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shadowkatIt's been twenty days. God.
Also it's a beautiful day today. Perfect temperature, low sixties, everything is in bloom, the sky is a robin's egg blue, barely a cloud in the sky, and the sun is out.
The weather is mocking me. I want to go outside and take a long walk to the park, and I can't do it. Back of my mind, there's a little voice that I'm working hard to ignore that is saying, "why can't you? You could social distance. Other people are doing it. Just go around them. It's not that hard." But it is. Every time I go out, it's a kind of bizarre Russian Roulet Game that I'm playing with myself. My recycables are also mocking me - take me to the basement they are hollering. Why can't you?
[I'm waiting to get better face masks. The ones I have I keep adjusting. Let's face it I suck at the DIY thing. The whole point is NOT to touch your face, and the one I have - I want to adjust.]
Ugh. You have no idea how hard it is to stare out my window and keep myself from taking a walk. But I've noticed my anxiety level is lower when I don't do it.
My mother did not help when she told me that she was going to ask my father if he wanted to take a walk. (They are in an enclosed community, residential, with no one on the street. It's not like where I live. I kind of envy them.)
So, I caved and took my trash out and threw it down the bin (not the recycables) and took a brief walk. Some people wore cloth masks, some didn't. I honestly think people are confused. Don't blame them. I'm confused. But I wore a bandana DIY mask and plastic gloves - which honestly don't work that well. I think they work better for opening the elevator and closing it.
1. New York Vs. the Corona Virus
Well, according to the Governor, we've had two days in which the number of cases did not go up and seem to have flattened a bit. But we've plateaued at the red line, which is NOT good - our hospital system can't survive at that line for long. He was basically begging folks to stay indoors and not go to the park and walk, ride bikes, etc. And told them that he was raising the fines from $500 to $1000 for congregating.
Normally, 158 New Yorkers die in a day, yesterday 331 did. They are having troubles figuring out where to put all the bodies. Also with funerals. The Hasidic Jewish Community is not handling the funeral thing at all well. They are kind of ignoring the directive to social distance completely when it comes to Funerals. Although on my neighborhood's FACEBOOK page it was mentioned that they were NOT the only ones. 400 Bikers showed up at a Queens Funeral Home. I told my mother this and it surprised her. She thought they weren't allowing them. Well, here's the thing about NYC, you can tell people not to do things, it does not mean they won't do them.
The Governor was basically telling folks who did not have to go out for essential activities to stay in, and if they didn't want to do it for themselves, to do it for the health care providers and everyone who has to go out each day to keep the city running and to fight the virus. "Don't take a bed away from someone because of your self-indulgence."
How do they know people are congregating? Well, apparently the Mayor of NYC has been sending his people (the people who work for the city) out to various areas to check and see if anyone is congregating. My mother told me this over the phone, shocked and aghast. One of her friend's daughters is an urban planner with NYC and the Mayor is sending this daughter and others who work for him out to various places where they live - to check things out.
Also it was advised that you do not use lysol to spray hands, or food, or clothing, just hard surfaces. (Dang it - I have been known to spray clothing and card board packages with it. Also mail. And rubber gloves. If the Corona Virus doesn't get me, I'll most likely die of lysol poisoning.)
The good news, not that there really is any, is that NYC doesn't have that many cases that aren't Corona Virus - so they can use the US Comfort for the Corona Virus cases instead. Apparently the shut down has resulted in less trauma victims - crime is way down and so are accidents, because fewer people are on the road. (NYC now has the same amount of traffic that somewhere in Suburban Kansas might have.) So no shooting victims, or victims of car accidents. Also they did away with elective surgeries some time ago.
The Governor stated that we already made the mistake of underestimating the enemy (aka the virus) and we weren't going to continue going down that road. Evidence suggests that the lock down works, and coming out of it too soon would be detrimental - as seen by Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan, along with China who all came out too soon.
*New York & Lousiana vs. Florida
Meanwhile, I'm laughing at Florida, who has decided according to the NY Times, to put up check-points to keep out people with NY and Louisana License Plates. Eh, sorry, Florida - but you already have it in spades. You just don't know it yet. I mean, lets think about this for a minute? Florida has not one, not two, but four International Air Ports - Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Orlando. Also it's a huge tourist and resort destination, with multiple amusement parks, and cruise ships coming in and out of it, not to mention boats. Plus lots and lots of beaches.
