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Coronavirus COVID-19 Social Distancing Self-Quarantine Discussion Thread


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7 hours ago, Subdomestic said:

The vaccination roll out in Canada is a fucking embarrassment and I am so frustrated with how things are unfolding here. I keep rolling back and forth between apathy and rage.

 

Toronto has been in lockdown since November,  in some form or another.  We are heading into a steep third wave and the flip flopping on what's open is driving me nuts. Schools are closed again however my kids have already been home for almost two weeks after a positive case in one of their classrooms. We've all been tested and are all negative.

 

I understand the need to keep schools closed to control community spread and protect teachers. I get it. And I say that as someone who is trying to work from home with two crazy young kids running around. I am just frustrated at how haphazardly it's being done. Our lives can't change on a daily basis with the flip of a switch. The shut down notice came 1 day after we were told how amazingly safe the school system is. I should be used to politicians lying and bending the truth but it's still disappointing when it becomes crystal clear that they just don't give a shit about regular citizens.

 

On the plus side, my elderly grandmother and my brother (front line worker)  have finally got their shots. My parents are eligible to make their appointments as of today.

 

I am very jealous of the US doing 4M+ vaccinations a day. At least going back to being jealous of the US brings back some familiarity and normality. Congrats on finding your way out of this one guys.

For our incredibly fucked healthcare system, the US vaccination rollout is running the way it is because we "pre-ordered" and hoarded a bunch of viles in advance (before most other industrialized nations) and we're making it available to everyone we can ASAP so we could return to "business as usual." I mean its great but its main objective is to stem our economy from hemorrhaging the way it has for an extended period of time. It's a real mixed bag overall, but good for us I guess?

 

Other countries like Canada and the EU has given way more money to its citizens while they "figure it out" while we said here's 1 month's rent make it last a year.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just got my first vaccine shot this past week. Wasn't too bad. My arm was killing me the day after and had a massive headache. But the headache was probably more to do with the anticipation and all else that has been going on in my household earlier involving potential undiagnosed mental illness and/or neurological disorder on my brother's part. 

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After 9 months of delays due to COVID, I accepted a promotion at work and am now working remotely (at least for now). I’ve been working retail for 21 years with the same company and this past holiday season was the worst I could ever remember. With so many delays on the hiring of my new position along with issues just keeping a crew together, I was at my wits end and considering stepping down. My boss randomly came in one day and offered me the job, I couldn’t believe it. I’ve never had an office job so the learning curve has been difficult at times but it’s been a much needed change.

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  • 3 months later...

It's been a long while since this was last posted in. Anyone still have anything to want talk about?

 

This past weekend...on 8/14...was my birthday...my home situation is a fuckin' mess. All mainly due to my brother's undiagnosed/untreated mental illness...he's most likely a paranoid schizophrenic...so needless to say, it completely ruined my birthday altogether as he had an episode and all focus on him. 

 

Thankfully...my best friend of 25+ years...invited me over to his place to spend my birthday and his...as it's on 8/15...over at his place with him and his wife. Their place is always my refuge when shit gets hairy and intense at home usually due to my brother. So good times were spent all way through weekend and we all went out for lunch on his birthday and his wife's parents joined us. (He has no family here locally...so I'm closest as he's an only child and I may as well be his brother). 

 

Good times were had. I came home on Sunday afternoon. Later that evening he calls me up and tells me that his wife came up positive on a COVID test the had taken earlier on Saturday morning. They had gone as a precaution as they had gotten back from Nashville earlier about a week for a Con they had attended. Which by the way was a mess apparently with any safety cautions taken. He came up negative on his test. 

 

So I started to freak out. Mainly because of my own health (and selfishly my upcoming trip to Seattle to go see These Arms Are Snakes) but also b/c both my parents are older and they live with me...and we're of course perpetuating the Latino stereotypes...and my father is through his chemo and immunotherapy for lung cancer...(he's doing crazily better and improving)...so yeah, I went nuts. I went to get tested on Wednesday figuring the 3-5 day window of potential exposure as recommended by the CDC and also speaking to a good friend in Seattle how happens to be a doctor much as same in the field as Dr. Fauci. 

