Coronavirus blues

[Timberwolf]

On 3/20/2020 at 12:00 PM, Tika said:

I forgot until I got here how much I miss this place when I don't come around.

We're doing ok here, I'm on the opposite end of the work from home scale.   We haven't had any cases in the town I live in yet but it's coming and probably soon and the small hospital I work at could easily get overwhelmed.  My town is mostly shut down, no schools, no restaurants or bars open, most businesses closed, limited hours at grocery stores etc.  I'm isolating as much as I can but the odds of me getting exposed at work are pretty high no matter how careful I am.

Just keep coming back when you can @Tika, we will always be here.   

If things get too crazy, and you need to vent, we are always here.  hug

[Timberwolf]

23 hours ago, Moonhawk said:

Checking in, having the kids out of school  has helped with time with them. My agoraphobia and anxiety rear their heads more frequently since the outbreak, however still going to work. Having your own business and employees who depend on you is hard. My Filipino teams is on lockdown so most are working from home. However not the same for my Miami team yet. I fear the worse is yet to come after speaking to two friends who work in government. Hope all are safe

huggles I'm glad that you are getting some extra time with your kids.  I hope your agoraphobia and anxiety aren't getting too bad.  

[Timberwolf]

21 hours ago, SoulDragon said:

Hey, i totally forgot about this place (again), so sorry. ~huggles for everybody~ Hope you and your loved ones stay well 

For me personally nothing's much different, i'm always home sick thanks to my chronic desease, i am being extra careful when i have to go out to the store because of my bad immunesystem. The whole social distancing is definitely my cup of tea, finally a socially excepted reason to avoid as many people as possible . My mom keeps comming for our weekly chit chat and that's enough for me, you can't keep us appart no matter what, if i tell her i'm sick she still comes if i'm up to it and the other way around as well.

I was extra sick the last 2 weeks or so, if it was Covid or just a bad flu....who knows, i'm recovering from it with plenty of rest as always. I did get worried when my mom got sick last week, but it's only mildly sick and mostly anoying coughing.

The worst part for me is all those people hoarding, the grocery delivery service is fully booked a week ahead, while normally i order and get it delivered the next day. But no shortages there, yet, only in the grocery stores...no toilet paper...which i really don't get, it's not like you get diarrhea from covid?!  
(seriously, can anyone explain to me why that's the first thing that gets hoarded?)

So far the covid update on my part, i got plenty of other stuff to tell, but that's for another topic.

huggles @SoulDragon. You made it back now, and that's important.

Please stay safe over there Souly.  We are thinking about you here.

[Timberwolf]

19 hours ago, Dulcet said:

This has long been my favorite place to check in. I only wish it were under better circumstances. All good things have been happening lately. I moved closer to the city of Chicago and am hopefully in a better environment. EVERYTHING is is right at my corner including a Walmart, Gamestop, and an ALDI. I'm pretty well stocked up on. food and toilet paper luckily. I'll see how stores are next week. I'm fien and don't have any symptoms, but our building is doing a self-quarantine thing I guess. There's staff here and staff cannily communicate with us by phone now until further notice. And all groups have been canceled. No visitors are allowed either. I'm thinking this also means our mail isn being held because I haven't gotten any mail in the last few days since the policy took effect. I'm doing fien though Having lived in DuPage county my entire life, adjusting to Cook County has been rough. I won't be able to see a psychiatrist for a few more weeks which sucks, Services over all are more limited here, despite it being closer to the city. I've been living off gas station food because I'm too lazy. McDonald's and Burger King were my go to spots when I first moved here, but I don't have a car to use the drive  thru. 

I have been getting out and getting exercise everyday. I walk a lot. There's a blind guy downstairs that asks me to take him places like the gas station and the blood bank across the street so it feels kinda nice to be needed by someone. My neighbors are nice and under regularly scheduled weeks we have game nights and coffee talk. But the corona virus has definitely put a damper on social events and things here. I'm bummed because now is the time I normally go to my cousin's soccer game she coaches. All games have been cancelled until further notice. I remember with swine flu she had trouble getting other teams to play her and kids shaking hands was a big deal. This is much worse cuz I don't remember whole sporting events being cancelled. Oh well. I just hope all this hand washing pays off in the end and we live through all this. 

