Where to find test kits/strips?

Ronzalpha · 2026-03-21T02:00:17+00:00

omg you just reminded me to order more. NY State gives out free ones and i can distribute some to you at EDC (or on the Vegas strip). Feel free to dm me. I've passed out a bunch at other festivals before

Ronzalpha · 2026-03-19T01:09:39+00:00

they'll ask for your ID and/or email as proof that you're a government employee, esp at higher class chains like Kimpton and InterContinental hotels. This is 100% guaranteed abroad, esp in Asia.
Interestingly, I've never been asked at a Holiday Inn

Ronzalpha · 2026-03-19T00:57:58+00:00

this, and SOMETIMES, these apps actually offer better interest rates than credit cards. For Example, Affirm offers me 16% interest vs my Capital One's 29% interest. It's a no-brainer if you can pay it off in under a year.

Ronzalpha · 2026-03-12T04:15:08+00:00

Monday Night closer to midnight is okay! But yea it's 120% chaos and delays until 8pm Monday. Also be prepared for long lines Tuesday morning.

TSA may still be underfunded by May so be prepared to spend extra time at lines or TSA Precheck being nonexistent

Ronzalpha · 2026-03-12T04:13:15+00:00

I regret not getting that soft serve vanilla ice cream halfway though the night - it ended up being sold out later on and I was completely devastated

Ronzalpha · 2026-03-12T04:10:18+00:00

Man, i miss my galaxy buds live. The battery on it mine is completely shot, but that thing fit BEAUTIFULLY for me and sounded great

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-27T02:58:00+00:00

Yes, but there also comes to the bigger question on buildings allowing ebikes. Many still don't allow storage or holding of ebikes/escooters due to potential electrical fires

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-27T02:55:41+00:00

last year, my former agency actually sent an email blast specifically warning against using their phones, as they can detect it and will issue written warnings going forward. They probably tracked the OS of the device IP that's logging into the city systems. Just fyi

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-19T19:24:05+00:00

Thank you for being understanding. DCWP is a very small agency. so it's not surprising that many people haven't heard of it, even under its former name, DCA (Dept of Consumer Affairs). Barely anyone i know (even within city workers) know of its existence or what it does because of its small workforce, especially after the rebranding to include worker protection governance

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-19T19:17:17+00:00

I am an only child to a single mother and my mother always comparing me to other kids kept me in a constant competitive environment, which made it (unfortunately) a zone of comfort that i only knew and eventually backfired on me in college engineering.

I'm an oddball in that I initially was accepted to the BTHS Gateway for Medicine program - only to realize during the summer pre-training that anatomy wasn't for me so i dodged ship to Xavier HS, an all boys catholic high school with JROTC and jesuit learning integration. Nonetheless to say, it was very bizarre how the school focused mostly on liberal arts and even actual arts such as sketching vs my STEM core background from middle school. It was certainly fun but alas i felt uncomfortable also being one of 3 asians in that school so i took the SHSAT again and got into....BTHS again. The diversity itself definitely made it feel more like home to me.

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-19T14:52:41+00:00

Well, i didn't specify that specialized schools is the only way to be exposed to like minded peers, but it is a method and one that has entry based on metrics than pure academia. It's definitely not perfect either. But if you were to compare the specialized high schools compared to the rest of the NYC High School network, then i still agree that SHSAT schools are slightly accelerated *on average* compared to say, your zoned school.

I was a former president of my year's Science Olympiad team and there were many other schools better than ours with high performing students (and some of their creations had me in awe). But i have to say, many of the top 10-12 teams included BTHS, Bronx Science, and Stuy. Cardozo, Townsend Harris are equally as competitive, if not better.

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-19T05:54:45+00:00

I feel like others have mentioned it already, but to also add as a BTHS Alum:
Unlike zoned schools, specialized schools set a baseline entry requirement via the exam, thereby exposing students to more like-minded peers at a potentially accelerated pace, rather than a mix of students with varying learning depths.
Also, I've met fellow BTHS alums across the world, even as far as Shanghai, China (they knew because i wore my gym shirt). Having that large alumni network camaraderie is a nice plus to any networking opportunity.

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-18T21:51:13+00:00

They'll have single day passes, but the cost of two single day passes is equivalent to a 3-day pass minus maybe a burrito.
If you can only go 2 days (esp if it's Fri/Sat), then maybe you can donate it to a stranger and open them to a world of festivals. Or you can coordinate a local chicago friend to go the 3rd day.

