#and these people also regularly catch covid and post about it like...

[landlordevil]

and it really is so frustrating bc i'll tangentially see people hitting clubs weekly and going to huge events unmasked and they're like "live your life!! go outside!!" and it's like idc how many boosters i get getting a bad case of covid just once could still fuck me over big time. and remember that you can give it to others? you don't just have yourself to think about?

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

Opinions on stigmas around mental health? TBH I agree with most, if not all of what you say, but I'm still somewhat hesitant to align with republicans and other right leaning groups due to some nasty things i've heard about how they treat the mentally unwell I, personally was diagnosed with an Impulse Control Disorder (Pyromania), and I get really nervous when I hear people talking about how the mentally unwell should be sent to jail at the slightest sign of duress. I'm not actively violent and I can control myself, but I fear there is a slippery slope when it comes to criminalizing mental illness, and as such, I'm nervous to support groups who do such. Again, I'm not SUPER informed on this, but is there any comfort? I don't want to get arrested because I struggle with a pathological addiction to fire, but I also don't want my freedoms stripped from me by some pronoun worshipping assholes who don't actually care for real transgender and gay folk. Its dizzying navigating these systems as an outcast.

Hope this reaches you well my favorite gun toting gay.

I can honestly say I've never seen anyone on the right say the mentally ill should be locked up. Do you have specific examples of someone saying something like that? Something you overheard or read personally, and wasn't relayed to you by a social media post or an article headline?

My personal opinion on mental illness, and the stigma surrounding it, is that mental illness should be treated like any other illness. When someone goes to get help from a professional, they shouldn't be mocked by their friends or family and the professional should do their best to treat the person correctly. I think where many on the right get annoyed with people who claim to have mental illness is when they either,

refuse to get professionally diagnosed and just claim they have a laundry list of mental health issues

treat mental illness like a trend or a personality quirk

actively promote the idea that getting treatment is wrong or bigoted in some way

use their mental illnesses as a shield from criticism or to hide from the consequences of their actions

There are also a lot of things, like ADD/ADHD, autism, and gender dysphoria, that many of us suspect are being overdiagnosed, either by doctors who mean well but are following flawed guidelines, or by doctors who are actively pushing either a social agenda, or are acting on behalf of organizations, like pharma companies, that have a financial stake in those illnesses being diagnosed regularly. After covid we all have a very healthy skepticism of the pharmaceutical industry and the politicians in its pockets.

But I think where your confusion might come in is when we say that mental illness isn't an excuse for performing bad actions. When we say that, we don't mean that we have no sympathy for the mentally ill (well, most of us anyway). What we mean is that, when someone causes harm to another person, and then tries to claim that they can't be punished because of their mental illnesses, we don't buy into that. Let's take your pyromania as an example.

If you were playing with fire inside an apartment building and it accidentally got out of control, causing the building to catch fire, destroying property and injuring, or killing, people who lived there, you would be hard pressed to find a conservative who would think you should just be let free with zero repercussions. Even if we sympathize with your illness, the fact is your actions caused others real harm, physically, emotionally, and/or financially. We wouldn't support ignoring that harm just because you didn't mean to cause the fire, or you couldn't control yourself. If you can't control your urges to the point that you cause harm, you should probably be in an institution somewhere because you're a danger to yourself and others.

But if you can control yourself, then I don't see anyone saying you should be locked up for having urges. Most of us are very against the idea of thought crimes, though YMMV on that since some of us tend to get emotional about certain thoughts, even if those thoughts never lead to actions. But that's just the natural hypocrisy you're gonna get with any group, and I can at least promise that I try to recognize when I'm thinking that way and stop myself.

Also, another thing to remember, is that just because you agree with conservatives on some things, or even most things, that doesn't mean you have to agree with us on everything. You can absolutely stand with us when we support the things you do, and stand against us when we support something that goes against your morals. Hell, I do it all the time with TERFs. Most of their ideas are abhorrent, but when it comes to protecting women from predatory men pretending to be transgender, I can find at least that much common ground.

And who knows? If you get to be friends with enough of us, maybe knowing you and being friends with you will change how we see mental illness. The best way to both find out what someone believes, and to change their mind, is to talk with them. If some of us have ideas you don't like, or if it seems like we do, but you aren't sure, talk with us like you're doing with me right now. I can't speak for every conservative. I can only speak for myself and give you my impressions of this issue.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Mark Steel has been on The Bugle a total of thirteen times so far, and three of those have paired him with Hari Kondabolu. Here is the trilogy:

4161 – 2020-08-04 – Corruption, COVID and Cricket

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4179 – 2021-01-12 – Everything Is Fine

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4224 – 2022-03-09 – Zelensky’s Tight 16

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Steel/Kondabolu is an excellent combination, a dark horse in my “favourite Bugle pairings” rankings because you wouldn’t think of them together. One’s British and one’s American, but they’re not like some international pairings, in which both people involved clearly know each other relatively well due to having traveled regularly to each other’s countries and worked together (ie. Kumar/Ballard). Hari Kondabolu and Mark Steel had clearly not met, and probably never heard of each other, before they did their first Bugle episode together. It was an absolute delight to watch them discover each other throughout the episode, and learn that they have such a compatible comedian across the ocean. There’s this one delightful moment near the end of their first episode together when Steel went on one of his furious rants and Hari just said, “I like you, Mark.”

They go so well together. Hari Kondabolu’s whole thing is being angry about justified causes of horrifying things that go unchecked in America, and Mark Steel’s whole thing is being fucking furious about absolutely everything all the time, including justified sources of anger such as unchecked horrors. Before The Bugle I knew Mark Steel fairly well because he’s on The News Quiz pretty often, and I liked him there, but The Bugle showed me depths of his relentlessly angry comedy that they just don’t let him hit on a BBC show where you’re not allowed to swear. He is perfect on The Bugle.

Mark Steel and Hari Kondabolu are like sparks that keep catching on each other, egging each other on in how much they can turn comedy material into visceral fury. I also like the sides of Andy Zaltzman that get brought out by Mark Steel; he gets Andy to shed a little of the irony that normally coats his anger, and it makes a hell of a podcast episode. I think I incorrectly sometimes think of Mark Steel as a “shouty comedian”, but he’s not, really. He’s just angry.

I’ve recently heard Mark and Hari’s third episode together, and it lives up to the first two. There are so many differences in their comedy styles, meaning they bring totally different things to the table in some ways, but there this underlying hatred of fucking everything that they have in common and I love watching them share it. With each other and with Andy Zaltzman.

The second of these was the first Bugle episode recorded after January 6, 2021. They’d previously established a running joke in which at the start of all Hari’s episodes, Andy would ask him how he’s doing, and Hari would say some variation of “I’m in America after 2016, how the fuck do you think I’m doing?” They opened the first post-January 6 episode with:

Andy Zaltzman: Hello, Hari, how are you... well, should I say “how are you”? Let’s just say how are you coping?

Hari Kondabolu: Fuck off, Andy. Fuck off.

It ended with Andy asking Mark Steel if he wanted to advertise anything he had coming up, to which Mark replied: “Nothing to plug until the year 2051, my own funeral.”

It’s good stuff to listen to if you hate everything and want the catharsis of hearing some other people hate everything while being professionally funny about it.

[tothemoonandback-myass]

Posting this more to keep record since I'm starting to lose track of all the bullshit that's happened in the last few months. Starting with:

- My most recent ex (M) breaking up with me out of nowhere. More on that later.

- Getting threatened on the floor by my assistant manager

- Two weeks later of said assistant manager being a complete ass and bully I get fired because HR didn't want to actually deal with the problem after I reported him. Also because my manager was old friends with him and the only coworker who was a witness hated me.

- My grandmother died

- Unemployed and somehow catch COVID even though for the first time since the pandemic started im not interacting with hundreda of people regularly? Completely kicked my ass for about a week

- I completely cut off contact with my entire friend group including my best friend after a couple months of increased problematic behavior and now I'm alone with no one

- I start losing my vision in my left eye and when I get it checked at my usual doctor (because I had a history of this particular thing happening) I get told it's nothing serious

- another month or so later I'm down a third of my vision and get a second opinion. They immediately catch the problem (same as I had before) and I'm rushed to the hospital for emergency eye surgery. That's a loose term because I was stuck there for 3 days where no one told me anything and I couldn't eat and was essentially in a hallway.

- My most recent ex (M) tells me the reason we broke up was due to her accidentally getting pregnant and miscarrying within a few days and it messing everything up and caused her to lose it on me (understandably). We weren't ready for kids and it wouldn't have happened but still a fucked up thing to learn and confusing to think about.

- My most important ex (P), back from 2015 or so accidentally came back into my life briefly. We talked, it went poorly, as nice as it was to know they were alive they didn't mean to reveal they were checking up on me and everything went to shit. It ended with a fight and them blocking me. This is the same ex who cheated on me, had a kid with the guy less than a year later, then some time later used me for a few months before disappearing again, leading me to thinking they might be dead and them secretly checking up on me for who knows how long because they "care". I don't fucking know. I'm exhausted.

--- update 1 ---

- matched with a super attractive girl on a dating app. She was super into me. Everything seemed great.

- Then I get blocked out of nowhere. Accused of shit I never did. Freak out and explain and eventually fix things that I had no control over in the first place.

- Planned to meet. Talked the entire way to where we were meeting up. Maybe 5 minutes away she starts acting funny. Changes the meeting place further away. Posts weird statuses on Facebook. Stops replying. Blocks me again. Get threatened by her brother. I freak out again with no idea what's going on or if she's even okay.

