The non-political Coronavirus thread

My wife and I have both been working at home since mid March. We had to build a makeshift office for her, and at least logistically that has worked out fine. We are not in each others way and can do our work. We see each other at lunch. I work in engineering sales and face to face discussions and being in labs is part of my gig. Trying to do that online is ridiculous and unproductive. Online meetings will never replace face to face discussions in my field. I'd have zero concerns about going back to normal work right now. At some point it will become evident that this can't go on as it is, and that the measures taken are creating more pain than the situation itself. Vulnerable people can be protected without mass unemployment and destruction of livelihoods. I have several good friends who have had it, all were highly vulnerable, one is a Down syndrome man who is severely disabled and wheelchair bound, one is elderly and disabled, one has cancer. All recovered quickly. I have friends who have lost jobs and businesses, more that I can count. I feel badly for those with school age kids who are managing either working from home and dealing with kids, or trying to support themselves and a family with no prospects in sight for this to end. I despise those who make it their business to pontificate to others about masks, social distancing and show no concern for the healthy victims of all these restrictions. I feel badly for friends with parents in assisted living who were not able to visit for months, while their lonely elders sat abandoned and unable to comprehend. Try showing a dementia patient how to use Zoom. What bullshit. Utter cruelty is what it is. This is going to end because it has to, and the sooner people figure out that you can't shut the world down forever, the better.
No it wont last forever, they will come up with a vaccine at some point, not sure how far along they are, but at some point this will be like other pandemic's that have existed in the past.
 
That is heartbreaking So sorry to hear that and that poor baby girl I can't even nor do I want to imagine!

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Kids are amazing. She just turned 5, and I think she understands, but its hard to tell. She tends to go off in her room and kind of shut down for awhile at times. I'm not sure what kids that age think when a parent dies. They were really close
obviously, but it hurts my stomach to think and wonder if they still think that the parent is coming back at some point.
 
This is exactly what happened in my situation. Mom had dementia and was in a nursing home for five months when the virus forced the doors to be closed to the public on March 12th. Limited staff tried to FaceTime on occasion and mom struggled terribly because she didn't understand nor could she hear because they lost her hearing aids. The fact that I couldn't visit her to keep things in check was frustrating. On May 30th she was transported to the hospital alone after a minor fall. She was unable to answer when they asked "Did you hit your head?" so they felt it best she be sent to the hospital for X-rays. The next day she was gone. A pulmonary embolism led to respiratory failure. She passed comfortably and the hospital staff handled it well, but she was alone without family due to Coronavirus restrictions.

Five days later there was a small funeral with a limit of ten people social distancing.

"Utter cruelty" is an understatement.
That is heartbreaking Joolz. I am so sorry.
 
@DS
glad to hear about the vitamin combo. I just was winging it, lol


My doc has had me on this regimen for a while and my neurologist has me on B1 cause I drink. I just follow their regimen.

Better living through chemistry. :)
 
This is exactly what happened in my situation. Mom had dementia and was in a nursing home for five months when the virus forced the doors to be closed to the public on March 12th. Limited staff tried to FaceTime on occasion and mom struggled terribly because she didn't understand nor could she hear because they lost her hearing aids. The fact that I couldn't visit her to keep things in check was frustrating. On May 30th she was transported to the hospital alone after a minor fall. She was unable to answer when they asked "Did you hit your head?" so they felt it best she be sent to the hospital for X-rays. The next day she was gone. A pulmonary embolism led to respiratory failure. She passed comfortably and the hospital staff handled it well, but she was alone without family due to Coronavirus restrictions.

Five days later there was a small funeral with a limit of ten people social distancing.

"Utter cruelty" is an understatement.
I've imagined for years that dementia lay in my near future. So far I constantly forget stuff, but I think we're still good. For me, Alzheimer's is my worst nightmare So sad for all you (and Mom) and your whole family have suffered.

Cheers
 
I really don't know why. There is a huge coronavirus thread over in p and r
Right. One that is full of stupid political debate and misinformation.

