Results
2775 entries
found
Page 94 of 116
Text Only
What do you think was the biggest news event this past week -- either in your community, nationally, or globally? Talk about why it’s a big deal.
In my state, the governor announced that 70% of the state's residents will have had at least one vaccine by Memorial Day. Maybe the numbers are slow to catch up, but as of today, my NY Times daily stats show only 58%. Not sure what's going on there. Still, 70% would be pretty sweet! I think the fully vaccinated number is around 40%. Progress!
June 2, 2021
Text Only
Would you describe yourself as someone who’s healthy at this point in your life? Why or why not? If this has changed due to the pandemic, talk about what’s changed.
I am healthier now than when the pandemic started. I have had months upon months for rest and self-reflection. I did a lot of writing and self-exploration. I attended to grieving my way through the loss of a significant other. I attended many virtual mental health courses to learn how to live a healthier life. I have been walking at least 5 times a week, briskly, and am now at my ideal weight. I have improved my nutrition. I have had time to re-evaluate my relationships and decide who is important to me, and have made nurturing important relationships with friends and family a higher priority. I developed a healthier routine for myself, scheduling important components of life. My life has achieved greater balance. In these ways, the "time out" of the pandemic has been a gift.
June 2, 2021
Text Only
¿De que manera el coronavirus le está afectando su vida en este momento? Cuéntenos sus experiencias, sensaciones/emociones, y pensamientos.
El día de ayer vacunaron a mi mamá, quien tiene 74 años, con la primera dosis de la vacuna de Astrazéneca. El día que las vacunas aterrizaron en el país, yo inscribí a mi mamá en el registro del Ministerio de Salud Pública, es decir hace 9 días. Ese es un aspecto que hay que resaltar, solo vinieron las vacunas y al otro día estaban ya vacunando en la ciudad capital y en las principales ciudades del resto del país. A mi mamá la llamaron del seguro social para vacunarla, le dieron una cita específica, en un horario, y realmente cumplieron con ello. La mantuvieron durante 20 minutos para observar si tenía alguna reacción alérgica inmediata y luego, se pudo marchar. Mi mamá tenía muchas dudas sobre la vacuna por las noticias sobre la trombosis. De hecho, hubiéramos preferido que fuera la Sputnik. Pero, como la llamaron directamente, pues hizo a un lado las dudas y se presentó. Mientras, el resto de personas estamos a la espera de que completen esta fase y abran la posibilidad para otros grupos etáreos y vulnerables de la población. De igual forma, esperamos que vengan más vacunas, ya que este primera entrega solamente abarcaba 300,000.
June 2, 2021
Text Only
Has the pandemic affected your political views in any way? If so, how?
COVID has made me even more adamant that we must provide basic health care for all, just as every other industrialized country does. I am also thinking that it doesn’t look like there is any reaching across the aisle and no way to reach compromise—we can’t even get COVID deniers to stop attacking people who are wearing masks or threatening flight attendants. In my mind COVID will forever be tied to the insurrection, voter suppression, police brutality, and climate change. I’m in CÁ and we had days of fire—one day when it stayed as black as night the entire day (except that the sky was orange). And I have to figure out ways to contribute to solutions to these issues.
June 2, 2021
Text & Image
How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
Since I lost my job, this has been my near-daily sight. The only way I can keep income is by doing "gig work," like DoorDash and Instacart. There's no job security with any "gig work" either. The rating systems and ways to get deactivated due to customer actions are copious. It has been getting hotter outside, so I've been stuck waiting in parking lots in 90-100+ degree weather waiting for orders to pop up so that I can complete them and make money. I can't let my car run for the A/C because it'll put more wear on my car and waste gas. I'm overdue on an oil change, overdue on an alignment, overdue on new front tires. I can't even afford to pay all of my bills, so I don't know how I'm going to afford basic maintenance on my car (now my main source of income). I've been applying to jobs in numerous places, but haven't gotten any calls back or responses. I can't afford the commute if it's outside of my main city, unless they're willing to pay more. I just got my Bachelor's degree and I haven't even been able to use it because the only jobs at this level that have been posted are the same crisis work/work that is currently too overwhelming for me, mentally, or work that doesn't pay enough to survive. I shouldn't have to sacrifice my mental health to survive. I wish we had better social services for our country. It's such a shame that it's considered "lazy" or "unpatriotic" for this country to help its own people.