- I write a long letter explaining how I'm not sure what happened but I'm extremely hurt and confused and would like to try again if she would just talk to me about what's going on.

- she eventually replies, apologizes. Blames her brother for sabotaging the meet. I explain I'm on my last chance with her. My emotional and mental health has been devastated and I can't take the stress anymore. We start talking again and make plans to meet the next day. I reply to one last message quickly while half awake as I pass out. But everything is fine.

- wake up the next day and I'm blocked. Again. She claims I'm a piece of shit. Selfish. Has a line of guys who want to be with her. Etc. After a mini panic attack I calm down and realize she has serious issues. She needs help and I need to walk away from this situation and wash my hands of it. Finally after a week of insanity and my mind being played with and fucked around I'm able to get back to good

--- update 2 ---

- been looking for a place to buy or rent for over a year and no luck. Every time I apply they say they're swamped and have like 80 applicants and it's just impossible to find a place unless I spend my entire income monthly. So I'm stuck where I am

- for a few months now it's been increasingly clear the business I work for is going down the drain. The owner is a joke, the people before the current staff signed shit contracts and combine that with the downturn in the industry everything's been going downhill and looking more and more like we're gonna go out of business. Ever since I started back in August every month at minimum 1 person has left and not been replaced and now we're bare bones and I just have no fucks left to give about this place which sucks because I fucking loved this job until a couple weeks ago.

- my boss, the one who I was the assistant to and literally was the only reason I got hired in the first place gave her notice a few days ago. It sucks. The job was already bullshit but I'm not willing to pick up her work on top of my own since they're not replacing her and just expecting things to be fine.

- the family cat, Grey, hurt his paw a couple weeks ago. Thankfully nothing major aside from some pain meds but still a bit of a worry. Then earlier this week he was acting funny and not looking good and he was rushed to the vet. Turns out he had a urinary blockage and even though it's fairly common they went over everything including worse case scenarios including euthanasia and I was devastated. I was barely able to hold myself together at work and not breakdown. Even though he's home now and doing much better I'm still depressed from it. When I visited him at the hospital there was a woman in the room next to us. In the middle of me and my dad talking I had to stop him because I heard her crying. She said she was sorry and sobbed and it was clear her pet was just put down and it killed me. I can't stop hearing that over and over.

- Probably to be continued cuz my life is a joke

[retrowhatever]

The tumblr queue function is probably my favourite feature on any social media site: a love letter.

So I've got ADHD. And for me, one of the things that means is I go through periods when I am Very Online followed by periods where I am Very Not.

A problem I've had with social media in the past is that I feel like I'm not "keeping up". And I don't mean keeping up with new content being posted (because that too, but it's a separate problem) but rather that I am not posting content regularly enough to be worth following/interacting with. Especially when I return from my hermit phase, I'm so overwhelmed by having not posted anything in forever that it's really hard to start again.

I want to be clear here: I'm not trying to be an influencer or build a brand or anything like that, but both due to the nature of how many social media algorithms work and because I need constant positive affirmation like the little dopamine hit of having people like or upvote or retweet or reblog my silly little thoughts, it matters to me that I'm a consistent contributor to The Conversation(tm).

On the flip side, I don't want annoyingly spam people's feeds when I get newly obsessed with something and/or am using the internet to hide from real world responsibilities. So I'll just... not post things that I want to, because I'm worried about being Too Much. (Is this a silly thing to worry about on the internet? Yes, but I've also got anxiety and nearly had a full on panic attack this week when trying to decide which soap I should use while staying over at a friend's place, so worrying about silly things is kind of my MO.)

Enter: The Queue. I just shove everything I want to post in there (including this post!) and let tumblr automatically spit it out at a rate that is more reasonable, whether I'm going through a high-activity or low-activity time. It's magical. It's consistent. It's made engaging with content on tumblr so much less stressful for me than on any other social media site.

I try to keep my queue at around a week long, and adjust the number of posts per day to maintain that. So if I'm making lots of posts or reblogging lots of things, I might have it set to 7 posts per day. But if I go through a period like last week when I caught covid and didn't have the energy to do anything, even scroll tumblr, that might dwindle down to one post per day.

Regardless, when I come back, I have reblogs and replies and likes waiting for me! It makes me excited to start posting again! And it doesn't feel so overwhelming because even in my absence, my blog has been chugging away.

Another thing I like about it is that I'm usually reblogging things a few days later than all my mutuals. That means if someone missed a meme or cool piece of art the first time around, they might catch it on my reblog, which gives the post/creator more reach and longevity. It makes me feel like I'm contributing to the community.

Sometimes I do reblog or post stuff right away, usually links to a new fic I wrote and new art from friends that I really like. But like 95%+ of things on my tumblr have come through my queue, and I almost certainly wouldn't be as active on the site without it.

In conclusion: I am not British but damn do I love a good queue.

[sa7abnews]

What to Know About Parvovirus B19, a Respiratory Virus on the Rise

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/16/what-to-know-about-parvovirus-b19-a-respiratory-virus-on-the-rise/

What to Know About Parvovirus B19, a Respiratory Virus on the Rise

Parvovirus B19, a respiratory virus that causes a telltale “slapped-cheek” rash, is on the rise in the U.S., according to an Aug. 13 alert from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

There’s no routine surveillance for parvovirus in the U.S., but several indicators suggest the virus is spreading widely right now, the CDC says. Doctors have reported unusual numbers of parvovirus-related complications among two high-risk populations: pregnant people and patients with blood diseases. And as of June, laboratory data hinted that about 10% of the U.S. population—and 40% of kids ages 5 to 9—had antibodies in their blood suggesting they were recently infected, the CDC’s alert says.

Here’s what to know about parvovirus B19 as the virus circulates.

What is parvovirus B19?

Parvovirus is a common respiratory illness, with “mini-outbreaks” occurring roughly every three to four years, according to the National Library of Medicine (NLM). In developed countries like the U.S., the vast majority of people get it at some point during their lives, often during childhood. Up to 10% of kids get parvovirus by the time they’re 5, the NLM says, and about half of people have had it by age 20.

Parvovirus B19 is a virus that solely affects humans; it’s different from the parvovirus that affects pets. Like other respiratory diseases, it spreads person-to-person, commonly through the respiratory droplets expelled when a sick person sneezes or coughs, the CDC says.

Read More: I Was Exposed to COVID-19. How Long Will It Take for Symptoms to Start?

Most of the time, the CDC says, cases are mild or even asymptomatic. When people do develop symptoms, they commonly start with fever, headache, cough, and a sore throat. As the illness progresses, people may develop additional symptoms. The most distinctive later-phase symptom is a red facial rash—also known as a “slapped-cheek” rash—that more commonly affects children than adults. Some may also develop a rash covering the torso, limbs, and buttocks.

Patients with parvovirus may also develop joint pain as their illness progress. Sometimes, according to the CDC, joint pain is the only symptom adults experience, and it may last for weeks or even months following infection.

Is parvovirus B19 serious?

People who are otherwise healthy usually recover from parvovirus on their own and require no treatment. But complications are possible for certain groups.

Read More: The 1 Heart-Health Habit You Should Start When You’re Young

People with blood disorders or compromised immune systems may experience potentially serious anemia—a drop in red blood cells—if they catch parvovirus, according to the Mayo Clinic. And pregnant people who catch the virus may pass it to their fetus, potentially causing anemia in the fetus and raising the risk of miscarriage or stillbirth. People who fit into these categories should see a doctor if they think they have parvovirus.

What should I do during the parvovirus B19 outbreak?

There is no vaccine that can prevent parvovirus’ spread, so the best way to avoid infection is to wash your hands frequently, clean communal surfaces like doorknobs regularly, and avoid direct contact with someone who is sick with the virus. People are most contagious during the early phases of the illness, the CDC says. Someone is unlikely to be contagious by the time they develop a rash or joint pain.

During the current outbreak, the CDC says, people who work in high-risk settings—such as schools and daycares—or who are at high risk of complications may consider wearing a mask for additional protection.

[savrenim]

I've gotten a number of asks recently either directly about being a mathematician, or that have tied in pretty solidly to being a mathematician, to the degree that it's been on my mind enough that this month's patreon monthly hot take is "how to write realistic mathematicians and physicists; or, if you're going to stereotype the whole field, here are some more accurate stereotypes at least by my experience." (this essay as a whole ended up being over 5k, so is being broken into part 1, the mathematicians, and then part 2, the theoretical physicists, will be posted on said patreon presumably next month.)

I (re)-started my patreon this January in anticipation of funding my original work: it is my goal to release all of my original work online for free, and I've got a book that's now written and in editing stage so will hopefully be actually coming soon, but website domain, file storage, copyright filing, and ISBNs all actively cost money let alone treating myself to anything like having art for covers or professional help editing. My patreon was founded on the principle of "hey even though I'm financially stable and have good job prospects, maybe I shouldn't be paying out of pocket to give people things for free, maybe I should at least consider the option that there are folks who'd want to support my work!" The money is still going towards those things, but what with covid, uhhh….

Well my job prospects have been severely shaken what with how brutal the academic job market currently is, and my savings were hit fairly hard by my partner getting deadly sick with covid despite taking full precautions due to an older member of their household not, then being unceremoniously forced to move halfway across the country with next to no warning, so needing support for basic things like rent and groceries in the months before work was found. I've taken an extra teaching load to try to supplement this, but these days I could actually properly use the support.

