The sky tried to have a sunset last Thursday, but the big gray clouds on top put an end to that.
.Good morning! Aloha kakahiaka!
What a week! Brett had scheduled an appointment on Tuesday to have a new battery installed in our car – we’d been having trouble getting the car started at times and knew the battery was starting to fail. When he went out to start the car Tuesday morning though the battery was DEAD. And, there was no one around in the neighborhood to help jump the car (which as it turned out would have been futile) and he ended up having to arrange for a tow to the garage. Ouch. The battery installation was easy but then it was discovered that some belt (I don’t know what it’s called) in the car was almost worn through and about to snap. The belt drives the air conditioner condenser, the steering pump, and a few other things so it was important. The new belt and other parts were not cheap and neither was the labor to get it installed – $$$. But, our little nine-year-old Honda is running great once again and starting right up. The car has over 100K miles on it now, but we want to squeeze a couple more years out of it so know keeping it maintained is importance and that maintenance issues will be probably be happening more frequently as it ages. There is no place at our apartment for Brett to work on the car or even change the oil which would save us a bunch, but we like our mechanic and his prices are fair (for the island) – he’s been our guy since 2014 and has a good reputation. This was not a fun way to start off our big save-a-thon but it needed doing. Sigh.
We also learned this past week that the timeline for our tier receiving the vaccine has been delayed from March until April. Apparently storms and bad weather back on the mainland delayed shipments of the vaccine to Hawaii, and now the state is behind on the second shots and needs to catch up with those before they move to our tier. They’ve also had difficulty getting the vaccine to some who live in very isolated areas. It’s very frustrating as we’d like to get this done and finished, but on the other hand we live in a safe area where people here practice social distancing, mask wearing, etc. (sadly, the same can’t be said of some visitors) and we don’t have any plans to change our behaviors for the time being. Brett may end up getting the vaccine before I do – our tier is supposed to cover age 65 and above, but we heard they may start with age 70 a couple of weeks ahead of the rest of the tier. We’ll continue to wait and stay patient.
The wind this past week has been something else, very loud and persistant, and bringing with it lots of clouds and heavy rain. It’s been difficult to read at times, or watch TV, because of the noise created by the wind blowing through the trees. Last Thursday night it was so loud it was difficult to sleep – I was up well into the middle of the night even though I wear earplugs. Temperatures have been cool as well, although not as low as earlier in the month. We are longing for some consistently sunnier weather, but have no idea when that will show up. Ever since we arrived, Hawaii’s weather has been a revelation, constantly changing and showing us things we didn’t think occurred here. I can’t believe how often I give thanks that I didn’t just spend a whole lot to come over for a short vacation. Speaking of which, visitors are starting to come back in in bigger and bigger numbers. The farmers’ market was somewhat crowded this past week, and we’ve seen an uptick in the amount of traffic even in our area.
This morning I am:
- Reading: This past week not one, not two, but three books came off of hold at the library within a space of two days. Yikes! Two days before I got the notice I had checked where I was in line for some of the books, and while I was getting close for two books, I was still #150 on the wait list for the new Tana French book, The Searcher. Yet somehow two days later there was the notice that it was available for me to download. My guess is that lots of people probably did what I used to do: got tired of waiting and bought the book instead. Anyway, I finished Still Life and The Thursday Murder Club (both were great) and am now reading The Searcher and Robert Barnard’s Death of a Chaste Apprentice. The latter should be a quick read and then I’ll get started on the Shirley Jackson classic, The Haunting of Hill House. The Woman In White is just going to have to wait a little longer. Robert Barnard was a favorite British mystery writer in the past; I love his sly sense of humor. I’ve read all of his books and thought I’d see if I still liked them as much as I did in the past (plus I don’t remember anything about them). I am ending February with eight books finished and am already into my books for March, so in a good place for now to read 52 books this year
- Listening to: The wind is absolutely howling outside and even with the doors and windows closed it’s very loud, like a freight train running through the yard. There are patches of blue sky out there, but they’re not predicted to last although these days it’s been hard to know how the day will turn out. Every day has been a surprise.
