Health and Sanity Check-Ins

[sprocketta]

Things are crazy now. I think we are all trying to stay healthy and maintain sanity as well. I thought I would start this thread so folks can check in and discuss how they're doing. I want all my BIC friends to be okay. I will kick this off with a first post. Take care of yourself lovelies.

[greeneyedgirl107]

@faeriegirl I'm so sorry to hear that you have to postpone.  How unfortunate!  Glad you are safe, though!

[CookieGirl1]

Oregonian here.  So far there aren't any reported cases in my actual town although evidently there are more and more cases that have popped up in the state just overnight.  I'm starting to feel a little stifled simply because it's like EVERYTHING is closing!  I can't believe all of the retail stores that are shutting down and it feels very eerie; I'm one of those people who loves going shopping (I don't have to buy anything, I just love going to look around) so this seems so weird.  The gym that I belong to just shut down yesterday and I'm already feeling restless and like I really need to have a physical outlet so I may look into other gyms in the area.  Thankfully I'm not totally confined to the house and because I work in healthcare my job is at least safe (for now).  Hope you all stay safe and well during this time--love ya, ladies!!!!

[alexasteph]

@CookieGirl1 I’m in Oregon too. I’d like to know which towns ARE seeing cases, since I teach (taught...) in a small town/community and knowing if there are cases there would be very helpful. At least the weather has been nice and I can go outside and leave my windows open! My neighborhood is hopping with people out and about, but there still isn’t much to do. The uncertainty about school is making me anxious. I miss my seniors and I’m sure they’re anxious too. Without sports, prom, graduation, our annual talent show... everyone is just a little defeated. 

[CookieGirl1]

Wow, that must be difficult as a senior teacher, @alexasteph!  I'm so sorry that you're off work right now because I'm sure it must be somewhat lonely after being surrounded by people for your job.  Where in Oregon do you live?  I live in Salem.  I found this tonight online and thought it might answer your question about the Oregon stats, even though I know it's not a completely up-to-date list (because it's from yesterday):

[alexasteph]

@CookieGirl1 Yeah, I’ve been checking the county counts and stuff, but they don’t really give much info on specific towns unless it’s something notable. Really, none confirmed in Salem so far? That seems odd since it’s the largest town in Marion County. I teach in Marion County, live in Clackamas County. 

It’s definitely been hard not getting to spend time with my students before they graduate and go off to college. We just started our final term, and there are a good handful of them I’ve literally taught or coached almost their entire time in high school. I teach Health and PE, and a lot of them choose PE classes for electives after I have them all as freshmen. Then they’ll be TAs for me. We’re a smaller school so it’s really easy to get to know kids because they’ll repeat teachers many times. I was also really looking forward to the senior season for a couple of my tennis players, we’re a group of such weirdos and have developed tons of team inside jokes, and traditions, and nicknames, we had 8 practices before everything was “suspended,” and our first match was supposed to be this past Monday. All coaches are dealing with this, working for 3 or 4 years with a group of kids... knowing senior year will be their big year and boom... it’s all gone. 

[CookieGirl1]

This must be devastating for you, @alexasteph.  It sounds like a vital part of your life has suddenly been ripped away and I can't even imaging how that must feel.  You obviously have a passion for your work and your students and I'll be thinking of you in the coming weeks.  I hope that you can find some kind of rest and relief but I know that right now pain is the prevailing emotion.  Please keep me updated on how you're doing, especially since we evidently live close to one another.  I'll honestly be praying for you.

--Carla

[Seymore3]

@sprockettaThis thread is a great idea.I am doing ok in New Brunswick,layed off from my job due to lack of work but I should qualify for employment insurance benefits once all the paper work gets done.Working from home isn't possible for my job and I don't really want to go out anywhere right now anyway.I will just have to be carefully about extra spending the next little while but I know I am very lucky compared to some others.I live with my elderly mother(and 6 cats) so I'm not alone and just spending my time catching up on reading,snowshoeing in the woods near our house and doing extra spring cleaning.

[ather]

@Seymore3  Aww I’m so sorry you lost your job. I especially know how hard it is to get jobs in New Brunswick too. I’m from there. I really hope your able to get EI and your job back when everything calms down. 

[blackkitty2014]

Big hugs to you too @Seymore3 .  My heart sinks every time i hear people lost his/her job due to the corona virus. Stay strong!!!

[curlychiquita]

@Seymore3, I'm sorry to hear about your job loss. 💜 Good luck finding one soon when this calms down! 

[greeneyedgirl107]

@Seymore3 I'm sorry to hear about your situation.  Keep your chin up.  It sounds like you have a good perspective.

