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My life changed when the Corona Virus hit planet Earth. I'm not specifically saying the virus came from outer space. More like the virus came out of nowhere and impacted us - the world as we knew it.

It was our canon event. Sometimes it's not a war that kills the most people. Funnier thing about it, I went from struggling for employment to jobs coming at me out the wazoo.

I now had a job working for 311 at the top of 2020. I was specifically hired to take calls for anything COVID related. I had some training in it for about 2 weeks. At this point in time, I'm still thinking the virus is not that big of a deal, but they're hiring me for it so let's go. Let's get that bag. That was more my attitude in the beginning.

Of course my whole attitude had to change but over time. I realized the employee turnover rate at this place was ridiculously fast. The 3 train commute was long and inconvenient to say the least. And at the time, we're only ankle deep in pandemic. But all company management did was gave us Clorox wipes to clean off our work space. At that time, no personalized headset. We had to use community headsets (meaning the headsets were there for anyone to use) and clean them with the 2 sheets of Clorox wipes - you couldn't have more than that. They were on a budget.

And so my concern for COVID grew. There were various subway trains I rode on that had feces stains on the seats. To me, it was like a weird sign that someone died there and their bowels released the waste a few hours later...while nobody notices. I saw that on different trains. This had to have been the stage where it was being reported that it hit New York, but only in certain boros like Queens and Brooklyn.

I also got tired of the city hiring these contractors to hire me to do their dirty work and not have a decent cleaning policy. Also no city benefits. So I could be working there for 40 years and no pension. They even teased about working from home but that never happened. So after 3 months I 'covid' left.

It wasn't long before Workforce1 started sending me emails about some more funky new jobs.

Like working for FedEx, but not directly. Once again I'm dealing with the outside contractor hiring me to do FedEx menial work of package handling. All the labor, none of the benefits.

They have different pet peeves names for companies like these. I don't know the slang name as of when Im writing this. I just know I can't escape this.

For 311 the sub-contractors was King Teleservices and now for FedEx it's Aerotek. Both have this really complicated way to log in to this 3rd party website to do your W4 or your tax documents. As well as checking your paystubs and your clock in time.

Yet these jobs keep hiring. And when the government was urging everyone to stay home, my dumbass couldn't stop thinking about the money I could be making. Plus I was bored at home, before COVID. If I didn't go out and work I'd probably loose my mind. I learned that by watching "A Beautiful Mind"

So now I'm a package handler flinging packages onto a conveyor belt. No regard for COVID 19. There were already times when I couldn't taste anything. And the commute was interesting for this one - I figured out how to bicycle ride to work. Yea the two buses that took me there were real slow and took an awkward route. I rode my bike to work and got there much quicker.

At this job at one point everyone had to wear masks during work but that soon stopped. I use to hear stories about packages getting out late from the warehouse because they had to find backup drivers because a bunch of drivers were catching COVID calling out sick.

Anyway as time went on I began to dislike the job. The commute was still another mission. And emotionally I felt like I couldn't ignore COVID anymore.

So the same thing happened with this company. I even tried to get a job directly working for FedEx. It's depressing how I get turned down for the real jobs. So after a few months I lefted.

Now I'm home again. Listening to the news. Waiting for a stimulus check. For some reason or another, I couldn't collect unemployment. But VA benefits come in clutch.

After a while, I saw workforce1 had 311 jobs up for grabs. No surprise. I went back to 311 this time as a regular Customer Care Representative (CCR).

By this time a year and a half had passed. They already came out with vaccines and the virus was sort of under controlled.

This time around was different. I started with the trains to commute to work but I ended up getting a used car. An SUV. 2016 Nissan Rogue. And where 311 was at, I was able to find parking no problem. They even gave me a tag to park closer inside the building's parking lot.

I worked there for a little over a year. Then a better job came along.

Here we go again with the middle -man companies. Initially workforce1 put it out there saying that Delta was hiring. But it turned out to be Jet Way Security and Investigations LLC. A contractor for Delta. They hired me. This time there was no gap in unemployment. I quit King Teleservices for the second time on June 15 and went to Jet Way working for Delta Dash at LaGuardia airport on June 16.

I made the switch because the commute was way shorter and the pay was better. Who could say no to that... under the circumstances.

By this time there is no COVID policy. Any prevention one took was optional. With this job I have to wear all black clothing with a yellow reflective vest.

The year now was 2022. I had been trying to get the VA to sponsor me and pay my tuition to go back to school. I want to be an art teacher.

Unfortunately, when I tried to apply to Queens College, that went completely sideways. The application process was a little tricky so at one point I screwed that up. Then after waiting a whole year (because I ran out of time with the registering for classes), I either messed it up again or I wasn't getting the support I needed in time from the program director or the veteran student body on campus. It turned out to be chaotic.

Instead I abandoned trying to apply to Queens College and applied to an all online school - WGU. That worked out. So I'm currently pursuing my Master's in English education. They didn't have a program for art teacher so I improvised.

So if I had to update you from the last time I wrote anything about myself this would be it. I'm still working for Jet Way except it's at a different location (JFK) from where I started. I don't need the reflective vest now. Since working there they've given me two raises plus they've been nice enough to give me paid time off when I needed it.

I've had my ups and downs with this company but it's been mostly positive things.

The work I do is kind of physical - I work directly with the Duty-free Store carrying duty-free packages to the gates for the passengers flying out the country. I have to do a lot of walking. Those gates be like a city block apart and there's plenty of them in terminal 4. Since I started working there Ive lost 20lbs.

The commute to work is not bad. 15-20 minutes driving to the employee parking lot but I have to jump on an air train which is free but it takes about 30-40 minutes to get to the terminal.

If I had to complain it would be the hours. When I started at LGA I worked 4am-12pm. I liked those hours because when I got out of work there was no traffic and it still feels like I have a whole day ahead of me. Now at JFK I work 4pm-12am. Ugh. I'm not even a night person. But I have adjusted my sleep cycle since I transitioned.

I wish I could talk more about the acting I was doing because I had a few small gigs as an actor. But this was before COVID while I was working as a tenant organizer.

It's hard to explain running a business now that I'm 'woke'. The business fell to the side because I couldn't maintain it as an LLC. I get it now. I have fallen back on a start-up wave and as of 2019 I work full-time as a volunteer tenant organizer. 

My life is all in the wind right now. I may still be legally married, but my new acquired allergies has left me separated from my spouse. My allergies had me apart from my wife a long time now. It became so intolerable and cause such discord among us I took the opportunity of not being employed the early part of last year to move out into the streets and declare myself homeless. 

Being a homeless veteran allowed me to qualify for subsidized housing but I had to go through the process. 

I'm telling you I went through the process (because I've been through plenty of processes) and now I have a place to live at a 'discount' up until November.  

My volunteer status at the non profit also ends in November. I'll be free again to change courses to build a better future. 

So I wrote that to say I'm still blowing in the wind going through those 2 processes at the same time. I'm going through it mainly because of these allergies. 

Nowadays I don't know if I'll be able to even keep a job because of these allergies. Thoughts about running a non profit entertain my mind. So does enlisting for Peace Corp. 

I'm not writing a blog. I don't like the term or the undermining meaning of the word blog. I'm writing this to journalize a story in New York. 

So many wonderful memories and stories come out of New York. 

No one really sees the obstacles though.