Labour Day celebrates the achievements of workers and the labor movement. It honors their contributions to society and advocates for workers' rights and fair labor practices.
In the competitive financial industry, establishing a streamlined, efficient workflow isn't just an advantage—it's an absolute necessity. Lucinity stands at the frontier of this innovation, revolutionizing the way financial crimes are prevented and investigated with its advanced AI-powered platform. At the heart of Lucinity's success is its unparalleled commitment to workflow automation, a feature that transforms cumbersome, time-intensive processes into sleek, fast-moving operations that propel businesses forward. Workflow Automation: A Pillar of Lucinity's Platform Workflow automation within the Lucinity ecosystem means more than just automating tasks. It represents a fundamental shift in how financial institutions approach FinCrime prevention. By leveraging Lucinity's platform, organizations can simplify alerts, investigations, and reporting, turning what used to be a tangled web of procedures into a streamlined and coherent process. But how does workflow automation make such a transformative impact? The answer lies in the seamless integration of Lucinity's modules, including case management, customer behavior profiling, and Luci, your AI-powered copilot. Each module is designed to work harmoniously, automating workflows from end-to-end, reducing human error, and significantly cutting down processing times. Profiles: A Deeper Insight Workflow automation extends into customer insights through Lucinity Profiles. This feature grants financial institutions the ability to automate the analysis of vast quantities of data, uncovering hidden patterns and predicting trends with unprecedented precision. In effect, this automation empowers companies to preemptively respond to potential threats before they escalate. Luci: Your AI-Powered Copilot Luci is a co-pilot that helps streamline the workflow automation even further by providing useful insights that transform a grueling, manual process into an efficient, tech-driven operation. As Lucinity's advanced AI-driven assistant, Luci slashes traditional investigation times from the industry standard—making a dramatic shift from approximately 2.5 hours down to a mere 30 minutes per case. This is not an incremental improvement; it's a revolutionary overhaul of efficiency. By employing Luci, compliance teams are equipped with a sophisticated tool that deciphers and navigates through mounds of data at unprecedented speeds. The AI's expertise in generating clear, actionable insights ensures that even the most subtle signs of financial malfeasance are detected swiftly and accurately. With Luci, the promise is not just in the speed but in the assurance of quality and consistency in every investigation. Proven Results: The Lucinity Leap The Lucinity platform, renowned for its excellence in workflow automation, excels in rendering processes more efficient. Take the example of a Tier-1 bank that, by integrating Lucinity's technology, projected annual savings of over 25 million dollars. This monumental saving is attributed to the platform's ability to automate critical aspects of financial crime detection and investigation, allowing teams to dedicate their efforts to more strategic tasks. The Lucinity Advantage for Workflow Automation: Why Choose Us? When considering Lucinity as a partner in the fight against financial crime, you're not just selecting another tool for your arsenal—you're making a strategic decision to leap forward in operational efficiency and effectiveness. Lucinity distinguishes itself by harmonizing advanced AI technology with intuitive design, creating a seamless experience for users and an unwavering line of defense against financial crimes. Our platform epitomizes the integration of vast, disparate data sources into a single, coherent ecosystem. This consolidation breathes life into data that once lay fragmented across systems, transforming it into deeply insightful, actionable intelligence. Lucinity elevates the status quo of financial crime prevention from a necessary burden to an empowered strategic advantage. Experience Lucinity in Action Ready to redefine your team's approach to workflow automation? Discover the unparalleled efficiency of Lucinity's platform and take the first step towards transforming your financial crime prevention strategy today. Explore Lucinity now and witness firsthand how workflow automation can elevate your operations to new heights. Embracing Lucinity's workflow automation capabilities means not just meeting the challenges of today but being well-prepared for the complexities of tomorrow. With Lucinity, the future of FinCrime prevention doesn't just look promising; it looks achievable. Visit - https://lucinity.com/
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Here's a video of my first therapy dog, Bella. She was recused from Dead Dog Beach in Puerto Rico and we adopted her when she was four months old. She was super active and my vet suggested that she needed a job. We tried agility but it wasn't the right fit. But when she became a therapy dog at age five, we were all set. Bella was intuitive and curious and knew just what to do whether working with students or visiting patients in the hospital. This volunteer work provided the perfect balance to writing, and I'm still at it, now with my second therapy dog, Rudy. My book about Bella is titled "Joy Unleashed: The Story of Bella, the Unlikely Therapy Dog." It's done really well and is in its third printing. Enjoy!