I work very hard to make my patreon worth it in and of itself! It is $1 access to absolutely all content, and higher tiers are request tiers. There is currently well over 40,000 words of original exclusive content only on my patreon, split between:

weekly/bi-weekly quote analysis or reflections: director's cut commentary on lines from things I've published, or previews of cool lines in my drafts. this includes a fair amount of commentary on my fic, like iifmlam and wriu! 

monthly hot takes that range everything from general essays on writing theory, updates on Things I've Been Reading And My Opinions Of Them, complete breakdowns of any of my works once they are finished and posted, any good solid post or commentary that catches my mind. 

requests from the request tiers 

early release of absolutely all of my work

I post very regularly! These days as I'm taking on more teaching work and trying to figure out if job applications are even feasible to try, it is bi-weekly quotes and analysis, monthly hot takes, and all requests. It may go back to weekly quotes and analysis if my general situation improves. (And, of course, for people waiting on my writing I will certainly write far more quickly if my general situation improves. At this point I'm planning on taking the additional teaching load in the spring again for the money, which will cut continue my writing time severely. If I had an income stream equal to that such that I didn't have to, I would prefer not to, and would probably start writing more regularly again and also have the chance to do more math research and get my job prospects back in far better shape.)

So tl;dr, if you like my writing and have been considering supporting me, give my patreon a try! I could solidly use the support! 

[wildlyminiaturesandwich]

it’s been a minute...

but almost five months into 2021 and this year has already been way better in some aspects (for me personally) than last year. i don’t know if it’s because i’ve taken a bit of a step back from the sims community and most social media (i still go on twitter occasionally), or because i’m doing a lot of new things that make me happy, or both; but 2021 has been pretty alright so far.

tl:dr is i’m learning a bunch of new things, re-learning some things i used to know, continuing some of my favourite things, my hair is blue now, and I’m just generally doing things that make me happy instead of forcing myself to do things others want/expect me to do. If you wanna know what those things are I’ve put some info under a cut 😊

buying a house — mr sandwich and i have been looking at buying a house since last year but this year, hopefully that will become a reality... if covid would feck off and and even bigger IF i can ever stop procrastinating and get together all the documents we need for the home loan hehe 

continuing learning chinese — been at it for 160+ days now (the screenshot is from about a week ago) and still really enjoying it. i’ve reached the point where when i’m watching anything in chinese and i’m not looking at the screen or don’t have the subtitles on i can work out the generally gist of what’s being said by catching words i know. it was weirdly exciting (and made me kind of proud) the first time i understood a full sentence that was more than a few words long without there being any subtitles!

re-learning korean — because apparently i’m not enough of a masochist to just stick to take on one of the most difficult languages to learn (chinese), i also decided to start re-learning korean as well. i took korean classes all through primary school and high school but never kept up with it after i left and i’ve forgotten most of what i learned since then. it’s something i’ve always regretted (especially since i left school the year before my korean class went on a trip to seoul!), so i figured why not start from the beginning and re-learn it this year? it’ll help a lot now that i’m watching k-dramas and listening to a lot more k-pop lol

maybe thai as well — yup, thai dramas are fun to watch too so why not throw that in the mix as well. although, it might be a little harder to do because duolingo is frustratingly unhelpful in this area. apparently they’d rather people learn klingon and high valyrian than an actual useful language like thai, i guess? so if you know of any apps or sites that have good thai lessons let me know! i’d also like to learn japanese one day too but i think 2-3 languages is enough for now lol

re-learning keyboard/piano — my nan taught me to play when i was younger but, like korean (and a bunch of other things), i didn’t keep up with it after i left high school. so since 2021 is apparently a year of learning for me, and since electronic keyboards are less expensive than cellos (something else i never kept up with after high school), i figured i’d buy a cheap one and teach myself how to play again! there are a bunch of other instruments i’d also like to learn (kalimba, xiao, guqin, theremin, violin) and re-learn (cello, guitar, drums) as well but for now i’ll just stick with one lol 

listening to k-pop — listen, i know i’m late to the k-pop train but i’m here now and i’m enjoying the ride. i’ve listened to it casually in the past but never really considered myself a “fan” until recently. i’m slowly working my way through different groups (mostly boy groups because i just can’t seem to get into the girl groups) listening to their music and getting to know the members, it’s a lot like learning a new language because a lot of the groups have so many members LOL i’m currently listening to and loving ATEEZ! if you have any recommendations, feel free to fire them at my inbox! 

still diamond painting — it’s been almost exactly a year since i first started diamond painting and i’m still just as obsessed with it as i was back then. it’s weirdly satisfying placing each drill one at a time (i never use multi-placers, masochist remember? LOL) and seeing the picture slowly come together.

still journaling — sometimes i find it really hard to focus on and remember what i need to do each day and i quickly become overwhelmed and annoyed with myself when i can’t do even the most simple tasks that other people have no problems with. i’d honestly be completely lost without my journal, not to mention it’s just fun to plan out, draw, and colour a different theme every month! also, that pic is from my march pages, look at my crazy sleep tracker! normal sleep schedule who?

anyway, so that’s what i’ve been up to. nothing terribly exciting and not at all sims-related (i rarely open my game at all these days) but i figured since it’s been quite a while since i posted anything here i should probably let people know i’m not dead; i’m just enjoying other hobbies/activities. I may come back to posting regularly on tumblr and making cc at some point but i’m not in a rush because honestly, i’m the happiest i’ve been in a long time and that’s all that really matters 😊

[dbtskills]

[Image has the biohazard symbol on a yellow background with text that reads Staying Sane While Quarantined]

So, shit has hit the fan and pretty much wherever you are, COVID-19 is too. Grocery store shelves are empty and people are getting sent home from work by the droves. If you’ve been instructed to work from home, temporarily unemployed, or are under literal quarantine, these tips can help you maintain your mental health in these trying times.

1. Cope Ahead

If you haven’t been quarantined yet and have time to prepare for staying at home, cope ahead. Coping ahead is figuring out what vulnerabilities you might face and planning how you’re going to deal with them. Do you struggle with loneliness? Are you quarantined with someone you fight with? Do you often feel bored? Do you have eating issues? Ask yourself these types of questions. Each answer is a vulnerability that you need to address. Many of the following items will help you do so.

Note: if you have eating issues, make sure to stock your pantry with items you will actually eat, not aspirational foods. If you’re left at home with nothing you’re willing to eat you’re in big trouble. QUARANTINE IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO USE BEHAVIORS!

2. Have An Activity Arsenal

Make sure you have plenty of stuff to do. If you’re able to work from home, awesome, that’ll use some of your empty time. Gather all the usuals: books, movies, comics, tv shows. Dive deeper down on your watchlists/readlists. Have any hobbies? Go back to whatever you used to do before life got too busy. Go back to drawing, finish that sweater you were knitting. Or try something new! Learn to crochet! Do a puzzle! Some of this takes planning and resources but you can also download apps that let you color or try your hand at graphic design or zine-making.

Once you’ve determined the things you CAN do, put them all on a list and stick that bad boy on your fridge so you can go to it when you’re feeling bored.

Note: the library has great resources for digital media. You can find shows/movies to watch as well as things to read online. Utilize those library cards to the max- they’re not just for physical books!

3. Make A Schedule

Specifically a sleep schedule. Quarantine may seem like the perfect opportunity to sleep your life away but your mental health will suffer if you don’t regulate your sleeping. Get up and go to sleep at the same time each day. Pencil in a modest nap.

If you can, schedule other things. I know that’s asking a lot though. But if you’re someone who feeds off the structure of life or school, all this empty time may destabilize your mental health. If that’s you, try to schedule sleep time and watch time and read time and social time. It’ll help I swear.

4. Have Patience

You may be quarantined with a roommate or a family that you don’t always get along with. If so, have as much patience as you can with them. They’re just as stir-crazy as you are. Avoid them if you’re getting fed up. If you fight, there’s really nowhere to escape to. Use your conflict resolution and interpersonal skills to the max.

Be patient the situation too. It’s not ideal. In fact it fucking sucks. But it’s the best way to protect yourself and those around you. Like really, science is all in on this one. You may feel confident in your ability to survive the virus, but what about your 80-year-old grandma or your immunocompromised cousin? We gotta protect them too. So post up and radically accept this shit.

Also be patient with yourself. This may seem like a great time to get that thing you’ve always been wanting to do done. And it can be! But you don’t need to be productive all the time. You don’t need to produce anything to make this time “worthwhile.” You’re allowed to just be. It’s most important to take care of yourself. If you’re really struggling against productivity, consider it productive to fight capitalism by doing nothing!

5. Be “Social”

Just because you’re isolated doesn’t mean you can’t be social. Call your family. FaceTime your friends. Do it every damn day. I know it’s not the same but it’s the best we’ve got right now. Schedule social time into each day and stick to it. This is a perfect opportunity to reach out to the people you’ve been meaning to for the past few months but haven’t. Call your grandpa. Call that friend from college you’ve been catching up with. Call a friend that you’re worried about. Even if you’re not feeling very social, it could make or save someone else’s day.

6. Write Down One Reason You’re Glad You’re Alive Every Day

It’s scientifically proven that expressing gratitude regularly can help improve your mood. It may be hard to come up with a whole daily list of reasons to be grateful when you’re quarantined during a pandemic. So let’s start small. Keep a list and every day add one reason you’re glad you’re alive. Think of it like Rey scratching a hashmark onto her wall for every day she’s been on Jakku. But like in a more positive way. Each reason is a day you’ve been quarantined but you may find yourself wanting to keep up the habit once this is all over. Even if it’s hard at first, you’ll find that you actually can come up with a reason a day. The truth is that the reasons are limitless. Just think of all the doggos out there left to pet!

