Covid Future - is this too depressing?

rcnederveld · Post by **rcnederveld** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 6:04 pm

Did anyone else listen to yesterday's Daily (NYT podcast) episode? It went along with this weekend's story "The Coronavirus in America: The Year Ahead" [Some key takeaways for me were that the fastest vaccine ever created took 4 years, and that doesn't include making it avail to the entire population, and "infecteds" will have immunity and therefore more opportunities.]

It's really depressing, but also lays out what to expect in the next 1-4 years, and after a depression hole yesterday I'm now working towards how to plan for a new kind of life that is seeming increasingly inevitable.

I had big momentum in my career, plans to make it work so I could start living part time back home if not full time (S. Louisiana), etc. All that is out the window now, not to mention the dating part for my eggs which dry up more every day and basically all shriveled up at this new news.

I'd love to hear about how this time so far has changed your future life, and if you are thinking about bigger changes / planning for this to last longer than, say, 2020.

infopetal · Post by **infopetal** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 9:41 pm

I also listened to yesterday's episode, and while I agree the predictions are depressing, I really value every time Donald G. McNeil Jr. is a guest on The Daily. his appearances have equipped me with much more realistic expectations and historical context—thinking specifically of the February 27 episode when he spoke about the potential parallels to the 1918 flu. these days I'm actually at my most distraught when talking to friends, family, and coworkers who are still operating with the belief that some "return to normal" is possible in the near future, which is to say I find some bizarre comfort in McNeil's bluntness.

my survival mechanism these past weeks is to shrink the timeline of my thoughts to only the next few days, so I'm not sure I've been able to process the zoomed out view yet. as a compulsive planner it feels very uncomfortable to have NO idea what my life will be like in a month or year from now, or even when I will be able to see anyone I know. (currently on week 6 of no in-person human interaction besides grocery store cashiers.)

anyways, that's where I'm at today, subject to radically change by the time I wake up tomorrow!

morgan · Post by **morgan** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 11:57 pm

Yes, I listened to it. I'm in a weird spot, namely because I (and I feel weird saying this) sort of dig... quarantining? I understand the gravity of the situation and hope for everyone's safety— yet also, I am a huge fan of doing whatever I want all day. Dedicating all my time and energy to whatever projects I want. Not being expected to go out and do things and see people. Luckily I have some savings so I'm not too worried about monetary things in the short term.

But ALSO, I'm a little more than terrified long term. I work in the TV business. I literally had like three gigs fall out from under me. I don't foresee being back on set until at LEAST September. And even then, I'm terrified of getting sick. I don't know what my life is going to look like when I have to step back out that door and into the real world again. I'm a huge germaphobe. I have a lot of anxiety around sickness and health. I've been living with my girlfriend because I don't trust my roommate and his girlfriend to be as cleanly and serious about this as I am being. So it's disrupted my life quite a bit. I can't imagine going back out to a movie theater after this. or standing on set with 50-75 other human beings all rubbing shoulders breathing the same air and eating the same bowl of almonds.

Ironically I feel like my anxiety has, in a lot of ways, saved me in this situation— In other words, adjusting my anxiety from a 9 to a 9.5 isn't a horrifically life altering anxiety shift.

Anyway thats a long winded and very personal way to get to what the point of this was—

https://twitter.com/baratunde/status/12 ... 7974002689

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Wed Apr 22, 2020 9:27 am

I haven't listened to it yet (I will) but I have been mentally preparing for 18 months/society changing significantly.

Like Morgan I do like some aspects of quarantine a lot—not spending money on things I don't need, being more connected to my home and immediate local radius, making my own fun, being somewhat absolved of responsibilities and work-related stress & travel, having time.

Taking a walk in the neighborhood the other day I wondered aloud about how many front yards would be victory gardens by the time this is "over." I'm already seeing planters going in everywhere. I would like to see things like community food forests and people sharing homegrown resources. I'm planning on smashing out my concrete driveway and going full-on farm zone. I'm really obsessed with this one permaculture guy on Twitter (https://twitter.com/buildsoil/) whose number one issue is getting everyone to plant chestnut trees because they provide a long-term stable source of food. Big picture!

My biggest fear right now is not so much COVID (although v scary) as the response to it. I'm newly worried about not being able to renew my green card in two years, for example—with this admin, who knows? They just announced that US citizens married to immigrants without SSNs won't get their stimulus checks.

