Cheap Ways to Surprise Your Significant Other

Six Cheap Ways to Surprise Your Significant Other

BY MARY CAMPBELL 311DIVORCE.COM

One great way of keeping your relationship exciting is by surprising your loved one with little gifts and favors. After all, who doesn't love the sudden act of kindness to cheer up their day? A nice surprise is a great way to make someone smile, especially if they've finally just got finished with a long week of work and stress. Here are some great ways to surprise your loved one:

Make dinner

Imagine working a long eight-hour shift and then needing to prepare a meal for yourself after you get home. Think about how convenient it is when someone already has a hot meal ready to be eaten when you arrive. Not only is a homecooked dinner cheaper than eating out, it's also far more thoughtful. You made something with your own two hands. You put time, love, and care into your dinner.

Give a massage

Massages are such a fantastic way to relieve stress and pain. A professional massage can cost you anywhere between $60 and $100. However, a home massage is perfect for helping your loved one relax and overcome any discomfort or anxiety they might have. Plus, few things are as loving a nice back rub to help you feel better. You can purchase some lotion at a local convenience store and learn how to give good back rubs from YouTube tutorials.

Do chores

People love a partner who can perform tasks around the house. Busy adults often feel overwhelmed with too many things on their plate. Cleaning the house, running the laundry, putting away the dishes, and other small tasks quickly add up to a lot of time that people would rather spend on themselves. Picking up a few chores isn't difficult and your loved one will appreciate the effort.

Make them a drink

You might not be a bartender, but that doesn't mean you can't whip up a mean cocktail for your loved one. Alcohol is every adult's favorite way of unwinding after a stressful day. Find out what sort of drinks your significant other likes. Write it down if you must. You'll impress them if you can show them your drink mixing skills.

Write a letter

People might be all about texting and emailing these days, so it's easy to overlook the loveliness of a hand-written letter. Your message doesn't have to be anything extra fancy. Just write the things you love about them on paper. Put it in a place where you know they'll find it so it will be a surprise. Just be sure that your handwriting is neat enough for them to read it.

Draw a bath with candlelight

What's more romance than a candlelit bath? You get extra points if it's a bubble bath too. Nothing helps someone unwind more than a nice, warm bath in a dark room lit only by candlelight. Put on their favorite calming music for extra effect.

Conclusion

Doing something nice for your date doesn't need to extra expensive or extravagant. Oftentimes, it's the little things that count the most. Who says that you need to spend a lot of money to impress your loved one? True love should be expressed through the small actions that you show your partner every day. l

TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE

18 Traveling Post-COVID and Why You Need a Travel Agent

BY VICTORIA FALK

Amother and her six children were recently kicked off a flight following a family vacation because her 2-year-old daughter refused to keep a mask on her face. During publicized news interviews, the mom stated, "She never wore masks this entire few months. I would never make her wear a mask. She's a baby.", referring to her 2year-old daughter. The latter would not keep a mask on her face flying from Orlando, Florida, to Newark, New Jersey. She said her children were confused, scared, and crying as they had to get off their flight. A travel agent booking the vacation may have spared the mom and her children the pain and humiliation of being forced to get off their flight. A travel agent could have informed the mom that it's mandatory for everyone, age two and up, to wear a face mask covering the nose and mouth, throughout their journey in the airport, for the duration of the flight, after landing in their destination city, until they exit the airport. A travel agent could have warned this mom that her or any of her children's refusal to wear a face mask covering the nose and mouth, as required by the airlines and Centers for Disease Control, could result in them being removed from the airplane as they were. Generally, it is recommended, for a variety of reasons, to use a travel agent. However, since the world has been experiencing a pandemic, it is even more necessary to use a travel agent. "Why do I need a travel agent when I can book the trip myself?" ask many people. Well, travel agents do more than book trips. A good travel agent is an advisor and a consultant and takes the stress out of the process. If you have not booked travel in a while, it can be nerve-wracking to figure out the new changes and travel requirements. Do not lose time, money, peace of mind, and travel arrangements, because you have made mistakes that will affect your trip. Instead, consult with a travel agent who can update you on coronavirus advisories, face-covering requirements, change/cancel and refund policies, and local and international travel requirements. Despite the changes and new requirements, people are still traveling. Business travel has remained steady during the pandemic because entrepreneurs do not want to rely on online introductions. While more people are meeting online due to the power of the internet and social media, many entrepreneurs still prefer to do this face-to-face when signing contracts and closing business deals. People who love to travel are taking advantage of the current super low prices and great travel deals available now. But they are nervous about booking these getaways on their own because they want to know, "What's the catch?" as a friend and travel customer asked me recently. He enlisted my services as a Travel Agent for fear of booking a trip that was not good quality or one that had hidden fees. Summer is here. And soon, we will be approaching the busiest travel season of