Now i am going to talk you about the period when i had problems with selecting variety works. In that time i had number of choices to work and earn extra money. But everything lead to negative outcome. If i am not mistaken it was a year ago, i had just finished my 3rd year at the university. And i need to earn much money in that time because of variety personal reasons. Firstly, i went to apply to one of the big supermarket for the position of cashier. Then after a day market administration called me to work there as a market staff. It was the first time that i communicated with clients as a salesmen. Earlier, it seemed me more difficult to interact with them but, i realised how to speak with them easily. In that day, one of the market cashier helped me for how to interact and converse with clients. I learnt every aspect of work and also, i used to use the cash calculator. But, in that day i thought as an alien there. Because most of the experienced workers especially, male staff were more ignorant with me and they sometimes were unhelpful with my chores. And that is why i just started to decide not to return there and continue to work. But i did not regret my decision about abandoning the job. After several days i had the 2nd chance to apply to the new job position. And the next occupation was in the office. This was a small agency business that sells natural medicines ,which made from the milk of domestic animals. I heard the work opportunities and its ambitions from the hr staff. And that all inspired me work there and continue my future carier with them. The team was incredible there. Each person was so helpful. But what stopped me carry on the job was the product they wanted to sell. It was natural but there was no any noticeable affection for sick people who injured for a long period. I just understood that condition and i could not do that activity as they did. Because all seemed a lie for me and i did not desire to say patients that they want to hear. Anyway it does not helpful for patients. And once i hear from manager about the lack of effect the certain medicines and they decided to sell another type of medicine for males. And that just forced me stop working there. And i did not return to that work position. However, i experienced several challenges about applying jobs. Despite fails, i did not stop searching new difficulties for me. After a day i found the other work that was much suitable for me. It was loading the freights at warehouses. It was so exciting job because of various reasons. The working team was funny guys and also they were kind with me. The working condition was fantastic. One main drawback was the job was physical not mental. People needed to be more physically strong for that position. And i had lack of enthusiasm because of it. Next day i called the staff manager and warn that i could not continue the job. This was my last decision and i had no idea for working after this. Because i lost my much time wasting for searching the jobs. But what i learnt from them was not just challenges or any misunderstandings, why people need to be so optimistic and how to solve any troubles that they face in unsuitable time. This all showed me being more brave before doing or beginning the new challenges. And i did not regret for my sufferings. It was all just amazing and unforgettable.
Hello, everyone! I'm Khabibullokh, a 19-year-old from Uzbekistan, and I want to share a memorable experience from my life that happened last year in 2023. It's a story about my journey to the United States for the Work and Travel program as a J1 student. Getting the visa was a dream come true, but the reality hit hard when I had to fly 16 hours from Tashkent to New York all by myself. The 9-hour time difference was challenging, and I had no one to guide me. No friends or family waiting at the airport, but I embraced the challenge. I found a taxi, booked a hotel, and took a few days to rest. Soon after, I headed to Massachusetts for my primary job at Dunkin' Donuts as a cashier. I loved working there, giving it my all, helping my colleagues, and having a great time. But as weeks passed, I realized living in the US is expensive. I almost depleted my savings on rent, food, and transportation. It was time to find a second job. I applied everywhere, from stores to pizza places to restaurants, but no one was interested without a social security card. Panic set in as my funds dwindled, and I felt trapped. One day, on my way back from Dunkin', I stumbled upon a store in Falmouth on Main Street called Dogz and Hogz. There, I met Michael Bullard, an older gentleman, and his wife Linda Bullard. Michael was busy making delicious hot dogs. I explained my situation, having no money, and he generously gave me some hot dogs for free. We chatted, became close friends, and I found the lifeline I desperately needed. I mentioned my job struggles and the lack of a social security card, and to my surprise, Michael said, "I don't care about your social. Don't worry." I was over the moon! We started working together, making those delicious hot dogs, and Linda even helped me with my social security number. The Bullards became the only people who helped me in this tough time. Working with them was incredible. We not only had a blast making hot dogs but also enjoyed other activities. They bought me jeans, food, and took me to gingerbread houses and even a yacht. They paid me generously and treated me like family. These kind-hearted people are truly brilliant, and I am forever grateful to them. So, to Michael and Linda Bullard, thank you for being my saviors in a foreign land. Your kindness and generosity turned a challenging time into an unforgettable experience. Welcome to Uzbekistan anytime!
