Month: February 2021

Isolation Diary: I have been looking at the early posts. How naive we were. We thought we would endure this for maybe 2 or 3 months. We have all struggled this year to keep up our spirits, to remain ourselves. My mind feels simple and passive at present. I am uncomfortable with this feeling. Today was a fixit day. Broken items. Glue was used, and steel wool and a sort of paper mâché. And paint. At least I solved some problems. AND, as it was a beautiful day, I spent time in the garden and I vanquished vines. Often just doing things with my hands can center me and focus a sense of self. Do we all have this? A tactile constructive side and an imaginative cerebral side? Of course we do, what am I saying? Either one can center me, I suppose. It’s that in-between time that’s the problem. Is that when I, in desperation, mop the floor?

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Susan J.
I love that mopping the floor is your default activity.

Isolation Diary: Just a reminder…seeing people only on Zoom or FaceTime is not normal. And, second thing, I am in my house and yard so much of the time, and with my family safe pod, no masks, close contact, that I have been known to go out for a walk to Larchmont to pick up coffee, only to have to return home after half a block to retrieve my mask. I have this isolated but active bubble that is safe and I can step out with a sense of normalcy and then realize…..no, not normal. Back up. Sigh.

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Jeff W.
We now consider all the “not normal” experiences you mention to be “new normal.” I mean, let’s face it, it’ll soon be a whole year of this…er…”lifestyle.”
It sounds to me like you’re making the best of it, dear Ruth — which comes as no surprise to anyone who knows you.

Christie M.
I only am without my mask in my dreams. Literally, I have dreams where I’m walking along a boardwalk or something, and suddenly realize I don’t have my mask on and didn’t bring it. Very disconcerting dreams. In real life I can’t step outside without a mask on, even a walk in Central Park, everyone wears a mask. I think it’s because of what New York City dealt with last spring, sirens night and day, morgue trucks right down the street. I don’t think our CA friends experienced it in such an immediate way, and even now when CA is in a crisis, the attitude seems to be much more… I don’t know, relaxed? Flexible? Casual? You’re so lucky to have your pod! I’m looking forward to NYC stepping up vaccine distribution.

Ruth Silveira
Christie M. No, we probably don’t experience it in the same way. More space in many areas. Lots of people staying home, having everything delivered. When many of us go somewhere, we go in our car, no mask needed alone in your car.

Isolation Diary: I had a conversation with my neighbor today! We happened to be out front on the sidewalk at the same time: me with Adam and Fig, she bringing in the trash bins. Neither of us wearing masks as we had no intention of leaving our own property so we kept a wide distance. But so good to check in! Lots of people walking dogs between 4 and 5 but I hardly ever see my neighbors.

Isolation Diary: You know what is hard for me? Thinking of everything I’m going to need for the next several days or week when I make an on-line order. I am not running out to stores for the odd item, and I so miss that. Maybe in a month, after I get my 2nd shot, I will feel okay about dashing out to Home Depot for a particular screw. Although, now that I think about it, any excuse NOT to visit Home Depot is welcome. Or going out specifically for a certain color thread. I have a lot of thread but somehow I rarely already have the right color. And…this frustration is even bigger than the on-line grocery shopping frustration….I want to shop for fabric. Lots of fabric available on-line but what is the real color? How does it feel? How does this look with that? Also, now that I’m talking about my yearnings…I want to visit Ikea to see if the set of large drawers they have will accommodate my collection of fabric. Which is now in bins and I am annoyed by that, because they are piled on top of each other and the lids are collapsing. And they are unsightly besides. And now that I’m thinking about what I miss and will be so happy to experience again….Running Charade parties!!! Okay, any party, but especially a Running Charades party. That might be a year away. Just appearing on the horizon.

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Lise H.
I so relate to all of this-it really stifles the creativity if you can’t see & feel things in person, or stop for a moment of inspiration on impulse.

Ruth Silveira
Lise H. Yes! So true. I am looking for something, my eye is caught by something out of category, perspective changes, ideas expand…..

Lise H.
Ruth Silveira exactly! I miss the little adventures.

Alicia C.R.
Totally agree!

Natascha C.A.
Agreed

Isolation Diary: Yesterday was my daughter Maggie’s birthday. I baked her a cake. Because of an error in preparation I renamed the cake “The No Pants Zoom Cake”

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Jessie M.
The “No Pants Zoom Cake” was DELICIOUS!!!! Duncan’s review: “AMAZING”

Betsy B.
I missed it! Happy late birthday Maggie!

