done before 0710 GMT

"Sure, my lass, I'll play along. Just what be ye talkin' 'bout this time?"

I just had a 'conversation' with the folks at Blue Apron... and apparently that was with someone in England!

"I see. You just may be confused -"

- no, I'm not! The 'conversation' was recorded and the time stamp was Greenwich Meridian Time. That's England!

"You're showing your age, my dearie. GMT is now called Greenwich Mean Time, and has been since the middle of the 19th century."

Whatever. I'm right about that being in England!

"Well, love, it's actually throughout the United Kingdom, not just the one country -"

- fine, fine, fine! The point is: I just 'conversed' with someone across the ocean! And that person was able to take care of business for me, lickety split! And here's the proof!

-----     -----     -----

 Chat started on 17 Sep 2021, 06:40 PM (GMT+0)
(06:40:50)     *** Faustina S joined the chat ***
(06:40:50)     Faustina S: How do I cancel my membership?
(06:40:56)     Customer Experience: Thank you for reaching out. A member of our Customer Experience team will be with you shortly.
(06:41:52)     Customer Experience: We are currently experiencing higher than normal chat volumes. We appreciate your patience as we address each inquiry in the order that it was received. Please provide us with your full name and phone number, along with a brief description of how we can help. A member of our team will assist you as soon as possible. If for any reason you are unable to get in contact with a team member, please try again later. Thank you.
(06:43:06)     Faustina S: Faustina S, 912-691-0728. I want to CANCEL my membership. What do I need to do to make that official?
(06:55:45)     *** Julisa L. joined the chat ***
(06:56:02)     Julisa L.: Hi, my name is Julisa, and I'm with the Blue Apron Experience Team. I’m very sorry to hear you would like to cancel your account. May I please have the email on your account? Once I receive your information, I'll be able to assist you with that.
(06:56:21)     Faustina S: f@net
(06:56:53)     Julisa L.: Thank you. While I pull up the account, can you provide some feedback on why you wish to cancel today?
(06:58:25)     Faustina S: I do not cook often, as I dine out more with friends. So, I really do not need to continue this service, especially as it requires me to check in frequently to avoid having unwanted shipments.
(06:59:40)     Julisa L.: I understand. In case it helps, our Heat & Eat recipes will include single-serving meals featuring some of Blue Apron’s top-rated recipes with the same high-quality, fresh ingredients you’ve come to expect. These meals will arrive at your door microwave-ready to heat up in 5 minutes or less in a recyclable tray - no prep work or clean up required!
(07:00:22)     Faustina S: I do not have a microwave, so that is not of use for me.
(07:00:42)     Julisa L.: I understand. Allow me one moment to get this canceled for you.
(07:00:51)     Faustina S: Thank you.
(07:01:14)     Julisa L.: Your account is now cancelled. You'll receive an email confirming the cancellation, which includes instructions on how to reactivate your account and cook with us again in the future.
(07:03:08)     Faustina S: Very good! Thank you, Julisa, so much for making this so easy!
(07:04:12)     *** Faustina S has rated the chat Good ***
(07:04:32)     Julisa L.: Thank you for your time. Have a great day!
(07:04:52)     Faustina S: You, also! Goodbye!
(07:05:58)     *** Faustina S left the chat ***

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"Wow... you canceled your Blue Apron account? But didn't you still have three free meals to be sent to others for a trial membership?"

I did, and, I did. Sadly, I had no one wanting to try out this service, so every time I logged in, that '3 free meals' header was there to taunt me. But that wasn't why I left, of course.

"Of course not, that would be trifling. You left because the pandemic is nearly over and you're going out more with your friends -"

- um, no, the pandemic continues on, with the latest victims being my friend Josie and her husband, of all people.

"Ack! That's more folks you know who got vaccinated and still managed to get COVID!"

Right?! Plus, Helen Downing at Asbury Memorial Church, among others, and my baseball friend from New Jersey, Gene Perrone. Oh, and quite a few folks on Christina's side, including her Aunt Tammy and that whole Ooslander bunch.

"Great googly moogly."

I have a theory about how that has all come to pass.

"I would expect so."

As I told Josie, I think it's because of the nature of the vaccine. Here's that 'conversation'.

-----     -----     -----

Jo W
Sept 6 7:47 PM  ·
I got the vaccine. I got the variant. I got well. I got the vaccine. Get yours.

Faustina S
? You had COVID???

Jo W
Faustina, yes, and now Kenny is getting to the end of it. Mild compared to flus I have had in the past. We were both vaccinated in March.

Faustina S
I'm hoping I can get a booster, rev my immune system back up. I think the medical field is going to find that the mRNA shots have a time limit that usual vaccines - that have some part of the virus in the shot - do not.

Jo W
Faustina, probably so….

Faustina S
And, if I'm reading your post correctly, you have been re-vaccinated?

Jo W
No - we may get a booster

Faustina S
That's a good move. I am sure the mRNA that was in the previous shots is not still manufacturing the spike protein for our body to recognize the coronavirus when it enters. I wonder how long our body allowed that mRNA to keep doing that? I wonder if they have a test to see if the spike protein is still present in our blood? That way, they would know when to give a booster.

-----     -----     -----

"That sounds like a good theory, about the mRNA getting shut down after a while. None of the other mRNA molecules keep non-stop making all those proteins the body uses, so why would it be expected that this specialty mRNA would act differently?"

Indeed. As I had explained to my cousin Lynn, the molecule in the vaccines is not any different from the many constructed from our DNA to make all the proteins our body needs, like collagen and keratin and insulin and lactase. The only difference in any of these mRNA molecules is the order of the codons, and that is specific for the protein to be built. And, the major difference for the mRNA molecule in the shots is that it is coded to build a protein - that spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus - which is not otherwise known by our body, as it does not serve a purpose in our everyday life. That means our DNA does not have the recipe for that spike protein, which means it cannot transcribe the mRNA molecule that would build that spike protein. That's why we had to get the vaccine, so our body could build the spike protein, all by itself and not attached to the coronavirus, so our immune system could 'see' it and fight it.

"Nicely said. I think I may have actually been able to follow along with that line of thought."

Thanks. As I always tried to do with my students, I choose plain English rather than science-speak whenever I can. Really reduces the fear factor, right?

"Jolly well right. Now, don't you have laundry to do?"

Not today! Maybe next week!

"Alrighty then! Ta ta!"