#i was not built for this (being immunocompromised and in my house all the time)

[torchickentacos]

girl help i've been hit with the twentysomething curse of wanting to move to a city where nobody knows my name and where I get to feel and see and be something new✌️

[redcap3]

Charming - Pt. 1

Charmed. 

Since I became a part of the hypnosis community, it’s been this shining star on the horizon. 

“Oh, you should go to Charmed!”

“I got the best idea from this class at Charmed…”

“Last time at Charmed I got so melted…”

The star became even more intense when I became part of the Oikos family. 

“I wish you’d been with us for…”

“When you go to Charmed, we’ll…”

“I am going to collar you at Charmed.”

Well. We all know that last one didn’t work out, but the point remains that it took on a status beyond just “this is a big convention” for me. 

My Goddess and the other Chosen made it clear that Charmed is their event of the year, a celebration on par with and just as important as the recent winter holidays. 

In 2018 I was still navigating the end of my marriage. In 2019, I was too broke after my divorce. 

In 2020, I didn’t feel like I could make the money work, and I didn’t ask them to help because it didn’t feel right. 

In 2021, I attended online yet still knew I was missing out on the ‘real’ Charmed experience. 

In 2022, we were within a week of leaving for the con when the host city declared a health emergency due to spiking COVID delta variant cases, and the family made the decision we had to stay home for safety, even as it broke us. 

(There was deep, fundamental damage that day to all of us in the Oikos, and many of those wounds still haven’t healed.)

I don’t regret anything about the collaring that Goddess found a way to perform for me and for Camden Dawn, my amazing counterpart, but there was still a lingering ache of knowing it was not what we had wanted to do.

Last summer I finally made it to Beguiled, and got a taste of what the hypnocon experience could be like. 

When Camden came to me and said she needed to be at Charmed regardless of what the family chose to do, I agreed, and I promised her she wouldn’t go alone. 

I made every effort to ensure I would be as safe as possible to go. 

Third booster for immunocompromised patients? Grabbed mine within a week of the announcement. Bivalent booster? Hit it the day it became available in Minnesota. I asked my doctor if I could do anything else to protect myself, and she even got me the Evushield prophylactic shot series. 

I pulled finances together even as I sunk money into dealing with some major house repairs. I researched what would be the best routes if we drove, I checked flights and I watched rental car rates regularly. 

On some level I knew that Charmed had been built up in my head into something bigger than any one event could really be, but at the same time a part of my brain said ‘If we go to Charmed, everything finally gets to happen. I get to have my own Charmed stories! Everyone gets better. Everything will be OK again.’

So I basically needed Charmed to be perfect in a way that was genuinely impossible…and yet I am also going to tell you that I had a really great trip!

So how does that work?

Wednesday: In chaos there is…mostly just chaos, actually. 

(Administrative note: The Oikos family as a whole and I specifically wore N95 respirators with fitted seals, plugged valves, and disposable filters any time we were in a public space, and changed those filters daily. If I do not mention being masked, please assume that I was masked up in my interactions unless in a private space with the consent of all parties.)

So I should preface that Goddess charged me with doing logistics for the trip after a conversation where the majority of the family decided that we would fly rather than drive. 

(Camden and Sleepyhead had already booked plane tickets due to some circumstances, but we would all be in the same hotel)

Within 12 hours of that discussion I had plane tickets booked for Goddess, myself, Copper, Jukebox, Tigress, the younger spawn (hereby referred to YS), and Timbit. (I initially did Timbit's seat by paying for an additional seat under my own name when I booked our tickets online. This turned out to be Wrong. More on this later.)

I booked a rental car which was listed as being able to carry all of us and our luggage for a week, set to be picked up once the main group had landed, plans to get us to the hotel and meet friends, and to get access to two of our three hotel rooms. 

(One room was reserved outside of the con block for Goddess, Copper, Jukebox and YS, since they’re only 17 and really do not want to know what we get up to in our spare time. We also had a handicap accessible room paid for by a friend of Goddess’ as a holiday present that was supposed to be in the con block (it was four doors down from the “outside” room, and nowhere near the con block or the con area!), and a “standard” room Camden had booked that was in the con area and turned out to be much more accessible for me to get around the con than the accessible rooms!)

We all slept at the “prime” Oikos house Tuesday evening, with cabs scheduled to pick up the primary traveling groups and take us to the airport at 7:30am so we would be ready for our 10:20 flight to Baltimore. I even checked us all in, prepaid for checked bags and forwarded the electronic boarding passes to everyone Tuesday afternoon so we could get to our gate with as little stress as possible. 

(I had originally planned on a Lyft XL capable of taking the group, but there were some concerns about the Lyft driver not wanting to take a dog.)

There were expected to be some light snow flurries, but nothing that would cause too much trouble. We would get picked up, go to the Delta counter closest to the airport’s south security checkpoint which was almost directly across from our gate’s concourse, and be golden. 

Which is why we were totally shocked to wake up and find that freezing rain had coated everything in about a quarter inch of ice. 

For those who don’t know: I have RA and mobility issues, and was planning on using my cane to get around the airport. 

But first I had to get my luggage. From my car. Parked on the driveway. 

The roughly fifty degree slope driveway. Covered in ice. 

Worse, as we attempted to abseil down the slopes to get everything together from the house for the trip to the airport, we quickly realized our cabs were nowhere to be found. 

We ended up taking two Lyft rides after all, though I was so deep into trying to adjust the plans on the fly that I didn’t even notice Goddess, Tigress, Timbit, and YS getting picked up from the other side of the house!

Once Copper, Jukebox, the rest of the bags and I were on the way, I got a notification on my phone that our gate had changed from Concourse G to Concourse F, but at least it was still in the same general area. 

Then we got to the Delta counter and found out our gate was now in “C” concourse - on the opposite side of the airport. 

I took my bag to the drop, and found out my main bag that I had (over) packed with outfits, rope, and toys was seven pounds overweight. 

Rather than try to repack my carryon and checked bag, I took the financial hit, got into the precheck lane at the south checkpoint, and asked for help from a handicap assistance cart to run me over to the gate while Copper and Jukebox headed for the north checkpoint. 

At the same time, Goddess and her party were being dropped off, and thanks to our heads up they went to the North checkpoint. 

Unfortunately, a TSA agent decided to give Goddess a headache about YS’s legal gender on their passport not marching the ticket (YS found themselves to be non-binary since the passport was issued) and then wanted to know why Timbit didn’t have an animal pass. 

That would be my fuckup, since I didn’t know Timbit needed an animal pass since she was in a carrier and had a ticket to travel in the main cabin. 

Goddess, YS, and Tigress went back to the Delta counter, finding Copper along the way, and eventually sorted the situation out while I sat at our gate, increasingly confused and hungry. 

(I had planned to get something from a caribou by our original gate and use a straw / strategic positioning to be able to lift my mask seal long enough to eat, but with the gate change there was nothing close enough to get to easily with my carryon and cane.)

My solution, once I was caught up via discord on what was going on, was to provide as much info as I could to Goddess until the Delta agent was able to help sort it all out, and to put in a mobile order at the Dunkin Donuts near-ish to our gate on the concourse with a request for Tigress to grab it in exchange for getting her a Diet Coke. In the meantime, Delta provided Goddess with a wheelchair and attendant to get her down to the gate, and everyone else followed suit. 

Now I need you to know I used the Dunkin app to order egg bites, an iced coffee, Tigress’ Diet Coke, and on impulse, a brownie batter donut. 

Boarding was called shortly after Tigress let me know she had the order, so I let her know Goddess and I were pre-boarding with Timbit, and to please bring me the food and I’d try to eat on the plane before the doors were closed. 

Long story short, Tigress arrived with a donut and a Diet Coke because that was all the Dunkin staff gave her, and I had to open a ticket with Dunkin’s mobile order support to see if I could get the other $10 of stuff refunded. 

It had been aggravating, stressful, and I got a big blob of chocolate goo on my t-shirt, but we all got on the plane and into our seats without further incident. 

(Well, aside from the ticket agent wondering why I had two tickets, which I had to explain again about Timbit (and my size making it generally a good policy to have an extra seat next to me) and the agent said “Oh, you didn’t have to do it that way! You could have saved some money!”

Notice she didn’t actually offer to refund me that money. Yeah. Thanks, Delta!)

The flight itself was pretty uneventful, and I have to praise the best pup here - Timbit (who was admittedly stoned out of her little puppy mind on CBD dog treats) didn’t bark, whine, or make a mess in her carrier. She was sweet and good and Goddess and I did our best to open the carrier when possible and give her pets, contact, and reassurance. 

(Oh, and we were miraculously not caught in the FAA shutting down a majority of air traffic that morning! A bit of luck I am still grateful for.)

We finally reached Baltimore, waited for most of the passengers to deplane, and eventually got off the plane and down to baggage claim, and I suggested to Copper that the two of us go to the rental car depot to get the rental and have him added as an additional driver so he could take YS out to the Smithsonian at a couple points during the con, while the others got bags together and took a break to rest.

(For those who have never needed to acquire ground transportation at BWI, it is a bit different from most of the airports in the US, where a rental car garage / parking deck will be located adjacent to the Terminal. To get a rental car at BWI, you must take a shuttle bus out to a facility that is about 3 miles away from the airport, where you will also return the car when it is time to go home. For Copper and I, this meant a ~10 minute bus ride (after hustling, and failing, to catch the one going by as we left baggage claim), then a short walk to the Enterprise counter.

Unlike our airline experience, getting the car reservation pulled up and having Copper added as a driver was pretty painless!

I was starting to drag a bit (a lot) due to lack of food / water and wearing my Envo N95 respirator for the better part of six hours at that point, but a reprieve was in sight. 

Sort of.