[betweentheracks]

Heyo! Not to be too nosy here but you mentioned you're in bad health and recovering, and I just wondered what happened? Also how would it impact your career since, from how you've made it all seem thus far, it's a highly active and demanding job?

Hope you take care and get well! You appear quite strong and not like you'd take whatever has happened just lying down, so here's to you!! 🙏💓

No sweat and no worries here, I dont find this particularly invasive. If anything, I'm flattered you care to ask after me lol. 😁

A few weeks back I met a friend I hadn't seen in some time for lunch. This was against my better sense of caution that I've held firmly to throughout the pandemic, but I would feel regretful and dismissive if I didnt agree to see her while I had the chance. I should've listened my gut and stayed safely at work because this "friend" failed to mention she had tested positive (she knew already by the time of our lunch date, she has since admitted) and had figured since she had no symptoms there was no harm in being in public.

FF only a few days later and I was feeling a little unwell but had put it off as an effect of the winter blast that had just hit where I live. I'd spent half a day out in the cold and snow for a photoshoot only the day before and thought it was probably due to that since I'm susceptible to weather influenced head colds and bronchitis. Fortunately, my job mandates a rigid COVID-19 screening twice a week due to our high profile clientele and as an assurance of health and safety for us all. Mine read back with a positive and with the way I had been feeling I was immediately sent home and the company closed its doors while the building was sterilized and our clients notified.

Thankfully I managed not to infect anyone I work with nor my son. Regrettably, I did infect my best friend since we're horrifically incapable of maintaining personal space and have weak shit immune systems. We both agree it is a wonder we made it this far into plague times without it catching us.

So I went and got looked over and sent on my way with my prescription of potent anti-virals and steroids. I was well prepared to abide the quarantine guidelines and had sent my son to my mother's home for the duration so that he was out of the danger zone. It was fine, I was kinda cool and keen on getting a few days to myself to rest up and all that jazz. But it wasn't meant to last and I found trouble in the form of being unable to remain conscious much at all and would pass out constantly. After a few times of this I gave my brother (he's a doctor and vaccinated) a ring and told him that my fatigue was no joke dude and needed him to come give me a better once over than the one I'd gotten before bc I was sure I was not meant to feel this badly. He found me unconscious in the shower that night, my head battered from crashing to the basin.

After ensuring I wasn't concussed and jokes on what a hard head I have to take such a beating and show no signs of registering it beyond bruising (a joke between us due to him having once accidentally put a golf club into my forehead and fracturing my skull but that's a different story) he told me to call him regularly so that he can review how I feel and the progression of my symptoms and left. By the morning I had already had two more instances of sudden fatigue and collapsing in on myself. I had been posting on my main blog here about how I was doing and due to this I caught the concern of @peekbackstage and upon their suggestion to have my O2 levels tested it was revealed that I was having issues with my blood not circulating oxygen as it should and nearing hypoxia.

Here's the rub. I have a heart condition that is already very dangerous and bleak which limits my heart's capability of delivering blood through my body as it should. Cardiomyopathy or, as it seems better known, congestive heart failure. I've had surgery for it and it has been a while since it caused me any real issues as long as I stick to my routine of care and manage my health, but when COVID-19 infiltrated my body it immediately snagged upon this weak heart of mine and sank its fangs in.

Within a day of being admitted to the hospital I had a grand mal seizure due to the constant fluctuations of oxygen in my blood and the way my body was working double time to supplement for it. And only 2 days after that and when my nervous system had finally quieted down, I went into full cardiac arrest with a heart attack at my young age.

My next weeks were spent connected to machines doing more for me than my own body could. I developed pneumonia in my lungs, acute though it was it was still another complication that my wrecked body had to overcome as it made my already ragged breathing even worse. I was steadily shedding muscle tone and definition due to a lack of mobility and the fact that my body felt like a deadweight I could hardly take command of, and generally very weakened. My heart, the horrible thing, was inflamed and trying too hard by beating too fast, too hard.

FF some more and I was doing fairly well and treatments were showing some improvement. My heart was still being an ugly and gnarled beast in my chest and throwing weird spikes on the monitor that raised alarms. The pneumonia was retreating and I had no further seizures. It was the dawning light of my first signs that I was recovering!

It took a while more and so fucking many tests day in and day out for me get cleared for release. I tested negative for COVID-19 and was ashamed that I actually forgot that that was why I was even in the hospital to begin with, given all that happened. I have to undergo physical therapy and counseling; PT for heart happy exercises as well as to manage to my depleted muscles, counseling bc I was rocked mentally from all the almost dying and the depressive haze of being holed up in the hospital and surrounded by people who, like me, came in with COVID-19 but unlike me did not come out of it.

I'm home now. I had to have a pacemaker implanted and must stay vigilant for any showing that my heart is not performing as it should. I still have some severe inflammation and chest restriction in my airways as well as my blood vessels but nothing too daunting. I also have a full battalion of prescriptions, most for my heart, and a nebulizer to ease any breathing issues. The worst is honestly that I still am very weak and have severely limited reserves of energy.

My job is required to make me take 12 weeks of leave for rest and recuperation. This is very upsetting since I had been requested by name to be an assistant stylist at the Grammys this year which is truly a dream (especially with BTS in the mix 😩😩) and also bc I'm just a workaholic by nature and love my job. When I return I am expected to learn how to properly delegate tasks that do not directly require me to handle and slow down the pacing of my projects. My boss terminated a contract with a client that was nearing the scheduled end of our agreement and was also incredibly problematic to help lighten my workload. It's imperative that I reign in my stress levels or my heart will not last until the next surgery I'll need, so I'm gritting my teeth and letting my job be picked apart to reduce my responsibilities.

My post awaits my return but I will not be returning to full activity for a while after, which means no rifling through the racks for hours alongside the archivists in search of the perfect piece. I'll be welcome to meet with my clients and oversee the glam teams, will still be the command tower for final verdicts on which styles to use. But I will not be running around showrooms nor personally handling matters any competent trainee could be tasked with like I've always done. I will no longer be able to fly out anywhere for destination shoots or fashion shows.

If, after my next surgery, things are better and my heart stable to the point that they are hopeful of things will be reevaluated. While it is difficult beyond measure for me to relinquish the reigns of my career and be restricted in what I can do now, I am very thankful to be alive and upright when that wasn't a certainty just a little while ago. This is such a humbling experience to have survived when my stats kept dropping every day. I've been told to expect that I will never make a full 100% recovery and to expect to stall out around the 70%-90% range, with 70% being the most realistic.

My best friend (the one I gave the plague to) will be moving in with me so that I am never on my own if things go tits up and to assist in wrangling a toddler since I am currently without the energy to do so as my child is, sincerely, a crazy gremlin spawn with limitless battery life. Slowly, my life will regain some normalcy 💖

[theepost]

My Video Game Journey | Discovering Games & Game Play

When COVID-19 hit and the whole world went into quarantine, it felt like almost every single young adult was playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. People who never normally played video games were buying gaming consoles just to play. Personally, I have never found a game that I enjoy and want to continue playing until my fiancé suggested this game. 

I am probably speaking for a lot of people here, but New Horizons is addicting. Don’t get me wrong I definitely had times where I felt very burnt out, but I still played every single day with only a few days missed between now and when I started playing in May 2020. That is pretty consistent, especially for someone who has never really played video games on a regular basis.

Growing up with parents who are against video games.

When I was younger, my parents did not allow us to play video games. Don’t get me wrong we were allowed to take turns playing games on our family computer, but we were never allowed to have a gaming console. My parents felt it would be a distraction from school and homework.

I'm not a parent, but I know there is a lot of back and forth about this topic between parents. Some think it's completely fine and helps kids learn how to manage their time between school, homework, and their personal lives. Other parents allow it, but are very strict about when their kids can use it. Then their are parents who are completely against it.

The way I look at it, however you want to raise your kids and teach them life lessons and life skills is completely up to you. Obviously don't abuse your kids, but whether they are able to play video games or not is completely fine either way. It's the parents choice and no one should be giving them a hard time about it. Well, unless you are the kid who wants to play video games and your parents tell you that you can't. I think at that point there is no avoiding the tantrums.

Getting my first handheld gaming console.

When I was in middle school or when I just starting high school, I asked my parents for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP for Christmas. I remember thinking they were never going to get it for me because they were so against my sisters and I playing video games. To my surprise, "Santa" left me a Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP under the tree that year.

The games that came with the Game Boy was Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure and Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed. Since I had never really played any video games before I wasn't on top of what games were new and trendy at the time, however I absolutely LOVED Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure. I remember when I finished all the levels, I played them all again so I could have a perfect score.

I purchased a few other games after getting my Game Boy and The Simpsons: Road Rage was another game I enjoyed. If anyone ever reads this they are probably going to be completely surprised by what I am about to say, but I never really watched The Simpsons growing up. I know a lot of people did, but I never really got into it. For some reason though, I wanted to get The Simpsons: Road Rage. I played that game a lot, but I do not think I played it nearly as much as Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure.