Introduction: Drupal Support and Maintenance Services in the US have seen an increasing number of clients looking to add RSS feed functionality to their websites. An RSS feed allows visitors to subscribe to and receive updates from your site automatically. In this blog, we will guide you through the steps of adding an RSS feed to your Drupal website. Step 1: Enable the RSS module Heading: Enabling the Drupal RSS Module The first step in adding an RSS feed to your Drupal website is to enable the core RSS module. To do this, navigate to the “Modules” section of your Drupal administrative interface and find the “RSS” module. Check the box next to the module, and then click the “Install” button at the bottom of the page. Step 2: Create an RSS Feed Heading: Creating an RSS Feed in Drupal Once the RSS module is enabled, you can create an RSS feed by navigating to the “Structure” section of your Drupal administrative interface, and then selecting “Feeds” from the drop-down menu. From here, you can add a new feed and specify the type of content that should be included in the feed, such as blog posts, news articles, or events. Step 3: Configure the RSS Feed Heading: Configuring the Drupal RSS Feed Once you have created your RSS feed, you can configure it by navigating to the “Feeds” section of your Drupal administrative interface, and then selecting “Configure” next to the feed that you just created. From here, you can set the number of items that should be included in each feed, as well as specify any other settings that you would like to change. Step 4: Display the RSS Feed Heading: Displaying the Drupal RSS Feed on Your Website Finally, to display the RSS feed on your website, you will need to add the feed's URL to a block or to the main menu of your website. This will allow visitors to subscribe to the feed and receive updates automatically. You can find the URL of your feed by navigating to the “Feeds” section of your Drupal administrative interface, and then selecting “View” next to the feed that you just created. Conclusion: In conclusion, adding an RSS feed to your Drupal website is a straightforward process that can be accomplished in just a few simple steps. By following the steps outlined in this blog, you can give your visitors the ability to subscribe to and receive automatic updates from your site. If you need help with this process, or any other Drupal support and maintenance needs, be sure to reach out to a professional Drupal Support and Maintenance Services provider in the US.
There are a lot of contests for youths that are constituted by our President.Among them,the competition called "Young Reader" has become a sample of my vibrant memories.In fact,in 2022 for the first time I got to participate in the republican stage of this contest. I was left in 4th in the regional stage because of the lack of my experience.After this catastrophic lose of hope for winning,my craving for the reward has died.You may ask,who was the impetus for my constancy of attempts,then I would answer "that's my mom and my dad,they were the motivation themselves" I used to be just televiewer of this contest only, while the winners were gathered in front of the main stage I used to hear my mums words "when I will be able to see my daughter in the group of these intelligent young people?Will I see my daughter holding the main reward,waving the key of an automobile?"As I am a pupil of the russian school,where all the subjects are taught in Russian,I was strictly against to my participation in this contest as if the sky was going to fall down to the ground. But my mother's request taught me not to lose myself, our national values, literature,not to forget my mother tongue. The terms of the competition were much more difficult, I hesitated too much when i was speaking in public for preparation of the contest. It was too challenging me. How many sleepless nights,cartoonless and phoneless days have I experienced...When I prioritized my perfect participation I dreamed a lot about: discussing difficult topics with the most quick-witted readers from the different parts of my country, creating a group on a Telegram Messenger, and building a brief conversation with them.The most interesting part was the poetry challenge. I was in 4th in terms of the participants. Until this round I skimmed the whole book that was being presented to first participants.I felt that I should read this book as much as I can in order to answer to the questions of judges,but anyway the feeling of low memory-esteem left no way for me.I clearly remember that the participant called Shahriyor asked me to lend the book. I felt the powerful fire inside. Soon realized that that's called jealousy.Somehow more powerful river ran and engulfed the flame, and gave back my sense of humanity to myself. Then I gave the book to Shahriyor. I began to turn the book "Little star" of Abdulla Oripov over and over until i was called to the main stage ...Just a minute before leaving the waiting room suddenly I came across the short poem.It was about a pen. I read it just once. On the stage I was required to choose any random number on the screen with random poems behind. This is unbelievable but... overriskingly,I chose the number 13 against the beliefs that it's an unlucky number.The 