Y’see, I mentioned reserving a “Full Size” SUV / Crossover? The first two options we were shown were both crossovers with only 5 seats. 

Third time was mostly a charm with a Nissan Armada that we dubbed “Cyclonus the Rental Tank.” It had three full rows of seats with decent legroom, but loading cargo required a bit of tetris when we got back to BWI to load the family in. Still, it was a vehicle, it ran, and we’d fit in it. Good enough.

(It turns out it also had a hair trigger throttle, an acceleration curve that was more like a sheer cliff, and a navigation system that I well and truly hated by the end of the drive to the hotel, but hey, it did the job!)

We made the way down to the hotel, got our first room secured, and got everyone and their things inside while we tried to work on the second. (Oh - and those ‘accessible’ rooms? Required you to take a half flight of stairs unless you wanted to enter or leave the hotel from a side door! I might have been a bit peeved about that.)

I had already planned to make a Target run for needed supplies (CPAP water, potable water, drinks, snacks, first aid stuff), and we ordered some pizza for everyone because I was about ready to start eating some of my metamours at that point. 

(Sorry, Jukebox.)

After pizza arrived and I managed to eat and have some water, my mood was back up into at least “mildly chuffed”, and I began texting with Panda, who had graciously offered to re-color my hair when I had lamented not having time to dye it during my con prep. (OK, I actually started texting Panda after we had boarded the flight, but now we got serious.)

Getting the information to get into the second room took a lot longer than we had expected, and I was way past overstimmed and overwhelmed by that point. Even busying myself with putting the Target order in so I could pick it up later didn’t really help much, and it was an incredible relief when we finally got the keys and I could retreat for a few minutes…just as I got the notification that the Target order was ready.

I took a deep breath, asked Tigress if she would come with me, and we made our way over to get the stuff, which was mostly uneventful.

(Note: WHO PUTS MULTIPLE DRIVE-UP AREAS IN DIFFERENT LEVELS OF THE RAMP?) We would return to the hotel, get stuff distributed, and I was finally able to tell Panda that it could come down to start having hair fun, and I let another friend, Linnybee, know that I had the “Trance Cards” she had asked me to print ready so that we could hole punch them, attach ribbons / twine, and hopefully distribute them during the con as fun ways to keep track of scenes and as souvenirs. 

Not too long after we started making good progress on the cards, Panda arrived, and I broke out the various (and generally less than ⅓ full) bottles of color I’d had left in my house from the last time I had a friend help me color it at home. It was not long before I was changing into pajama pants and an old tank top so Panda could get to work mixing up purples, blues, and pinks, and place a very shiny cape around my neck. (“I’ve got foils and everything!”) Side note: Panda and I have been friends since sometime in 2020, but this was our first in person meeting instead of zoom, discord, or text conversations. It gave me an amazing hug when we finally got to be in person, and squished very nicely. Huzzah. It will probably not surprise anyone that after a long and stressful day, sitting down and letting Panda mess with my hair eventually turned into Panda messing with my head, getting nicely relaxed and trancy as it took care of  me, lightly fractionating me but being careful not to completely melt my brain since I still had things to do. (Turns out this also did Tigress some splash damage, which, well, whoops!) Goddess and Timbit dropped by while we waited for the color to set, and it wasn’t long before I was stripping down to shower and rinse off the excess dye while Panda made sure everything was combed out and looking good, then washed my hair with color protecting shampoo and conditioner. By the end my hair was purple and pink with blue accents that looked amazing and I got the chance to spend a bit more time with Panda and Linny before they each needed to be off to their next adventures, while I got dressed again to head back to BWI to pick up Camden and Sleepy.

We had passed a Steak & Shake on the highway on our way between the airport and hotel, making plans to grab food there for a late dinner with everyone on the way back from BWI, but in the post pandemic world it appears that S&S is no longer a 24/7 beacon of grease and hand spun goodness, so a backup plan of chicken, biscuits, and fries was arranged to be delivered to Goddess’ room while I made my way up to the Arrivals section of the terminal and found a good spot to wait, pulling up to the curb moments before I got a message from Sleepyhead that their plane had touched down.

When they emerged and made their way to the car with their bags there were hugs and a few kisses before we got back on the road, and I happily listened to how they had each tranced each other during the flight. I had known that Daja and Sleepy had planned a special experience for Cammie on the plane, but I was just as squeeful with compersion to hear about Miss Dawn putting our lovely dolly into her own deep trance.

I dropped them at the front of the hotel so that Camden could get checked in and acquire room keys, then parked the tank as close to Goddess’ room as I could, meeting everyone inside for a meal and some quiet hanging out time before I eventually went down to take a look at Camden’s room and I asked if it would be OK for me to stay down in their room rather than try to do a lot of stairs and walk about two-thirds of the length of the hotel any time I wanted to go back and forth. I was concerned about Tigress feeling abandoned, but she completely understood why I needed that access, and I was grateful for her acceptance. Bags were grabbed, stuff was shifted, and I ended up getting ready for bed with Sleepy curled up against me in one of the two queens and Camden in the other, listening to Goddess’ peaceful sleep file as the three of us drifted off. Thursday: Pre-Con sounds great, but…

Somehow, despite going to bed closer to 2am than not, the three of us woke around 8 and no-one died. I had originally planned to attend EnScenic’s Music, Hypnosis, & Hijinx class that morning at 10, but after I took my meds and did some self reflection, it was clear that what I really needed was to take it easy that morning. 

I am reasonably sure I had breakfast, though I genuinely do not remember what it was, grabbed some extra naptime with Sleepyhead, and eventually arranged to get some additional groceries for the weekend delivered to our room, though I was continually thwarted in my search for the high-protein shakes my dietician recent recommended I add to my meal planning.

I also stopped by registration and got my badge somewhere in there, but I genuinely don’t remember when or how, though I did run into several friends and acquaintances along the way to say “Hi!”

Sleepy has been open about her battles with anxiety and depression as she prepared for and attended the con, so I will say that I spent some time comforting her while Camden went out to explore and meet up with several people (including Daja, once she arrived), and not too long after we had a nice lunch sent over from the Double T diner, she asked if I could use some pallet wrapI had in my bag to give her a nice comfy bondage hug and a trance that soon turned into restful sleep. (Note: Double T is a descendent of the Greek Diner tradition, and their Moussaka was amazing. It reminded me so much of the Moussaka I used to get at Matsos’ back in Wooster that I would not be shocked to learn their family recipes both came from the same part of the country. Not a crucial part of the weekend, but it was a nice and unexpected bit of comfort and nostalgia for me!) I eventually decided to skip the afternoon classes as well, given that I needed to (in no particular order) acquire our massive household cookie order from EnScenic, pick up the books I had shipped to the Con via Daja to sell and drop them off with EnScenic so she could vend them when I wasn’t available, pick up rope I had ordered ahead of time from Lynx and her company MFA designs that I secretly intended to gift to Daja since she had expressed an interest in learning how to do rigging and I had offered to show her some of the basic ties I use with Cammie as her subject and Sleepy as my demo partner, go to a hardware store (or arrange delivery) for hex keys because I forgot my lightsabers’ set screw keys, my wife to murder and Guilder to blame for it.

(If it sounds like I was kinda overcommitted this weekend, you are exactly right. A big lesson I am taking away is to really think about how many hours are in the day, and how much I actually will feel able to do.) Oh, and did I mention that I was part of the on-site consent team, and was on-call in case any issues came up before our kickoff meeting / pizza party that night?

Yeah.

Thankfully we did not get any calls for consent issues that I was asked to help with that day, but it was a constant tickle in the back of my head as I tried to keep an eye on our reporting channels and discord chats.

Somehow, 90% of what I wanted to do got done, and I even managed to pick up a couple of badge ribbons from Meraklis, who I had done a fun scene with at Beguiled and was looking forward to seeing more of later.

Daja, her spouse Turq, and Cammie came back to the room for dinner, and we picked up Italian as a compromise between most of the group wanting pizza, and me already being pizza’d out thanks to having a lot of pizza on Monday and Wednesday, and knowing more pizza was in my future for the late evening. We ordered from a local restaurant called Bella Italia, and my eggplant rollatini was delicious, thank you. 

There was a bit of light play before and after we ate, but it was generally just a happy hangout time with good friends and watching some AGDQ speedruns. Daja was given the rope (though we kinda had to do a raincheck on the lesson - more on that later), and Turq and I got to vibe a bit while mutually appreciating Sleepy.

(For those not familiar with Sleepyhead, A) How? and B) You should know that basically everyone in the community is a little bit in love with her, and it is a beautiful thing. Since this was our first time attending a hypnocon together, I privately made a promise to myself to give her as much freedom as she wanted to play with friends, other partners, and potential play or romantic  partners. I didn’t want her to feel I was constantly following her around or breathing down her neck, and I think we both did a good job of letting each other do what we needed to do while communicating and occasionally sharing fun stories or experiences when we had proper permission.)

I went to part of the “Welcome” event hosted by Psy and the concom that evening, but lack of seating eventually made me move over to the room where the Consent Team meeting was to be held while I read a bit and futzed with my phone.

One of my goals for Charmed was to try to get out in the community more, since most people either knew me from my writing or an online event or two. I made a goal to be more social and make more connections in the community, so I decided to put a post out in the “Looking For Play At Hotel” channel to let people know I was open to play on both sides of the watch, so to speak, and that I had brought stuff to do rope, impact, and sensation play. Once that was done I also reached out to some friends and previous play partners who were doing classes, and asked about being a potential demo bottom for a few of them.

Well, I quickly learned that offering to be a top at a kink con will get you a lot of attention, as my messages exploded within moments of the post going up. 

I replied to as many as I could, making plans to negotiate and potentially play on Friday or Saturday, generally with an eye for making use of the dungeon while it would be open, but leaving in-room play on the table as well.