Stay safe ya'll and I love ya. *HUGS & LICKS*

 

Hey @Dulcet.  I'm glad things are alright in your neck of the woods.  Yeah, all big group things, 50 people or more, have been canceled unless you can get special permission from the police.  Don't know how that works, but yeah.  I think now, the government is saying to stay inside as much as possible.  It isn't mandatory yet, but they are suggesting it.  @hirondelle has better information than I do.   

[hirondelle]

21 hours ago, SoulDragon said:

Hey, i totally forgot about this place (again), so sorry. ~huggles for everybody~ Hope you and your loved ones stay well 

For me personally nothing's much different, i'm always home sick thanks to my chronic desease, i am being extra careful when i have to go out to the store because of my bad immunesystem. The whole social distancing is definitely my cup of tea, finally a socially excepted reason to avoid as many people as possible . My mom keeps comming for our weekly chit chat and that's enough for me, you can't keep us appart no matter what, if i tell her i'm sick she still comes if i'm up to it and the other way around as well.

I was extra sick the last 2 weeks or so, if it was Covid or just a bad flu....who knows, i'm recovering from it with plenty of rest as always. I did get worried when my mom got sick last week, but it's only mildly sick and mostly anoying coughing.

The worst part for me is all those people hoarding, the grocery delivery service is fully booked a week ahead, while normally i order and get it delivered the next day. But no shortages there, yet, only in the grocery stores...no toilet paper...which i really don't get, it's not like you get diarrhea from covid?!  
(seriously, can anyone explain to me why that's the first thing that gets hoarded?)

So far the covid update on my part, i got plenty of other stuff to tell, but that's for another topic.

Yes Soulie, you have to take extra care   do you know if there are cases in your area at all?  I know the Netherlands has around 3k cases in total at the moment.

[hirondelle]

19 hours ago, Dulcet said:

This has long been my favorite place to check in. I only wish it were under better circumstances. All good things have been happening lately. I moved closer to the city of Chicago and am hopefully in a better environment. EVERYTHING is is right at my corner including a Walmart, Gamestop, and an ALDI. I'm pretty well stocked up on. food and toilet paper luckily. I'll see how stores are next week. I'm fien and don't have any symptoms, but our building is doing a self-quarantine thing I guess. There's staff here and staff cannily communicate with us by phone now until further notice. And all groups have been canceled. No visitors are allowed either. I'm thinking this also means our mail isn being held because I haven't gotten any mail in the last few days since the policy took effect. I'm doing fien though Having lived in DuPage county my entire life, adjusting to Cook County has been rough. I won't be able to see a psychiatrist for a few more weeks which sucks, Services over all are more limited here, despite it being closer to the city. I've been living off gas station food because I'm too lazy. McDonald's and Burger King were my go to spots when I first moved here, but I don't have a car to use the drive  thru. 

I have been getting out and getting exercise everyday. I walk a lot. There's a blind guy downstairs that asks me to take him places like the gas station and the blood bank across the street so it feels kinda nice to be needed by someone. My neighbors are nice and under regularly scheduled weeks we have game nights and coffee talk. But the corona virus has definitely put a damper on social events and things here. I'm bummed because now is the time I normally go to my cousin's soccer game she coaches. All games have been cancelled until further notice. I remember with swine flu she had trouble getting other teams to play her and kids shaking hands was a big deal. This is much worse cuz I don't remember whole sporting events being cancelled. Oh well. I just hope all this hand washing pays off in the end and we live through all this. 

Stay safe ya'll and I love ya. *HUGS & LICKS*

 

Sound like you are in the best place you can be to weather the storm hun.  Look after your mental health as much as your physical health.  I will post some resources in the appropriate forum and tag you.   @Dulcet

[Phoenix]

Hey, I'm generally Facebook-unplugged (I pretty much only get on to message Autumn and a couple others), but I just so happened to see Tracy's call for updates, so I'm checking in.