People just went down there for Spring Break. Add to all that, Florida just went on full lock-down. It doesn't have as many cases yet, because it hasn't done as much testing.
People, according to the News, want to scapegoat NY for spreading the virus. Eh, no.
It came from a bat in China and was widespread long before NY started getting cases.
2. Crazy Workplace vs. the Corona Virus
They are now giving essential employees who have to work directly with costumers, and in close confined areas or can't social distance at all - face masks with "voluntary" respirators. It's a filter that filters germs, etc, from the air.
They are trying desperately to keep everyone safe and still working. They have to keep working or other even more essential workers can't get anywhere.
One of my co-workers thought we'd be out of this in a few weeks. I laughed at him.
No. All you need to do is look at China, Italy, Spain, etc - who were all ahead of us.
3. Me vs. the Corona Virus
I'm trying not to go crazy. Hence the gallows humor. Still doing the dancing about my apartment at various points during the day. I miss talking to people face to face without a face mask or at all - with no computer screen. And I wouldn't call myself the least bit social.
I did buy my niece a birthday present for her 16th Birthday. My heart broke for her.
She's bored and stuck with her parents. Missing her friends. And she'd just started dating. Now everyone is gone - and she can only chat with them on the phone. So I bought her The Book of Dust Book 2 : The Secret Commonwealth by Phillip K. Pullman - my brother told me that they hadn't gotten it yet and it would be a good read for them both.
I really feel for the kids. No graduation. No prom. (I'm not a fan of prom, never went myself). My mother said there was a news story about a bunch of kids who were to have prom this month, and a senior trip planned to Europe - all of it has been cancelled. Or the college kids stuck in NYC in their dorms, trying to study, by themselves.
Then there are the essential workers or people who can't work remotely and have to keep going cramming themselves into public transportation and trying to keep going one day at a time.
Everyone has a different situation, a different living experience. I'm working hard to feel compassion not judgement for all of them (with the possible exception of the Governor of Florida and the US's idiotic President who is a bit like the Energizer Bunny from hell. I honestly think the rat-bastard will outlive us all.)
Did discover that one of my cousins, who I've not seen in over twenty years, is living in Brooklyn, far south, in Bay Ridge.
And my church has freaked out over Zoom. Apparently a bunch of idiots were hacking into University classes utilizing it for remote online learning and causing all sorts of trouble. So now, my church is leery of it and rescheduling activities on it with passwords.
On Facebook they were posting links to a Jet washer/dryer unit that can fit into a bathtub or on a table in a kitchen and be hooked up to the sink or bath tub. And I thought, while tempting, very tempting, I don't really have the right apartment for it. The bath tub has a shallow drain, and the kitchen hasn't been rewired yet, so I'd blow a fuse or flood the place. I'm afraid to buy the thing...and I just checked on Amazon - apparently I couldn't even if I wanted to, they are sold out.
Every time I find out about a possible fix for something, it becomes unavailable.
So, I bought chocolate on Amazon. Chocolate and dish washing liquid. I also apparently have a lot of masks coming in the mail - whether they actually arrive or not is another issue. I keep looking, no masks. That and toilet paper, which I'm less concerned about.
I'm also craving carbs and debating over ordering a gluten free pizza from a local pizza place. I've never done it here before. Elsewhere, yes. Not here. And not during a pandemic. So not sure how it works. Either that or have the gluten free mac and cheese. (Except I think I should probably use up the hamburger meat or chicken sausages instead.)
Also it's a beautiful day today. Perfect temperature, low sixties, everything is in bloom, the sky is a robin's egg blue, barely a cloud in the sky, and the sun is out.
The weather is mocking me. I want to go outside and take a long walk to the park, and I can't do it. Back of my mind, there's a little voice that I'm working hard to ignore that is saying, "why can't you? You could social distance. Other people are doing it. Just go around them. It's not that hard." But it is. Every time I go out, it's a kind of bizarre Russian Roulet Game that I'm playing with myself. My recycables are also mocking me - take me to the basement they are hollering. Why can't you?
[I'm waiting to get better face masks. The ones I have I keep adjusting. Let's face it I suck at the DIY thing. The whole point is NOT to touch your face, and the one I have - I want to adjust.]