Around my senior year of high school I slowly stopped playing on my Game Boy. I was either at school, doing homework, working, or hanging out with my friends. There wasn't as much free time to play anymore. I am now 25 years old and to this day I still have my Game Boy. Cannot remember the last time I played on it, but I do not think I will every get rid of it. It was my first handheld gaming console, there are a lot of good memories with it, and it still works! I see no reason why I should or need to get rid of it.

Discovering Animal Crossing.

After I stopped playing on my Game Boy, I never really found a game that I consistently played. Usually when I found a game I would play it for a couple weeks to a couple months then would grow very bored of it and eventually uninterested. However my fiancé was big into playing video games and was mainly playing them on his Xbox One. If he was growing tired of a game, he usually had another one lined up.

At one point the Nintendo 2DS was very popular and was sold out everywhere. My fiancé really wanted one so he could play Pokémon Moon. Somehow, I managed to get my hands on them and surprised him for Christmas. He played that game for a few months to a year then he slowly stopped playing. One day I asked him why he stopped playing and he explained that he just grew tired of it. I completely understood because I have also been in that situation before with the games I played on my Game Boy.

To avoid having the 2DS sit and collect dust, I asked if he wanted to get another game for it. He didn't seem interested in any of the 2DS games they had to offer at the time, but he suggested a game to me that he thought I would enjoy. That is when he told me about Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

At the time, there was only Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Animal Crossing: New Horizons was scheduled to be released in the next few months. I believe this was around the end of 2019 and New Horizons was scheduled to release in early 2020.

After doing some research on the game, I was VERY excited. I purchased Animal Crossing: New Leaf for the Nintendo 2DS and I played all the time. Any downtime I had, I was playing. I LOVED this game! After playing for awhile, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released and I wanted it so bad.

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At the time, Nintendo was completely sold out of the Nintendo Switch everywhere. They were insanely popular because of the new game release and since everyone was forced to quarantine due to COVID-19 everyone was stuck inside with nothing to do but play video games. The only console that was available was the Nintendo Switch Lite.

What is the difference between the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch Lite? The Switch can used when connected to a TV in the docking station provided, as a handheld, or as a tabletop display by using the kickstand on the back of the switch. The Switch Lite can only be used as a handheld.

Since I was so excited for the game and wanted to play so badly, my fiancé got me the Switch Lite as an early birthday gift. I really wanted the Switch, but since I am so impatient and Nintendo was not clear on when they would restock I decided that the Switch Lite would be perfect because I was use to using a handheld anyway.

Playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

When I finally started playing the game I played nonstop for hours a day. Collecting supplies, catching bugs, digging up fossils, popping balloons, catching fish, planting trees, planting flowers, designing the island, inviting new villagers, expanding my home... You name it, I was doing it. Anything to get a five star “aesthetic” island that is considered Pinterest worthy.

Like a lot of other people, I have completely redesigned my island countless times. There is nothing better than completely changing everything up to design a newly styled island. I have also completely restarted my island two times. Which I mainly did this because I did not want to go through the whole island and tare everything down, I didn't really like the villagers I had, and I also just wanted to experience the game again from square one. I have always enjoyed designing spaces and have always been really into art, so it feels like this game was made for me.

My future with video games.

When COVID-19 hit and the whole world went into quarantine, it felt like almost every single young adult was playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. People who never normally played video games were buying gaming consoles just to play. Personally, I have never found a game that I enjoy and want to continue playing until my fiancé suggested this game.

I am probably speaking for a lot of people here, but New Horizons is addicting. Don’t get me wrong I definitely had times where I felt very burnt out, but I still played every single day with only a few days missed between now and when I started playing in May 2020. That is pretty consistent, especially for someone who has never really played video games on a regular basis.

Now that I have been playing New Horizons for about a year now, I feel like I am going to continue to play it for awhile. I will admit when I first got the game, I was playing it way too much. Recently I have been so much better about it and only play for about an hour a day. On days I feel very lazy and do not really want to do anything, I'll play for longer than an hour, but it also depends on what I am doing in the game at that time. I'm just glad I'm not spending all day playing anymore.

For me, I think video games are fun and good to play in moderation and I am not planning on cutting video games out of my life anytime soon. I know there are people who play video games hours daily or do it for a living. After that, on completely the other side of things, there are people who have never played video games and completely hate the idea of video games. Then there are people out there that say that they have tried playing video games and never enjoyed it, but I personally think they just haven't found their game yet. If you happen to be one of those people and you are reading this, do not give up on finding your game! Once you find it, you will be so happy you kept looking.

At the end of the day, do whatever makes you happy. I am just another person on the internet telling their story. If anyone ends up reading this, I hope you enjoyed and continue to read my future posts. There isn't really a plan on when I will be posting or what I will be posting about, but I do know I will be posting regularly.

- E

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Okay okay okay I didn’t want to have another update so soon in the battle of my psyche versus Twitter but here’s what’s happening now. So I started looking at some comedians’ Twitter pages once in a while in early summer, as the Johnson government started to collapse and not enough topical shows were running and I turned to Twitter to get comedians’ responses. I didn’t have a Twitter account so I went to their pages one at a time, and ended up with a whole bunch that I was checking sort of regularly. Then I slowed down to only checking a couple of accounts occasionally, but then there was queen death and I wanted to see how all the different comedians navigated that minefield, and I was checking so frequently that it was easier to just make a Twitter account and follow all the comedians I want so I can go to one page and see them all at once.

I learned ridiculously quickly why that’s a bad thing. Amazingly quickly. I know I hear about how bad Twitter is, but did not realize until I got there that even an account where all I do is follow comedians would be so bad. That front page was full of content from people I did not follow, and side stories designed to upset me, and I found myself getting mad about like six different things that didn’t matter at all in the first hour. And I don’t need that! I listen to the real news, from real news sources, and get angry enough about things that do matter, I do not need Twitter throwing all this other shit at me! I massively underestimated the algorithm when I thought I could just follow specific people and that would be fine. I knew within hours that it was bad for my mental health but I already was drawn in and had trouble stopping.

For the next couple of weeks I went back and forth on trying to stop looking at it, and now mostly have. Really. I haven’t actually deleted my account, but I haven’t looked at the home page of it in a couple of weeks and truly have no desire to do so again, and I’ve deleted the app off my phone, the way some people do with Tinder after a bad date. But I’ve still gone back sometimes to check on a few individual pages, while carefully avoiding the algorithm-poisoned home page, like I did at the beginning and that isn’t that bad but it’s still a slippery slope and I just think Twitter is bad on principle and I’d like myself better if I were a person who doesn’t do that. So I’m telling myself to stop.

But the trouble is that while I was checking my home page sometimes, that was how I learned about a makeshift post-queen death show by Mark Watson that got filmed and put online. I watched it while in bed with COVID (this required me to go to Instagram, which was a whole new level of social media, but it was worth it) and fucking miserable, and the warm lovely delightful show contrasted against my terrible weekend made it one of the best things I’ve experienced in quite some time. And I don’t want to miss things like that. I also saw a livestream earlier this summer featuring Alex Horne and Jen Brister and Nish Kumar that I only knew about because I looked at Nish’s Twitter feed, and that was so much fun. So how do I catch things like that but miss everything else?

I recently decided the answer is Mailchimp, and I have joined some mailing lists, including Mark Watson’s so he can personally tell me the next time he decides to put some light into the world on an awful weekend and give me a little hope for the basic good in humanity. So far I've received one email from this, it told me mainly about stuff I can’t see because the Atlantic Ocean’s in the way, but also a couple of online things that I had to miss due to scheduling but was still happy to know about and would like to know next time. I’ve been thinking anyway lately that I should get more into livestreamed shows; it seems like the logical next step as my interests have started to turn toward somewhat more obscure sides of British comedy (I haven’t gotten to any really obscure stuff, and there’s a level of obscure that I can’t get to while being too far away to actually go to things, but I’ve gotten a bit more outside the immediate mainstream than what I was discovering a year ago), and as I’ve gotten more into stand-up and stand-up-like things generally. I now have fewer than 100 Bugle episodes left, and then I will again be at the end of my Britcom list and looking for a new direction (and I'd like to already have a plan for where to go this time, so I don't just have a small breakdown the way I did when I came to the end of the first run of The Bugle), and I think this is the general direction I want to take. That, and some other podcasts (I am specifically saving a bunch of Comedian's Comedian Podcast episodes that I've downloaded, as well as a few other things I'm interested in, so I'll have something to do after I finish The Bugle), and related things.

Unfortunately the end of a pandemic (it's not the fucking end, as evidenced by me having it earlier this month, but people act like it is) is a bad time for me to decide to get into recordings of stand-up comedy on the internet. During lockdown was the time it was all happening. But for whatever is still going on in that world, Twitter seems like a common way to find out about it, and if I don’t want to do that then I guess mailing lists are the next best option.

But I did still check just the one Twitter account this morning, because my brain remembers how much happiness it got from that show it found from Mark Watson’s Twitter and keeps wanting to go back there and find more of that, and also Mark Watson is the best person and I just want to know what he'd saying all the time. What I found is that today, he said he wants to start a new mailing list for his production company, which does a lot of online shows, and this list will send out information mostly about online things. No More Jockeys and that House thing he did over social media that I don’t really understand but if he starts it again I’ll probably figure out social media enough to follow it, and any livestreamed shows with him and other comedians that he records with his production company. He's said things about how he believes in online stand-up comedy as a good thing that should last beyond lockdowns because that makes comedy more accessible, and he's trying to do that with his company, and wants to start a mailing list to tell people about it. So, exactly what I would like. I want to subscribe to that exact newsletter and then not need anything else. Thank you, Mark Watson for, once again, delivering the exact thing I want.