4 lines of the poem behind the number were the ones that I read 5 minutes ago!!!I was amazed!!!For the whole preparation year for this contest I read this poem only once,and plus once,there,in waiting room.I was confident in describing this poem to judges,as ideas were fresh in my mind.Fortunately,I got the highest score in this part of the challenges.While leaving the stage I was completely convinced that Allah is seeing all my efforts and will not leave them without reward.But at first,I speculate,I was examined in terms of humanity.When I agreed to lend that book,i passed the exam. I could control my jealousy and put the tolerance and humanity as my priorities.From that moment,I started to take actions accepting them as if they are exams that Allah is giving.What if I had not lent the book?!I would not achieve the highest score and stage overall.Thank God,I am receiving the fruits of my hard efforts.Shortly,that competition taught me a life lesson.
We often undermine how much maintaining a pleasant space around us can contribute positively to our state of mind. Of course, having a nice budget to decorate and create the office of your dreams would be great, but you don't necessarily need that. Things as simple as maintaining the space around you clean and organised can go much further than any of us imagine, until we go from living in a cluttered space to living in a a space that has... well, actual space. Particularly in relation to remote working, besides this general rule, these are just some of the little things you can do to help yourself feeling and performing better: 1. Keep your desk tidy, and as free of objects as possible. For example, since I like to keep my furniture to a minimum, I only keep by my side the essential documents I might need in any of my working days in my working backpack. It works as an archive, avoids an extra piece of furniture, and is always ready to go if I need to leave for work purposes in a hurry. If you have too much, consider getting a simple piece of furniture that you can have next ot your desk and will keep all your paperwork organised. 2. Transfer everything you can to a digital format - everyone give me A HANDS UP FOR THE CLOUD WHOOP WHOOP! Turn everything into a google docs, spreadsheet, etc., label it or put it into folders according to theme, and never again lose a document! You can always download the most important ones to access offline, so you can access them in a hurry on your laptop if you're away, or there's a temporary network issue. 3. Adjust your screen height to avoid keeping your neck twisted down as much as possible. If you don't have a separate screen, consider one of those standing desk additions, so you can keep a laptop at a perfect height. 4. Adjust your screen brightness to a comfortable level - bear in mind, this might vary throughout the day, according to your light environment. Dark mode is something I go for whenever possible, maybe give it a try and see if it's kinder on your eyes - mine really appreciate it. 5. Do not forget to use a planner that is good enough to help you plan a reasonable workload for the day, that helps you prioritise better, and that allows you to adapt and change your priorities throughout the day if need be. For me, this is @Audacitytasks due to its time buckets and drag and drop features (amongst others exclusive ones I love). 6. Unless literally impossible due to the nature of your work, only keep your work mobile on your desk. Even if you keep your personal one in silent mode, or even turn it around, as long as you can see it, there'll always be that temptation to have a look, touch the screen just to see what's going on "really quick" (yeah right)... If it's in another room, or at least not right there so accessible to your hand's (and thus mind) reach, you'll be less likely to be tempted to leave your desk to grab it, and probably you won't even remember it as much, as it's not in your field of vision (even if just by a millimetre). If this is helpful, keep following for more advice on remote working. You can also read my previous articles on this matter on my LinkedIn or Facebook, or see the more compacted version of it on my instagram. Hope you have fun doing it :D
Anyway, one time, weather and wildlife got together to form the perfect storm of sorts, when I went inside to use the restroom. An armadillo whispered into my headset that I had so delicately and professionally placed on his back, mistaking him for a pillow. The client mistook his whisper, further garbled by the wind and rain, as my voice. Fortunately, I returned just in time to stop the emergency appendectomy on the patient with poor English skills, as it turned out she just came by to donate some PPE. The selfless, totally professional interpreter that I am, I prevented an awful disaster and another huge lawsuit. All thanks to quick zipping, hand-wash-skipping and pure dumb luck. That's the kind of heroics that, my colleagues and I, and other non-linguist, and therefore not as important, on-line laborers, have had to demonstrate in these tumultuous times. Sadly, it has gone mostly unnoticed. Thankfully, unnoticed just enough for me to keep my job. As much as I enjoy the freedom of working from home in my backyard, I still mourn the loss of dignity of workspace. No crying babies, barking dogs or whistling armadillos. No weather or wildlife in the form of family members, or other random animals adding their own soundtrack to the workday. Just an angry supervisor breathing notes of garlic, convenience store wine, and disapproval on my neck. I especially miss looking out my office window at the park across the street and thinking how cool it would be to work from a bench at the park. Nothing like a pandemic to knock some sense into my feeble psyche.