June 2, 2021
Text Only
How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
It's affecting me less and less as the weeks go on. I'm still being cautious and wearing a mask inside stores even if they don't have a mandatory mask policy but otherwise it feels like I'm getting my life back. I've been seeing friends and making plans. In fact tonight I'm going on my first in-person date in almost a year and a half! Inside a bar! It feels so weird and I am still having trouble wrapping my brain around the fact that an entire year has passed since the last time I felt like myself.
June 2, 2021
Text Only
Do you feel like your life is going well right now? Has the pandemic changed this? If so, tell us about it.
Before the pandemic, I was preparing to make a career jump. Now.... I'm just grateful for the job I have, the one that kept me insured even while I was furloughed, helped me navigate the unemployment system, invested the dollars in making the workplace as safe as possible. It's still not the job I went to college for, and I hate that my expectations have been so lowered. But there's something to be said for a steady source of above minimum wage income and a safe workplace for a female pushing 60 in the middle of a global pandemic. I feel bad for the younger ones who are having to lower their career expectations, though
June 3, 2021
Text Only
How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
I don't remember how to have fun. I took Memorial day off from work. I couldn't think of what to do, not a single idea. My wife is still out of the country, so it was just me. I flopped on the couch. Watched TV and dozed. In effect, I threw away the entire day, and the previous two days weren't much better--or at least, not any more active. My wife has told me that when she returns home next week she wants to "go on dates" but not to the movies or a restaurant. And I should come up with some ideas. I don't have the foggiest idea what to suggest. What do people do for a date if it's not a movie and dinner? I'm at a complete loss. I can't remember what things we did before the pandemic. It's all a blank, like that part of my life was erased--like a hole in the flow of reality as I know it. I don't remember how to have fun, and I don't know what to do.
June 3, 2021
Text Only
What do you think was the biggest news event this past week -- either in your community, nationally, or globally? Talk about why it’s a big deal.
Oh, by far the biggest news this week was the announcement that the remains of 215 First Nations children have been discovered on the grounds of a Catholic run residential school in Kamloops. Since the church has a long, long history of preying on the weak, the poor and indigenous populations in general, I sadly admit it wasn’t as shocking to me as it might have been. The sheer quantity of children dying and not being returned to their families for a decent burial was shocking but it’s time to rip the fucking bandage off and have the grounds of every residential school searched, right across this country. These children need to be repatriated to their families and I hope to hell that the perverted staff who did this are outed (dead or alive) and that the Catholic Church and the federal government not only pay the bills for the search,testing and repatriation but that a heaping dose of hot coals ends up on the heads of both entities for their part in these children’s deaths. Also, screw the Catholic Church for not every TRYING to apologize by this date for their role in this outrageous scheme to brainwash children and in covering up the deaths. This religion is one of the leaders in toxic treatment of children and those less fortunate, I hope there is some kind of hell since they really need to end up roasting in it.
June 3, 2021
Text Only
Many of us have experienced restrictions on movement and social contact during the pandemic. Talk about any restrictions that have especially affected you.
There's no longer restrictions in my local area which is nuts. Mask mandates are ending, eveyone is back to normal and I can't handle it. It definitly feels like I have PTSD and trauma from this last year. I dont want to take off my mask. My mask is a security blanket. I almost enjoy the restrictions because it reduced the decisions I had to make. Now it's decision overload because the onus has been thrown back on each individual instead of science making the decision for us.