Ugh. You have no idea how hard it is to stare out my window and keep myself from taking a walk. But I've noticed my anxiety level is lower when I don't do it.
My mother did not help when she told me that she was going to ask my father if he wanted to take a walk. (They are in an enclosed community, residential, with no one on the street. It's not like where I live. I kind of envy them.)
So, I caved and took my trash out and threw it down the bin (not the recycables) and took a brief walk. Some people wore cloth masks, some didn't. I honestly think people are confused. Don't blame them. I'm confused. But I wore a bandana DIY mask and plastic gloves - which honestly don't work that well. I think they work better for opening the elevator and closing it.
1. New York Vs. the Corona Virus
Well, according to the Governor, we've had two days in which the number of cases did not go up and seem to have flattened a bit. But we've plateaued at the red line, which is NOT good - our hospital system can't survive at that line for long. He was basically begging folks to stay indoors and not go to the park and walk, ride bikes, etc. And told them that he was raising the fines from $500 to $1000 for congregating.
Normally, 158 New Yorkers die in a day, yesterday 331 did. They are having troubles figuring out where to put all the bodies. Also with funerals. The Hasidic Jewish Community is not handling the funeral thing at all well. They are kind of ignoring the directive to social distance completely when it comes to Funerals. Although on my neighborhood's FACEBOOK page it was mentioned that they were NOT the only ones. 400 Bikers showed up at a Queens Funeral Home. I told my mother this and it surprised her. She thought they weren't allowing them. Well, here's the thing about NYC, you can tell people not to do things, it does not mean they won't do them.
The Governor was basically telling folks who did not have to go out for essential activities to stay in, and if they didn't want to do it for themselves, to do it for the health care providers and everyone who has to go out each day to keep the city running and to fight the virus. "Don't take a bed away from someone because of your self-indulgence."
How do they know people are congregating? Well, apparently the Mayor of NYC has been sending his people (the people who work for the city) out to various areas to check and see if anyone is congregating. My mother told me this over the phone, shocked and aghast. One of her friend's daughters is an urban planner with NYC and the Mayor is sending this daughter and others who work for him out to various places where they live - to check things out.
Also it was advised that you do not use lysol to spray hands, or food, or clothing, just hard surfaces. (Dang it - I have been known to spray clothing and card board packages with it. Also mail. And rubber gloves. If the Corona Virus doesn't get me, I'll most likely die of lysol poisoning.)
The good news, not that there really is any, is that NYC doesn't have that many cases that aren't Corona Virus - so they can use the US Comfort for the Corona Virus cases instead. Apparently the shut down has resulted in less trauma victims - crime is way down and so are accidents, because fewer people are on the road. (NYC now has the same amount of traffic that somewhere in Suburban Kansas might have.) So no shooting victims, or victims of car accidents. Also they did away with elective surgeries some time ago.
The Governor stated that we already made the mistake of underestimating the enemy (aka the virus) and we weren't going to continue going down that road. Evidence suggests that the lock down works, and coming out of it too soon would be detrimental - as seen by Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan, along with China who all came out too soon.
*New York & Lousiana vs. Florida
Meanwhile, I'm laughing at Florida, who has decided according to the NY Times, to put up check-points to keep out people with NY and Louisana License Plates. Eh, sorry, Florida - but you already have it in spades. You just don't know it yet. I mean, lets think about this for a minute? Florida has not one, not two, but four International Air Ports - Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Orlando. Also it's a huge tourist and resort destination, with multiple amusement parks, and cruise ships coming in and out of it, not to mention boats. Plus lots and lots of beaches.
People just went down there for Spring Break. Add to all that, Florida just went on full lock-down. It doesn't have as many cases yet, because it hasn't done as much testing.
People, according to the News, want to scapegoat NY for spreading the virus. Eh, no.
It came from a bat in China and was widespread long before NY started getting cases.
2. Crazy Workplace vs. the Corona Virus
They are now giving essential employees who have to work directly with costumers, and in close confined areas or can't social distance at all - face masks with "voluntary" respirators. It's a filter that filters germs, etc, from the air.
They are trying desperately to keep everyone safe and still working. They have to keep working or other even more essential workers can't get anywhere.
One of my co-workers thought we'd be out of this in a few weeks. I laughed at him.
No. All you need to do is look at China, Italy, Spain, etc - who were all ahead of us.