- Watching: We started Crime Scene: The Cecil Hotel last Monday and watched that for four days. It was quite creepy and but eventually the mystery was (sadly) resolved. I thought the Cecil Hotel looked and sounded familiar and it turned out to be the inspiration for the fifth season of American Horror Story: Hotel. Brett and I are now watching The Sinner. Wandavision will be up next. I’m also still watching the Great British Menu and loving it. This is only the first season available so I have a while to get through it which makes me very happy.
Costco,
Times Market,
and Walmart
This past week’s Big Shop
- Happy I accomplished this past week: This was a good week for getting lots of things done. I applied for a new passport as my old one expires at the end of March (Brett renewed his earlier this month). It’s strange to think that the next time I apply I will be almost 79 years old and may have to think about whether it’s worth it to renew or not. I hope so as both Brett and I would still like to be traveling then (my mom still traveled internationally in her 80s). We did a Big Shop as we have a three-week stretch to get through until our next round of income arrives. We tried a new market (Times Market) that’s nearer to Costco and liked it and its prices much better than Safeway so will be shopping there going forward. Last month our current physician departed the island to care for her mother back on the mainland. After lots of discussion, Brett and I decided we wanted to return to our former physician even though his office is up on the north side of the island, and a good 45 minute drive away. We both liked seeing him before though, and decided that when we have to go up there for an appointment we will make a day of it and take advantage of the opportunity to do things on the north shore. Anyway, we got the process started this week to get reinstated in his practice.
- Looking forward to next week: I have an appointment for a hair cut on Tuesday, and boy do I need it. Brett and I are looking forward to taking a long walk on the eastside beach path after my appointment, equipped with plenty of snacks and water this time.
- Thinking of good things that happened: Meiling made it up to Massachusetts early this past week and has been staying with WenYu. She has rented a studio apartment in Boston in a nice area and will move in this week. My new walking shoes have arrived! I will pick them up from the post office tomorrow and try them out for the first time tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting. A fellow walker we hadn’t seen for a while told us this week that she had been beginning to worry because it had been so long since we’d seen each other (we had been going earlier in the day), and another walker, an older woman, told us she liked the way we walked: “so energetic!”
- Thinking of frugal things we did: Although we had those expensive car repairs at the beginning of the week, and the price of gasoline rose by over 75¢ a gallon (!), overall it was a good week for being frugal. We put $10.53 into the change/$1 bill jar, leftover from the farmers’ market and our food shopping, and from recycling some cans. Our February change/$1 bills total is $36.52. Even though I took 12 things (!) off our shopping list this week we still spent a little more than we wanted to on groceries, but got everything we needed to get us through the next three weeks. The most expensive item was a package of three pot roasts from Costco, but at $10 each and us getting more than two meals from each roast they were a good buy. I will deduct this trip’s overage from our next shopping trip. I earned 2,069 Swagbucks this past week, and am currently over 1,000 SB ahead of where I need/want to be to make my goal of two $500 Delta gift cards this year. Leftovers were all eaten, no food was thrown away, and we had five no-spend days and two no-drive days.
Green onions, green beans, 2 limes, a head of cabbage, apple bananas, and a kabocha squash, just $13 and all fresh picked the day we bought them. - Grateful for: I continue to be thankful for our weekly farmers’ market, and for all the local farmers who bring such a variety of wonderful things and sell them for such reasonable prices. Every week we not only find what we need, but also something new to mix things up a bit.
- Bonus question: Do you enjoy going out to eat? Yes and no. I do enjoy eating dishes and foods that I wouldn’t normally fix at home, or ethnic foods that I don’t know how to make. I like that I don’t have to spend time in the kitchen, or wash dishes afterwards. I overall like the social experience (or at least I used to before COVID) and like that I am supporting the restaurant industry in our area. At the same time I greatly dislike what it costs to eat out these days. It’s gotten very expensive, no matter where you go or what you order. Even fast food is expensive or stopping for a cup of coffee somewhere. Every time we eat out I think of how much food we could have bought with that amount and how much we could have saved by preparing our meals at home. There are a few exceptions (can’t wait to have breakfast again at the TipTop Cafe, or saimin at Hamura’s here, for example), and we try to treat ourselves now and again, but it’s no longer as enjoyable an experience for me as it used to be.