I think we're in better shape than most in the US, as I'm still doing my thing and my father's able to work from home (and it sounded like he needed the break anyway). Both my parents are older and my father is a smoker and a diabetic, so it may not go well if either of them get sick. I don't really have a lot of anxiety over it, though. We're all just doing what we can here, and I can't control anything beyond that. I have some lingering health issues that can wait until after we're out of quarantine, and my therapist will be able to work with me over the phone for a while. I suppose it could change in a heartbeat, but honestly I'm not all that uncomfortable right now.

I don't know if this will be unpopular or not, but I'm actually seeing this as an opportunity for growth. For me, personally, and for this country, which has been sick in its own way for a while now. I just wish so many people weren't in danger.

[Forest Mage]

16 hours ago, Timberwolf said:

huggles @Forest Mage

We are here for you Forest Mage and sending you love.

Thank  you  Dom and I  will  be  here for  yall as well.   *huggles*

[Kenai]

I've been staring at this post for a while.  Life is being cunty over here, and I am so tired of typing it all out. But I'm going to.  Warning: its long and dramatic.

So around the start of the month, jerk that I married (short form jerk, and trust me, he's earned the moniker) punched the kiddo in the jaw.  He of course claims both that he didn't do it, it was an accident and it was only a light tap.  Jarek has been adamant that he did. 

I told chuck to leave, he refused. I told him fine, whatever. I need space, J and I are going to hotel while I think.  (at this point I wasn't sure if it was an accident or not.)  He again refused.  But he agreed to take me to the library for a few hours so I could run around and watch J there while he stays at home. 

I agree, and once he leaves I immediately called my friend.  Told her "hey.. you know that phone call I promised to make if I ever felt in danger?  This is it."

She was at the library in like ten minutes and had already arranged with the domestic violence people in town to get me in a hotel. 

Stayed there for two nights and then called chuck.  Told him if he left the house voluntarily while I tried to get into a shelter, I wouldn't have to do a protective order.  He agreed, so I went home with Jarek.

For everyone screaming at me "DON"T TAKE HIS WORD", you were right.  He showed up that night, TWICE.  So I filed the request for a protection order.  Judge granted a temp one until the hearing.  The next day, while we were waiting for it to be served, he showed up again and tried to break down the door.

 

Next ten days were uneventful.  I turned down the shelter because I wanted to keep J in school and the closest one was an hour away.  (Stupid mistake in hindsight I suppose). court hearing comes up, and the judge denies it because it wasn't imminent harm, and he equated a punch to the face to a six year old to a spanking. 

went back to the hotel because chuck refused to stay out of the house.  That didn't last long.  The virus news was getting worse, there were a lot of travelers going in and out.. and jarek's a runner right next to the highway.  I went back to the house the day I chased Jarek down the very busy streets 5 times in less than three hours. 

I'm watching Chuck like a hawk, and I have an interview with the housing board on the 24th.  They're optimistic they can get me in an apartment by the 1st.  It's just a matter of lasting until then.

[Spyder]

I work at a grocery store, doing customer service and bookkeeping. As you can imagine, business is booming. That also means I work in a petri dish since everybody who may have the virus but hasn't been diagnosed yet is going to come through. We get people coming through in masks and gloves all day every day, and to get in the store you have to use hand sanitizer, but everybody at the store is waiting for the first person who works there to be diagnosed. It's a when, not if, situation. We'll see what happens.

The Governor of Texas, who's all kinds of problematic regardless of the pandemic, said today that he won't put into effect a shelter in place order in Texas because only 50ish of 254 counties have confirmed cases. That's exactly why it should be put in place. You don't wait for something to go wrong and then try to prevent it. You put policies into place to prevent it spreading to people in more counties. I don't understand why this is hard for people to process. If you take drastic measures in the present you prevent disaster in the future. This is going to cause more people to get sick, more strain (and potential overload) on the medical system and ultimately more death. And then people in the state government will claim there was no way to prevent something like this.

