My new life in the Pandemic/Quarantine - COVID-19 2020-2021
Awhile back, my grandma posted on Facebook that now would be the perfect time to write down thoughts about being isolated, in quarantine, or under a stay-at-home order, due to the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, so that others can see what life was like during this time. So....here is my version and my life being in isolation.
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A few months ago, closer to the beginning of February 2020, we started hearing about this fast-spreading virus called the Coronavirus. It started in China, and, to be honest, I'm not one to pay attention much to national news, so it wasn't a huge deal to me personally. But as days went on, there was more and more talk about this virus and how so many people were getting it. By now, it had spread to other countries including Italy. I still wasn't impacted in any way but definitely paying more attention to what was going on. My Facebook and newsfeeds were now discussing this virus and discussing how many people were dying, including the man from China who initially "discovered" this virus. He was a doctor and noticed that a lot of his patients were having the same symptoms. Unfortunately, he himself ended up with the Coronavirus and succombed to it. He was basically warning everyone about this, although it seemed to have been against the country of China (maybe due to Communism?) By now though, anyone who had been on an airplane and had traveled in China during specific time frames, are now susceptible to this virus. And a few months later, here we are. March 21, 2020, the United States now has more than 21,000 cases all within a few weeks time span I would say. We are now in the middle of this and I don't see an end to it anytime soon. Here is the time line as I know it.
Last week my two sisters, nieces and nephew came to visit here in California. What a relief it was for them knowing it was barely the beginning tip of what is now known as a pandemic. The first thing everyone did after seeing how big of a deal this was, was rushed to grocery stores and grabbed all of the toilet paper they could find. I am still confused by this but that was what all of the Facebook memes discussed was this "toilet paper hoarding". I had toilet paper for my little family and I wasn't too worried myself. I can't even remember the last time I got the flu and I was at the doctors last week and was deemed healthy. Anyways, with my sisters being here, it was still a very dark time, literally. It was raining and there were dark clouds, and then there were the toilet paper hoards. We went to Rite Aid and enjoyed some ice cream, had a BBQ at nana's, and Amanda actually had two people text to her to ask if she can bring back some toilet paper for them in Utah. Yes, that is how bad it was. I grabbed a thing of toilet paper while I was out "just in case" but still wasn't super worried. The fear was in the news media and news sources.
On Friday (yes, the 13th), they closed down Jace's elementary school for one month! I was shocked but kind of expected some of this with how blown up it was. The school didn't provide too many resources and by now I was working two jobs, barely managing life as it was, and then I had to start a "homeschool" process which was extremely stressful. On the 30th they are starting distance learning which I don't have a lot of experience in but I guess the teacher will be able to help students through an app and will provide projects so that will be extremely helpful. Rumor has it that school may be done for the year (especially here in California) but there has been no official announcement.
Sunday, March 15th, 2020 - My sister left this morning and I decided that I had to suck it up and just do a large grocery shop load so I can at least have meals for my family for the next week before everyone decides to hoard all of the food. I went to the store and it wasn't a great experience. The carts were large so there wasn't a lot of space, people were cutting me off, not apologizing, I just felt really uncomfortable. The store was out of staples like potatoes, bread, waters, tomatoes, and bananas. I guess I could live without some of those (besides the water of course. Our faucet water tastes so bad but I knew we had water bottles at home to last us a few days). At least I knew I wasn't going to starve.
Monday, March 16, 2020 - Kevin was at work and I woke up to a text saying that there had been a huge earthquake in Utah. My first instinct was to call my sister - they got home last night but the earthquake was a 5.7! She said it scared her and the kids but they are OK. My mom was in Florida for work and because of the damage to the runway, she couldn't get home until tomorrow. There had been maybe 20+ aftershocks from a 2.0-3.0 all day that day in Utah and it still proceeded for the days to come.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020 - Jace has been at his Nana's house all weekend so he got home last night and ended up with a fever. Praying it isn't anything more than that. It's St. Patrick's Day and I literally did nothing. Worked and Jace watched movies basically all day. I didn't leave my house at all today. I ordered Instacart for the remainder of my groceries (where someone else does my grocery shopping for me so I don't have to worry about people haha). He was chatting with me through the app and basically, again, the store was out of everything I wanted and needed. They did have waters though, hallelujah. They also had tomatoes. They were only bringing one person into the store at a time, they said the maximum waters you can have is two, and they also put a limit on how many meats you could buy which was two. I wanted ground beef or ground turkey and they had neither. I ordered a tri-tip and a roast instead.
Thursday, March 19, 2020 - This was the first time I left the house in four days. Most businesses are closed by now except the post office, bank, gas stations, and grocery stores. If you want to get fast food, most of it is delivery or take out. You can't sit anywhere and eat unless you are 6ft away from people. Because of this, most places are shut down. California is trying to do this "lockdown" where you stay home unless you have to get some essentials ie drinks, food, medicine etc. I went out for the first time today and met up with Jace's uncle and his girlfriend so Jace can go back to nana's for the weekend. It was still gloomy but there was still a lot of people driving around which was really surprising to me. I thought it would be like a zombie apocalypse. I don't know how well this "lockdown" is going to work. Most people are out of work, our rent for our apartment will be extended and I think Kevin's car loan will be deferred. It seems like since everyone is affected by this, businesses are willing to work and negotiate with their customers. I went to the store tonight to search for ground beef and ground turkey. I found a tube of ground turkey and the sign limited one meat per family. So I purchased the turkey, came home, and it was bad. It didn't look bad but it smelled like rotten eggs. I got to thinking, since there is the virus going around, they may be desperate and sell people bad meat, or maybe it was an accident. When I called the store, the lady on the phone said, "Maybe it sat on the truck for too long" which was a little disturbing. Anyway, it was a mess to try and return it or get a refund because they had signs saying no returns due to the coronavirus. They sold me bad meat to begin with so it was quite the ordeal. I had Kevin call in and he spoke with a manager and finally they resolved it. Unfortunately, I was still out of meat. I went to two other stores who were completely out too.
Friday, March 20, 2020 - I lost my second job today because they closed down until this whole thing passes. Gyms are closed, public places are closed and most are confined to their homes unless they are buying essential items. Kevin is still working until the government tells him not to. He found some ground beef tonight so I made this delicious taco salad.
Saturday, March 21 2020 - Today I went to the gas station to get "essentials" aka Coke Zero for myself and Red Bull for Kevin. I also purchased two scratchers but didn't win. I started a weight loss journey on June 29, 2019, so about 9 months ago. Most people are saying that since they are confined and can't go to the gym, they will probably gain weight. I'm trying my best not to and still cooking every night. I lost 10 pounds within the first maybe 3-4 months of my weight loss and it's basically been steady. If I can keep it at that, I will be happy until the gym is back open and life is back to normal.Cousin Susy told me today that the governor said that 52% of Californians will get the Coronavirus in the next two weeks although some may have mild to no symptoms.
Saturday, March 28, 2020 - Distance Learning for Jace starts on Monday - I don't know if I'll end up having him jump online since I'm still working and use my computer - and his tablet is super glitchy - or if I'm just gonna have him do packets that the school gives out - I think that would be the easier route. But we will see when Monday comes around. Kevin is still working but he did accept a job down in Barstow which means we will probably be moving down there in the next 5-6 months. We are going to visit first to make sure it's a good place and good area (probably Apple Valley area) maybe in the next month or so. Jace's Nana has been taking Jace most of the week since his uncles are visiting so it's bee nice but man, I miss that boy! I have way more patience when I work with him 2 days in a row and then Nana works with him for 5 days. Working and having him home has been tough, that's for sure, but I'm trying hard to just be patient and work with him. I have a bunch of fun games and ideas to do with him when he isn't doing his packets.
I have been doing some at-home workouts the last three days or so. I have gained maybe a few pounds. I have stayed inside the last 4 days.. I ordered Instacart yesterday and she delivered groceries with gloves. This is our new norm. Kevin is getting his tires fixed because they are so bald and they had him stay inside his car until they got him in and now he is outside waiting. They don't have the indoor section or waiting room open.
I had a dream last night and, although I don't remember much, I do remember it was life as usual. I wish my actual dreams were real life now. It's a sad time. Although we have all been self-isolating (no martial law and I don't know if that will happen), it really gets to me. I go from happy to sad, to angry about dumb things (like Kevin pooping too much), in the last two weeks I have left my house maybe 4 times total for no longer than 30 minutes every time. When I go out, I feel like I am getting social anxiety. And last night I started getting a tiny sore throat which is the first sign of the Corona. I took some medicine and today I kind feel the same - small sore throat and I keep sneezing and stuff. Not sure if it's allergies or Corona or just sick since pretty much all of that is happening right now.
Seems like the Corona numbers are still going up - I actually know a few people who got it - my friend and her family unfortunately got it and so did my Aunt - all of which have recovered so far. The news and media reports all of the negative cases and scare tactics. This is a worldwide virus and, as of a few days ago, the United States surpassed Italy (which was very bad with this disease) when it comes to those who are getting it. Surprisingly, no kids are getting it. My guess is their immune system? Although Jace had a fever off and on last week and that is a huge piece of Coronavirus but it wasn't anything for us to worry about. He had no other symptoms except a stomach ache one day and that was it. They had a 17 year old pass away in LA and he tested positive for Coronavirus but then a day later the news said they weren't counting that as the Corona because there were other issues that he could have died from. So, as of now, no child under age 18 has died from Corona in the U.S.
An update on Jace's school, they are closed down indefinitely but their hopeful date got extended from April 13 to May 4th now. They said they will reanalyze and keep us updated - my guess is that date will get extended. I know Utah schools are extended through May 1st. We are about one step ahead of Utah with our measures and self isolating and businesses closing and schools closing.
Utah unfortunately continued to have earthquakes for at least 3-4 days after their initial one and lots of aftershocks - I'm talking 24 aftershocks in 24 hours. I think they are pretty much done now. I'm so glad I'm not there though - earthquakes and the pandemic seemed like the end of the world.
There have been so many funny memes:
Saturday, April 25, 2020: It's been awhile since I have done a blog and I have a lot to talk about. Kevin and I went down to the Barstow area last weekend and we were there Friday, Saturday, Sunday and came home Sunday. We applied for an apartment in Hesperia which is actually about 40 minutes from Barstow and we should know early next week if we get approved. If not, our second option will be one in Barstow (even though I really don't like Barstow, we have a friend that lives in the apartments we looked at so they will probably be more lenient with us). Every time Kevin and I left the hotel basically, we had to wear masks down there. All of the gas stations we went to had signs that said, "No shoes, no mask, no service" or something similar. So when we move down there, we have to take a lot more masks with us or buy some on Amazon. We looked at about 6-7 apartments while we were down there. All of them were self-guided so they gave us a map, showed us where to go, gave us a code to lockbox, we had to unlock the door ourselves and put the lock back. It was a rather different and unusual way to do things but I totally get it.
When it comes to Jace and homeschooling, Rayetta and I had to email the teacher because his homework was taking 6-7 hours per day which is something that I just can't do while still working. The teacher said at this point, it really is about effort. No one is going to fail this year. Jace has been getting the biggest shout-outs in his morning class meetings because he has been completing his work on-time. But the teacher said you shouldn't spend more than 2 hours on homework per day unless you want him to do more. I print off a schedule for him every week and it shows how much time he should be spending on each subject. I have been going off that (and sometimes a little more) and then when he is done, he's done for the day. Even if he doesn't actually get his work done. They just want to see that he's at least trying and getting some stuff done per subject/topic. I found an amazing article HERE that discusses the time you should be spending with your child doing homeschool based on age-level and this is one of the most comforting things I have read.
I ordered Instacart twice in the past week (spent soooo much money) and both of them were delivered the same day. That means things are getting better. In our county, we have a huge number of cases - almost 150 - but only one death. I think three or four people are hospitalized, one in the ICU. 40 people are recovering at home and the rest are fully recovered. They didn't have testing early on and it still seems like they are denying people tests so that number was bound to go up. And I'm sure it'll continue to go up even though we are social distancing.
Our county, just a few days ago, opened up three different types of businesses - dog grooming, drive-in movie theaters and parking lot church services. Kevin and I were talking about this yesterday and I think the way that things are now will truly impact how business is done in the future. Right now, restaurants should only be take-out or delivery, no in-restaurant dining. Right now all church services are done online through Facebook Live (and now I guess you can be in the church parking lot in your car) and I think that's an amazing idea regardless. I enjoy church but don't really attend but I have been watching church online - especially on Easter. Even though we were stuck at home, I dressed up and watched a few Easter services online.
I am very conflicted when it comes to "opening up our country" right now. I have read a lot of comments and thoughts about it and I see both sides. We are a country of freedom and should have the choice of whether or not we go out, who we are with etc. At the same time, I see the risk that if we open up our country, and people aren't wearing masks or social distancing, there will be a second round of the virus. A lot of this virus is being compared to the 1918 Spanish Flu in which they did have a second wave of it that was worse than the first wave. I think Winter will be that second wave. Kevin things that we will be having to do social distancing for the next year to year and a half. I like what they are doing now which is slowly opening up pieces or parts of businesses that are non-essential. We can then see how that does, how people are responding, and open up others. Unfortunately, the beaches are also open so people in Florida have been swarming the beaches and I'm sure in a few weeks, we will be hearing about an increase in cases. They opened up the beach here and it seems like guidelines were followed - they brought their own stuff, stayed 6 feet away, I don't understand wearing a mask when its almost 90 degrees and they said most people didn't wear masks. I wouldn't go in the water though. I don't trust the water quite yet.
