Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[Liddy52]

4 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I get those ads too!  

Me too!!

[SunnyBeBe]

12 hours ago, zoomama said:

so not long ago you all were talking about vitaman D. i just got my results back (about a week ago) and of course the dr did not call to explain them to me. one of the tests was for vitamin D.  can anyone  (doodlebug) translate this to me?   

vitamin D,25-hydroxy, D3     =  23ng/ml

vitamin D, 25-hydroxy, D2    = <4ng/ml

25-hydroxyvitamen D            =  23ng/ml

I'm not sure about that. Mine was just one line that said Vitamin D total.  And, then it said 24.  So, I think my total was 24.  I'm not sure how they arrived at it.  If your doctor's office has a portal, you can enroll and then send the doctor a private message.  I find that doing that is a lot easier than trying to call.  I usually get a PM back within 24 hours. 

[Oldernowiser]

I am currently getting a deeply creepy ad showing an ultrasound wand next to a liver. An excised liver. I would submit that if your liver has been removed, a 5-herb remedy to “cure” fatty liver is, at best, no longer necessary.

 I blame the fact that I searched on Plexus ingredients. Thanks, JRod.

[zoomama]

15 hours ago, Nysha said:

My VitD levels were 25 last year, so I've been taking 5000 iu of VitD3 since August 2019. I had blood work done in January, but they didn't check my VitD levels. 

I was diagnosed with COPD in January, plus I have asthma, high blood pressure and I've overweight. I'm on a bipap machine set to 34 and if my O2 stats and sleep apnea isn't better in August, they'll probably put me on oxygen at night. 

Needless to say, I wear a mask when I'm around other people and I appreciate the ones who also wear a mask. If I have to go to the store I go around 10 am b/c it's usually older people and they're almost always wearing masks. In the afternoon its generally parents with kids and they're almost never wearing masks.

This weekend our town had a BLM protest and a 2nd Amendment protest at the same time. The BLM protest was diverse, mainly local people, and almost all of them wore masks. The other protest was all white, half of them were from out of the area, and none of them wore masks. After their protest they patrolled our 4 block Main Street armed with rifles that looked like assault weapons. Made me feel safer. /sarcasm

you sound like me!!!! even down to the o2, btdt. i am afraid the new pulmo is going to put me back on it.  i have c-pap. do you like bi-pap better? can you pm me and tell me about it? as for the vit D, yes i will message the doctor. he is not of the friendly variety!!!!

[jcbrown]

On 6/10/2020 at 7:58 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

People are so desperate to get back to normal that they just refuse to recognize that covid-19 is still spreading and still killing people.  I was SHOCKED to see a local celebrity celebrated as if nothing was wrong.  First off, Michael Jordan is a HUGE celebrity in NC.  He is from Wilmington, NC and then he played college basketball at UNC.  Before going pro and the rest is history, so to say he is adored in NC is an understatement. So, he just caught a huge, record breaking marlin off the coast of NC and it was big news.  I get it, but, look at the lack of distancing and protection!  There were some who had on masks, at least, but, all the touching and closeness!  I could barely believe it. 

https://www.today.com/video/michael-jordan-catches-422-lb-marlin-during-fishing-tournament-84815941994

I saw that story and was as appalled as you! Seemed irresponsible of Michael Jordan to model that behavior and irresponsible for the news to air it.

[Love2dance]

16 hours ago, louannems said:

For several weeks, I've been getting ads on this site featuring loose, Bohemian style clothing.  Most seem to feature daisies alot, too.  The weird thing is many of the clothes are the same even though they show under several different brands.

I get these branded ads:. Rosalinlin, noracora, Annie cloth, and Zolucky.  Same clothes, different brands.

I blame Jill Dillard modeling those strange clothes for all these ads!