Unfortunately, the most infuriating part of all this is my dad refuses to accept the seriousness of the situation. My dad is one of the smartest people I know and pragmatic about everything, and I cannot seem to convince him that this situation is as serious as it is. I really don't understand it. It's like the concept of worldwide pandemic affecting the US the same as it does everywhere else just will not work in his head. I'm fairly certain that the only thing that will convince him this is serious is if somebody he knows is diagnosed and hospitalized, and because of this, I'm really afraid that the person who ends up sick and hospitalized is him. 

Is this a generational thing? So many in the older generation here in America seem to not understand how serious this is or are in denial that things can get as bad here as they did in parts of China or are in Northern Italy. Their grandparents lived through the Influenza epidemic of 1918 so you'd think perhaps at some point in their youth it would have been impressed upon them about how bad this can get. I know they had history books, so they should have learned about it. Yet here we are. People are dying and leaders in America are shrugging, as if to say, "It's just a few sick people." I just don't get it. I really don't.

[Deano]

On 3/21/2020 at 5:22 AM, Timberwolf said:

Hey @Deano.  Things are starting to get serious here as well.  The government today has asked that people go out as little as possible.  Less than a week ago, they asked that all entertainment venues close, so pubs, bars, movie theaters, massage parlors () were to close.  Pubs and bars could get around it by saying they are restaurants if they served food though.

hey bro, things are serious here now. as of today March 23, 2020 all McDonald's are closed until further notice, pubs restaurants and all football matches have been cancelled. restrictions were put on funerals where only a handful amount can attend a funeral. Schools are now closed, many business gone bust..... its just horrible star. 

saying that, I'm still at work and my family and I are doing okay for now. 

supermarkets shelves are empty, cant get toilet tissues, rice, flour etc. 

[hirondelle]

On 3/22/2020 at 4:18 AM, Phoenix said:

Hey, I'm generally Facebook-unplugged (I pretty much only get on to message Autumn and a couple others), but I just so happened to see Tracy's call for updates, so I'm checking in.

I think we're in better shape than most in the US, as I'm still doing my thing and my father's able to work from home (and it sounded like he needed the break anyway). Both my parents are older and my father is a smoker and a diabetic, so it may not go well if either of them get sick. I don't really have a lot of anxiety over it, though. We're all just doing what we can here, and I can't control anything beyond that. I have some lingering health issues that can wait until after we're out of quarantine, and my therapist will be able to work with me over the phone for a while. I suppose it could change in a heartbeat, but honestly I'm not all that uncomfortable right now.

I don't know if this will be unpopular or not, but I'm actually seeing this as an opportunity for growth. For me, personally, and for this country, which has been sick in its own way for a while now. I just wish so many people weren't in danger.

Glad to hear you are doing ok, and arent getting too stressed.  It is an oppurtunity for growth and change... as long as we can cling to our lessons once it is over, rather than simply breathing a sigh of relief and reverting back to our old ways.

[hirondelle]

On 3/22/2020 at 4:44 AM, Kenai said:

I've been staring at this post for a while.  Life is being cunty over here, and I am so tired of typing it all out. But I'm going to.  Warning: its long and dramatic.

So around the start of the month, jerk that I married (short form jerk, and trust me, he's earned the moniker) punched the kiddo in the jaw.  He of course claims both that he didn't do it, it was an accident and it was only a light tap.  Jarek has been adamant that he did. 

I told chuck to leave, he refused. I told him fine, whatever. I need space, J and I are going to hotel while I think.  (at this point I wasn't sure if it was an accident or not.)  He again refused.  But he agreed to take me to the library for a few hours so I could run around and watch J there while he stays at home. 

I agree, and once he leaves I immediately called my friend.  Told her "hey.. you know that phone call I promised to make if I ever felt in danger?  This is it."

She was at the library in like ten minutes and had already arranged with the domestic violence people in town to get me in a hotel. 

Stayed there for two nights and then called chuck.  Told him if he left the house voluntarily while I tried to get into a shelter, I wouldn't have to do a protective order.  He agreed, so I went home with Jarek.