My hours at work decreased from 25 hours a week to 16. That's been easier when it comes to also homeschooling. It also gives me time to pack and apply and do all that I need to do. I was supposed to receive a packet in the mail from unemployment yesterday but expected it to be past two weeks since so many people applied. Hopefully I get the packet today or early next week so I can start bringing that in.
My mood swings are terrible and I actually ordered this gummy called FLO - and yes, it is related to that womanly "time of the month" but you take two of these a day and it's supposed to help with mood swings, cramps, acne, basically everything when that time comes around. The reason why I "invested" in these was because 2-3 days ago was literally one of the worst days since the stay-at-home order a month and a half ago. I thought I was the only one that felt a little crazy but I posted something on Instagram, a quote about how I feel every single second of the day, and like four women agreed with me that they felt that way too. I think the unknown has caused a lot of stress + adding homeschooling + moving + trying to find ways to earn more money since my hours decreased. There is a lot of unknown there. So going back to my worst day, it was bad, I cried, I argued, I yelled, I went on the porch a few times, I cried again, it was just.....bad. But things are better today. It is Saturday so it's the weekend which means packing, making nachos for dinner, doing laundry, and just doing things that need to get done. I feel like relaxing isn't much of an option until we get a place and get packed up. I don't want to do all of this last second. Our official move-in date is May 22nd.
I went out a few days ago and put gas in my car because I figured I should fill up while gas is cheap. For California, it was cheap at $2.99/gallon. Some places in the U.S. have gas as cheap as 99 cents! Holy smokes.
Saturday, May 9, 2020: Wow a lot has changed since I posted last. I went out to the UPS store this morning and it seems like things were back to normal. The governor had put out a 3 part plan to opening up the state again but I think we are already midway through part 2. That means more places, including non-essential businesses, are opened back up. The UPS store is close to Albertson's and even a week or two ago, the lines to get in were out to the street, there was only one opening to get in and they were limiting the amount of people in. I also think they only allowed several people in at a time. Today, there was no line at all (and it's Saturday!) and maybe half of the people were wearing masks. Last time I went to the UPS store there was a line outside too, everyone with masks and there were squares to separate the "6 feet apart" so that everyone wasn't close to each other. I walked in today and was the only one in there. They do have glass at the registers that separate you from the person at the front but no one was there. Everyone seemed to be at Albertson's as the parking lot was packed.
Bryan said he went to get something to eat last night and downtown Paso Robles was packed. It's like the state opened and everyone went nuts. I surely didn't and I'm still trying to stay inside as much as possible. We still can't have big gatherings - I think that's the later part of part 2 or 3. Mother's Day is tomorrow and Nana's birthday was last month and it's sad that I can't see anyone.
We are moving two weeks from today and have no idea where we are moving! It has been so crazy. We have applied for three places around this area - mainly Atascadero area. We have heard back from one and it was a denial so just waiting on the other two. It is very stressful to not know where we are moving and we have to be out in 14 days.
I haven't heard anything about unemployment and it's been more than a month. I'm getting a little worried that maybe it didn't go through. I received a confirmation number and was told I would get something in the mail for 2 weeks but haven't. I know they are super behind and I wish I would have taken a screenshot of the confirmation number but totally spaced it. I haven't received an email or anything. I may give it two more weeks and then see what's going on and look more into it.
Jace has been with his nana for almost two weeks. Oh my gosh that has been such a huge stress lifted because I have been able to focus on work, moving, packing and trying to get things done before our move. He won't be back until Monday afternoon. He only has about three weeks left of school (June 4th) before it's summer so that's a sigh of relief. And by the time he starts 4th grade, we will be settled in our new place so we will have time to figure out what school he will go to. Boys and Girls Club still isn't open and I have emailed them a few times - I'm sure they will be closed for awhile but it would be nice to be able to take him there throughout the summer.
I'm still working 16 hours a week, hoping that will increase sooner than later or at least get unemployment so I can get back to paying some bills when they are owed again. A lot of companies, like credit card companies, are allowing me to skip a month or two since everyone is affected by this. But once things are owed again, I hope my hours are back up and unemployment is received - fingers crossed.
Sunday May 16th, 2020: Alot has changed in the past week or so. All of Utah opened up so on Facebook I'm watching all of my friends hang out, go out, go to restaurants, etc and I'm a little jealous. At the same time though, I'm not because when the state of California opens up, I will probably wait awhile before just going out again. The virus doesn't stop. Although we are still under a stay-at-home order, people are out and about like normal. We drove to look at a few places to move yesterday and traffic was super busy. Kevin went out to the store today and said there were so many people. As of yesterday, we were no longer under the county's stay-at-home order - instead it's now up to the Governor on what counties open back up. In L.A. county, he said they aren't opening back up until August 1st. I still think we are in phase 2 but more non-essential business are opening so it's weird that we are still under order but places are still opening back up. We still only have 1 death in our county and over 200 cases. So we really aren't too bad - maybe 3 or 4 people hospitalized at the moment so we have done a great job with flattening the curve and not overwhelming our small hospitals here.
We are moving out in six days and still don't know where we are moving to. We went and saw a place in Bradley yesterday that has amazing views of Lake Nacimiento. That's our first vote but if that's the case, we won't move there until June 8th which means staying at Kevin's Moms house on base from the 23rd until the 8th. The base is super strict right now because they don't want anyone that doesn't live on base come on to the base due to the virus so I may have a hard time getting on the base in the first place. If I leave for any reason during those two weeks, they won't let me back on. I literally can't go anywhere off base. Everyone else could though. I really hope we find something soon.
Jace has been with his Nana most, if not all, of this past month which has been so nice. His last day of school is June 4th. She is picking him up again Tuesday so that Kevin and I can focus on our move and packing. She is sooo amazing. Truly. I still think of what would have happened if we ended up going to Barstow. Such a weird thought. Our lives would be completely different. But I am glad that we ended up staying, now we just need to find a place here.
Still no word on unemployment - it's been about 6 weeks. I have emailed them three times and heard nothing back. I hope everything went through. I'll probably wait one or two more weeks and then maybe reopen another case. It's a little disheartening to be honest. Supposedly the pay out is really good and I could really use it right now. Especially since we would have loved to have been moved out and into a new place by the 23rd - rent and the deposit combined is so dang much around here. I hope we move into somewhere that we love.
Wednesday June 3, 2020: We got the place in Bradley! After waiting a week to a week and a half to hear back and an extensive background/credit/reference check, we got it! We move in June 10th so one week from today. Kevin and I are going there tomorrow to sign the lease and take a look at the inside of the mobile home since we were unable to do that last time.
We have been staying at Rayetta's (Kevin's Moms) for about a week. It's been good. The only downside is not having a room. We are sleeping on the couch and it's extremely comfortable but I am ready for my own room, own bed and own space. Day two here was extremely tough. I cried several times. There have been a lot of adjustments made the past few weeks and I think it finally took a toll. I could not get my car on base no matter how hard I tried. I knew my registration was expired and that would be an issue. It definitely was. Even though I had proof I paid my 2019 registration and that I had emailed the DMV several times about paying my 2020 registration, they were not having it. The guys at the front gate told me that the DMV had no record that I paid my 2019 registration even though I showed them an email stating that I did. Anyways, we ended up parking my car at a friend of Rayetta's so it'll be there for the next week until we move. I have gone off base a few times and when I come back on, they check temperatures. If you have a temperature, you are not allowed on base. Luckily none of us have had that issue. Last Friday I wanted to go to the beach with Rayetta and Jace but it ended up being 58 degrees at the beach so we did a few errands instead - I didn't work so it was nice to just do some shopping. I bought some new dinnerware at Big Lots and Mom reimbursed me for them. So nice of her. We are now in a different county, Monterey County, where the deaths are higher. Bradley is also in Monterey County. They require masks everywhere you go. Kevin and I went to Safeway earlier last week and they had arrows on the ground showing you that you can only go one direction. That's the worst that I have seen.
Unfortunately, this county is behind SLO county. I think Monterey County has 6 deaths so far and a lot more cases. Some salons are open in Monterey County but you still have to wear masks wherever you go or you can get fined $1,000.
We are in a very strange time right now and not just because of covid. In fact, covid is now an after though for a lot of people after what happened one week ago. George Floyd lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota and went to the store to make a purchase. He used a $20 bill and the clerk thought it was counterfeit so they called the police (which is what they are told to do if they suspect counterfeit money). The police arrived. Now George Floyd is an African American man and the cops that arrived were African American, Caucasian, and Asian. What happened next was all caught on video. Apparently the Caucasian cop and the Asian cop both beat George Floyd in the police car as they had arrested him. He ended up on the ground and the Caucasian cop had put his knee into George Floyd's throat. Now he did this for 8 minutes and ended up KILLING George Floyd. This was all caught on camera. The $20 bill ended up being a real bill. The cops had said that Floyd was resisting yet there was no proof that he was resisting. The people recording the video had told the cop to get off of him and Floyd himself said he couldn't breathe and that the cop was killing him. Within days, all four cops that had been involved are now arrested. The Caucasian cop, Derek Chauvin, was arrested for 3rd degree murder and manslaughter. I read an article today that they want to move that up to 2nd degree murder. It can't be first degree murder because it was not pre-meditated is what I heard. I did not know that 1st degree murder had to be premeditated. But let me tell you this, the whole WORLD has been impacted by this harsh and racist death. As of yesterday, every single state in the United States had riots, protests, or looters. Some of it is extremely unfortunate because small businesses are being destroyed, people are dying, fires are being set, grafitti is being written all over, cop cars are being turned over. Here on base, I am ever so grateful that I am not a part of a big city. Kevin's co-worker Rudy is in the National Guard and got called down to L.A. because of the riots. He doesn't know when he will return. Some of these protests are extremely scary. In Salt Lake, a guy brought a bow and arrow to a protest and attempted to shoot the arrow at people. Right when he did that, he had about 10 people attack him. Police officers and small business owners have died.
It's like covid is no longer valid. Some people wore masks but most did not. Social distancing is not a thing. The cases are going to go up in a few weeks, guaranteed. It's been crazy watching everything play out on TV. I understand now the protesting, racism, and riots. I thought our nation had gotten better with racism but apparently it's still clear as day.
On a different and random note. The day we were supposed to move to Barstow, assuming we would have gotten approved for the apartments, there was a shooting 6 minutes away. And yesterday there was a 3.9 earthquake in Barstow. It's weird to hear anything about Barstow here but they've made our news twice in the past week and a half.
I have still heard nothing from unemployment. It's been two months since I have filed. It would be nice to have that or at least know the status. I called three different unemployment numbers today and they couldn't get me to a live person. I have emailed them 3 times in 2 months and heard nothing. At least I haven't been denied yet. Rudy's wife didn't get hers for 2 months so it seems like that is the time period. If I do get it and receive it in the next week, that would be perfect timing since we are moving and need almost $3,600 to move between tomorrow and the 10th of June.
Friday, June 11, 2020: A lot has happened in the past week and a half - including our move. We finally moved into a mobile home right on top of a hill with an overview of the lake. It is GORGEOUS. We still have a lot of unpacking to go but happy to at least be somewhat settled. We spent 15 days at Kevin' Moms house and it was nice and quiet and relaxing. I hardly went anywhere because my car was off-base.
Riots and protests are still occurring worldwide. George Floyd's funeral was last week and it's AMAZING to see how many people care so much. The Black Lives Matter movement is huge right now. Unfortunately though, there have been a lot of negative that came out of the protests - more cops abusing their power, people dying due to protecting their businesses, people pooping on cop cars, bows and arrows being used, people running into crowds with their cars, businesses being destroyed, and so many people getting arrested.
I have mixed feelings about COVID at the moment. I know cases will increase due to the rioting and protesting - maybe half of the people have been wearing masks, no social distancing, etc. In Utah, since that's where I'm from, there was one day last week where they had 500 cases of COVID. Utah is currently open and all of my friends on Facebook went out. Since we are in Monterey County and not San Luis Obispo County, we are a little bit behind SLO. According to what I have read, SLO County is now in Phase 3 as of today which means that salons should be open, barbershops, gyms, etc. Monterey County is different and last I checked, if you didn't wear a mask, you could be fined $1,000. Although we did go to the market a few days ago and hardly anyone was wearing masks. There will probably be a second and maybe even third surge of COVID if we base it on the Spanish Flu in 2018. They are saying there will probably be a second wave in September.
I still haven't heard anything from unemployment which is so frustrating. There are three numbers that don't have any live agents. I submitted my claim more than 2 months ago and decided to open a new claim last week. The new claim asked all about COVID which it didn't ask me in the initial claim. It sucks not having any money and being behind on all bills. I have $6.27 in my account and don't get paid for another week.