June 3, 2021
Text Only
How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
After almost a year and a half of maintaining at least 6 ft of social distance, I have a very hard time when a stranger stands closer to me than that, even though I'm fully vaccinated. Today I was in line at the grocery store and a man came up and stood right behind me, at most 2 feet away. It made me really uncomfortable and anxious. Plus he wasn't wearing a mask, which also doesn't really matter now that I'm vaccinated, but it just made it worse for my anxiety level. The same thing happened a few weeks ago. I get really angry and want to turn around and scream, "6 feet, people! 6 feet!" But I don't say anything because I hate to make a scene. And honestly, I'm afraid the person might be aggressive. So I just keep trying to inch forward to get away from them. Of course it doesn't work because they just inch forward, too. I by nature have a large personal space, so social distancing has been quite comfortable for me with strangers (not with family or friends, though—I want to be able to be close to them). But I was okay with a couple of feet between me and other people. I don't know how long it will take me to be able to stand comfortably any closer than 6 feet now.
June 3, 2021
Text Only
Would you describe yourself as someone who’s healthy at this point in your life? Why or why not? If this has changed due to the pandemic, talk about what’s changed.
everything is going well right now. My daughter got married, we were able to have the wedding almost completely mask free. I am keeping busy, making plans to retire next year because I am a teacher, I have 32 years of experience and life is too short to keep working forever. Right now I am teaching in a socially distanced class. IT is so weird. Students are on their laptops, teachers are in another remote location and I feel like falling asleep. This is not how teaching is meant to be. I keep looking for the light at the end of Covid. The numbers in New York State have gone down. Stores no longer have a curfew. Everything seems to be moving in the right direction. The sun is shining, flowers have bloomed, I believe we are coming out of this.
June 3, 2021
Text & Image
How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
The 17 year cicadas are overrunning my area. Their empty nymph casings are all over the place. The grown cicadas are clogging the airspace and trees. They are so noisy its hard to believe. I read one cicada is as noisy as a lawn mower. Having thousands of them buzzing at once is like listening to dozens of leaf blowers at the same time. I found this just hatched adult cicada in my home this morning. I know it just left its casing because the wings are still partly folded up, not fully formed and straight. I managed to catch it safely, without damaging it, and put it on the outside edge of my balcony in the sunlight. I checked and its gone so hopefully its flying around buzzing and trying to find a mate. For me this cicada is a metaphor for how I and others in my community feel about life right now. The strict mask and social distancing requirements are gradually being relaxed. So I see people out walking in the spring sunlight. For me its strange to see their whole face, instead of mostly covered by a mask. They’re like the cicada, being reborn to life as it was before the pandemic. Free to walk around while still practicing social distancing. I see everyone carrying a mask with them out of habit, and just in case. It’s wonderful to see a group of bare faced walkers, conversing and laughing as they walk together.
June 3, 2021
Text Only
What do you think was the biggest news event this past week -- either in your community, nationally, or globally? Talk about why it’s a big deal.
The biggest event started before last week— the COVID situation in India is horrendous. And Thailand is suffering from the biggest surge since the pandemic began. Africa doesn't have enough vaccines to give out, Europe is still restricted in many places, and the U.S.–Canada border is still closed. With the rate of vaccinations going up in the U.S., it's easy to feel like the pandemic is ending. But it definitely isn't. And only 41% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, so we're not anywhere near "herd immunity" yet even here. I read an article yesterday about the conflict for vaccinated people who want to feel relieved and happy and optimistic for the future, but so many people are still suffering and dying that we can't just celebrate. And Americans are still dying, too, so it's really hard for people who have just lost someone to the disease to see other people going around without masks on, having parties, etc., when a loved one just died from COVID. We're entering a very complicated time in this pandemic where some people are coming out the other side of it while others are still buried in it. And some people are vaccinated while others aren't. The wealth gap is blazing in our faces, both domestically and globally. Why are so many Americans vaccinated when India and Africa can't get enough to go around? Why is India running out of oxygen for treatments? Why are people in poorer communities here in the U.S. not getting vaccinated as quickly as middle and upper class (and mostly White) folks? I hope this horrible suffering will be redeemed at least a little bit by people seeing the injustices that have been exposed to the light, and doing something to change them. I wish I could be more optimistic about that actually happening.