That’s a wrap for this week and for February! It’s almost hard to believe now that there were three of us here when the month started, but the year is already bringing changes, and Brett and I have settled back into being just a couple again. I think we’ve put together a good plan for the year, we’re motivated, and we’re looking forward to what each month brings, especially since we’ve heard from both friends and family this past week that they may be visiting the island later in the year. March also is anniversary month for us – we’ve talked a little about what we might want to do to celebrate this year, but haven’t settled on anything yet.
Anyway, it was a good week, in spite of some unexpected spending and the wacky weather. Here’s wishing everyone a great week coming up, filled with good food, good books, and lots of good things happening for all.
The Occasional Nomads 
One of my favorite restaurants there is Korean BBQ Restaurant which is in Kapa’a at the Kinipopo Shopping Village. Have you been there? It’s a small place and the food is very good and reasonably priced. Of course, I haven’t been there since before COVID, so I hope it’s still open. As for dining out around here, I’ve only eaten inside a restaurant twice since COVID. I normally order take out or delivery, but I really haven’t done too much of that. Some of that is because the weather hasn’t been great this winter and I didn’t want to go outside, so I might do more of that as the weather improves.
I’m not surprised to hear more visitors are there. I know one person who was there last month and now someone else I used to work with is on Maui, so people seem to be heading back. They both said they had to jump through a lot of hoops to get there, but that didn’t deter them.
I’ve been to Times Market and I do remember the prices being lower than Safeway. We have a store here called Acme which is owned by the same company that owns Safeway (Albertsons), and carry a lot of the same stuff.
Glad to hear Meiling is getting settled now. I’m sure it will be nice for her and WenYu to be able to spend time together!
Let us know how you like your new walking shoes. I need a new pair and have been trying to figure out what to buy.
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I know the Korean restaurant you’re talking about – it’s in the little mall with the jewelry store and a bakery, just down the road from Kintaro’s (which had a fire a while ago – they’ve gutted the inside and are apparently doing a full remodel. It’s been over a year though and they’re still boarded up). We’ve never been to the Korean place but will add to our “one of these days” list of places to try.
We’d been in Times Market once we were here before and hadn’t been impressed, but found some good prices this time. They’re the same company as Big Save, so we’re going to continue using them whenever we’re shopping up that way.
My new shoes are on – I’m wearing them in the house today just to get a feel for them. They’re comfortable. The proof will be in how they do tomorrow when they take their first walk (today is our day off).
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We had several days of warm (for us in spring anyway), sunny weather this week – very uplifting! It’s gray and raining today, but that is melting snow, so I’m happy with it. And the days are visibly longer, the temps are higher and we know spring is coming.
Restaurant meals are less enjoyable for me, too. The money is one factor, but I find the salt and fat level of most restaurant food to be high. So although it tastes good while I’m eating it, I don’t always feel good afterward. Of course, Covid has changed the whole dance. We were just saying this morning how nice it would be to eat in a restaurant and go out to a movie. We can do that here (I think) but neither of us are eager to do so.
Now that I’ve had both shots and passed the two week “full immunity” date (or as close as we can get), I feel less worried about contracting Covid and am actually thinking of sneaking back to the UK to see that baby again. Since the UK is planning to open virtually everything in June, I fear they may end up in another lockdown by summer if things go sideways with all that opening up. Delta is adding back a direct London flight near me in May and I’m thinking it might be calling my name. 🙂
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We are going through what I think is the worst time of the year here – rain, wind, etc. It will start to improve next month. Today is very, very windy, the worst it’s been yet. I’m glad it’s our day off from walking. There’s no rain, but it’s cold and I’m pretty sure the winds will be strong up at the park.