[heartsmyface]

Checking in from the ghost town of the Sheraton in Vancouver BC now has 231 confirmed cases and 7 deaths.  Such a harrowing week.  We had to revamp our entire business and are running our first all remote conference ever right now using a skeleton crew of six brave mask wearing hand sanitizing souls.   It’s going surprisingly well- better than we expected for a complete overhaul a week prior to our conference date.  
We’ve been alone in the hotel.  It’s literally just us and 1000 empty rooms, some bored staff and lots of Lysol wipes, spray, hand sanitizer, n95 masks which we preemptively bought for all our physical attendees before the group gathering ban took effect.  We’ve been biking the hallways and playing zombie apocalypse and hiding behind the first thing we see if we spot one of the other people here.  A bit of lightheartedness to get us through all the tension while keeping ourselves as distanced as possible.  I’ve only had two emotional breakdowns which given the stressful circumstances isn’t too bad.  
I’m hoping everyone stays safe and is able to self isolate.  This is going to be a rough one mentally and financially for a lot of people.  If anyone’s bored, sad, frustrated or feeling desperate don’t do it alone. I’m up for video chats and messaging.  Stay healthy💕💕💕 

[GG84]

@heartsmyface 

BC is being hit especially hard right now. I wonder if it’s because Washington is at your border? We have the next highest cases in Ontario bordering NY. I have no idea 🤷🏼‍♀️ It’s scary. Keep your family safe friend.  

[heartsmyface]

@GG84 Vancouver is a port city so it’s no surprise we’re both importing and exporting cases.   The government seems to be handling things well but we could use a little harsher of a lockdown.  I think that’s coming.  There are too many people not taking the recommendations seriously.  the beaches and sea wall had way too many people out and about enjoying the sun today.  It seems most people were following the two person group limit but when there are hundreds of duos out in the same location that location needs to be cleared out.  
You too love.  Scary times. 

[ather]

@heartsmyface  I’m glad your able to have some fun out of all of this. I feel so bad for BC. I was suppose to fly to NB on Monday but we aren’t going now. I’m not leaving my small town! I also still have to work since I work at a hospital. And I haven’t started wearing a mask but I am cleaning everything and everyone all the time!! Things will get better. We just have to stay positive!! If you need anything I’m here for you 💜

[heartsmyface]

@ather  I think we’d all go insane without a little humour.  It took the edge off at least.  

Take care of yourself.  I’m seeing all the healthcare professionals here and am feeling so worried for everyone and am hoping everyone is able to stay healthy through this.  All the cleaning has been both necessary and therapeutic for me here.   I feel like I’m doing something while feeling helpless.   Thank you.  The same goes for you.  If you need to vent or anything feel free to message:) 🌝

[ather]

@heartsmyface  My only struggle is what to do with my toddler all day. He’s very busy so it’s hard to keep him entertained in the house all the time! Hopefully it warms up and we can go for a walk this weekend!! 

[heartsmyface]

@ather   YES!   here are some ideas that have worked for us and tend to amuse for longer periods-

blow bubbles inside in a carpeted area so the floor doesn’t get slippery.  the soap that dries on the carpet makes spills easier to clean up later:D

Make a big batch of play dough and hand him some utensils and random things to imprint in it) use painters tape to make ‘roads’ on the floor And hand him some hot wheels 

pull a chair up to the kitchen sink throw some towels down and let him play in the built in ‘water table’ in the house 

never underestimate classic pots and pans 😄 

tape a bunch of paper to the floor and hand him some washable markers 

give him a cardboard box. 
build a fort or house out of blankets And cushions 

[ather]

@heartsmyface  Omg those are awesome ideas. Thank you so much I will definitely try them out this weekend!!

[snoflakefaerie]

@heartsmyface  You may already be planning on this, but if you are able I highly encourage looking in to donating the extra N95 masks and extra supplies to a hospital. Especially in larger cities, medical staff are running out of PPE due to the run on supplies. I also commend you all for going remote with the conference. My boyfriend's mom just came back from a medical conference at Disney and I'm flabbergasted they didn't go remote with it. I can't imagine all these doctors and nurse practitioners going back to their hospitals not knowing if they are carriers. 

Anyway, I don't mean to be preachy or anything. Good luck to you and your coworkers. 🖤🖤

[heartsmyface]

@snoflakefaerie   We’ve been in contact with a public health nurse who can take them off our hands.  

As for the conference, we HAD to make it work because it’s our main source of income for the year.  The only reason I believe we were even able to is the nature of our conference.  Most conferences would have to hire tech support but we ARE the tech support.  We know just the right people to throw something this big together in a week (with no sleep but haha😅) It’s been so hard watching a crew of 40 staff dwindle down to six as people’s countries quarantined them, flights were cancelled and the borders were closed.  We’ve been waking up every morning waiting for the damage report on the news before knowing what our course of action will be.  

And oh my gosh, are they all in quarantine now?  I heard there was at Disneyworld in early March who contracted Covid-19!  Doctors should know better but maybe it was before we knew how serious this was?