June 3, 2021
Text Only
How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
I believe that people around here are identifying with the Brood X cicadas. After 17 years, the little insects are finally freed from their solitary confinement underground. Now they can fly free, mingle, and make lots of noise. I think the parallel is obvious: we can now get out and mingle, too. We weren’t out of circulation for nearly as long as the cicadas were, of course; but sometimes the lockdown seems as though it continued for years. A cicada eruption is one of the great spectacles of natural history; a lot of us look forward to it. The cicadas are cute little guys—black with bright red eyes and transparent wings—and very tame. They’re not very strong flyers; sometimes they make unscheduled landings on the sidewalks. From there, you can pick them up and put them back on the nearest tree trunk. And you should; if they stay on the sidewalk, they’ll get stepped on or simply roast on the hot pavement. I realize that this good deed doesn’t make very much difference to the world at large, but it makes a huge difference to that particular cicada. But the cicadas are one more thing: they’re a MEMENTO MORI, a reminder of our mortality. After they die out, in about a month, the cicadas won’t be back for another seventeen years. How many people who are alive and watching them now, will still be alive to see them again, seventeen years from now?
June 3, 2021
Text Only
If you are caring for a child under the age of 18 whose education has been affected by the pandemic, talk about how it’s been affected.
This year has been tough for students.It almost seems like there was no right answer for schooling. My kids were put through an unpredictable year that included multiple schedule and policy changes made by the School Board. They started school as Hybrid (attending in-person classes two times a week and online classes three times a week). Two weeks later, they changed to in-person classes every day. Two weeks after that, they went back to hybrid mode. They changed to in-person classes 4 days a week at the semester break, and one month later changed to in-person classes 5 days a week. One month later, the school district revoked the mask requirement, and they haven't discussed the pandemic since then. It has been an emotional roller coaster all year. I think the lack of stability had a huge impact on student performance. It's hard to learn when you're receiving information in many different ways. My daughter (14 years old) has dealt with a lot of stress due to not feeling safe at school. Overall, I don't think it will affect my children's academic performance very much because both my spouse and I are college-educated and support them academically. I know there are groups that will be affect much more. Additionally, I feel that schools need to adapt their expectations. Trying to meet the same state standards right now is ridiculous. I feel like administrators have worried so much about falling behind that they haven't stopped to think about the amount of stress students feel. Why pile on homework and assignments when there's so much else happening in the world?
June 5, 2021
Text Only
What do you think was the biggest news event this past week -- either in your community, nationally, or globally? Talk about why it’s a big deal.
I think the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre has been one of the bigger news stories. I think because we have a renewed awareness of racial discrimination due to the protests, the Derek Chauvin trial and the Jan 6th insurrection over the last year. It's become a very partisan issue with Republicans refusing to believe the country has any kind of race problem and the rest of the country trying to learn the history we weren't taught and coming more to grips with our country's racist history. This is one of the first times our country has really addressed what happened in Tulsa - having more visibility and more representation in government has helped to not have this anniversary go by without fully examining what happened. I don't know that the President would have given the speech he did without the George Floyd murder and trial, BLM protests, and the storming of the Capitol. People think that protests don't accomplish anything because it often looks like nothing changes - but what protests do is break the silence - it starts the conversations and makes things priorities on the national stage that might not have been.
June 5, 2021
Text Only
What do you think was the biggest news event this past week -- either in your community, nationally, or globally? Talk about why it’s a big deal.
I think the biggest, and to me, the saddest news event of the week are all the giveaways to convince people to get vaccines. Free burgers, drinks, scholarships, money. What about getting your life back? Is that not enough? What about the sacrifice of the health care workers and the clinical trial participants? Is that not enough? I am really beginning to think we suck as a species overall.
June 5, 2021
Text Only
Additional Material
I am glad to hear that the US is sharing vaccines with countries that are struggling to get COVID under control, and hope that we can share more very soon. It is not okay that wealthy countries have the means to vaccinate their people, and poorer countries do not.
June 5, 2021
Text Only
How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
I don't know anymore what is just life and what is Covid life. It is all one and the same. I'm still working from home which I love, and being much less social which I also love. My friendships are deeper and fewer, my focus is greater and my mood is better. I really love being at home and don't miss the hustle bustle AT ALL.
June 5, 2021