What is it like to live in US right now?

[QuietRiot]

On 12/5/2020 at 11:06 PM, Wiseman2 said:

Agree that covid and this one's particular epidemiology is in  uncharted waters.

So unlike flu, it's behaviors were not that well known from the onset before some data and patterns emerged.

Mistakes were made, sadly.

 

Hell, you cannot even liken it to current viruses. Great example, is HIV. There's no amount of building your immune system, have unprotected sex with someone who has HIV, and expect whatever you consumed to build your immune system...to work.

Of course, ironically, HIV attacks the immune system. 

Edited December 7, 2020 by a LoveShack.org Moderator
clean up

[Ellener]

CDC issued new complete Civid 19 infection control guidelines yesterday ( I started a thread for it but it's on https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6949e2.htm ) 

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2020 by a LoveShack.org Moderator
clean up

[BC1980]

I started ordering my groceries again due to rising numbers in the area. I get takeout, but I haven't sat down in a restaurant since March. I've been working remotely since Wednesday. I'm supposed to go back to work on January 5, but that is tentative. 

[beatcuff]

it appears that many persons on this thread/board have never had the (seasonal) flu.  i had it twice.  once it was not that bad, felt awful for a couple of days then slowly got better.  in under a month back to normal.  the second time - i thought i was hit by a truck.  every joint hurt.  i could barely move.  i crawled to the bathroom.  i vomited so badly (and often) the blood vessels in my face burst (red spots - everywhere).  i did not eat for days. my lips cracked.  everything i eat or drank came right back.  it was at least a week before i could walk and then it was from support to support (for balance). it was over a month before i felt strong enough to do much of anything.  back to normal was close to three months.  i am in good (not great) shape - certainly not overweight, no underlying conditions.

so when i hear of these tales about how 'bad it is', i wonder v what?  the flu sucks.  but its symptoms and strength vary.  just as it appears this one does (re: Trump).  people see 'one case' and thing that everyone has it like that.  this is far from the case.

as for 'its fake'.  i doubt anyone thinks the virus is fake, rather the response or the lack of 'science' is fake.  our state (MA), has had a mask mandate for months, closures, partial reopening, re-closing --- currently no out of state travel is permitted.  yet the numbers are increasing, why?  i thought masks were the end all?  those that are nervous: instead of just staying home demand all do.  i have no choice?  all the while the average age of death in MA has held steady at 82. AND explain why MA towns that border NH have 3 to 5 times the cases.  in fact as you move north in NH the numbers drop to 'next to nothing'.  and to watch the news 'cherry pick': state X sees jump in cases (but not hospitalizations or deaths), state Y sees per capita jump (not overall cases), state Z sees deaths rise ---- literally in the same story. 

in MA nearly all follow the mask rule, just to get along: city almost always at all times, suburbs only indoors.  many are staying away from restaurants.  golf is booming - no mask wearing.  and that travel ban --- overreach, NH is filled with MA vehicles.

traffic is nuts, as in reversed: the city is empty, the suburbs have more traffic and delays...

oh - second homes in the country --- people are buying 'cash only' sight unseen, if you can find one.  guns are in limited supply, ammo even less.

otherwise, except for bars and restaurants and the mask wearing, there really is much of a difference: if you chose to live on.

[Ruby Slippers]

Melania Trump announced today completion of the White House tennis pavilion upgrade. This perfectly encapsulates the current "let them eat cake" tone from the super rich 🤮

[Angelle]

We passed a long line of cars waiting for a food bank, the other day, and I keep thinking about it. 

[Angelle]

6 hours ago, beatcuff said:

it appears that many persons on this thread/board have never had the (seasonal) flu.  i had it twice.  once it was not that bad, felt awful for a couple of days then slowly got better.  in under a month back to normal.  the second time - i thought i was hit by a truck.  every joint hurt.  i could barely move.  i crawled to the bathroom.  i vomited so badly (and often) the blood vessels in my face burst (red spots - everywhere).  i did not eat for days. my lips cracked.  everything i eat or drank came right back.  it was at least a week before i could walk and then it was from support to support (for balance). it was over a month before i felt strong enough to do much of anything.  back to normal was close to three months.  i am in good (not great) shape - certainly not overweight, no underlying conditions.

so when i hear of these tales about how 'bad it is', i wonder v what?  the flu sucks.  but its symptoms and strength vary.  just as it appears this one does (re: Trump).  people see 'one case' and thing that everyone has it like that.  this is far from the case.