I can’t speak to all of the ads, but I think several are connected (Nora Cora, Annie Cloth and Rosalini). I made the mistake of buying $100 of clothing from Nora Cora without looking at the reviews. The clothes, if you can call them that, are pure crap. The pictures look like flowy, gauzy, lovely designs. But in fact, the material is stiff, hard, disgustingly sewn trash. Sixth grade girls learning to sew could do a better job. When you try to return the items because they don’t fit and look nothing like the ad pictures, customer service says it costs their company too much to accept the goods back to China because of fees. So instead they offer you 30% back, and you can keep the clothes. (Which most buyers say even the 30% funds never arrive. Mine never did.) Nora Cora is a complete scam. Please look at the reviews at trustpilot.com before buying anything from them. They will give you details of the Nora Cora scam. I wish I had.

Trustpilot.com Reviews of Nora Cora, 1,733 reviews  (Detailed reviews are on the website. If it wasn’t so sad, the reviews are interesting reading.) Here is just the breakdown of ratings.

Excellent<1%

Great 3%

Average <1%

Poor 2%

Bad 94%

Edited to add: the clothes were SO bad, I was too embarrassed to give them to charity. Does that give you an  idea how terrible they were?

Edited June 12, 2020 by Love2dance

[GeeGolly]

Some good covid news. The two hairdressers who worked while sick with corona, likely did not get anyone sick. I don't remember the numbers, but a good portion of the clients were tested, and tested negative. The ones who for some reason did not get tested, never developed symptoms.

The county health officials are now trying to gather data including, what masks were worn, length of time clients were in the shop, social distancing and disinfecting routines. Another article mention viral load. The viral load of the hairdressers and how much they likely shed. 

On the flip side, health officials are estimating due to reopening the economy, the number of covid related deaths will double by September. They believe the 100,000 deaths in the first six months would have been far greater without quarantine restrictions and the next 100,000 will happen in just two months.

[lookeyloo]

On 6/10/2020 at 6:17 PM, galaxychaser said:

I do take the prescribed by dr vitamin d. It’s not enough.

Then you need to go back to your doctor and find out if there is an underlying cause for your deficiency - assuming you have been on the prescribed dosage long enough for it to have worked 

[doodlebug]

On ‎6‎/‎11‎/‎2020 at 10:12 AM, louannems said:

For several weeks, I've been getting ads on this site featuring loose, Bohemian style clothing.  Most seem to feature daisies alot, too.  The weird thing is many of the clothes are the same even though they show under several different brands.

I get these branded ads:. Rosalinlin, noracora, Annie cloth, and Zolucky.  Same clothes, different brands.

I blame Jill Dillard modeling those strange clothes for all these ads!

If anyone has plans to order from any of these places, beware!  I think they are all Chinese sites and those places are notorious for cheating customers.

I fell for one of them once, I think it was Rosalinlin.  I ordered a couple of shirts, I think.  I wear a plus size and the shirts supposedly came in plus and the reviews on the site claim the sizing is true.  The shirts came and they looked like dolls' clothes; the labels said 1x, but they were smaller than the typical ladies' small here in the US.  I didn't even try them on, I couldn't have gotten them over my head, they were that small.  As noted by a prior poster, they were also poorly made and the fabric was cheap. So, I went to check the return policy.  First, NO returns unless your return is accompanied by a photo of you proving that the garment doesn't fit.  I kid you not.  Then, it is the customer's responsibility to pay for first class postage to return the garments to their Chinese warehouse.  I paid maybe 30 bucks for both shirts and it would've cost more than that to send them back.  So, lesson learned and shirts donated to Good Will.

I later learned that these companies are set up to scam.  All of the reviews of the merchandise on the site are planted, none of them are real.  They know the stuff doesn't fit, they are aware that their rules for returns are ridiculous and that no one is sending a picture and paying postages to ship stuff back to China.

Edited June 12, 2020 by doodlebug

[doodlebug]

On ‎6‎/‎10‎/‎2020 at 11:17 PM, zoomama said:

so not long ago you all were talking about vitaman D. i just got my results back (about a week ago) and of course the dr did not call to explain them to me. one of the tests was for vitamin D.  can anyone  (doodlebug) translate this to me?   

vitamin D,25-hydroxy, D3     =  23ng/ml

vitamin D, 25-hydroxy, D2    = <4ng/ml

25-hydroxyvitamen D            =  23ng/ml

The test you had obviously measured vitamin D in several ways.  Like a lot of vitamins and other stuff, there are different chemical compositions of it, they vary by a molecule or two, and the lab assayed them separately.   I usually just order the 25 hydroxy version as it is the one most used to determine adequacy of the vitamin.

