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Thread: The COVID-19 coping thread

  1. #841
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    My half-brother has Covid, he’s in the Detroit area which has a pretty bad Covid spike right now.

    His only symptom right now is no smell. He’s on 14-day lockdown.

  2. #842
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    Quote Originally Posted by allegro View Post
    My half-brother has Covid, he’s in the Detroit area which has a pretty bad Covid spike right now.

    His only symptom right now is no smell. He’s on 14-day lockdown.
    hope he recovers quickly and without complications

  3. #843
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    Quote Originally Posted by eversonpoe View Post
    hope he recovers quickly and without complications
    Thank you! Me, too.

  4. #844
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    So my household is off quarantine now, thank goodness. At the end of the day, my daughter and husband got a fever for one day, but it immediately cleared up the next day with no additional symptoms. Our doctor said that it's likely they would have tested positive as well had they been tested, but told us not to leave the house for testing unless they got bad symptoms. My son was with his dad, so we just didn't have him in our house at all during our quarantine to avoid exposing him and his dad's family. I am the only one who got sick, and it was a doozy.

    I was totally thrown off by this virus. I get sick all the time, and I've never had anything like this before. It reminded me a bit of having "walking pneumonia" (not sure what the actual term is, it's just what we call it in the midwest). My chest was tight and clearly filled up with junk, but the small amount of coughing I did was dry. I was out of breath easily just walking to the bathroom or whatever. My fever didn't kick in until a few days after I tested positive, but once it did it was off and on for like a week. I would sit out on my back porch in my t-shirt in November, just trying to cool down.

    But the worst symptoms were just weirdly neurological. I was very tired, but would frequently get these little bursts of jittery energy, almost like taking truck stop caffeine pills, and I would just pace my bedroom for like an hour. My sense of smell and taste completely vanished even though I wasn't stuffy, and my limbs would randomly just give out on me as I was walking or holding something. I fell or dropped multiple drink cans/glasses throughout quarantine. And then one day I just woke up and almost all my symptoms had vanished. I felt like I was losing my mind the day I woke up and was suddenly fine, like "did I imagine all that?". My smell and taste took another week to come back. The crap in my lungs just melted away or something, because never once did I actually hack any mucus up. I haven't tried running yet, so I have no idea what shape my lungs are in post-Covid. It's the weirdest illness I've ever had in my life, and it was very obvious to me how dangerous this would be to somebody with a different set of medical circumstances from me.

    I never got bad enough to warrant going to the hospital, but I know several people who got sick around the same time as I did who had to go and get steroids etc. One of them is now on a vent, and I don't think they are coming out. Not someone I am close with, but still. And throughout the last three weeks a huge surge has hit my city (I live in Columbia Missouri) and now our ICU's are full and they are talking about opening the arena at Hearnes on Mizzou's campus for overflow.

    I think our office is insisting we work from home until after Christmas, because it's getting real scary here.

  5. #845
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    I feel doomed. This virus is circling closer. Today I found out that my youngest adult son (who currently lives with us) has two confirmed covid positive co-workers. They only have a dozen employees so two positive cases is a big deal. And they all work in close proximity. He is a healthy young man so his outlook is good. I am not young or healthy so ...

  6. #846
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    In Japan, more people died from suicide last month than from Covid in all of 2020.

    To be honest looking at the world and where it's going I have had to talk to people about this myself. It's a dark time.


  7. #847
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  8. #848
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    https://eversonpoe.bandcamp.com/album/orithyia

    another bandcamp day, another new song!

    this was 100% inspired by episode 7 of lovecraft country, and i'm extremely proud of it. hope you enjoy <3

  9. #849
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    In the latest bit of "coping/not coping", I had a covid test yesterday because of a cough that has gotten progressively worse over the past week or so. They have instituted entrance testing at work so I get my temp taken every day and I'm consistently 36.3C so that's good. (Luckily there's also a chart there that does a handy C -> F conversion so you don't have to do it yourself.) Anyway, just took my temp again and it's 98.1 so even there I'm good. No aches, other than I'm 43 and slept a little weird on my shoulder. No symptoms, but the whole asymptomatic thing freaks me out.

    And then there's the fact that around Halloween two years ago I had 'pneumonia' and it turned out to be a saddle pulmonary embolism.
    Pulmonary embolism is a life-threatening condition.