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Wed Apr 22, 2020 10:09 am

I listened. I loved it. I mean... "loved"... I found it informative and real and heavy and good. It feels "good" to get some real talk. Now all of a sudden talking tour plans for November 2020 sounds far fetched.

I did appreciate his tiny bright spot coda, pointing to the deeper generational cooperative attitudes that grew out of the World Wars and Depression, the possibility that there might be some remnant collaborative lifelong fortitude built into the people who survive this. Me with my little kid, I automatically think beyond my life and into hers. I'm not an optimistic type, but I do enjoy imagining that her generation might have a strong contingent of socially generous peace warriors, formed in this wreckage.

A different alarming thing occurred to me the other day. Juan Gonzalez on Democracy Now pointed out that these militarized "protesters" occupying gov. buildings, called liberators by the president, that this is further evidence of how dangerously close we are to straight up authoritarian fascist whatever. *rump could claim the upcoming election is a hoax, reject defeat, rally the weapon'd supporters, wild roving grassroots violence squads, etc. It sounds alarmist, but it's also super close to real and it actually happens all over the world. I've never thought this thought before, but the temperature shift happening right now seems big and legitimately dangerous. Not that I want to make people here get into it, but yeah, that D. Now segment hit me.

infopetal · Post by **infopetal** » Mon Jun 15, 2020 1:34 pm

our friend Donald G. McNeil Jr. is back if anyone is starting to feel any hope that needs to be quashed:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/podc ... demic.html

alexshred420 · Post by **alexshred420** » Mon Jun 15, 2020 3:30 pm

We can't have a Victory Garden–our house is north-facing with big ole pine trees behind and almost entirely in shade, all of the time. We do have a Defeat Garden though: a whole hill of invasive English Ivy.

matthew · Post by **matthew** » Mon Jun 15, 2020 10:58 pm

Apologies for not including links:

There were two segments on Democracy Now recently that stuck out to me

1. Wherein we do the best possible job (we aren’t) earliest is 3 years
2. COVID-19 might be like HIV/AIDS where it becomes a permanent part of our lives

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 9:12 am

Right on

rcnederveld · Post by **rcnederveld** » Thu Jun 18, 2020 2:19 pm

infopetal wrote: ↑Mon Jun 15, 2020 1:34 pm our friend Donald G. McNeil Jr. is back if anyone is starting to feel any hope that needs to be quashed:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/podc ... demic.html

Also quashed my heart when he mentioned he has a girlfriend and his age.
(I have a new category called "Covid Cute" which is that everyone is more attractive when we are in Quar, esp those only on the radio.)

But for real, people need hope quashed.

infopetal · Post by **infopetal** » Tue Feb 16, 2021 7:34 pm

ok turns out Donald G. McNeil Jr. is Just Another Asshole, so…

. a testament to the longevity of this board that it has been witness to multiple public figure's falls (including Armie Hammer in this, too).

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Thu Feb 18, 2021 10:11 am

Jfc!

I just noticed myself earnestly thinking "you can't make this stuff up" for the 100th time this year alone. That's my new catchphrase and worldview.

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Tue Mar 09, 2021 10:57 am

I just realized I'm technically eligible for the vaccine because I'm adjunct faculty in Higher Ed. Dismantle survey: should I go for it now, or wait a few more months until more worthy folks are jabbed? It's hard to know. I don't actually interface with students IRL.

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Tue Mar 09, 2021 7:06 pm

I figure we should just get it as soon as it comes to our area. I wish there was a way to be certain that the most vulnerable receive it--that's the job of local govs--but at this point it seems like general rollout time, get in when you fit in.

rcnederveld · Post by **rcnederveld** » Wed Mar 24, 2021 10:27 am

yourfriendclaire wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 10:57 am I just realized I'm technically eligible for the vaccine because I'm adjunct faculty in Higher Ed. Dismantle survey: should I go for it now, or wait a few more months until more worthy folks are jabbed? It's hard to know. I don't actually interface with students IRL.

Everyone says when it is your turn, get it, just get it in a white neighborhood.

Candice Kim is super involved in helping people get them in L.A. who need them, so she's been a great source of info for me. (i.e. helping to inform friends about hoaxes they are getting/amplifying about places that "need arms" for shots that will expire / Dodger throwing them away / etc. These hoaxes are a whole wormhole of weirdness.)