The lab report should have normal ranges on it in addition to your results.  Usually, 25 hydroxyl-vitamin D should measure somewhere between 20-50 ng/ml.  So, you are probably in the low end of the normal range on that.  I would, at the very least, take somewhere between 2000-5000 IU daily to maintain that.

BTW, Vitamin D is important to bone health and helps Calcium to be taken into the bones.  If you have been menopausal 5 or more years and haven't had your bone density tested, you might want to look into getting that done.

[Love2dance]

1 hour ago, doodlebug said:

If anyone has plans to order from any of these places, beware!  I think they are all Chinese sites and those places are notorious for cheating customers.

I later learned that these companies are set up to scam.  All of the reviews of the merchandise on the site are planted, none of them are real.  They know the stuff doesn't fit, they are aware that their rules for returns are ridiculous and that no one is sending a picture and paying postages to ship stuff back to China.

So sorry you also got caught in the scam, Doodlebug. Maybe, and hopefully, we have saved a few Primetimers from the fraud.

[BetyBee]

1 minute ago, Love2dance said:

So sorry you also got caught in the scam, Doodlebug. Maybe, and hopefully, we have saved a few Primetimers from the fraud.

I don't know the name of the company, but a friend of mine ordered a chair from a Chinese company. She paid something like $150 for it via PayPal. When she tried to get her money back, because it never came, she was told that they had a valid FedEx number attributed to her order. She then remembered that she had weirdly received a tiny potato peeler she didn't order. That was the item connected with the FedEx number and PayPal denied her claim. Let the buyer beware!

[GeeGolly]

These bogus companies either have 'customer' list deals with legit companies or have some kind of sophisticated search detectors. Fortunately I have never bought a product from any of them.

In the past if I searched a legit site and clicked on an item, my FB feed would be filled with similar items from these no-name companies. I actually took the time to click on the FB dots next to the post and report them as bogus companies. 

These sites no longer show up on FB, but they're always part of the suggestions when I Google a product. If I'm unsure of a company I do a few things: I Google the company, I do an image search of the product to see if any legit stores are selling it and I ask friends.

 

[galaxychaser]

3 hours ago, doodlebug said:

If anyone has plans to order from any of these places, beware!  I think they are all Chinese sites and those places are notorious for cheating customers.

I fell for one of them once, I think it was Rosalinlin.  I ordered a couple of shirts, I think.  I wear a plus size and the shirts supposedly came in plus and the reviews on the site claim the sizing is true.  The shirts came and they looked like dolls' clothes; the labels said 1x, but they were smaller than the typical ladies' small here in the US.  I didn't even try them on, I couldn't have gotten them over my head, they were that small.  As noted by a prior poster, they were also poorly made and the fabric was cheap. So, I went to check the return policy.  First, NO returns unless your return is accompanied by a photo of you proving that the garment doesn't fit.  I kid you not.  Then, it is the customer's responsibility to pay for first class postage to return the garments to their Chinese warehouse.  I paid maybe 30 bucks for both shirts and it would've cost more than that to send them back.  So, lesson learned and shirts donated to Good Will.

I later learned that these companies are set up to scam.  All of the reviews of the merchandise on the site are planted, none of them are real.  They know the stuff doesn't fit, they are aware that their rules for returns are ridiculous and that no one is sending a picture and paying postages to ship stuff back to China.

I saw ads for cute shoes on this site. Good thing I checked it’s a fraud site. I’m glad I didn’t get caught in a scam 

[doodlebug]

52 minutes ago, galaxychaser said:

I saw ads for cute shoes on this site. Good thing I checked it’s a fraud site. I’m glad I didn’t get caught in a scam 

Someone I work with ordered a pair of the 'cute shoes' from one of these sites.  The item she received bore little to no resemblance to the photos on the site and they seemed to be made out of some sort of coated cardboard, there was no way they could've been worn more than once or twice before they fell apart. Glad you didn't order them.