    As you can see from this diagram, it can be devastating should a clot form in one or both branches of the pulmonary arteries.

    Saddle pulmonary embolism commonly refers to a large pulmonary embolism that straddles the bifurcation of the pulmonary trunk extending to the left and right pulmonary arteries.

    If a patient has a saddle PE that includes both branches of the pulmonary arteries, it can be life-threatening.
    I saw a picture of one they pulled from someone, I shouldn't have seen it. Lucky me I already have an appointment with my primary care tomorrow about something else but I'm going to bring this up with him.

    Though typing this out I'm also thinking maybe I should just go and find a hospital emergency room.

  10. #850
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    So the good news is that I scared myself into an emergency room visit, so that was the most expensive cold diagnosis I've ever had. The CT scan showed perfectly healthy lungs, no clots at all, so that's great. Also no scarring so absolutely no evidence of a covid infection either so two birds one stone there. Three birds really because I was also worried that maybe my CPAP machine was a culprit as well (thanks, allegro lol) so that's just a load off my mind.

    but also I get a day off of work tomorrow anyway because it's a mandatory 48 hours of quarantine after a covid test.

    Though it was fun having the magic words at the ER that had me in so fast. When the doctor heard "pulmonary embolism" her eyes widened a bit and when I played the saddle trap card it was like watching an actual Yu-Gi-Oh match or something. Holy crap that was amazing to see. Every nurse I saw was like "those are pretty rare".

    Kind of like a really dumb superpower, something the guys from The Inbetweeners would have.

  11. #851
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    in the "2020 is becoming self-aware" side of things...this is a 2020 minted coin:


  12. #852
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    My half-brother returned to work last Tuesday. The only Covid symptom he experienced was no smell. That was it. Nothing after that, he felt fine. He waited out his 14 days in quarantine, then went back to work.

    He’s 46.

    We are TRULY grateful that he didn’t get really sick; he considers himself really lucky. As do I.
    Last edited by allegro; 12-14-2020 at 06:30 PM.

  13. #853
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    Ugh, my half-brother got through Covid, but now one of his two dogs was just diagnosed with bone cancer and it's pretty bad and he has to put her down. Like, immediately.


  14. #854
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    https://eversonpoe.bandcamp.com/trac...you-im-nothing

    guess i forgot to post it in this thread, but last week my friend jack and i released a cover of placebo's "without you i'm nothing" and we're donating all the money we make to the national bailout fund.
    jack and i have been online friends for nearly 12 years. we FINALLY got to collaborate musically and i couldn't be more pleased with the results. their voice is absolutely amazing, and if you like it, you should check out their solo project and their band
    https://amarior.bandcamp.com/ (releasing music soon)
    https://alsarath.bandcamp.com/album/come-to-daggers

  15. #855
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  16. #856
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    For all intents and purposes I've been doing OK with all of the isolation and not being able to see friends or family. After nine months, however, it's all starting to get to me. Even more so because my wife's family is going through some pretty gnarly stuff (both emotional and physical) and it's not only difficult for her to not be able to fully support them, but they're also missing out on spending time with our family. And my brother just got diagnosed, though he's low risk and feeling OK. Some days it just feels like the walls are closing in, you know?

  17. #857
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    It is difficult. Even as an introvert I enjoy the revelry and gathering this time of year.

  18. #858
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    well...christmas was weird.

    sarah and i always celebrate our x-mas together at home on x-mas eve morning. it was a bit tricky with the baby but we managed to have an ok time and watch some cute stuff.

    we went to sarah's parents' on x-mas day (they've been coming here to help with the baby once a week, masks on, lots of hand-washing) and ate our meals in separate rooms, and sarah's sister/husband/kids weren't there, but otherwise it was relatively normal?

    but then we went to my parents' the next day. my dad started isolating two and a half weeks ago (my mom had been isolating from him in the house since two weeks before the baby came, which is hard to do in the same house but they did it) so he would be able to meet the baby (my mom has been doing the same thing as sarah's parents so she was already safe to be around with a mask) so we were really looking forward to the evening. but i was feeling a little sad and on edge already, and the FIRST thing that happened when we walked in and i was carrying the baby in her car seat was that my mom suggested putting it up on the dining room table to get her out. i've told her MULTIPLE times, you NEVER put the seat up on something. it's on the ground, or it's on its mount in the car; that's it. so i got flustered and was probably more stern with her than i should have been, but like...c'mon, i've told you so many times, and i don't know why you keep suggesting it!