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Wed Mar 24, 2021 10:47 am

I "got the jab" last week at an Alhambra Walgreens...it was oddly anticlimactic. Fortunately I didn't feel any major side effects except for Heavy Arm. Very grateful. I've heard Candice is involved in helping elders sign up for the vaccine! That's cool. Where is she sharing info? Would love to plug in. Trying to see if we can get @joni jabbed too...he would be happy to be an arm somewhere they need arms.

infopetal · Post by **infopetal** » Thu Mar 25, 2021 7:53 pm

ooh, I'd also be curious about any Los Angeles initiatives to help people access the vaccine. I've been booking appointments here in NYC and many of my Los Angeles friends (and fellow librarians—this is our skillset!) want to find something out there but I don't know where to suggest.

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 8:36 pm

Hey @infopetal (and anyone with friends & loved ones in LA) the mass vaccination site up at CSU Bakersfield is overstocked and severely under-attended and they're giving shots to walk-ups, no eligibility required, no appointment required. Our own @joni got his today. A bit of a drive from LA, but easy!

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 12:00 pm

Go joni go!

infopetal · Post by **infopetal** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:41 pm

thanks for the tip, @yourfriendclaire, and hooray for @joni! onward and upward!!

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:44 am

I think I have it

But I won't know until as late as Wednesday

My primary symptom is pain in my chest and shallow breathing, with a dry, barking cough. I don't have a fever but I'm tired as a pilgrim.

Psychologically, I feel like I let myself down. Just recently, my mom and my neighbor received their vaccinations, and I was talking with my mom about how proud I was that neither of us got it, we worked so hard, etc. And I was counting down the days until I was qualified to get a vaccination, I think it was JUST made available in the last few days (My region is leading the US with its surge of one of the g.d. f'ing variants). I'm really sad because, if I contracted it how I think I did, it was a lapse of judgement on my part.

And I have a job interview I was actually excited for, an executive assistant in a garden store that has a shop kitty

(( It's scheduled for Thursday so I won't know if I have to cancel until as late as the day before. (But kudos to me for updating my resume, writing a good cover letter and a bitchin response email when they replied with questions, and getting an interview scheduled, that stuff scares me but I did a good job!!!)

I wish DJT would go night-night if you know what I mean

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:57 am

Buddy, please do not feel emotionally burdened or blame yourself for this! It's incredibly hard, probably impossible, to stay completely safe.
Can you get your hands on a pulse oximeter? I think for about $20 you can get one, and I have heard that it's one of the best/only ways to monitor Covid effects that could get dangerous. Drop me a text later if you can't find one.

I really want this job for you! It's so perfect! I'm proud of you for getting the interview <3

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Sat Apr 10, 2021 2:33 pm

Ugh Bocko, I'm so sorry. Seconding @meadows: even at our most vigilant we're susceptible, and now with the more transmissible variants ricocheting around? Impossible. Keep us posted on your results. I have a pulse oximeter I can mail you if you can't get your hands on one locally. Fingers crossed for a swift recovery and gettin that job in the bag. I'm lighting my little froggie candle for you.

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Sat Apr 10, 2021 4:02 pm

Thank you friends! I have a pulse oximeter on the way.

I know this thing is such a people punisher, but it's good to realize I had my pride wrapped up in good health (i.e. my self-image as someone who is diligent out of concern for others, which I know is still true, but in some way I got it a lil backwards in Pandemonium). Who needs that kind of attitude in this place??

infopetal · Post by **infopetal** » Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:58 pm

oh, this is so distressing and heartbreaking, @RCH. I'm sending you health-restoring thoughts and hoping that whatever it is that you recover quickly. fwiw, many of my friends who have gotten COVID are the most careful ones. one close friend even got it twice, the second time they got it they had not been indoors with other humans (not even grocery stores), so it really seems so random and that like @meadows says you cannot blame yourself. I'm also rooting for this job lead! any potential employer worth their salt should be understanding and be able to reschedule. if you need movie concierge services or frog pics you know where to ask. <3

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Sun Apr 11, 2021 10:49 am

Thank you so much Petals <3 <3 <3

Today marks 7 days of symptoms. I will get my test back as early as tomorrow, as late as Wednesday (and the labs are so slammed I will be grateful if I don't have to wait even longer).

infopetal · Post by **infopetal** » Sun Apr 11, 2021 5:58 pm

can't stop thinking about this tweet:

https://twitter.com/theferocity/status/ ... 7410702341

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Tue Apr 13, 2021 1:05 pm

We have covid. Korneel had to take a friend to the ER last week Monday and, between the empty hand sanitizer bottle at the front door that everyone touches and the girl next to him in the waiting room crying and coughing and blowing her nose, figures he got it there.