The consent team kickoff would go smoothly, with our fearless leaders Spinfrog and T distributing plastic file folders to keep our paperwork, notepads, kleenex, and some emergency candy in, and we made sure everyone had their ground rules (and more pizza) before breaking up. I ended up bumping into Meraklis again while she was talking to several people about her Jedi Mind Trick triggers, and she asked if I’d mind being an impromptu demo, since I wanted to have the trigger refreshed anyway. (Oh no, please don’t throw me into that briar patch...)

The trigger is pretty simple: If Merkalis or someone you trust waved their hand in front of you in the usual “Jedi” manner, you froze for a few seconds and then went back to normal. If they waved and said a phrase (“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for”), you would blank out, repeat the phrase, and then surface again. 

It’s cute, it’s silly, and I love it dearly. When it was set up at Beguiled she had put a limit of the trigger expiring once the convention ended, but this time we left it a bit more open ended as long as I was in a safe place with people I was comfortable going into trance around.

I had a few more hallway conversations on my way back, including bumping into someone who I had a warm and happy conversation with, and knew I recognized, but my brain utterly failed to identify her(?) by name, and since they didn’t have a badge on, I was SOL.

(You were wearing a cute motorcycle jacket, skirt, and a steel infinity collar, and I had hoped to run into you again and say Hi / actually get your name! If you read this, please ping me so we can catch up more?)

I would return to the room, a bit tired but still in good emotional space, and Sleepy would ask if her friend gothsocks could come down to say hello for a bit. 

I had also been talking to socks and getting to know her better, so I happily agreed. We had been discussing the possibility of doing a dollification and cuddles / light play scene during the weekend, so I was happy to just have some low key, no pressure hang out time to build some groundwork and rapport.

(Plus socks is neat, and again: trying to be a more social creature.) 

What mostly ended up happening was socks and I nerding out over FFXIV’s latest expansion and new classes / raids / dungeons for a while before we all needed to get some sleep while Sleepyhead watched us infodump back and forth, and it was great.

Not long after goth left Sleepy and I planned out a few things for Friday before we got cuddled up for bed again, knowing that Camden was likely to be spending the night elsewhere.

[mariska]

got my income for the month the other day and after 6+ months of not being able to make digital art the way i'm used to with my specific accessibility needs because of physical health symptoms with my hands, i was finally able to buy myself a new Paint Tool Sai license today, since a little while back i successfully installed an optional Windows 10 operating system on my Macbook (Sai doesn't run on Mac, at least not Version 1 which is what i need and have been using for over a decade) that i can switch back and forth between whenever and i am so so so so happy and relieved about it and so fucking excited to get to draw digital lines the way im used to drawing them after trying so many other similar programs and failing to find anything that worked exactly the same as Sai's basic built-in pen stabilizer 😭😭😭😭😭😭

i was able to quickly test out my (also ancient lol) art tablet with it and make sure everything works and it doesnt lag or anything like that and its perfect its exactly like i've always used it, i remembered which pen stabilization number setting i've been using for years and like.

dude. i know i sound dramatic right now LMAO but i CANNOT sketch or draw properly on traditional paper or sketchpads anywhere near what i can do in Sai because of all my tremors and shakiness and sudden muscle movements that make accidental lines and all that. and when i drew just one regular brush stroke in Sai and felt it move like im used to and got that super smooth sensation of 'pretty much just drawing like im holding a pencil/pen but with the shakiness of my lines improved'....almost cried a lil not gonna lie fjsgdgsgdhsgshf its been so many months and i've put so much mental energy into researching how to do that whole windows installation on my 2012 era macbook and somehow did that without completely messing it up and then having to wait until a month where i have enough extra money to buy the official version (Sai is so important 2 me and the most accessible digital art program i've ever used for my specific hand problems and i've used it for so long that i am only comfortable using the officially licensed version of it, yknow?) and also theres just something so nice about finally being able to use it again a few days before my birthday even though that timing wasn't on purpose...

AHHHHH im just so relieved. i feel like im free to just be able to make sketch pages and draw stuff whenever i have free time to and i have an idea in my head again and i havent felt that in so long and it was making my depression so much worse....and also because i've been doing my best to adapt to the similar but different settings in Clip Studio Paint, i have 2 really nice digital art programs with a lot of cool and useful features between the both of them now that i can use to like, mix and match with my art!! which is awesome!! i think Clip will mostly be used by me now for more graphic design type projects since Sai's always been my core art program, but i'd love to experiment with drawing/sketching/painting pieces in Sai and then plopping them into Clip and adding some extra fun effects or background elements or even just easier to repeat patterns with its' huge free-to-use resource library for like stamps and texture effects and more photoshop-y things like that.

ANYWAYS!! im just rambling to myself because im so happy and relieved to have My Art Program back so i thought i would share since its rare for me to feel as happy and excited and get some sense of normalcy back in any capacity these days, being immunocompromised and stuck in my house as long as i have been the past 3 years and counting. it has been a good amount of time since i've felt like i have A Victory To Celebrate and i hope that feeling lingers as long as it can 🥹✌️

[momomomma2]

I’ve been 5′11 since I was in high school and built like a linebacker thanks to my father’s genetics. I do not look like I would be meek or shy. I have worn my mask every single time I have left the house for the past 4 months (before it had swept across Ohio because I knew it was coming and I have 2 immunocompromised individuals in my home), and my masks are designed so both my children and I can wear them. They have funny faces on them, basically giving me the look of an emoji. 

Do you know how often anti-mask people have started shit with me about it? Zero times. Because I do not fit their idea of someone who can be antagonized. All this bullshit about them trying to convince people to follow their rhetoric because they want to “save others from tyranny” is a pile of steaming horseshit. If it was true, as the primary person in my household who leaves for necessities, I would have a couple stories under my belt about run-ins with these morons. 

I. Do. Not. They harass people who they feel can be victimized. People they think won’t put up a fight. They’re the same bullies who picked on the loners in school because they knew they had a better chance at winning. 

I’m going to give everyone who might encounter these assholes the same advice I give my very petite children, who look like I must’ve somehow adopted them given their blonde hair, blue eyes, and thin build. You do not have to be nice. You can scream, fuss, cause a scene. Because polite people can be taken advantage of far too easily. 

There is no such thing as being nice to someone who wants to beat you down. 

[wild-aloof-rebel]

How do you think David and Patrick would deal with the pandemic actually all of Schitt's creek.

there are lots of great thoughts about that over in my #headcanon tuesdays tag, which was a collaborative effort that started with discussion of what they’d be getting up to in quarantine (we eventually moved away from that, but the early posts def focus more on that).

generally though, i think that david and patrick’s life wouldn’t be terribly different from normal though, other than obviously being more cautious about distance, etc. the store would most likely be considered an essential service, so they really have just been working like usual all along, though probably switching to some kind of curbside pick-up service rather than letting people wander the shop, at least initially. their online orders are also keeping them very busy, and they hire on a few local teens who lost their jobs at unessential businesses to give them some part-time help packing orders. they def have partnered with their vendors to provide masks and a local distillery to provide hand sanitizer. they’re well-settled in at the house, being a year and a half into their marriage before quarantine starts, so they definitely have stevie over, and maybe even the brewers down for a day trip a few times, for some socially-distanced get-togethers in their backyard. they make good use of the grill they bought themselves for their anniversary, and plan over-the-top, at-home date nights, and try their hand at learning to be better cooks, and just generally do their best--now that there’s no baseball, no going out on weekends, no dinners at the cafe, no trips to visit their families--to make the most of all this unexpected alone time they’ve been given.

stevie is in sc a lot more, with way more zoom meetings with ruth and johnny and their investors now. progress is still continuing on the rosebud expansion because the renovations aren’t really something put on hold by the pandemic, though they do put off starting anything new until things are over. on the rare occasions that any of them do still need to physically travel to a location, johnny handles the u.s. locations and stevie the canadian ones, since the border is closed.

season 2 of the sunrise bay reboot managed to wrap up right before quarantine started, so moira is doing lots of online promo for that. alexis also gets her at-home gigs doing audiobook recording and voiceover work as the villain in a popular video game series.

alexis spends a lot of time teaching clients how to use instagram and twitter now that everyone is stuck at home all the time and thinks they need to find new ways to build their brand. it’s frustrating most days, but she loves it anyway.

roland does a great job of making sure that everyone in town stays safe and healthy, advocating to the county for resources when they need it and making sure all the residents are taking distancing and mask requirements seriously. jocelyn organizes grocery delivery for elderly and immunocompromised residents and virtual tutoring for students who need extra help with their online classes.

ray somehow starts 3 more businesses during the pandemic, and all of them are thriving.

ronnie builds more decks and patios and enclosed porch additions than she’s ever built in her life, now that everyone is spending all their time at home. she’s already planning a trip for when everything is over for her and her girlfriend to spend a week somewhere without a single backyard in sight.

jake takes his whiskey nights virtual, and everyone still has a great time.

the cafe is busier than ever, and twyla loves how it’s become even more of a central hub for the town. most people aren’t travelling over to elmdale for takeout, so the cafe is the only option in town for nights when you don’t want to cook. and once they’re allowed to have dining on the premises again, she converts the parking lot into outdoor patio seating, with string lights and potted plants and outdoor speakers playing old standards, and it becomes the hottest date night spot in the county for the simple, homey feel and twyla’s ever-present hospitality.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #345

“this is the year where hope fails you  /  the test subjects run the experiment  /  and the bastards you know, is the hero you hate”