Brett and I have decided for our anniversary this month we’re going to give ourselves a “day of no cooking” with bakery in the morning, a carefully-selected restaurant that we know practices good sanitation and distancing for lunch, and then take-out for dinner. We have a few ideas of where we might go, but nothing firmly decided yet. That will take care of our going out urges (and budget) for a while.
I envy you having your vaccine already. Over 1/3 of our island has already received the vaccine – I saw a list of who all has been receiving it and it’s pretty much everybody other than those working in hospitality, and those under 75. I could see a few loopholes though where people could slip themselves in and get vaccinated even though they’re not technically eligible.
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The vaccine rollout has been really poorly executed, but it does seem to be improving with more supply trickling in. DH got his first shot (after pursuing it diligently himself). Now, two weeks later, he is getting messages from the medical people – both of our local systems – that he can make an appointment. So I think the supply is increasing at least somewhat. Hope you can get yours soon! It doesn’t change our lives all that much but it is a huge relief to feel we’re protected a bit.
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Things finally seem to be picking up here – Brett heard that he can apply for a slot next week! My time should be a couple of weeks after that (fingers crossed). We’re not going to change our behaviors after vaccinations, but we will feel much safer.
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We are about half way through The Cecil Hotel. Quite gripping.
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The ending was sad, but made sense. It was a very good show though, and suitably creepy.
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Meiling will love, love her studio in Boston….even more so as things return to something familiar and normal. Though I know she is probably going to be sore for a while from her break up.
We’ve had more of a “normal” winter here in Massachusetts this year but it is winding down! Things will be so lovely and recharging as the weather warms….Boston isn’t perfect but I think it is a nice place to live and getaways to other parts of New England are easy to access.
I just started watching The Knick on HBO which I wanted to watch when it first came out in 2014 but wasn’t able to at the time…while I like it, it’s not as good as I thought it would be.
I drive a Toyota so like you there aren’t frequent repairs but they do come up. If I get a stimulus check it will be saved for car stuff.
I was part of phase 1 in the vaccine because of my job but missed my chance….now with phase two there are more people trying so finding a spot is hard. My coworker who is in her mid twenties got her second shot this week and was pretty sick from it…..my other friends who are over 65 got there first jabs this past week and I am glad they got in.
Ugh…. and my food spending is out of control….sigh, we’ll get there I guess!
Anon in mass
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I have not hear from her since she went to MA, but wanted to give her some time with her sister and get ready for her move to Boston. I’m pretty sure it was an emotionally rough week for her. I’ll hear from her this week though after she gets moved in. Meiling doesn’t drive, so Boston makes sense as she can get around easily on public transportation, and can catch the train back up to see WenYu whenever.
Our car just went in for more repairs today – never rains but it pours. Hopefully this is it for awhile though and we can get through the next couple of years with nothing else major happening.
Vaccines seem to be moving along faster in other states than they are hear, but over 1/3 of Kaua’i has been vaccinated so we’re in good shape. Can’t wait until they open up for over 65, although over 70 (Brett) may happen sooner.
Our food spending has dropped by over 1/3 since YaYu went back to school. It’s amazing how much that girl ate.
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In this neck of the woods, we had some extreme winds as well, which knocked down a couple of our fence panels. Apparently, there is a shortage of fences because of the pandemic, bad weather, and high demand which means that it will take a long time until we’ll see them fixed. Of course, the prices have also skyrocketed both for materials and labor thus we’re looking at a significant unexpected expense.
California currently vaccinates people 65+ and finally, my husband got a vaccine appt for Tuesday. I’m the next tier, so I need to wait for a while. But I am glad that at least one of us made it to the vaccine.
Eating out is not enjoyable anymore for me. I came to the conclusion that going out to eat poses too much risk compared to the benefit. These days we just do take-out once in a while and we’re good with that.
Meiling may like Boston more than NY, glad she’s settling in. Having her sister close is fantastic!