    at some point while we were opening presents, sarah started feeling weird, and lost interest in dinner, which made me sad, because i was trying to hard to be in a good mood. and my mom seemed less than thrilled with the fridge magnet we got her with a picture of the baby (she asked for a picture, she didn't say "in a frame", and i don't understand why she can't just look at the shared photo album that we update regularly) but didn't actually say as much to either of us, just passive aggressively implied it and said something to my dad when he thought sarah was out of earshot.

    and then i started trying to program a new universal remote for her in the living room. i still have such an aversion to anything a/v related because it's still so triggering to me after leaving my job last year, but i thought i could do it since it's a relatively simple thing that i've done (probably literally) 100 times. but parts of it weren't working, and i started getting flustered, and i realized i couldn't do it. so i stopped, defeated, and we started to watch muppet christmas carol (family tradition), but i started crying and excused myself to go upstairs. then i started having a panic attack and was bawling, so sarah ran up to check on me. she asked me what was going on and i just sort of...unloaded everything that has been going on for me lately, that i haven't been sharing because of the baby and not wanting to burden her or upset her. i think some of what i said definitely concerned her (like the near-constant stream of intrusive thoughts i've been having for weeks about dying; fun!) but i think she also felt better being on the same page and knowing why i've been a bit off.

    anyway, by that time, it was too late to start the movie, so after she fed the baby we headed home, and i just couldn't stop feeling like i ruined everyone's christmas, despite them insisting otherwise. still feeling pretty down about it (and in general).

  19. #859
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    @eversonpoe - Just a thought: Remember that your Mom had a baby, once, too. YOU. And they maybe did things differently back then, and “you turned out okay.” The Grandma parenting conflict is going to be around for the duration of your daughter’s life, so it’s probably best to develop standard non-hostile responses in advance, because this will never end. And, yeah, Grandmas pretty much assume that their Grandchildren are their own kids and they want GIANT FRAMED PHOTOGRAPHS ALL OVER EVERY ROOM IN THE HOUSE. Not any digital crap. They’d like POSTERS if they could get them.

    My friend Elaine texts me about 10 photos per week of her new Grandson, and she hasn’t even MET him yet because of Covid. She’s in South Carolina, he’s in Chicago, she’s a nurse, and there’s no way for her to isolate enough to come up and meet him. So he’s three months old, is ADORABLE, and she texts me photos of him with the dog, wearing Elf outfits, etc.

    Typical Grandma pride.

    She’d glue a GIANT PHOTO of him to her CAR if she could.

    Sometimes Christmas has just too much pressure involved, and you’re already so sleep-deprived and stressed out; add in trying to keep these old traditions in the midst of Covid and stress and parents who maybe don’t have a clue as to everything you’re going through and expect things during a PANDEMIC. Christmas is so stress-filled. It’s no wonder you finally “blew,” so to speak. But it’s good that you communicated, and there will be other Christmases. Don’t be hard on yourself, okay? And you must learn to say “fuck it” more often, okay? Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and say “fuck it.”

    As much as we had a weird nice Covid Christmas, I actually CAN’T WAIT TO TAKE THIS FUCKING TREE DOWN. And if I never see another Hallmark Christmas movie for another year, or ANY CHRISTMAS MOVIE, that’s fine with me. And JESUS no more fucking eggnog!!! LOL!!

    Bring on NEW YEAR’S EVE! I am READY TO GET RID OF THIS YEAR!!!
    Last edited by allegro; 12-28-2020 at 08:24 PM.

  20. #860
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    grandparents - especially for a first Christmas - can be a bit much. On top of that they were parents and think they know better about things. We had a strict rule with my mother in law that her ex-husband was to never see the baby. ever. and one day she just casually says that he came over and was holding the baby. like, wtf. there was one rule! I get that you raised babies and - mostly - things came out ok but this is not your baby and we have our rules for a reason.

