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The Life Thread

Started by BojackHorsefella, May 14, 2018, 07:04:48 PM

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Crewe

So with everything going on, I had the opportunity to have over one of my seldom seen nephews since he now has some time off as well.
We decided, that since he is a sous chef and I am a weekend chef, that we should have a food fiesta.
We made two kinds of lasagna, carne guisada and buffalo chicken mac and cheese. 
We had great fun and leftovers for days.
My sister uncovered our weekend and wanted to join, so we thought, well, it was fun so lets do it again.
Then, my older nephew heard about it and he and his wife are joining as well.
Despite them being vegetarians, I decided to allow it ;-)
So our Second Food Fiesta is now a full blown Tex Mex Food Fiesta.
The menu will consist of guac (get over it norm) and queso appetizers along with fresh salsa. Spinach mushroom and cheese enchiladas along with chicken enchiladas complete with homemade green and red enchilada sauces.
A heaping pot of Charro beans for us regular folk and black beans, adored by my vegetarian kin, green chili rice and just for the hell of it Im throwing a flank steak on the grill for some fajitas with roasted peppers and onions.
Sangria and some peach thing for dessert rounds out the day.
Hope everyone is doing well!

Crewe

Been a while since I've updated my blog  :D

So Im essentially still quarantined for all intents and purposes.
I have people over for our Food Fiesta occasionally, but its a small group and people I trust and know who take this virus seriously.
Same if I visit anyone, which is extremely rare.
Ill go to a UPS store for work once in a while or something similar, bu I pretty much stay away from people if I can help it.
I did go to a restaurant yesterday with a friend I hadn't seen in forever. I think she's a little less cautious than I, but the restaurant was empty and even though I was across the table from her, I tied to stay out of the line of fire if you will.
I was bothered by the fact I discovered she just returned from Vegas, so that's got me on edge a bit for the next 14 days.
If I get this bug, I'm dead. I'm in the worst shape of my life, so I know it won't be kind.
That said, I also dont worry too much about it.
My work is mostly hosting Zoom depo now and for that Im grateful so all in all, not terrible, considering.
What's everyone's experience like now? Do you see people returning to normal?
Are you staying cautious, or trying to get back to a normal circle?
Just curious what everyone else is seeing right now?

TheNorm

Pretty much in the same boat as far as social interactions go. I've gone out to a restaurant once, and we sat outside-it was alright and planning on going out again but once the colder months hit I think I'll just stay in. It's not me I'm worried about, it's the rest of the morons out there (it only takes one). As much as I want to see Tenet in a movie theatre that's out of the question at the moment. Maybe in a few weeks and a mid-week matinee when hardly anyone else goes.

It's rare in Chicago but I don't hesitate to call out someone for not wearing a mask or wearing it incorrectly in a grocery store...if they want to get pissy about it, fuck 'em lol. I'm not there to make friends and I can defend myself just fine. If someone thinks I'm being too cautious or "afraid" of a virus, I really don't give a shit haha

I've hung out responsibly with friends a couple times when I'm back in Michigan (friend's deck, we're at least 6 feet apart, etc.). But other than that, I just chill out a lot. Gyms have been open here a couple months and as far as I can tell have been safe...but I haven't gone back. Just working out in the condo (lot of bodyweight stuff, plyometrics), and have thankfully lost most of the weight I gained in Peoria during quarantine. Always forward.
"But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity." - Martin Luther King, Jr

BojackHorsefella

Yeah, similar. Been doing the WFH thing since this all started. I hate it, I miss the office. Autumn does virtual "happy hours" with her team at the Foundation every Friday, and she's been finding these crafty little things, sort of like Blue Aprons but much much smaller, that she can order for her team and they do them together during their Teams call. One time she got a "cupcake making kit," last time it was smores.

My job did a poll to see who wanted to do some sort of virtual group event, and who'd rather just get an Uber Eats gift card. Only 4 people voted for a group activity. I was one :(

Beyond work, similar to you and Norm. Funnily enough, last year Autumn's sister moved here (with her husband and kid), and earlier this year (MID-pandemic) her aunt, niece and uncle all moved here, so we've seen them a few times. We went out to dinner ONCE to a restaurant, outdoor dining of course, with her family, but that's been it. Besides that, takeout and home meals.