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the year, the holiday season, many people consider their travel plans. Months of social distancing and constant reports of the rising death toll due to Covid-19 make family time and fun with friends even more important this year. Savvy travelers are contacting their travel agents now to book their holiday travel. While they ask about travel arrangements for Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, they also discuss plans for family reunions and birthday celebrations. Many people have to reconnect with family, friends, and other loved ones and are keeping some travel agents busy. Thus, there is still an opportunity for those who have considered becoming travel agents, mainly since this can be done entirely online, from home. Several groups of travel professionals and others have a vested interest in the travel industry's success worldwide, coming together to rebuild travel. Do not delay. Successful people understand the benefits of timing and positioning. Learn more about the benefits of becoming a Travel Agent and position yourself today. Travel agents experience the thrill of helping others. Plus, they can earn extra income while enjoying lifestyle and travel perks. Register for the 4-week online Travel Agent Certificate program today. Go to www.nacc.nyc/travelagent to see dates and registration. Call (718) 722-9217 for assistance.l

CARIBBEAN STAR Finding Joy Amidst Hardship

NYC's "Hometown Heroes" Parade celebrated essential workers who supported New Yorkers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic on July 7, 2021. The parade's route started at Manhattan's Battery Park, traveled along the Canyon of Heroes, and ended with a special ceremony in City Hall Park. “The pandemic has touched the lives of every New Yorker, and our family of companies’ essential workers have been key partners in the city and state’s comprehensive response,” said Karen Ignagni, CEO and President of EmblemHealth. “Our team has been honored to work hand in hand with city leaders to provide vaccines, testing, and clinical support to our members, patients, and communities, when and where they needed us.” One such hero is Trinidadian Heather Juman-James who describes her father as her ultimate hero. He told her at an early age that it's important to help as many people as possible, and that philosophy stuck. Heather, who describes herself as a "kind and caring person," felt she had what it took to become a nurse and answered the call. Heathier is currently a Gastrointestinal Supervisor at AdvantageCare Physicians' Flushing medical office. When COVID19 tested everyone's limits last year, Heather remained true to her calling and didn't miss a beat when it came to providing quality, compassionate care, working diligently to create a safe environment for her patients. "When I saw the relief on their faces after they received the safe and competent care that they needed, this is what kept me going," she says. "Nurses have the ability to bring understanding and peace during what can be a confusing or challenging time." Whenever Heather needs to decompress after long hours or caring for extremely ill patients, she finds comfort in baking. She often delivers her baked goods to patients and colleagues who need emotional support. Keeping faith has guided Heather a long way. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a rough journey, but Heather is ready to apply the many lessons she has learned regarding her future as a medical professional and in life. "Resilience is key. I learned to appreciate life and my loved ones. I realized that I have unlimited potential to adapt and bring out the natural leader in me," says Heather. "It's necessary to be attentive and sensitive to patient's needs and address those needs with the utmost concerned manner during those unprecedented times." For her hard work and dedication, Heather is our Caribbean star.l

Heather Juman-James Photo courtesy; AdvantageCarePhysicians

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HEALTH

20 New COVID-19 Vaccine Warnings Don’t Mean It’s Unsafe – They Mean the System to Report Side Effects is Working

BY JUSTIN VESER THE CONVERSATION

While the COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the U.S. have been proved to be safe and effective, recent reports of rare adverse events, or side effects, have raised concerns. On July 12, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved an update to the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine fact sheet to include an increased risk of the rare nerve condition Guillain-Barré syndrome. This follows previous reports linking the J&J vaccine with a rare blood clot. While reports like these can be scary, they’re a sign that the vaccine safety reporting system is working. They also highlight how the relative risks of rare side effects like these need to be put into context. As a pharmacist who has been managing operations for the University of Virginia Health System’s COVID-19 vaccine program for the past seven months, I’ve seen how uncertainty and fear over potential side effects can drive vaccine hesitancy. Understanding how information about adverse events is collected and what it means for vaccine safety may help people make informed decisions about their health.

