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

Yeah, exactly. I mean, I've had both shots, I was double masked, I've done what I can do - I was just surprised by how quickly and intensely the discomfort kicked in.

and at this point we can assume some or most of those eligible diners got jabbed too?

I would hope anyone actually eating indoors at this point is jabbed but, uh, who knows.

It's going to be an ingrained reaction for a while with all of us.

Our brain won't forget our conditioning and instinctively reacts to dangerous situations.

Someone harassed me and my friend yesterday for wearing masks because DeSantis removed the mandate.

Never wanted to hit someone so bad

However in Seminole County we've acted like his mandate never happened.

Jesus, sorry Neanderthal. People are terrible.

My state is full of stupid to where I have no expectations anymore

My prepared response to someone hassling me for wearing a mask in public (which no one has done and I don't strictly expect because most of the people I am willingly around in this part of MA are on the same page re: COVID protocols) is "I'm sorry, am I in your business? No? Then why are you in mine?"

One good thing about where I live is that I have experienced zero hassle about masks -- you wear a mask, it's fine, you're walking around outside without a mask, it's fine, you go in a store you wear a mask because that's the rule, the fact that people are basically on the same page means we give each other the benefit of the doubt that whatever they're doing they're doing it based on reality-based risk assessment

same here

Never been hassled directly, but around May or June last year I was standing at a stoplight waiting to cross and this unmasked lady stared directly at me, pointed to my mask and made very loud "baa-ing" sounds. I just rolled my eyes at her.

Americans can be such unbelievable jackasses, it's like a point of pride

I realise other people can be too, but still

It's definitely due to the SF bubble but zero complaints/harassment etc about mask wearing, if anything it would likely be the reverse.

That said: I have not been wearing masks myself for my solitary early morning exercise walks for some time now (we're talking 6 am here, like a scattering of other folks in the park all keeping to themselves). And I've been out a couple of times for long walks on quiet streets for errands where I keep my mask handy for when I get to relevant stores or the like, and otherwise keep distance as needed. Again, was lucky enough to have been vaccinated in January, and the city itself is nearing a variety of good numbers -- the actual total overall population, not just the eligible, is now at 2/3 with one shot and half with a completed regimen, hospitalizations are almost nothing, etc. It seems to me that there is space for a personal easing back as desired, and I've noticed others as well -- certainly even a couple of months back I would have assumed they were maybe being jerks, but now I'm much more inclined to think they're like myself, precisely because of those numbers. That said if I'm running my very local errands -- the corner store, the laundromat, my coffee spot, the Walgreens, etc. -- I just keep my mask on for convenience from start to stop, and generally if I know I'm walking on busier streets, again I'll just leave it on.

My friend had that happen and she said "hi my husband had COVID recently, want me to breathe on you?" and pretended she was going to lower her mask. Baa-er sprinted away. Shows you deep down, they know they're living a lie

I never see anyone in my building wearing masks ever, which is one more reason I never talk to any of them if I can help it. Most people are wearing them when I'm walking around town, though, and it's vanishingly rare for me to see someone in a store without one. Every once in a while someone will come into the dollar store with a guilty expression and pull their T-shirt collar up over their nose and mouth to run down an aisle and grab something, but that's it. Nobody tries any ostentatious huffing-and-puffing MAH FREEDOM bullshit.

In other news, I'm putting a record out in July featuring cornet player Graham Haynes, and I didn't find out until reading an email interview he did about it that he'd had the rona last spring, and took a while to recover, and viewed the project we worked on together as a "light at the end of the tunnel," which I have to admit felt really good.

https://wtop.com/dc/2021/05/dc-coronavirus-update-may-10/

DC to phase out most capacity restrictions from May 21 to June 11. Counting the days....

Went up north this weekend to Anacortes. Took my 82 year-old dad with COPD out to lunch at a tavern. Tables were pre-COVID distanced (5' or less of a spread), and filled up quickly. People were masked coming in, but removed them on sitting. I was expecting the tables to be spread out or signed "don't sit" on every other one. We're both past second shots, but still, pretty much confirmed my aversion to unfamiliar restaurant sit-downs for a long while.

Leaving town, stopped at grocery store. Watched the 4' and change female cashier ask an incoming guy my 6'3" height and 50 lbs heavier to put on a mask, only to get glared at. He then walked farther into the store, and she had to close her lane to follow him. Kind of hard not to say something, but when someone's obviously itching for confrontation, I'm not scratching.

Working on seeing the half-full glass and all the people looking out for each other here, versus the negative encounters.

Having trouble with that one myself. It increasingly feels like a whole lot of borderline maniacs have spent the last year (or last five years, even) assiduously chipping away at whatever borderline once existed for them.

when you think about such catastrophic situations in advance, you always think "well if shit truly hits the fan, we'll all eat each other, and it'll be over quick", but they don't tell you it's really just going to be like being randomly stabbed once a month and not dying and just perpetually being in writing pain while everybody doing the stabbing tries to explain why it's good for you

SF update: eligible population now at 75% with at least one shot and 56% with a completed regimen. Those percentages will soon adjust slightly downward since 12-15 year olds not yet counted as eligible. But in a good big picture sign -- taking the actual listed population as a whole down the line, we're now at just under two-thirds of people with at least one shot and a full 50% with a completed regimen -- from this point on, fully vaxxed people will be the majority of the city population.

