Before we get started here, I want to make it clear that I’m not whining. And this isn’t some super-serious exercise, either. And if we’re all still alive and haven’t lost anyone to the virus, we should consider ourselves lucky. And all that. So, if you’re inclined to lecture me from atop the high horse, I’d like to encourage you not to. I know it’s hard to pass up an opportunity to shine, but please make an attempt. I’d be much obliged.
Yes, we’re still in lockdown mode here in the upper right-hand corner of Pennsylvania. Technically we’re still under a stay-at-home order, although that seems to have gone out the window the past few weeks. It felt like everybody was following it. Then, almost at the exact same time, we all said funk dat. Oh, everybody is still wearing masks in stores, etc. But they’re sure as shit not “staying at home.” The traffic is back, and people are flocking to wherever they’re allowed to flock. The beautiful weather probably contributes to that. It’s perfection out there!
This whole thing hasn’t affected me much. I’ve been working through it all, and so has Toney. Both our boys temporarily(?) lost their jobs, but the younger one went out and got another one at a grocery store. The older hooligan? I “joke” with him that he’ll look back at the Coronavirus with great fondness. He’s got money flowing in, and isn’t doing jack shit. Oh, these are the glory days for him.
So, the ways it has affected me are slight, I’d say. I’ll try to break it down, and ask you to do the same, if you’d like.
I don’t like talking about my job here, ’cause it’s never a good idea. But, like I said, I’m lucky enough to have seen no interruption in my employment through this ordeal. I know how fortunate I am. But it’s stressful, and I don’t really know why. It’s not that I’m scared, or anything along those lines. Everything just feels heightened and intense. Just the vibe or energy, or whatever you want to call it. It’s not normal, and it takes its toll. I can’t explain it, because I don’t really understand it.
And I’ve had to give myself shitty homemade haircuts, which bugs me. Right now I feel like my head is shaped like a rhombus. Toney will help if I ask her, but she sure won’t volunteer. I’m thinking about firing up the clippers after I finish here and trying to de-rhombus my shit before I return to work. A real haircut will feel like the world’s biggest luxury, if it ever happens again. Man! I look like I’m in the throes of sickness, or maybe living on the streets. I need to find an underground back-alley barber, or whatever.
And my favorite Chinese carryout joint closed for a couple of months, which concerned me. I thought they’d never return, after so many weeks. But they’re back! And they’re slammed with business. I’ve been there twice since they reopened and it’s a beautiful thing.
I ordered Cracker Barrel once from DoorDash during this crap. That was a first for me. I don’t get food delivered, it’s not the way I operate. But this dude rolled up at my job with two piping hot meatloaf meals inside a canvas sack, and mister…. I thought I was a delivery convert. But I haven’t done it a second time.
And I’ve watched an enormous amount of TV. It’s not something I generally engage in, not at this level. And it concerns me a little. I’m getting somewhat addicted to television. I hope I can break it once things return to “normal.” I don’t want to be a TV watcher. Ya know? But I’ve powered through Ozark, the new season of Bosch, the new season of Homeland, Dead to Me, Devs, and several others I’m not remembering. I need baseball back, to fill the hours I’m currently burning with TV. Ahhh…. baseball. I miss it even more than real haircuts.
What about you? Please bring us up to date. Are you still working? What’s changed for you over the past couple of months? Use the comments section to check in with us. I hope everyone is well.
I’ll be back soon. Please feel free to give the latest wide-release podcast a listen, if you’re so inclined. Right here. It has some funny moments. There’s a new one for patrons too.
Have a great day, my friends!
Support us with a monthly $4 donation at Patreon, and get an extra podcast episode every week! We’re also at Venmo (@thewvsr) and PayPal (jeff@thewvsr.com). Thank you, guys!
I’m self-employed and my business ticked up slightly the first month or so of lockdown, and then dropped off a cliff. Doing business housekeeping so we’re in a good position if/when things roar back.
Less exercise, daily cocktail hours with bar snacks, and time to bake desserts have resulted in ~20lbs of weight gain. If anyone wants a killer (possibly literal) recipe for a steamed treacle sponge pudding speak up.
I just watched Prime Suspect (the first one). I had not seen that since it was on PBS. What a great series. I am thinking about signing up for Brit-Box just I can watch the rest again.