We did go to a drive-in theater a few weeks ago and saw The New Mutants with Iron Man. Took her niece, that was a lot of fun. I miss theaters something fierce, you have to understand, I was a Stubs List member at AMC, with my 3 free movies a week, and I made use of that thing. I won't step foot in a theater until there's a vaccine. It's just not safe, with this virus lingering in the air in enclosed spaces.

Went to the zoo once, which was nice, and this past weekend we went to a local nursery so Autumn could grab some more house plants. We've actually gotten a lot of things done at home during the quarantine. It's only a rental, so we can do so much, but we got our back patio finished with curtains and lights. She's gotten so many houseplants, she got a terrarium for them indoors and all of our windowsills are basically lined with them now, haha. She got herself a potter's desk for the patio so she can move all the new plants she desires. Renovated the office too, due to the whole WFH thing. She'd been wanting to do that, and lo and behold, when you rarely have to put gas in your car and you're not spending money on movie concessions all the time, the money obstacle is a lot easier to get past (time obstacle, too, given the quarantine thing). 

My brother goes to the gym a lot in South Carolina, which is scary, but he also works in grocery stores (not essential, he's a wine salesman) and seems to have lasted this long so far. I had a friend in SC who's gotten it, said it was the worst experience of his life. It's funny though, because now it's like he's living in the future. He went to the theater the other day and I was about to yell at him for it before I remembered he's already been through it and come out on the other side, haha.

I've seen one couple we're friends with once since this began, and as far as my other friends here in Washington, nada. Most people don't want to leave their house anymore than they have to. I've been trying to find socially distant stuff that might be fun, but strangely, no one seems to want to go to any batting cages, and I can't seem to get interest in going for a trip to the driving range. Maybe it's for the best.

Impulse buying the Switch a few months ago was a great idea, because honestly the games I play on Switch are far more relaxed than what I play on PS4 (which is part of why I bought it, I didn't care for the AAA-Mario titles, I wanted those sweet, sweet indie games). I feel like a lot of my time this year has been spent staying in a constant state of distraction, so I can basically fast forward past any quiet moment so I don't have to dwell on anything. Basically, I use video games like the remote in Click.

This weekend was rough, given the RBG deal. I read about it, walked out to the living room, gave Autumn a hug and told her the news and we shared a cry. The strange thing about myself is, as negative as I am, as pessimistic and "realist" as I am, somehow I don't lose hope. I'm too stubborn or arrogant. Too practical? If I lose hope, my brain goes "Why go on," and frankly that's just...a waste, so, I keep hoping. Keep hoping things will get better. Honestly, it's less COVID now. I said at the start of this "I'll see everyone in 2021," half jokingly, but I was setting myself up to not be disappointed and, well, here we are, it's looking like we won't have a vaccine before 2021, and I don't feel disappointment because I expected that. Woohoo, way to mitigate your emotions through pessimism, Mike.

Crewe

Sounds like I'm a bit more careless than you two lol
I'm really wishing I hadn't gone to that restaurant now, but nothing I can do.
It's interesting too...I now measure my life in 14 day increments based on interactions I have with people.
I have my own birthday thing I have to go to at my sisters this weekend. She's cautious and all but she has custody of her 17 year old grandson and 8 year old daughter. Lord only knows what those germ factories will be bringing. So for now, October 10th is my "live to" date 😏

Rigg44

So COVID is always at the forefront of my day since I run a hospital.  No WFH for me. Which is a bit unnerving since my wife is disabled ever since her run in with H1N1 15 or so years ago. She is none too happy about "being a prisoner in her own home" but she complies, for the most part.

I am in the middle of building a new facility so my days are very "filled" with vendors and contractors not to mention interested community members. So, for the most part other than masks and lock down precautions its business as usual.  At this point regarding COVID, it all seems kind of pointless to tell the truth. As a community our hospital and nursing home has been on lockdown since the start. My hospital provided every incoming student with safety materials, 5 masks and hand sanitizer and yet it all is for naught. The nursing home is now overrun.  I have staff testing positive on the regular.  The county as a whole has reached a level that we are to assume everyone has been exposed according the county health department.  So, knowing for a fact we did everything "right" and we still ended up at the same place we started I am not sure that Sweden and their do-nothing approach wasn't the correct way to go.