For everyone screaming at me "DON"T TAKE HIS WORD", you were right.  He showed up that night, TWICE.  So I filed the request for a protection order.  Judge granted a temp one until the hearing.  The next day, while we were waiting for it to be served, he showed up again and tried to break down the door.

 

Next ten days were uneventful.  I turned down the shelter because I wanted to keep J in school and the closest one was an hour away.  (Stupid mistake in hindsight I suppose). court hearing comes up, and the judge denies it because it wasn't imminent harm, and he equated a punch to the face to a six year old to a spanking. 

went back to the hotel because chuck refused to stay out of the house.  That didn't last long.  The virus news was getting worse, there were a lot of travelers going in and out.. and jarek's a runner right next to the highway.  I went back to the house the day I chased Jarek down the very busy streets 5 times in less than three hours. 

I'm watching Chuck like a hawk, and I have an interview with the housing board on the 24th.  They're optimistic they can get me in an apartment by the 1st.  It's just a matter of lasting until then.

Wow, Kenai that is a LOT.  I am proud of you for battling your way through that - fingers crosses for the housing board interview.  The only way out is through!  

[hirondelle]

On 3/23/2020 at 8:09 AM, Spyder said:

I work at a grocery store, doing customer service and bookkeeping. As you can imagine, business is booming. That also means I work in a petri dish since everybody who may have the virus but hasn't been diagnosed yet is going to come through. We get people coming through in masks and gloves all day every day, and to get in the store you have to use hand sanitizer, but everybody at the store is waiting for the first person who works there to be diagnosed. It's a when, not if, situation. We'll see what happens.

The Governor of Texas, who's all kinds of problematic regardless of the pandemic, said today that he won't put into effect a shelter in place order in Texas because only 50ish of 254 counties have confirmed cases. That's exactly why it should be put in place. You don't wait for something to go wrong and then try to prevent it. You put policies into place to prevent it spreading to people in more counties. I don't understand why this is hard for people to process. If you take drastic measures in the present you prevent disaster in the future. This is going to cause more people to get sick, more strain (and potential overload) on the medical system and ultimately more death. And then people in the state government will claim there was no way to prevent something like this.

Unfortunately, the most infuriating part of all this is my dad refuses to accept the seriousness of the situation. My dad is one of the smartest people I know and pragmatic about everything, and I cannot seem to convince him that this situation is as serious as it is. I really don't understand it. It's like the concept of worldwide pandemic affecting the US the same as it does everywhere else just will not work in his head. I'm fairly certain that the only thing that will convince him this is serious is if somebody he knows is diagnosed and hospitalized, and because of this, I'm really afraid that the person who ends up sick and hospitalized is him. 

Is this a generational thing? So many in the older generation here in America seem to not understand how serious this is or are in denial that things can get as bad here as they did in parts of China or are in Northern Italy. Their grandparents lived through the Influenza epidemic of 1918 so you'd think perhaps at some point in their youth it would have been impressed upon them about how bad this can get. I know they had history books, so they should have learned about it. Yet here we are. People are dying and leaders in America are shrugging, as if to say, "It's just a few sick people." I just don't get it. I really don't.

OMG thank you for posting, I messaged you on all the things and you didn't reply so I was worried. Yeah a lot of govts were caught with their pants down but I fear America's complacency and the arrogance of your leader could make the Italian shitshow look like a walk in the park. I hope I am proved wrong because the people of America definitely don't deserve to pay for their leader's stupidity.  I can understand your dad a little because the media and social media is obscuring the reality with bullshit that is causing people to make poor decisions and panic.  It is a dreadful virus and we need to do what we can to slow transmission for sure. But all the panic and hysteria is something that the older generation maybe rebel against.  I just heard my 87 year old mum popped to the shop for lager and ice-cream despite having my cousin do all her weekly shopping every Sunday so she can stay home and keep herself safe.  Mum lived through WW2 so she probably thinks she earned the right to do exactly what she likes.  The attitude might kill her, but maybe also it is why she is here today.  Shit's complicated. *hugs*

[hirondelle]

10 hours ago, Deano said:

hey bro, things are serious here now. as of today March 23, 2020 all McDonald's are closed until further notice, pubs restaurants and all football matches have been cancelled. restrictions were put on funerals where only a handful amount can attend a funeral. Schools are now closed, many business gone bust..... its just horrible star. 

saying that, I'm still at work and my family and I are doing okay for now. 

supermarkets shelves are empty, cant get toilet tissues, rice, flour etc. 