Tracking safety before, during and after approval

The FDA enforces rigorous testing and approval processes that manufacturers must follow before a new vaccine can be made available to the public. Regardless of whether a vaccine is approved through the typical FDA approval process or an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), the steps required to test a new drug for safety and effectiveness are the same. An EUA can get a vaccine to the public more quickly by streamlining the regulatory process, but no shortcuts are taken. Every step is taken to ensure the vaccine is both safe and effective. Vaccine clinical trials occur in four sequential phases. In the first three phases, study investigators are the ones who identify, quantify and document safety issues. Phase 1 typically introduces the vaccine to fewer than 100 people over several months under controlled conditions. Typically, the majority of potential adverse events are identified in this stage. After the FDA reviews phase 1 data and deems the vaccine safe enough to be studied further, the vaccine moves on to phases 2 and 3, where it will be given to larger numbers of people over longer periods of time. Here, investigators determine optimal dosage and screen for rare side effects. If phase 2 and 3 data meets FDA approval standards, the vaccine will then move on to phase 4 and become available to the public. The vaccine is observed over much larger populations and extended periods of time, and manufacturers are required to regularly check and report potential safety concerns to the FDA. What’s different about this final phase is continued on page 21

COVID-19 Booster Shot/

continued from page 20 that the public can also contribute to safety reporting. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is a national safety monitoring system run by the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While certain types of adverse events, such as injuries during vaccine administration and serious complications, are mandatory for health care providers to report, anyone can submit a report. Recent adverse events associated with the COVID-19 vaccine, including Guillain-Barré and thrombosis for Johnson & Johnson and myocarditis for Pfizer, were identified through VAERS.

Serious adverse event risk from vaccines is small

A rare adverse event may take months or years to identify for a simple reason: It’s rare. For some drugs that are less commonly used, new safety data takes longer to discover because a relatively small number of patients use the drug. For example, though the shingles vaccine Shingrix was approved 2017, it wasn’t until March 2021 after over 3.7 million patients had gotten the shot that the FDA announced a potential increased risk of Guillain-Barré. And it still hasn’t been confirmed that the Shringrix vaccine causes the nerve condition. For cases like the COVID-19 vaccine, however, millions of people will receive the drug shortly after it’s released to the public, and new issues or patterns often emerge more quickly. This can lead to two problems. First, not every reported adverse event is directly related to the vaccine. For example, many of the tens of millions of people who have received the Pfizer vaccine have likely experienced a sunburn. People might report that they experienced a sunburn to VAERS, but the vaccine has no effect on your skin’s ability to protect against the sun. VAERS is very clear that it “is not designed to determine if a vaccine caused a health problem, but is especially useful for detecting unusual or unexpected patterns of adverse event reporting.” Correlation does not imply causation. Second, a plausibly identified adverse event does not necessarily make the vaccine unsafe. According to CDC, there have been 100 preliminary reports of Guillain–Barré out of 12.5 million J&J doses, or 0.008% of people who received the vaccine. Administering one vaccine to a huge sample of people can make it easier to identify a possible connection between the shot and a side effect. But that doesn’t mean the risk of getting that side effect is very likely, or that it outweighs the benefit of getting vaccinated. These risks, while real and potentially life-threatening, must be viewed in context with the much larger risk of negative outcomes from the diseases vaccines protect people from. For example, 1%7% of patients who take cholesterol drugs called statins are likely to experience potentially harmful muscle injury. However, these drugs are still taken by millions of people because they are highly effective at preventing heart disease and stroke. And in the case of Guillain–Barré, about one in 100,000 people, or 0.001%, develop this condition yearly in the U.S. from any cause. By comparison, the U.S. has had more than 33 million cases of COVID-19, and over 600,000 deaths caused by this disease.

COVID-19 is a bigger risk than vaccine side effects

In such extraordinary times as during a pandemic, it’s understandable that people may be hesitant to take on any more risk than they have to. But there are safety nets in place to monitor the COVID19 vaccines, and they are still working as they should. The COVID-19 vaccines are proven to be overwhelmingly safe for most people. More than 40,000 patients participated in J&J’s clinical trials before the company applied for emergency use authorization, mirroring Pfizer’s and Moderna’s study sample sizes. Some 0.4% of participants in the J&J trial experienced serious adverse events unrelated to COVID-19 infection. In contrast, the trial demonstrated that people who get the vaccine are 85% less likely to get severe COVID-19 than those who remain unvaccinated. The extremely rare side effects associated with the COVID-19 vaccines were discovered because safety reporting tools were used appropriately. Being aware of the risks of a treatment, however rare, can help people make health decisions that work best for them. However, these risks must be viewed in context. And in the case of the COVID19 vaccines, they must be weighed against the consequences of remaining unvaccinated and letting the pandemic rage on.l

Justin Vessermis the Manager of Ambulatory Pharmacy Services, University of Virginia

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CONVERSATIONS

22 Should the Supreme Court Have Term Limits?

BY PAUL M. COLLINS, JR. ARTEMUS WARD THE CONVERSATION

Pressure on Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to step down will likely grow now that the court’s session has ended. Breyer, 82, joined the court in 1994. His retirement would allow President Joe Biden to nominate his successor and give Democrats another liberal justice, if confirmed. Supreme Court justices in the U.S. enjoy life tenure. Under Article 3 of the Constitution, justices cannot be forced out of office against their will, barring impeachment. This provision, which followed the precedent of Great Britain, is meant to ensure judicial independence, allowing judges to render decisions based on their best understandings of the law – free from political, social and electoral influences. Our extensive research on the Supreme Court shows life tenure, while wellintended, has had unforeseen consequences. It skews how the confirmation process and judicial decision-making work, and causes justices who want to retire to behave like political operatives.

