How are you dealing with life now with the Covid-19 virus situation? (2 Viewers)

[Mark Booth]

And now someone I know has informed his friends that his father has COVID. Hid dad was taken to the emergency room tonight.

It keeps creeping closer and I don‘t like it one bit.

Mark

 

[Mark Booth]

I think I mentioned previously that I renewed my interest in magic (conjuring, sleight of hand) in the last couple of years. A couple of weeks ago I removed everything from my office/den (which had Miata themed stuff on every wall and everywhere else in the room), installed new baseboards, painted the entire room, and put in a new (long) corner desk that stretches pretty close to two full walls. Only about a quarter of the Miata themed stuff went back in, taking up about half the wall space. The other half of the room is now dedicated to magic themed stuff. I ordered some famous magician poster artwork reproductions (some still on the way) and put up some shelves to hold my growing collection of props and apparatus.

It’s been a fun project to help keep my mind off of the daily news. Not to mention that learning new effects has been a good distraction too.

Mark

 

[Francois Caron]

We still go out to shop for groceries etc. My wife found a pattern for masks and is making them with appropriate seasonal material. So far I have a handlebar moustache one for everyday use, but also a spider web one for Halloween and a poppy one for Remembrance Day.

Will she also make a Christmas reindeer antlers mask to match the mustache?

 

[TJPC]

Since Covid will be completely over by Christmas, she is not bothering to make masks for it.

 

[DaveF]

Friends came over yesterday, and we hung out on our deck and caught up. The wife is suffering "long covid", as it seems to be called, and her recovery from severe post COVID-19 effects is taking months. But she's slowly feeling better. It was so good to hang out on lovely Fall afternoon and talk about things important and trivial. And I think it was great for them too, since they've been especially cautious since her illness.

And I also got out to make a plasma donation, which wasn't planned. But I took a cold call from the donation center, I'd been intending to schedule another donation, and happened to be free that afternoon when they had an opening. So, not really a "fun" thing, but I felt good doing a little good for others. And I know now that if I do get sick, after I recover, I can make convalescent plasma donations.


And if I may...

Ideal Donation for your Blood Type - Inova Blood Donor Services

There are eight different blood types: O+, O-, A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+ and AB-. Each blood type has unique properties. Find yours on the chart to learn more! BLOOD…

www.inovablood.org

If you are a blood donor, I encourage you to take a moment to check your blood type against the linked site above for whether your'e a a better blood donor or plasma donor. I'd been donating blood, and then "double red", off and on for years, for a couple decades. And then a staffer said, hey, your blood is not very useful, but you're perfect for plasma donations. So I switched to plasma.

In any case, if you're doing this good thing, you can check that you're doing the best good.

Ok, thanks your tolerance on this side topic, I'm done with that. Back to coping with COVID-19.

 

[ChristopherG]

Dave,

First I recall hearing about your wife and the dreaded CV19 - best wishes to you both as she continues her recovery.

Chris

 

[DaveF]

Dave,

First I recall hearing about your wife and the dreaded CV19 - best wishes to you both as she continues her recovery.

Chris

thanks....but I need to clarify, it’s not my wife, it’s friends.

 

[TonyD]

I thought you meant your wife too when you said, “The Wife.”

Anyway. Let’s all keep sending those good vibes her way.

 

[DaveF]

yeah, I totally see how my phrasing could have come across that way.

It's the wife of a couple, that are good friends in our neighbhorhood.

So far, my wife and I have not caught COVID-19.

 

[jayembee]

Air travel is probably now one of the cleanest and safest forms of transportation. Stop letting Covid scare you, it's not a death sentence. What is it now, 98% of people who get it recover from it?

As you said a couple of posts later, "I take my precautions. Mask when required, wash hands, and so on, but I no longer shelter in place like in March. I don't fear being around people or places."

Same here.

I'm not letting Covid "scare" me. But I'm still being cautionary, and doing much less out and about than I had been pre-Covid. While I would agree that it's not a "death sentence", there's no need to test that I might be a part of that 2% who don't recover. Plus, (a) even if it doesn't kill me, I'd prefer not to feel miserable for however many days I'd feel miserable if I got it, (b) even if it doesn't kill me, it might kill my wife (or make her miserable) if I brought it home, and (c) the data are still out on whether there are any serious long-term effects for the people who get it and recover.

Also, PMF, to whom you were replying, was asking about why people took non-essential vacations. I wonder the same thing. Maybe it's just because my wife and I aren't big "vacation people", but it does strike us as being a risk with little reward. Your mileage may vary.