Try Cracker, with Robbie Coltrane (before he was Hagrid).
I was watching Vera a while back. I have heard of Cracker.
I can highly recommend Cracker
WVU just furloughed 875 people. I am one of them. I will have 2 months with nothing to do. I was going into work everyday – even after everyone else was sent home back in March. I was asked to keep going in. But that has now changed. It’s a bit scary. I don’t really go anywhere or take vacations. So nothing much has changed for me. Except for not going to work, that is. I only hope it does not take forever to get the unemployment money. A lot of use are going to be screwed if we have to wait a long time.
As my full time job is considered essential, I have been going to work every day. However, my husband and I run a travel business from home and it has tanked. Because it is our retirement plan to travel and sell travel, this crisis has put us back at least a year. Only time will tell how long it will takes for the cruise industry to recover. We consider ourselves very fortunate to continue working. With all the spare time I have on my hands I have built a floating deck, made a cobblestone patio by hand and am 25 feet into the 36 foot cobblestone walkway. Mixing concrete isn’t a scary as I thought it would be! lol Next is waiting for my she shed to be delivered and then I will start digging a wildlife pond next to it. As much as I enjoy working outside I would really like to be padding my retirement fund! : )
I’ve been working at the hospital this whole time , doing my best to avoid contracting sickness. I have too many pre-existing conditions to be cavalier about what I do. A third of our department is on mandatory leave and the hospital system is losing about 3 million a day so things are looking rough. It looks like we are in it for the next 9 months or so , so we’ve stopped all major projects and are circling the wagons to wait it all out.
I was set to retire on March 31, so it couldn’t have gone better. I started working from home on the 18th, then when the clock hit midnight on March 31, I was DONE. Everyone was disappointed that I didn’t get the big sendoff after 32 years, but it worked out just fine for me. Got sick with Covid/NotCovid on March 31, and was down for 14 days. Honestly, it hasn’t been a problem. We can still order takeout from all our favorite places, and while the hair situation got bad for a month, we are back on track with that as well. Finished Bosch and Ozark, got through Tiger King, and rewatched the college football national championship game more times than I can count. Because, you know…
I was also planning on retiring this summer. Then the 401k took a bit of a dump and I began rethinking that. However, the degree of a recovery it’s seen coupled with the crazy conditions we have to work under now has reaffirmed that I need to bail mid-summer. Been lucky that my wife and myself have both been working straight through. Apparently airline equipment and pet supplies are essential. But the staying home with NO SPORTS has me close to the breaking point. I mean, Golf???? Why on earth can’t pros golf without spectators???? You don’t have to get within 10 feet of anyone else when golfing. I think they can probably grab their own club from the bag. I could stay home 24/7/365 if they’d just give me some sports.
Mike
Here in south central PA. For us too even though we are still yellow this week people have all seemed to say F it and they are out in droves. I’m lucky I’m still working FT from home. My company has everyone working from home that possibly can.
Our vacation and weekend getaway that was scheduled for this summer are all toast, as everything was cancelled. Again not complaining just echoing what you said.
I’m thankful we all have our health, but I am so missing seeing friends. I wish that things would go back to normal, it I don’t see that happening anytime soon. I’m afraid this will be our new normal for a long time.
Life wasn’t too bad until the flooding began. We live in Midland and the West half of the town and a lot upriver is toast. My friends on the lake that drained were mostly spared but we’ve spent a week cleaning out houses and sewer-filled basements.
Missing spring break and summer vacation isn’t a big deal. Not seeing my 78 year old dad back in WV, missing his birthday motorcycle ride and not being able to visit suck. The city just announced that the public pool across the street will not open this summer due to the massive hole in the budget due to Covid + flood. Keeping 2 kids and a wife entertained with no pool or places to go is going to be a challenge.
On the other hand we can still get food, never lost power or took on water during the flood, and don’t know anybody who has died, so that counts for something 🙂
Oh, God. I fe so sad for Midland. I live next to Lake Michigan, and the water was already high before the heavy rains. Then people’s houses that weren’t even in a flood plain started flooding. And the ground is so saturated there was nowhere to pump it. I have a feeling it l won’t be getting any better around here any time soon.