    And then always second-guessing? "oh he's tired!" "someone's getting fussy!" and other little bon mots that make you want to grit your teeth into oblivion because you're supposed to be nice because it's a holiday. I'm so glad he's old enough now that we don't have to deal with that, but my brother in law has a one year old and we saw a lot of that last week. It's like...just let the parents parent the kid, yeah? It's not that hard. It's a little kid being a little kid on Christmas. He doesn't even know why today is different than any other day. Hell, because of covid he didn't even get a first birthday so he has zero clue about presents.

    So final thought for you: they really wanted a real photo in a real frame, probably an 8x10. They were also out of their mind expecting that because it's only been a little over a month right? That's crazy early for photos. You're busy taking care of a little one - never mind yourselves - so that's just grandparent over ask. And how much stress do you need to make sure the baby is comfortable when you're trying to take a photo of everyone? have you ever seen anyone truly happy in those situations with a baby? Especially a newborn? Whew.

    @allegro


  21. #861
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    @allegate - Yeah I was thinking the same thing: Grandma wants a framed 8x10 and these two have gotten ZERO SLEEP with a fussy newborn and we are in a PANDEMIC and who the FUCK can go SHOPPING right now? And who can get a fussy newborn to take a good picture, let alone during the holidays and when both parents are juggling so much shit?!!??

    But Grandparents often have their heads up their asses. They don’t think about ANY of this shit.

    It’s no wonder @eversonpoe broke down.

    I bought ALL my Christmas gifts online, a few MONTHS in advance. My husband doesn’t do that, so he had to go to Target and Barnes & Noble, but he said Target supplies were slim. Who wants to risk DYING by shopping? And shipping was all screwed up by Covid and Trump.

    If she wants a color photo, she can print one out and order a frame from Amazon. Baby’s parents are too frazzled right now.

    I have a fake very expensive pre-lit tree. I usually wait until my birthday to take it down, but I’m not sure it’s gonna last that long this year.
    Last edited by allegro; 12-28-2020 at 01:47 PM.

  22. #862
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    We’ve lost over 300,000 American souls to Covid this year, but we’ve also lost many restaurants.

    The NY Times did a piece about the restaurants we’ve lost, which includes Chicago’s Blackbird.

    Chicago’s beloved Lawry’s the Prime Rib is also permanently closing.



    Meanwhile, G and I are making Covid New Year’s Eve plans. We’ve decided to get a few prime steaks and grill them plus potatoes, and get some various appetizers.

    The legendary Green Mill in Chicago is streaming Chicago’s own Kurt Elling on New Year’s Eve.

    https://greenmilljazz.com/

    I do miss living in the Eastern time zone on New Year’s Eve. It’s still so weird seeing the ball in Times Square drop at 11, then we’re stuck with Mark Giancreco and Janet Davies and some lame bands in hotel ballrooms until midnight.
    Last edited by allegro; 12-29-2020 at 05:05 PM.

  23. #863
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    I was texting my sister over Christmas and found out she got Covid, as did her daughter and someone who's living with them. Now I don't talk to my family much because, well, reasons, but the main reason is that every time I talk to them I feel like I get a little dumber. For example: she said that it wasn't that bad, she just got a little tired and lost her sense of taste/smell. And they didn't self-isolate in the house at all.

    She has four kids and apparently a whole lot of other people just living in the house and no safety measures. Also she's antivax...oh I should have said that sooner maybe.

    Also this guy I work with, sharp guy, very smart, was talking to me about the vaccine and how he heard from reputable news site and Alex Jones - he literally said those words in that order - that the vaccine will rewrite your DNA. I just...what is wrong with smart people? How does this happen to them? I guess even smart people can be dumb/blind in some respects but holy cow. and then he went on about lizard people and Hillary and I was like yo I hear someone calling my name I gotta go. He could be pulling my leg on the lizard people bit but my confidence meter with him is dropping.

  24. #864
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    Quote Originally Posted by allegate View Post
    I was texting my sister over Christmas and found out she got Covid, as did her daughter and someone who's living with them. Now I don't talk to my family much because, well, reasons, but the main reason is that every time I talk to them I feel like I get a little dumber. For example: she said that it wasn't that bad, she just got a little tired and lost her sense of taste/smell. And they didn't self-isolate in the house at all.

    She has four kids and apparently a whole lot of other people just living in the house and no safety measures. Also she's antivax...oh I should have said that sooner maybe.