3. Me vs. the Corona Virus
I'm trying not to go crazy. Hence the gallows humor. Still doing the dancing about my apartment at various points during the day. I miss talking to people face to face without a face mask or at all - with no computer screen. And I wouldn't call myself the least bit social.
I did buy my niece a birthday present for her 16th Birthday. My heart broke for her.
She's bored and stuck with her parents. Missing her friends. And she'd just started dating. Now everyone is gone - and she can only chat with them on the phone. So I bought her The Book of Dust Book 2 : The Secret Commonwealth by Phillip K. Pullman - my brother told me that they hadn't gotten it yet and it would be a good read for them both.
I really feel for the kids. No graduation. No prom. (I'm not a fan of prom, never went myself). My mother said there was a news story about a bunch of kids who were to have prom this month, and a senior trip planned to Europe - all of it has been cancelled. Or the college kids stuck in NYC in their dorms, trying to study, by themselves.
Then there are the essential workers or people who can't work remotely and have to keep going cramming themselves into public transportation and trying to keep going one day at a time.
Everyone has a different situation, a different living experience. I'm working hard to feel compassion not judgement for all of them (with the possible exception of the Governor of Florida and the US's idiotic President who is a bit like the Energizer Bunny from hell. I honestly think the rat-bastard will outlive us all.)
Did discover that one of my cousins, who I've not seen in over twenty years, is living in Brooklyn, far south, in Bay Ridge.
And my church has freaked out over Zoom. Apparently a bunch of idiots were hacking into University classes utilizing it for remote online learning and causing all sorts of trouble. So now, my church is leery of it and rescheduling activities on it with passwords.
On Facebook they were posting links to a Jet washer/dryer unit that can fit into a bathtub or on a table in a kitchen and be hooked up to the sink or bath tub. And I thought, while tempting, very tempting, I don't really have the right apartment for it. The bath tub has a shallow drain, and the kitchen hasn't been rewired yet, so I'd blow a fuse or flood the place. I'm afraid to buy the thing...and I just checked on Amazon - apparently I couldn't even if I wanted to, they are sold out.
Every time I find out about a possible fix for something, it becomes unavailable.
So, I bought chocolate on Amazon. Chocolate and dish washing liquid. I also apparently have a lot of masks coming in the mail - whether they actually arrive or not is another issue. I keep looking, no masks. That and toilet paper, which I'm less concerned about.
I'm also craving carbs and debating over ordering a gluten free pizza from a local pizza place. I've never done it here before. Elsewhere, yes. Not here. And not during a pandemic. So not sure how it works. Either that or have the gluten free mac and cheese. (Except I think I should probably use up the hamburger meat or chicken sausages instead.)
no subject
Date: 2020-04-07 12:37 pm (UTC)Here in Tirol it is starting to get better. We have more people getting healthy again than falling sick each day, so the number of infected is (slowly) declining, after being in lockdown since march 10.
Today they open the parks again in my city and after the easter weekend smaller non-food shops are allowed to open again and everyone is required to wear face masks (which people do, but since they are no used to it, it only leads to them touching their face all the time) We'll see how that goes.
I think it will be ok, the major risk factor seems to be close contact of many people in closed rooms, especially combined with food and drink consumption. They want to reopen restaurants in may and I think that is probably going to lead to a second wave.
Anyway at least we are testing a lot of people now and our healthcare system is holding up.
I hope the NYC outbreak is going to weaken soon and you can go back to the tracing and isolating stage.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-07 06:27 pm (UTC)Still safe, also still on a sort of lock-down. NY and the US didn't go as far as Austria and other countries did in our lock-down. Parks are still open, so too is subways, trains, and other modes of public transportation. Also it's hard to control people in a city this large. And kind of impossible to close parks like Prospect Park and Central Park.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-07 09:33 pm (UTC)I really hope the measures taken in New York will start to work soon. It is of course insanly difficult to impossible to lock a city like New York and also, how do you get it back up again?
no subject
Date: 2020-04-07 10:15 pm (UTC)Slowly lock it down, slowly start it back up again appears to be the methodology.
Very happy it's starting to turn around for you. That gives me hope. It means that maybe this won't last as long as I think/dread.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-07 05:35 pm (UTC)What a waste of time and money. To think that Florida once used to be a relatively sensible state.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-07 06:24 pm (UTC)