Having to call the few people we've been in contact with to tell them really feels like a guilt-ridden walk of shame. Like you found out you've got an STD and then you are wracking your brain to think of any sex partners from the last week that you might have missed. It all feels pretty grimy.

So far just low fever, little coughing and mega-sleepiness. Oh yeah and K can't taste anything.

@RCH, any word on your test? On your interview?

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Tue Apr 13, 2021 2:25 pm

Molly noooo!
I know that feeling that you're a creepy-crawly.* Maybe it's a cultural thing for the Conscientious.

No test results yet >:-(
At this point I'm just waiting until tomorrow around noon to cancel my interview and offer a video call. I'm still sick but feeling better than worse (9 days in).

Rest up! Sarah wisely advised me to get a pulse oximeter. My oxygen saturation is normal but my heart rate is elevated, I'm glad to be able to keep a better eye on it now and in the weeks to come.

*By the way, there's a cute British romcom about STI results called Lovesick, maybe it can help you laugh about it.

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Tue Apr 13, 2021 4:16 pm

STUNNING: I tested negative for it!
Maybe I just developed severe allergies out of nowhere. (Or I just forget regular colds exist)

I'm going to do a rapid test that is offered locally to assure myself this is true.

Guess I don't have to cancel my interview!

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Wed Apr 14, 2021 8:11 am

Oh thank heaven! That’s such good news <3

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Thu Apr 15, 2021 1:57 am

This is very good news! Even if the test were somehow wrong, if you have quarantined yourself for 10 days and are now symptom free, you'd be good to go anyway!

We are on the edge of our seats re: your cat (I mean garden store) interview! What an absolutely delightful way to pass the days. I say live tweet it if possible.

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Thu Apr 15, 2021 8:11 am

The interview went so well! We met at a patio table setup in the memorials section of the retail shop, with all the angels looking over. I could not have been more pleased/comfortable.

We talked for the whole hour. The place is a family-owned business and they seem to have a employee-friendly culture, laid back and kind. I did not see the cat but I know he was there, listening to me, deciding how long he will play hard-to-get.

The job description was very accounts-receivable forward, and when they told me more they said "we didn't include this in the job description, but we are hoping the person could also help with some design, print, and marketing projects." !!!

They said it would be around 3 days a week, which would be perfect for me to get back in fighting trim (in life).

One of the owners met with me and he fist bumped me. He seems in his 70's and his domain is the outdoor nursery. The business manager very apologetically was like "please don't be intimidated by him." I was very chill and didn't tell her I've worked for a dozen Presidents and CEOs, the nursery guy seems actually bad ass and not just a self-aggrandizing personality disorder in a TIE!

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Thu Apr 15, 2021 12:10 pm

I love this for you and they better be smart enough to hire you ASAP!

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Thu Apr 15, 2021 12:26 pm

Since I have a recent very noticeable gap/relocation on my otherwise reasonable resume, I open with "I'm an artist, I do stuff to keep busy and develop x and y skills." I said I make more abstract work and the tuff old man said "you have to have a very specific audience for that." I was impressed. Buddy you have no idea

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Thu Apr 15, 2021 7:22 pm

I should add: this is not a little boutique shop like where you get air plants and look at baby chickens on Mississippi Avenue. It's HUGE, it takes up the space of like a half a Lowe's in total. The retail shop/floral shop/entrance is a big ass warehouse type building. Then there's a ton of outdoor nursery space where they grow plants, then a ton of space for sacks of soil, some more buildings for landscapers... all that space for one little cat.

infopetal · Post by **infopetal** » Thu Apr 15, 2021 8:27 pm

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Thu Apr 15, 2021 9:33 pm

I'm live-tweeting like Molly wants.

Excel is one of my special interests. Anyone else??

In my interview, I got to tell the story of my favorite Excel tool:
I rigged my computer so I could find availability on my boss's calendar in a few keyboard shortcuts.

If someone wanted 15 minutes with my boss, at such and such location, with such and such attendee, Excel was at my command to give me the results in typographically pleasing clipboard data.

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Thu Apr 15, 2021 9:37 pm

In my office/desk... I use all 4 monitor adapters of the average professional desktop PC!

1 & 2 = Left and Right horizontal Monitors
3 = vertical monitor
4 = outward-facing monitor (Vertical calendar view)

Plus I sneak in my own laptop, wireless device, etc. You have to secure all the network LAN when you do office administrative work!

I had my desktop set up so that when someone came to my desk to ask for a meeting, I could ask them a few questions and dial the results back in to the monitor facing them!!! How cool is that?