The other weekend, we here in New Hampshire had a really nice sunny and warm day, so she and I got in the car, and drove up the Interstate for a couple of hours. We ended up passing into Vermont for a bit, then turned around and drove home. We didn't get out of the car the entire time, but we spent an enjoyable four hours in the fresh air and sunshine.

 

[jayembee]

With my prolonged Pandemic Time-Out From Normal Life, I have learned several new songs on acoustic guitar: Elliott Smith's Say Yes and Between the Bars, and Neil Young's Cowgirl in the Sand are two recent highlights. I'm also re-learning a bunch of songs I'd forgotten.

While I'd much rather have normal (or heck, even semi-normal) life back, I'm getting pretty danged decent at acoustic guitar. Silver linings and all...

I haven't played my guitar in way too long. Seriously, it's been almost 20 years. Certainly more than 15, since that's when my wife and I got married, and she's never heard me play. I keep meaning to get back into it, but I always end up finding something else to occupy my time. Plus, I need to re-callus my fingers, and re-learn all of the things I've forgotten.

 

[jayembee]

If you are a blood donor, I encourage you to take a moment to check your blood type against the linked site above for whether your'e a a better blood donor or plasma donor.

I wish I could, but unfortunately, I can't. One of my arms had some serious lymphedema some years back following cancer surgery. Which means that all of my blood draws since then (I average about four per year) have had to be done on the other arm, and it's getting harder and harder for phlebotomists to find a good vein. I had a procedure about a month ago, and the nurse had a devil of a time getting the IV line in.

 

[Carlo_M]

I haven't played my guitar in way too long. Seriously, it's been almost 20 years. Certainly more than 15, since that's when my wife and I got married, and she's never heard me play. I keep meaning to get back into it, but I always end up finding something else to occupy my time. Plus, I need to re-callus my fingers, and re-learn all of the things I've forgotten.

It's never too late to get back into it, and I mean...unfortunately it looks like we'll continue to have some time...so why not make the best of it!

 

[TJPC]

We are retired and pre-Covid were occupying our time going to movies, going to theatre, going on bus trips, going to the casinos, eating at their buffets etc. All this of course has been swept away. Keep in mind we are happy and greatful to still be healthy.

What has struck me now however, is the absolute uniformity of our lives week by week. It is really hard to differentiate. The excitement of Friday’s “towel day”, (when we collect all the towels in the house for washing) and even Saturday’s sheet day don’t seem to hold our enthusiasm as they once did. I do have my hobbies as does my wife, but these are supposed to be occasional time passers, not the main focus of our lives. — My wife makes greeting cards. She had all 37 complicated Christmas cards made and ready for mailing in May!

Now I seem to be doing the same thing over and over with lots of time to focus on any other health problems I might have, or maintaining our “smart home”, parts of which are constantly not working (the people @ Wemo should be prosecuted!).

For my wife — she seems to have measured everything in the house and recognizes immediately if a particular piece of furniture or nicknack is a centimetre out of place.

 

[ChristopherG]

thanks....but I need to clarify, it’s not my wife, it’s friends.

Roger that.

 

[jayembee]

What has struck me now however, is the absolute uniformity of our lives week by week.

I can relate to that. I miss the regular TV network schedules. Not necessarily because I miss the shows, but because they were how I could tell what day of the week it was.

Wife: "What's today? Wednesday? Thursday?"
Me: "The Chicago shows were on last night, so today is Thursday."

Wednesday used to be "Prince Spaghetti Day". Now it's "New Comic Books Day".

 

[Malcolm R]

That's why I was glad when I could return to my office. Working from home was just the same thing, day in, day out, weekday, weekend. Every. Single. Day.

 

[Francois Caron]

For my wife — she seems to have measured everything in the house and recognizes immediately if a particular piece of furniture or nicknack is a centimetre out of place.

I have a great idea for a nasty game!

 

[Mark Booth]

Good news: My wife's friend ended up only having mild symptoms (loss of taste and smell, headache, mild nausea). She is recovering nicely.

More good news: My friend's father has already been released from the hospital and also recovering nicely.

Bad news: A different friend's mother was hospitalized a couple of days ago (positive for COVID) and it's not looking good.

Mark

 

[Mark Booth]

Heard from my friend today. His mom is in really bad shape. The pneumonia seems to be under control but fighting COVID has completely drained her strength and, apparently, her will to live. She's not eating or drinking. She never got put on a respirator but is still in intensive care.

Mark