Do you have any scars from burns? No. Have you ever built a snowman? Yes. Growing up, Dad would always help my sisters and I make them. Good memories. How about a sand castle? Yeah, but not any impressive ones at all. Just the ones where you fill a pail with sand and flip it over. Have you ever used crutches? Tried when I tore a ligament in my foot, but the pair we had were too tall for me to use them comfortably at all, so I never really "used" them. Have you ever been in a tree house? No. Would you ever move to China? No. Did you ever go to daycare as a kid? I went to one for literally a day because Mom was disgusted with how I was treated. I accidentally wandered into the wrong room or something and one of the guardians slapped my hand when she scolded me, and I think I sobbed the rest of the day, but partially because I had AWFUL separation anxiety from my mom. Afterwards, Mom just had people she knew babysit my sisters and me. Who’s one of the most talented people you know? What are they talented at? As for people who are still in my life/I still consider to "know," I'm unsure, but only because there are so many talented people in my life. One of my older sisters is a fantastic cake decorator and artist in general, and my little sister is truly skilled with working with children; she's a kid magnet. Sara is really good at animation, and I wish she'd do it more! Do you usually pay with cash, debit card, or credit card? Cash. I don't have a credit or debit card. Are you the type of person who can make friends with just about anyone? Yeah, but I have my limits. I'm very open-minded and can befriend people with a wide range of beliefs and personalities, but I know where to draw the line. There comes a point where giving your friendship to someone is like passively supporting their ways, and I don't want to do that if those are overwhelmingly negative and/or hateful. Have you ever experienced a medical emergency? Well yeah, I overdosed on cold medicine. I was surprisingly okay, but I assume it's because I was taken to the hospital fast enough for fluids? Idk. What was the last thing you borrowed from someone? Ummm no clue. Are you muscular? Uh, no. When you go to a restaurant, do you prefer to sit at a booth or a table? Booth. What’s something you think everyone should do/experience at least once in their life? Love. Has your car ever been broken into? I don't have a car, but neither of my parents' has been. Have you ever recorded yourself doing a cover of a song? No. Do you watch television shows more in the dark or the day time? I just don't watch TV. Are there any movies out there that basically make you want to puke? None that I've seen, no. But I won't watch The Human Centipede for this exact reason, as I KNOW it would make me hurl. Any secrets you’d never tell anyone? No matter how close they are to you? Yes. Do you consider yourself a promiscuous person? Not even slightly. Do you know anyone who has AIDS? What about yourself? I don't know anyone with it, no, and I don't have it either. Has anyone ever mistaken you to be a member of the opposite sex? No. What’s your favorite hair color on the opposite sex that you love? I like colored hair, but if we're talking natural colors, then black. Have you ever had a child before? If so, what’s his/her name? Nope, never gonna have one. Which baby animal is your favorite? Meerkats for sure. I also love kittens. Do you like jam on your toast and biscuits? Yeah. Are there any plants in your home? No. What food does honey go best with? *shrug* Have you ever carved a pumpkin? Yeah. Have you ever reread a book? I read Because of Winn-Dixie twice, and I've read Meerkat Manor: Flower of the Kalahari countless times, although after the first read, I skipped over Clutton-Brock's massive tangents that had nothing to do with meerkats. They really took away from the book, imo. Would you ever like to own a chandelier? Sure, like above the dinner table. It's not a big deal for me, though. What scent is the last body wash you used? Oh my god, it's this cinnamon bun scent that I got for I think my b-day, and I LOVE it. It's going to suck when it's gone. Do you have any religious symbols in your home? Probably somewhere, I just don't pay attention. What religion do you identify with, if any? None. Do you enjoy flavored coffee? If so, which flavor is your favorite? I don't like coffee at all. Do you know someone who has asthma? Yeah, my mom. What is the most controversial thing you’ve done? Come out as bi, I guess. Other than interviews, do you ever “dress to impress?" No. Are you currently listening to music? Yeah: "The Man Who Made a Monster" by Dance With the Dead. When was the last time you got really nervous? I should NOT be blanking on this, but I sure am. I don't think I've been REALLY nervous in a while, but certainly nervous like... always. What was the first thing you ate today? I had a bagel. Have you ever had one of those elementary-school boy/girlfriends? No; I didn't have my first boyfriend 'til the 7th grade. Name something random in your car: I don't have my own car. What do you want to tell someone who has died (and who is it, if anything)? I wish I could tell Steve Irwin thank you and that he truly did change the world. I think a lot about just how unspeakably proud he would be of his children and how madly in love he'd be with Bindi's newborn. That family is the definition of wholesome, and I desperately wish Steve was still around. Have you ever stolen from a friend or family member? Wow, no. Would/did you cheat on someone for revenge? Or if they wouldn’t find out? No, that's incredibly childish. If you got pregnant right now, would you keep the baby? The only way I could get pregnant right now was if I was, God fucking forbid, raped. I don't think I'd be able to keep it; it would scar me for life, but at the same time, even though I'm pro-choice, I don't know if I could go through with an abortion without feeling like shit and forever thinking "well you could've just given it up for adoption." I don't like thinking about this topic. Any history with eating disorders (or tendencies)? No, thankfully. I've had bulimic thoughts before, but I've never acted on them. Does your family have a secret? No. If single, would you knowingly be who someone cheats on someone else with? Nooope. Guilt would eat me alive. Have you ever contemplated physically hurting yourself or another? I have hurt myself, but never other people. Choose one living person you’d like to meet. I won't have lived a full life w/o meeting Mark at least once laksdj;flakwjer. Who is someone you know would take a bullet for you? My mom would without a millisecond's hesitation. I'm sure Dad would, too. The next time you are on an airplane, where will you be traveling to? Most likely Illinois to visit Sara again. Where is your dad from? Ohio. Aside from your own, whose house did you last set foot into? My older sister's. What is something that makes you very squeamish? Vomit is #1. Do you even use an alarm clock, or do you just use your phone? I use my phone. Have you ever moved to a different state? No. Lived in NC my whole life. Can you do long division in your head? I can't do math in my head period. Do you have a wide imagination? Oh yes. Would you mind living on a farm? I wouldn't want to. Farms take way too much maintenance. Do you enjoy watching horror films? Oh yeah. Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? No, but I'd love to. Who are you in love with? Nobody. When is the last time you took a picture? I took a picture of Venus like a week ago when I had her out of her terrarium and she was just coiled between my arm and the laptop, totally chillin' out. I was IN a picture just a couple days ago, because my eldest sister came over to visit with her husband. It was great. Do you wash your own car or make the car wash do it? I don't have a car. Are you a fan of parties? Not big ones, no. I'd enjoy chilling out with a few people I'm friends with/know, just chatting and hanging out. Next trip you’re going to take? I don't know. My sister Misty's wedding is coming up soon, but we doubt we'll be able to go because of 1.) Mom's car would never make the drive, and 2.) Covid, and Mom's immunocompromised. It sucks, but she's being understanding about it. Were you in honor roll in school? Yeah. If you could know one thing about the future, what would it be? If I'll ever be happy with my life. What’s your favorite lunch meat? Ham. Do you drink your soda from a straw? I don't like to, no, because I drink faster via a straw, and I like to drag my soda out throughout the day so I don't go through more than I should. Do you like hot sauce? Yesssssss. Do you like Ellen Degeneres? Sure, she seems like a great person. Who do you think is the cutest celebrity? UMMMMMM like have you ever seen Mark Fischbach laugh?????? Did you ever play softball? For quite a long time as a kid, yeah. Would you like to live to be 110 years old? No, that sounds like torture. I don't want to live to where I'm essentially a walking (if even) corpse. No energy, no strength... no thanks. Do you like getting your picture taken? NO. Ever seen a tornado? Thank fuck no. When you were little, did you do gymnastics? No. Do you know anyone who is pregnant? I know a number of people who are. Two are due very soon. Do you like being the X or the O when you play tic-tac-toe? I like being the X. Have you ever tried crowd surfing? No. Do you like the movie Bambi? If so, who is your favorite on there? I've actually somehow never seen it, though I would like to. Do you like onion rings? No. Are you more afraid of going to the doctor or dentist? I'm not really afraid of either, but I dislike going to the doctor more. Have you ever been to an animal shelter? Yeah. Have you ever bought yourself or someone else lingerie? No. Have you ever had a serious issue involving your eyes? Nothing more than needing glasses. When you were a teenager, did your parents set rules about dating? Not really, besides the obvious age gap stuff. I was allowed to follow my heart with who I was interested in, really. Have you ever lived with a person who you tried to avoid at all costs? There were times like this with Dad when my parents were still together and he was in a bad mood, especially if he was drinking. Have you ever committed a crime that directly harmed another person? No. What is your worst childhood memory? There was this very weird three day period where I could've sworn up and down I was constantly on the verge of puking. On the third night, Mom finally took me to the hospital, but they couldn't find anything wrong. Oddly enough, I felt better the next morning... The whole situation was fucking awful for someone who was and still is terrified of vomiting. Do you remember where you first drove to after getting your license? I don't have my license. What did you get into trouble for the most when you were a kid? Being on the computer too much. What is your favourite game show to watch? Family Feud with Steve Harvey. When’s the last time had to cover a coworker’s shift? Never. Is there a word you have an emotional connection to? "Petrichor." How about a sound? Any emotional connection to a sound? LOTS of songs. Where is your favourite place to get fries? Bojangle's. Their seasoning is *chef's kiss* Do you always have a stock of alcohol in your house? No. Have you ever fainted? Yes. Do you get out of bed on the left side or right side? Left. Do you fall asleep with your mouth open or closed? It embarrasses me for some reason, but usually open, because I have a hard time breathing through my nose when I lie down for some reason? I don't take allergy medicine though when I'm really supposed to, so that might explain it... Is there a book you keep telling yourself you’ll read but still haven’t? I have Margaret Atwood's The Testaments that I want to read, but Wings of Fire has taken precedent, so I really don't know if I'll get to it. It would also be nice to catch up with Erin Hunter's Warriors, but that I know I won't do. Did your family ever own a vacation home? No. Have you ever opened a wine bottle? Nope. Have you been inside of a police station? No. What would you never change about yourself? I mean, there's a number of things. I would never allow myself to lose my empathy and compassion for others, for one. I'll never grow a head too big for my body. Do you pretty much need a car to get around where you live? Yeah. Public transport isn't a big thing here, especially outside the cities, and living in the South, places are pretty spread out/not within reasonable walking distance. Have you been to Australia? No, and I'm honestly too scared to go, even though I think it would be extremely cool. All the venomous animals just frighten me, and I find huntsman spiders to be TERRIFYING, regardless of how harmless they are. Do you mind drinking room-temperature water? UGH, I absolutely do mind. I HAVE to drink cold water. If it's even slightly on the warm side, it makes me want to gag.

