......and the drama continues

This dog is a 2021 mood. We all knew that as the clock struck midnight, we would still have all the same issues and problems from 2020… the pandemic… financial crisis… mental health decline… and even Trump. Little did we know it would be this wild.

Quite honestly, speaking for myself at least, I’m tired of all this drama. I’m tired of seeing “Breaking News” almost every 15 minutes. I was hoping that at least going into the new year, it would be a little more quiet so we can just peacefully recover from such a dramatic year.

Literally last week Trump incited his gang of warriors to take over the Capitol and stop the vote count that would officially make President ELECTED Biden the rightful new leader. This week, Trump became the first president in history to be impeached twice! He has like 6 days left in office. I mean seriously…. it’s like we’ve been living in a damn movie, the only thing is we don’t know when it will end and no Hero has yet to stand up and save us.

It’s crazy because at first, the pandemic was an entire world problem.. which was fine because you know “we’re all in this together”…. Slowly… the drama turned into: “Let’s tune in to America and see what these mf’s are up to.” I love watching TV shows and movies with a lot of drama, I didn’t think I would actually be living in it. What I do look forward to is the documentary of 2020 and now 2021. It’s too soon now, but I can’t wait for all the behind closed doors secrets to be exposed.

Then we have Houston sports. Harden is (FINALLY) gone and Deshaun Watson, a QB that’s the Texans have needed since day 1 is asking for a trade. It’s tough being a Houston sports fan, so many heartaches. I lost faith in the Texans when they traded Deandre Hopkins, that was the last straw for me TBH. I hope Watson finds a great team, he deserves it! Everyone seems to win a championship anyway after they leave and he definitely deserves one.

Anyway, the most recent drama in Washington DC right now really does bring to light true the racial divide in our country. So sad.

It Will Be OK

Man, there is so much going on in this world, let alone in this country. Texas just dodged an epic hurricane that would have been detrimental to the metro area. When Hurricane Harvey hit, the worries were about epic hurricane winds, but instead we got epic flooding. For Hurricane Laura, the biggest concern was a deathly storm surge that would wipe out most of the coastline it hits, but what Louisiana got was the worse windstorm in over a hundred years. YIKES.

At the start of the pandemic, the first industries that were hit hard was food and service, the gig economy and any business that relied on group gatherings (concerts, sports events, conventions, church, etc.). Since then, businesses in those respective areas have either shut down for good or have found a way to pivot and make things work somehow. Millions of people lost their job. Millions of people suffered, but we’ve been doing it since day one of Covid-19.

Now the next on the chopping block are our schools and children. Now it’s their turn to endure the wrath of this pandemic. I’m saddened to read parents and teachers struggling with teaching and children struggling with learning during these questionable times. I see my own suffering through what they are going through right now. Been there, done that, still going through it.

Yes, my dear… it SUCKS!! There was no guidance for us either and look where it got us… the first spike. The problem was bars and restaurants opened too soon and too fast. This should be a lesson on how to deal with school openings. As much as everyone wants all of this behind us, we still have to be well aware the dangers of this stubborn virus.

With heightened emotions, we all just need to find a way to be NICER to each other. Be kinder to those who have opposing views as you, you just don’t know what’s going on in their life for them to be that way. Stop making everything so political. We need more focus on basic humanity instead of finding a way to make each other mad. If we all showed each other just a tad bit of compassion, it would make a tremendous difference,.

Houston, Restaurants aren't the Problem

As a restaurant owner in Houston, I was never comfortable with the early opening the Governor implemented in late April. I knew then we would be the experiment of what not to do, so I hesitated opening up our dining. I was extremely grateful that we were considered "essential," but I didn't think it was a good idea to invite guests in just yet.When Texas went into Phase 3, allowing restaurants to be at 75% capacity, I felt maybe it was time to let people in and it was "ok". BUT, I was still hesitant because....

1. Our dining area is small.

2. Guests overstaying their visits.

3. Protecting the health of my employees.

4. You just can't trust mouth breathers.

When we did finally open dining, we limited capacity to 14 people inside at one time. People who came inside and ordered to-go, we politely asked them to wait in their cars or outside until they received a text that their food was ready. For the most part, everyone complied and had no issues with this request and a few even expressed their great appreciation for this act. I just didn't want people standing around inside waiting for their food, possibly getting infected or infecting others. Again, our space is small.

This system we created on a whim lasted for about a week. All of a sudden, people in my life started testing positive.

Houston cases were on the rise.Restaurants and bars slowly started shutting down because of Covid cases within their staff.

Masks oddly became controversial.

It only took those three things for me to close up the shop and keep everyone outside for orders. I did not want to risk ANYTHING. Even on social media we were being criticized for asking people to wear a mask upon entering... this was even BEFORE masks were mandated by the city!

My point to all this... restaurants were not the driving force for this unprecedented spike! Establishments that served alcohol are the problem. The biggest concern I had with people inside our restaurant was how long they intended on staying, but after a few days of being open, I realized people stay for at about 30-45 minutes, just enough time to eat. Most guests were respectful of the fact that we are in a pandemic and don't overstay - even when they had a party of 4 (our party limit).

Let's be real... when you're done eating, what is there really left to do at a restaurant? Bars want you to stay longer and drink, this is the entire foundation of their business model. The longer you stay, the more you drink. The bigger the group, the bigger the tab. I mean... *Arms up in a questioning emoji*

Walk into a restaurant and everyone from the person opening the door to the person cleaning off your table is wearing a mask.... are most bartenders? Bars are the breeding grounds of mouth breathers, yet bartenders are STILL not wearing masks. How many times has a drunk friend ever talked to you without spit flying out of their mouths?? How many times have YOU done that?? Covid is spread from people's MOUTHS!!

AND DON'T EVEN ARGUE ABOUT WALMARTS AND TARGETS ALLOWED TO BE OPEN AND YOU'RE NOT!!!

Unless your bar can provide formula for a baby, dog food, fresh fruits and vegetables and vitamins - then you need to stop with this argument. I get it, those places are packed too.... but they have employees constantly following mouth breathing guests with disinfectant. Some of these said establishments have even set up certain shopping times for senior citizens, they actually have people at the front monitoring capacity and employees wiping down shopping carts and handing off clean ones to customers. THIS IS NOT THE SAME as having a packed bar with unmasked guests pushing each other to get to the bar.

I mean come on.... drunk people drink and drive.... do you really expect them to wear a mask at a bar or practice social distancing??

I do have friends who own bars, so by all means this isn't to bash all bars. The ones that I go to for the most part are doing their best to keep the community safe, but there are outliers. There are those who are selfish and greedy and feel the need to defy authority by turning their club into a "bar and grill" just so they can remain open. I find this extremely disrespectful considering the process it took for us to even open up as a restaurant. These are the people who are ruining it for the rest of us.But what do I know? I'm just a minority woman living in America.