People are starting to go crazy - not just due to COVID and staying at home for 3 months but also with George Floyd. Wednesday morning at 3am, an active shooter was shooting at the Paso Robles Police Station. He unfortunately shot an officer in the face. He is doing OK though. As for the shooter, I have been listening to the police scanner and the police officers shot and killed him yesterday after he injured 4 police officers total and killed a homeless man in the area. Paso and Templeton were both sheltering in place. This was going on when we moved - and the bank, Uhaul and storage were all in Paso. The banks were closed inside due to the shelter in place. We almost couldn't get our Uhaul because of the shelter in place. All business had to be done through their front window - we couldn't go inside their office. We could go to the ATM thank GOODNESS. The bank was 2 blocks away from where they were blocking roads off. Apparently the same bank in Atascadero was also closed inside. The shooter was found more than 24 hours later in Atascadero where there was a shoot-out between him and the officers. The officers locally are being praised due to their courage and protecting our community.
Thursday, June 25, 2020: After 3 months, I finally heard from unemployment. They told me how much I can claim yesterday but then once I filled out the last 3 weeks, they said that I had excessive earnings all 3 weeks. I don't know how working 12-16 hours a week is excessive (that's only $250-$350 per week). I emailed them about it because that means I will be receiving nothing for the past 3 months. That definitely doesn't seem right anyway because even the past 2 years being on unemployment, I usually got something unless I earned $700+ for that week. I emailed them but seeing as how I have been emailing them since March with no response, I'm not too happy about that. I knew there would be an issue, especially with waiting 3 months for this.
Anyways, SLO county reopened and other counties and cases went up so much. In California we had more than 7,000 new cases yesterday and 5,000 new cases of positive Covid today. According to the governor, we are still in phase 1 so I can only see it getting worse. California is required to wear masks wherever we go out in public. I did our grocery shopping yesterday and definitely wore a mask. It's becoming more of the norm.
Saturday, July 18, 2020: With school starting for kids in less than a month away and cases going up, the governor has made it clear that any county on the "Watch List" must start school from home. There are 19 counties on the watch list - including Monterey County (ours) and SLO County. Masks are more mandated in places now and SLO County is back to shutting things down. They had to have bars closed on the 4th of July and now restaurants, bars, salons, and everything that reopened must shut down again. I have a feeling that I will be homeschooling Jace this upcoming school year and for probably the whole year. It sounds like a great school though and I heard that they actually have homeschool teachers that go to your home and teach your child 1 on 1 so that would be awesome if that was the case.
Unfortunately my work situation or unemployment situation hasn't changed. I have sent two things into unemployment and emailed them 15 times since May and heard nothing. I'm considering selling my car to at least have money but then I have bad credit and no money to get a new one so I'm not sure if that would be a good situation in the long term. I've applied for several jobs and I'm supposed to have an interview for a full-time position this upcoming week but I haven't heard back from them. That would be so amazing. This past week has been so stressful. I have cried almost every day, I literally work my butt off everyday to try and come up with extra money - whether it's a GoFundMe, selling my book, doing online promotions, take surveys, entering giveaways and contests, applying for other jobs, etc. It's tough working 12-16 hours per week. It's exhausting to make 15 calls every pay period to those people that I owe money to letting them know that my situation hasn't changed since April. I do hope that unemployment sees my information in the mail and changes something. The first time I sent something in the mail was to the local EDD office and they should have received that information almost two weeks ago. I then sent information to renew a claim to another EDD office and they should receive that in two days from now. Somethings gotta give, right?
I unfortunately don't see this virus going away anytime soon. It started around the end of March and it's now July and I understand that people want the economy to open back up but if people keep getting sick and dying, I would rather keep it closed. It's closing businesses, killing people, putting stress on people, the divorce rate is going up - especially of celebrities, it's just been a crazy and sad year. Although I don't see this going anyway soon, I really hope it does. I miss seeing people, I miss working more, I miss having money, and I miss not stressing this much.
Wednesday, July 29, 2020: At this point, our financial situation just is what it is. It continues to go up and down but never ahead. Although I sent unemployment paperwork to two different offices, I have heard nothing. I have called and there are no live agents to speak with. I have been emailing them everyday for the past two weeks. I am at the point where I have been applying for full-time jobs from home because I can't afford to work 16 hours a week any longer. Covid is getting worse and I feel like we are back at square 1. I have heard that masks are mandated in California but some places don't actually mandate it individually. Walmart was mandating masks and then I guess you have those people who still want to shop there without a mask and put up a fight and hurt employees or say mean things to employees so they decided masks are not mandated. I wear my mask whenever I am out because I don't want to risk getting it. I think the U.S. has now reached 150,000 deaths from covid. I have applied to probably 5-10 jobs in the past few weeks. I have received three total emails from those applications and 1 scheduled an interview but never called me.
Yesterday was a good day and it's amazing what receiving money does for ones soul when money has been such a huge burden and issue the past 4 months. I received $20 for doing a promotion, a $20 Amazon card for taking a survey (which I exchanged for cash), my Nana sent us $100 for school supplies and clothes for Jace so I was able to buy him some shirts, and then I have a $20 Amazon gift card that will be sent in a week for doing a survey. All of those added up throughout the day and I had a great day because of it. Normally receiving $100 is nothing but not having money literally kills my soul every day. I stayed up late this morning (until 1am) just thinking if I did get backpay from the unemployment office....what I would do with it. I could pay off people I owe, Kevin included. I would buy Jace a bike and buy us a TV for our living room. I would buy Kevin his PS4 (or maybe even PS5) and a grill for outside. I would catch up on bills and finally sense some sort of freedom. Money doesn't necessary buy happiness but it definitely helps when you have a young family. People that I know have gotten backpay up to $5,000. Imagine that big ol' check coming through. I really hope that happens but since I have literally received nothing from unemployment, I have to start losing hope that I'm going to get anything from them.
I have been entering every giveaway and sweepstakes possible, taking surveys literally everyday for extra cash, doing promotions and reviews on items, applying for jobs from home, and taking all surveys that come through my email for cash.
Kevin will be calling the school anyday now to not only register Jace but to see how they are planning on starting the year - homeschooling or doing school at the actual school. Either way would be tough for me but I have to do it. I would rather homeschool to be honest although I'm really surprised that he doesn't mind the mask at all. If kids go back to school, they will probably mandate masks. Actually, I know they will mandate masks and different rules and extra cleaning but I don't even know if that would make me comfortable with letting Jace go back.
I highly considered putting my car up for sale for extra cash. I put it online for $2,500 just to see if there was any interest and there definitely was. I probably had 10 people email me about it and I had put in the ad that I was just gauging interest. The more I thought about it, I would have extra money but it would be way more stressful for Kevin to have only his car and to have to do the grocery shopping and stuff. That is a lot to put on someone and it would be super hard for me to not have a car. Even though I just went almost a week without going anywhere and had high anxiety when I actually did go out today, I still don't know if I could do that long-term. I actually only wanted to do it for a few months and then look into another car but because my credit is so bad, I don't even think if I paid off stuff on my report that my credit would be better in even six months. Six months without a car, I would literally go insane. It's tough though because I ask myself, "Why can't I have both? Why can't I have both a car and money" but at least I'm not the only one in this situation. This literally involves the entire world. You would think that there would be more support for those not doing well though. I had applied for a low-income thing where they would help with groceries, but even then I still made more to qualify. So I make about $350/week which is I guess decent but when it comes down to the fact that my rent is $900 and then I have my power bill, phone bill, car insurance, credit card payments, groceries, internet, and TV bill, it ends up being that I am far below. In fact, I get paid this upcoming Friday and after I pay bills, I will be $400 short on rent. I will have 10 days to figure out where to come up with $400. Crazy right? So when I say that I am doing bad....I am doing bad. And then poor Kevin is helping as much as he can but none of his bills are frozen or on hold because he is still working. So it's been super stressful and I just don't know when things are going to go back to normal, if anytime soon.
Wednesday, August 26, 2020: I can't believe it's been almost a month since I have posted. The year 2020 has officially been the worst year of my life and probably most of the world. It just seems to be one thing after another. Jace started back to school on Monday and it's been all from home, 8am-Noon or so. He is getting used to things but it's still such a transition from regular classrooms. He is at a new school too so he didn't know anyone going in. He is at his nana's for the next week and it's been so great having her help since I am still working. No surprise, I still haven't received unemployment so I'm barely scraping by day by day and week by week. In fact, my phone was shut off for 12 hours before basically talking to 5 different people and begging them to turn it back on until I get paid in two days. My next check on Friday is rent money but quite honestly, it'll be another month of struggle because we are running low on food. And by food, I mean meals and snacks. We have food like canned foods and chips and stuff but hardly anything we can use for a meal - except a few ramen noodles. It's really sad how our life has been lately. I stopped calling creditors and talking to them because I don't have anything to give them. I've had a few accounts go into collections and I just had my Target credit card reach collections today. I am giving up on my credit though and need to make sure rent gets paid and food is on the table. Two days can't come soon enough..
A few weeks ago we had a small batch of thunder, lightning and rain. Unfortunately the lightning caused a HUGE fire in Salinas which is about 1 hour and 20 min away from us. We were affected for about a week where we would go outside and it was basically yellow outside. The smoke was so bad even from our house. I really didn't go outside and didn't even want to leave the house because of how bad it was. It was even worse up on base by where Kevin works and Rayetta lives. They said ash was falling from the sky and one day Kevin even wore his mask when he went outside.
Covid has been outnumbered by fires, heat, hurricanes, and racial inequality. Ever since George Floyd's death, there has been constant video of black men vs. the white cop. There was just one in Wisconsin yesterday. It's every other day we hear a new story and it's so so sad. There are so many protests. In fact, the NBA has been back on (and Jazz are in the first round playoffs, if they win tomorrow they go to second round) and it's been very different because there are no live fans so they have virtual fans where you can see people watching the game at home. Because of the incident in Wisconsin yesterday, the Milwaukee Bucks decided they didn't want to play today to make a statement. Because of that, the other three teams today didn't play either. Donovan Mitchell on the Jazz has been very vocal about the bigger issue here which isn't basketball but social and racial injustice. So I have a feeling the Jazz game tomorrow will be cancelled too. Although covid has been on the backburner, it's still very real. We still wear masks when we go out. Schools still have to be virtual until we are 2 weeks off the watch list and then it would be more hybrid. I don't see as much about covid anymore except that Utah had like 300 cases in one day and then 7 deaths the next day. But they are also a state that is completely open. I feel like we are slowly back to opening. Nana, Papa and Aunt Tracey were supposed to come over yesterday but they couldn't find our house :( So they went back home. We are definitely out in the country so it is hard to find. But nana seems to be back to doing her own grocery shopping and she just went and saw Taylor's baby with no mask so it seems like people, or at least my family, seems to be loosening the reigns a little bit.
I have been getting up about an hour and a half earlier with Jace so I have been going to bed around 10:30 or 11pm which is super abnormal for me. I am one that typically stays up past midnight. It's nice to sleep earlier and wake up earlier. Since Jace is gone though, I'll be able to wake up closer to 9 tomorrow and then sleep in on Friday since I have the day off :)
Thursday, January 21, 2021:
Well a lot has happened since my last update. I ended up getting let go from my job which I knew would happen and planned on. I still collect unemployment and it's more than what I was making working so for right now, my focus is on Jace and getting him where he needs to be academically while I am out of work. About a week ago, Donald Trump told his "followers" aka "Trumpers" to attack the capitol building to show that the presidential votes were unfair. So, they did just that. They went to the capitol building, went past the police and went inside the capitol. I think about six people died, 50+ were arrested and Trump was impeached for a second time in his term so he can't run for president again. Thank God. As of yesterday, Joe Biden is officially our president. His inauguration was yesterday and I watched some of it. Everyone wore masks, there were hardly anyone on the sidelines when he walked to the white house, they said it was a very different feel. I'm looking forward to change. I think Biden and Kamala Harris will do big things together. Also, the COVID vaccine is out and I have mixed feelings about it. I feel like there is not enough research to know how well it is. It's a two-part vaccine and people are actually getting sick after taking it - missing anywhere from one day of work to a week of work I've heard. But overall, in SLO County, cases have gone down for probably the first time since COVID, no joke. Because of the holidays, cases were skyrocketing. Right now the vaccine is available for some over 75 years old and the frontline workers. They already had to recall 300,000 vaccines here in CA because of allergic reactions. I feel like it's almost been a year with COVID and I am starting to really live my life but being safe while doing so. I went down to SLO the other day and visited with Sus, Timmy, Rosie, Nana and Papa. Sus and I went to a few stores at the Outlets and we wore our masks. I'll go back down there most likely in a few weeks. I think it's okay to visit certain people as long as both ends are being safe and healthy. There are certain things that I won't do still like meet in large groups. Disneyland got rid of their annual pass. I was going to get my nails done and toes done the other day - normally I wouldn't but I got a gift card from Kevin for my birthday that I wanted to use. I know they use safety precautions as they do it but I called to make an appointment and they are closed again due to the governor's tier program. I would say most places are still open but limited to what they can do. Kevin went to Popeye's and got us chicken earlier this week and they only allowed a certain amount of people in the restaurant at once to order. There is no drive-through for that Popeyes. Here is part of Joe Biden's inaugaration:
Jace got accepted into the after school program at school and started today so he is at school until 5:30. I still don't have a job but I did have an interview today and been applying like crazy. My unemployment goes from $575/week down to $275/week starting this Friday.