Yeah London is being hit hard, just like New York.  Again, maybe they left it a bit too late to take decisive action.  Just take care of yourself and your family Deano and keep us posted when you can - sending love and strength.  Wish we could send you loo roll and a few kilos of jasmine rice.  

[Phoenix]

Well, considering loss of smell/taste seems to be a common effect from the bug, it seems less likely that this cough I have is related. That salami was mindblowing.

[Lightningfall]

I was going to post earlier, but with everything going on it just kind of slipped my mind.

I just wanted to check in and make sure that everyone was doing okay.

[Moonhawk]

I'm ok and checking in hows everyone else

[hirondelle]

Thank you for checking in on us guys  I am doing ok, I am fortunate - able to work from home and trapped inside with a guy I love and v entertaining animals.  I can afford Netflix.  Life is alright.

I am struggling with anxiety and worried that I am (or the situation is) doing some damage to my mental health. But I was wobbly to begin with so not sure how much I can blame it on 'the rona'. 

 

[Moonhawk]

Anxiety and agoraphobia is killing me as well. One thing I think about to ease when I do have to go out is thinking of cardi b saying Karanaaaa Virazzzz every time I read or hear Corona virus. 

[Phoenix]

It's tough. It's as important now as ever to make sure we're getting exercise in and doing what limited activity outside our homes we can safely.

I'm not doing as well as I could with that, but I think I'm doing better with this sort of situation than I would have been before I started doing therapy.

[fox]

On 3/23/2020 at 1:09 PM, hirondelle said:

 Shit's complicated. *hugs*

That. Right fucking there.

Goodness you folks. So much respect and admiration. Jazzed to see you here, too. It's a shite reason to congregate, but it's a beautiful community.

The US thing boggles my mind. I wonder if that's changing, now that it's a epicenter. Fuuuuuuck sakes. Scary shit.

You folks with people to worry about - older, immunocompromised, other things - just . I'm lacking in words right now, but have a lot of feels thoughts. And goddamn @Kenai - that's a LOT. I hope this isn't patronizing, but I'm damn proud of you for leaving. No matter the abuse, that's really fucking hard. You did it and you're continuing to do it. You are amazing.

ALSO. I'm going to attach an image I liked a lot this week. Because I'm tired of the "DO ALL THE THINGS" messaging. I'm not reading or writing or baking or cooking (anything interesting) or taking classes - I'm surviving. The only thing I'm doing, because I NEED to, is walking the dog and workout videos (the gym was a huge source of calm mind for me recently). Do you, be gentle, get through it.

[Moonhawk]

I'm going stir crazy, try to play video games and keep myself busy with the kids but with just one tv in the living room the kids drive me crazy they have their own tv in each room but they want the big tv. I need a bigger house or finish their living room(play room) upgrade. By the time I'm done with work I just don't have the energy to work on their living room. Just have to commit before I loose my mind. Sorry rambling along so tired of this crap feel like I'm in a bad apocalyptic movie that doesnt end

[hirondelle]

3 hours ago, Moonhawk said:

I'm going stir crazy, try to play video games and keep myself busy with the kids but with just one tv in the living room the kids drive me crazy they have their own tv in each room but they want the big tv. I need a bigger house or finish their living room(play room) upgrade. By the time I'm done with work I just don't have the energy to work on their living room. Just have to commit before I loose my mind. Sorry rambling along so tired of this crap feel like I'm in a bad apocalyptic movie that doesnt end

Love you Hawkboy

[Timberwolf]

One of the things that's helping me is the fact that I can't really do much as I'm recovering from knee surgery.  I've been watching tons of movies and tv series, but I plan on starting to write soon.  I have a few blog posts in mind that I want to write, plus I've put up a few polls.