?! Or I will. I mean, I will eventually, for sure.
So--that's another thing I did: I made a will!
It's pretty easy, you know, and you don't need a lawyer, at least if you don't have a complicated estate. (Mine is basic. Dolls and Bears!)
I copied the language of a state-specific template I found online, and got HM & Son to sign it.
So, that's all good.
Added to the Unemployment payments (per some federal ruling, unemployment is paying an extra $600/week), this puts me in the very weird position of receiving more money from the government than I would earn at my minimum-wage job.
That's great for me and everyone else screwed to the bottom of the wage scale. But I hate this unfairness:
that people who HAVE to keep working--and risk exposure--aren't getting extra--or not that much.
I'm finding some ways to share my extra.
I. Strong for the Long Haul
Besides making donations and giving tips ($20 to the mail carrier), I've had the fun of choosing gifts.
First, Maura is sick with "mild" Covid for her fourth (4th) week, plus, she got "furloughed" from her consulting job this week.
Ayayay... Not fun!
A store in my neighborhood that usually prints clothes for high-school sports teams started printing T-shirts reading:
MINNESOTA (or MINNEAPOLIS) STRONG COVID-19 2020
Perfect!
I biked one over to Maura's doorstep, along with a girlette, Hutchette.
I hope Maura won't mind me sharing these photos--she looks... well, like someone who has been in bed for almost four weeks.
She's run a marathon in the past--she knows something about the long haul.
Second, I ordered a dozen used books from the NYRB Classics series for Mz (who has to keep working in groceries and who is missing bookstores & libraries), including the four below.
(Someone's going to write a fabulous book about our Troubles.)
Third, HM used a spoon to try to change her bike tire---far from ideal. I ordered 3 sets of these fab tire levers to give away---they stay in place by hooking onto a spoke.
II. “Be true to yourself and to your profession. In other words, just be a normal librarian.”
--Scott Bonner, Ferguson Library Director
I've bought unnecessary (even unwanted) stuff from local businesses, to support them.
I've sent cash donations to a few places too--
yesterday to Ferguson Public Library--
The library director Scott Bonner had made that library an oasis during the unrest following the police killing Michael Brown in 2014.
In an 2015 interview, Bonner said the library had had NO programming, and with the unexpected $400,000+ in donations , he hoped they could start running daily programs. And they did.
I ordered a fundraising T-shirt from the local micro-cinema, the Trylon. They chose Toshiro Mifune because it's the 100th anniversary of his birth.
It's Pandemic Drabble in the backyard with HM & her two sons tonight, so I ordered a whole key lime pie from a local coffee shop, and gave a 50% tip.
III. The Stuff of Life
AND... I've received gifts too! Top of the list, Best Gift = Communication
THANK YOU, Everyone who has emailed, phoned, FaceTimed, blogged (and commented), text messaged, prayed, etc.
Keep it coming!
I'm moved by things like Michael of Orange Crate Art making "homemade music" videos with his musician wife Elaine.
...and friends sharing online things that match me.
(I've shared some here--Baked Ham Recipe from Krista, Atlantic article from Kirsten, Meditation School from Denise...)
Some more:
Rupert Brooke poem, "The Little Dog's Day" from Eeva
"Book Spine Poem" from Jen
From John S: "Retired Doctor Walks Camino in His Driveway"
And when communication is matched with a gift of bread, heaven!
This morning bink dropped off fresh (still warm!) sourdough rye from a German bakery:
__________________ No one knows how long this weird situation will continue, of course.
This afternoon, Gov. Walz announced a two-week extension of the Stay at Home order that was to expire on May 4--to May 18, but allowing some businesses to reopen "safely".
Maybe the thrift store will reopen soon?
Or--who knows--maybe the world will end!?! Or I will. I mean, I will eventually, for sure.
So--that's another thing I did: I made a will!
It's pretty easy, you know, and you don't need a lawyer, at least if you don't have a complicated estate. (Mine is basic. Dolls and Bears!)
I copied the language of a state-specific template I found online, and got HM & Son to sign it.
So, that's all good.
Dolls and bears! That would be about the same as mine. Love all the things you have been up to-and that pie looks especially delicious so money well spent!
ReplyDeleteHi, Sarah:
ReplyDeleteA person could start a Dolls and Bears Estate Planning Agency...
We ate the pie last night, and it was soooo good! Heavy tart and sweet. The cafe that makes it is a one-man show. The owner/baker/barista said his key lime pie is the best seller in the pandemic!