 

So I went and got the PCR test done figuring it'd be more thorough. 

 

Earlier this morning (Friday) I got the test message telling me my results were in and to log on to read them and all. By the grace of God/Chthulu/Satan/Alah...I came up NEGATIVE. Such a sigh of relief.

 

But I am still worried and concerned as things are getting worse and worse all over. A good chunk of me is hoping that the TAAS show gets re-scheduled or cancelled as it'd be the most prudent thing to do. 

 

And then there's Furnace Fest in AL. It's still going on but they're placing strict guidelines and rules about it. But being a large gathering as such...it's too risky anyways, I'd like to think. 

 

Things are still all kinds of fucked up all over the place and there seems to be more people who are apathetic and indifferent than anyone else. 

 

 

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Things are really relaxing here now, but it's spotty: some places have OG tiered-like masks in venues systems, others are like "you do you". It's fine, can't complain, I'm glad things are opening back up.

 

My husband had an open studio and caught COVID (again), except this time we are both double jabbed.

 

He just felt a little tired, and by day 4 had completely recovered except for smell/taste which came back after a banging curry on day 6 (vindaloo is healing)! I tested every day and never caught it. Lot of windows open!

 

This is how effective the vaccine is; you were going from two+ weeks out – worst cases: hospitalised, death – to the same timeframe as a cold. The only issue is spotting if you have it now, the vaccine has made it really difficult to gauge if you're just a bit under the weather vs Right Said Fred hospitalised full blown ccovid 

 

Also, fuck Right Said Fred; Bunch of cunts.

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  • 2 months later...
Anyone else feeling the COVID-precipitated money crunch when grocery shopping?
 
I know everything is getting more & more expensive and prices going up all across every board...it's getting infuriatingly frustrating and miserable.
 
We try to live within our means...but what if that is looking like no longer being a reality?
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As long as I've got all 12 variants of Taylor Swift's latest LP on order, I don't need to eat this month. 😅

 

I will say that shelves are definitely more sparse as a byproduct of the shipment fiasco we're facing – which can be tied to Covid.  Less on the shelf means businesses can, unfortunately, choose to charge more.  (Really capitalizing on the whole supply-and-demand dynamic if they so choose.)  I always try my best to keep a running tally of what I throw into my cart, when I'm buying groceries, but yeah... these past few months, I seem to be consistently beneath the margin of estimation I shoot for.  Nothing too drastic but plenty of ...really? moments at the register.

 

Parting with some record variants, receiving stimulus checks, and company bonuses have all come in clutch for 2021.  That's for sure.

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9 hours ago, Derekâ„¢ said:

Parting with some record variants, receiving stimulus checks, and company bonuses have all come in clutch for 2021.  That's for sure.

QFT. I've sold so much shit on Depop and Discogs over the pandemic, at times I was making more from that than my regular teaching job. Wild times.

 

I've been vaxxed since December — I'm part of a clinical trial for a vaccine called Novavax, which has not yet been approved by the FDA but has had numbers in the high 90%s for efficacy, so I'm happy there. I've gone to a handful of shows in the past month and have continued to wear a mask out of an abundance of caution, but I've started to hit the wall of mask fatigue and am wondering if I should just say "fuck it" and hope my vaccine does its job. Having that brief window this summer before delta became a thing was the biggest tease ever.

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1 hour ago, scottheisel said:

I've gone to a handful of shows in the past month and have continued to wear a mask out of an abundance of caution, but I've started to hit the wall of mask fatigue and am wondering if I should just say "fuck it" and hope my vaccine does its job. Having that brief window this summer before delta became a thing was the biggest tease ever.

I have started to get out there for some shows and more social interaction...I'm being cautious as well with mask-wearing & have also hit that wall as well. It's become a hassle. But my anxiety over every fuckin' thing still has me logically planted on being cautious no matter what. 

