I Have a New Job

Today's Report:

The alarm went off at 5 am and I crawled out of bed about 30 minutes later. I had to catch the 8:45 #5 bus. I piddled with email, suffered another crash of Firefox, thought I found another culprit (no problems this afternoon, at all), worked on a pretrial detention post, cut my beard, showered, shaved, dressed, and got myself to McClure's for bus fare. I caught the bus on time, made my connection to the #3, got off on Wheeling and walked over to my appointment.

 

It was a pleasant interview. I left with good feelings and encouragement.

Then I walked down McGalliard, braved the Wheeling/McGalliard intersection to reach Payless. There I bought groceries for the first of the week. I thought I had missed the bus. Trouble with a half loaf of pumpernickel – it was on sale and would not scan – I thought had put me in a bad spot, so I left behind the bread. When the bus had not come by 10:31, I went back to get the pumpernickel (hey, it was $1.39). Only to have the bus arrive as I was leaving. Things were going good, still.

That my bus home had not left, I took as a good sign for the day. I got back here at 11. 

After snacking for lunch, I started back on my pretrial detention notes. A little before noon, I got the news I was hired. They called and needed more online filled out. I did that, then called back. I am awaiting more documents to be sent and a date to start. 

 

I did more for the blog. Now, I am thinking of getting out for a little while. No calls from CC, her phone is off. She was sick when I last talked to her. She could be dead for all I know. But it is a sunny day. Staying here just makes me wonder where is the final onboarding stuff.

 

This job could be a good thing; a change is needed before I cripple my hands. A dishwashing gig, again. The bus comes in 30 minutes. I will finish this report later.

sch 3:29 pm 

I got as far as the bus stop and turned around. The thought crossed my mind that the company had set me up online, and I went back to the room and fired up Firefox. Yep, there it was.I filled it out and called to let it be known that I had completed the paperwork. (Is it still paperwork if done on a computer?) I go in on Tuesday at 3:15 for orientation.

I have read a little. Having eaten a little dinner, I have not got much energy. Just finished listening to Ben Vaughn on WXPN and now moving over to KFAI's Crap from the Past. I will try to do more pretrial detention notes.

sch 6:08 pm

I am knocking off. I have filled up next Sunday with pretrial detention notes. Another notebook is almost done. Thing is, if I am worried about carpal tunnel, I need to finish off with tonight's typing.

CC called. She is alive, does not sound like she is on the verge of pneumonia.

I did leave, went down to McClure's for a fill up of RC Cola.

And that finishes another night Saturday night in Muncie. I am nervous about the new job – change in itself is always a worry, meeting new people, being as good as I think I am, leaving the other job, my cash flow. All the usual stuff.

Hoosier Review rejected “Colonel Tom”:

Sorry for the delay in reviewing this. Thank you for sharing "Colonel Tom" with us. Unfortunately it is not a fit for the magazine at this time.

We wish you the best in finding a home for the story.

Thanks,

Bryn and Matt

This is the mark I missed:

 The Hoosier Review is an online literary magazine featuring bold fiction that expands the scope of contemporary short stories. We are particularly interested in risky, empathetic stories that take on subjects or formats not typically given attention in mainstream fiction.

 

Today's Readings:

The fungi are coming to get you: ‘A growing threat to human health’: we are ill-equipped for the dangers of fungal infections. This stuff is real, as The Guardian reports:

Similar to the fungus in The Last of Us, Candida auris came at us from out of the blue. It was unknown to science until it was found in the ear canal of a 70-year-old Japanese woman in Tokyo in 2009. Within a couple of years, infections had been reported across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

“It is now all over the world, and is an absolute nightmare in hospitals because it is resistant to a lot of the frontline antifungal drugs,” says Prof Matthew Fisher from the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London. It is also partially resistant to disinfectants and heat, which makes it extremely difficult to eradicate. Its detection can trigger the temporary closure of entire hospital wards.

Where Candida auris came from is uncertain. “We’re guessing that in the deep fungal biodiversity that is out there, this particular species got lucky,” says Fisher. Certain factors may have contributed. Climate change may have promoted the shift of this organism from an unknown host to us, and it’s even possible that, as in The Last of Us, warmer temperatures have selected for variants that can grow at human body temperature.

Another possibility is that the overuse of antifungal drugs in medicine or agriculture has suppressed the growth of competitor organisms, opening up niches in which drug-resistant strains of Candida auris, and other potentially harmful fungi, can thrive. Compounding the problem, only four classes of antifungal drugs exist, and there are very few in the pipeline.

I get a different political slant from The Bulwark, the site also does a good job on books: Love and Libertinism: The Endless Fascination of ‘Dangerous Liaisons’. I saw the movie years and years ago, have never read the book; I would like to do so now.

From Aeon, a bit of archeology: What the tablets say.

From The Article: Rhetoric and war: a lesson from Thucydides.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders

From The Washington Post, Why M.R. James is the Arthur Conan Doyle of supernatural fiction

Musical Accompaniments

Thinking of tripping:

 

sch