Had just started a new relationship before the lockdown. That sucked, instead of seeing each other every night. I was maybe 2 nights a week. Also was out of work 2 months and just went back last week. Got paid in my account last night. I havent paid a bill in a month and a half. Unemployment check still not here. Luckily, i got an ebt card. Oh, but the relationship is great again now!
I still have a job, which is excellent. More importantly, as a result I still have health insurance. Jeff, I know exactly what you mean about “heightened and intense.” Sort of a vague dread, like it’s “End Times” or something. What with being “essential,” I’m still required to go to the office every day while the executives sit at home making videos.
I’m getting fat(ter), but that’s nothing new. I miss my old favorite watering hole, and the people I know from there. We’ve done a few webexes – video happy hour – but it’s not the same.
Bottom line – life hasn’t changed much, except I can’t be with friends and family. That’s a big deal, as it turns out.
Haircuts are a non-issue; I haven’t had one since about 1995.
Oh, and it looks like northern Virginia will be on a limited let-up starting Friday, and said watering hole plans to be open. I want to go, but I also don’t want to . I’ll have to see how it looks on Friday afternoon.
Hubs and I were both furloughed from our part time jobs. We are homebodies so the quarantine hasn’t bothered us that much. The first month I started baking lots of goodies. Had to give that up. When Memorial Day weekend hit, it was like opening the flood gates here in flyover country. Lots of people out and about. Many are wearing masks and at least attempting to social distance. Am reading 1-2 books a week so that’s been enjoyable.
Daughter,
This is the second or third time you’ve used the phrase “flyover country”. I’ve spent time in NYC and haven’t heard anyone call the states without costal access by that title, and I don’t really care what folks in LA call anything at all. Here in the Great Pacific Northwest, the non-costal states are usually referred to as “the Heartland”. Most of us have ancestral roots in the Heartland. Mine are in Wisconsin, where my unusual last name would take up some space in the phone book if we had phone books, and Montana, which might not feel like the Heartland, but a piece of my heart resides in Miles City.
I’m not claiming that there aren’t assholes on the coasts — just that there might be fewer than you think.
I enjoy your comments.
John
John, I think you misunderstood my use of “flyover country.” I didn’t mean to imply those on the coasts are assholes, only that those in the heartland are, for the most part, ignored. It’s all about politicians and hedge fund managers on the east coast and Hollywood on the west coast. (I suppose I can thank the media for that.) Having said that, I would guess you feel about LA the way downstate IL feels about Chicago. I think one of the reasons why I enjoy Jeff’s blog and the comments is that we seem to be a diverse group.
Funny you should mention Miles City. I, too, have a soft spot for that town. Our older son was born there. In our one act of pure craziness during our marriage, we moved there. Alas, it didn’t “take” and we returned to middle America. I must say there have been numerous times I wished we had stayed.
And, lastly, let me say that I’m glad you’re back.
Farmer’s Daughter
FD,
I don’t know anything about hedge funds or Hollywood; the last politician I worked for full time grew up in Arkansas and attended West Point. He graduated as valedictorian of his class and was awarded a Rhodes scholarship, but I wouldn’t hold that against him. He never lost his heartland values.
My maternal grandmother was married in Miles City and my mother was born there. Just sold on Ebay a 1905 interior photo of my great uncle’s Miles City cigar store/ice cream parlor. My great grandfather hunted game (mostly bison) for the Northern Pacific Montana railroad builders in the 1880s and settled in Miles City. In the 1920s the family moved a thousand miles west for work, then hunkered down for the Great Depression. We might well contain multitudes, but we are one country. Just saying.
best,
John
This thing has been a mix of ups and downs.
I’m still employed, but as an ER nurse it was rough for a while. My hospital was one of the harder hit in a hard hit area and for a while it was ugly. Several friends got sick, some are still recovering. Fortunately, I’ve remained healthy as has my family. In addition the community has been showing their appreciation by feeding us all the time. We’re eating like hobbits- second breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner. We’re all very grateful for the love and support, I promise.
The stimulus money covered some bills, so that was nice.
My wife was a lunch lady at my kids school. She got laid off. But unemployment is paying her more than when she was working.
Homeschooling sucks. My wife spends 5 to 6 hours a day working with the little ones and my preteen is at least 3 English assignments behind according to the email we got from her teacher today. There’s a reason we outsource that crap.