[queenquarantine-blog]

Day 7.

Location: Houston, Tx

Current health status: coming off of a flu and rolling over onto severe seasonal allergies-pretty much a snotty mess

Confirmed cases in my area: 62 positive as of yesterday.

3 in Brazos

4 in Brazoria

12 in Fort Bend

4 in Galveston

1 in Grimes

18 in Harris

10 in Houston

2 cases 1 death in Matagorda

7 in Montgomery

My younger sisters have been home from school for 7 days now. They were to start a week long vacation from school for spring break but it has been extended until April 10 to lessen the chances of covid-19 spreading. All schools are closed and colleges are trying to move work online.

They are absolutely going stir crazy and driving everyone up the walls. It's hard being preteens in general and now they are expected to deal with being constantly stuck inside for the unforeseeable future.

I was really excited hear that free-of-charge testing will take place at United Memorial Medical Center, located at 510 West Tidwell, on the following days and times:

Thursday, March 19: 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Friday, March 20: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Monday, March 23 - Friday, March 27: 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM

https://abc13.com/6026270/?ex_cid=SND_KTRK_FB&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd

You'd think theyd have a continuous testing area set up but I'm not sure why they are only offering it for these few days.

Current mental status: worried and stressed. My mother is flitting about happily because she hasn't had a day off in a long time so shes thrift store shopping and whatnot. I personally feel like she isnt taking the whole situation seriously. Considering she lives with 3 people out of an 8 person household who are severely immunocompromised, I think that's kinda rude.

My grandma on my stepdad side is staying with us and shes an older lady with multiple health issues. My baby sister has an enlarged ectopic kidney which is just fancy talk for her only having one kidney that never ascended in fetal development. Then there is me. Your trusty Queen Quarantine.

I suffer from agoraphobia which was brought on by my lymphedema and pcos. Lymphedema is swelling in an arm or leg caused by a lymphatic system blockage. A few years ago I took a tumble in the shower and hit my right hip area near my groin on the built in soap dispenser. That severely damaged some lymph nodes in that area and caused me to develop major swelling that's accompanied by discomfort and it is really unsightly. If I get any type of bite or cut.on my lower legs I can get cellulitis and it will turn septic and I can die.

So yeah,I dont think I have left my room in about 2 months now. Before that it was a good 6 months. I live with family and my loving husband and our 2 small dogs.

He got called into his jobs (maintenance man) office yesterday and they sat him down to talk about the steps they are taking to help keep residents and workers safe.

They are asking residents to not make in person visits to the leasing office and to only call in requests. All work orders inside occupied units will be postponed until april. If they actually have to go into the apartments due to an emergency, they are requesting residents to physically move to another room until the work is complete and that they will disinfect the area before they leave.

He is already wearing a N100 respirator I bought for him and latex gloves. The public bus is his normal transportation but because everyone is working from home now he will always have a ride to and from. He changes his shoes before coming inside and goes straight into the shower afterwich he puts his work clothes aside from everything and then hand sanitizes.

Restaurants closed all their in dining rooms and are strictly drive through or delivery only. The grocery store are a mad house. My mom and sisters showed up to Sam's club at 8 and the lines were insane!

They've already began to limit how much items can be taken and their store hours to allow for time to properly restock because within an hour or so of opening the shelves are BARE BONES.

There has been talk of a corona relief check where adults get $1000 each and $500 per child. The first wave of checks may be issued starting april 6th with the second in mid may. I dont know how truthful that is.

Tempers have been running high here and it is only the beginning...

[livinginlandmarketing]

The delta variant of the coronavirus is making its way through Southern California, and in the process fueling a rise in cases and hospitalizations — and new questions from residents, too.

Throughout the region, public health departments are reporting increased case rates, and are facing renewed public health mandates, such as masking up in public. It’s prompted talk of vaccine requirements at local businesses, and already set them for many public workers, including employees of Los Angeles County.

And, as the months wear on, and immunity wears off, the question emerges for the community’s vaccinated: How much and when — and when can I get my booster shot?  Here’s a brief Q&A on what experts have told us about boosters:

Q: It’s been months since I got fully vaccinated. Should I get the booster — and when?

A: Not yet, experts say. But you’ll likely need one eventually, because evidence show that immunity wanes with time.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was found to be 91.3% effective against COVID-19, measured seven days to six months after the second dose. It’s at that point, experts believe immunity begins to wane.

Pfizer’s latest data in July shows that a third dose is also successful against the delta variant. Last month, Pfizer released data from its long-running 44,000-person study showing that while protection against any symptomatic infection declined slightly six months after immunization, protection against severe COVID-19 remained at nearly 97%.

Moderna, too, has found that a booster dose provided a robust antibody response against the disease. It’s vaccine had already been shown to provide at least 93% immunity for up to six months.

Still, companies and federal agencies are studying the extent to which a full dose will protect you. And that’s why local public health departments are waiting on those agencies to sign off on boosters.

“We’re going to defer to the Food and Drug Administration and their scientific panels and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and their scientific panels to make decisions on how to most appropriately use the three vaccines that are available,” said Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, adding that her department intends to align with such guidance when it comes.

The reason, Ferrer said, is that both federal agencies have the early, front-edge benefit of teams that look at data from clinical trials and from manufacturing companies, plus real-world data from all local health departments in the country to evaluate the efficacy of the vaccines and the need for boosters.

The FDA expects to have a strategy on COVID-19 vaccine boosters by early September, according to reports. It would lay out when — and which vaccinated individuals should get the follow-up shots, based on vaccine efficacy laboratory data, clinical trial data and cohort data — which can include data from specific pharmaceutical companies.

“This is being closely looked at and the guidance may change over time as new variants arise for which the vaccines may not be as effective — or if we notice a significant waning of immunity over time,” said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, who studies the eradication of communicable diseases at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health.

Q: But my immune system is compromised. Can I get a booster now?

A: That’s why the Biden administration wants a booster strategy on the fast track. The urgency appears to be because some populations — namely people older than 65 and people who are immunocompromised, along with those who got jabbed way back in December or January — would need a booster ASAP.

“I also know many of you are wondering if you’ll need a booster shot to add another layer of protection,” Biden said on July 29. “As of now, my medical advisors say the answer is no.  No American needs a booster now.  But if the science tells us there’s a need for boosters, then that’s something we’ll do.  And we have purchased the supply — all the supply we need to be ready if that was called for.”

Look for the CDC and FDA  to issue guidance in the coming weeks on when and who should be getting a booster shot, based on evaluation of the clinical data. “Until they complete that full assessment, we need to just wait,” Ferrer said.

That said, people who are immune-compromised “should be looked at on an individual basis together with their physician,” Kim-Farley, said.

Q: What about those people in San Francisco who are getting another shot? 

A: According to media reports, people vaccinated with the one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine will be able to receive a supplemental mRNA vaccine dose in San Francisco, the city’s health department said this week.

San Francisco Department of Public Health officials said they were making an “accommodation” for those who have consulted with a physician. They stressed that it was not a recommendation or policy change.

And even then, the city’s health department aligns with the CDC, which does not — at the moment — recommend a booster shot for anyone, including J&J vaccine recipients.

Q: But other countries are already doing boosters, aren’t they?

A: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced July 29 that the country would offer a coronavirus booster to people older than 60 who have already been vaccinated. It made the nation the first country to offer a third dose of a Western vaccine to its citizens on a wide scale.

But many researchers have pushed back on that strategy, warning that it will further slow a global recovery because widespread boosters ahead of the rest of the world would take precious doses from parts of the world that have little immunity.

The danger, they warn, is that variants can emerge in those unvaccinated parts of the world, ultimately coming back to hit other countries — a kind of vicious cycle that some experts fear keeps the virus alive.

Antonia Huerta gets a COVID-19 vaccination from EMT Brandon Jaramillo at a Medi-Vaxx Program of the San Fernando Valley pop up clinic at the Montague Charter Academy in Arleta, Monday, August 2, 2021. The Fernandeno Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, as part of its participation in the Medi-Vaxx Program of the San Fernando Valley, held the clinic that administered first doses of the vaccine. Monday, August, 2, 2021. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

And that taps into how equity connects with public health imperatives. Leaders from coast to coast have pointed to societal inequities highlighted by this virus, from lack of testing in marginalized communities to cramped housing that makes families more vulnerable to catching COVID-19.

“It would be better for all of us if those in developing countries could get access to vaccines to stop the emergence of variants, such a delta having arisen in India, as compared to persons in more developed countries receiving booster doses at this stage,” said Kim-Farley of UCLA.

Ferrer, whose health department operates in the most populous county in the United States, appeared sympathetic to the booster effort being more coordinated, with the world outside of L.A. County in mind.

“We’ve seen first hand how what happens in different countries affects what happens here in the United States,” she said, “so there is a laudable goal we are working toward across the entire world, and that helps us all prevent particularly the emergency of dangerous variants.”

Q: I’ve already had the disease. So I’m immune now, right? 