I feel we did the right thing in the initial days to prevent our health system being overwhelmed but now? I am not sure we are doing anything but slowing the maddening crawl of COVID through our population. As a health care worker, I am tiered of it being use a political weapon by both sides of the isle. It is something to be taken seriously but its not the bubonic plague.  Like all things being use to manipulate us the truth is somewhere in the middle.
Anyway, I am ready for COVID to ride off into the sunset as a footnote in history but that wont be for awhile. 

Other stuff in my life, my youngest is a senior in high school.  My oldest is in her second year of college and I am getting older and fatter by the hour.       

Crewe

#171
Quote from: Rigg44 on September 22, 2020, 12:03:49 PM
So COVID is always at the forefront of my day since I run a hospital.  No WFH for me. Which is a bit unnerving since my wife is disabled ever since her run in with H1N1 15 or so years ago. She is none too happy about "being a prisoner in her own home" but she complies, for the most part.

I am in the middle of building a new facility so my days are very "filled" with vendors and contractors not to mention interested community members. So, for the most part other than masks and lock down precautions its business as usual.  At this point regarding COVID, it all seems kind of pointless to tell the truth. As a community our hospital and nursing home has been on lockdown since the start. My hospital provided every incoming student with safety materials, 5 masks and hand sanitizer and yet it all is for naught. The nursing home is now overrun.  I have staff testing positive on the regular.  The county as a whole has reached a level that we are to assume everyone has been exposed according the county health department.  So, knowing for a fact we did everything "right" and we still ended up at the same place we started I am not sure that Sweden and their do-nothing approach wasn't the correct way to go.

I feel we did the right thing in the initial days to prevent our health system being overwhelmed but now? I am not sure we are doing anything but slowing the maddening crawl of COVID through our population. As a health care worker, I am tiered of it being use a political weapon by both sides of the isle. It is something to be taken seriously but its not the bubonic plague.  Like all things being use to manipulate us the truth is somewhere in the middle.
Anyway, I am ready for COVID to ride off into the sunset as a footnote in history but that wont be for awhile. 

Other stuff in my life, my youngest is a senior in high school.  My oldest is in her second year of college and I am getting older and fatter by the hour.     

that is the most pandemic quote I've seen lol

Sorry for your wife's condition, especially in these circumstances.
I hope in your daily instances, people are practicing safer rituals and being respectful.
Regarding lockdown, I truly believed it would have worked, but, there's just no way that people are going to follow the rules and recommendations, especially in this redneck country. And then, when people are asymptomatic, it becomes silently prevalent like herpes, only until it kills you.
If we had shut down February, March, April, I think it would be well under control, but that was never, and will never happen.
People are going to go back to normal and risk it.
And part of me can't blame them, especially now. There's no safety net for most Americans when something like this happens and people have to go to work to survive.
So, what do you do? The government is so embroiled in controversy and emboldened with bona fide selfish hate mongers, there's no real help available.
So, I just think this virus is going to be our life from now on.

BojackHorsefella

Quote from: Crewe on September 22, 2020, 12:53:47 PM
If we had shut down February, March, April, I think it would be well under control, but that was never, and will never happen.
People are going to go back to normal and risk it.
And part of me can't blame them, especially now. There's no safety net for most Americans when something like this happens and people have to go to work to survive.
So, what do you do? The government is so embroiled in controversy and emboldened with bona fide selfish hate mongers, there's no real help available.
So, I just think this virus is going to be our life from now on.


It's almost like our government should have been taking care of it's citizens and accommodating accordingly so they could stay home and protect the most vulnerable, instead of diverting PPP funds to their friends and COVID response money to jet engines and body armor for the military.

It's not hard to understand why this got political. It got political because, simply put, the President lied, the party he represents rallied behind him to continue the lie, and those that still spread the lie see their states having the worst COVID deaths (looking at you, Florida). Remember when NY was bad, and they turned it around? Meanwhile Florida remains a petri dish? There's a reason.

It got political because one party told you to ignore the actual science, and also we're not going to make any attempt to help you out during this lockdown (meanwhile, Canada was and still is giving money to their citizens. What are our tax dollars even for, anyway?)

We can talk about Sweden's strategy, but we saw other successful countries, if not eradicate COVID, at least flatten the curve (mainly in Europe), while strongman countries get blasted (the US, North Korea, Russia).