[galaxychaser]

No different than Payless shoes. In the first rain the sole came off half way. I barely made it home. And they were $35 not that cheap.

[Pinke]

I gotta admit, I'm always surprised more people don't do more research before spending their hard-earned money (not that this excuses scams, obviously). Maybe people are just more naturally trusting than I am and figure that if a site looks somewhat legit, they won't have issues ordering from them?

But yeah, needless to say it's always a good idea to check the various policies (shipping, return, etc.) before making a purchase. Also, if anything looks or sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And yeah, like @GeeGolly said, googling the company is also a good idea.

I also would not base my decision on reviews shown on the site itself since like @doodlebug said, they very well could be fake (which is quite a widespread issue).

Last thing - those sketchy clothing retailer sites often have somewhat of a ''look'' to them (the design, the pictures of the clothing, etc.). It's kind of hard to explain but that's often my first clue and if for some reason I do end up on a site like that, I often just won't bother because I ''know'' it likely is one of those sketchy sites.

Edited June 12, 2020 by PinkyCupcake

[SunnyBeBe]

I took a chance on a shirt that was very reasonably priced with Annie Cloth. I still haven't received it and it's been a month. I can't track it and have now sent two inquiries to the company.  It looks like they are headquartered in England. I'm getting ready to contest the purchase. Regardless, the entire order was around $20.00, so, not such a big loss.  I'm pretty frugal though, so, I will try to recoup it.  Lesson learned on this one. 

Covid is going the wrong direction in NC.  It's sad, but, not unexpected.  MOST people around here act oblivious to any restrictions. The governor keeps talking about the precautions, but, doesn't seem to realize that it's a figment of his imagination.  It's not happening. The only ones following precautions are places like doctor's office, hospital, dentists, and some stores, but, not most.  Parties, cookouts, church, etc. are going on like there's no issue.  It's beyond infuriating. Some people like me are still following guidelines. 

https://abc11.com/health/covid-19-latest-nc-has-one-of-the-top-percent-positive-test-rates-in-us-/6243971/

[Absolom]

Orange County, California, had their health officer resign due to verbal attacks and a death threat.  This is the same place that made the news in May swarming to the beaches and suing the Governor for daring to close the beaches.  They're on a steady upward trajectory of cases and deaths at the moment.  There are some people you can't save from themselves.

[SunnyBeBe]

23 minutes ago, Absolom said:

Orange County, California, had their health officer resign due to verbal attacks and a death threat.  This is the same place that made the news in May swarming to the beaches and suing the Governor for daring to close the beaches.  They're on a steady upward trajectory of cases and deaths at the moment.  There are some people you can't save from themselves.

This is true. I think that with these people who refuse to use precautions they should have consequences. I don't wish anyone harm, but, if they got so sick that they couldn't leave their bed and couldn't go out or if they had to stay in a secure facility away from other vulnerable people, it would be fitting.  If someone drives 100 miles per hour through a school cross walk and kills children, they are held accountable. You can't say that you didn't intend to kill anyone. Your actions say different.  It's called Reckless Indifference to human life.  In some states, it's second degree murder.  Others, manslaughter. I could get passionate in a case involving this.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depraved-heart_murder

[SunnyBeBe]

I just read where someone that I have known since  I was just a teen,  just died from covid.  He was airlifted to Duke Med due to breathing issues about two weeks ago. I can only imagine he has been suffering ever since.  (I think I posted about it then.)  He was only 67.  Such a great guy.  He had retired, to spend more time with his family.  He never met a stranger and would help anyone who needed help. I was really hoping this would not be the outcome.  I will use this to strengthen my resolve to be more proactive in measures to defeat the virus. 

Edited June 12, 2020 by SunnyBeBe

[Zella]

It's really skyrocketing here in Northwest Arkansas. They're actually bringing in a team from the CDC to assist. The library I work at part-time had tentatively reopened with a lot of restrictions a couple of weeks ago, but they've shut down all county buildings again because of how quick it is rising here. We added over a dozen new cases yesterday. Before it was always 1-4 a day.

