Coronavirus

[Twoapenny]

A friend in Georgia has COVID 19. 

I can't say I feel terrified for her.  I have the feeling she'll be OK, even though she has immune issues and is overweight. 


Now I'm focusing on it.... it is pretty scary.

Lighter

I hope she's okay, Lighter.  Keep us posted.  I have a friend waiting on a test at the moment after someone who KNEW THEY HAD IT CAME ROUND TO VISIT HER!  Seriously, wtf is wrong with some people?  The cousin of someone else I know has just got off life support; no longer life threatening but still very unwell.  Long recovery time for some, I hear.  And still there are people insisting it's not real.  Mind blowing.  I'll keep everything crossed for her, I hope she is starting to feel better very soon xx

[Hopalong]

Ai yi, yi, Lighter, I'm sorry about your friend.
I'm no longer sanguine about anyone of any age just "getting over it" completely, unless they do. Information about that seems all over the map, with some 9-year-olds dying and some seniors surviving, and everything in between. I especially worry about the weird syndromes appearing in kids. Lord knows how that will affect their future health. (Reminds me of the shock I felt when an older friend, who'd had polio and "recovered" long ago when young, and then came down with post-polio syndrome in her 70s. She wound up losing a leg.)

What I find most fearful about the virus is first, the PTSD-inducing torture of an ICU/ventilation experience, and then, should I be "lucky"--the "recovery". Seems to me that once "lucky" people are well enough to be discharged, the statistics are adjusted and bingo, add one to the "survivor" column, happy-happy! But long-term lung or other organ damage path and other issues are still uncharted and unknown. Like permanent emphysema. I just know I wouldn't cope well with either getting OR surviving Covid-19. Not at my age (or mental state). Don't wanna die from it either, but survival is no cupcake at a picnic, as I understand it. How doctors define "recovery" is a very different animal from how I would, with quality of life mattering a lot more than simply continuing to tick.

(All this has a lot to do with the fact that locally, we're still marching steadily upward on the FIRST curve. It's nerve-wracking.)

And how are we going to manage the medical needs of all these "recovered" patients as unknown after-effects kick in later in their lives? With dying economies and civil unrest, and politicians gutting health care? Fingers crossed for November.

Whew, quite a rant.

I was actually coming onto this thread to whine a bit. I'm having a harder time than before breaking up with M, in coping with the isolation. Doing my best to rally myself, but the loll-in-bed-all-day pernicious retreat-behavior has crept up again. I'm pushing back a little and not panicking (I'm up and dressed now, first time in days) -- but it's concerning.

I'm trying to schedule more Zoom chats with friends. I think the biggest temporary problem is that my closest friend's weekly outdoor visits have been shut down by us both for a couple weeks because the heat (high 90s) is just too much for our old selves. So I'm missing that regular connection and support. Heading to the neighbors' for takeout Mexican food outdoors this evening, which I know will help.

Meanwhile, drinking more than I should, and have emotionally-eaten so much I'm up at least 5 pounds since the breakup. (Thank god I don't have a scale.) So...I know things will get better. Just wish the quarantine could end soon for everyone. And I know it can't.

Whiney whiney,
Hops

[Twoapenny]

Hops, I'm sorry.  Quarantine is hard to cope with, and then adding a break up to it as well is even more difficult.  Glad you are up and about, though, and heading out for food with friends.  I think everything is going to be topsy turvy for a while and we'll all have to muddle along as best we can.  I still think coming out the other side of this with extra weight and a bit sozzled is a better outcome than not getting through it at all but it's still hard to manage and cope with day to day.  I hope it starts to get a little bit easier for more frequent periods of time for you xx

[lighter]

School will be on line the first 3 months here.  It's official.

Youngest needs more social interaction than that.  She had a terrific spend the night birthday party with a school chum last night.  DD just lights up.  There's so much joy for her..... will have to figure out some way to get one or two other kids together for school, I think. 

Lighter

[sKePTiKal]

Well, my energy for work picked up this week and I engaged my favorite trick to push through and finish something - "something" in this case being that rock wall veneer in the master bedroom. I ordered the hardwood yesterday so now I have a deadline. I can't seem to find modular closet components to suit myself & the design I have in mind... so I'm going to build it myself.

Hol said she hoped she's moved out before I start doing that - LOLOLOL. Her piles of stuff have grown exponentially as she thinks of more things she "needs". But it's like pulling teeth to get the contractor out here to finish; and now the grout in the master shower is wrong - and contractor wants Hol to remove the existing grout (it's silicone based). Her not very happy with him right now.