 

This past weekend I went to catch the War On Women/AlkalineTrio/Bad Religion shows in FL. They had two. One of the venues is open and outside...I still had my mask for most of the show cuz too many people way too close to me and acting a fool anyways. 

 

And it seems that more and more venues are getting a little too lax on enforcing any and all COVID precautions and safety guidelines. 

 

 

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I've been fully vaxxed since Feb 2021. Been going to shows again occasionally, and I didn't go to my first one until August when I was in LA. NYC has an indoor vaccine mandate (which could be circumvented with a fake card but yeah still there) but I wear a mask, don't drink or eat inside at a show, and stand in a corner like I usually do. So that part of life is getting back to normal for me but work (NYC teacher) is wild with the vaccine mandate for city workers and no subs. People here like me are burnt to shit. NYC about to get wild in the news for a bunch of reasons soon and it's not all that great.

 

Otherwise yeah so how about 2021. Still feels like the upside down.

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I'm not totally sure if I can write it off as part of covid life but I feel like I've gone off a mental health cliff in the past few weeks.

 

I'm struggling at work again. Badly. Stress and feeling burnt out is overwhelming. I throw up almost every weekday morning. My first thoughts when I wake up are dreading what might happen that day. I've started having anxiety attacks maybe two or three times a week. I feel like I'm in a constant state of panic and maybe have general anxiety disorder. I cry more than I'd care to admit. I broke down and made an appointment with a psychologist next week.


I'm feeling desperate about the need to get away from this job but I don't feel like I can do it without something else lined up. I have kids and a mortgage and feel selfish/reckless just throwing in the towel without some kind of income. I'm in a "professional" industry and don't want to burn bridges either. I've been applying to jobs for months and had zero callbacks. I just need to get out and move on. 

 

Anyway. I know everyone's got their own struggles. Sorry for being a downer guys, I just needed to vent.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Subdomestic said:

Anyway. I know everyone's got their own struggles. Sorry for being a downer guys, I just needed to vent.

 

 

Never apologize for sharing your feelings and thoughts and venting. This is a safe space. For everyone posting and participating. 

 

I can wholly relate to what your going through and dealing with. I'm going through a very similar mental health crisis. Working from home has long-lost its novelty and my family are driving me crazy. Even more so as of late as my parents (both elderly & live with me & my father going through cancer treatment) have almost become different people in their attituded and characters. It feels like I'm in the middle of a divorcing couple and I'm the kid stuck in the middle of it all. It's been a lot of stress. Especially when I'm the one carrying the greatest load of the household in a lot of things. It's exhausting. 

 

Plus the added pressure of a Latino household doesn't help either. 

 

Hang in there, brother. You're not alone. And it's a step in the right direction of self-care to go see a professional. 

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18 hours ago, jhulud said:

 

Never apologize for sharing your feelings and thoughts and venting. This is a safe space. For everyone posting and participating. 

 

I can wholly relate to what your going through and dealing with. I'm going through a very similar mental health crisis. Working from home has long-lost its novelty and my family are driving me crazy. Even more so as of late as my parents (both elderly & live with me & my father going through cancer treatment) have almost become different people in their attituded and characters. It feels like I'm in the middle of a divorcing couple and I'm the kid stuck in the middle of it all. It's been a lot of stress. Especially when I'm the one carrying the greatest load of the household in a lot of things. It's exhausting. 

 

Plus the added pressure of a Latino household doesn't help either. 

 

Hang in there, brother. You're not alone. And it's a step in the right direction of self-care to go see a professional. 

Thanks man. I really appreciate you taking the time to read and respond. I truly do. Maybe it's me but it feels like a lot of kindness and empathy is missing from the world right now so it's great to have a little support space here.

 

Sorry to hear you're going through some stuff too. It sounds difficult and stressful as well. I can only imagine what it's like living with family right now after 18 months of built-up covid tension. I hope you're getting support too and have an outlet for some happiness.

 

We'll get through this.

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One thing that I've been wanting to share for a while. 