But for reasons that completely mystify me and everyone else I've talked to, Arkansas is moving to Phase 2 of reopening next week. 🙄 I'm glad our county officials took the initiative to close down county buildings. I don't see the state doing anything else like that. It's like they just said, "Fuck it and fuck all of you." 

Edited June 12, 2020 by Zella

[SunnyBeBe]

Our state refuses to require masks in public, however, some of counties are doing it. I hope that picks up. 

[frenchtoast]

Gotta say, drive up graduation was pretty awesome. Had air conditioning, could chat with our graduate.There were groups of families from the houses nearby that were cheering. Everything went smoothly even if he nearly left his diploma on stage. Just got a message that they are 15 minutes ahead of schedule, so the remaining groups can get there earlier.  The only bummer is that we didn't get a picture of him with a friend he's known since kindergarten, but yearbook pick up is next week so maybe we'll do it then.

[crazycatlady58]

I had a customer today come in with her son and grandson. They were getting shoes for the grandson. They have been coming in my store for 15 years. She ask me if the company required me to wear a mask I was explaining that no I did it to protect her. She interrupted me and said there was no virus. I said I prefer to wear..she interrupted me again and said the surgeon general said there was no need to wear a mask as did the president.I explained again that I preferred to wear it. She opened her mouth to say something and her son said Mom enough.

My worry is that Texas is opening up and in our area it is not required to wear a mask. I work at a shoe store  if you do your job right you are with the customer for a good bit, you measure their feet, take there shoes off , put new shoes on, talk with them about the fit ect. You are with them close up for 20 or more minutes. At this time if they are not wearing a mask we do not have to do that but as time goes on and we have complaints that may change. Maybe by that time people will have gotten a clue and will wear a mask.

[Jenniferbug]

381 new cases reported in my state today, but most restrictions have also been lifted effective today. We're still staying home, though I am getting antsy to get out again. 

[Sew Sumi]

We had a 3.3% jump in new cases in my county yesterday. I think the protest numbers are just starting to come in. 

Edited June 12, 2020 by Sew Sumi

[Oldernowiser]

16 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

We had a 3.3% jump in new cases in my county yesterday. I think the protest numbers are just starting to come in. 

The Memorial Day parties cases are spiking...hope it was worth it. I suppose the irony will be lost on most of them.

ETA: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/12/health/coronavirus-mask-wellness-trnd/index.html

Edited June 12, 2020 by Oldernowiser

[Jynnan tonnix]

The numbers in my county in CT were looking really good for a couple of weeks - last week, for the most part, we had between 2-4 new cases a day. But over the past few days, first we had a couple of days of 7-8 new cases, and today, 17. Most other counties in the state have much lower spikes - even Fairfield county, close to NY, has almost no new cases. 

Given that I assume most of the state is basically following the same guidelines, I unfortunately have to attribute some of this to the two big casinos we have in our neck of the woods which opened at around the beginning of the month. The governor tried to fight opening them yet, but since they are owned by the Tribal Nations, they answer to their own authority and overrode him. 

[Nysha]

I got tested for Covid-19 today and it's not painful, just really uncomfortable. I've been having breathing issues whenever I walked very long for the last month, but today I just couldn't catch my breath so I went to the ER. I was there for 6 1/2 hours because besides the shortness of breath I had a temperature of 100.4. 

Blood tests came back with a lactic acid level of 2.5, so I got two liters of something and another blood test. This time they were 1.7, which the ER doctor said was good enough. My blood pressure was excellent, my heart rate was fine, chest x-ray was clear, and the EKG didn't show any problems, but on oxygen my O2 levels never went higher than 96 and off oxygen it bounced between 85 and 91. The next thing to rule out is Covid. The results should be back by Tuesday or Wednesday.

I don't think I have it. I have asthma, COPD, and I'm morbidly obese. I know that losing weight is a major component to resolve this issue and today I've finally come to realize that if I don't I'm going to die sooner rather than later. 

[Temperance]

We should come up with lists of things to do at home and/or things that can be done safely.

I went to the dentist once and to bunch of stores in the last two months (not on the same day). The dentist really took precautions. In the stores I wear my mask. I feel relatively safe. I don't like the idea of taking off the mask and I feel better moving about the store instead of staying in one place. 