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A few months ago, closer to the beginning of February 2020, we started hearing about this fast-spreading virus called the Coronavirus. It started in China, and, to be honest, I'm not one to pay attention much to national news, so it wasn't a huge deal to me personally. But as days went on, there was more and more talk about this virus and how so many people were getting it. By now, it had spread to other countries including Italy. I still wasn't impacted in any way but definitely paying more attention to what was going on. My Facebook and newsfeeds were now discussing this virus and discussing how many people were dying, including the man from China who initially "discovered" this virus. He was a doctor and noticed that a lot of his patients were having the same symptoms. Unfortunately, he himself ended up with the Coronavirus and succombed to it. He was basically warning everyone about this, although it seemed to have been against the country of China (maybe due to Communism?) By now though, anyone who had been on an airplane and had traveled in China during specific time frames, are now susceptible to this virus. And a few months later, here we are. March 21, 2020, the United States now has more than 21,000 cases all within a few weeks time span I would say. We are now in the middle of this and I don't see an end to it anytime soon. Here is the time line as I know it.
Last week my two sisters, nieces and nephew came to visit here in California. What a relief it was for them knowing it was barely the beginning tip of what is now known as a pandemic. The first thing everyone did after seeing how big of a deal this was, was rushed to grocery stores and grabbed all of the toilet paper they could find. I am still confused by this but that was what all of the Facebook memes discussed was this "toilet paper hoarding". I had toilet paper for my little family and I wasn't too worried myself. I can't even remember the last time I got the flu and I was at the doctors last week and was deemed healthy. Anyways, with my sisters being here, it was still a very dark time, literally. It was raining and there were dark clouds, and then there were the toilet paper hoards. We went to Rite Aid and enjoyed some ice cream, had a BBQ at nana's, and Amanda actually had two people text to her to ask if she can bring back some toilet paper for them in Utah. Yes, that is how bad it was. I grabbed a thing of toilet paper while I was out "just in case" but still wasn't super worried. The fear was in the news media and news sources.
On Friday (yes, the 13th), they closed down Jace's elementary school for one month! I was shocked but kind of expected some of this with how blown up it was. The school didn't provide too many resources and by now I was working two jobs, barely managing life as it was, and then I had to start a "homeschool" process which was extremely stressful. On the 30th they are starting distance learning which I don't have a lot of experience in but I guess the teacher will be able to help students through an app and will provide projects so that will be extremely helpful. Rumor has it that school may be done for the year (especially here in California) but there has been no official announcement.
Sunday, March 15th, 2020 - My sister left this morning and I decided that I had to suck it up and just do a large grocery shop load so I can at least have meals for my family for the next week before everyone decides to hoard all of the food. I went to the store and it wasn't a great experience. The carts were large so there wasn't a lot of space, people were cutting me off, not apologizing, I just felt really uncomfortable. The store was out of staples like potatoes, bread, waters, tomatoes, and bananas. I guess I could live without some of those (besides the water of course. Our faucet water tastes so bad but I knew we had water bottles at home to last us a few days). At least I knew I wasn't going to starve.
Monday, March 16, 2020 - Kevin was at work and I woke up to a text saying that there had been a huge earthquake in Utah. My first instinct was to call my sister - they got home last night but the earthquake was a 5.7! She said it scared her and the kids but they are OK. My mom was in Florida for work and because of the damage to the runway, she couldn't get home until tomorrow. There had been maybe 20+ aftershocks from a 2.0-3.0 all day that day in Utah and it still proceeded for the days to come.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020 - Jace has been at his Nana's house all weekend so he got home last night and ended up with a fever. Praying it isn't anything more than that. It's St. Patrick's Day and I literally did nothing. Worked and Jace watched movies basically all day. I didn't leave my house at all today. I ordered Instacart for the remainder of my groceries (where someone else does my grocery shopping for me so I don't have to worry about people haha). He was chatting with me through the app and basically, again, the store was out of everything I wanted and needed. They did have waters though, hallelujah. They also had tomatoes. They were only bringing one person into the store at a time, they said the maximum waters you can have is two, and they also put a limit on how many meats you could buy which was two. I wanted ground beef or ground turkey and they had neither. I ordered a tri-tip and a roast instead.
Thursday, March 19, 2020 - This was the first time I left the house in four days. Most businesses are closed by now except the post office, bank, gas stations, and grocery stores. If you want to get fast food, most of it is delivery or take out. You can't sit anywhere and eat unless you are 6ft away from people. Because of this, most places are shut down. California is trying to do this "lockdown" where you stay home unless you have to get some essentials ie drinks, food, medicine etc. I went out for the first time today and met up with Jace's uncle and his girlfriend so Jace can go back to nana's for the weekend. It was still gloomy but there was still a lot of people driving around which was really surprising to me. I thought it would be like a zombie apocalypse. I don't know how well this "lockdown" is going to work. Most people are out of work, our rent for our apartment will be extended and I think Kevin's car loan will be deferred. It seems like since everyone is affected by this, businesses are willing to work and negotiate with their customers. I went to the store tonight to search for ground beef and ground turkey. I found a tube of ground turkey and the sign limited one meat per family. So I purchased the turkey, came home, and it was bad. It didn't look bad but it smelled like rotten eggs. I got to thinking, since there is the virus going around, they may be desperate and sell people bad meat, or maybe it was an accident. When I called the store, the lady on the phone said, "Maybe it sat on the truck for too long" which was a little disturbing. Anyway, it was a mess to try and return it or get a refund because they had signs saying no returns due to the coronavirus. They sold me bad meat to begin with so it was quite the ordeal. I had Kevin call in and he spoke with a manager and finally they resolved it. Unfortunately, I was still out of meat. I went to two other stores who were completely out too.
Friday, March 20, 2020 - I lost my second job today because they closed down until this whole thing passes. Gyms are closed, public places are closed and most are confined to their homes unless they are buying essential items. Kevin is still working until the government tells him not to. He found some ground beef tonight so I made this delicious taco salad.
Saturday, March 21 2020 - Today I went to the gas station to get "essentials" aka Coke Zero for myself and Red Bull for Kevin. I also purchased two scratchers but didn't win. I started a weight loss journey on June 29, 2019, so about 9 months ago. Most people are saying that since they are confined and can't go to the gym, they will probably gain weight. I'm trying my best not to and still cooking every night. I lost 10 pounds within the first maybe 3-4 months of my weight loss and it's basically been steady. If I can keep it at that, I will be happy until the gym is back open and life is back to normal.Cousin Susy told me today that the governor said that 52% of Californians will get the Coronavirus in the next two weeks although some may have mild to no symptoms.
Saturday, March 28, 2020 - Distance Learning for Jace starts on Monday - I don't know if I'll end up having him jump online since I'm still working and use my computer - and his tablet is super glitchy - or if I'm just gonna have him do packets that the school gives out - I think that would be the easier route. But we will see when Monday comes around. Kevin is still working but he did accept a job down in Barstow which means we will probably be moving down there in the next 5-6 months. We are going to visit first to make sure it's a good place and good area (probably Apple Valley area) maybe in the next month or so. Jace's Nana has been taking Jace most of the week since his uncles are visiting so it's bee nice but man, I miss that boy! I have way more patience when I work with him 2 days in a row and then Nana works with him for 5 days. Working and having him home has been tough, that's for sure, but I'm trying hard to just be patient and work with him. I have a bunch of fun games and ideas to do with him when he isn't doing his packets.
I have been doing some at-home workouts the last three days or so. I have gained maybe a few pounds. I have stayed inside the last 4 days.. I ordered Instacart yesterday and she delivered groceries with gloves. This is our new norm. Kevin is getting his tires fixed because they are so bald and they had him stay inside his car until they got him in and now he is outside waiting. They don't have the indoor section or waiting room open.
I had a dream last night and, although I don't remember much, I do remember it was life as usual. I wish my actual dreams were real life now. It's a sad time. Although we have all been self-isolating (no martial law and I don't know if that will happen), it really gets to me. I go from happy to sad, to angry about dumb things (like Kevin pooping too much), in the last two weeks I have left my house maybe 4 times total for no longer than 30 minutes every time. When I go out, I feel like I am getting social anxiety. And last night I started getting a tiny sore throat which is the first sign of the Corona. I took some medicine and today I kind feel the same - small sore throat and I keep sneezing and stuff. Not sure if it's allergies or Corona or just sick since pretty much all of that is happening right now.
Seems like the Corona numbers are still going up - I actually know a few people who got it - my friend and her family unfortunately got it and so did my Aunt - all of which have recovered so far. The news and media reports all of the negative cases and scare tactics. This is a worldwide virus and, as of a few days ago, the United States surpassed Italy (which was very bad with this disease) when it comes to those who are getting it. Surprisingly, no kids are getting it. My guess is their immune system? Although Jace had a fever off and on last week and that is a huge piece of Coronavirus but it wasn't anything for us to worry about. He had no other symptoms except a stomach ache one day and that was it. They had a 17 year old pass away in LA and he tested positive for Coronavirus but then a day later the news said they weren't counting that as the Corona because there were other issues that he could have died from. So, as of now, no child under age 18 has died from Corona in the U.S.
An update on Jace's school, they are closed down indefinitely but their hopeful date got extended from April 13 to May 4th now. They said they will reanalyze and keep us updated - my guess is that date will get extended. I know Utah schools are extended through May 1st. We are about one step ahead of Utah with our measures and self isolating and businesses closing and schools closing.
Utah unfortunately continued to have earthquakes for at least 3-4 days after their initial one and lots of aftershocks - I'm talking 24 aftershocks in 24 hours. I think they are pretty much done now. I'm so glad I'm not there though - earthquakes and the pandemic seemed like the end of the world.
There have been so many funny memes:
Thursday, April 2, 2020: No one knows what day it is, everyone is staying inside and we are just letting things run their course. I now know one other person who had the virus and is now better. Not related - my Grandma in Vegas suffered a mild stroke yesterday and is at the hospital.
New York seems to be the worst with their virus cases - 50,000 cases and 1,400 dead. I was reading articles of "bodies overflowing in the hospitals" because they have no room for the dead. I also just saw an article that said the state of New York could run out of ventilators in 6 days. 30 states have a "stay at home" policy where we have to stay home unless it's essential or working. Kevin and I are both still working. I saw yesterday on the news that the California Governor is urging the state to keep schools closed the rest of the year. I'm all for this because, as of now, they are going back on May 4th. If one kid gets it, they will probably shut the school down again so I'm all for homeschool. The first week of homeschool was tough - Jace had a 60 page packet in a week - but his Spring Break starts tomorrow through April 10th and his Nana just took him for five days.
Kevin and I are moving down to Barstow. He accepted a job and they want him to start May 26th. We are trying to still get out of our lease and we will probably have to pay just one month's worth of rent to leave. We will be going down there hopefully in the next few week's to take a look around at places to rent for when we move. Probably a really bad time to move but Donald Trump put the "stay-at-home" in place through April 30th. Only 28 more days. Easter is next weekend which is such a bummer but I'm trying to stay home as much as possible. I ordered Instacart again today. They are out of the toilet paper I requested as well as other items. Plus I had to wait five days to get the order :/ It's a very strange time to live in right now.
Thursday, April 16, 2020: Well not a lot has changed the past week except more people have passed away. 125 people in our county have had Coronavirus (or COVID-19) and only one death so far. A lot of places are requiring masks to go into the stores, there is tape on the floor in some stores to show 6 feet apart. The government offered stimulus checks of $1,200 per person who made less than $75,000 last year. I got my check yesterday (conveniently on tax day). I spoke with my job today who wants to reduce my work hours from 25 hours a week to 16 hours a week starting next week (I knew this was coming). I filed unemployment about a week ago. Jace now has required work that he has to do online instead of doing packets. Yesterday between work and his school work, I spent 7.5 hours with him. Rayetta (his nana) has him today until Monday night. Tomorrow Kevin and I are leaving to Barstow to check out a few apartments. We can't go in the apartment with anyone and we have to wear masks while we are down there. Times have changed. Commercials on TV talk about the emotions when it comes to this. People that have been tested for COVID-19 are now re-testing positive. I'm pretty sure the "stay-at-home" order will extend through May or maybe even June. I have been blogging more and more people are spending time online. Zoom has become big with digital meetings. Last night I took a Zumba class through Zoom - my friend in Utah teaching the class and it was a "virtual" class. I paid $3. Not bad I would say.