I have stacked copies of our company's guidelines for working from home where the missing leg of the cheap plastic chair once proudly stood, but the chair is still shaky. I have been telling my video clients that my Florida office is located right on top of a fault line in the neighboring state of California where such tremors are a common, daily occurrence this time of year, meaning year-round. It is a testament to the strength of our K-12 education and endurance of culturally inflicted geographical unawareness in this country that no one has questioned the validity of that statement. Florida borders California on the left, Canada to the north, and Mexico to the south. You never know when our prestigious high school education is going to play a crucial role in someone's career. Being outdoors have caused many technical issues. Especially on Thursdays, when we hang our laundry on the ethernet cable. It was a company requirement to have a hard wire connection. Otherwise, I'd be stealing Wi-Fi from the county jail down the street like everyone else. The county does change the password weekly, but one of the fine overgrown teenagers in the neighborhood is sure to go to jail every other day. So, the whole community has the updated password all the time. Because I was having issues constantly, with or without wet laundry hanging, and because the wired internet connection idea was theirs, my company set up a satellite IT office in my front yard, staffed by a technician around the clock to address my issues. I don't call tech support anymore. I just yell "help!" and the technician runs right over with the neighbor's two pit-bull dogs in hot pursuit. The technician is not only a well-trained network engineer, but he is also a very good runner. The company must train these guys extensively or hire only Olympic athletes. Even so, he had to get a few stitches last week when one of the dogs was able to catch up with him, but only because he tripped on our high-tech irrigation system which consists of a garden hose running from the kitchen window to the backyard. Having the technician camp out front has given my whole family such a renewed sense of security that I cancelled my security monitoring service agreement with my neighbor where we tied a long trigger wire rope to one of his dogs' tail at nights. We alternated nights with each dog. On Sundays when my neighbor drives his mother to church, they need both dogs to secure their own house to protect his extensive collection of vintage garbage bags, in case one of our many unscrupulous, sketchy neighbors was tempted. So, on Sundays, both dogs were on garbage detail. And they detailed the heck out of those garbage bags full of vintage garbage. And there were plenty of yelling and re-bagging of priceless garbage going on every Sunday afternoon when the neighbors came home from church. The good news was, because the dogs needed Sundays off, a raccoon, well known in the neighborhood for his mischievous escapades, got gainful employment, albeit part time, as our weekend security guard. The cancellation of the dog-powered alarm system saves me money because now I don't have to buy their owner a generic six pack of beer every week. The raccoon only worked for food, which he would have stolen anyway, so that is a net gain of zero dollars. He is still well-fed. While mostly a good thing, working outdoors does come with unique challenges in the form of wildlife and weather. Apparently, a raccoon perched on your shoulders is not a "professional look" for our company. The same goes for bird poop on our company shirt. Even when it lands smack in the middle of the company logo where color was sorely lacked. I personally thought it added an old-worldly charm and said, in vividly bright colors that only genuine bird poop can bring out: "we are one with nature", or "we are not a fashion, nor a fashionable company", depending on the bird dialect. I am an on-line medical interpreter, and as a professional linguist, I can appreciate these little nuances better than anyone. The weather is a harder pill to swallow. The constant howling of the wind and rain is sometimes perceived as words that no one uttered, causing many anecdotal issues, some leading to lawsuits which I am not allowed to talk about due to a 'gag order' as some cases are still under litigation. For those of you who are not professional linguists, or are not otherwise well-versed in legal jargon because they're not lawyers, judges or criminal entrepreneurs from the other side of the fence, I will pause here while you go and look up the words 'gag order' and 'litigation' in your favorite dictionary app. Or if you live in a different time zone, say 1970's, you can use an actual print dictionary. You know, like a book.
