Like winning the lottery

In our current national crisis of severe egg shortage, finding a two-dozen pack at Costco feels like winning the lotto.

It’s as if god himself wants me to continue having a constant egg supply. There I was at my local Costco on Saturday afternoon. It seems I had just missed a resupply of eggs: I saw many a cart with them, but when I got to the fridge section, there were no eggs to be found. That is, until I saw at the corner a fully intact two-dozen carton stacked underneath a few cartons with broken eggs. Pure luck is what that was. My two eggs a day habit shall not be interrupted. For now…

For all the joke about President Trump lowering produce prices - I really don’t care! Just let there be eggs for me to buy! I can absorb high groceries prices because I’m only buying for the singular me. (straight to privilege jail, right away.)

Of course, high grocery prices during the Biden years contributed a lot to Trump’s second ascendancy. You can throw statistics about how wages have kept up (or outpaced) with inflation - it doesn’t matter. Higher produce prices feel like a penalty, while a wage increase feels like something you’ve earned. It’s not a good feeling to get a raise, only for that money to get wiped out by inflation. Typically, a wage increase should mean more disposable income.

President Trump seems determined to curtail illegal immigration and deport illegal immigrants already on U.S. soil. Many of whom work in farming. When you diminish the labor supply, cost of goods go up. When cost of goods go up, so do prices. I’m skeptical that Americans would tolerate another inflationary shock to their grocery bills. Then again, it’s not like Trump can run for office again. For now…

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Looks a bit angry.

I'm just saying

It’s day three of President Trump’s second term, and egg prices have not gone down at all! In fact, there aren’t any to buy at my local Whole Foods. Because no matter who the President is, the annual avian flu rolls around like clockwork. Farmers have to kill the infected chickens, and therefore, decreased egg supply. I guess I’ll substitute that particular supply of protein with beef jerky for the time being.

Word on the street is President Trump signed an executive order to basically end telework for Federal employees. Sucks to the be the guy who works remotely for the Federal government, and voted for Trump. Though maybe he sees this a self-sacrifice for the betterment of the country. People on both sides of the spectrum can agree the government budget can do some trimming. Like Bernie Sanders, I suggest to start with the Department of Defense…

There are staff members at the university I work at that are still on a hybrid work schedule. COVID’s been over for at least two years now! And this isn’t the bitter me talking (I’ve been full-time onsite since middle of 2020). The nature of my work means I cannot be remote, so it is what it is. There’s no use comparing.

However, I think the university has to consider the downside of hybrid work. There’s less people on campus on any given day. (Fridays are practically ghost-town levels of personnel scarcity.) A vibrant student experiences starts with a vibrant campus. We are not getting the maximum when people can work from home. Anything student-facing should be 100 percent full-time on campus.

Vendors on campus are making less money, too.

People are saying the return-to-office order will cause a brain drain of Federal workers. Folks would rather quit than go back to a commute. Well, our university is facing a budget crisis…

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Natural framing.

A waste of money

Some would think it perverse the second inauguration of President Trump is the same day as the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. I would think it’s a shame because people now have to follow the inauguration ceremonies while not at work. If you’re going to hate watch (or love watch) something, you might as well get paid for it, right? It sure was a wild time at work four years ago watching the January 6th riots.

But since it’s a holiday, I’ve no desire to watch the Presidential inauguration - no matter who it is. Unlike a monarchial coronation, the swearing in of new American President happens every four years (until Trump ends that practice, certain folks on the hard Left would say). It’s difficult for me to pay attention when the occurrence is not uncommon. I certainly cannot imagine myself spending thousands of dollars to fly to Washington D.C. - to attend an inauguration (in typically freezing January weather). I sure as hell hope I never develop that degree of parasocial relationship with anybody.

(I’m a fan of Taylor Swift’s music, but never fanatical to point of dropping thousands on overpriced concert tickets.)

Parasocial relationships can indeed be quite lucrative. Taylor Swift actively cultivates a special connection with her fans. Twitch streamers rely on directly interacting with people on chat. Legions of young and attractive women earn a living on OnlyFans by dangling a tantalizing false promise to lonely men. When your favorite Youtuber gets (verbally) attacked, their fans are at the ready with the pitchforks; their messiah can do no wrong.

The position you want to be on that equation is the creator side, the person offering the value. The consumer side is only going to be separating with their money. Like the people who flew to D.C. for President Trump’s inauguration, only to find that it’s changed to indoors due to weather (therefore, not open to the public). There’s no refunds on plane tickets and hotel bookings!

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Aston Martin music.