In Utah, schools are shut down through the end of the year. California said that but it seems like schools here really want to open back up. I personally don't think it's a good idea. Kids go from learning in school to learning at home back to learning at school all within 6-9 months. That is so much for kids. My family has stayed healthy. Nana and Papa are doing well. Grandma had a mini stroke and was in the hospital for a few days (separate from Corona) but is out and seems to be doing well. Besides that, no symptoms for anyone that I know of. Donald Trump and the Governor of California are currently on TV and they do this daily to update everyone on life, vaccines to this disease, and when we think America will "re-open". I tend to stay inside, everything is closed except the grocery store and essential places. Food seems to be better. I ordered Instacart yesterday and was able to get food same-day!! This is compared to a 5-day wait time. I feel like the curve has flattened but I don't see us reopening anytime soon only because everyone will go out, including those who are sick or may not know they have it, and it's this big circle again. We had one new case in our county today and we have gone several days lately with no new cases.
When it comes to Jace and homeschooling, Rayetta and I had to email the teacher because his homework was taking 6-7 hours per day which is something that I just can't do while still working. The teacher said at this point, it really is about effort. No one is going to fail this year. Jace has been getting the biggest shout-outs in his morning class meetings because he has been completing his work on-time. But the teacher said you shouldn't spend more than 2 hours on homework per day unless you want him to do more. I print off a schedule for him every week and it shows how much time he should be spending on each subject. I have been going off that (and sometimes a little more) and then when he is done, he's done for the day. Even if he doesn't actually get his work done. They just want to see that he's at least trying and getting some stuff done per subject/topic. I found an amazing article HERE that discusses the time you should be spending with your child doing homeschool based on age-level and this is one of the most comforting things I have read.
I ordered Instacart twice in the past week (spent soooo much money) and both of them were delivered the same day. That means things are getting better. In our county, we have a huge number of cases - almost 150 - but only one death. I think three or four people are hospitalized, one in the ICU. 40 people are recovering at home and the rest are fully recovered. They didn't have testing early on and it still seems like they are denying people tests so that number was bound to go up. And I'm sure it'll continue to go up even though we are social distancing.
Our county, just a few days ago, opened up three different types of businesses - dog grooming, drive-in movie theaters and parking lot church services. Kevin and I were talking about this yesterday and I think the way that things are now will truly impact how business is done in the future. Right now, restaurants should only be take-out or delivery, no in-restaurant dining. Right now all church services are done online through Facebook Live (and now I guess you can be in the church parking lot in your car) and I think that's an amazing idea regardless. I enjoy church but don't really attend but I have been watching church online - especially on Easter. Even though we were stuck at home, I dressed up and watched a few Easter services online.
I am very conflicted when it comes to "opening up our country" right now. I have read a lot of comments and thoughts about it and I see both sides. We are a country of freedom and should have the choice of whether or not we go out, who we are with etc. At the same time, I see the risk that if we open up our country, and people aren't wearing masks or social distancing, there will be a second round of the virus. A lot of this virus is being compared to the 1918 Spanish Flu in which they did have a second wave of it that was worse than the first wave. I think Winter will be that second wave. Kevin things that we will be having to do social distancing for the next year to year and a half. I like what they are doing now which is slowly opening up pieces or parts of businesses that are non-essential. We can then see how that does, how people are responding, and open up others. Unfortunately, the beaches are also open so people in Florida have been swarming the beaches and I'm sure in a few weeks, we will be hearing about an increase in cases. They opened up the beach here and it seems like guidelines were followed - they brought their own stuff, stayed 6 feet away, I don't understand wearing a mask when its almost 90 degrees and they said most people didn't wear masks. I wouldn't go in the water though. I don't trust the water quite yet.
My hours at work decreased from 25 hours a week to 16. That's been easier when it comes to also homeschooling. It also gives me time to pack and apply and do all that I need to do. I was supposed to receive a packet in the mail from unemployment yesterday but expected it to be past two weeks since so many people applied. Hopefully I get the packet today or early next week so I can start bringing that in.
My mood swings are terrible and I actually ordered this gummy called FLO - and yes, it is related to that womanly "time of the month" but you take two of these a day and it's supposed to help with mood swings, cramps, acne, basically everything when that time comes around. The reason why I "invested" in these was because 2-3 days ago was literally one of the worst days since the stay-at-home order a month and a half ago. I thought I was the only one that felt a little crazy but I posted something on Instagram, a quote about how I feel every single second of the day, and like four women agreed with me that they felt that way too. I think the unknown has caused a lot of stress + adding homeschooling + moving + trying to find ways to earn more money since my hours decreased. There is a lot of unknown there. So going back to my worst day, it was bad, I cried, I argued, I yelled, I went on the porch a few times, I cried again, it was just.....bad. But things are better today. It is Saturday so it's the weekend which means packing, making nachos for dinner, doing laundry, and just doing things that need to get done. I feel like relaxing isn't much of an option until we get a place and get packed up. I don't want to do all of this last second. Our official move-in date is May 22nd.
I went out a few days ago and put gas in my car because I figured I should fill up while gas is cheap. For California, it was cheap at $2.99/gallon. Some places in the U.S. have gas as cheap as 99 cents! Holy smokes.
Saturday, May 9, 2020: Wow a lot has changed since I posted last. I went out to the UPS store this morning and it seems like things were back to normal. The governor had put out a 3 part plan to opening up the state again but I think we are already midway through part 2. That means more places, including non-essential businesses, are opened back up. The UPS store is close to Albertson's and even a week or two ago, the lines to get in were out to the street, there was only one opening to get in and they were limiting the amount of people in. I also think they only allowed several people in at a time. Today, there was no line at all (and it's Saturday!) and maybe half of the people were wearing masks. Last time I went to the UPS store there was a line outside too, everyone with masks and there were squares to separate the "6 feet apart" so that everyone wasn't close to each other. I walked in today and was the only one in there. They do have glass at the registers that separate you from the person at the front but no one was there. Everyone seemed to be at Albertson's as the parking lot was packed.
Bryan said he went to get something to eat last night and downtown Paso Robles was packed. It's like the state opened and everyone went nuts. I surely didn't and I'm still trying to stay inside as much as possible. We still can't have big gatherings - I think that's the later part of part 2 or 3. Mother's Day is tomorrow and Nana's birthday was last month and it's sad that I can't see anyone.
We are moving two weeks from today and have no idea where we are moving! It has been so crazy. We have applied for three places around this area - mainly Atascadero area. We have heard back from one and it was a denial so just waiting on the other two. It is very stressful to not know where we are moving and we have to be out in 14 days.
I haven't heard anything about unemployment and it's been more than a month. I'm getting a little worried that maybe it didn't go through. I received a confirmation number and was told I would get something in the mail for 2 weeks but haven't. I know they are super behind and I wish I would have taken a screenshot of the confirmation number but totally spaced it. I haven't received an email or anything. I may give it two more weeks and then see what's going on and look more into it.
Jace has been with his nana for almost two weeks. Oh my gosh that has been such a huge stress lifted because I have been able to focus on work, moving, packing and trying to get things done before our move. He won't be back until Monday afternoon. He only has about three weeks left of school (June 4th) before it's summer so that's a sigh of relief. And by the time he starts 4th grade, we will be settled in our new place so we will have time to figure out what school he will go to. Boys and Girls Club still isn't open and I have emailed them a few times - I'm sure they will be closed for awhile but it would be nice to be able to take him there throughout the summer.
I'm still working 16 hours a week, hoping that will increase sooner than later or at least get unemployment so I can get back to paying some bills when they are owed again. A lot of companies, like credit card companies, are allowing me to skip a month or two since everyone is affected by this. But once things are owed again, I hope my hours are back up and unemployment is received - fingers crossed.
Sunday May 16th, 2020: Alot has changed in the past week or so. All of Utah opened up so on Facebook I'm watching all of my friends hang out, go out, go to restaurants, etc and I'm a little jealous. At the same time though, I'm not because when the state of California opens up, I will probably wait awhile before just going out again. The virus doesn't stop. Although we are still under a stay-at-home order, people are out and about like normal. We drove to look at a few places to move yesterday and traffic was super busy. Kevin went out to the store today and said there were so many people. As of yesterday, we were no longer under the county's stay-at-home order - instead it's now up to the Governor on what counties open back up. In L.A. county, he said they aren't opening back up until August 1st. I still think we are in phase 2 but more non-essential business are opening so it's weird that we are still under order but places are still opening back up. We still only have 1 death in our county and over 200 cases. So we really aren't too bad - maybe 3 or 4 people hospitalized at the moment so we have done a great job with flattening the curve and not overwhelming our small hospitals here.
We are moving out in six days and still don't know where we are moving to. We went and saw a place in Bradley yesterday that has amazing views of Lake Nacimiento. That's our first vote but if that's the case, we won't move there until June 8th which means staying at Kevin's Moms house on base from the 23rd until the 8th. The base is super strict right now because they don't want anyone that doesn't live on base come on to the base due to the virus so I may have a hard time getting on the base in the first place. If I leave for any reason during those two weeks, they won't let me back on. I literally can't go anywhere off base. Everyone else could though. I really hope we find something soon.
Jace has been with his Nana most, if not all, of this past month which has been so nice. His last day of school is June 4th. She is picking him up again Tuesday so that Kevin and I can focus on our move and packing. She is sooo amazing. Truly. I still think of what would have happened if we ended up going to Barstow. Such a weird thought. Our lives would be completely different. But I am glad that we ended up staying, now we just need to find a place here.
Still no word on unemployment - it's been about 6 weeks. I have emailed them three times and heard nothing back. I hope everything went through. I'll probably wait one or two more weeks and then maybe reopen another case. It's a little disheartening to be honest. Supposedly the pay out is really good and I could really use it right now. Especially since we would have loved to have been moved out and into a new place by the 23rd - rent and the deposit combined is so dang much around here. I hope we move into somewhere that we love.
Wednesday June 3, 2020: We got the place in Bradley! After waiting a week to a week and a half to hear back and an extensive background/credit/reference check, we got it! We move in June 10th so one week from today. Kevin and I are going there tomorrow to sign the lease and take a look at the inside of the mobile home since we were unable to do that last time.
We have been staying at Rayetta's (Kevin's Moms) for about a week. It's been good. The only downside is not having a room. We are sleeping on the couch and it's extremely comfortable but I am ready for my own room, own bed and own space. Day two here was extremely tough. I cried several times. There have been a lot of adjustments made the past few weeks and I think it finally took a toll. I could not get my car on base no matter how hard I tried. I knew my registration was expired and that would be an issue. It definitely was. Even though I had proof I paid my 2019 registration and that I had emailed the DMV several times about paying my 2020 registration, they were not having it. The guys at the front gate told me that the DMV had no record that I paid my 2019 registration even though I showed them an email stating that I did. Anyways, we ended up parking my car at a friend of Rayetta's so it'll be there for the next week until we move. I have gone off base a few times and when I come back on, they check temperatures. If you have a temperature, you are not allowed on base. Luckily none of us have had that issue. Last Friday I wanted to go to the beach with Rayetta and Jace but it ended up being 58 degrees at the beach so we did a few errands instead - I didn't work so it was nice to just do some shopping. I bought some new dinnerware at Big Lots and Mom reimbursed me for them. So nice of her. We are now in a different county, Monterey County, where the deaths are higher. Bradley is also in Monterey County. They require masks everywhere you go. Kevin and I went to Safeway earlier last week and they had arrows on the ground showing you that you can only go one direction. That's the worst that I have seen.
Unfortunately, this county is behind SLO county. I think Monterey County has 6 deaths so far and a lot more cases. Some salons are open in Monterey County but you still have to wear masks wherever you go or you can get fined $1,000.
We are in a very strange time right now and not just because of covid. In fact, covid is now an after though for a lot of people after what happened one week ago. George Floyd lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota and went to the store to make a purchase. He used a $20 bill and the clerk thought it was counterfeit so they called the police (which is what they are told to do if they suspect counterfeit money). The police arrived. Now George Floyd is an African American man and the cops that arrived were African American, Caucasian, and Asian. What happened next was all caught on video. Apparently the Caucasian cop and the Asian cop both beat George Floyd in the police car as they had arrested him. He ended up on the ground and the Caucasian cop had put his knee into George Floyd's throat. Now he did this for 8 minutes and ended up KILLING George Floyd. This was all caught on camera. The $20 bill ended up being a real bill. The cops had said that Floyd was resisting yet there was no proof that he was resisting. The people recording the video had told the cop to get off of him and Floyd himself said he couldn't breathe and that the cop was killing him. Within days, all four cops that had been involved are now arrested. The Caucasian cop, Derek Chauvin, was arrested for 3rd degree murder and manslaughter. I read an article today that they want to move that up to 2nd degree murder. It can't be first degree murder because it was not pre-meditated is what I heard. I did not know that 1st degree murder had to be premeditated. But let me tell you this, the whole WORLD has been impacted by this harsh and racist death. As of yesterday, every single state in the United States had riots, protests, or looters. Some of it is extremely unfortunate because small businesses are being destroyed, people are dying, fires are being set, grafitti is being written all over, cop cars are being turned over. Here on base, I am ever so grateful that I am not a part of a big city. Kevin's co-worker Rudy is in the National Guard and got called down to L.A. because of the riots. He doesn't know when he will return. Some of these protests are extremely scary. In Salt Lake, a guy brought a bow and arrow to a protest and attempted to shoot the arrow at people. Right when he did that, he had about 10 people attack him. Police officers and small business owners have died.