Except not quite, because he can’t just make a new Mailchimp thing and give us a form to fill out like a normal person. The procedure is to DM him your email address and he’ll add it to a list. But you can’t DM him unless he follows you, so you have to comment on his Tweet so he’ll follow you and then you DM him your email address. I could technically do that, because I technically have a Twitter account, even though I’ve never posted from it. But I also can’t do that, because what the hell? I can’t just DM Mark Watson. Obviously.

Anyway, I wasn’t going to post about this because it’s all too silly and I’ve posted about my battle against Twitter more than enough times in the last couple of weeks, but I was reading through the replies to his Tweet to try to decide if I could bring myself to join them since I really want to be on that list, and I saw this, and the reason I actually wrote this post is because I have to share it:

So it turns out that:

1) When Mark Watson sees the word “hockey” he has the correct response, which is to understand that they mean regular hockey, rather than what I learned a few years ago is the non-North American response (or maybe just non-Canadian response, I’m not sure what they do in the States, I first learned this from my Kiwi friend), which is to use the word “hockey” on its own to mean “field hockey”, and if they want to refer to regular hockey they call it “ice hockey”. Similar to when I'm reminded that when Andy Zaltzman hears "wrestling" his first thought is of the athletes and not the actors, I love this.

2) Mark Watson’s first thought upon reading the word “hockey” is to quote Stompin’ Tom Connors.

Look, I’ve said it before, and last time I said it it was because he was doing a really cool makeshift outdoor comedy show on a weekend when his country and this world were erupting into chaos and needed this and I was also pretty out of it from having COVID at the time, and that was probably a better justification for saying it than the fact that he quotes Stompin’ Tom Connors, but I’ll still say it again: Mark Watson might be the best person in the world. Rounding up, give or take a little, more or less, he might be the best one.

...The issue I'm currently contemplating is that if I don't leave a comment and then DM my email address to the best person in the world while sober, I'll do it the next time I get drunk and then feel like an idiot the next day. I have joked before about getting drunk and trying to contact one of these comedians, but I have never done it (or come at all close to doing it, I very much was only joking about that), but given that I'm genuinely considering this and it would genuinely be a reasonable thing to do, I'd probably do it this time. But even if it is objectively reasonable, if I do it while drunk I'll feel like I did something incredibly stupid. This feels like a very Mark Watson-esque issue to have (I almost called it a "Watsonian" issue, but that already means something else, as established with the Off Menu confusion that was discussed in that show that made me hate the world slightly less during a terrible weekend).

[leiserdrehen]

I’ve seen Americans post on Facebook about how you shouldn’t have to wear a mask if it triggers your PTSD, anxiety, etc.

As someone with PTSD myself, I would like to say that you should wear a mask because:

Imagine how bad your anxiety will be when you breathe on granny and she dies

Imagine how bad your PTSD will be when you accidentally sneeze on a veteran and he ends up on a ventilator

Imagine how bad your depression will be when you help your friend with lung cancer with their shopping and they die because they breathed in your breath because you walked together

Imagine how bad your mental health will be when you take the bus and accidentally cough on the old lady next to you who campaigned in the civil rights movement and next week see her face in the obituaries

So yeah, it sucks to have a panic attack (I used to have them very regularly so I understand) but you know what also sucks? Living with the knowledge you could have - or did - give someone a disease that killed them

Imagine how bad your mental health will be when you refuse to wear a mask while you unknowingly have COVID-19, and someone you know dies because you passed it on to them

You’re already living with anxiety, depression, PTSD. Do you want to add manslaughter to that list? Do you think you could live with that knowledge? Do you think feeling uncomfortable at the mall for half an hour is worth people dying?

I had COVID-19 in February. I am a healthy 24 y/o but I was coughing so much I couldn’t sleep. I had a fever. I sweated through my work uniform. This was long before anyone wore masks. I went to London and travelled the Underground and I started coughing and I couldn’t stop. People turned their backs to me and I tried to stop but I couldn’t breathe. I thought I just had a cough but my resting heart rate was almost 20 more BPM than normal. I was fighting a disease my body had never seen before. I only realised a month later I must have had coronavirus. I was exhausted, sleeping 13 hours a day.

London suffered the most deaths in the UK. I coughed in a confined and busy train carriage. I breathed in many trains, I walked through crowds, every breath expelling virus cells into the air that other people inhaled. I hung out with a friend. I went to work in a cafe frequented by old people.

I must have walked past over a thousand people. At least one will have died because of me. I think about this every day. All those I passed it to who didn’t die, who didn’t get a cough and didn’t notice? They passed it on too.

Could you live with what I know?

I know someone who was in hospital with COVID-19. His blood oxygen was 60% (95% is healthy and anything lower is deadly). He thought he was going to die. They put him on oxygen for days. Fortunately he survived, but 45,000 people in the UK have died

Also important to note:

COVID-19 has no symptoms in 80% of cases, so you might have it right now. Yes, you reading this with no symptoms. You could have given it to someone today.

Masks work by catching liquid droplets when you breathe/cough/sneeze etc, like your pants catch your urine if you pee them

It does not cause Co2 poisoning, all air molecules get through the fabric, like breathing through your T Shirt as a kid (seriously you’d be dead in 20 mins if this were true)

It’s only Americans pushing this narrative. Please stop. The world thinks you’re all bananas. You mean well when you talk about mental health, but how good will your mental health be when at least one person you know is in hospital or dead?

COVID-19 has disproportionately affected ethnic minorities in the UK. For some reason, non-whites are more likely to die of this disease. Please protect your friends!!

[stevishabitat]

The summer wasn’t meant to be like this. By April, Greene County, in southwestern Missouri, seemed to be past the worst of the pandemic. Intensive-care units that once overflowed had emptied. Vaccinations were rising. Health-care workers who had been fighting the coronavirus for months felt relieved—perhaps even hopeful. Then, in late May, cases started ticking up again. By July, the surge was so pronounced that “it took the wind out of everyone,” Erik Frederick, the chief administrative officer of Mercy Hospital Springfield, told me. “How did we end up back here again?”

The hospital is now busier than at any previous point during the pandemic. In just five weeks, it took in as many COVID-19 patients as it did over five months last year. Ten minutes away, another big hospital, Cox Medical Center South, has been inundated just as quickly. “We only get beds available when someone dies, which happens several times a day,” Terrence Coulter, the critical-care medical director at CoxHealth, told me.

Last week, Katie Towns, the acting director of the Springfield–Greene County Health Department, was concerned that the county’s daily cases were topping 250. On Wednesday, the daily count hit 405. This dramatic surge is the work of the super-contagious Delta variant, which now accounts for 95 percent of Greene County’s new cases, according to Towns. It is spreading easily because people have ditched their masks, crowded into indoor spaces, resumed travel, and resisted vaccinations. Just 40 percent of people in Greene County are fully vaccinated. In some nearby counties, less than 20 percent of people are.

Many experts have argued that, even with Delta, the United States is unlikely to revisit the horrors of last winter. Even now, the country’s hospitalizations are one-seventh as high as they were in mid-January. But national optimism glosses over local reality. For many communities, this year will be worse than last. Springfield’s health-care workers and public-health specialists are experiencing the same ordeals they thought they had left behind. “But it feels worse this time because we’ve seen it before,” Amelia Montgomery, a nurse at CoxHealth, told me. “Walking back into the COVID ICU was demoralizing.”

Those ICUs are also filling with younger patients, in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, including many with no underlying health problems. In part, that’s because elderly people have been more likely to get vaccinated, leaving Delta with a younger pool of vulnerable hosts. While experts are still uncertain if Delta is deadlier than the original coronavirus, every physician and nurse in Missouri whom I spoke with told me that the 30- and 40-something COVID-19 patients they’re now seeing are much sicker than those they saw last year. “That age group did get COVID before, but they didn’t usually end up in the ICU like they are now,” Jonathan Brown, a respiratory therapist at Mercy, told me. Nurses are watching families navigate end-of-life decisions for young people who have no advance directives or other legal documents in place.

Almost every COVID-19 patient in Springfield’s hospitals is unvaccinated, and the dozen or so exceptions are all either elderly or immunocompromised people. The vaccines are working as intended, but the number of people who have refused to get their shots is crushing morale. Vaccines were meant to be the end of the pandemic. If people don’t get them, the actual end will look more like Springfield’s present: a succession of COVID-19 waves that will break unevenly across the country until everyone has either been vaccinated or infected. “You hear post-pandemic a lot,” Frederick said. “We’re clearly not post-pandemic. New York threw a ticker-tape parade for its health-care heroes, and ours are knee-deep in COVID.”

That they are in this position despite the wide availability of vaccines turns difficult days into unbearable ones. As bad as the winter surge was, Springfield’s health-care workers shared a common purpose of serving their community, Steve Edwards, the president and CEO of CoxHealth, told me. But now they’re “putting themselves in harm’s way for people who’ve chosen not to protect themselves,” he said. While there were always ways of preventing COVID-19 infections, Missourians could have almost entirely prevented this surge through vaccination—but didn’t. “My sense of hope is dwindling,” Tracy Hill, a nurse at Mercy, told me. “I’m losing a little bit of faith in mankind. But you can’t just not go to work.”