Wishing you a good week with nicer weather and safe outings!
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The wind here has been so bad that it has been blowing tiles off of our roof! The landlord and a roofing crew were here today to get everything fastened down good and tight.
The pandemic has changed so many things. Lots of things we took for granted in the past, like getting a fence fixed in a timely manner, can now no longer be counted on, and the cost of everything has gone up, up, up. I read a sobering article last week about the effects this is going to have on the next couple generations, and certain segments of our economy. The rich are going to keep getting richer, but these other groups are going to suffer for two to three generations.
I hope Meiling has had a good week with WenYu, and that her move to Boston has gone well. I’ll talk with her later this week and find out how it’s going.
Fingers crossed for nicer weather – it could be much worse, but it’s still quite unpleasant now.
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It was 84 here today and my oldest son will be under a tornado watch in the northern part of the state, the part that was slammed with an ice storm a couple of weeks ago, and he slid off road on way home from work. He lives in an RV so I am grateful he will be at his job for a part of the tornado watch. He is safer there. I have never seen a squash like that squash! How interesting! Glad your daughter is getting situated ok.
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Your temperatures reminded me of what happened in Dallas, where Brett’s sister lives. Temperatures around 10 degrees for days, ice and snow everywhere, and in less than a week it was over 80 degrees! Crazy.
Glad your sone is OK, and hope he is able to stay safe.
Kabocha is Japanese pumpkin. It is smaller than our pumpkins, has a lovely flavor, and the peel is edible. The ones that grow here develop a tougher peel though, so I take it off. I usually simmer it Japanese style, but thought this week I’d roast it instead.
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I saw a you tube video today of a 95 year old gymnast. With that mindset you can renew your passport two or three more times.
Weather here is in the 80’s this week and my car registered a 91 yesterday. Not looking forward to the summer.
I’m hoping that travel restriction will lift by mid summer, meanwhile you can continue to plan various destinations.
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I have seen videos of that gymnast! She is amazing, and an inspiration.
No travel for us this year, but we’ve been hearing from others that they’re planning to come to Kaua’i this year so that will make up for some of our disappointment. The girls are all planning to come for the holidays, and we’ve got our fingers crossed our son will too, although we think they may want to enjoy Christmas in their new home. We’ll see.
Temperatures here are in the low 70s and upper 60s, cold for Hawai’i.
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Hugely windy here today as well! Giant waves breaking on the beach, snow blowing like a ground blizzard. It was a short walk!
I received my first COVID shot this week. Alaska seems ahead of the game on vaccinating compared to many other states. I was waiting patiently until our governor (who is now sick with COVID) removed all requirements for testing for visitors arriving from other states and countries. Since i own and work in a bookstore frequented by those folks, I decided it was time to work harder to find an appointment and be fully vaccinated before the summer tourists arrive. By the second week of April all of our staff except one guy in his 20s will be fully vaccinated plus the 2 weeks to maximum immunity. It will be a huge relief for us to not worry so much about getting sick at work. And hopefully the one shot J & J vaccine will speed things up so that our young employee will be vaccinated as well.
We haven’t eaten in a restaurant since February 2020. Not worth the risk for us. We have gotten takeout when numbers were low a few times. We live in a small town and it’s easy to tell which restaurants follow protocols carefully.
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Congrats on getting started on your vaccine! It will be at least another month for us. Sounds like people who work with the public are going first where you are – same here. I think hospitality workers are the only ones not included, which sort of surprises me, but if they start in with them people in our age group (65 to 74) would be waiting months for the vaccine. Hopefully with the J&J vaccine added to the mix things will be moving along more quickly.
We haven’t even been tempted to do takeout much, although we like to help local places when we can. It’s still too expensive. Like you, we know which places follow protocols carefully and that’s where we go.
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We’ve just started the vaccines here and teachers are not on any early list. We are not considered high risk groups or front line workers.
I like how there are four groups but they only write two and give the first one, three groupings – clever marketing!
I enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club – can see it becoming a TV series. One I’d enjoy . Like Midsommer Murder.
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I was glad to hear that teachers here are getting vaccinated early as I know they are not a priority in some other states.
The chart is frustrating to me – I look at it a couple of times a week and nothing is changing!
Loved, loved, loved The Thursday Murder Club and hope they make it into a series. It’s time anyway as I don’t think there’s anyone left to die in Midsomer.
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I think we all wonder how there are any people left to die in Midsommer.
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Midsommer County: Murder Capitol of the World
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About renewing your passport next time, consider John McCain’s mother. She was deemed “too old” by the car rental company in Europe (England?) at the age of 93, so she bought a car to use for the remainder of her trip! You will be fine, especially because you are such seasoned travelers.
On the subject of increasing costs, our gasoline price is also way up right now, but the bigger one for me is my water bill. When I bought this house in 2007, my monthly water bill was less than $20. After this most recent increase, it is now $83. Wow. The water authority has not been keeping up with needed maintenance for decades, resulting in issues that created the need to replace most of the underground pipes. Grrr.
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Your water bill issues sound like what we went through in Portland. When we moved there our water bill was less than $30/month, but when we left it was over $100/month. They installed a new billing systems that didn’t work and there were increases to cover fixing that. A couple of years before we left it was discovered the water bureau had been over billing people for years, collecting millions of dollar extra. Did we get it back? No – the then mayor discovered a loophole and used the money to build bike lanes and bio-swales throughout the city to collect and redirect rain water. Grrrrrr. There were also other issues as well that keep the price high related to the sewers – that part of the bill was always three times the amount of the actual water. The one thing that could never be faulted was the quality of the water – it was superb. The price for water here is very low, all things considered, but we filter our drinking water (water here is safe, but doesn’t taste very good).
I hope I’m still driving at 93! My mom started having mini-strokes in her mid-80s and had to give it up though.
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I haven’t eaten in a restaurant for a year. Lunch with friends and family is one of the things I miss the most. Take-out is not so easy living in a rural area. I’ve indulged in fast food a few times. I don’t mind spending money at a restaurant that offers good food but the cost of take-out never ceases to amaze me. How do young families afford it? A new season of The Voice starts tonight. Yeah!
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Brett and I have gone out a couple of time for breakfast, and gotten take out a couple of times, but like you we found the cost of the take out too much to do it any more frequently. How do people afford it?
We’re going to do a day of no-cooking for our anniversary this month: Bakery for breakfast, lunch in a restaurant, and take out for dinner. We have lots of time to plan, but think most places will be up and running by the end of the month with everyone getting vaccinated.
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The pic of your Farmer’s Market goodies made me eager for growing season here! I normally am not a big fan of summer (or rather, summer weather) but after finding a farm close by where we can get just-picked-that-morning produce has made me look forward to the warmer weather!
We had a couple warm and sunny days this week after many days of dreary, rain and cold. As a result both of us ended up with a sun burn after being outside longer than we anticipated.
We have not eaten out nearly as much in the last months/year, but we do try to support some local restaurants that we feel comfortable going to. (Some places seem to ignore the current Covid spacing restrictions). We have also gotten some ready-made meals from a local business that we keep in the freezer. These are not necessarily cheap, but cheaper than eating out!
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I wish we were able to support local restaurants more, but finding room in the budget is difficult – even takeout is expensive.
The farmers’ markets on the island are one the best things about living here. We look forward to going every week. I alway carry a “must buy” list, but then we keep ourselves open to other things we might see. There are seasons too although most things are available year round. Most of the markets here are pretty much produce (including plants and flowers) only – no “value added” items like baked goods, etc.
Some of the businesses that carried ready-made meals have folded (like Monkeypod Jam) but others have done well. My favorite ready-to-eat meals come from Costco. They’re priced well for how much you get and big enough for two to three meals for Brett and me.
Fingers are crossed for better weather this week. Yesterday was windy but sunny. Today it’s windy and cold.