The kids are a little stir crazy and the weather hasn’t been great this spring, so they’ve been inside more than is strictly ideal.
Days off have been spent largely going home improvements. My wife has stained all the crown molding, window trim, and baseboards in our dining room, living room and vestibule/hallway. Then I repainted the ceilings and walls. After that I tore out our old floors and we laid new vinyl floors throughout the main level; then I put down new shoe molding. She also put in 2 new ceiling fans. We’ve decided to repurpose the dinning room we never use into a library/office. We got the bookshelves in there and all our books are out back. Now I’m putting thin plywood on the plain 70’s interior doors (both hinges and bifold) and we’re painting them white. My wife also made a spur of the moment decision to replace the laundry tub, so she did that yesterday and today. I have no idea what comes after we’re finished.
We’ve also done a lot of cooking instead of eating out. We’ve saved some cash as a result. Additionally since we’re otherwise locked down we’re not spending on gas like we were, so more savings.
All in all, for us, this thing has been ups and downs, but for the most part I think we’re very lucky.
YES! The gas savings. I can go a month without filling up my car! Of course, gas is at an all time low so I have mixed feelings since I feel like I’m missing out on a great bargain. Perhaps I should take a longer, scenic route to work some days.
Seriously. Even with still having to go to the office, I’m using about half the gas I used to, what with no side trips or weekend outings. The low prices don’t hurt either. In Alexandria Va. I recently saw $1.73/gallon.
Also: It’s great to see you again, John!
Essential employee who was required to work out of a different office to limit chance of spread since we are a 24hr operation. This added 25 minutes to my already 20 minute drive one way. Working 12 hours it makes for a long fucking day, but I still have a paycheck, medical, dental, and 401k match so there is that. Wife finished off the school year teaching from home so we are pretty lucky.
Now if I can somehow make it through the summer without choking her out things may get back to normal in the fall.
Oh where to begin. I already mentioned the passing of my brother in law which was like repeated kicks to my head and ribs. Never saw that s hit coming and to make it even worse, the hospital couldn’t release him to the crematorium for over a month. Still don’t know where he is. And I haven’t been able to see my sister yet or mourn her (our) loss. Enough of the sniffles.
My job. My muthafuccking job decided we were all essential. Even though they tried to hook us up for working at home. Nope. We had to troupe into the filthy office daily. Which was ok as it gave a semblance of balance. But we’re not essential. I work for a family that owns over 60 fast food franchises. French fries and nurses just don’t seem to go hand in hand.
And we can’t go to our place in Rhode island. Oh no, state troopers are at the borders taking your information and wanting you to self quarantine for 2 weeks.
I miss my family. I want to tear up my hero’s bonus check but I’m signing it over to a friend who needs it. I’m no philanthropist but he can use it. Beloveds salary was cut. His boss put our place on the market ( beloved is the estate manager here) and there’s just so much fuck ing uncertainty and turmoil.
Yeah, I’m drinking too much.
Jeff, your thoughts about a stressful end of times vibe really resonate. It feels so dystopian to wear a mask, purposefully keep distance, and be so mindful of what I’m touching (grocery store shopping carts, doors, credit card reader buttons, my face). With asthma, diabetes, hypertension… I check off too many boxes to not take this seriously. And I really don’t want to make any of my loved ones sick by bringing it home.
I’ve been retired (fortunate to be able to do so early) for a few years but do volunteer driving for the Red Cross 3, 4, 5 days a week. I take mainly old folks to their appointments, outings and programs. We were pulled off the road as it wasn’t safe for the pax and where they would be going was cancelled anyways. Spoiler alert, some old folks have a wicked sense of humor and I’m probably a bad influence on them.
But on the bright side, I have cleared out my watch lists on Netflix, Amazon and CraveTV (Canada). And like others, have been doing more baking and far less ordering in. As this month’s treat tonight we picked up Wendy’s from the drive through. It tasted like regret. I don’t think I needed to wolf down 2500 calories in one gluttonous meal. AND they missed by second sandwich. $50 for 4 of us. $50 goes a lot further at the grocery store.