A: Not exactly. Even if you’ve been infected, experts urge that you get your vaccination. Here’s why:

It’s not news that for months, public health experts have been urging even people who have had the virus to get vaccinated. But according to a new Gallup survey, one of the main reasons Americans cite for not planning to get vaccinated is they think they’re protected after already having the virus — that was nearly 20% of Americans.

And yes … they may sort of be right, at least for the moment.

Natural immunity is said to be a powerful force in the fight against many diseases, from measles to chickenpox to, yes, COVID-19. In fact, epidemiologists believe there’s more collective immunity built in than we officially know, because of cases that went unreported.

Going back to the Israeli situation, there have been reports there that coronavirus patients who recovered from the virus were less likely to become infected during the latest wave of the pandemic than people who were vaccinated against COVID. But no one definitely knows how long such natural immunity might last, or if it’s as strong as the vaccines.

There’s also the emergence of the delta variant, known to be much more contagious than it’s progenitor, sparking an even more furious campaign to get people vaccinated.

Related links

Amid growing COVID concerns, L.A. County sees possible ‘leveling off’ of virus’ growth

Pasadena Unified to open without mandatory vaccinations for staff and students

LA Community College District mandates vaccinations, masks

COVID-19 ‘whiplash’ is messing with Southern California’s psyche

A new study shows survivors who ignored that advice were more than twice as likely to get reinfected. The study looked at hundreds of Kentucky residents previously infected through June 2021, finding that those who were unvaccinated had 2.34 times the chances of being reinfected compared with people who are fully vaccinated.

Friday’s report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adds to growing laboratory evidence that people who had one bout of COVID-19 get a dramatic boost in virus-fighting immune cells — and a bonus of broader protection against new mutants — when they’re vaccinated.

“If you have had COVID-19 before, please still get vaccinated,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky in a statement Friday. “Getting the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and others around you, especially as the more contagious delta variant spreads around the country.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

-on August 06, 2021 at 10:00PM by Ryan Carter

[wolfygraveyard]

Early Grey Tea, Italian Soda, and..Caramel Macchiato.

Gonna answer these slightly out of order since the first one alone is going to turn this into a long post.

Italian Soda: Describe your dream date

-Slams fists on table- HALLOWEEN DATE. HALLOWEEN DATE. HALLOWEEN DATE.

djdkekdj ok but in all seriousness, I'm perfectly content with something super casual. Could just be as simple as chillin' on the bed watching Netflix or smth. Or straight up napping together hfjgkgk

If we were to be going out, then probably visiting the game stores at the mall or smth idk.

Caramel Macchiato: You’re travelling the entire world but you can only take one person with you. Who do you take?

My mom. Been living with her for almost 25 years, we’re basically BFF’s on top of being business partners at farmers markets & craft shows, she’s a lot of fun to go on adventurous trips with, and overall deserves all the best things in life.

Early Grey Tea: The inevitable Zombie Apocalypse is upon us! What’s your plan of action?

So you see... I'm pretty damn sure I have a decent chance of surviving a zombie apocalypse. Gonna go ahead and put this under read more because my answer is loooong.

TL;DR for those who are curious but don’t wanna read it all: in between my location, the tools we have, the resources we have, and all of our combined skills, my plan of action would be to hunker down and tough it out with the people I live with.

I live way out in the middle of nowhere where there's very few people, and we've got a well established "you scratch my back I scratch yours" type of mentality in this small rural community.

We have a huge metal garage, a couple of campers, a barn, several vehicles, and another property a bit further down the road. We absolutely have multiple places where we can stash food. We're accustomed to stocking up big time so we don't have to go into town very often (ESPECIALLY since this pandemic started. Frank is immunocompromised, so we want to go to town as infrequently as possible). We have a well on both the main property and the other property I mentioned; the other property's well NEVER runs out, even during droughts, so we won't have to worry about water. Also I have enough melee weapons w/ reach for everyone in this house (an axe, a sword, and a flail). Also we have a lot of guns fjdjdjdj

Frank is the resident handyman in this household who knows everyone and their mother. As long as he doesn't have to deal with modern computerized shit, he can fix whatever goddamn vehicle or appliance you throw at him. He's built this house, the garage, the barn, has dug up wells, etc etc. He owns pretty much all the tools he needs to do all this stuff, and could totally barter his skills in exchange for any materials or food we might need. Also most of the guns belong to him so you can bet your ass he's going hunting to bring back food for us.

My mom? She is a super woman. She's been watching a lot of shows on prepping and survivalism for years now and probably has a pretty good grasp on what we would need in a situation like this. You can bet your ass that she's the most likely to know exactly which wild plants are edible and which are not, and she knows how to build a sustainable garden where you literally just plant and walk away. No watering necessary, the plants take care of themselves. She's super knowledgeable on natural remedies, is hella crafty and is always experimenting with different projects, and has the sleep schedule of being some weird mix of day and night watch to make up for whenever Frank and I are asleep. Can I just say... Resident medic who so happens to also be able to make clothes and weave baskets and provide us with plant based foods?

As for me? Well... I'm a fast learner who is often going back and forth with who I'm helping out. I enjoy helping Frank with his building projects, and I enjoy gardening and picking wild leaves & flowers with mom. I'll lend a helping hand wherever the fuck I'm needed because I can. I'm a pretty good shot with a gun, too, and have exceptional balance; I could totally see myself being the night watch perched up on the roof looking out for intruders. Tbh I'd probably be the jack of all trades here or smth.

Also, Frank and I would absolutely be the main zombie killers of the group. I think the two of us would be capable of doing it even if we didn’t want to simply out of necessity. Mom probably wouldn’t be able to handle it at all if the zombie was somebody she knows jdgljgs

[stephenmccull]

Life Beyond COVID Seclusion: Seniors See Challenges And Change Ahead

Months into the coronavirus pandemic, older adults are having a hard time envisioning their “new normal.”

Many remain fearful of catching the virus and plan to follow strict precautions — social distancing, wearing masks and gloves, limiting excursions to public places — for the indefinite future.

Mortality is no longer an abstraction for those who have seen friends and relatives die of COVID-19. Death has an immediate presence as never before.

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Subscribe to KHN’s free Morning Briefing.

Sign Up

Please confirm your email address below:

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Many people are grieving the loss of their old lives and would love nothing better than to pick up where they left off. Others are convinced their lives will never be the same.

“We’re at the cusp of a new world,” said Harry Hutson, 72, an organizational consultant and executive coach who lives in Baltimore.

He’s among nearly a dozen older adults who discussed the “new normal” in lengthy conversations. All acknowledged their vulnerability as states across the country lift stay-at-home orders. (Adults 65 and older are more likely to become critically ill if infected with the coronavirus.) Here’s some of what they said:

(Courtesy of Willetha and Harold Barnette)

Willetha, 67, and Harold, 68, Barnette, of Durham, North Carolina. The Barnettes are an unusual couple: They divorced in 1995 but began living together again in 2014 when both Willetha and her elderly mother became ill and Harold returned to help.

For Willetha, who has Crohn’s disease and is immunocompromised, the “new normal” is characterized by vigilance — masks, gloves, disinfectants, social distancing, working remotely (she’s a development officer at a school).

“I’m not going to be comfortable freely moving around this world until they’re able to do reliable antibody testing and there is a vaccine,” she said. “Right now, I think we all have to learn to live smaller.”

Harold believes that self-reliance and local support networks are more important than ever. “To me, the pandemic reveals troubling things about the state of institutions in our society. The elder care system is rotten and the health care system full of neglect,” he said.

“I’m preparing myself for a different social order. I’m thinking that will be built on relationships with family and people near to us and we’ll all be helping each other out more.”

(Courtesy of Patricia Griffin)

Patricia Griffin, 80, of Oxford, Pennsylvania. Griffin is a retired microbiologist who lives alone in a continuing care community and loves to travel. In March, as the coronavirus pandemic gathered steam, she was due to take a trip to the Amazon, which was canceled.

“I envision conditions for seniors being restrictive until we have a vaccine,” Griffin said. “That makes me angry because I don’t have that many years left. And I would like to do the things I want to do. At the moment, I’m leaning toward being cautious but not being completely a prisoner.”

A big frustration for Griffin is the lack of clear guidance for healthy older adults like her who do not have underlying medical conditions. “All we see are statistics that lump all of us together, the healthy with those that have multiple issues,” she said. I’m wondering what my odds of getting really sick from this virus are.”

(Courtesy of Wilma Jenkins)

Wilma Jenkins, 82, of South Fulton, Georgia. Jenkins, who has coped with depression most of her life and describes herself as an introvert, lives alone in a small house just outside Atlanta.

“I confess I’m going to be afraid for a while,” she said.

During the pandemic, her three adult children and grandchildren have created a new tradition: Zoom meetings every Sunday afternoon. Previously, the entire family got together once a year, at Thanksgiving. “It helps me a lot, and I think it will last because we have so much fun,” Jenkins said.

Before her life ground to a halt, Jenkins regularly gave presentations at senior centers across Atlanta on what it’s like to grow old. “My work is helping little old people like me,” she said, “and when I can get out again, I’ll be reminding them that we have reached a point when we can wear the crown of age and we should be doing that proudly.”

(Courtesy of Ed and Marian Hollingsworth)

Marian and Ed Hollingsworth, 66 and 72, of La Mesa, California. Ed has a rare gastrointestinal cancer and is enrolled in a clinical trial of a new drug.

“My vision of the future is somewhat limited, given my age and my prognosis,” he said. “There’s a constant fear and uncertainty. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. We’ll be in the house a lot, cooking a lot, watching a lot of Netflix.”

“I’m looking at least a year or two of taking strong precautions,” said Marian, a patient safety advocate.

“I always was the person who was active and doing for others: Now I’m the one at home having to ask for help, and it feels so foreign,” she said. Her most immediate heartache: “We don’t know when we’ll see our [four] kids again.”