As a customer service adjacent laborer, I like to give the potential client as much information as possible. With my method, labor was totally transparent from the receptionist to the VP!* But as background, I was always in control of the available time.

* But actually it ended up bad for me because my bosses discouraged my beautiful creativity. Even though I did it on my own time, not paid by the company. Eventually I just felt like I had developed myself out of a job.

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Fri Apr 16, 2021 8:13 am

So many screens! I have never used more than one at a time! How to they all know where they are in the world?? It is mind boggling. My mind is boggled anyway.

I hope you work at this large garden center soon! You'll learn so much exciting stuff about gardening. Not to mention the cat.

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 1:34 pm

Slow update: they asked to see some design work so I made up a quick PDF. Fingers crossed. If I don't get this job, I'm going to go work at the factory with my mom. (Very good for my physical fitness)

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Thu Apr 22, 2021 12:03 pm

Got my second shot! Feeling: absolutely awful, grateful.
My mouth is all metallic, my body aches, and I feel like I took a handful of downers. Time to sleep some more (already got 12 hours last night) and revel in my new safety <3

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Fri Apr 23, 2021 4:53 am

Great news. Congrats!! The absolute all consuming sleepiness and the awful-mouth have been my main two symptoms over the last two weeks. But they are starting to clear!

alexshred420 · Post by **alexshred420** » Tue Apr 27, 2021 1:27 pm

Felt pretty fatigued the day of and after my second shot, otherwise nothing. Sasha had no symptoms at all!

Now we are both fully vaxxed.

Even gonna have an outdoor birthday party next month to celebrate.

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Tue Apr 27, 2021 2:01 pm

That is so wonderful Ma.-Bu. family!!

An outdoor gathering with friends is better than an all expenses-paid ticket to the tropics.

I get my first shot in a few days, zing

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Sat May 29, 2021 10:44 am

It's so quiet here! We've all gotten back to life... which is good... but I hope the board doesn't die!

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Sun May 30, 2021 9:19 am

Just got my 2nd dose a few days ago! In my state, businesses are allowed to require masks for the next month or so, so it will be a transition.

I did see a guy in the wild yelling at shopkeepers for asking him to wear a mask. This is an R county so I'm sure there will be lots of germy freaks everywhere.

My hunch is that the more people get vaxxed now, the more they will get booster shots in case we all lose immunity again in November. But there could be a fall spike when the germs of the Q freaks mix with the germs of anyone whose vaccine immunity is fading.

I suppose the community disparities between risk and protection will be quite significant this time next year.

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Tue Jun 01, 2021 10:13 am

I know, the board is soooo quiet. I'm really glad this place was here for us during the hardest parts of last year. I'm sure we'll all get back into the flow of it once our lives have achieved some measure of homeostasis. Although I gotta say I'm not so sure about "back to normal." I won't miss lockdown but I've definitely grown accustomed to a quieter life, more realistic expectations, people making accommodations for one another, less FOMO, all that. I'm trying to hold onto the good parts. This article really spoke to me:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archi ... ty/619045/

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Thu Jun 03, 2021 7:01 am

Yes, 100% feel that. New quar hobbies and lifestyle has me way more comfy with finding my own happiness inside my own insides.

Something I have noticed in talking to friends is that people I know who before quar were super social (went to lots of "things," met friends almost daily, networked...) realized during quar that they are less extroverted than they thought they were.

One friend, who is a self-employed 'communicatons specialist' and single woman in her 40s and who I always saw as a real definitive socialite euro-gal, told me she actually has crippling anxiety and that she pushed herself to do all the social stuff because she thought it was what was good for her anxiety and for her career and that it was an investment she was making in her happiness. --Gotta get out there, meet a dude, be with friends, don't let yourself get too "comfortable." But she was in her apartment with her cat and netflix for a year and is now like, oh man, never again. The idea of being that person again makes me want to climb into my empty tub and turn out all the lights. People are finding new selves in their inside selves. It is wild and free.

I agree, the board must live. Even if the rushing river of content becomes a soothing trickle. I love it too much!

infopetal · Post by **infopetal** » Thu Jun 03, 2021 9:26 pm

I'm still here! feeling like quar made me even more intense and prone to spontaneous crying, how is everyone not totally traumatized 24/7? like our government really left us to die and now we go to restaurants again?

as a penance for my dour thoughts…
https://www.tiktok.com/@sabrinatangg/vi ... 4192447745