I bought a journal. I'm using it as a journal/scrapbook. 

[Sew Sumi]

Yippee! My stylist is back as of Monday. I go on Thursday. She's a single person salon, so risk is low. My hair is sooooo scraggly...I can't wait to get a couple inches chopped.

[Love2dance]

@Nysha, I hope your results will be good, and this will be the beginning of a new road to health for you. Take care, and please let us know how you are doing.
 

 

[Oldernowiser]

Nysha, this one’s for you...

 

 

Edited June 13, 2020 by Oldernowiser

[Barb23]

9 hours ago, Temperance said:

 

I bought a journal. I'm using it as a journal/scrapbook. 

I bought a new planner/journal  too.  I use to use a small cheap memo pad to keep track of when I take my meds, esp my pain meds. I also used it to jot down various pieces of info I found interesting during the day as well as my shopping lists.  I decided I deserve something nicer &  fancier so I started with the Happy Planner planners.  They are nice but their sizes & styles didn't  work for me. I found another planner on Etsy that works better.  I went all out & got stickers & washi tape to decorate the pages with.  I've watched a lot of You Tube videos about decorating planners & didn't realize planners & the decorating of them were such big things. 

[Mindthinkr]

@Nysha prayer and fingers crossed for a negative result. 🙏🏻🤞🏻📿

More importantly feel better soon. 

[Temperance]

4 hours ago, Barb23 said:

I bought a new planner/journal  too.  I use to use a small cheap memo pad to keep track of when I take my meds, esp my pain meds. I also used it to jot down various pieces of info I found interesting during the day as well as my shopping lists.  I decided I deserve something nicer &  fancier so I started with the Happy Planner planners.  They are nice but their sizes & styles didn't  work for me. I found another planner on Etsy that works better.  I went all out & got stickers & washi tape to decorate the pages with.  I've watched a lot of You Tube videos about decorating planners & didn't realize planners & the decorating of them were such big things. 

I have a planner already and I agree they're very useful. I also didn't realize people decorate both planners and Journals. I have to admit I like the decorating better than writing. 

[CalicoKitty]

Our Goodwill is now open, and I had some boxes of books to donate.  I sat in a line of cars for about an hour until it was my turn to donate.  Everyone donating has to get out of their car and remove their items from the bags or boxes they brought them in and sort them into the bins that they have.    The man told me they are not allowed to touch our items.  I had several heavy banker's boxes of books, and I had to remove the boxes from the car and put them in their big bin.   I also got rid of a broken TV.  My unload was easy and pretty fast, but cars ahead of me who had bags and bags and bags of clothes or household stuff took a long time to sort.  It was an interesting system.  Salvation Army is still not doing any house picks ups.

[doodlebug]

3 hours ago, CalicoKitty said:

Our Goodwill is now open, and I had some boxes of books to donate.  I sat in a line of cars for about an hour until it was my turn to donate.  Everyone donating has to get out of their car and remove their items from the bags or boxes they brought them in and sort them into the bins that they have.    The man told me they are not allowed to touch our items.  I had several heavy banker's boxes of books, and I had to remove the boxes from the car and put them in their big bin.   I also got rid of a broken TV.  My unload was easy and pretty fast, but cars ahead of me who had bags and bags and bags of clothes or household stuff took a long time to sort.  It was an interesting system.  Salvation Army is still not doing any house picks ups.

I'm kinda lucky in that my city has curbside pickup for donations along with trash pickup.  They have a place on town website that allows you to request the special orange bags for donations.  Then, you put the bags, which are for clothes, shoes and small household goods, on the curb on trash day and they are collected.  Makes it really simple.  During quarantine, I've been going through my clothes (I have a ridiculous amount) and have already donated 3 big bags and have 2 more ready for pick up next week.

[PikaScrewChu]

21 hours ago, Nysha said:

I got tested for Covid-19 today and it's not painful, just really uncomfortable. I've been having breathing issues whenever I walked very long for the last month, but today I just couldn't catch my breath so I went to the ER. I was there for 6 1/2 hours because besides the shortness of breath I had a temperature of 100.4. 