It's like covid is no longer valid. Some people wore masks but most did not. Social distancing is not a thing. The cases are going to go up in a few weeks, guaranteed. It's been crazy watching everything play out on TV. I understand now the protesting, racism, and riots. I thought our nation had gotten better with racism but apparently it's still clear as day.
On a different and random note. The day we were supposed to move to Barstow, assuming we would have gotten approved for the apartments, there was a shooting 6 minutes away. And yesterday there was a 3.9 earthquake in Barstow. It's weird to hear anything about Barstow here but they've made our news twice in the past week and a half.
I have still heard nothing from unemployment. It's been two months since I have filed. It would be nice to have that or at least know the status. I called three different unemployment numbers today and they couldn't get me to a live person. I have emailed them 3 times in 2 months and heard nothing. At least I haven't been denied yet. Rudy's wife didn't get hers for 2 months so it seems like that is the time period. If I do get it and receive it in the next week, that would be perfect timing since we are moving and need almost $3,600 to move between tomorrow and the 10th of June.
Friday, June 11, 2020: A lot has happened in the past week and a half - including our move. We finally moved into a mobile home right on top of a hill with an overview of the lake. It is GORGEOUS. We still have a lot of unpacking to go but happy to at least be somewhat settled. We spent 15 days at Kevin' Moms house and it was nice and quiet and relaxing. I hardly went anywhere because my car was off-base.
Riots and protests are still occurring worldwide. George Floyd's funeral was last week and it's AMAZING to see how many people care so much. The Black Lives Matter movement is huge right now. Unfortunately though, there have been a lot of negative that came out of the protests - more cops abusing their power, people dying due to protecting their businesses, people pooping on cop cars, bows and arrows being used, people running into crowds with their cars, businesses being destroyed, and so many people getting arrested.
I have mixed feelings about COVID at the moment. I know cases will increase due to the rioting and protesting - maybe half of the people have been wearing masks, no social distancing, etc. In Utah, since that's where I'm from, there was one day last week where they had 500 cases of COVID. Utah is currently open and all of my friends on Facebook went out. Since we are in Monterey County and not San Luis Obispo County, we are a little bit behind SLO. According to what I have read, SLO County is now in Phase 3 as of today which means that salons should be open, barbershops, gyms, etc. Monterey County is different and last I checked, if you didn't wear a mask, you could be fined $1,000. Although we did go to the market a few days ago and hardly anyone was wearing masks. There will probably be a second and maybe even third surge of COVID if we base it on the Spanish Flu in 2018. They are saying there will probably be a second wave in September.
I still haven't heard anything from unemployment which is so frustrating. There are three numbers that don't have any live agents. I submitted my claim more than 2 months ago and decided to open a new claim last week. The new claim asked all about COVID which it didn't ask me in the initial claim. It sucks not having any money and being behind on all bills. I have $6.27 in my account and don't get paid for another week.
People are starting to go crazy - not just due to COVID and staying at home for 3 months but also with George Floyd. Wednesday morning at 3am, an active shooter was shooting at the Paso Robles Police Station. He unfortunately shot an officer in the face. He is doing OK though. As for the shooter, I have been listening to the police scanner and the police officers shot and killed him yesterday after he injured 4 police officers total and killed a homeless man in the area. Paso and Templeton were both sheltering in place. This was going on when we moved - and the bank, Uhaul and storage were all in Paso. The banks were closed inside due to the shelter in place. We almost couldn't get our Uhaul because of the shelter in place. All business had to be done through their front window - we couldn't go inside their office. We could go to the ATM thank GOODNESS. The bank was 2 blocks away from where they were blocking roads off. Apparently the same bank in Atascadero was also closed inside. The shooter was found more than 24 hours later in Atascadero where there was a shoot-out between him and the officers. The officers locally are being praised due to their courage and protecting our community.
Thursday, June 25, 2020: After 3 months, I finally heard from unemployment. They told me how much I can claim yesterday but then once I filled out the last 3 weeks, they said that I had excessive earnings all 3 weeks. I don't know how working 12-16 hours a week is excessive (that's only $250-$350 per week). I emailed them about it because that means I will be receiving nothing for the past 3 months. That definitely doesn't seem right anyway because even the past 2 years being on unemployment, I usually got something unless I earned $700+ for that week. I emailed them but seeing as how I have been emailing them since March with no response, I'm not too happy about that. I knew there would be an issue, especially with waiting 3 months for this.
Anyways, SLO county reopened and other counties and cases went up so much. In California we had more than 7,000 new cases yesterday and 5,000 new cases of positive Covid today. According to the governor, we are still in phase 1 so I can only see it getting worse. California is required to wear masks wherever we go out in public. I did our grocery shopping yesterday and definitely wore a mask. It's becoming more of the norm.
Saturday, July 18, 2020: With school starting for kids in less than a month away and cases going up, the governor has made it clear that any county on the "Watch List" must start school from home. There are 19 counties on the watch list - including Monterey County (ours) and SLO County. Masks are more mandated in places now and SLO County is back to shutting things down. They had to have bars closed on the 4th of July and now restaurants, bars, salons, and everything that reopened must shut down again. I have a feeling that I will be homeschooling Jace this upcoming school year and for probably the whole year. It sounds like a great school though and I heard that they actually have homeschool teachers that go to your home and teach your child 1 on 1 so that would be awesome if that was the case.
Unfortunately my work situation or unemployment situation hasn't changed. I have sent two things into unemployment and emailed them 15 times since May and heard nothing. I'm considering selling my car to at least have money but then I have bad credit and no money to get a new one so I'm not sure if that would be a good situation in the long term. I've applied for several jobs and I'm supposed to have an interview for a full-time position this upcoming week but I haven't heard back from them. That would be so amazing. This past week has been so stressful. I have cried almost every day, I literally work my butt off everyday to try and come up with extra money - whether it's a GoFundMe, selling my book, doing online promotions, take surveys, entering giveaways and contests, applying for other jobs, etc. It's tough working 12-16 hours per week. It's exhausting to make 15 calls every pay period to those people that I owe money to letting them know that my situation hasn't changed since April. I do hope that unemployment sees my information in the mail and changes something. The first time I sent something in the mail was to the local EDD office and they should have received that information almost two weeks ago. I then sent information to renew a claim to another EDD office and they should receive that in two days from now. Somethings gotta give, right?
I unfortunately don't see this virus going away anytime soon. It started around the end of March and it's now July and I understand that people want the economy to open back up but if people keep getting sick and dying, I would rather keep it closed. It's closing businesses, killing people, putting stress on people, the divorce rate is going up - especially of celebrities, it's just been a crazy and sad year. Although I don't see this going anyway soon, I really hope it does. I miss seeing people, I miss working more, I miss having money, and I miss not stressing this much.
Wednesday, July 29, 2020: At this point, our financial situation just is what it is. It continues to go up and down but never ahead. Although I sent unemployment paperwork to two different offices, I have heard nothing. I have called and there are no live agents to speak with. I have been emailing them everyday for the past two weeks. I am at the point where I have been applying for full-time jobs from home because I can't afford to work 16 hours a week any longer. Covid is getting worse and I feel like we are back at square 1. I have heard that masks are mandated in California but some places don't actually mandate it individually. Walmart was mandating masks and then I guess you have those people who still want to shop there without a mask and put up a fight and hurt employees or say mean things to employees so they decided masks are not mandated. I wear my mask whenever I am out because I don't want to risk getting it. I think the U.S. has now reached 150,000 deaths from covid. I have applied to probably 5-10 jobs in the past few weeks. I have received three total emails from those applications and 1 scheduled an interview but never called me.
Yesterday was a good day and it's amazing what receiving money does for ones soul when money has been such a huge burden and issue the past 4 months. I received $20 for doing a promotion, a $20 Amazon card for taking a survey (which I exchanged for cash), my Nana sent us $100 for school supplies and clothes for Jace so I was able to buy him some shirts, and then I have a $20 Amazon gift card that will be sent in a week for doing a survey. All of those added up throughout the day and I had a great day because of it. Normally receiving $100 is nothing but not having money literally kills my soul every day. I stayed up late this morning (until 1am) just thinking if I did get backpay from the unemployment office....what I would do with it. I could pay off people I owe, Kevin included. I would buy Jace a bike and buy us a TV for our living room. I would buy Kevin his PS4 (or maybe even PS5) and a grill for outside. I would catch up on bills and finally sense some sort of freedom. Money doesn't necessary buy happiness but it definitely helps when you have a young family. People that I know have gotten backpay up to $5,000. Imagine that big ol' check coming through. I really hope that happens but since I have literally received nothing from unemployment, I have to start losing hope that I'm going to get anything from them.
I have been entering every giveaway and sweepstakes possible, taking surveys literally everyday for extra cash, doing promotions and reviews on items, applying for jobs from home, and taking all surveys that come through my email for cash.
Kevin will be calling the school anyday now to not only register Jace but to see how they are planning on starting the year - homeschooling or doing school at the actual school. Either way would be tough for me but I have to do it. I would rather homeschool to be honest although I'm really surprised that he doesn't mind the mask at all. If kids go back to school, they will probably mandate masks. Actually, I know they will mandate masks and different rules and extra cleaning but I don't even know if that would make me comfortable with letting Jace go back.
I highly considered putting my car up for sale for extra cash. I put it online for $2,500 just to see if there was any interest and there definitely was. I probably had 10 people email me about it and I had put in the ad that I was just gauging interest. The more I thought about it, I would have extra money but it would be way more stressful for Kevin to have only his car and to have to do the grocery shopping and stuff. That is a lot to put on someone and it would be super hard for me to not have a car. Even though I just went almost a week without going anywhere and had high anxiety when I actually did go out today, I still don't know if I could do that long-term. I actually only wanted to do it for a few months and then look into another car but because my credit is so bad, I don't even think if I paid off stuff on my report that my credit would be better in even six months. Six months without a car, I would literally go insane. It's tough though because I ask myself, "Why can't I have both? Why can't I have both a car and money" but at least I'm not the only one in this situation. This literally involves the entire world. You would think that there would be more support for those not doing well though. I had applied for a low-income thing where they would help with groceries, but even then I still made more to qualify. So I make about $350/week which is I guess decent but when it comes down to the fact that my rent is $900 and then I have my power bill, phone bill, car insurance, credit card payments, groceries, internet, and TV bill, it ends up being that I am far below. In fact, I get paid this upcoming Friday and after I pay bills, I will be $400 short on rent. I will have 10 days to figure out where to come up with $400. Crazy right? So when I say that I am doing bad....I am doing bad. And then poor Kevin is helping as much as he can but none of his bills are frozen or on hold because he is still working. So it's been super stressful and I just don't know when things are going to go back to normal, if anytime soon.
Wednesday, August 26, 2020: I can't believe it's been almost a month since I have posted. The year 2020 has officially been the worst year of my life and probably most of the world. It just seems to be one thing after another. Jace started back to school on Monday and it's been all from home, 8am-Noon or so. He is getting used to things but it's still such a transition from regular classrooms. He is at a new school too so he didn't know anyone going in. He is at his nana's for the next week and it's been so great having her help since I am still working. No surprise, I still haven't received unemployment so I'm barely scraping by day by day and week by week. In fact, my phone was shut off for 12 hours before basically talking to 5 different people and begging them to turn it back on until I get paid in two days. My next check on Friday is rent money but quite honestly, it'll be another month of struggle because we are running low on food. And by food, I mean meals and snacks. We have food like canned foods and chips and stuff but hardly anything we can use for a meal - except a few ramen noodles. It's really sad how our life has been lately. I stopped calling creditors and talking to them because I don't have anything to give them. I've had a few accounts go into collections and I just had my Target credit card reach collections today. I am giving up on my credit though and need to make sure rent gets paid and food is on the table. Two days can't come soon enough..
A few weeks ago we had a small batch of thunder, lightning and rain. Unfortunately the lightning caused a HUGE fire in Salinas which is about 1 hour and 20 min away from us. We were affected for about a week where we would go outside and it was basically yellow outside. The smoke was so bad even from our house. I really didn't go outside and didn't even want to leave the house because of how bad it was. It was even worse up on base by where Kevin works and Rayetta lives. They said ash was falling from the sky and one day Kevin even wore his mask when he went outside.