She is currently assembling an origami paper owl lamp.... LOLOL.

And I still can't get started on B's shop yet. Backhoe guy isn't done with his other job yet. He needs to move the shale & dirt from that spot so I can get a measurement that's somewhat accurate.

If all goes well B will be here in another month. (Having no contact with him is hard; but he's staged a couple of messages to get me though this week. Got a package of balls for Knuckles with a card in it.)

I've had conversations now with the other two principals in the business; and this looks to be another rough month - but it's kind of reassuring that we maybe haven't lost that much MORE ground in July. I'll know in another week or so. My brother actually said it was good I was thinking ahead to the options we have, that we could possibly use to get through this... assuming it doesn't get a LOT worse sales-wise for too long. So that's a comfort; being able to communicate with him in an adult fashion and face facts, as they are - instead of how we wish they were.

[Twoapenny]

It's madness here.  I honestly feel like I'm living in another dimension.  Random lockdowns and rule changes are being introduced at very short notice, whilst at the same time people are being told to get back to work.  Shielding deliveries and sick pay are being stopped from today so people who are at risk may have no choice but to go to the shops or back to work themselves.  Masks are now mandatory but not being enforced.  They issued a notice on Twitter - Twitter! - that indoor visits are now banned in certain parts of England because of cases rising, but are keeping the pubs and shops open.  Some businesses are taking social distancing, hand sanitising, contact tracing and so on very seriously, some aren't.  One place even has a sign up telling people they must remove their masks before entering.  Schools are being told to prepare for four different scenarios from September, each of which has to be ready to implement at short notice.  Most schools are re-opening in stages and on part time timetables, so working parents are still not able to rely on them for childcare.  Predictions are milling around that we'll be seeing 1980s level unemployment once the furlough scheme ends as many small businesses won't be able to afford to keep going.  We have the highest death toll in Europe and the third highest in the world, I believe, and Johnson keeps insisting we're doing a great job and has decided now is a good time to launch an obesity campaign - at the same time as launching buy one, get one free meal deals to get people going out to eat.  The daughter of a tax dodging billionaire has been on Twitter giving advice to people on low incomes on how to make meals out of potatoes.  I've genuinely never witnessed anything like it.  And there are still people who think the government is doing a great job!

On the plus side, the area that I live in is (at the moment) without a single diagnosed case.  It's relatively rural so we have a population spread out over a wide area and people have been very careful for the most part so I think that's helped.  We are continuing to stay in, simply because it's a holiday area so people are coming from other parts of the country so that could change but as we're enjoying the staying in that's fine.  I've pretty much given up trying to get a handle on any of it now and have retreated to a world of books and music.

[sKePTiKal]

I concur Tupp. It's pretty insane - and I might add, the new "guidelines" are entirely unenforceable. Where it's starting to get scary, is we've had some rare, scattered occurances of "self-selected" mask vigilantes shooting people who aren't distancing or wearing masks. Madness may be a side effect of the stupid virus... or perhaps the stupid management of it. I use that word, interchangeably with insane and evil. The differences between all 3 are sometimes extremely subtle.

I wish I could make a good argument for things getting back to normal in X number of months. (For my sake, as well as a pep talk for everyone else.) Given the strong opposing opinions about what is fact or even real (as in data/medical research)... I think we all need to regularly give ourselves a prophilactic dose of "normality" just to keep concern & anxiety feelings in check. When I was grieving hard, I used Game of Thrones for that purpose. It seemed way more "normal" than the world I was experiencing. I know the Tolkein stories - book or film - would do the same. Fact is: Tolkein wrote/created that world as an antidote to the horrors/trauma he experienced in the war. Anything that engages one in imagining things that have clear cause & effect seem to be useful.

And I think it's a strengthening tactic; self-care -- to give yourself those kinds of breaks during times like these. I think that's one reason I got into the Downton Abbey series recently. It was a quietly stable world and I could be engaged in how the characters struggled to keep some tradition vs. adapting to the massive changes around them. Carson & the first telephone in the Abbey is one of the scenes that stuck for me.

One of the hardest things around here has been being able to keep to a regular daily schedule/routine. It's partly 'coz of the kids being here... and their clocks are different than mine. My "new normal" routine that I'd created for myself after moving... was too new to not adapt to whatever was going on around me. It'll be quite interesting to see what B & I come up with after the kids leave my household and start their own.