The whole point of lockdown was to protect the most vulnerable citizens, and that's still the point of wearing the masks. I don't know how to teach my fellow citizens a little fucking empathy, so, yeah, we've got idiots that refuse to wear them and march around protesting (strange how they don't get tear gassed...), even in states where it's been made mandatory.

200,000 deaths is nothing to scoff at, and yet, it's not too hard to find people telling you that's an acceptable number. Meanwhile, remember when this same administration said if we did everything right, it'd be 60,000, and that'd indicate a great job? We're at 200,000 and yet our President gave himself an A+ on coronavirus response. They can't even meet the goalposts they set themselves.

ON TOP OF ALL THAT, even if you SURVIVE COVID, we now know it does weird things to children's blood, and there are after effects in the lungs and heart too, including scarring and swelling, so it's not like it just ends when your main symptoms go away either. We STILL don't fully understand this virus (which I imagine is another reason it's taking so long for a vaccine, and hey, I'm willing to wait).

While I feel for those who have jobs that don't translate to WFH, or who lost their jobs completely, blaming the lockdown is simply incorrect. We have a government for the people, by the people, and, quite frankly, it has failed, and continues to fail, it's people in it's response to this virus. There was so much more we could've done, and there's still more we could do, but instead we just have apathy and burnout over everything and everything just becomes normalized because it's easier to compartmentalize and deal with.

BojackHorsefella

Also, does anyone have any pets? Our 3 cats have certainly been happy to basically have us home every day this year. One cat is sort of independent, but my fiancee's cuddly man and my trashy garbage cat have absolutely clung to our sides all day every day. Which has been kinda nice, I only had Ally for about a year (our first two cats bonded with Autumn, but Ally bonded with me for some reason), so it's been nice having all this time to create that bond, but I'm very worried for her and Spooky when we eventually have to go back to the office (although, it sounds like the Foundation is considering either going fully work from home, or limited in-office, when 2021 comes around. Obviously Microsoft can't close their offices, and I prefer working in the office to working at home so I'll definitely be going in). I fear we're setting these cats up for a deep depression next year....

Crewe

#174
I have my dog, Snowman.
He's happy and healthy and glad I'm here, but unfortunately he has spondylosis which flares up if he gets too much activity and then he's literally rendered immobile and in great pain. So I can't take him out for lots of walks, but he is happy and gets around the house just fine, bounding around like a spry pup. I just cant have him highly active too long for fear of his injuries resurfacing.

Whenever I go back to work, he will be fine and will be waiting for me in his spot when I come home  :D

Since we are in the life thread, Im curious, anyone else have serious unhealthy eating habits amplified by the pandemic?
Im in such bad shape, worst of my life and Ive got to turn that around. My depressive, apathetic tendencies kinda shine through during times like these and are hindered even further by my joy of cooking and the fact I don't have to wear pants lol
Sometimes I wish I was one of those "eat to live" kinda guys, but man, I just love to mow. Im seriously addicted.

Rigg44

#175
Our two older dogs passed.  We had a Golden retriever mix and Begal that passed during the early days of this mess.  Since then we had added a German Shepard to the house.

BojackHorsefella

Quote from: Crewe on September 22, 2020, 05:31:38 PM
Since we are in the life thread, Im curious, anyone else have serious unhealthy eating habits amplified by the pandemic?
Im in such bad shape, worst of my life and Ive got to turn that around. My depressive, apathetic tendencies kinda shine through during times like these and are hindered even further by my joy of cooking and the fact I don't have to wear pants lol
Sometimes I wish I was one of those "eat to live" kinda guys, but man, I just love to mow. Im seriously addicted.

I'm too scared to weigh myself, haha. Honestly, I've probably shaved off years of my life during the pandemic through sheer immobility. We have an office, but the setup doesn't really work for me, so pretty much 5 days a week I'm spending 8 hours literally seated on the edge of my bed (criss-cross applesauce!) or I'm laying down on my stomach, typing and scrolling and browsing, haha. My wrists will also be mad at me before the year ends, I'm sure.

Then I get done with work, spend some time on the couch watching TV with the fiancee, dinner at some point, then it's back to the bed to play some PS4 before sleep. I'd love to run, but my knees and shins never really recovered from the damage I did to them back in my 20s. I should go for walks though, I'm just too depressed most days to find the motivation.