My goal with this one was a more friendly personal thread. It affects us all and its been like an elephant in the room. We should be able to talk about its very profound effects in a human manner without engaging in unwinnable debates.
 
I am approaching retirement age. In fact, if the Covid impact on my employer and my industry does not improve soon, ( i.e. open things the F up) getting laid off is a distinct possibility. If that were to happen, I'd probably call it a career and consult or work for a non profit. I can't imagine doing nothing. And I never imagined that Covid could be the exclamation point ending 40 years of hard work. My greatest professional desire is tto retire with dignity and on my timetable. What this situation has hastened is discussion about where to retire to. Staying in MA is out of the question and the events of the last 6 months have reinforced that. We're looking in NH and Maine, both at land and houses, and visiting various towns to get a sense of life there. A more rural life is appealing, but at the same time not so "out there" that you have no neighbors. Becoming elderly in the middle of nowhere probably isn't smart planning.

On another note, glad some like working at home. For me it's like Groundhog Day. It got old in April.
 
I hate working at home too, did it for over a decade in the past, not by my real choice. My current employer sent me home for April and May, and it wasn't TOO bad, because I still got to go in for partial days 2x/week. I would probably like it if it were 2 days home, 3 days at the office.

I hate not having my workout place open...it's been a struggle to keep up with a routine. I do something pretty much every day, but not as much as I was doing there. They are sort of opening next week, few classes, lots of restrictions. We'll see how that goes.

I hate not having my Italian lessons too. They do them on skype. but it's the same price. I told the instructor I won't be back until it is in person.

I hate not seeing my friends who are not wanting to see anyone in person right now.

The worst thing is the effect on my dad. My parents have been in a retirement place for 2 years and my dad is very social (my mom is very antisocial). I really believe that his not being able to leave the facility or see me for 7+ mos has contributed to his rapid mental decline. :(

Now, there ARE actually a few good things that have come of this.
One, more time to read books
Two, free Sunday Ticket
Three, i had time, since i was working at home to bring home and introduce in a slow way a new rescue cat.😻

Let's hear some good things! Almost every situation has a good thing or two.
 
My wife is an elementary school special education teacher. So her profession went to hell in a handbasket in mid March. It’s next to impossible to get special needs students to focus when you’re standing right in front of them and completely impossible on zoom calls. That is, when you can get your parents to have them even participate remotely. Unfortunately, in many school districts it is the lower socio economic status parents that have more special education needs and quite frankly, as mean as this sounds, they are not as willing to work to get their kids what they need.

Her school district is somewhat rural and they went back face-to-face the Tuesday after Labor Day. It is still been a tremendous challenge for her given the requirements for masks and social distancing etc. At 55 years old and 30 years in it is easy to see this has moved up early retirement date thinking.

I have worked from home since 2010 and the rest of my company went remote about the third week in March. For me it has been 50% the same and 50% completely different, professionally. I am in high-tech sales and while all my clients are quite willing to meet virtually, it does have an impact on my ability to build relationships and establish camaraderie with potential clients and even my long-term clients. I can feel some of these relationships slipping without the in person meetings.

All three of my children are in college and two of them are home working remotely. They hate it. My youngest (our daughter) is living in East Lansing at her sorority house. Michigan State is a barren place right now as
dormitories are almost completely empty 100% of the classes have gone online. Still, I’m glad that she’s up there experiencing some part of the college life as a sophomore.

Like others on here, my mother is in a nursing home and we have been unable to visit her except through her closed window since March. It is tough to watch her decline cognitively. I’m positive that in person visits would help her stay more aware.

We have been meeting with financial advisors (remotely) to try to determine if we can make the jump to retire. I’m going to be 52 and we have been saving our pennies and it may look like getting out in the next 12 months is a smart move considering the stress we are all experiencing from our careers. Much of this depends on where the country goes in terms of lockdowns and a return to normalcy.