Aaron F.
Appropriate.

Laura O.
Perfect name! Maybe it becomes a tradition! Happy birthday Maggie

Susan J.
(She sent a picture of her character on the floor laughing.)

Natasha L.K.
Yum!!!

Isolation Diary: I am deeply distressed at the moment. I received my notice that I should confirm my appointment for my 2nd vaccine shot. I had to answer some question on a web site, Carbon Health. I answered ‘yes’ to some questions about allergic reactions because I had had a local reaction and the questions were not clear, to me anyway, on what was considered an allergic reaction. I expected to be able to explain. No. My appointment was cancelled. I burst into tears. I tried to start again from the beginning. No. After anxiously waiting for my appointment to then be shut out, it felt like an attack on my life. All I could do was type in a message. I said “I want the appointment. How am I supposed to answer medical questions? I don’t know what you mean exactly when you say allergic reaction.” Really, how am I to know if the local reaction I had was caused by one of the ingredients in the vaccine? How could I possibly know that?! I also signed up for a virtual appointment tomorrow morning, hoping if I can talk to an actual person and not a computer program I might get a re-set and an appointment for my 2nd dose. But I have to pay for this appointment! And I don’t even know if this person will be able to help me. Plus, I am not sure I can figure out how this virtual appointment works. I downloaded the app as instructed and do not see any indication as to what I am supposed to do. Do they call? Am I supposed to call? What platform are we using. Is this app a platform? Doesn’t look like it. The link on the web site led to absolutely nothing. Maggie is coming over in the morning to help. So…my advice: if you are relying on Carbon Health for your 2nd dose, be careful how you answer their questions.

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Sabrina A.
ugh! so sorry!

Laurie S.
So so sorry Ruth and I hope you can somehow get through to them. Thank you for the warning on answering questions though. Noted!

Henrietta C.
Oh Ruth what a terrible experience. So sorry! I know Maggie will find a way. My brother had a similar experience in Maryland—appointment summarily canceled, no explanation. And the rollout in Mass has been scandalously bad, reliant until this week on a user-defying website that has left half the senior population frustrated & befuddled.

Jaime A.
That’s terrible, Ruth, it shouldn’t be so difficult. I hope you can clear it up easily today.

Bruce Y.
Your story makes me shudder. Good luck on getting it all straight.

Bruce Y.
I have been lucky. Had my first one with just some hassle. Was cancelled then they called and rescheduled. Yesterday, got a message to schedule the second shot .. Have done so. Will get shot next Saturday. Will be 21 days from the first shot. So, all good, if it works out. Yahoo.

Mars T.
I will also see if I can help.
(Mars then sent screen shots of information and links and numbers to call. As I had made a telehealth appointment that I hoped would resolve the issue I didn’t do anything additional at the time.)

Ruth Silveira
Mars T. Marsie, thank you for taking the time to send me all this information. So good to have all this backup knowledge. And thank you for helping spread the vaccine, a different kind of super spreader.

Mars T.
Let me know if I can be of any more assistance- I am intense about these things and won’t let go until we solve it

Carolyn K.
Mars T. You are a well informed guardian angel of a good friend.

Sandy R.
So sorry, Ruth. Nothing on the sites are clear and easy to understand. It’s so frustrating!!!

Mars T.
And if all else fails! Pretend you know NOTHING of the cancelled dose and just take your vaccine card to the same site on the same day you were supposed to with your vaccine card! Barbara ferrerr has reiterated this over and over again! If something goes wrong with your appointment, your vaccine card is supposed to serve as a second dose appointment.

Laura O.
Mars T. absolutely correct
Just show up with your card from the first appointment

Jeff W.
This is awful — SO sorry you’re being put through it. We are due for shot #2 soon, too — your experience will put us on our guard for when we are contacted.

Richard L.
Sorry you had this experience. There is a contact form on the main Carbon site, maybe try there as well. Also, what happens if you go back to the original email and start all over again?

Ruth Silveira
Thank you everyone. Maggie is standing by to help me. Virtual visit with Carbon Health in a few minutes.

Jeff W.
Anxiously awaiting outcome…

Holly B.
Welcome to the age of machines and technology!!!! Remember when you went to the doctor’s office; and waited until your name was called? Ah, the progress of the 21st Century!!

Ruth Silveira
Holly B. The tech is meant to make our lives easier isn’t it? Often I’m not sure.