I read about some of the hardships and experiences some of the other readers have shared and my heart really goes out to you all – ridiculous working hours in hospitals, actually getting the virus, floods, loss of love ones and still unable to get next steps towards closure, challenges to newfound love, lost wages, lost simple pleasures, lost time with family, potential lost home if I read it correctly, lost plans but one I didn’t really read was lost hope. I really admire the spirit to carry on and figure it out when we can.
Jeff,
Since I’ve been an early and frequent critic of vacuous blog and QOD topics lately, I thank you for posting a relevant, relatively longish entry, asking germane questions and trusting your Reporters to not make a political dog’s breakfast out of your site. I’ll put in my two cents when it isn’t 0430, but wanted to say thanks before I pass out (from something other than Covid-19).
Thanks again.
jtb
hear hear!!!
(Geez, I sound like Barry from Storage Wars going after someone’s flotsam and jetsam.. )
Well done Jeff. And as always JTB speaks the truth.
I miss my softball and bowling leagues, but it could be worse, no one I know has come down with this crud. The wife and I still have our jobs, and are able to work from home. We are actually closing on a new house tomorrow, the incredibly low mortgage rates are a nice gift. Hoping to live long enough to enjoy being in it, but you never know. Hope y’all are doing well, stay safe.
I’m a manager in a grocery store. I never thought of that as job security, but here we are. It hasn’t been great. At first the masses of people coming in trying to stock up was wild, and the shelves were picked clean, something I had never seen to that degree. It was worse than the holidays. Then when the stay at home order went into effect, business was pretty dead. Everyone was coming first thing in the morning trying to get toilet paper.
Now things are starting to feel normal, with people obviously not caring about the stay at home order anymore. Even though cases in our area are currently spiking. Everyone complaining about not being able to go out and do things, and I’m at work everyday just wanting to go home. It seems most of the regular customers and normal people have been getting their groceries delivered, so what’s left is a much higher concentration of morons, which is exhausting. I’m grateful to still have a job, but shit.
We are lucky. My wife works in food production (agricultural research, not meat-packing), so she is labeled “essential.” She has a 2.5 day work week with full pay. I am in higher ed, as a unionized faculty member with tenure, so I am also at full pay and that’s unlikely to change. I work from home, writing grants and papers like I would be doing anyway, and my teaching duties were finished online about two weeks ago. My big stress factor is that my research group of 5 grad students can’t be in the lab. There are plans to get them back in by June 8, but they have lost 3 months of productivity and it will be hard for them to get their momentum back.
My University permanently laid off 119 staff and faculty last month, with 46 layoffs more planned for 2021. All admin staff and admin faculty will have furloughs in 2021, with length of furlough progressively connect to pay scale. Again, the luck of the Irish: unionized faculty will not be affected.
Since the lockdown, our oldest son has graduated with a BA in business administration and has a $60K/yr job starting June 1. So our luck continues – we don’t have him in our basement. His younger brothers have all A’s in middle/high school, but from what we have seen in regard to online public school teaching, they have not exactly been taxed very hard to accomplish this.
We used to rack up a significant monthly credit card bill with travel, restaurants, and bars. It is astonishing to see our bill every month at 30% of “normal.” This was a big eye-opener.
We have turned our attention to landscaping and gardening. Much has been planted, so we will survive the apocalypse if the rains come and the sun rises. A long overdue shed is being built, and a fish pond and patio will most likely see the light of day as well. It’s been great to work outside as a family and get these projects going. Last year our neighbors in the back (a commercial enterprise) did a massive expansion and clear cut about 50 old growth trees that ruined our view, so we are filling in space in the back with every fast growing plant you can imagine.
Our quarantining seems to be working – no symptoms, careful and consistent masking, and washing everything down with 90% rubbing alcohol after any trip out. For food we do curbside pickups from local places once in a while. We have not done any deliveries.
Finally, I should note that for work we are a two-state family, me and my oldest in OH, my wife and the young’uns in NC. 600 miles apart for the past 5 years, and now we have had 3 months together that have been just great. There’s an incredible calm in the household – normally everything was disrupted by travel and scheduling conflicts. We have started to introduce the boys to older movies like Holy Grail, Top Secret, and Young Frankenstein. It is so much fun to hear them quote these movies!
Stay safe everyone.