I was one of the few “lucky” ones. I worked from home. I enjoyed very much the quiet solitude that came from dramatically reduced human encounters. And the complete lack of traffic on my way to the spare back room. I complemented my insincerely professional look of company-issued, increasingly cardboard-crisp shirt with an even crisper Manchester United tie. The tie, totally unsanctioned by my employer, is a conscious nod to my repressed middle-school-aged inner child, and my proud contribution to internet fashion. It is also the second adrenaline-pumping risk I take on the job after the laptop radiation. Below the waist, I went weekend casual, as per the Florida state-mandated indoor dress code, with sun-starved chicken legs crowned with boyfriend boxers the last girlfriend purposefully left behind eons ago. I had already become a poor imitation of Howard Hughes. The same hygienic fortitude and social finesse, but with much less financial gusto. Then the pandemic hit. Suddenly, everybody started working from home. I was no longer a lone soulless internet grazer. I was joined by countless others. As a side order with this god-awful new reality, came the fact that now everybody was doing everything from home, not just their jobs. With all this widespread home-schooling, home-quarantining, and general home-hoarding, not to mention all this working-from-home, working from home became a challenge. Before all this, my family was never home together at the same time other than at bedtime when everyone went to their separate slumber pods, thus minimizing any risk of togetherness. We now found ourselves having to make some grand adjustments to survive our newly congested hallways, bathrooms, and the overall airspace. According to a certain individual I do not wish to identify for fear of retribution, whom I will refer to as “a household member of opposite gender with veto powers”, our normally quite roomy house stopped being roomy. We started losing square footage and air volume for no apparent reason. We were experiencing a severe shortage of breathable air and quiet serenity. Somehow, we popped a leak somewhere, and apparently it was not where three children whined annoyingly, two dogs barked loudly, and a certain female yelled lovingly. It turns out, the leakage concentrated around my little corner of the house where I had set up shop for quietly working from home, away from all the disruptive elements. Just like all other mysterious phenomena at our house such as missing items, broken toys, unexplained smells and unprovoked smirks, this, too, was deemed my fault. Something had to change. They had the numbers. I had the neatly nested red circles on the back of anything I might wear. As any self-respecting hunter knows well, by moving, a target can avoid getting hit in vital organs. But with that comes the risk of debilitating wounds with life-long disability implications. Faced with equally rewarding choices, I decided a coin toss is the prudent thing to do. The coin was shot in the air with a perfectly symmetrical hole right in the middle. She may not be able to tell a ladle from a spatula, but she sure can handle a firearm. Another reason well-justifying my decision to marry local. So, I had to move. Thus changed my ‘working from home' situation. Technically, I am no longer working from home, but rather, working from behind home. Age of internet, meet the great outdoors! I hung my blue backdrop from a tree in the back yard. I placed my laptop on an old, rusty barbecue grill dumped in my backyard by a recycle-weary environmentalist neighbor that has not grilled anything since colonial times. The grill disintegrated into dust immediately, so a nearby tree log dating back only to my childhood became my new workstation. Unlike cheap metal and social conscience, some trees just don't decay, I guess. My throne is a plastic lawn chair that is missing a leg, compliments of a wayward alligator who obviously mistook it for a four-legged white bird. We either have strangely mutated birds, or alligators with severe eyesight issues. Those obese lizards can spot a mischievous cat, small child or a clueless tourist hooking bait in shallow water from a mile away. So, my money is on the foul-smelling tint on the lake, causing mutations, compliments of the nuclear power plant down the river. Freaky creatures are such commonplace occurrences here that at the maternity ward shop they sell balloons that say, “it's a baby with all four, and only four limbs”. That gator is just fine. He's got better than 20/20 on all three eyes.