Only one person in our wide circles has had Covid, the symptoms were mild and he’s in a category that is considered dangerous. He’s fully recovered. Other than that, we don’t even know anybody who has tested positive.

We have no fear of this virus at this point. Our concerns are 100% around what it is doing to society. A move south from Michigan is in the definitely cards.

I hope all is good for you and yours.
 
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My wife is an elementary school special education teacher. So her profession went to hell in a handbasket in mid March. It’s next to impossible to get special needs students to focus when you’re standing right in front of them and completely impossible on zoom calls. That is, when you can get your parents to have them even participate remotely. Unfortunately, in many school districts it is the lower socio economic status parents that have more special education needs and quite frankly, as mean as this sounds, they are not as willing to work to get their kids what they need.

Her school district is somewhat rural and they went back face-to-face the Tuesday after Labor Day. It is still been a tremendous challenge for her given the requirements for masks and social distancing etc. At 55 years old and 30 years in it is easy to see this has moved up early retirement date thinking.

I have worked from home since 2010 and the rest of my company went remote about the third week in March. For me it has been 50% the same and 50% completely different, professionally. I am in high-tech sales and while all my clients are quite willing to meet virtually, it does have an impact on my ability to build relationships and establish camaraderie with potential clients and even my long-term clients. I can feel some of these relationships slipping without the in person meetings.

All three of my children are in college and two of them are home working remotely. They hate it. My youngest (our daughter) is living in East Lansing at her sorority house. Michigan State is a barren place right now as
dormitories are almost completely empty 100% of the classes have gone online. Still, I’m glad that she’s up there experiencing some part of the college life as a sophomore.

Like others on here, my mother is in a nursing home and we have been unable to visit her except through her closed window since March. It is tough to watch her decline cognitively. I’m positive that in person visits would help her stay more aware.

We have been meeting with financial advisors (remotely) to try to determine if we can make the jump to retire. I’m going to be 52 and we have been saving our pennies and it may look like getting out in the next 12 months is a smart move considering the stress we are all experiencing from our careers. Much of this depends on where the country goes in terms of lockdowns and a return to normalcy.

Only one person in our wide circles has had Covid, the symptoms were mild and he’s in a category that is considered dangerous. He’s fully recovered. Other than that, we don’t even know anybody who has tested positive.

We have no fear of this virus at this point. Our concerns are 100% around what it is doing to society. A move south from Michigan is in the definitely cards.

I hope all is good for you and yours.

Excellent post man.
 
Did you know that Dawn dish detergent might kill crabs? The reason why am thinking this is because it can kill hornets.
 
We've also been working from home since March, unsurprisingly. We have a two bed apartment in suburban London. The neighbours (currently) are fine but the walls are thin. I don't like beng able to hear others, so find it difficult to work from home.

I've saved a shitload of money through not having to pay transport costs (£30 per week) and through not buying "stuff" at work - coffees, lunches etc.

However, I feel more depressed and anxious, although that's a default setting for me anyway. My weight isn't good, but I've managed to only put a bit on.

I sometimes go out for walks, but motivation dips and I make excuses not to go out.

I've started going back to the office one day a week and it helps. I work for a Veterans' housing provider, so some staff do need to be on site. I make sure to travel in when it's quiet. However, that's actually really easy to do as so many Londoners are working from home.

Long-term, I'm mostly able to do my job from home, but would want 1 or 2 days per week outside, to break things up. Mrs Cat feels the same.

One thing I don't like about myself is how judgemental I am of people who get too close. Given that I understand where the risk lies (close, sustained contact in poorly ventilated areas), I get quite abrupt when people pass too close. I need to work on it, or else I'll go nuts.

I miss things like 🏈 (the Summer season here got cancelled). I do stats and miss the buzz of being on the sideline and so on. Watching the game that close is a shitload better for me. It's really interactive and the camaraderie is great.

I also going to the pub. They're open but I'm mostly avoiding them. I also miss seeing friends who live elsewhere/abroad.

I'm clinging on to the (I think) Farsi phrase: this too shall pass.
 
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