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I love to eat out but this past year we’ve only done takeout. We’ve focused on eating at local restaurants to help support them during Covid. I’m in group 1c which just opened today. I’m trying to mentally prepare that it’ll still be a while before I can get an appointment but I’m so excited. A lot of my family and friends are already vaccinated due to their age or jobs. I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since things shut down.
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Congratulations – you’ll have your vaccination before you know it. I am hopefully that things will speed up here as well, especially with a third vaccine now available.
I’ve been thinking a lot about where we were and what we were doing last year. We were still in Japan, but the circle of what we could do and where we could go was getting smaller and smaller. I can’t wait until we can get back again, and do some other traveling as well.
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I spent 11 years in downtown Boston and it is an incredible place (pre-pandemic) for anyone in their 20’s as there are 30? 40? colleges and universities in the metropolitan area. Always a wide variety of things happening and usually with reasonable price tags.
I’m listening to the wind BLOW here – we are under a gale advisory with 30-40 knots and boy does it sound like it!
So interesting that the weather in Hawaii isn’t predominately “lovely, sunny tropical” weather. It seems like a long time since you posted about a beach day. Hope you get at least one this week!
Connecticut has been doing a very good job vaccinating people with pretty strict adherence to categories and administering vaccines as soon as supplies arrive. For example, we did not open up to 65+ when Trump announced it back in January, but waited until the 75+ and front line medical workers were all vaccinated. As of March 1st slots have opened up for 55+ and all educators. I was up at midnight signing onto the various websites and booked a shot for 29 April – essentially a two month wait. I expect that more slots will open up sooner as the J&J vaccine makes it way out into the country. On the other hand, my 81 year old mother in Florida has not been able to schedule an appointment. What a disaster that state has been with this rollout.
What did you read that had the forecast of how effects of the pandemic will play out? It sounds like something I would be interested in.
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Meiling’s apartment is in the Back Bay neighborhood, across the river from MIT, so she’s in a good spot. Lots of things around there for her to investigate. And, her apartment is very charming – it even has a fireplace (non working, of course).
Hawaii is vaccinating ALL front line workers ahead of 65-74 years old. I was surprised by the extent of the list. Airplane mechanics are getting vaccinated ahead of us. So, it’s going to be a while but I have to think they know what they’re doing (or I’ll go mad at this point). Like you, once they do open up Tier 1C, getting an appointment is going to take a while let alone getting the actual shot.
It was a thread I saw on Twitter. One of the things he talked about was how the trucking industry was going to be affected, and what that would do to a certain group of otherwise healthy young and middle-aged men throughout the country. Businesses have learned they can get by even leaner now, and that will affect the younger generations. Fewer jobs, lower pay, and it will affect almost every aspect of our society going forward. It was the first time I felt sort of grateful for being old and retired, but gave me more to worry about with our kids. They have thankfully chosen good fields, and are bilingual, so we hope they will be OK.
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I lived in Coolidge Corner, The Fens, Beacon Hill, and Brighton. Back Bay is lovely. You probably know that the cross roads in Back Bay are all alphabetical starting with Arlington at the Boston Garden going out to Hereford?
Interesting about the trucking industry. I also think commercial real estate will be impacted as why rent office space when workers can work from home and pay for their own electricity, toilet paper, etc.
Also interesting about airplane mechanics but that must speak to the importance of the tourist industry.
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Her apartment is so cute! I absolutely love the fireplace, even though it doesn’t work. It gives the whole place personality. She’s still getting settled but has found Trader Joe’s and a couple of other stores. And no, I did not know that about the cross roads!
Agree with you about real estate. It will be the same for other industries as well – they’ve discovered employees can work remotely and it saves them even more. Meiling’s company is practically full remote now with no intentions of going back.
I’d buy the importance of getting the tourist industry back on its feet, but hospitality employees don’t receive any preference for the vaccine. My stylist said her business has applied with the state to get slots because they deal with the public, but so far they haven’t heard anything back.
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