Like most people I know, I can and often be impatient. You could also use the word intolerant because while they are different in definition and emotion, they often go hand in hand. We hired a private contractor to do some work and as we checked him out, we were told, “He's good, thorough, and efficient. Just not very timely.” I asked what exactly that meant and was told that while he would show up for work, his day began whenever he arrived. If he said he'd arrive by 9am, we could expect him by 11am or maybe a bit later. My husband called him and made an appointment to take place two weeks later for an estimate. He showed up three weeks later. We liked his estimate and hired him with a promise of work to begin four weeks later. He explained that he needed to finish his current job first. Taking that into consideration, we agreed. Four weeks came and went. The fifth week did the same. Finally in the middle of the sixth week, he called saying he'd be at our home by 9am the following morning. As promised, 9am sharp, he was at the door. We had the final consultation and arranged for the work to begin by 9am the next day. Normally, I'm a very patient person but I do often find myself intolerant of inconsideration. That's when my patience goes out the window. Nine o'clock came but the contractor didn't. As the hour hand on the clock snuck past the number 10, I tried to busy myself to keep from constantly glancing at it. Eleven o'clock passed as did noon. I commented to my husband, “It's a [expletive] good thing we didn't pay him anything.” He finally arrived at 2pm saying that he needed to make a quick trip to the hardware store and was delayed. I felt like screaming, “REALLY?” Here we are at the end mark of week one and 4 out of 4 days, he's been late. He has yet to show up at his 9am promised time. In fact, he has not once arrived before 11am. To his credit, he is not lazy. When he's here, he works constantly. He doesn't leave until around 8 pm (which interferes with our dinner, but we manage). You're probably wondering why I haven't confronted him about his tardiness. If it affected his workmanship, I wouldn't have hesitated but as I said, his work isn't just decent, it's good and he isn't lazy – just tardy. The work we hired him to do should take no longer than two full weeks. I'm eager to see if his tardiness affects that deadline. Our friends who recommend him urged us to not speak to him or speak as infrequently as possible. This man loves to talk, and it doesn't matter what the subject might be. He can begin about the weather and before you know it, he'll be telling you about the diamond mines in Africa. To avoid any lengthy conversations, my husband spends the day in the yard doing whatever he finds he can do; I close the door to my home office and try to keep busy but there is still only so much to do in here. Ergo, this essay. While the handyman is bustling around my living room, I'm trying to think of things to do. It was at that point when my brain's lightbulb illuminated. Ah! Write, I thought to myself. So, here I am, writing, and wondering if I can sneak out of here just long enough to make myself a cup of tea without getting caught up in a firestorm of time-consuming conversation..