Old and retired with so many risk factors I’m afraid to count them. But life goes on. I’ve not been bored an hour since March. Three or four hours of television a week, one hour at a time. Three days a week working with my sister, selling a 40 year collection of antiques and old crap (I understand there’s a difference) on Ebay; e.g., just got done selling about 40 photos of WWII B-24 Liberator nose art. My uncle happened to catch Bob Hope in a photo of a B-24 on a godforsaken island north of Borneo. There was some interest. I’ve read history my whole life; my sister sold antiques and ran estate sales for 40 years; we teach each other.
Also doing what amounts to amanuensis work for my brother-in-law’s family, but includes some historical research. All about a small collection of family cabins that neither a cell tower nor FM radio signal can find. Maybe AM out of Denver or Salt Lake City on the skip or the odd remaining pirate station in northern Mexico, but only for minutes, then fade to scratchy silence. No roads. Closest human, 12 miles by boat. Closest town, 45 miles by boat. Interesting research, slightly tedious reading and digitizing of old written logs.
I do the shopping dressed to rob a convenience store. The assholes who don’t wear masks are welcome to piss up a rope. Much as I love John Wayne, I thought we got rid of the fake macho culture when he died.
Nope.
Reading a book a week; focus right now on social/political and music history. Just finishing Peter Guralnick’s trilogy of American vernacular music. This week it’s the history of soul music: James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, a little touch of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Alberta Hunter in the night, and so many more.
I go to sleep each night listening to podcasts on my 2007 iPod nano. Podcasts and music: sometimes Brother Ray or Aretha, sometimes Leonard Cohen or Dylan or Steely Dan; maybe Paul Simon or the Dead; I really miss John Prine, and I listen to him often.
I wake when I want to, take two steps and check my computer to see if we’re in some kind of state of war yet. If not, I branch and execute, back to those lost cabins, lost bomber crews, lost innocence. Read about Brother Ray or James Brown and think, man I got it easy.
John
. . . and I failed to mention John Lee Hooker. I link here to Boom Boom Boom from 1966 for what I hope is your listening pleasure. It’s always mine . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG7tAQ3NRfs
John
John, thanks for “amanuensis” – it’s a word I rarely see.
As for old crap – excuse me, antiques – I’ll have to deal with a pile of that when we sell my grandparents’ house. 100+ years of books, letters. old power tools.
And John Lee Hooker looks so young! Sweet home Chicago…
Gosh, I love John Lee Hooker. Thanks for posting this. Take a look at this then watch him sing it in The Blues Brothers. Quite a few years had passed but still sounds amazing..
Well, John Lee was young-ish. According to Official US Government records, at the time of the performance I linked to he was 43, 46. 49, 51 or 54. Those all sound rather young to me, but, like a lot of bluesmen, John Lee was always just the age he needed to be to get into a juke joints or get out of the draft or receive social security benefits. Mississippi John Hurt, another bluesman “rediscovered” in the ’60s looked to be about 110 when he was found sharecropping in 1963 after not being “seen” for thirty years. Turned out he was only 70. Hell, I’m 70 and I’d look damn good if I could find me a haircut. Not as good as John Lee or John Hurt, but damn good.
Fuckity fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!!! We took a,blood test at work. Everyone except me tested negative. I have tested positive for the antibodies. It’s been nice knowing you all.
madz,
Not very good news, and I’m sure everyone at the WVSR is pulling for you as much as I am. A couple of things to consider:
1) There have been both false positives and false negatives in fairly large numbers with the antibody test, so you could either not have Covid-19 or have it twice. I think that sounds worse than I intended.
2) Your company will probably send you home and keep paying you so you don’t have to enter that Hellville daily.
3) Call your doc and get another test. I bet it turns out negative. Just don’t tell your boss.
4) Please check in on the WVSR every day or two and let us know how you’re doing.
I can’t speak for anybody but myself, but I know you’re a well-loved character out here. Please keep us informed as you navigate this.
best of luck.
love,
John
Madz, I’m not a medical person by any means, but doesn’t having antibodies mean you’ve already had the virus? If not, maybe someone here can enlighten me.
As jtb said, please keep us informed. Good luck.