Eating though, it comes and goes. Sometimes, thanks to the depression, I just don't eat very much for periods of time. Sometimes, also thanks to the depression. I EAT A LOT IN A SHORT PERIOD, haha. I tell you what though, ever since Taco Bell removed all potato items from their menu, I've basically eliminated fast food from my diet, so that helps.

It wouldn't be so bad if we could still get our Blue Aprons, but she cancelled them because they sent us the wrong stuff multiple times, and they also had to reduce their offerings tremendously due to how many people signed up during the pandemic, so there were less pescatarian options as a result. I eat my healthiest when we get those regularly. We go to like, the local Fred Meyer though and get some fresh fish on occasion. I actually got some ground Impossible meat from there a weekend or two and finally made some Impossible burgers for us at home, was really good.

But yeah, most nights, we get done with work, usually wait an hour or so, and whoever's already hungry pops the "what should we do for dinner" and then the great debate begins for another night. Local restaurants, we do order from chains on occasion, Red Robin, Panera. There's a downtown area 5 minutes away with a lot of great local restaurants too, but I do feel like whenever we order out, due to my pickiness and general "I don't want to spend my time picking a restaurant, I'd rather do other things," I end up eating a lot of burgers, grilled cheeses, etc. I have far greater things I can beat myself up over, though, so strangely, I mostly overlook my poor eating habits.

Crewe

it would be different if I had an SO still, someone that could, ot really intervene, well, I guess they could, but you know if I had to account for someone else's palate, it would help deter me too somewhat.
Also, I probably wouldnt be bored as much which would lead to eating crap.
I wish depression would affect my appetite by undereating instead of over, although neither is healthy really.

BojackHorsefella

My uncle passed a few days ago. He was 77, ten years older than my father, and younger than both of them are their four sisters.

I didn't know my patriarchal grandfather or matriarchal grandmother, they had passed either before I was born or during my first year or two, respectively. My matriarchal grandfather passed back in 2012, when I was deployed, and my grandmother in 2018. I was able to attend her wake and funeral, not his.

Grandparents go, when you're a kid your grandparents are old already and you expect it. When you lose an uncle, even one 44 years your elder, it finally clicks that boulder rolling downhill, it's coming for you. No one gets an out. I guess this the beginning of my mid-life crisis?

Making things even worse, of course, is the pandemic. So many of us aren't able to go, and instead are relegated to watching on Zoom, which was just...weird and inhumane feeling. Robotic. It's missing the humanity of the actual thing.

And as I type that, the meeting got Zoom bombed. I was concerned, as they provided a link to the meeting on my Uncle's obituary page, but I thought to myself, "Certainly no trolls can find this, let alone join a random person's visitation viewing," but, sure enough they did. They sent a chat message to everyone professing joy over my dead uncle, and joined voice to call everyone the n-word, so, that's the state of humanity today.

Well, I was feeling a bit wistful, a bit reflective, now I'm flat out angry because what in the everloving fuck is wrong with people, and why is empathy lost in today's America? Maybe I'll return to this later for my original thoughts, but I'm very clouded in anger now because I'm just, unbelieving that that just happened....




Crewe

Damn man, that's just beyond me. Im so sorry for your loss and even more sorry people trolled a zoom remembrance.
That's just downright mean spirited. To go out of their way like that is beyond cruel.

I hope you are able to get some sort of pleasant closure, maybe follow up interaction with family for support.

Regarding you mid life crisis query, Im not sure I believe in a mid life crisis, but more of an awakening.
I remember when I was a teenage, I was truly having a religious quandary which obviously included fear of death.
My dad told me "it's going to happen to each and every one of us" and while I didnt want to hear that obviously, but at the same time it resonated with me. Dealing with death, especially my parents, was almost crippling, but there was this
sort of inner peace underneath it all.
You do start to realize your mortality and it can affect your ambition, personality and the like.
Like me, I picked up guitar last year and thought well, the most I can get out of it is 20 years probably and most of that will be as a doddering old man, what fun is that?
Of course that's the pessimistic version but you can choose how to deal with it.
Im on zoom job right now and cant really keep a consistent thought so Ill revisit. In the meantime, Im truly sorry for you loss and for what you and your family had to endure.