It was September 15th midnight when I started having a severe toothache. I couldn't sleep a wink that night and waited for morning to get an appointment with my dentist. I took an appointment for the next day. After all the formalities of COVID-19 tests the receptionist let me inside the clinic. “Looks like you need a root canal.” My dentist said with real concern and asked me to come the next day for the procedure. I was left with no choice other than going for the procedure because my tooth ache was unbearable. Unfortunately, in all this back and forth to the dentist's office somewhere I contracted COVID-19. Even though I didn't have any underlying health issues, my health condition became very critical because of COVID-19. I was admitted to the hospital. My breathing was very difficult and I was put on a ventilator. At home I had my husband and two young children who were too small to take care of themselves. But I was in such a critical condition that my kids well being was of little concern to me. All I could think about was to get a sniff of air in my lungs. My chest was burning and the roof of my mouth was on fire from struggling to inhale air. After the doctors intubated me, breathing became a little easier but I still had too much pain in my chest and stomach. My legs were sore and I had severe pain in my neck and shoulder. I was bedridden with a feeding and breathing tube inserted down my throat all the time. My husband was not allowed to visit and so were my children. Right next to my bed were two other beds occupied with mother and daughter suffering from COVID-19. My own pain was unbearable, but when I saw the trauma and pain that the mother and daughter were going through, I couldn't complain. Mother was around eighty-five years old and her daughter was twenty-five. No other family member was allowed but I was a bit happy that the old mother had someone by her bedside. Just the thought that your loved one is by your side when you are going through a miserable health problem is a big relief in itself. I, on the other hand, was lying on my bed and struggling for my life and the air felt so desperate to have a family member by my side. This trauma had made me believe in the strong will power of our survival and existence and above all the faith in health care workers. The nurse in our ward was a god-sent angel. It's because of her that I came back home to my husband and children after recovery. When I had lost all hope and was struggling for life and air, nurse Jenna held my hand, giving me strength to awaken my inner desire for survival. My sugar level went so low to a point that my whole body was convulsing, I was trying to take a mouthful gulp of air but it wouldn't make it to my lungs. I wanted to get all the tubes out from my body and scream for help, but sometimes desperation just vanishes in the cry of others' misery. Within a week the elderly mom couldn't take it anymore. She passed away leaving her daughter alone. I could see the pain of loss in her daughter's eyes. The numbness in the eyes of the daughter was palpable. At that moment she won't let go off her dead mother's hand. I felt so sorry; at the same time life looked so meaningless to me. Why do we have children; why do we raise them; why do we love our parents with all our hearts? I couldn't get answers to any of these questions. I was lost in the pain, agony, and misery of that daughter. Only one thing I was sure of was that I will have to live. At that time, the only thought that crossed my mind was the faces of my both daughters. What if I will die? My daughters can't take this shock; they are too small to understand any of this. For A few hours, when I was struggling for a whiff of air, I just wanted to die. I did not want to end my life struggling for air, with my lungs burning and my heart sinking. Momentarily I had already lost my life, but the sight of that grieving daughter brought me to my senses. I had the greatest desire to fight off COVID and survive. If not for myself then for my daughters. Nothing is more important to a child than her mother by her side in good and bad, low and high. For the next couple of days, I tried to fight all my negativity with every ounce of energy I had left in my body. I made a promise to myself to return to my daughters who are constantly waiting and praying for me. The nurses and health care workers were constantly working and wearing themselves out— the selfless act of humanity was right there in front of my eyes. All the sick patients who had not one family member by their bedside were loved equally by these angels in the form of nurses and doctors. I recovered enough and tested negative to go back home to unite with my family. My spirit is high and I am full of gratitude towards every single person who is serving in the health care sector. We can't thank them enough.
I have never been comfortable with myself. Since I was 10 years old I have never thought of myself as pretty. I was heavier and everyone around me knew. I was made fun of countless times. I cried myself to sleep on a day in middle school I was told by a boy that he wouldn't square dance with me because I was fat and disgusting. I was 11. I thought this was normal. When I was in high school the weight issue seemed to be imprinted in my mind. I had a job as a lifeguard. I loved swimming and thought this was a good way to exercise. I was made fun of by my peers I worked with. That summer I lost 20 pounds. I refused to eat. I wouldn't be happy with myself until I lost weight. I started sophomore year as a size 2! A size 2... I still didn't feel good enough. Boys still didn't like me and I didn't like me. I'm now 26 and could have been in a awful headspace if it werent for my loving family, friends and peers. Women should not have to think about this constantly. Women have to look a certain way to get a guy? Or keep a guy!? It truly scares me how image obsessed we are. This is what makes girls (and guys) have eating disorders body dismorphia and the feeling of never being good enough .... I felt compelled to say this because I worked at the boys and girls club and mind you this person is 9 years old. This little girl told me she didn't want to go to a water park for her birthday because she would have to be seen in a bathing suit. She is 9!!! This little girl missing out on life because of her concerns of how she looks to other people?! What have we done.