Checking In

[twistedchick]

This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time on Thursday) to midnight (8pm Friday Eastern Time).

Poll #23757 Daily poll

This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 81

How are you doing?

I am OK
76 (93.8%)

I am not OK but I don't need help right now
5 (6.2%)

I could use some help
0 (0.0%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single
31 (38.3%)

One other person
27 (33.3%)

More than one other person
23 (28.4%)

Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.

Comments

[feng_shui_house]

*waves* Hi. Still sewing face masks and writing fic.

In today's installment of the Battling Coronavirus series, old Steve Rogers finds a way to help.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/23448175

Trying to train myself in wearing a cloth face mask. I cut my hair to make it easier, but I'm considering getting the electric hair trimmer that I've only used to trim muzzles when making teddy bears to try to smooth it out.. hmm...

[mific]

I hand-sewed a mask and wore it out shopping yesterday. It makes my glasses steam up! Very weird feeling, having to breathe through cloth.

[feng_shui_house]

It takes some getting used to!

The design I'm using has a single tie that goes through 'wings' at the side of the mask, so when I tie it, it snugs down fairly well because it gets gathered. I wore it for a couple hours without my glasses fogging up. I have rather large eyeglasses, though, and so I can put them over the edge of the mask which helps hold it down.

[velvetglovefic]

I *was* actually doing terrible today. I already have brain chemistry issues, and these last 4 years, and then even more these last 4 weeks, have just seemed so brutal mood-wise and in every other way.

I've been going to Pilates sessions twice a week for about 4 years (lots of 4s today), and my instructor has become someone important to me beyond the physical exercise. We're very unlike--she's half my age and religious--but she is patient with me and respectful of my peculiar fears unlike anyone else who's ever tried to teach me something physical. She actually knows me in ways no one else does, and I trust her in ways I don't trust anyone else. All this to say: this person and her teaching have become quite important in my life, and, until today, I hadn't been able to work with her in over a month.

Well, we did a Zoom session this evening, and it was slightly awkward, but it was so nice to see her face and hear her voice giving me corrections and laughing. I felt stiff, and a little guilty for being so lazy in the interim, but I asked for a lot of difficult exercises and she took me through them, and it was...fun. Like a lot of (maybe most?) people, I haven't been having a lot of *fun* recently, and actually having some was invigorating. I'm going to be so sore tomorrow!

So what was winding up to be maybe a worst day actually turned out all right. My stress level is nowhere near where it had been this morning. I don't expect this to last, but it's nice to have a reprieve.

[mific]

I'm glad you got to do that - hope you're not too sore!

[velvetglovefic]

Thanks, it was really nice. I'm lucky I have this option. As for soreness, I actually don't mind being sore because it reminds me I did work and am taking care of myself. So, weirdly, I look forward to it!

[we_are_spc]

I am about to be jealous of you. I miss Pilates. It helped so much with my vering issue (And that's a good thing when you can't see a bloody thing) along with my core strength, and I haven't don it in...like20 years or so, and ... I need to get back into it, dammit!

-T~

[velvetglovefic]

It's really great, isn't it? I started doing it to help with an old back injury/arthritis, and just to kind of have some level of control over my body. My tendency is to be very much in my head, and Pilates has allowed me to learn my own body a bit. I'm still kind of all elbows and knees, but I'm more graceful and a lot stronger than I was before.

I hope that you can get back into it at some point--when we can all leave our houses and meet new people.

[we_are_spc]

Me, too. Although with me being totally blind, I may need a one on one deal. ... and the money to transport myself there. LOL

Which shouldn't be an issue once I get back to working massage therapy. I'm pretty sure I have places that do pilates in both Painesville and Cleveland, so.

-T~

[goss]

Aww, that's nice to hear. I'm glad you've found a good person to give you that kind of understanding and support. :)

That reminds me, I should probably start implementing some kind of light exercise regime since I'm not on my feet all day, like I usually do when teaching classes.

[velvetglovefic]

Thanks. I feel like I got lucky with her--I don't know that I'd have done Pilates this long with any other instructor.

With everyone stuck at home, it seems possible that a lot of people will have to rethink how they work movement into their routines, whether it's replacing job-related exercise, or just making sure they don't turn to stone.

[adafrog]

Glad you got to do pilates.

[velvetglovefic]

Thank you. I'm really grateful that this is even possible for me :)

[st_aurafina]

That's a brilliant idea with the zoom session! I'm glad it was a good thing for you.

[velvetglovefic]

It's not as good as an in-person session of course, but Pilates and yoga are pretty accessible with zoom. It's definitely better than doing nothing, which was what I had been doing!

[fred_mouse]

That is wonderful that you managed to do something that was fun, and helpful. I hope you aren't too sore tomorrow!

[velvetglovefic]

Thanks. I am pleasantly sore today. I can tell I worked hard and did something for myself, so I'm happy.

[mecurtin]

I'm SO GLAD you have this & it's working!

My daughter "complained" the other day that "Mom is always saying I should go outside, walk around, you'll feel better--and I took down the trash and I DO feel better! It's so annoying when she's right!"

[velvetglovefic]

I'm really grateful to have this too. I get so much out of the sessions, both physical and psychological.

It's hard to self-motivate to do exercise for a lot of people, me included. Even though I have been doing and appreciating these fairly grueling workouts for years now, when left to my own devices, I just sat like a lump for a month! It's good your daughter listens to you, even if she's not thrilled by the message!