I'm also doing something I've relied on for a long time - whether with the kids or myself - during long stretches of "undedicated" time... and that's go learn something. The online language sites aren't too terribly expensive; and there are massive amounts of information about science, pioneer skills, history, growing things, animals, etc. that can kill two birds with one stone: you learn something new, keeping that old gray matter flexible and also give yourself a break from trying to solve the puzzles & problems of these "interesting times" we're living in.

[Hopalong]

I've pretty much given up trying to get a handle on any of it now and have retreated to a world of books and music.

That sounds REALLY healthy to me, Tupp! In my health district (my town with surrounding counties), today's count (updated daily at 10am) is:

16 new cases
1685 total cases
135 hospitalized
31 dead

The "new cases" number on a day has varied from single digits to actually 46 one day (but that may have been a data catch up, not sure). The curve marches steadily upward. Other areas in my state are true "hot spots" with steeper rises. These are the only numbers I watch because for my own decisions I just have to keep it simple. When it's down to 2 or fewer for a couple of weeks, I might come out of my self-quarantine. Until then, staying right here, except for super-careful backyard distanced socializing.

I feel incredibly fortunate that I can have literally everything I need delivered. I wish that were secure for everyone.

It's tragic. Dr. Fauci is testifying right now, and listening to his rational, matter-of-fact voice is a comfort, even though our peril remains. (People in his party keep referring to "the president's plan." That would be the oblivious and indifferent president who started wearing a mask last week after bullying, macho dogwhistles about them for months....)

Stay safe. Enjoy the music and the books. I am positive those are good for the immune system, and most definitely for mental health.

Lastly, I faced yesterday how profoundly out of shape I've gotten. Pushed back in a very small but meaningful way by taking a walk for about 20 minutes this morning. Sounds ridiculous, but psychologically, it was a huge step. I'd gotten paralysed again and my addictive, sedentary avoidance is scarier to me than the virus. I've turned to pudding and I'm too old to risk letting this get any more serious.

hugs
Hops

[Twoapenny]

I concur Tupp. It's pretty insane - and I might add, the new "guidelines" are entirely unenforceable. Where it's starting to get scary, is we've had some rare, scattered occurances of "self-selected" mask vigilantes shooting people who aren't distancing or wearing masks. Madness may be a side effect of the stupid virus... or perhaps the stupid management of it. I use that word, interchangeably with insane and evil. The differences between all 3 are sometimes extremely subtle.

I wish I could make a good argument for things getting back to normal in X number of months. (For my sake, as well as a pep talk for everyone else.) Given the strong opposing opinions about what is fact or even real (as in data/medical research)... I think we all need to regularly give ourselves a prophilactic dose of "normality" just to keep concern & anxiety feelings in check. When I was grieving hard, I used Game of Thrones for that purpose. It seemed way more "normal" than the world I was experiencing. I know the Tolkein stories - book or film - would do the same. Fact is: Tolkein wrote/created that world as an antidote to the horrors/trauma he experienced in the war. Anything that engages one in imagining things that have clear cause & effect seem to be useful.

And I think it's a strengthening tactic; self-care -- to give yourself those kinds of breaks during times like these. I think that's one reason I got into the Downton Abbey series recently. It was a quietly stable world and I could be engaged in how the characters struggled to keep some tradition vs. adapting to the massive changes around them. Carson & the first telephone in the Abbey is one of the scenes that stuck for me.

One of the hardest things around here has been being able to keep to a regular daily schedule/routine. It's partly 'coz of the kids being here... and their clocks are different than mine. My "new normal" routine that I'd created for myself after moving... was too new to not adapt to whatever was going on around me. It'll be quite interesting to see what B & I come up with after the kids leave my household and start their own.

I'm also doing something I've relied on for a long time - whether with the kids or myself - during long stretches of "undedicated" time... and that's go learn something. The online language sites aren't too terribly expensive; and there are massive amounts of information about science, pioneer skills, history, growing things, animals, etc. that can kill two birds with one stone: you learn something new, keeping that old gray matter flexible and also give yourself a break from trying to solve the puzzles & problems of these "interesting times" we're living in.