Will also add that this all actually something of an undercount, as the VA, pharmacies and the OneMedical locations have not reported numbers. Based on the lines I've seen for vaccines at my local Walgreens, these numbers are likely pretty solid too.

Eating meals with friends at restaurants -- I keep wanting this to feel excited about this but it just seems kind of normal

*wanting to feel excited about this

ftr I've eaten twice indoors at half-crowded restaurants. "You feel good? Does this feel good?" my friend and I kept saying to each other. Saying goodbye after the second time, we said, "I feel good. This feels really good."

I wish I could experience it as a big deal! That's what I want!

I'm of two minds about eating indoors. I would love to have things back to normal and enjoy a meal out. On the other hand, I anticipate fretting about it so much that I wouldn't enjoy the experience yet.

i was like that the first few times, but once we found a place or two that did a good job of minimizing tables, enforced masks, and had good ventilation, I felt less bad the next few times.

^^ that's what we did. No way am I sitting elbow to elbow at a bar, but I've found lunch a far more pleasant experience.

I ate my first indoor meal recently and realized I didn't enjoy it very much. Part of this was probably the place (a kid-friendly restaurant called Bareburger), part of it was the fact that I suddenly found it very irritating to have music playing while I was eating, part of it was that being in a booth suddenly felt awkward and cramped, and part of it was the COVID protocol ordering system which involved scanning a QR code and trying to read a tiny menu on your phone/pay through a glitchy website.

But I think maybe restaurants are something I just never actually liked as much as I thought I did, especially indoor dining.

Also suddenly having to worry again about my 6-yo's extremely loud voice bothering people, when normally it only blows out my own ears during dinner.

I like places w/ Touchtunes cos then I can play like Deicide at Chuck E Cheese

Yesterday I ate at the family cafe around the corner I used to visit every day. Cried a little bit. Otherwise going back to eating at restaurants has been eh, it's still kinda annoying. When I know servers are comfortable around customers without masks (this fall? in SF at lesat?) then maybe it'll be better.

Our first time "out" eating at a restaurant (tented patio with heaters), we kinda didn't feel like we knew how to do it. It sounds goofy but I'm quite serious. Just the rhythm of sitting at a table and ordering and waiting and such.

Also the PORTIONS WERE SO HUGE

Like, I'm looking at a sandwich and fries and a beer, thinking, "how many meals is this?"

Yeah I predict my COVID weight loss will rapidly evaporate as I go back to eating out more

I guess "evaporate" is the wrong word there

I don't know how some of y'all managed to lose weight during the pandemic but then I also don't understand how some of y'all managed to get through the pandemic without drinking beers most days so I guess there's a partial explanation tucked inside my bafflement.

I haven't had a beer in a year; one thing I learned about the pandemic is that I don't actually like drinking beer unless I'm out with people. (Wine I have drunk.)

mostly additional exercise and being merciless about confining drink to after 5 p.m. on weekdays

Compared to prior years, I have both imbibed alcohol and exercised way more during this, our Plague Year+. Guess which one of those activities is getting the upper hand on my physique. Just guess.

one of my early good moves during lockdown was to switch to N/A beer and hop water for drinking at home. i could see things were going to get out of hand otherwise. going to get back on the sauce soon though.

Old Lunch: I lost a lot of weight because I found that my appetite simply diminished.

Not going anywhere or doing anything? The same ten or twelve meals in rotation? I just plain didn't want to eat a lot. Still don't, in fact.

Restaurant portions horrify me now. I get delivery of what used to be a normal dinner and all I can see is a week's worth of leftovers.

That said, I am pretty sure I drank more alcohol than was healthy. Boredom, claustrophobia, depression, and the whole not-going-anywhere thing contributed. Definitely ramping down as I reemerge from the cocoon.

As the weather improves and I can get out more and get more exercise, I expect I will need more fuel.

Before covid I played in a weekly game of ultimate (frisbee). We're discussing starting the game back up in early June and the debates over the terms of return on our email list (vaccine, masks on field/sidelines, number of players, etc.) are a little frustrating. I would prefer not to wear a mask (provided everyone is vaccinated) but I am not arguing for that and will yield to those who want everyone masked. I guess I just selfishly wish things were back to normal already.

Drank the same, exercised more, maaaaaaybe ate less? Wound up perhaps a couple of pounds (like, two or three) heavier, but I think that's from the exercise.

Tonight is the soft opening of a friend's restaurant, which will be the first time many of our friends will be dining together (in whatever configuration it ends up) since March 7, 2020.

"draccination"
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57049639

*on immunity klaxon*

Lost weight at the beginning of the pandemic when I was too scared to get takeout and was just roasting vegetables every night. I have since gained it back plus an extra five pounds or so, because I'm burned out on cooking the same meals all the time and I'm surrounded by takeout options.

this is praxis

Two weeks from tonight on May 26th, we will announce a winner of a separate drawing for adults who have received at least their first dose of the vaccine. This announcement will occur each Wednesday for five weeks, and the winner each Wednesday will receive one million dollars.

— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) May 12, 2021

Also, no purchase necessary! Those tickets are free.

Hi I would like one million dollars, how do I become a resident