(Courtesy of Richard Chady)

Richard Chady, 75, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Chady, a former journalist and public relations professional, lives in a retirement community and participates in the North Carolina Coalition on Aging.

“This pandemic has given me a greater appreciation of how precious family and friends are,” he said. “I think it will cause older people to examine their lives and their purpose a little more carefully.”

Chady is optimistic about the future. “I’ve been involved in progressive causes for a long time and I think we have a great opportunity now. With all that’s happened, there’s more acceptance of the idea that we need to do more to improve people’s lives.”

(Courtesy of Edward Mosley)

Edward Mosley, 62, of Atlanta. Mosley lives alone in Big Bethel Village, an affordable senior housing community. Disabled by serious heart disease, he relies on Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid. In the past year, he has had multiple hospitalizations.

“The pandemic, it affected me because they canceled my doctors’ appointments and I was in a bad way,” said Mosley, who had a pacemaker implanted in his chest before COVID-19 emerged. “But I’m doing better now. I can walk with a cane, though not very far.”

The hardest thing for Mosley is not being able to mingle with other people “because you don’t know where they’ve been or who they’ve been with. You feel like you’re in solitary confinement.”

(Courtesy of Vicki Ellner)

Vicki Ellner, 68, of Glenwood Landing, New York. Ellner ran Senior Umbrella Network of Brooklyn for 20 years. Today she works as a consultant for an elder care attorney on Long Island.

Before the coronavirus upended life in and around New York City, Ellner and the attorney were planning to launch an initiative aimed at older women. Now, they’ve broadened it to include older men and address issues raised during the pandemic. The theme: “You’re not done yet.”

Ellner explains it this way: “Maybe you were on a path and had a vision of your life in mind. Then all of a sudden you have these challenges. Maybe you lost your job, or maybe things have happened in your family. What we want to help people understand is you’re not done yet. You still have the ability to redirect your life.”

In her personal life, Ellner, who lives with a “significant other,” is determined to keep fear at bay. “We tell ourselves we’re doing everything we can to stay vital and get through this. We try to turn that into a positive.”

(Courtesy of Harry Hutson)

Harry Hutson, 72, of Baltimore. Hutson, an organizational consultant and executive coach, is married and has five grown children. He believes “an enormous change in lifestyle” is occurring because of the pandemic.

“We’re all more careful, but we’re also more connected,” he said. “Older friends are coming out of the woodwork. Everyone is Zooming and making calls. People are more open and vulnerable and willing to share than before. We’re all trying to make meaning of this new world.”

“We’re all having a traumatic experience — an experience of collective trauma,” Hutson said. As the future unfolds, “the main thing is self-care and compassion. That’s the way forward for all of us.”

(Courtesy of Annis Pratt)

Annis Pratt, 83, of Birmingham, Michigan. A retired English professor, novelist and environmental activist, Pratt lives alone in a home in suburban Detroit.

“What I’m looking forward to is getting back to interacting with real people. Much of my human contact now is on Zoom, which I consider about 75% of a personal encounter,” she said. “But every day, I make myself go out and talk to someone — like taking a vitamin pill.”

Pratt now has a “do not put me on a ventilator” order in her front hallway, along with a “do not resuscitate” order. “I know it’s very likely that if I get to the point where I have to go to the hospital, I’ll probably die,” she said. “Of course, I’m going to die anyway: I’m 83. But somehow, this pandemic has brought it all home.”

Going forward, Pratt sees two possibilities. “Our moral imaginations will have grown because of what we’ve all gone through and we will do better. Or nothing will have changed.”

Most of all, she said, “I would like to get my wonderful, wonderful life back.”

Life Beyond COVID Seclusion: Seniors See Challenges And Change Ahead published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

[dinafbrownil]

Life Beyond COVID Seclusion: Seniors See Challenges And Change Ahead

Months into the coronavirus pandemic, older adults are having a hard time envisioning their “new normal.”

Many remain fearful of catching the virus and plan to follow strict precautions — social distancing, wearing masks and gloves, limiting excursions to public places — for the indefinite future.

Mortality is no longer an abstraction for those who have seen friends and relatives die of COVID-19. Death has an immediate presence as never before.

Email Sign-Up

Subscribe to KHN’s free Morning Briefing.

Sign Up

Please confirm your email address below:

Sign Up

Many people are grieving the loss of their old lives and would love nothing better than to pick up where they left off. Others are convinced their lives will never be the same.

“We’re at the cusp of a new world,” said Harry Hutson, 72, an organizational consultant and executive coach who lives in Baltimore.

He’s among nearly a dozen older adults who discussed the “new normal” in lengthy conversations. All acknowledged their vulnerability as states across the country lift stay-at-home orders. (Adults 65 and older are more likely to become critically ill if infected with the coronavirus.) Here’s some of what they said:

(Courtesy of Willetha and Harold Barnette)

Willetha, 67, and Harold, 68, Barnette, of Durham, North Carolina. The Barnettes are an unusual couple: They divorced in 1995 but began living together again in 2014 when both Willetha and her elderly mother became ill and Harold returned to help.

For Willetha, who has Crohn’s disease and is immunocompromised, the “new normal” is characterized by vigilance — masks, gloves, disinfectants, social distancing, working remotely (she’s a development officer at a school).

“I’m not going to be comfortable freely moving around this world until they’re able to do reliable antibody testing and there is a vaccine,” she said. “Right now, I think we all have to learn to live smaller.”

Harold believes that self-reliance and local support networks are more important than ever. “To me, the pandemic reveals troubling things about the state of institutions in our society. The elder care system is rotten and the health care system full of neglect,” he said.

“I’m preparing myself for a different social order. I’m thinking that will be built on relationships with family and people near to us and we’ll all be helping each other out more.”

(Courtesy of Patricia Griffin)

Patricia Griffin, 80, of Oxford, Pennsylvania. Griffin is a retired microbiologist who lives alone in a continuing care community and loves to travel. In March, as the coronavirus pandemic gathered steam, she was due to take a trip to the Amazon, which was canceled.

“I envision conditions for seniors being restrictive until we have a vaccine,” Griffin said. “That makes me angry because I don’t have that many years left. And I would like to do the things I want to do. At the moment, I’m leaning toward being cautious but not being completely a prisoner.”

A big frustration for Griffin is the lack of clear guidance for healthy older adults like her who do not have underlying medical conditions. “All we see are statistics that lump all of us together, the healthy with those that have multiple issues,” she said. I’m wondering what my odds of getting really sick from this virus are.”

(Courtesy of Wilma Jenkins)

Wilma Jenkins, 82, of South Fulton, Georgia. Jenkins, who has coped with depression most of her life and describes herself as an introvert, lives alone in a small house just outside Atlanta.

“I confess I’m going to be afraid for a while,” she said.

During the pandemic, her three adult children and grandchildren have created a new tradition: Zoom meetings every Sunday afternoon. Previously, the entire family got together once a year, at Thanksgiving. “It helps me a lot, and I think it will last because we have so much fun,” Jenkins said.

Before her life ground to a halt, Jenkins regularly gave presentations at senior centers across Atlanta on what it’s like to grow old. “My work is helping little old people like me,” she said, “and when I can get out again, I’ll be reminding them that we have reached a point when we can wear the crown of age and we should be doing that proudly.”

(Courtesy of Ed and Marian Hollingsworth)

Marian and Ed Hollingsworth, 66 and 72, of La Mesa, California. Ed has a rare gastrointestinal cancer and is enrolled in a clinical trial of a new drug.

“My vision of the future is somewhat limited, given my age and my prognosis,” he said. “There’s a constant fear and uncertainty. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. We’ll be in the house a lot, cooking a lot, watching a lot of Netflix.”

“I’m looking at least a year or two of taking strong precautions,” said Marian, a patient safety advocate.

“I always was the person who was active and doing for others: Now I’m the one at home having to ask for help, and it feels so foreign,” she said. Her most immediate heartache: “We don’t know when we’ll see our [four] kids again.”

(Courtesy of Richard Chady)

Richard Chady, 75, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Chady, a former journalist and public relations professional, lives in a retirement community and participates in the North Carolina Coalition on Aging.

“This pandemic has given me a greater appreciation of how precious family and friends are,” he said. “I think it will cause older people to examine their lives and their purpose a little more carefully.”

Chady is optimistic about the future. “I’ve been involved in progressive causes for a long time and I think we have a great opportunity now. With all that’s happened, there’s more acceptance of the idea that we need to do more to improve people’s lives.”

(Courtesy of Edward Mosley)

Edward Mosley, 62, of Atlanta. Mosley lives alone in Big Bethel Village, an affordable senior housing community. Disabled by serious heart disease, he relies on Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid. In the past year, he has had multiple hospitalizations.

“The pandemic, it affected me because they canceled my doctors’ appointments and I was in a bad way,” said Mosley, who had a pacemaker implanted in his chest before COVID-19 emerged. “But I’m doing better now. I can walk with a cane, though not very far.”

The hardest thing for Mosley is not being able to mingle with other people “because you don’t know where they’ve been or who they’ve been with. You feel like you’re in solitary confinement.”

(Courtesy of Vicki Ellner)

Vicki Ellner, 68, of Glenwood Landing, New York. Ellner ran Senior Umbrella Network of Brooklyn for 20 years. Today she works as a consultant for an elder care attorney on Long Island.

Before the coronavirus upended life in and around New York City, Ellner and the attorney were planning to launch an initiative aimed at older women. Now, they’ve broadened it to include older men and address issues raised during the pandemic. The theme: “You’re not done yet.”

Ellner explains it this way: “Maybe you were on a path and had a vision of your life in mind. Then all of a sudden you have these challenges. Maybe you lost your job, or maybe things have happened in your family. What we want to help people understand is you’re not done yet. You still have the ability to redirect your life.”