When Springfield’s hospitals saw the first pandemic wave hitting the coasts, they could steel themselves. This time, with Delta thrashing Missouri fast and first, they haven’t had time to summon sufficient reinforcements. Between them, Mercy and Cox South have recruited about 300 traveling nurses, respiratory therapists, and other specialists, which is still less than they need. The hospitals’ health-care workers have adequate PPE and most are vaccinated. But in the ICUs and in COVID-19 wards, respiratory therapists still must constantly adjust ventilators, entire teams must regularly flip patients onto their belly and back again, and nurses spend long shifts drenched in sweat as they repeatedly don and doff protective gear. In previous phases of the pandemic, both hospitals took in patients from other counties and states. “Now we’re blasting outward,” Coulter said. “We’re already saturating the surrounding hospitals.”

Meanwhile, the hospitals’ own staff members are exhausted beyond telling. After the winter surge, they spent months catching up on record numbers of postponed surgeries and other procedures. Now they’re facing their sharpest COVID-19 surge yet on top of those backlogged patients, many of whom are sicker than usual because their health care had to be deferred. Even with hundreds of new patients with lung cancer, asthma, and other respiratory diseases waiting for care in outpatient settings, Coulter still has to cancel his clinics because “I have to be in the hospital all the time,” he said.

Many health-care workers have had enough. Some who took on extra shifts during past surges can’t bring themselves to do so again. Some have moved to less stressful positions that don’t involve treating COVID-19. Others are holding the line, but only just. “You can’t pour from an empty cup, but with every shift it feels like my co-workers and I are empty,” Montgomery said. “We are still trying to fill each other up and keep going.”

The grueling slog is harder now because it feels so needless, and because many patients don’t realize their mistake until it’s too late. On Tuesday, Hill spoke with an elderly man who had just been admitted and was very sick. “He said, ‘I’m embarrassed that I’m here,’” she told me. “He wanted to talk about the vaccine, and in the back of my mind I’m thinking, You have a very high likelihood of not leaving the hospital.” Other patients remain defiant. “We had someone spit in a nurse’s eye because she told him he had COVID and he didn’t believe her,” Edwards said.

Some health-care workers are starting to resent their patients—an emotion that feels taboo. “You’re just angry,” Coulter said, “and you feel guilty for getting angry, because they’re sick and dying.” Others are indignant on behalf of loved ones who don’t already have access to the vaccines. “I’m a mom of a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old, and the daughter of family members in Zimbabwe and South Africa who can’t get vaccinated yet,” says Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis, who works at a Veterans Affairs hospital in St. Louis. “I’m frustrated, angry, and sad.”

“I don’t think people get that once you become sick enough to be hospitalized with COVID, the medications and treatments that we have are, quite frankly, not very good,” says Howard Jarvis, the medical director of Cox South’s emergency department. Drugs such as dexamethasone offer only incremental benefits. Monoclonal antibodies are effective only during the disease’s earliest stages. Doctors can give every recommended medication, and patients still have a high chance of dying. The goal should be to stop people from getting sick in the first place.

But Missouri Governor Mike Parson never issued a statewide mask mandate, and the state’s biggest cities—Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, and Columbia—ended their local orders in May, after the CDC said that vaccinated people no longer needed to wear masks indoors. In June, Parson signed a law that limits local governments’ ability to enact public-health restrictions. And even before the pandemic, Missouri ranked 41st out of all the states in terms of public-health funding. “We started in a hole and we’re trying to catch up,” Towns, the director of the Springfield–Greene County Health Department, told me.

Her team flattened last year’s curve through testing, contact tracing, and quarantining, but “Delta has just decimated our ability to respond,” Kendra Findley, the department’s administrator for community health and epidemiology, told me. The variant is spreading too quickly for the department to keep up with every new case, and more people are refusing to cooperate with contact tracers than at this time last year. The CDC has sent a “surge team” to help, but it’s just two people: an epidemiologist, who is helping analyze data on Delta’s spread, and a communications person. And like Springfield’s hospitals, the health department was already overwhelmed with work that had been put off for a year. “Suddenly, I feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day,” Findley said.

Early last year, Findley stuck a note on her whiteboard with the number of people who died in the 1918 flu pandemic: 50 million worldwide and 675,000 in the U.S. “It was for perspective: We will not get here. You can manage this,” she told me. “I looked at it the other day and I think we’re going to get there. And I feel like a large segment of the population doesn’t care.”

The 1918 flu pandemic took Missouri by surprise too, says Carolyn Orbann, an anthropologist at the University of Missouri who studies that disaster. While much of the world felt the brunt of the pandemic in October 1918, Missouri had irregular waves with a bigger peak in February 1920. So when COVID-19 hit, Orbann predicted that the state might have a similarly drawn-out experience. Missouri has a widely dispersed population, divided starkly between urban and rural places, and few highways—a recipe for distinct and geographically disparate microcultures. That perhaps explains why new pathogens move erratically through the state, creating unpredictable surges and, in some pockets, a false sense of security. Last year, “many communities may have gone through their lockdown period without registering a single case and wondered, What did we do that for?” Orbann told me.

She also suspects that Missourians in 1918 might have had a “better overhead view of the course of the pandemic in their communities than the average citizen has now.” Back then, the state’s local papers published lists of people who were sick, so even those who didn’t know anyone with the flu could see that folks around them were dying. “It made the pandemic seem more local,” Orbann said. “Now, with fewer hometown newspapers and restrictions on sharing patient information, that kind of knowledge is restricted to people working in health care.”

Montgomery, the CoxHealth nurse, feels that disparity whenever she leaves the hospital. “I work in the ICU, where it’s like a war zone, and I go out in public and everything’s normal,” she said. “You see death and suffering, and then you walk into the grocery store and get resistance. It feels like we’re being ostracized by our community.”

If anything, people in the state have become more entrenched in their beliefs and disbeliefs than they were last year, Davis, the St. Louis–based doctor, told me. They might believe that COVID-19 has been overblown, that young people won’t be harmed, or that the vaccines were developed too quickly to be safe. But above all else, “what I predominantly get is, ‘I don’t want to talk to you about that; let’s move on,’” Davis said.

People take the pandemic seriously when they can see it around them. During past surges in other parts of the U.S., curves flattened once people saw their loved ones falling ill, or once their community became the unwanted focus of national media coverage. The same feedback loop might be starting to occur in Missouri. The major Route 66 Festival has been canceled. More people are making vaccine appointments at both Cox South and Mercy.

In Springfield, the public-health professionals I talked with felt that they had made successful efforts to address barriers to vaccine access, and that vaccine hesitancy was the driving force of low vaccination rates. Improving those rates is now a matter of engendering trust as quickly as possible. Springfield’s firefighters are highly trusted, so the city set up vaccine clinics in local fire stations. Community-health advocates are going door-to-door to talk with their neighbors about vaccines. The Springfield News-Leader is set to publish a full page of photos of well-known Springfieldians who are advocating for vaccination. Several local pastors have agreed to preach about vaccines from their pulpits and set up vaccination events in their churches. One such event, held at James River Church on Monday, vaccinated 156 people. “Once we got down to the group of hesitant people, we’d be happy if we had 20 people show up to a clinic,” says Cora Scott, Springfield’s director of public information and civic engagement. “To have 156 people show up in one church in one day is phenomenal.”

But building trust is slow, and Delta is moving fast. Even if the still-unvaccinated 55 percent of Missourians all got their first shots tomorrow, it would still take a month to administer the second ones, and two weeks more for full immunity to develop. As current trends show, Delta can do a lot in six weeks. Still, “if we can get our vaccination levels to where some of the East Coast states have got to, I’ll feel a lot better going into the fall,” Frederick, Mercy’s chief administrative officer, said. “If we plateau again, my fear is that we will see the twindemic of flu and COVID.”

In the meantime, southwest Missouri is now a cautionary tale of what Delta can do to a largely unvaccinated community that has lowered its guard. None of Missouri’s 114 counties has vaccinated more than 50 percent of its population, and 75 haven’t yet managed more than 30 percent. Many such communities exist around the U.S. “There’s very few secrets about this disease, because the answer is always somewhere else,” Edwards said. “I think we’re a harbinger of what other states can expect.”

[some-days-we-get-sundays]

caity caity caity...

lol at all the entitled children on twitter who suddenly hate caity because she “doesn’t wear a mask”... the real reason you don’t like her is because she’s hanging with ruby rose and not you lol

i dont know how many people on here go on twitter but caity is getting absolutely roasted and draggggged over this mask shit. so called fans of hers have been harassing her and making fun of her and calling her “dumb stupid bitch” because apparently it’s her fault that they or someone they know has covid. pretty sure caity isn’t responsible for your loved one or you getting covid. let’s just stop that bullshit right now. second caity does wear a mask:

caity like many other normal people have been more chill about mask wearing and going out than we were back when this whole thing started. in march no one was going anywhere. everything was shut down, we were scared to have any contact with anyone. but now it’s sep fukin tember and places have opened up and people are living their lives again- with precautions. the reports are all over the place but it seems like as long as you’re wearing a mask when in huge public gatherings, getting tested, and making smart choices about who you are around (your bubble) then you are at a lower risk. caity’s bubble is her friends she’s known for years! just because your bubble is 3 people doesn’t mean caity can’t have a larger bubble. i’ve literally seen people getting mad because caity’s bubble is “15 people” and because “i haven’t left my house since march and caity is on a yacht” i’m sorry but she’s got money. if i had money and my friends had money and acting/dancing/influencing was our only career i’d be on a yacht right now too, or a private island.