I’m as baffled as the next person! I started googling it and entered a world of confusion. Basically what the CDC is saying is: if you test positive for antibiodies you MAY have been exposed to covid19, or something your body fought against like THE COMMON COLD. SO I have no freaking idea. Nor, do I know how long I’ve had these antibodies. I suppose I can donate plasma. I have to call my doctor. I think I need to be swabbed now.
I just think, had I been exposed, I would have passed it along to at least 1 co-worker by now. Or my husband.
Or, it could all be a bunch of bullshit. Seriously? I feel fine. No fever, no chills, some coughing and sneezing but it’s allergy season and my nostrils are full of pollen. No sore throat, loss of taste of smell, red eyes. I rarely get sick so I think if I was a little out of whack, I’d know right off the bat. Stay safe, my friends!
I’m sure the good doctor has his credentials in order, but you should see your real doc and get a swab test or two over the next few days. If you remain asymptomatic, I as I suspect you will, since your immune system triggered sometime in the past, take a month or three off. Practice your dry cough before you call in sick. You’re a veteran of improv, so keep remembering to not overact. Those bastards have gotten a lot of good work from you for the last several years — they can afford to pay you for an improvved death rattle for a few weeks.
Get some walking exercise, eat some good food, and, at night, give the hubby a little extra hoochi coochi. Report back on everything but the last so we can enjoy your “vacation” with you. Then, when summer turns to fall, call in and shout, “Jebus Saved Me . . . I’m a virgin again!”, or words to that effect. You’ll know what to say.
Celebrate every fucking day and keep celebrating.
best of luck,
John
You’re fine…..antibodies develop to attack the invader. Your immune system kicked in and gave a fuck you to the invader. So for now, yes you were exposed…yes your body put up a wall…for now. The testing as to the extent of “immunity” is still a work in progress and unknown. Stay informed. Increase your vitamin D. Mask, hand sanitizer/gloves. Do it. Everyone needs to learn about this. It is not going away anytime soon. E boli was 5 years killing people before they got a grip on it. Stay informed.
Madz,
I’ll second what everybody else said, and send best wishes your way.
But bear in mind that the antibody test has (last I heard) a 14% false negative rate. I don’t know what the false positive rate is. It couldn’t hurt to have more than one test, especially more than one *kind of* test. Point being, test results need to be taken with a grain of salt; I recommend the two pound box of Morton’s Kosher.
Well I’m going on the belief I have a kick ass immune system. I’m trying to get in touch with my doctor to get a formal opinion. All these websites are a jumble of bull s hit.yes you have it,no you don’t, you’re going to become a fossil hey you’re fuck ing dead.
On a happier note, cheez it’s whole grain are delightful!
I am thankful that this hasn’t affected anyone close to me.I just go with the flow and truly feel for those that have been affected, Not sure why police were involved with breaking up gatherings – should they not have something better to do? Happy to see that people that were trying to enterprise on this mostly were called out. Glad to not hear from ‘celebrities’ for awhile and people who should be appreciated actually are. I stock shelves in a grocery store at night and am doing okay at finding day jobs. I am annoyed that national parks are closed but that’s it – being annoyed is a part of life Thats all. Oh and I saw a cartoon of Godzilla attacking people asking what would you do – answer – run out and buy toilet paper.
I just found out yesterday that at least six people in my office were out sick for a week or two with what we think must have been the ‘vid.
This sucks. Since they won’t let me work from home, my only options are to suck it up or quit. And, snowflake that I am, I’ve become accustomed to having income.
The usual for me, just going downtown (SLC) to flip over cop cars and set them on fire. Y’know, stuff like that…
Since this question first appeared, my county has been authorized by the Governor to apply to move from Phase 1 to Phase 2. As I understand it, in Phase 2 groups of five or fewer can gather in public and private places as long as they maintain a two meter distance, and people are encouraged to engage in sexual congress with their neighbors. Actually, let me get back to you on that last part. I know it was something about Congress.
I think I can get a legal haircut in Phase 7 or 8, and I refuse to get an illegal one. I’m beginning to look like my 20-year-old self (1970), except, you know, old and hunched and a little wrinkled around the edges.
jtb
. . . and we’re waiting to hear from madz’ doc. Hoping it’s good news.
jtb
I couldn’t get in touch with my doctor but I did a lot of research. After taking my temperature numerous times and feeling fine I threw in the towel. Honestly I don’t get sick and I’m not trying to be a braggart about that. The last time I was sick was 2 years ago when I contracted a bio based disease. I was passing blood through my urine and everyone thought I had kidney stones. iI woke up the next day and violently puked for a good 10 minutes and it was body shuddering. Enough so that beloved was about to call ems..but I predict and everything came out fine.