Holly B.
Your options are limited to the machines menu!! Quelle snooze!!!!!!!

Ruth Silveira
Resolved! Cleared to have the 2nd shot. Just got re-scheduled for the same day. And, as a bonus to my mind, new appointment is at 11 am instead of 8 am. The very nice woman who helped me said she is handling a number of such cases today. It is good to know–even after my distress and anxiety last night–that people are trying to make this all work, trying to make it happen, trying to get vaccines to those who want and need it. Again, thank you all for your concern and ideas and support.

Carolyn K.
Ruth Silveira Yeh!! Well done!

Ann S.K.
Ruth Silveira thank goodness!

Ernie G.
Great news, indeed!!

Joyce H.
Ruth Silveira good news Ruth!!!!!

Anna M.
Ruth I’m so glad your problem was resolved! Yay Maggie!! And thank you for sharing an important cautionary tale!

Maggie M.
I was there primarily for moral support. Ruth – though understandably anxious – had essentially resolved it on her own.

Ruth Silveira
Maggie M. When there is anxiety involved, and often when not, having two minds addressing the situation is always good. Better chance that all necessary questions will be asked. Also we were dealing with two devices, computer and phone.

Kathi C.
I’m so happy you got that straightened out.

Cydney D.
Oh wow. That is awful. I got my first shot at the Forum in Inglewood. They gave me a card that had the date of my second shot which was 2/11/2021. They said since I was in the system to just show on that day or a later date and just following the signs for the line regarding vaccine’s “second shot”. They sent me a reminder by email a few days prior. I showed up, got in the line and it all went very smoothly.
They did ask questions about allergic reactions to medication but I just said NO because I figured a yes answer would hold things up. (How right she was!)

Rick C.
good to hear it got straightened out Ruthie!
we are going this Tuesday

Richard L.
I’m very glad for you and also to learn the company is on it …my experience with them has been nothing but good so far.

Sandy R.
A huge sigh of relief!!!So happy it all got straightened out.

Hope W.
Ruth, so very glad that everything was straightened out and that you have your 2nd shot appointment! I had a very similar problem with the Kaiser sign up form and that, too, had to do with a question about allergic reactions. I finally got an appointment with Shelley’s help but the hours I spent, over several days, had me frustrated beyond words and so stressed out, so I totally feel your pain! But you did it, and you’re getting your 2nd shot so “Congratulations!!!

Ruth Silveira
Hope W. Thank you, Hope. Sorry you went through something like I did. And for longer. But we will end up with our vaccinations. Phew.

Paul B.
Yay

Peter E.
I’m so glad.

Nancy W.
What a horrible experience. I’m so relived you got the problem solved. And thanks for the warning. I couldn’t get an appointment for the first dose until April 6. At least I have one.

Ruth Silveira
Nancy W. April 6 seems so far away. But I am glad you have an appointment! And once you get the first, I am sure you will be scheduled to receive the second. Unless you get the J and J one, of course. And we don’t seem to have a choice. At least I didn’t. I suppose the facility where you get it determines, at least in part, which vaccine you will receive because of the different storage needs.

Isolation Diary: Almost a year since the shut down. My theater company, Sacred Fools, has been closed for almost a year now. Today I listened to a podcast…The Alarmist…..Subject today: “Who was to blame for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet?” Guest was a Shakespeare scholar who reminded us that that play was written after the theaters in London had been closed for two years because of plague and were now reopen. Theater will return!

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Holly B.
I hope so!!!!!

John S.
Theater has been dying for 5000 years, this little blip isn’t going to finish it off.

Ruth Silveira
John S. No, this blip won’t kill theater.

Rick C.
absolutely!!!!

Isolation Diary: I got my 2nd vaccine shot today. Moderna. Place: Dodger Stadium. There only an hour, including the wait after receiving the shot. Around 7 pm I began to feel very tired, I spent the evening on the couch trying to find something to watch on TV and also trying to read the book for Cookies and Comics Book Club. Book is “Transmetropolitan, Book 1”, and my gosh, if you want to feel good about our present times, read this. As the evening wore on I realized I wasn’t feeling any worse. Yay! I took some aspirin, partly because lying on the couch while watching TV gave me a crick in my neck. My arm is sore. Hopeful for the morning but we will see.

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Richard L.
I was there too for a 3:20 appt. It got pretty slow .. not that many cars but apparently they were being extra vigilant on appointments and such, due to problems with vaccine supply (based somewhat on weather around the country.) So it took longer than my first shot, I was there a little over 2 hours total. But all done and they were otherwise well organized and helpful.