Blood tests came back with a lactic acid level of 2.5, so I got two liters of something and another blood test. This time they were 1.7, which the ER doctor said was good enough. My blood pressure was excellent, my heart rate was fine, chest x-ray was clear, and the EKG didn't show any problems, but on oxygen my O2 levels never went higher than 96 and off oxygen it bounced between 85 and 91. The next thing to rule out is Covid. The results should be back by Tuesday or Wednesday.

I don't think I have it. I have asthma, COPD, and I'm morbidly obese. I know that losing weight is a major component to resolve this issue and today I've finally come to realize that if I don't I'm going to die sooner rather than later. 

Hoping for the best Nysha. This is a scary time right now. 

[Oldernowiser]

Ms. Chu, how are you doing?

[jcbrown]

8 hours ago, CalicoKitty said:

 Salvation Army is still not doing any house picks ups.

Salvation Army is anti-LGBTQ, which is why we haul our crap to Goodwill even thought it would be easier to have someone pick it up.

@Nysha I hope your results are good.

[ChiCricket]

My husband's  Catholic church is starting having Masses again tomorrow here in suburban Chicago.  (Well, it's after midnight  here as I post this, so I guess it's today already.)

 But he didn't call in quickly enough to get a reservation...so they are all filled up, so he's SOL (why they couldn't have scheduled more than the usual two normal Masses after being off for three months is beyond me.)

He is really disappointed, but I can't say I am...I really don't trust him to follow social distancing rules.

 

Edited June 14, 2020 by ChiCricket

[PikaScrewChu]

2 hours ago, Oldernowiser said:

Ms. Chu, how are you doing?

Doing all right I suppose. I've been sleeping 12+ hours a day. Having to figure out decent lies for when my friends eventually ask. Thankfully all of them have been self absorbed so it has been pretty easy to keep my mouth shut. I'm normally a very private person so it isn't hard to keep quiet. I've told my parents and my mom's first response "Last I checked, which was 5 minutes ago, there is a pandemic still going on." Thank goodness I declined all wedding invites this summer because of work. I don't think I could have faced the questioning. 

I've picked up marking work for a prof I know since the transition to a full online course has been extremely difficult and she has no time to mark. Normally the exams would take 20 hours to mark. Thought it would be an excellent distraction. Yeah no. This was maybe 5 hours. I'm not sure if the students don't know how to use the online software to record their answers, if the pandemic has caused apathy, or the material doesn't translate well to online learning. Maybe a combination of the three. I have never given out so many zeros before. At least we know they aren't cheating.

I truly have no idea how we are going to do this in the fall. So many places are changing their minds on whether or not there will be in-person classes. I'm cringing at the thought. So many places have profs in their late 60s and early 70s that they are just starting to look to replace if/when they retire. One teaching prof I know just retired at 73. I was pretty sure he was going to keep going until they put him in a home. How can we expect them to teach and hold office hours with young adults who are making up a larger proportion of infections now? Just not offer the courses?

Selfishly I'm hoping it's all online so I can finally dye my hair various shades of blue, green, whatever my heart desires because I'm on work from home until at least December and I could pick up a teaching gig. Easy to wear a head scarf on Zoom for a few hours a week. That or finally get hair extensions so I can wear my hair like Ariana Grande.

[doodlebug]

7 hours ago, ChiCricket said:

But he didn't call in quickly enough to get a reservation...so they are all filled up, so he's SOL (why they couldn't have scheduled more than the usual two normal Masses after being off for three months is beyond me.)

If they're like my church, they only have a couple Masses because they have to do heavy duty cleaning between services and, also, they need plenty of time to clear the building after the first service before people start arriving for the next one.

My church is doing 3 Masses a weekend: one Saturday late afternoon and 2 on Sunday, 7:30 and 11:30.

Interesting that his church requires reservations.  Mine is just telling people that, should the church reach capacity, the ushers will refuse to admit anyone else and the doors will be closed and no one can enter from outside the building.  They also close the doors and prevent entry as soon as Mass starts, no matter how many are inside, to prevent people from sitting outside of designated seating.

