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.

[snoflakefaerie]

@heartsmyface  I'm glad to hear the resources will go to those who need them and know how to implement their best use. 

I haven't heard from my boyfriend what the expectations are of the conference attendees, but his mom seemed to think it was fine to go back to work (at a hospital) because she doesn't have direct patient interaction (she flew back yesterday), which was honestly baffling to me. I'm hoping that they quarantine her for the appropriate time, or that she can get tested to know for sure.

This conference was the week of 9th-13th, so I personally think they should have postponed it or tried to do it remotely, especially given the news of the Biogen conference being a direct cause of the outbreak of COVID-19 in Boston. But maybe I'm just feeling sensitive since that's where I live.

[heartsmyface]

@snoflakefaerie It was mutually beneficial.  They’ll be used to help some of the homeless population affected by this and we get to feel good knowing we could help in our small way.  

Had our conference been a week earlier, with the public knowledge and recommendations we had then,  we would have been throwing it physically ourselves... with protective gear and chairs two meters apart so it’s not completely shocking they threw the event.  Just odd that they’re not enforcing self quarantine measurements for attendees.  I realize that missing work could hurt her and she may be in denial but she CAN pass it to people at the hospital that DO have patient interaction.   
Everyone’s entitled to their feelings and none of them are wrong.  We’re all viewing this from our own perspectives so of course we’re going to have different reactions.  it’s easy to see things retrospectively and be frustrated at how things were handled.  All we can do is try our best from where we’re at now. 

[RebeccaBT]

Hi @sprocketta,

I am loving this idea. I hope everyone is staying safe! 

Best,
Rebecca

[sprocketta]

Adding an update. My smaller suburb now has 2 cases which shut down a daycare and a Chick-Fil-A drive thru. I usually get iced coffee in the McD's drive thru and ordered some cans of Costco cold brew coffee to be delivered instead. My boss is now working from home as she has been coughing. She and her husband have been taking their temperatures daily and hers was 99 today. Certainly not a fever but she talked to her boss and decided to work from home. @Kim888 I looked at pictures of NYC and couldn't believe the empty spaces. This thread is making me feel fortunate for what I have and it's good to hear the check-ins.

[ather]

@sprocketta  They closed down all schools and daycares where I live until September 😱

[sprocketta]

Wow @ather I've heard this was a possibility. It feels so crazy. My nephew is already bouncing off the walls. My sister told me he's really restless. I have a work friend who is worried about his sin as he struggles in the summer without the structure of school. Things are very crazy indeed.

[heartsmyface]

@ather  Same.  They’re saying as long as kids were on track with their schoolwork they’ll be bumped to the next grade and plan to give us learning packages.   

[ather]

@heartsmyface  That’s good. They said here that all kids automatically passed. But it looks like now it’s online. So crazy. 

[ZakiyaBT]

This is a great post! @sprocketta I hope that you all stay safe and healthy! 

Best,
Zakiya

[makeitup305]

Checking in from AZ. It's not too scary over here so far, at least where I live. Stores are pretty depleted on grains, milk, eggs, and meats (and no toilet paper, of course) but there's lots of fresh veggies and fruits available and they seem to restock the other stuff in spurts. Thankfully I'd been going to various stores almost every day since last Friday so we're pretty well stocked. My last day at work was on Tuesday and no idea when I'll be back on. I do home health so it's pretty up in the air right now when I'll be able to do some work again.  Unfortunately, both my boyfriend and I are independent contractors so if we don't see clients we don't get paid. We don't get vacation or sick days and we don't have health insurance so it would be really scary to get sick. We thankfully have some savings but not as much as I would wish for. We might pick up a small side job (working for an apt concierge service) in order to have something during the next couple of weeks. Both of our families are spread out so it's just the two of us here, along with our pup. We have two different couples that we're good friends with so we might have a couple of game nights so that we don't kill our SO's. It sucks because my way to destress is shopping or walking around the mall and both of those things are a no-go right now. I hope everyone is staying safe. 

[curlychiquita]

Good luck, @makeitup305!

[Kim888]

Checking in from NYC - it's gotten quite scary here tbh - it's very eerie to go outside now and just see everything so empty. My job is transitioning to mainly working from home this week so that's good and I'm lucky to have a roommate I get along well with. Part of me wanted to head to my parents, but I was too afraid of bringing something home. My friends and I have planned a virtual wine night this weekend so we can keep up with each other so I am looking forward to that!

I'm just trying to stay positive  - we're getting a lot of different feedback and orders from various sources right now and things seem to be changing everyday so it's hard to keep up. 

[heartsmyface]

@Kim888  It’s hard.  I can’t even risk seeing my dad right now but I’m hoping he stays stable for the next couple weeks of quarantine.  It’s not worth the risk.  
We had a tester virtual party last night with one of our DJ friends a few couples and tequila shots.  It was a lot more fun than we were expecting!  We plan to make it bigger tonight and are going to push how many people we can get in on it.  :D. Physical distancing doesn’t mean social distancing 😉 

[Kim888]

@heartsmyface @Glad to hear your virtual meet up went so well! It’s definitely important to stay connected !!! 

[sprocketta]

@Kim888 NYC sounds surreal. I love the idea of a virtual wine night!

[ZakiyaBT]

A virtual wine night with friends sounds like a great idea! 

[Beadshopgirl]

I feel lucky to have a nice home to isolate in. My kids are super bored, but we are healthy, and I’m sure with time we will adjust to this new normal. Amazingly enough, the retail store where I work is still open —though of course I am home with my kids— so I’m worried about the safety of my coworkers. It’s not like beads are an essential item.  Well maybe for me they are, but I’m stocked in that department;). 

[Luvstravel]

@sprocketta , Thanks for this thread. Thanks for everyone checking in, because even though we are forum friends, I feel we want the best for everyone and I'm truly concerned for those losing jobs. I can say fortunately I'm a fire department dispatcher, so my job is secure. I'm on days off now, but heard they will start taking our temps when we return. I'm sorta glad because we are in a building with about 40 people with our police and sheriff dispatchers, but luckily glass walled between all agencies to keep us sorta health wise confined to our own groups. I definitely worry for our fire personnel who are all EMT's and respond to all of our medical calls in the area and our fire personnel who are paramedics and transport to hospitals. I know this will be a rough and testing time for all, but please stay strong.

[Kim888]

@Luvstravel that's good that your job will be monitoring people for health issues - I imagine it's definitely hard when you work somewhere that can't comply with the orders to reduce people coming in !

[GG84]

Pretty not okay. Lost my job due to this uncertainty earlier this week, compromised immune system and I live alone. Crying doesn’t fix anything so I’ve been sleeping a lot. Hope you’re all well xoxo 

[pocketvenus]

@GG84 I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope the government is able to provide relief soon. In Toronto, I know $15 and Fairness is working on strengthening workers' rights at this time and some people are organizing rent strikes for April 1. There has to be flexibility and relief funds at this time or this city is simply not going to work.