[goss]

I haven't left the house since Sunday, but we are now down to our last fresh fruit, carton of milk, and there's no more bread left. So tomorrow I'm girding my loins and heading out to battle face the big, scary supermarket. *___*

[mific]

I was nervous yesterday, my first trip out in a week of lockdown. But the small local supermarket was organised with places marked on the ground to stand two metres apart while queueing to enter, and people were being sensible. Hope your sortie out goes okay!

[goss]

I am psyching myself to just get it done, and try not to stress out too much about it. *fingers crossed*

[adafrog]

You can do it!

[goss]

*fist-bump*

[mific]

Had a busy couple of days catching up with work from home so less time to catch up on DW. Got a flu shot and groceries as online shopping here isn't available any more due to too many people using it. But my knee's slowly improving so I managed to go out.

[goss]

Glad to hear that your knee is improving! Those can be scary. :/ Keeping resting up lots. *hugs*

[dragoness_e]

As noted in my DW journal, I've been re-reading fanfiction I wrote nearly 20 years ago, and have been surprised at how well it held up. I enjoyed it a great deal, too.

Several of my subscribed fanfic authors on AO3 are apparently stuck at home, too, because after months and months of very sparse updates, all of a sudden a couple of them are just churning out updates--finishing stories I had thought were abandoned, putting up new drabbles, and so on. It's lovely to see.

[jb_slasher]

I have found that, especially right now, re-reading fic is comforting. Sometimes even re-reading my own fic is comforting because I know what feeling I was going for and so when I re-read, I get that feeling again. Any comfort right now is a good thing. :)

[hitokage]

As someone who was already housebound when this whole thing started, it's been ... trippy to watch my ability to focus just completely *tank* as my anxiety goes into overdrive. I have multiple dings against me if I were to catch COVID-19, but wife and I don't go anywhere, don't see anyone except each other, so logically I know the risk if vanishingly small. And still. Weasels all the way down. Add on being on a fixed income and having a hard time getting in the staples we need (the struggle that's been keeping our cats in litter has been *real* holy cow) and then the furnace doing us a dirty and thank GODS my magpie self had squirreled away more AA batteries! Yeah, it's been a roller coaster week.

On the other hand, I might finally have my garden all tilled up and ready for the weekend plantings? Or nearly so?

[fred_mouse]

Sympathies on weasels all the way down. I've been alternating between a little anxious and argh, weasels, for so long now that I've forgotten what it feels like to not live that that (and that is only 2020 -- I'm in Australia, I spent most of January worrying about family and friends on the other side of the country, while large areas on our side burned without media attention. It was ... not good).

That is wonderful that the garden is (nearly?) ready for planting! What are you planning on putting in this weekend?

[hitokage]

I have dear friends in Australia and then another dear friend has family in China, so it feels like it's been an ongoing anxiety assault since ... December? And I was already anxious before any of this because of a grandson still in chemo for leukemia (in remission, but still in treatment, because it's a years long process) and now with the pandemic, *that's* a thing and just... WEASELS.

Everything! I've got so many seeds and everything's going straight into the ground cuz it's S. Carolina, so I'm actually a little behind with a couple of these, but we've got: corn, cucumber, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, bush beans, long beans, carrots, two varieties of tomato, yellow squash, zucchini, okra, several varieties of peppers, butternut and acorn squash, eggplant, a yellow-green melon, garlic, dill, basil, cilantro, arugula, chives, basil, oregano, and variety marigolds!
(one of these things is not like the others XD)

[fred_mouse]

All! The! Plants! We haven't had the break of season yet, although we appear to have turned the corner into cooler weather in the last week, so we might get enough rain to make it worth planting. I'm eyeing off sections of the front yard, and contemplating taking out everything that is currently there. Getting anything to add to our sandy soil to make it any kind of productive is going to be hard at the moment though.

And all the sympathies on everything you have going on in your life. I hope your grandson is able to keep away from any risk of infection, and that you and yours get through this.

[lilly_c]

I'm now on a much needed week off from work, I work with learning disabled adults in a supported living service and I keep having to explain to them why I'm not sitting with them to watch TV, do an activity like colouring in or going into the garden when they get their outdoors time.

Work gave everyone on staff an N95 this week and I found that I couldn't breathe and I also had a panic attack just from trying mine on for less than a minute. Personally I think it's too little too late as this has been in Scotland since January or February.

I do have a couple of things planned for my *now staying at home week that are indoor, mostly watching DVDs and maybe working on a fic if I can get into the right head space for it.
*My family were originally coming up to visit for the week and we were booked for several day trips.

[fred_mouse]

Here's to a week of downtime. May it be good for you.

[we_are_spc]

....


Aaaand our electric company still wants paid. And I had to deal with setting up a payment plan becaus CPAP supplies, and I still ow like...$97...and I want to scream. *sighs*

...

On the bright side, I've been keeping the scedule going for 5 days now, and it's ... oddly freeing to reaize just how much control over small things helps a mood, and the mental health. Like, for real.

I just...had no ideal o.o

-T~

[fred_mouse]

That is wonderful about managing to keep a schedule and having it make such a difference. I'm also finding a strong routine is helping.

I hope you get the electric sorted.

[we_are_spc]

It's more the fact that they're not stopping payments, or freezing them. So now one of my immunocompromised room mates has to go back to work (Because Starbucks is exempt from stay at home order because carry out/to go place) so we can keep paying.

Yeah, it helps when I can put down that I've done the thing, too. The feeling of accomplishment from doing the little things is huge, you know?

-T~