Hope W.
Hi there, Ruth! I saw your FB post about just having just gotten your 2nd vaccine shot so I assumed that was yesterday (Thursday) and I was wondering how you’re feeling today (Friday)?
I’ve heard from a number of people that the 1st shot was a breeze (which was my experience) but the 2nd shot is like a kick in the butt, for two or three days, with pretty high fever, headaches, feeling totally exhausted, and some even experience nausea.
Are you experiencing any of that? Just asking because I’m getting my 2nd shot next Sunday.
I don’t usually react to shots but I’ve got to admit that, having heard from several people about their 2nd shot experiences has got me a bit nervous.
What do you think?
Thanks, Ruth!
Hope

Ruth Silveira
Hope W. Yesterday, the day of the shot, I felt quite tired and sort of heavy around 6 pm. (I got the shot about 11:30 am.) My arm began to hurt a bit more. I spent the evening on the couch but i didn’t get any worse And today I took some aspirin and I feel okay. I am taking it easy, foregoing my exercise for the day. My arm continues to be sensitive but given my reaction to the first shot I expected that. Everyone’s experience will be individual to them and who’s to know why or wherefore. But I am an example of ‘it isn’t always terrible’.

Julie C.
Hey there! This is so wonderful. It means isolation diary is almost at an end. Start thinking about what you have “learned” etc. and wrap up your conclusion, because we are all coming over to eat cookies and we are not leaving until you are sick of us.

Ruth Silveira
Julie C. Julie, I hadn’t thought of that. Hadn’t yet registered. Of course, my family is still raw, that is unvaccinated. But they will be! As will you all. And then we can gather here for cookies (and other food) and eventually Running Charades!

Julie C.
Ruth Silveira, yes, your house will be party central once again, in the future times. So go deep. What has isolation taught you, Survivor?

Bruce Y.
sounds to me like you are on the move. Congrats.

Holly B.
After my shot, I was wiped out and had to rest on sofa. The news doesn’t get much racier.

Ruth Silveira
Holly B. I am almost back to normal today. Still taking it easy and will spend some time on the couch.

Anna M.
Yay Ruth!!!

Susan J.
But, really: Isn’t a forced day of relaxation kinda nice for a change? Pamper yourself.

Bruce Y.
I too got my second shot. Today. Yahoo.

Ruth Silveira
Bruce Y. Which vaccine? And let me know how you are doing? Also…Yahoo!

Bruce Y.
Was Pfizer All well Shoulder a little sore. But, no other after problems. Great to know will be out and about after the 10 day wait period.

Ruth Silveira
Bruce Y. Yay! So, what are you going to do? After a couple of weeks I might actually go grocery shopping. Myself. In the store. Picking items off of shelves.

Bruce Y.
Will hit the road some. Have kids and grandkids to see in CA, Ut, GA. Have a place to check out in Sweden. How bout you?

Ruth Silveira
Haven’t made any plans. I have grandkids right here in Southern California and the littlest is not yet 2, I am a relief valve for the parents. I would feel bad about going away for an extended period. However, I have been invited to visit a friend who lives on the coast north of San Francisco and I might do that in a few months. Maybe visit my brother near Santa Cruz.
As of Sept 27, 2021, I haven’t done that. Still thinking about it.

Isolation Diary: We are nearing the end of the cycle of a year long shut down. At this time last year I was in rehearsal for a play and I was consulting with a friend on a Hollywood Fringe show. A year ago today I blithely went on an errand to a fabric store to get thread for a quilt I was making for grandson Fig. I already had lots of thread but not the absolute right color thread. I could do that then. Now, I am using what I have. And, lucky for me, on the 25th of Feb. last year I chose to go stand in line at the DMV to renew my license. My little improv workshop was still meeting in person. I got a coffee from Brasil Kiss. Several of us sat on the patio and discussed our experience. We are humans, we adapt. But we also remember.

Great fun today playing ‘Monster of the Week” with the family, led by Duncan my 11 year old grandson. We do all this playing during young Fig’s nap time. Fig is 22 months old. On days when Duncan isn’t in school and Jessie isn’t working. And no one else has commitments like work or other obligations. Flexibility is key. Keep stretching everyone.

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Holly B.
Your shares are awe- inspiring. Can’t remember having fun as a child. I have great flexibility; just can’t remember how to do it? Love, Boomer