Covid has been outnumbered by fires, heat, hurricanes, and racial inequality. Ever since George Floyd's death, there has been constant video of black men vs. the white cop. There was just one in Wisconsin yesterday. It's every other day we hear a new story and it's so so sad. There are so many protests. In fact, the NBA has been back on (and Jazz are in the first round playoffs, if they win tomorrow they go to second round) and it's been very different because there are no live fans so they have virtual fans where you can see people watching the game at home. Because of the incident in Wisconsin yesterday, the Milwaukee Bucks decided they didn't want to play today to make a statement. Because of that, the other three teams today didn't play either. Donovan Mitchell on the Jazz has been very vocal about the bigger issue here which isn't basketball but social and racial injustice. So I have a feeling the Jazz game tomorrow will be cancelled too. Although covid has been on the backburner, it's still very real. We still wear masks when we go out. Schools still have to be virtual until we are 2 weeks off the watch list and then it would be more hybrid. I don't see as much about covid anymore except that Utah had like 300 cases in one day and then 7 deaths the next day. But they are also a state that is completely open. I feel like we are slowly back to opening. Nana, Papa and Aunt Tracey were supposed to come over yesterday but they couldn't find our house :( So they went back home. We are definitely out in the country so it is hard to find. But nana seems to be back to doing her own grocery shopping and she just went and saw Taylor's baby with no mask so it seems like people, or at least my family, seems to be loosening the reigns a little bit.
I have been getting up about an hour and a half earlier with Jace so I have been going to bed around 10:30 or 11pm which is super abnormal for me. I am one that typically stays up past midnight. It's nice to sleep earlier and wake up earlier. Since Jace is gone though, I'll be able to wake up closer to 9 tomorrow and then sleep in on Friday since I have the day off :)
Monday, October 12, 2020:
It's sad to say that not much as change in the way of COVID the past two months except now the president, Donald Trump, has it. Or had it less than a week ago. California seems pretty stalled I feel like and nothing seems to have changed. I bring a mask everywhere I go and try to limit where I go. I went to Utah about a month ago and masks were mandated in my sister's county so I wore my mask there as well. I just saw an email from Yahoo news saying that Europe just got hit with their 2nd wave of COVID which has long been predicted that there would be a second wave. I don't feel like the U.S. has even gotten out of the first wave.
Tuesday I have a parent/teacher conference with Jace's teacher and they are thinking of starting Hybrid in November - having the kids come in to the school part-time and the remainder would be online. I'm not sure how that will work but I will know tomorrow.
There are no updates to unemployment. I have gone 6 months working 16 hours a week and it has definitely taken a huge toll. I'm in more debt than I want to admit and have been emailing unemployment everyday as well as applying for second jobs. I've had about four interviews the past four weeks but nothing has come out of them.
COVID is a beast and I don't see it stopping anytime soon. It's something that even a vaccine I don't see curing it. More people seem to be scared of taking a vaccine, such as myself. I don't know how I'll be able to afford Christmas this year if things continue like this. Luckily I gave my nieces and nephew most of their gifts when I was out there (super early Christmas) and Alexis too so I don't have too much more to buy. We are thinking of staying here in Bradley until June and then moving out of state. We have been discussing moving out of state literally the past two years but nothing has come up. Kevin has applied for jobs in Utah, Texas, and other states in the west and I really wouldn't mind staying in western United States.
The NBA is officially over this season with the Lakers (of course) winning. I have a feeling that because Kobe passed away in January, the refs and the entire NBA were leaning towards the Lakers winning. The bubble seemed to have worked for the NBA though where the entire team is at Disney World in what is called "the bubble" and they can't leave the bubble. If they do (such as Gordon Hayward's wife having a baby), they have to get tested and approved before going back in. That worked well with nobody getting COVID. The NFL is a different story though. The season started 5 weeks ago I think and they are not in a bubble. They are limiting their audience but games keep getting postponed because players are getting COVID. The Tennessee Titans had a lot of their team get infected (10+ players and staff I think). The Broncos game had to get rescheduled due to COVID and they were supposed to play today instead of yesterday but their game got rescheduled again due to one person on the opposing team, the Patriots, getting infected so it's now postponed to next Sunday. The audience is social distancing, they have to wear masks and they are only at half capacity or less in the stadiums. Some teams don't even want crowds and it's up to the team to decide. The crowd or audience does not come in contact with the players at all. It's just a weird world we live in when it comes to sports. I feel like the NBA has done the best so far though.
Tuesday, November 17, 2020: After 8 months of COVID, I can finally say that COVID SUCKS!!!! It has literally been an exhausting 8 months of hardly working, hardly making any money, borrowing money from literally everyone, and now cases are going up - the second surge as they say - some countries are completely on lockdown again and the U.S. is having extremely high numbers - like higher than in the summer and when COVID first started. So we have basically been on lockdown for 8 months it seems like - wearing masks everywhere we go, hardly going out anyway unless it's too the grocery store or to take Jace to get his shots. Anyone I meet up with I wear a mask. I haven't even seen my family here in California. I haven't seen Susy since March or her family. Same with Chanel and Emily. I miss my friends. Thanksgiving is next week and normally we do a big thing with family, right? Not this year. Nana and Papa are going to Susy's, Michael has to work, Emily won't be there, Rayetta and Jace will be in Vegas, we don't have the money for Vegas and Kevin doesn't have any time off or we would have gone to Vegas. Looks like it'll be just him and I for Thanksgiving. And then my birthday is coming up too and I'm sure it will be the same. I think we will plan on doing some Zoom video calls to say hi to each other. At least for Christmas, Rayetta will plan on a big Christmas dinner for everyone so that's something to look forward to. This year seriously sucks. I spent Easter without family, 4th of July without family and now Thanksgiving without family. I mean, I love my small little family of course but I'm just used to be around a lot of people and just having so much fun. Covid is lame and I hate it and I'm being immature right now and I don't care because it makes me so depressed and sad and pissed off all at the same time.
Jace starts a "Hybrid" type class the week after Thanksgiving but he won't be going back to school because we didn't want him to so instead he will have class from home 8:30-2:15, 8:30-noon will be his own independent work and then Noon-2:30 he will have his teacher on Zoom so it'll be longer days for him. I'm hoping by then I will have a full-time job. Although I still haven't received unemployment, my employer did receive a notification from them asking them questions about my employment and it was dated 11/14 so maybe this is a good sign? Although I finally heard back from unemployment and they said they weren't accept my self employment as wages because I made enough when I worked at the spa (so much so, that I still have yet to receive a dime from them??) so I'm still emailing them daily. Glad it took 8 months for them to respond. I literally cried my eyes out. I still hope to get something from them after all of the stuff that I submitted on my end. It really isn't fair that they are using the three months that I worked at the spa as my unemployment income - that was literally a side, seasonal job to get me through the holidays. So dumb. I have also had 8 interviews for full time jobs in the past 2 months. That's a good sign right but clearly I don't interview well. I did have an interview today (a 2nd interview actually) for a Social Media Technical Assistant which I really want. I'll hear back from them the end of this week but she actually said that she liked my resume and my confidence so that's a good sign I hope. Not having a full time job SUCKS. Not having money SUCKS. Not being able to spend time with family because covid cases are going up SUCKS. Can this crisis be over yet....please and thank you?
Friday December 11, 2020:
Thank the Lord that 2020 is almost over. You guys this has literally been one of the worst years of my life (and most of the worlds). COVID-19 has been ongoing for almost 10 months now. We are now I think in the 3rd wave and our county is purple tier. Blue is the worst but we are still at the bottom. SLO County has had record-high days since COVID started. Thanksgiving was just Kevin and I at home which was nice because we haven't had our own Thanksgiving. We made a turkey and Jace went with his Nana's to Las Vegas. My birthday, December 3, was probably the quietest birthday I've ever had. It was nice at home and I got a Ring Light and a Broncos outfit from Kevin, money from Nana, a book from Amanda and Alexis, and shoes and a comforter from Mom :) Jace's birthday was yesterday but he was at his Nana's so we celebrated last week. Kevin bought brownies and we made them and sang happy birthday. I decorated Jace's door with streamers and we bought him some stuff. His Nana spoiled him with a PS4, pizza party and a sleepover this weekend with his friends. Christmas is in two weeks and we plan on going to Rayetta's for a big dinner. I purchased a dress from Amazon for only $8 and hopefully I get it in time. The day after Thanksgiving I went down to see Nana, Papa and spent some time with Susy and kids :) Chanel moved to Colorado so we also met up with her at the park, safety first of course :) I have been reaching out to unemployment and finally got ahold of someone today and two days ago. They updated my account and now I need to speak with a specialist. I hope I get backpay because it has been 10 months of literally paycheck-by-paycheck and maxing out everything. I am off work in one week for two weeks for Christmas and the holidays so it would also be nice to make more than $40/week while I'm not working. This week I have been reevaluating my life and what I want in life. I have been applying for jobs for 3 months (full-time) and nothing. I have had 10 interviews but it's just so amazingly competitive right now, it's ridiculous, especially with remote or at-home positions. It makes me want to do my new thing or teach classes on what I know or SOMETHING. ANYTHING. I need to change.
Thank the Lord that 2020 is almost over. You guys this has literally been one of the worst years of my life (and most of the worlds). COVID-19 has been ongoing for almost 10 months now. We are now I think in the 3rd wave and our county is purple tier. Blue is the worst but we are still at the bottom. SLO County has had record-high days since COVID started. Thanksgiving was just Kevin and I at home which was nice because we haven't had our own Thanksgiving. We made a turkey and Jace went with his Nana's to Las Vegas. My birthday, December 3, was probably the quietest birthday I've ever had. It was nice at home and I got a Ring Light and a Broncos outfit from Kevin, money from Nana, a book from Amanda and Alexis, and shoes and a comforter from Mom :) Jace's birthday was yesterday but he was at his Nana's so we celebrated last week. Kevin bought brownies and we made them and sang happy birthday. I decorated Jace's door with streamers and we bought him some stuff. His Nana spoiled him with a PS4, pizza party and a sleepover this weekend with his friends. Christmas is in two weeks and we plan on going to Rayetta's for a big dinner. I purchased a dress from Amazon for only $8 and hopefully I get it in time. The day after Thanksgiving I went down to see Nana, Papa and spent some time with Susy and kids :) Chanel moved to Colorado so we also met up with her at the park, safety first of course :) I have been reaching out to unemployment and finally got ahold of someone today and two days ago. They updated my account and now I need to speak with a specialist. I hope I get backpay because it has been 10 months of literally paycheck-by-paycheck and maxing out everything. I am off work in one week for two weeks for Christmas and the holidays so it would also be nice to make more than $40/week while I'm not working. This week I have been reevaluating my life and what I want in life. I have been applying for jobs for 3 months (full-time) and nothing. I have had 10 interviews but it's just so amazingly competitive right now, it's ridiculous, especially with remote or at-home positions. It makes me want to do my new thing or teach classes on what I know or SOMETHING. ANYTHING. I need to change.
Sunday, January 3, 2021:
Well I finally have some positive news! On Christmas Day, I received my unemployment for $5,400! Although I wish it was more (not for selfish reasons, but just because of how far behind I am on my bills) I am soooooo happy! Then President Trump signed a stimulus package so I got $600 a few days ago. My unemployment finally went from $40/week to $257/week and Trump also signed an additional $300/week for unemployment through September of this year! I am hoping for $1,100 today since I didn't work for two weeks and just applied for my bi-weekly unemployment amount. I paid off a lot of debt, purchased a stationary bike for my health and so Amanda and I can do some workouts together, bought a few pairs of pants and Kevin and I did go to the casino the night before yesterday. I felt like we deserved that after so long. Masks are still required and there is still plexiglass between every slot machine. They take your temperature before you can enter and you have to wear this nametag with your temperature on while you at the casino. Cases are skyrocketing because of Christmas and New Year's. Mom paid for Jace and I to go to Utah which was SO fun! We were there from December 26-31. The airline required masks in the airport and on the flight. We had to wear masks whenever we went out - we went to Nickelmania, D.I. (I bought Jace 5 shirts and 12 books for $27!), Marshalls (I bought 3 sweaters for myself and a toy for Jace), Menchie's frozen yogurt (which required you to sanitize your hands AND wear gloves as you self-serve the frozen yogurt. All candy/cookies to top with the frozen yogurt were in small containers and you put them on after you purchased your yogurt.) I was able to see all of my family which was so nice! I saw Andrew for about an hour and he's going back to school which I'm so proud of him for, I saw Alexis for 3 days and then we stayed with Amanda and the girls and Falc. Mom and Ron picked us up from the airport. The trip was so dang fun. I had off work for 2 weeks so after Christmas we decided to take a trip out there. I actually felt bad because of COVID, I am def. one of the types to tell people not to fly during COVID or, like my mom who has to for work, be as safe as possible. The airlines made things very safe I felt like. They said they did extra cleaning between flights and instead of going to everyone and asking for drink or snack orders, they pre-made a bag of cookies and crackers and then a small bottle of water for everyone. I have felt safe everywhere I went and not showing any signs of COVID. The problem with people meeting with family and friends over Christmas/New Year's is not being safe, not wearing masks, and not social distancing. Andrew wore a mask when he came over and I couldn't hug him :( But it's OK because I don't want any of us to get sick. Especially with cases skyrocketing. In Southern California, they are at 0% capacity for ICU beds. It's been like that for awhile. I even heard of them having tents outside and treating people outside which is so crazy. I'm pretty sure COVID will exist through 2021 although they now have the vaccine. Some people have had bad side effects but I feel like most have not. I don't plan on getting the vaccine, I don't want to be the guinea pig. I know a few people personally that have received it - mostly those on the front lines/nurses/doctors are first.
