Mostly Apolitical Thread for Discussing/Venting our Rational/Irrational COVID-19 Fears and Experiences in 2020

i know the statements from epidemiologists and physicians are that the precautions once you're vaccinated are more for other people, as even if you contract COVID, you're likely to get a much milder case. they think that transmission might be greatly reduced or reduced somewhat for vaccinated people, but nothing approximating definitive proof yet (other than that non-peer reviewed Israeli study).

i didn't exactly go back to my old routine after I got the shots so I can understand. what I do worry about is reluctance to resume activities once we get to herd immunity as we're so used to being cautious and staying in now, our brains will initially feel weird about any resumption of the 'old times' - even though I suspect mask-wearing is going to stick around us a lot longer, like seen in Asian countries.

Okay, it seems like they just have a generic playlist on cuz now it's been Nuggets Vol 1 for the past four tracks, which is great tbh.

First dose, done!

At the big vax site where I'm currently waiting in line, they're playing the Beatles. It's almost enough to make me leave and come back.

I Want to Stab Your Arm

what I do worry about is reluctance to resume activities once we get to herd immunity as we're so used to being cautious and staying in now, our brains will initially feel weird about any resumption of the 'old times'

Another way to read this behavior is that by being kicked out of the usual equilibrium a lot of people have come to realize they don't need or want to leave their house as much as they thought they did. (I don't think this is true of me, by the way, I just think it's gotta be the case for a fair number of people.)

a year of doing anything, even if it's stupid and horrible, starts to feel normal is how i break it down to an extent
learning how to go out on a nightly basis again is going to require training.

Another way to read this behavior is that by being kicked out of the usual equilibrium a lot of people have come to realize they don't need or want to leave their house as much as they thought they did. (I don't think this is true of me, by the way, I just think it's gotta be the case for a fair number of people.)

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, March 4, 2021 6:51 PM bookmarkflaglink

I do think that's true for a lot of people. it actually would have been true for me in my 20s, when I was somewhat of a severe introvert. i had a bit of an extrovert streak in my 30s which makes me get cabin fever a lot easier.

learning how to go out on a nightly basis again is going to require training.

I agree!

I never went out on a nightly basis when I was at my peak, and as some people on ILX can confirm, I knew how to boogie. I am simply exciter about being able to maybe see a concert again.

A trusted friend invited us to a brief backyard thing on Tuesday night in honor of a buddy who died a year ago; I panicked cuz it was at 8 p.m. and at this point in my life I've stopped drinking, had dinner, am drinking coffee, and am winding down before bed.

Wait you drink coffee...before bed... I'm so confused

Yup! Not before bed, usually a couple hours before bed.

And you... stopped drinking?

Sorry I'm just trying to get a handle on the Modern Alfred

lol I suppose I framed it clumsily. I meant: by 8 p.m. I've had my cocktail and wine, so no more drinking. During normal times on a Friday or Saturday if I weren't meeting a friend for dinner/drinks I'd do both at home and have no trouble meeting him or her someplace at 8 or 9 p.m.

Here's me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu66EDMxAbI

At the big vax site where I'm currently waiting in line, they're playing the Beatles. It's almost enough to make me leave and come back.

Perhaps you don't realize the alternative is their playing the BeeGees.

pretty sure the Bee Gees were not secretly the Electric Prunes

I am simply exciter about being able to maybe see a concert again.

god yes. i used to hit 40-50 of these a year. i've resorted to breaking into people's garages whenever I hear jamming. can only evade so many trespassing arrests

Aimless, I love the Bee Gees.

Oh I gotta get a vaccine to you, oh yeah, oh yeah
If no shot then your life will be through, oh yeah, oh yeah

And yes, I'm old enough that that's the song I think of when I hear "The Bee Gees."

I heard someone use the phrase "immunity for the community" this morning, and for some reason my mind immediately went to Pete Shelley's "homo superior in my interior."

I saw Aimless' Bee Gees remark last night, said ehhhh fuck it pick your battles, and went to bed.

Note from our high school, exhibit 348384348 in why we can't have nice things:

We’re seeing an uptick in our COVID-19 cases and want to ensure that our school community is aware. For day-to-day updates on positive cases and others in quarantine, please visit our COVID-19 dashboard.

I am particularly concerned to learn that at least five student cases of COVID have been traced to a party that took place last weekend. This is especially disheartening, as it is not the first time COVID has spread among our students due to a party. This is unacceptable, high-risk behavior that endangers our entire community, when so many of us have been making huge sacrifices to keep ourselves and others safe--avoiding beloved family members, skipping celebrations, staying home when we want to go out.

Aimless, I love the Bee Gees.

I saw Aimless' Bee Gees remark last night, said ehhhh fuck it

I started a joke, that started the whole world crying.