Now, my late father was a pristine hypochondriac who gulped down massive cocktails of drugs. I swore I’d never be like that and always took care of myself
May be I’m a,little cocky (get it out of the gutter folks) but I certainly know when I’m ailing and this isn’t it.
Stay safe and healthy friends. I love you all.
Madz
Madz, I suspect there’s some middle ground between hypochondria and cocky. Taking care of yourself doesn’t ward off viral infections. That’s why we’re wearing these goofy masks and gloves. I know how hard it is to get through to a doc, but I’m guessing that If you leave a message that you tested positive for coronavirus infection he might call you back.
OK, I’m done bugging you. But for God’s sake, take some time off work; you drew the “Free Parking” card. OK, NOW I’m done bugging you.
Take care,
jtb
I’m basically on-call (semi-essential), and wfh the rest of the time. I am quite enjoying it and if work offered me a zero penalty early retirement, all you’d see is a blur and a signed paper before you finished blinking. I even managed to lose 12 pounds so far which is a nice bonus as I was thought for sure I’d be gaining weight with all the at home time as my job is usually pretty active. One thing I havn’t bothered with is pulling my car outta storage yet, even though right now would be prime cruising around with the decrease in traffic. Part of me wants restrictions to stay around, the practical side of me knows things need to get back to some semblence of normalcy.
How has the lockdown affected you personally?
It has made me wish that there was a daily or weekly irreverent blog and forum that acknowledged that, while there are some difficult times for many people, there are also some wildly absurd responses to this ridiculous situation that I’d love to laugh at with some wildly absurd and insightful strangers around the world.
John
When I was 18 Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy both opposed the War in Vietnam, both opposed the treatment of black folks in America, and both got shot. I graduated from high school and started growing my hair. It seemed like something I should be doing. And my hair got damn long.
Today, even though I have a bald spot in the middle of my hair (I grow old, I grow old), my hair is really long. It’s still a couple of inches from my shoulders, but it’s sticking out all over. I know nothing about cutting hair, and I don’t think cutting one’s own hair is the sort of thing sane men do. Even though I live in a sane state, my county is experiencing 15-20 new cases of Covid-19 a week. We’re still being careful, still wearing masks and gloves, and we’re still mostly not getting our hair cut.
After three back surgeries and a heart bypass, I don’t walk all that straight, and my hair doesn’t grow very straight. My hair looks a little like Harpo Marx’s, and my walk looks a little like Groucho Marx’s. Yes, I have a lady who has cut my hair for years, but I’m not going back until it’s safe.
In the mean time, does anybody have styling tips for an old man whose hair sticks straight out? You know, something that looks nice with a white mask and bright blue exam gloves.
I’d appreciate any advice that doesn’t involve going to Vietnam or getting shot.
Thanks in advance. And hey, be careful out there.
love,
John
I can’t remember either of their names – characters or actors – but I liked him better than the new guy who said “let’s do it to them before they do it to us.”
Chill, my brother,
Michael Conrad played the character Sgt. Philip Freemason Esterhaus (!) in 1980 and 1981, winning the Emmy for best actor in a supporting roll both seasons (for getting one fucking line right). He failed to win in season three and responded by dying of urethral cancer halfway through the shooting of season 4. I don’t recall who replaced him. Mr. Conrad was 6’6″, and had to wear special quantum police shoes to make him four inches shorter so he wouldn’t have to talk directly to Daniel J. Travanti’s rug.
Let’s be careful out there.
John
As I recall, I watched parts of the first two or three seasons without guessing the middle name of Sgt. Esterhaus or noticing that he could have played power forward for the precinct 5.
May I suggest switching to a black mask? It might have a slimming effect on your hair.
You may, Clue; this has the added advantage of paying homage to the magazine that first published my favorite author, Dashiell Hammett in the 1920s when nobody else would.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mask_(magazine)#/media/File:BlackMaskFalcon2.jpg
John