Problems with lifetime tenure

Life tenure has motivated presidents to pick younger and younger justices. In the post-World War II era, presidents generally forgo appointing jurists in their 60s, who would bring a great deal of experience, and instead nominate judges in their 40s or 50s, who could serve on the court for many decades. And they do. Justice Clarence Thomas was appointed by President George H.W. Bush at age 43 in 1991 and famously said he would serve for 43 years. There’s another 13 years until his promise is met. The court’s newest member, Donald Trump’s nominee Amy Coney Barrett, was 48 when she took her seat in late 2020 after the death of 87-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ginsburg, a Clinton appointee who joined the court at age 60 in 1993, refused to retire. When liberals pressed her to step down during the presidency of Democrat Barack Obama to ensure a like-minded replacement, she protested: “So tell me who the president could have nominated this spring that you would rather see on the court than me?”

Partisanship problems

Justices change during their decades on

Justice Thomas Editorial credit: mark reinstein / Shutterstock.com

the bench, research shows. Justices who at the time of their confirmation espoused views that reflected the general public, the Senate and the president who appointed them tend to move away from those preferences over time. They become more ideological, focused on putting their own policy preferences into law. For example, Ginsburg grew more liberal over time, while Thomas has become more conservative. Other Americans’ political preferences tend to be stable throughout their lives. The consequence is that Supreme Court justices may no longer reflect the America they preside over. This can be problematic. If the court were to routinely stray too far from the public’s values, the public could reject its dictates. The Supreme Court relies on public confidence to maintain its legitimacy. Life tenure has also turned staffing the Supreme Court into an increasingly partisan process, politicizing one of the nation’s most powerful institutions. In the 1980s and 1990s, Supreme Court nominees could generally expect large, bipartisan support in the Senate. Today, judicial confirmation votes are almost strictly down party lines. Public support for judicial nominees also shows large differences between Democrats and Republicans. Life tenure can turn supposedly independent judges into political players who attempt to time their departures to secure their preferred successors, as Justice Anthony Kennedy did in 2018. Trump appointed Brett Kavanaugh, one of Kennedy’s former clerks, to replace him.

The proposed solution

Many Supreme Court experts have coalesced around a solution to these problems: staggered, 18-year terms with a vacancy automatically occurring every two years in nonelection years. This system would promote judicial legitimacy, they argue, by taking departure decisions out of the justices’ hands. It would help insulate the court from becoming a campaign issue because vacancies would no longer arise during election years. And it would preserve judicial independence by shielding the court from political calls to fundamentally alter the institution. Partisanship would still tinge the selection and confirmation of judges by the president and Senate, however, and ideological extremists could still reach the Supreme Court. But they would be limited to 18-year terms. The U.S. Supreme Court is one of the world’s few high courts to have life tenure. Almost all democratic nations have either fixed terms or mandatory retirement ages for their top judges. Foreign courts have encountered few problems with term limits. Even England – the country on which the U.S. model is based – no longer grants its Supreme Court justices life tenure. They must now retire at 70. Similarly, although many U.S. states initially granted their supreme court judges life tenure, this changed during the Jacksonian era of the 1810s to 1840s when states sought to increase the accountability of the judicial branch. Today, only supreme court judges in Rhode Island have life tenure. All other states either have mandatory retirement ages or let voters choose when judges leave the bench through judicial elections. Polling consistently shows a large bipartisan majority of Americans support ending life tenure. This likely reflects eroding public confidence as the court routinely issues decisions down partisan lines on the day’s most controversial issues. Although ideology has long influenced Supreme Court decisions, today’s court is unusual because all the conservative justices are Republicans and all the liberal justices are Democrats. In April 2021, President Biden formed a committee to examine reforming the Supreme Court, including term-limiting justices. To end the justices’ life tenure would likely mean a constitutional amendment requiring approval from two-thirds of both houses of Congress and three-fourths of U.S. states. Ultimately, Congress, the states and the public they represent will decide whether the country’s centuries-old lifetime tenure system still serves the needs of the American people.l

Justice Ginsburg Editorial credit: mark reinstein / Shutterstock.com

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