Mostly Apolitical Thread for Discussing/Venting our Rational/Irrational Bee Gees Fears and Experiences in 2021.

There's a scene from the show Due South that's etched in my memory and I wish I had a gif of it, where the Mountie looks at the paper and says to his dog, "Oh look, the Bee Gees are reuniting!" and the dog gives this horrified and aggrieved whine.

the thing about parties is I expect young high school adults who are having their young lives interrupted for a significant chunk of time may feel a temptation to throw a party and forget momentarily about the long-term impact. i can't imagine if I'd have the same perspective on the pandemic if I was going through it today as a teen rather than a 40-year old.

but we used to be able to count on parents/adults to be the voices of reason and instead they're the ones saying LIVE YOUR LIVES, so the kids then think it's nbd. hell, half of their parents are probably throwing them for them

At the big vax site where I'm currently waiting in line, they're playing the Beatles. It's almost enough to make me leave and come back.

― it's like edging for your mind (the table is the table), Thursday, March 4, 2021 5:10 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

That's how they're enforcing the "only people over 65" rule

64 iirc.

will you still be bringing me a vax in time

i heard the news today, oh boy
about the table that got his shot

Here comes the shot, doot'n'doo-doo

I have been living my life in a solitary bubble for months now. Wonder what life will be like after I and my friends can get vaccinated. There hasn't been any guidance about that from the CDC yet, I don't think?

I don't imagine myself going back to normal, and I'm not as enthusiastic about getting back out into the world as I thought I would be at this point.

Re-entry is going to be weird for sure. I'm worried that a lot of people are going to be surprised by the level of PTSD they have and feel confused, disappointed, guilty, etc. when going back into the world doesn't bring the unqualified joy they've been hoping for.

I think my level of trust in other people has gone way down, even trust in friends, but certainly in the general public

OTSD morelike

Re-entry is going to be weird for sure. I'm worried that a lot of people are going to be surprised by the level of PTSD they have and feel confused, disappointed, guilty, etc. when going back into the world doesn't bring the unqualified joy they've been hoping for.

― Lily Dale, Friday, March 5, 2021 8:01 PM bookmarkflaglink

Yeah I've been thinking about the PTSD aspect. Not sure what to expect

My best guess is that at the very least, a lot of us will know intellectually that things are better long before we are able to really feel normal. Doesn't mean we won't sometimes be delighted to walk into a friend's house or go to the store without fear, but overall, day-to-day, I think it's going to be rocky.

My expectation for myself (which may or may not be accurate, we'll find out) is a brief period of euphoria, followed by a crash as the novelty of going into the world wears off and I start to process all the trauma of the pandemic, followed by a gradual climb back toward normality.

I think it's going to be weird for a week and then very quickly most people who've been rigorously social distancing for a year will proceed with life-as-before as if nothing had happened.

Everyone here has been acting as if things were back to normal for the last two months. The bars are full. Almost no one wears masks. Not good.

In other news, me and my husband have gotten our first shot today.

My best guess is that at the very least, a lot of us will know intellectually that things are better long before we are able to really feel normal

given my reactions to everything lately, this sounds right to me

I just want to say the bee gees rule

In other news, me and my husband have gotten our first shot today.

― Christine Green Leafy Dragon Indigo, Friday, March 5, 2021 9:59 PM bookmarkflaglink

<3

Bee Gees certainly did some great stuff late 60s. Beatlesque in places.
Dunno what the young whippersnapper have against either really. Toetapping stuff.
But really both did some great psych era material. What's not to like.

Would think there were more pressing concerns really. Like how many masks to wear post shot.

I'm choosing to see it as a sign of progress that my COVID stress dreams have morphed from being about getting trapped in a small space with people refusing to wear masks to ones where I keep losing the daily "vaccine lottery" and am increasingly forbidden from doing things and screamed at because I don't have one.

Finally felt obliged to get my first-ever COVID test this weekend. Came back negative. Can't believe I made it a year without getting one, everyone else in my household has been tested at one point or another. (I attended an outdoor, distanced, backyard happy hour with a few friends, and the next day one of them found out his wife was COVID-positive, and then found out he was too.)

It was just the nasal swab tho, I didn't get the full brainscrape experience.

Can someone help me with what I think may be a brainfart? A friend suggested I look at the NY BMI requirements for vaccination because they're lower than you might think.

The NY gov website describes "Severe Obesity (BMI 40 kg/m2), Obesity (body mass index [ BMI ] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)" as characteristics where you can currently get the vaccine.

I'm 5'9" and 190lbs. This translates to roughly 1.75m and 86 kg. 86 / 1.75 = 49 kg/m2, putting me well into the "severely obese" category. That seems like it cannot possibly be right -- am I making some stupid math error?

I mean at those numbers a person my height would be considered "obese" if they weighed 115 lbs!