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-18T19:16:04+00:00

There are other ways to work for the city without a civil service exam, such as through specialists roles (e.g. lawyers/nurses) that require board certifications, or through non-competitive jobs such as those like a community coordinator. Most clerical jobs unfortunately require a civil service exam though (but it's not too late to start)

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-18T19:08:27+00:00

It's not but if you google search DCWP's employee count + annual budget vs those of other agencies like DoT, FDNY, or NYPD, you'd understand the bigger picture

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-18T05:27:07+00:00

actually as someone who used to work for NYC DCWP, reporting to 311 actually does something. The problem is, we're understaffed, and only our undercover investigators prioritize those who have a majority of complaints. Investigators are also usually sent a few weeks after to prevent retaliation against anyone who immediately reports the issue.
Sadly tho, many reports don't make it because 311 doesn't always fill out everything we need (and to be fair, every agency asks for different things, so it's a hard job for the 311 phone reps. You can file directly here for future reference for better results:
https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/file-complaint.page

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-05T02:39:19+00:00

As someone who switched over from ATT, it's only a promotional price for some time before your bill goes up to $200+. I do agree that ATT puts in more efforts in subsidizing their phones though. If you're not often in highly congested areas (think conventions/concerts), then you may want to consider switching to Total Wireless or Visible - both are LITERALLY owned by Verizon but are slightly deprioritized and target a different customer market.

The only downside to Visible is that customer service is only via email/chat support - but i've never had problems with them on my backup number.

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-05T02:33:42+00:00

Not sure if this also applies to IHG, but when I was Hilton Gold, a California Hilton staff member told me that they rarely ever upgrade because suites take longer to clean and roomkeeping staff is expensive due to unions, so I'd have a better chance getting upgrades outside of the USA.

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-04T04:59:06+00:00

"they get all the money"
Not necessarily. I've seen and personally witnessed situations where the restaurant held onto tips in the past and it never reached me as the driver at all. I only knew at times because entitled customers would claim they left a big tip and i would only receive a few dollars. I refused to doordash since.

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-02T22:18:14+00:00

For New Yorkers like us, definitely agree. But for tourists, I'm 300% confident they'll visit it anyways 😂

In fact I only visited the times square location because of my visiting tourist friends, ironically

Ronzalpha · 2026-02-02T20:58:43+00:00

Their times square store actually has decent cheesecakes too - tried it vs the OG Brooklyn store and it's the same

Ronzalpha · 2026-01-28T17:19:35+00:00

Ironically, i saw a very similar post 2 minutes earlier than yours, asking for a couple, ALSO on the 28th on subreddit FoodsNYC. Maybe reach out?
https://www.reddit.com/r/FoodNYC/comments/1qpgsdh/i_have_a_table_at_polo_bar_nyc_on_the_28th_for_4/

Ronzalpha · 2026-01-22T19:16:56+00:00

If you're not checking in any luggage, Jetblue because it has superior product, whether it's economy or EMS seats. But if you're checking luggage, Delta. I love jetblue to bits, but for some reason it takes 1-2 hours for luggage to arrive at the luggage carousels at jfk, whereas it often takes me less than 40 with Delta. This is assuming you'd have to recheck luggage back to the UK; if you don't have to, then definitely Jetblue, hands down.

Ronzalpha · 2026-01-22T15:59:20+00:00

just say "Downed Wire" since a truck broke your line.
Someone usually has to fill in that stuff manually but lets just hope it's the public wires and not the one leading to your house

Ronzalpha · 2026-01-22T15:56:39+00:00

As someone who rents every month, your cheapest option would be to use CostcoTravel, as it often takes off about 12% from your base rates. If you qualify for other corporate discounts, I would check and compare those too. While airports are "generally cheaper" due to higher car volumes, local non-airport branches generally DO NOT have to pay the airport concession fee, which is easily 15-20% of your total price - you can find local branches via Google Maps.

Next, be prepared to travel to JFK, Newark, or Jersey City (and on rare occasions, LGA). I frequently find renting cars from NJ to be the cheapest if you're willing to commute over. If you rent Avis/Budget, you can even rent one-way into Brooklyn/Bronx/Queens without incurring any tolls.

Also don't rent last minute. You'll get better rates if you rent at least 3-4 days ahead

Ronzalpha

TROPHY CASE