as for 'its fake'.  i doubt anyone thinks the virus is fake, rather the response or the lack of 'science' is fake.  our state (MA), has had a mask mandate for months, closures, partial reopening, re-closing --- currently no out of state travel is permitted.  yet the numbers are increasing, why?  i thought masks were the end all?  those that are nervous: instead of just staying home demand all do.  i have no choice?  all the while the average age of death in MA has held steady at 82. AND explain why MA towns that border NH have 3 to 5 times the cases.  in fact as you move north in NH the numbers drop to 'next to nothing'.  and to watch the news 'cherry pick': state X sees jump in cases (but not hospitalizations or deaths), state Y sees per capita jump (not overall cases), state Z sees deaths rise ---- literally in the same story. 

in MA nearly all follow the mask rule, just to get along: city almost always at all times, suburbs only indoors.  many are staying away from restaurants.  golf is booming - no mask wearing.  and that travel ban --- overreach, NH is filled with MA vehicles.

traffic is nuts, as in reversed: the city is empty, the suburbs have more traffic and delays...

oh - second homes in the country --- people are buying 'cash only' sight unseen, if you can find one.  guns are in limited supply, ammo even less.

otherwise, except for bars and restaurants and the mask wearing, there really is much of a difference: if you chose to live on.

I've had the flu, and I've had worse. I still don't want to catch this. Friends of mine have had it, and other friends have lost people to it. It's much more deadly than the flu, and can have long-term bad effects.

[Angelle]

On 12/5/2020 at 6:49 PM, BC1980 said:

I started ordering my groceries again due to rising numbers in the area. I get takeout, but I haven't sat down in a restaurant since March. I've been working remotely since Wednesday. I'm supposed to go back to work on January 5, but that is tentative. 

I was feeling sick yesterday morning (to my stomach), and hadn't had anything to eat, so I was worried that I'd caught it from a store, or gas station. I was thinking, "If I got sick just from looking for a Christmas tree, I'm going to be pissed." Our numbers are now way up again, and I would prefer to order groceries, but dad won't do it. He wants to pick out his own food. 

Edited December 8, 2020 by Angelle

[major_merrick]

Another aspect of life in the USA....everybody freaks out when they get sick.  Got the sniffles?  OMG, maybe you've got COVID!  People are acting like the Black Death is stalking us.  Meanwhile, there's lines for everything.  Need supplies?  Look at all the people lined up.  COVID tests advertised at the drug store?  Folks lined up for that.  Never seen so many people lining up for things in my life. 

[Angelle]

10 minutes ago, major_merrick said:

Another aspect of life in the USA....everybody freaks out when they get sick.  Got the sniffles?  OMG, maybe you've got COVID!  People are acting like the Black Death is stalking us.  Meanwhile, there's lines for everything.  Need supplies?  Look at all the people lined up.  COVID tests advertised at the drug store?  Folks lined up for that.  Never seen so many people lining up for things in my life. 

I didn't freak out, I said I would be pissed. Those who are scared, I see no problem with. Over 270,000 people have died in this country alone. It's surpassed heart disease, which I'm mentioning, since people love to throw that out there, as something to be more concerned about.

[Angelle]

 

[Ellener]

6 minutes ago, major_merrick said:

Another aspect of life in the USA....everybody freaks out when they get sick.  Got the sniffles?  OMG, maybe you've got COVID!  People are acting like the Black Death is stalking us.  Meanwhile, there's lines for everything.  Need supplies?  Look at all the people lined up.  COVID tests advertised at the drug store?  Folks lined up for that.  Never seen so many people lining up for things in my life. 

It was like that after the Harvey flooding here. The lines I mean. 

You've never seen anything like it, I was traumatised by that for months but no one I knew died or got sick like with this https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-weather/hurricaneharvey/article/Then-and-now-photos-show-how-Hurricane-Harvey-13155174.php

Lot of people lost their homes, and it looks likely that homelessness will be a major consequence of Covid.

https://www.khou.com/article/news/investigations/houston-food-bank-doubles-distributions-during-pandemic/285-efd01698-f1b3-47d9-a921-41966c417852 is Houston Food Bank response @Angelle

Covid is a major global crisis situation. It is a plague.

It's wrong to use a pandemic to manipulatively sell stuff I agree @major_merrick

 

 

 

[Ellener]

48 minutes ago, Angelle said:

We passed a long line of cars waiting for a food bank, the other day, and I keep thinking about it. 

In Dallas a few days before Thanksgiving the line was three miles long https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/15/us/dallas-texas-food-bank-coronavirus/index.h

[BaileyB]

2 hours ago, Angelle said:

Our numbers are now way up again, and I would prefer to order groceries, but dad won't do it. He wants to pick out his own food. 