Aw I love Downton Abbey, Skep!  It's so other worldly and yet so much of it is what people can relate to in their own lives, in terms of their relationships and social standing, etc.  I've been watching enough episodes of Silent Witness and Waking The Dead (BBC dramas) to qualify as a forensic pathologist now Yes, I think the 'insanity' of it is that we live in an age of unprecedented knowledge and at a time when that knowledge can be moved around the world in a matter of seconds and yet so many people are rejecting science and information in favour of - I'm not even entirely sure what.  If the economies were thriving anyway then I could understand the approach of allowing a high death rate (I wouldn't agree with it but I would understand that someone made a decision and the decision was to protect the economy).  But the economy's crashed and we have a high death rate and I just can't get my head around that being anything other than catastrophic incompetence.  Such a lack of clarity and consistency.  And yes, it is impossible to know when the virus will be contained (unless you live in New Zealand, it seems), plus we don't know how bad it will be financially for everyone until it has been put back in its box.  We just all need to hunker down and get through it as best we can.

I was never able to get into Game of Thrones, I found it too complicated for my little brain!  But I'm enjoying doing things I haven't had the time or the energy for.  Really listening to music, instead of it just being on in the background.  Reading.  Watching films and box sets.  Sewing, a bit of art work, writing a bit.  I will be digging out the boxes of photos before long to start arranging into albums; it's a job I really enjoy but rarely get time for.  I've been keeping a journal but I wonder if I'll look back on it in years to come and think I must have made some of it up because it doesn't make sense!  Lol xx

[Twoapenny]

I've pretty much given up trying to get a handle on any of it now and have retreated to a world of books and music.

That sounds REALLY healthy to me, Tupp! In my health district (my town with surrounding counties), today's count (updated daily at 10am) is:

16 new cases
1685 total cases
135 hospitalized
31 dead

The "new cases" number on a day has varied from single digits to actually 46 one day (but that may have been a data catch up, not sure). The curve marches steadily upward. Other areas in my state are true "hot spots" with steeper rises. These are the only numbers I watch because for my own decisions I just have to keep it simple. When it's down to 2 or fewer for a couple of weeks, I might come out of my self-quarantine. Until then, staying right here, except for super-careful backyard distanced socializing.

I feel incredibly fortunate that I can have literally everything I need delivered. I wish that were secure for everyone.

It's tragic. Dr. Fauci is testifying right now, and listening to his rational, matter-of-fact voice is a comfort, even though our peril remains. (People in his party keep referring to "the president's plan." That would be the oblivious and indifferent president who started wearing a mask last week after bullying, macho dogwhistles about them for months....)

Stay safe. Enjoy the music and the books. I am positive those are good for the immune system, and most definitely for mental health.

Lastly, I faced yesterday how profoundly out of shape I've gotten. Pushed back in a very small but meaningful way by taking a walk for about 20 minutes this morning. Sounds ridiculous, but psychologically, it was a huge step. I'd gotten paralysed again and my addictive, sedentary avoidance is scarier to me than the virus. I've turned to pudding and I'm too old to risk letting this get any more serious.

hugs
Hops

Well done on that big push and getting out there, Hopsie.  It is hard to push through it and really make yourself take the step but then you know in your mind that you really need to, so it's great that you did it.  I have made a big effort this week to stop eating biscuits, chocolate and toast because my weight has really gone up quickly and it's soooooo hard to lose it again.  So I'm making an effort now - even if it just means I don't get any bigger that will be something.

Yes, the data catch ups are disconcerting.  We have the same here where nothing gets done over the weekend so you have a big surge on a Tuesday that looks scary.  We are lucky that we can have everything delivered as well; the only thing I've been out for is the Post Office but it's a small local one and I was the only person in there so with that and no local cases that felt fairly safe.  Crazy, crazy times.  Really glad I've got you guys along for the journey! xx

[cats paw]

Tupp,
 
 If I remember correctly, I read an article that referenced another that had first appeared in something called i-news (I think) in the UK.  It mentioned using the "nudge' to deal with behavior during Covid was like nudging people to obey traffic laws- that surely people would do what they need to do to ensure their own safety.  If only! 
 I guess potatoes are the new cake they can eat.  Madness prevails in the US as well, and it is being enabled.

Amber/Skep,
 I miss Game Of Thrones!  S (husband) and I are watching a ridiculous series on AMC called NOS4A2. We got hooked on the story unfolding.  We also watched Penny Dreadful:City of Angels, and are currently watching the HBO Perry Mason series.  It truly helps to escape for a while.

 Has anyone heard of Brain Pickings?  By reading there, I have spent many pleasant hours down the rabbit hole.
 
Hops- S and I torture ourselves regularly listening to testimonies.  Didn't remember Dr. Fauci was on until I read you saying you were watching.

[lighter]

My friend,who's ill with COVID, didn't answer my call today, or my text.  I'm trying to remain calm and see what happens without judgment or fear.