    Also this guy I work with, sharp guy, very smart, was talking to me about the vaccine and how he heard from reputable news site and Alex Jones - he literally said those words in that order - that the vaccine will rewrite your DNA. I just...what is wrong with smart people? How does this happen to them? I guess even smart people can be dumb/blind in some respects but holy cow. and then he went on about lizard people and Hillary and I was like yo I hear someone calling my name I gotta go. He could be pulling my leg on the lizard people bit but my confidence meter with him is dropping.
    jesus fucking christ

  25. #865
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    An old friend gave me a call the yesterday to share her condonlensces on the passing of our cat. Turns out she and her husband had covid around Thanksgiving-time, and now has the attitude of "now that I've had it, I can't get it again" and talked about them going out to restaurants almost everyday ever since because "they're now ok".

    This is so frustating. While there's a lot of conflicting reports of whether or not you can get it again, why can't the CDC issue a statment that you should still have to sit your ass at home. If there is already a statement along those lines, I'm sorry, I'm not aware. I understand everyone's fatigue, but her conversation just struck a nerve with me.

  26. #866
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    Quote Originally Posted by allegate View Post
    went on about lizard people and Hillary and I was like yo I hear someone calling my name I gotta go. He could be pulling my leg on the lizard people bit but my confidence meter with him is dropping.
    No the lizard people is a thing with these goofs! It’s all over Twitter!

    The Nashville bomber was scared of the lizard people.



    Last edited by allegro; 01-01-2021 at 01:13 AM.

  27. #867
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    https://eversonpoe.bandcamp.com/album/ancestral-memory

    so for the first time ever, i have Everson Poe material coming out that was mixed by someone other than me.
    my friend db was in the middle of mixing my next album (yes, i recorded FIVE albums in 2020; more info coming in a month) and asked if i wanted to do a split together. he sent me the songs he was working on which served as excellent inspiration for what i ended up doing, and now it's up for pre-order! i love his songs and i love the way he made my songs sound and i'm so excited for this to get out there.

  28. #868
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    impulsively decided to buy some new effects pedals with my "stimulus" check.

    i got an Earthquaker Hoof Reaper v2 (replacing my EH Big Muff Pi, which i've had since april 2nd, 2006—the receipt was in the box which i still had—because i'm sending that to my friend abe)



    i also got a Walrus Audio Julia v2 (replacing my old Boss tremolo & chorus pedals—for sale if anyone wants them!)



    i sold my old EH Holy Grail reverb to my friend liz today (she lives in my neighborhood) because i haven't used it at all since i got my Earthquaker Afterneath v3
    also trying to sell my ProCo TurboRat & my EH Smallstone

    and now i've realized i also want to get us a 4K TV. maybe i can convince sarah to use some of the giant bonus she got from work for the holidays...

  29. #869
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    Currently sliding down a wall in a relieved blob. So we are back in national lockdown in the UK. My current contract was due to end 31st Jan. I really thought with lockdown my contract would not be renewed. Good news this morning that my contract was renewed yesterday until Dec 2021. Can't quite believe it. Unlikely to be working outside of home but at least I will have a job to go back to at some point this year. The last 18 hours have been so stressful I'm desperately trying to come down from panic mode.

  30. #870
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    Quote Originally Posted by allegate View Post
    I was texting my sister over Christmas and found out she got Covid, as did her daughter and someone who's living with them. Now I don't talk to my family much because, well, reasons, but the main reason is that every time I talk to them I feel like I get a little dumber. For example: she said that it wasn't that bad, she just got a little tired and lost her sense of taste/smell. And they didn't self-isolate in the house at all.

    She has four kids and apparently a whole lot of other people just living in the house and no safety measures. Also she's antivax...oh I should have said that sooner maybe.

    Also this guy I work with, sharp guy, very smart, was talking to me about the vaccine and how he heard from reputable news site and Alex Jones - he literally said those words in that order - that the vaccine will rewrite your DNA. I just...what is wrong with smart people? How does this happen to them? I guess even smart people can be dumb/blind in some respects but holy cow. and then he went on about lizard people and Hillary and I was like yo I hear someone calling my name I gotta go. He could be pulling my leg on the lizard people bit but my confidence meter with him is dropping.
    Jeremy Corbyn’s older brother, Piers is all in on conspiracy theories and regularly holds anti mask protests in London. He has a masters degree in astrophysics, go figure
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piers_Corbyn

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