We ordered groceries for the first time last week. It’s not ideal, but it worked. I have left my house only once in the last month to go to the store. Thankfully, the weather is warm this week so I’ve been able to go for some walks. It makes all the difference, to go for a walk or a drive... 

[Ruby Slippers]

13 hours ago, BaileyB said:

We ordered groceries for the first time last week. It’s not ideal, but it worked. 

I've ordered groceries for the first time ever during the pandemic and I love it. The grocery stores I prefer to go to are good ones, so they're always packed, which makes shopping in them kind of annoying. With delivery, the delivery person leaves them all sitting on top of my washer and dryer in the garage. No fighting the crowds, no lugging the bags, never had any issues with an order, easy peasy.

I only do it when I really don't feel like going to the store, though, as there's a $5 delivery fee, and I can't do it in good conscience without giving a generous tip to the driver on top of that. So it's $10-15 minimum, making it cheaper to go myself.

[BaileyB]

That’s great Ruby. Here, I have to drive to the store  (not my closest store because they don’t do online orders) to pick them up - curb side. I called when I arrived, they have spots for people to wait but it took about 10 minutes for them to come out. The lady who brought them was cheerful, wearing a Santa hat! They gave me too much of two things, I’ve heard of others who have not had something they ordered when they got home to unpack. Still. I appreciate the effort and understand that it’s not an easy time for anyone... I’m happy to do my part and stay out of the stores if possible.

[Ruby Slippers]

15 minutes ago, BaileyB said:

They gave me too much of two things, I’ve heard of others who have not had something they ordered when they got home to unpack.

Oh, that's too bad. I've lived a lot of places and I must say that the grocery company I'm loyal to is hands down the best I've ever seen in the whole world. Best selection, best prices, best pay and benefits for their workers, super organized, never had the slightest issue with an order, even large orders. If there were frequent mistakes in the orders, I'd prefer to go shop myself.

[Shining One]

What's your experience with fresh produce? I wouldn't trust most grocery store employees to pick out the good scotch bonnet peppers for me. It's somewhat time consuming and I'd feel bad asking them to do that any way.

[Ruby Slippers]

11 minutes ago, Shining One said:

What's your experience with fresh produce?

I've been very impressed with the produce they've picked out for me. In every case, it's been as good or better than what I would pick. But again, I must say that my favorite grocery company is exceptional. They're just really on the ball in every way. I've even asked several people who work there how they like working for them, and every one says they love it and they treat them very well. On Glassdoor, they have an exceptionally high review average and almost 100% of people approve of the CEO. I think the difference is that it's a private company, not publicly traded. In a typical company, the executives make 200-300 times more than the average worker, while in this company it's more like 20-50 times. So everyone gets a greater share of the profits they help produce, which is obviously a lot more motivating.

Edited December 8, 2020 by Ruby Slippers

[SarahWins]

It's fine. We wear masks. My family don't like eating out, movies etc anyway. We spend plenty of time out going on hikes, city walks etc.

I hate that people are sick of course, but on personal level (day to day life), I've been feeling great with the semi-lockdown. Less traffic, less crowds, no real harsh restrictions, more working from home. My mental health has benefited so much from this all. I wish it stays like this after the pandemics is over. 

[Ellener]

38 minutes ago, SarahWins said:

I hate that people are sick of course, but on personal level (day to day life), I've been feeling great with the semi-lockdown. Less traffic, less crowds, no real harsh restrictions, more working from home. My mental health has benefited so much from this all. I wish it stays like this after the pandemics is over. 

It's two worlds in the US now, you're enjoying it yes, but at the same time lots of people are suffering and dying and their lives and families falling apart.

 

 

[SarahWins]

14 minutes ago, Ellener said:

It's two worlds in the US now, you're enjoying it yes, but at the same time lots of people are suffering and dying and their lives and families falling apart.

 

 

Yes I just said I enjoy only the lifestyle, not the fact that people are getting ill. I'm also in a state that is low (relatively) on case numbers.

[basil67]

I understand @SarahWins  When we were in lockdown, I thrived.   We were fortunate that hubby was able to work from home and that the kids coped really well.

The fact that I thrived doesn't take away from those who are doing it tough.  

[SarahWins]

Agreed. @basil67what scares me most is what's ahead, I think Christmas holidays will break the final straw...

I just hope most people can continue working from home (office culture was obsolete for most jobs even before the pandemics) and people will keep avoiding crowds instead of going for miracle cures...

[Ellener]

On 12/10/2020 at 3:18 PM, SarahWins said:

I think Christmas holidays will break the final straw...

It's going to be a stresstul Christmas for many reasons in the US.