The last conversation I had with her was about green burials, oddly enough.  IF she doesn't make it, I'll know exactly what she wanted, down to the smallest details. 

I think that's not a very cheerful outlook, but it was very calming for me.  I decided I can't worry her back to health.  I focused on what I CAN do, and put it on the shelf, grateful she's connected with her sons, who were almost estranged at this point. 

I can't remember WHY we talked about burial services.... who brought it up.   

Lighter

[Hopalong]

CP, yes! Let them eat...potatoes!
We have had quite a few cute life lessons bestowed on the public by the president's vapid craven daughter, whom I profoundly wish would shut up and go apply cosmetics alone in her bathroom for the rest of her life.

Tupp...great music, great books, great music, great books.

Lighter...I hope your friend will be okay. You don't need to be in charge of her burial if she dies. You don't have to be in charge of anything.

[EDIT: That sounded blunt! Sorry. What I was thinking is that unless a family reaches out and asks, do you know her burial wishes? -- it might be intrusive to imply that unless they do a green burial (not easily managed everywhere) they'll not be honoring her, based on your conversation with her but not her own conversations with her family or her own personal documentation of such wishes....to feel compelled to offer this info based on one enthusiastic conversation--mushroom suits!--might actually bring additional stress into their grief. That's all. Perhaps you could just offer sympathy and support.]

hugs
Hops

[Twoapenny]

Tupp,
 
 If I remember correctly, I read an article that referenced another that had first appeared in something called i-news (I think) in the UK.  It mentioned using the "nudge' to deal with behavior during Covid was like nudging people to obey traffic laws- that surely people would do what they need to do to ensure their own safety.  If only! 
 I guess potatoes are the new cake they can eat.  Madness prevails in the US as well, and it is being enabled.

Amber/Skep,
 I miss Game Of Thrones!  S (husband) and I are watching a ridiculous series on AMC called NOS4A2. We got hooked on the story unfolding.  We also watched Penny Dreadful:City of Angels, and are currently watching the HBO Perry Mason series.  It truly helps to escape for a while.

 Has anyone heard of Brain Pickings?  By reading there, I have spent many pleasant hours down the rabbit hole.
 
Hops- S and I torture ourselves regularly listening to testimonies.  Didn't remember Dr. Fauci was on until I read you saying you were watching.

What is the Perry Mason one like, CP?  I saw it advertised but haven't watched it yet.  CSI is on back to back this afternoon so that will be me taken care of - project in lap and not eating biscuits because I really must stop

Yes, nudging.  I think you could take a bulldozer to some and it still wouldn't be enough.  A friend of mine is a psychologist (retired).  He reckons that a lot of people have addictions but they're to things that are socially acceptable - work, dinner out on a Friday, weekends by the sea and so on.  He feels that's the reason that some people will take risks they don't need to - I might catch this illness and pass it on to someone else or become ill myself but I have a need to go to the beach this weekend because the sun's out and that's what I do.  I get it with younger people (that certainty of youth; I used to have it and feeling invincible is amazing) but I'm baffled by people in my age group who have a nice home, nice garden, family they live with and enough money to order in, keep the kids entertained, redecorate - and they still need to go shopping.  I can only say I'm very grateful that I don't feel that need and am happy at home watching TV and chit chatting to you guys on here xx

I haven't heard of Brain Pickings, I will have to have a look out for that, thanks! x

[Twoapenny]

My friend,who's ill with COVID, didn't answer my call today, or my text.  I'm trying to remain calm and see what happens without judgment or fear.

The last conversation I had with her was about green burials, oddly enough.  IF she doesn't make it, I'll know exactly what she wanted, down to the smallest details. 

I think that's not a very cheerful outlook, but it was very calming for me.  I decided I can't worry her back to health.  I focused on what I CAN do, and put it on the shelf, grateful she's connected with her sons, who were almost estranged at this point. 

I can't remember WHY we talked about burial services.... who brought it up.   

Lighter

I think you're right to focus on what you can do, Lighter.  It's hard when people are poorly, we often feel so helpless.  Many people have reported extreme fatigue with this so it may be she's sleeping a lot.  She'll be glad to see your text whenever she does, I'm sure.  I'll keep my fingers crossed that she gets better soon and yes, it's good that her sons are back in her life.

I think a lot of people have been discussing burial options and making sure their wills are up to date just now.  It does focus your mind on those sort of things, unfortunately.  But hopefully you knowing won't matter because she'll be getting better soon xx