[SunnyBeBe]

I really hope people are informed when they go into a closed building with many others and sit for an hour.  I don't think they get it.

Are the Catholic Churches requiring masks on those who attend indoor services?  I saw on the news a few weeks back when they were having outdoor services and even outside there was a sign that said Masks required beyond this point.  Most of the non-Catholic churches leave it up to the member to decide in my area.  At my parents church, we have been told only a couple of people wear mask!  Plus, they have lots of singing.  Their pastor is a diabetic and heart patient!

How would a church function if half its members got sick and most of them died from covid and it's all traced back to an asymptomatic member who attended the church services. How does a church go on with that kind of legacy?  

For me, people need to be explaining to me why THEY are not using precautions, not the other way around.  When someone I know tells me by phone or text me that they did something careless, my comment is either silence or I say, interesting choice, in light of the death risk.  When I say this to family members, my mother gets very upset, but, she agrees with me. She's just too afraid to say so.  I ignore her objections. I have no qualms speaking my mind, when I know I'm right. I wonder why the wrong doers feelings are more important than mine. Hmmmm......I think I know. 

I had an idea about civil lawsuits against those who refuse to wear masks.  I'm doing some research now, but, will post soon about it. I think I may be on to something. 

 

Edited June 14, 2020 by SunnyBeBe

[doodlebug]

32 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I really hope people are informed when they go into a closed building with many others and sit for an hour.  I don't think they get it.

Are the Catholic Churches requiring masks on those who attend indoor services?  I saw on the news a few weeks back when they were having outdoor services and even outside there was a sign that said Masks required beyond this point.  Most of the non-Catholic churches leave it up to the member to decide in my area.  At my parents church, we have been told only a couple of people wear mask!  Plus, they have lots of singing.  Their pastor is a diabetic and heart patient!

How would a church function if half its members got sick and most of them died from covid and it's all traced back to an asymptomatic member who attended the church services. How does a church go on with that kind of legacy?  

For me, people need to be explaining to me why THEY are not using precautions, not the other way around.  When someone I know tells me by phone or text me that they did something careless, my comment is either silence or I say, interesting choice, in light of the death risk.  When I say this to family members, my mother gets very upset, but, she agrees with me. She's just too afraid to say so.  I ignore her objections. I have no qualms speaking my mind, when I know I'm right. I wonder why the wrong doers feelings are more important than mine. Hmmmm......I think I know. 

I had an idea about civil lawsuits against those who refuse to wear masks.  I'm doing some research now, but, will post soon about it. I think I may be on to something. 

 

Yes, my Catholic church requires that everyone have a mask in place the entire time they are inside the building.  We're allowed to receive communion in our hand, step aside to a designated area to remove the mask and swallow the host, replace the mask and then return to our seats.

As I have said before, in the seating areas, social distancing is required and the pews are marked as to where someone can sit.  Ushers take people to their seats to be sure that everyone does it properly.  At the end of the Mass, we are to leave, row by row, out of the door nearest our seat with those closest to the door leaving first.  Social distancing is to be maintained, no loitering or congregating in the aisles or even in front of the church or in the parking lot.  My pastor has been a real stickler about these rules and constantly reminds us that we are to be setting the example for appropriate behavior in the pandemic.  He also repeatedly says, 'if you are not comfortable or cannot follow the rules; please stay home.'

Edited June 14, 2020 by doodlebug

[GeeGolly]

I read an article rating activities by risk of infection. 1 - 8, 8 being the highest risk. Churches were rated either 7 or 8.

Below is a link to a different covid article I found interesting. Fair warning, it does not paint a rosy picture, not dreadful - but not rosy.

https://www.bluezones.com/2020/06/covid-19-straight-answers-from-top-epidemiologist-who-predicted-the-pandemic/?fbclid=IwAR3JWt-yDwbgYUlB1wnP0xS4TtEto-EDW8QfHK3sXQ7nAyErd_2saqZ-Qqo

[Absolom]

I saw this one this morning.  I was a little surprised getting hair done was so two levels higher than the dentist or doctor.  I guess it's the amount of time in close proximity.

[Zella]

Does that factor in social distancing and masks?