COVID Life

[nhplowboi]

So I went and got my shot on Saturday (03/06/21) and it was the J&J, so One and Done. Hmm OD just does not look right. It was at a mass innoculation site about an hour and a half north of us. Once there it took about 3 hours or so to get through the line. Now it was the first day for mass innoculations and it was cold so there were bumps in the road. I heard Ipads froze up.... but in a true New England fashion, not as in computer lingo. All of this was understandable. After the shot I noticed a little fatigue that night but that was it. The next day some flu like symptoms but they were minor.... achy, nausea, fatigue but no other problems. Now in two weeks I guess I am good to go so here's to modern science!

[theoddz]

It's been about 3 weeks now since I got my 2nd, and final, Moderna shot. I am now fully vaccinated, thank Jeebuz!!

Here in Texas, there are places that have more than enough vaccine, so we've been getting some folks who have driven from other states (some from Nevada, even!!) to get their vaccines. One of my best USMC buddies and her wife live in Ohio and they're still waiting for their first shots. My friend said that she and her wife are on something like 6 lists for the vaccine, and they are still having to wait weeks, despite the fact that both she and her wife are in high risk/priority categories. It's unbelievable!!

Please be patient, folks, if you are on a list and still waiting. It will be worth it, believe me.

~Theo~

[GeorgiaMa'am]

I should have known this without asking, but apparently department store makeup counters are no longer doing makeovers, due to Covid.

I took an online makeup class today, and it became apparent that my makeup bag needs updating. I called the local Estee Lauder counter at Macy's, and no! they don't do that any more! What are you supposed to do now if you need advice? I wonder if there are still any Mary Kay consultants out there? and if not, what are they doing for jobs?

[JustLovelyJenn]

2020 has been a game changer....

lost my job
my kids BOTH moved out
lost my house
was homeless for a few months
moved into a TINY motorhome

so in true "look on the bright side" fashion... I have decided that its time to see the country and will be traveling and making money however I can once I get this rig all fixed up and my covid shot.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Originally Posted by JustLovelyJenn

. . . moved into a TINY motorhome

so in true "look on the bright side" fashion... I have decided that its time to see the country and will be traveling and making money however I can once I get this rig all fixed up and my covid shot.

Apparently there is a large community of people who do this kind of thing, sharing information about jobs, resources, motorhome living. They have lots of websites. Also, there is a thread here on the Planet from Ms. Tinkerbelly, who spent some time traveling in an RV with her partner before she passed away. She had some good tips, although I think her perspective was more of a traveling retirement one. I think it was called "Living on the Road".

[Kätzchen]

Originally Posted by theoddz

It's been about 3 weeks now since I got my 2nd, and final, Moderna shot. I am now fully vaccinated, thank Jeebuz!!

Here in Texas, there are places that have more than enough vaccine, so we've been getting some folks who have driven from other states (some from Nevada, even!!) to get their vaccines. One of my best USMC buddies and her wife live in Ohio and they're still waiting for their first shots. My friend said that she and her wife are on something like 6 lists for the vaccine, and they are still having to wait weeks, despite the fact that both she and her wife are in high risk/priority categories. It's unbelievable!!

Please be patient, folks, if you are on a list and still waiting. It will be worth it, believe me.

~Theo~

Rico and I still have not been able to get a vaccination. He's got complicated health issues; I've got complicated health issues; but you'd think that because of our age (early to mid-60s) and our health issues that we'd qualify for a chance to get vaccinated. But it is a jacked up mess out there, so we both decided to wait until late May, early June to get our shots. We hope to get the J&J vaccine.

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

I should have known this without asking, but apparently department store makeup counters are no longer doing makeovers, due to Covid.

I took an online makeup class today, and it became apparent that my makeup bag needs updating. I called the local Estee Lauder counter at Macy's, and no! they don't do that any more! What are you supposed to do now if you need advice? I wonder if there are still any Mary Kay consultants out there? and if not, what are they doing for jobs?