In her personal life, Ellner, who lives with a “significant other,” is determined to keep fear at bay. “We tell ourselves we’re doing everything we can to stay vital and get through this. We try to turn that into a positive.”

(Courtesy of Harry Hutson)

Harry Hutson, 72, of Baltimore. Hutson, an organizational consultant and executive coach, is married and has five grown children. He believes “an enormous change in lifestyle” is occurring because of the pandemic.

“We’re all more careful, but we’re also more connected,” he said. “Older friends are coming out of the woodwork. Everyone is Zooming and making calls. People are more open and vulnerable and willing to share than before. We’re all trying to make meaning of this new world.”

“We’re all having a traumatic experience — an experience of collective trauma,” Hutson said. As the future unfolds, “the main thing is self-care and compassion. That’s the way forward for all of us.”

(Courtesy of Annis Pratt)

Annis Pratt, 83, of Birmingham, Michigan. A retired English professor, novelist and environmental activist, Pratt lives alone in a home in suburban Detroit.

“What I’m looking forward to is getting back to interacting with real people. Much of my human contact now is on Zoom, which I consider about 75% of a personal encounter,” she said. “But every day, I make myself go out and talk to someone — like taking a vitamin pill.”

Pratt now has a “do not put me on a ventilator” order in her front hallway, along with a “do not resuscitate” order. “I know it’s very likely that if I get to the point where I have to go to the hospital, I’ll probably die,” she said. “Of course, I’m going to die anyway: I’m 83. But somehow, this pandemic has brought it all home.”

Going forward, Pratt sees two possibilities. “Our moral imaginations will have grown because of what we’ve all gone through and we will do better. Or nothing will have changed.”

Most of all, she said, “I would like to get my wonderful, wonderful life back.”

from Updates By Dina https://khn.org/news/life-beyond-covid-seclusion-seniors-see-challenges-and-change-ahead/

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Life Beyond COVID Seclusion: Seniors See Challenges And Change Ahead

Months into the coronavirus pandemic, older adults are having a hard time envisioning their “new normal.”

Many remain fearful of catching the virus and plan to follow strict precautions — social distancing, wearing masks and gloves, limiting excursions to public places — for the indefinite future.

Mortality is no longer an abstraction for those who have seen friends and relatives die of COVID-19. Death has an immediate presence as never before.

Email Sign-Up

Subscribe to KHN’s free Morning Briefing.

Sign Up

Please confirm your email address below:

Sign Up

Many people are grieving the loss of their old lives and would love nothing better than to pick up where they left off. Others are convinced their lives will never be the same.

“We’re at the cusp of a new world,” said Harry Hutson, 72, an organizational consultant and executive coach who lives in Baltimore.

He’s among nearly a dozen older adults who discussed the “new normal” in lengthy conversations. All acknowledged their vulnerability as states across the country lift stay-at-home orders. (Adults 65 and older are more likely to become critically ill if infected with the coronavirus.) Here’s some of what they said:

(Courtesy of Willetha and Harold Barnette)

Willetha, 67, and Harold, 68, Barnette, of Durham, North Carolina. The Barnettes are an unusual couple: They divorced in 1995 but began living together again in 2014 when both Willetha and her elderly mother became ill and Harold returned to help.

For Willetha, who has Crohn’s disease and is immunocompromised, the “new normal” is characterized by vigilance — masks, gloves, disinfectants, social distancing, working remotely (she’s a development officer at a school).

“I’m not going to be comfortable freely moving around this world until they’re able to do reliable antibody testing and there is a vaccine,” she said. “Right now, I think we all have to learn to live smaller.”

Harold believes that self-reliance and local support networks are more important than ever. “To me, the pandemic reveals troubling things about the state of institutions in our society. The elder care system is rotten and the health care system full of neglect,” he said.

“I’m preparing myself for a different social order. I’m thinking that will be built on relationships with family and people near to us and we’ll all be helping each other out more.”

(Courtesy of Patricia Griffin)

Patricia Griffin, 80, of Oxford, Pennsylvania. Griffin is a retired microbiologist who lives alone in a continuing care community and loves to travel. In March, as the coronavirus pandemic gathered steam, she was due to take a trip to the Amazon, which was canceled.

“I envision conditions for seniors being restrictive until we have a vaccine,” Griffin said. “That makes me angry because I don’t have that many years left. And I would like to do the things I want to do. At the moment, I’m leaning toward being cautious but not being completely a prisoner.”

A big frustration for Griffin is the lack of clear guidance for healthy older adults like her who do not have underlying medical conditions. “All we see are statistics that lump all of us together, the healthy with those that have multiple issues,” she said. I’m wondering what my odds of getting really sick from this virus are.”

(Courtesy of Wilma Jenkins)

Wilma Jenkins, 82, of South Fulton, Georgia. Jenkins, who has coped with depression most of her life and describes herself as an introvert, lives alone in a small house just outside Atlanta.

“I confess I’m going to be afraid for a while,” she said.

During the pandemic, her three adult children and grandchildren have created a new tradition: Zoom meetings every Sunday afternoon. Previously, the entire family got together once a year, at Thanksgiving. “It helps me a lot, and I think it will last because we have so much fun,” Jenkins said.

Before her life ground to a halt, Jenkins regularly gave presentations at senior centers across Atlanta on what it’s like to grow old. “My work is helping little old people like me,” she said, “and when I can get out again, I’ll be reminding them that we have reached a point when we can wear the crown of age and we should be doing that proudly.”

(Courtesy of Ed and Marian Hollingsworth)

Marian and Ed Hollingsworth, 66 and 72, of La Mesa, California. Ed has a rare gastrointestinal cancer and is enrolled in a clinical trial of a new drug.

“My vision of the future is somewhat limited, given my age and my prognosis,” he said. “There’s a constant fear and uncertainty. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. We’ll be in the house a lot, cooking a lot, watching a lot of Netflix.”

“I’m looking at least a year or two of taking strong precautions,” said Marian, a patient safety advocate.

“I always was the person who was active and doing for others: Now I’m the one at home having to ask for help, and it feels so foreign,” she said. Her most immediate heartache: “We don’t know when we’ll see our [four] kids again.”

(Courtesy of Richard Chady)

Richard Chady, 75, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Chady, a former journalist and public relations professional, lives in a retirement community and participates in the North Carolina Coalition on Aging.

“This pandemic has given me a greater appreciation of how precious family and friends are,” he said. “I think it will cause older people to examine their lives and their purpose a little more carefully.”

Chady is optimistic about the future. “I’ve been involved in progressive causes for a long time and I think we have a great opportunity now. With all that’s happened, there’s more acceptance of the idea that we need to do more to improve people’s lives.”

(Courtesy of Edward Mosley)

Edward Mosley, 62, of Atlanta. Mosley lives alone in Big Bethel Village, an affordable senior housing community. Disabled by serious heart disease, he relies on Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid. In the past year, he has had multiple hospitalizations.

“The pandemic, it affected me because they canceled my doctors’ appointments and I was in a bad way,” said Mosley, who had a pacemaker implanted in his chest before COVID-19 emerged. “But I’m doing better now. I can walk with a cane, though not very far.”

The hardest thing for Mosley is not being able to mingle with other people “because you don’t know where they’ve been or who they’ve been with. You feel like you’re in solitary confinement.”

(Courtesy of Vicki Ellner)

Vicki Ellner, 68, of Glenwood Landing, New York. Ellner ran Senior Umbrella Network of Brooklyn for 20 years. Today she works as a consultant for an elder care attorney on Long Island.

Before the coronavirus upended life in and around New York City, Ellner and the attorney were planning to launch an initiative aimed at older women. Now, they’ve broadened it to include older men and address issues raised during the pandemic. The theme: “You’re not done yet.”

Ellner explains it this way: “Maybe you were on a path and had a vision of your life in mind. Then all of a sudden you have these challenges. Maybe you lost your job, or maybe things have happened in your family. What we want to help people understand is you’re not done yet. You still have the ability to redirect your life.”

In her personal life, Ellner, who lives with a “significant other,” is determined to keep fear at bay. “We tell ourselves we’re doing everything we can to stay vital and get through this. We try to turn that into a positive.”

(Courtesy of Harry Hutson)

Harry Hutson, 72, of Baltimore. Hutson, an organizational consultant and executive coach, is married and has five grown children. He believes “an enormous change in lifestyle” is occurring because of the pandemic.

“We’re all more careful, but we’re also more connected,” he said. “Older friends are coming out of the woodwork. Everyone is Zooming and making calls. People are more open and vulnerable and willing to share than before. We’re all trying to make meaning of this new world.”

“We’re all having a traumatic experience — an experience of collective trauma,” Hutson said. As the future unfolds, “the main thing is self-care and compassion. That’s the way forward for all of us.”

(Courtesy of Annis Pratt)

Annis Pratt, 83, of Birmingham, Michigan. A retired English professor, novelist and environmental activist, Pratt lives alone in a home in suburban Detroit.

“What I’m looking forward to is getting back to interacting with real people. Much of my human contact now is on Zoom, which I consider about 75% of a personal encounter,” she said. “But every day, I make myself go out and talk to someone — like taking a vitamin pill.”

Pratt now has a “do not put me on a ventilator” order in her front hallway, along with a “do not resuscitate” order. “I know it’s very likely that if I get to the point where I have to go to the hospital, I’ll probably die,” she said. “Of course, I’m going to die anyway: I’m 83. But somehow, this pandemic has brought it all home.”

Going forward, Pratt sees two possibilities. “Our moral imaginations will have grown because of what we’ve all gone through and we will do better. Or nothing will have changed.”

Most of all, she said, “I would like to get my wonderful, wonderful life back.”

Life Beyond COVID Seclusion: Seniors See Challenges And Change Ahead published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/