 

This while shut-in thing due to the pandemic has caused my brother's undiagnosed mental illness get worse and worse. From what little I do know...and research done...and having spoke to my BFF who is a health care professional...my brother most likely may have schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder. But what makes things worse is that he's unwilling to recognize he has a problem and seek help. And of course it puts everyone on the family. The Latino pride bullshit my parents have known is that you can't be "crazy" or have a mental illness. 

 

Right now as I type this, he's having an episode. And it truly is like he's a different person. Reminds me of the movie Split. What kills me most is what he puts my mother through with his bullshit. 

 

 

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On 10/30/2021 at 9:28 PM, jhulud said:

One thing that I've been wanting to share for a while. 

 

This while shut-in thing due to the pandemic has caused my brother's undiagnosed mental illness get worse and worse. From what little I do know...and research done...and having spoke to my BFF who is a health care professional...my brother most likely may have schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder. But what makes things worse is that he's unwilling to recognize he has a problem and seek help. And of course it puts everyone on the family. The Latino pride bullshit my parents have known is that you can't be "crazy" or have a mental illness. 

 

Right now as I type this, he's having an episode. And it truly is like he's a different person. Reminds me of the movie Split. What kills me most is what he puts my mother through with his bullshit. 

 

 

That sounds like a tough situation. I don't want to get all up in your business with suggestions but I feel for you.

 

That's a hard spot to be in, for sure. Hopefully you've got resources and support if you need someone to talk to or some help. Hell, you could even chat with me if you want. Not trying to overstep, just thought I'd offer.

 

Maintaining good mental health is really important.

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  • 1 month later...
On 10/30/2021 at 9:28 PM, jhulud said:

One thing that I've been wanting to share for a while. 

 

This while shut-in thing due to the pandemic has caused my brother's undiagnosed mental illness get worse and worse. From what little I do know...and research done...and having spoke to my BFF who is a health care professional...my brother most likely may have schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder. But what makes things worse is that he's unwilling to recognize he has a problem and seek help. And of course it puts everyone on the family. The Latino pride bullshit my parents have known is that you can't be "crazy" or have a mental illness. 

 

Right now as I type this, he's having an episode. And it truly is like he's a different person. Reminds me of the movie Split. What kills me most is what he puts my mother through with his bullshit. 

 

 

Having a brother with bi polar/mania is really tough.  When they are in an episode, you have to just make sure they don't put themselves in harms way.  You have to let them ride the wave, and when they start to come back to reality, talk with them about it, and remind them about therapy and the support out there.  My brother has struggled with this for +15 years, and just in the last 2-3 has he really gotten himself in a good place.  You cannot 'force' them to do anything.  

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On 12/25/2021 at 5:30 PM, GradedOnACurve said:

Anyone else have fractured relationships with family members over COVID? Merry Christmas!

The US election really put a rift in my relationship with my dad, then Jan 6 happened and he hasn't talked politics since then. Thankfully, he's not as stupid when it comes to COVID; he'll wear a mask, albeit begrudgingly, and he's 800 years old, so he's been in isolation for years lol. But he is not vaxxed and will not be getting vaxxed 🖕

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just tested positive for omicron on Wednesday with two home-tests and waiting on the results from my PCR, which is most definitely going to be positive. I think the worst thing about dealing with omicron is having my hand sanitizer fly off the bottle and splash me directly in the eyeball.

Also, serious question, does anyone know if the home-tests are sensitive to the overall viral load in your system? For example: the lines on both of my tests were faint, but the two people who I got it from (I'm 100% certain it was them) had dark as fuck lines on their tests. 

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5 hours ago, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

My understanding is the antigen tests lines do not represent viral load, just what was on the swab

Ahh ok. I also tested only 2.5 days after exposure and my asymptomatic friends who gave me it had a much darker line on theirs. I guess mine was so faint because it was so early on. PCR came back positive as I was expecting. In the grand scheme of things, I guess if I am to have covid, omi is the one to get. 😕

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  • 2 weeks later...

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