if the people that you’re with have been safe than the risk isn’t as high. people are literally acting like caity is an anti mask trump supporter and it’s super uncalled for. you dont have to comment on every single one of her posts saying “wear a mask” “people are dying” “stupid bitch you’re ridiculous”. i cannot believe these are people who call themselves fans of hers and claim to care about her and then write stuff like that. there’s a funny thing with celebrities, we think we know them and their lives based on a few photos and pics and maybe even a meet and greet. we somehow think we’re friends with them and that we have control over how they choose to live. i’ve seen some saying she’s a role model for kids and she’s letting them down.. lol what a stretch. caity isn’t a role model and she doesn’t have to “set an example” for a bunch of adults who watch her tv show. she’s living her life the same way i am.

i went to the beach with my friends and we wore masks but then they came off while we ate and were outside. we trusted that before we all had met up that we’d been safe and quarantined. it’s the same that caity is doing. i can admit when a celeb i like is wrong even tho it’s hard but i don’t think she’s wrong in this. people are also mad that she went on a yacht instead of doing the arrow online panel. i was disappointed she wasn't on it but that panel is a joke. they all only get to answer like 2 questions each and then it’s over. caity wanted to celebrate the bday of her friend she’s had since childhood on a YACHT. who the fuk wouldn’t do that if you had the chance. also i’ve seen multiple of caity’s friends say they get tested regularly for covid. ruby said she tested 10 times... convenient how none of the haters are mentioning this. if you don’t like caity anymore than fine, get over it and go do something else with your life. if i were her i’d be a bit more careful even when i’m with my friends but i wouldn’t harass her for it or call her a stupid dumb bitch. i’d just express how i want her to be safe. i hope she doesn’t take a big ass break or delete her socials over this shit. someone would have to catch these hands if they make caity leave social media.  

also everyone is mad cuz she said people are “tripping”. i literally saw someone say that she was using a drug reference lmao the fukin reach. who doesn’t say “you’re trippin” it’s slang. people need to get over themselves. people are TRASH for the way they are coming after her. especially so called fans. 

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #475

(from two days ago, oops)

What is your favorite background noise? (Ex. Water dripping, people talking.) I really like a steady rain tapping on the windows. Do you like taking selfies? Why or why not? No, because I'm ugly. It's annoying because I've been wanting to take pics with Girt considering even as just friends literally none exist of us, but yeah. I fucking hate taking pictures of myself and it takes a billion and two tries to get a picture I deem "acceptable" anyway. Were you named after anyone? No. What was the last comic book you read? I don't and never have read comic books. What is your heritage? German, Irish, and Polish. Describe the worst friend you have ever befriended. All things considered, somehow my former best friend was the worst. She was homophobic, racist, extremely self-centered, drama-driven, excessively bossy, ungrateful... I will never be able to explain how our friendship ever worked. If you found the recipe for immortality, would you sell it or would you burn it? Burn it. With certainty. We just aren't meant to live forever. What is the most embarrassing, cringe-worthy thing you have ever done? 99% of my life has been Cringe. What is the worst thing someone could do on a date? Be distracted/not pay attention to the other, like by constantly using their phone. It's so rude. That would immediately make me lose interest in you. If you could turn one legal thing illegal, what would it be? I dunno. What is something you swore you would never do when you grew up, but you did anyway? I was absolutely going to college as a kid. Fast-forward to the future, I've dropped out three times and am going nowhere. Little me saw me as so, so much more successful. Do you actually iron your clothes? No. Unless it's a formal occasion. Do you rent or own your current home? We rent. Have you ever used cursive after school, aside from your signature? My handwriting is naturally mostly cursive. Do you have your groceries delivered or do you buy them yourself? We order our groceries for pick-up, so we have to go to the store, but not in. Do you have a gym membership? Sigh. I do, but Mom and I have really been neglecting going since my time with my personal trainer ran out... What’s your favorite computer game genre? Horror, of course. Do you have any exes your parents never liked? No. Have you ever been severely mentally ill? I am. What was the last thing you purchased from a small local business? I don't know. Have you ever used chewing tobacco? EW no, that shit grosses me out so much. If someone’s laughing, do you instantly think they’re laughing at you? Suuuure do. How would you react if your parents told you they were having another baby? Well, they're divorced, Mom cannot stand my dad, and she also had a complete hysterectomy when she had ovarian cancer, so like... Have you ever had a garage or yard sale before? How much did you make? Over the course of my life, we've had a few yard sales. I don't remember how much we made at any. Have you ever had to evacuate your home for any reason? No. Which mythological creature is your favorite? DRAGONS. I love dragons. Have you ever been to a butterfly garden before? No, but that sounds amazing. What's the biggest bird you've ever seen up close? Oh my god y'all, when I volunteered once at a wildlife rehab center, I was FEET away from some sort of falcon. Guys, you would not believe JUST how big birds of prey are. I was shocked and in total awe. Have you ever seen a double rainbow before? More than once. Were you ever afraid of the dark as a child? I don't THINK I was? What is the strangest thing you’ve been asked? Something inappropriate that really pissed me off. What was your favorite game as a child? I was obsessed with the original Spryo trilogy and would play all three obsessively. What is the darkest thing you have seen on the internet? I don't know, dark shit. Do you crack your knuckles, neck or toes constantly? No, but ugh Girt does that with his neck and it drives me insane alsdkjfaljdlfkwe. Are you constantly catching colds or other sicknesses? No, my immune system is a legend. Are you afraid of mice? No, they're precious. What type of souvenir do you usually purchase when on vacation? I go on vacations so irregularly that I can't really answer this. I've been on a vacation maybe twice in my entire life. Do you own more than one copy or edition of a book? No. If you could see any musical on Broadway right now, what would it be? I don't like musicals. Will you willingly sing in front of other people besides your family? God no. Do you eat soup when you’re sick? No. I don't like soup. Who can never fail to make you laugh? Absolutely my boyfriend. He's the funniest person I know. Have you ever been on a tour bus? No. Do you prefer listening to things through headphones or speakers? Earplugs. Are you listening to music right now? No; I'm watching Gab play The Evil Within. Have you ever unbuttoned your ex’s pants? Just one of them, but we were together at the time. What are you planning on eating for dinner tonight if you haven’t already? Mom made pizza. What was the worst news you’ve heard this entire week? Girt's mother has Covid. He's vaccinated, but nevertheless, he's still getting a test done just to be safe, and also because if he's contracted it, I might have it. And that means my mother could get it, which just cannot happen, even if she's vaccinated, too. The poor guy is really freaking out about it, but ASTONISHINGLY, I'm not panicking yet. Girt's health has seemed fine, I'm fine, so... We'll just have to wait to see what his test says. Do you have a lot of trees around your house? What about buildings? No; yes. I hate living in the suburbs, it sucks here. Would you say either one of your parents are 'pack-rats?' No. Have you ever disowned anyone in your family? For what reasons? No. Has anyone ever called you a sociopath before? No. Do you have freckles? Do you like/dislike them? Not on my face, no. I have a few randomly on my body though. Would you ever consider getting dreadlocks? No. Have you downloaded extra fonts for your computer? Oh, plenty. Who is the latest great YouTuber you’ve discovered? The latest, uhhhh. I'd probably say John Wolfe as a truly "great" one considering I watch him regularly now. Do you read the Bible regularly? Yeah, no. All the Bible does is piss me off, frankly. Name three patriotic songs you like. I don't know about three, but I do shockingly like this one country song with a name I can't remember. All I know is it has "red, white, and blue" in the title. ... I think. Oh! There's "Deutschland" by Rammstein, even though it's not about my own country. Has it ever snowed on your birthday? Maybe at some point as a kid? Idr. Do you like the way your name is spelled? No, actually. I wish it was "Brittney." It's more true to the pronunciation. Do you believe in astrology? Not in the slightest, and while I really shouldn't care, like believe what you want, it's a genuine pet peeve of mine when others base their fucking lives around what positions some goddamn stars are in in an infinite universe. They make decisions based on bullshit being spat at them that might not be suitable. I know, it's stupid to care, but I can never seem to NOT roll my eyes when I see/hear people blaming their flaws and shit on this stuff. Are you one of those people who has like a hundred apps on their phone? No; I have very few. What’s the band that you love even though you know they’re awful? I can't help but love some Blood on the Dance Floor songs. :x Do you coo over other people’s babies? No, not really. Like I can acknowledge a cute picture and be like "awww," but it's nothing I lose my mind over at all. What is something that makes you very squeamish? VOMIT. If you’re out of high school, have you stayed in touch with your high school friends? If you’re still in school, do you think you will? The only high school friend of mine I'm still actively friends with/is still in my life is Girt, obviously. Like I have HS friends on Facebook that I still very much love and will react to what they post and sometimes comment, but we don't really talk-talk. Do you dye your hair regularly? No. :/ That's not something I can afford to do. Do you have an alter ego? Describe them: No. Do you know both of your biological parents? Which one do you prefer? I do, and I love them both. Do you store a lot of pictures you’ve taken that no one else has seen? I'm a wanna-be photographer, of course I do. If you had to name your kid after an American state, which would you choose? Probably "Dakota" for either gender. What do you use to dry your clothes? (Tumble dryer, radiator, etc) We have your normal dryer. Do you ever play the built-in games on your computer? Which ones? Nah. Do/did you doodle on your books at school? My notebooks and binders, ohhhh yes. Actual school textbooks, absolutely not. Who’d you last see in a tux? The groom and groomsmen of the last wedding I shot. Who’s the bravest person you know? Sara. Have you ever dated someone who was real sportsy? No.