The beauty industry has suffered greatly, in my state. I am glad I left the industry 15 years ago. I've got long time friends who are still in the beauty industry and let me tell you, the pandemic destroyed their private business salons. Not one of my colleagues in that field made it out unscathed. I still retain and keep my state credentials up to date and pay bi-annual fees, but the licensing division just dealt another blow to beauty industry professionals by jacking up fees and other pandemic related rules which has impacted the industry for those who still have a business.

Great question though, Georgia: I, too, wonder what is happening for those who are independent beauty consultants. It's got to be real rough for people like this, I imagine.

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

I took an online makeup class today, and it became apparent that my makeup bag needs updating. I called the local Estee Lauder counter at Macy's, and no! they don't do that any more! What are you supposed to do now if you need advice? I wonder if there are still any Mary Kay consultants out there? and if not, what are they doing for jobs?

YouTube tutorials. Not sure about Mary Kay folks, though.

As for myself, I'm in a different situation than most. My state has been exemplary with getting the additional weekly unemployment payments to people on top of their current unemployment funds so there's little to no incentive to come back to work when they are making as much as or more than what they would pre-Covid. At least in the case of the folks who would seek out the position I have available at my store, which means I have been working alone 7 days a week since early December at a store that requires 80 hours a week to run properly so every Monday I go in and I'm behind by 25 hours. That and an upcoming audit stress me out more than usual.

I am very grateful for the OT but miss having time to myself and have found myself getting Grinchy especially lately so I was happy to hear that my store will be closing on Sundays starting on Easter. I'll have one day off and a chance to actually clean my home. It's getting a bit scruffy now. And sleep. Sleep would be nice. I've only had a full night's sleep once out of the past 3 weeks because I keep trying to get things done and sacrifice sleep for housework and running errands.

My cat, Loki, is having issues. He's a major attention whore and he is really suffering not having me home more for loving and pets. He cries when I leave for work now. Every day. So I go to work with that in my head. No wonder I'm cranky.



As for masks, I worked during the shutdown and got used to wearing them 60 hours a week so they are no biggie. What's frustrating is the number of people that I have chastised for not wearing their masks inside and how they get upset with me because I give them the ultimatum to put one on or leave. They don't know who they are playing with. I've worked this whole year with the public and kept myself safe so I'll be damned if some ignorant dickhead is going to get me sick. Not happening!

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Originally Posted by Kätzchen

Rico and I still have not been able to get a vaccination.

I haven't even had a chance to get mine, because Georgia is so far behind in giving out vaccines. The only people who can get them here are healthcare professionals and the over-65s.

Originally Posted by Kätzchen

The beauty industry has suffered greatly, in my state. I am glad I left the industry 15 years ago. I've got long time friends who are still in the beauty industry and let me tell you, the pandemic destroyed their private business salons. Not one of my colleagues in that field made it out unscathed. I still retain and keep my state credentials up to date and pay bi-annual fees, but the licensing division just dealt another blow to beauty industry professionals by jacking up fees and other pandemic related rules which has impacted the industry for those who still have a business.

Great question though, Georgia: I, too, wonder what is happening for those who are independent beauty consultants. It's got to be real rough for people like this, I imagine.

I finally called my sister, who is a Mary Kay consultant. (Duh, I should have called her first, but I never think about her being an MK consultant because it is not her main job and she lives so far away.) She brought me a bag of goodies to try (full-size! sisters are great). Anyway, I asked her what she was doing about her MK business during the pandemic, and she said she just orders stuff for people who request it, she's not doing makeovers or parties any more. She said she basically breaks even by the time she orders her own personal products, and she is mainly just doing it as a service to the people who have been her long-time customers. She also confirmed what I heard on NPR - there is an uptick in men ordering cosmetics - that it has become kind of a big deal - because men get on Zoom meetings and see how terrible they look. That doesn't affect her business much, though, living in a rural county where most of the men work in agriculture and mining.