Well I finally have some positive news! On Christmas Day, I received my unemployment for $5,400! Although I wish it was more (not for selfish reasons, but just because of how far behind I am on my bills) I am soooooo happy! Then President Trump signed a stimulus package so I got $600 a few days ago. My unemployment finally went from $40/week to $257/week and Trump also signed an additional $300/week for unemployment through September of this year! I am hoping for $1,100 today since I didn't work for two weeks and just applied for my bi-weekly unemployment amount. I paid off a lot of debt, purchased a stationary bike for my health and so Amanda and I can do some workouts together, bought a few pairs of pants and Kevin and I did go to the casino the night before yesterday. I felt like we deserved that after so long. Masks are still required and there is still plexiglass between every slot machine. They take your temperature before you can enter and you have to wear this nametag with your temperature on while you at the casino. Cases are skyrocketing because of Christmas and New Year's. Mom paid for Jace and I to go to Utah which was SO fun! We were there from December 26-31. The airline required masks in the airport and on the flight. We had to wear masks whenever we went out - we went to Nickelmania, D.I. (I bought Jace 5 shirts and 12 books for $27!), Marshalls (I bought 3 sweaters for myself and a toy for Jace), Menchie's frozen yogurt (which required you to sanitize your hands AND wear gloves as you self-serve the frozen yogurt. All candy/cookies to top with the frozen yogurt were in small containers and you put them on after you purchased your yogurt.) I was able to see all of my family which was so nice! I saw Andrew for about an hour and he's going back to school which I'm so proud of him for, I saw Alexis for 3 days and then we stayed with Amanda and the girls and Falc. Mom and Ron picked us up from the airport. The trip was so dang fun. I had off work for 2 weeks so after Christmas we decided to take a trip out there. I actually felt bad because of COVID, I am def. one of the types to tell people not to fly during COVID or, like my mom who has to for work, be as safe as possible. The airlines made things very safe I felt like. They said they did extra cleaning between flights and instead of going to everyone and asking for drink or snack orders, they pre-made a bag of cookies and crackers and then a small bottle of water for everyone. I have felt safe everywhere I went and not showing any signs of COVID. The problem with people meeting with family and friends over Christmas/New Year's is not being safe, not wearing masks, and not social distancing. Andrew wore a mask when he came over and I couldn't hug him :( But it's OK because I don't want any of us to get sick. Especially with cases skyrocketing. In Southern California, they are at 0% capacity for ICU beds. It's been like that for awhile. I even heard of them having tents outside and treating people outside which is so crazy. I'm pretty sure COVID will exist through 2021 although they now have the vaccine. Some people have had bad side effects but I feel like most have not. I don't plan on getting the vaccine, I don't want to be the guinea pig. I know a few people personally that have received it - mostly those on the front lines/nurses/doctors are first.
We finally have an abundance of food. I went to the store yesterday and purchased $225 worth of food for our family. It feels so good to have stocked cabinets and not have to worry about money. I paid back a lot of people and although I have a lot left, I feel so good catching up on things. My goal this year is so pay off my debt, get a full-time job (or more than 16 hours), increase my credit score, and like always - focus on my weight. I'm so glad that I purchased the bike. Amanda told me about hers when I was there and she likes it so I bought the exact one. I should be receiving it on Wednesday and then there are literally no excuses when it comes to working out! Especially being home more. Honestly though, the past 9 days I have dressed up more than in the past 10 months combined haha. I used to not go anywhere so it's been weird to actually wear clothes! But now I am ready to take it easy again and I start work back up again tomorrow. Quite honestly, I am preparing to NOT have a job because since I was a self-employed contractor, I was told by unemployment that I have to be considered an employee and since I'm only working 16 hours a week right now, I have a feeling that they will let me go and see me as too much of a liability (ie: having to put me in the books as an employee, the possibility of being audited, having to offer me benefits or 401k etc) so I'll find out tomorrow what the plan is. At least if they do let me go, not like I want to live on unemployment, but that will provide me with enough to live on. In fact, I will be getting more on unemployment with the extra $300/week so I would be OK until I find something full-time or with more hours. Especially with how slow everything is, I have a feeling tomorrow will be my last day.
Kevin was able to take out $5,000 from his 401K for a COVID relief without having to pay it back so both of us are finally in a better position. We went to Target yesterday because he needed a new pair of pants and a belt. He said he wanted to look at something and we went over to the laptops. He hasn't owned a laptop since I've known him so I asked him that. I asked him what kind of laptop he wanted and we tried them out. He purchased one that was a touchscreen and a good brand. I told him as we were heading out that I could hold it for him because he had his other bag of his pants and a belt. He handed it to me and said, "It's yours" and I was like "What?" and he said, "It's yours. I have no need for a computer." Mine has been broken for at least a year. Alexis gave me hers but it was running slow. When I went to Utah we cleaned it up and it's running faster but not as fast as my broken one. I can't believe he bought me a laptop. Now I can use Alexis' laptop for personal and the new laptop for work and I can FINALLY throw away this broken one! What a sweetheart though. It's nice we can both help each other out since we have both been struggling (before he knew he was getting money, I paid for his car payment and car insurance because of how much he has been helping me this past year). I am super frugal now (except for the casino...ugh) when it comes to what I buy and how much I spend. I loved the fact that I could take Jace to the arcade, buy him some new clothes and tons of books. It literally makes me so happy that I don't have to worry. If I don't get my unemployment tonight then I will worry but if I do, I know I have to be careful with it. I want this year to focus on getting out of debt, not back into it. I paid off and deleted all of the loan apps that I was using (except maybe 2 that I still owe). So happy that we are FINALLY in a better position. Although this has been like the past 3 years, it's been worse the past 10 months. I have been praying everyday to just keep me focused and patient and it was so worth it! I found some memes and quotes all about Quarantine/COVID on my phone that I scrolled through on the airplane and I wanted to share them below. Also some that I took while in Utah or just in general.
Well a lot has happened since my last update. I ended up getting let go from my job which I knew would happen and planned on. I still collect unemployment and it's more than what I was making working so for right now, my focus is on Jace and getting him where he needs to be academically while I am out of work. About a week ago, Donald Trump told his "followers" aka "Trumpers" to attack the capitol building to show that the presidential votes were unfair. So, they did just that. They went to the capitol building, went past the police and went inside the capitol. I think about six people died, 50+ were arrested and Trump was impeached for a second time in his term so he can't run for president again. Thank God. As of yesterday, Joe Biden is officially our president. His inauguration was yesterday and I watched some of it. Everyone wore masks, there were hardly anyone on the sidelines when he walked to the white house, they said it was a very different feel. I'm looking forward to change. I think Biden and Kamala Harris will do big things together. Also, the COVID vaccine is out and I have mixed feelings about it. I feel like there is not enough research to know how well it is. It's a two-part vaccine and people are actually getting sick after taking it - missing anywhere from one day of work to a week of work I've heard. But overall, in SLO County, cases have gone down for probably the first time since COVID, no joke. Because of the holidays, cases were skyrocketing. Right now the vaccine is available for some over 75 years old and the frontline workers. They already had to recall 300,000 vaccines here in CA because of allergic reactions. I feel like it's almost been a year with COVID and I am starting to really live my life but being safe while doing so. I went down to SLO the other day and visited with Sus, Timmy, Rosie, Nana and Papa. Sus and I went to a few stores at the Outlets and we wore our masks. I'll go back down there most likely in a few weeks. I think it's okay to visit certain people as long as both ends are being safe and healthy. There are certain things that I won't do still like meet in large groups. Disneyland got rid of their annual pass. I was going to get my nails done and toes done the other day - normally I wouldn't but I got a gift card from Kevin for my birthday that I wanted to use. I know they use safety precautions as they do it but I called to make an appointment and they are closed again due to the governor's tier program. I would say most places are still open but limited to what they can do. Kevin went to Popeye's and got us chicken earlier this week and they only allowed a certain amount of people in the restaurant at once to order. There is no drive-through for that Popeyes. Here is part of Joe Biden's inaugaration:
Wednesday, February 24, 2021f:
I can't believe it's been about one year since the whole pandemic started. We finally have a vaccine that has been available for those over 65+ or with underlying health conditions. So far, no one has died from the vaccine although I'm a little skeptical, ok ALOT of skeptical, about it since it hasn't been tested before. So far my Nana and Papa have received it and Nana said they had just pain in the arm and that was it. I saw a few other people took it including those in the front lines or essential businesses and so far no major side effects. There are two vaccines that you take and sometimes the second dose could cause flu-like or covid-like symptoms but most are mild. After I see how this goes, and it becomes available to me, I may end up getting it. They say it will probably be like the flu shot where you get it every year.
I can't believe it's been about one year since the whole pandemic started. We finally have a vaccine that has been available for those over 65+ or with underlying health conditions. So far, no one has died from the vaccine although I'm a little skeptical, ok ALOT of skeptical, about it since it hasn't been tested before. So far my Nana and Papa have received it and Nana said they had just pain in the arm and that was it. I saw a few other people took it including those in the front lines or essential businesses and so far no major side effects. There are two vaccines that you take and sometimes the second dose could cause flu-like or covid-like symptoms but most are mild. After I see how this goes, and it becomes available to me, I may end up getting it. They say it will probably be like the flu shot where you get it every year.
This past weekend I sat down at a restaurant indoors for the first time in almost a year. Believe it or not, Kevin's brother got married in Las Vegas and so we attended. The wedding was amazing and everyone was super cautious. There was only about 12 of us total and we all wore masks when outside. The brides grandma got the vaccine about two weeks ago and she also said just a sore arm. Their wedding was on the 21st floor of the Cosmopolitan Hotel and it had a wrap-around balcony so the bride came out and they met in the middle for the ceremony with family members on each side and the view of the strip in the background. It was beautiful! And then we went to this fancy steakhouse for dinner and it was amazing. It was called STK. So that was my 2nd time eating at a restaurant but we had our own room which also made it better because we had two tables in this room that had black walls but then they somewhat dimmed the lights so it was really nice. The day before that, Kevin and I went out on the strip, masks on of course, and walked around and then sat down to eat at this BBQ place. So good too. I had a dream the night before that that I was soooo anxious because I haven't been out really in public too much since COVID. I mean, not around a ton of people so I got like social anxiety big time but once I woke up, I was fine. There were SO many people on the strip. I guess cases there are super low. In order to enter places, you are required to wear a mask so I think it's just the norm now.
We got an email from Jace's school a few weeks ago proposing hybrid (going there for a few hours than back home a few hours) with buses. I definitely put my hand up for that one so we will see if they actually do it next semester - I think that's next month? I'm ready for him to go back. He's been doing independent work in the mornings and I don't think it's as motivating as actually seeing classmates and his teacher.
I still am unemployed but I'm going to start making and decorating tumblers. I was thinking of something that I could make, do, or be creative through that is something year round - especially since Christmas was only a few months ago - so I decided to invest in some Yeti tumblers and I'm going to start decorating them and hopefully sell them depending on how well I am at this :/ I'm excited to start though, it'll probably be tomorrow. Jace goes back to his Nana's today. We decided to switch off to where if we have him for 5 days, she can have him for 5 days. We had him for the past 1.5 weeks so she will get him for about the same time. This will give me time to get back into cycling and start working on tumblers :)
Supposedly in this new bill that Biden is signing, unemployment will go up to $400/week instead of $300. If that's the case, that's an extra $400/month for me which would be so helpful. I have been applying for jobs daily although I don't really know what the best option is right now. When Jace is here, I always help him with his in-school work around 11-1130 and then his homework after school. It's tough but it has been much easier and better working with him than trying to work with him and have a job and I am proud to say he has received 100% on his last three assignments. We have been working really hard with building a schedule with him, making sure he doesn't turn in assignments late and asking for help. I definitely feel like a teacher because it's like I'm showing him certain ways how to do things. Some days are definitely harder than others. But it's nice to receive some unemployment at least until I figure out my life. I'm not sure if I want to do marketing anymore to be honest. This hit me the past few weeks mainly. I'm in a few Women in Marketing groups on Facebook and I just feel like social platforms for businesses are going to video and I don't personally like making videos (although I do make them sometimes just so I can be familiar with them) and there is just something new everyday and the social media algorithms literally I can't keep up with. It's always change with marketing but with things changing and new platforms being added so often, it's literally overwhelming. I love creating content and writing and then I love being creative. I want to find my passion and stick with my passion vs just settling for something that I'm not happy with. So here is to me searching for my new path in life and discovering what it is that I want.
Wednesday, March 3, 2020:
As of yesterday, the governor of Texas is now allowing all businesses to be open at 100% capacity with ZERO mask requirement. I have a feeling this is not going to go well. Yesterday I got a pedicure for the first time in over a year. Kevin purchased a gift certificate for me for Christmas and I was going to go last month but the salon had closed down due to COVID restrictions. They were open, wore gloves, had PCP (?) pipes and clear glass between you and them when getting a pedicure and they were super cautious. I had a $60 gift certificate, my pedicure was $45 and had them use all of that as a tip just to help them survive as a small business. Apparently today, Joe Biden passed a 3rd round of stimulus checks of $1,400 per person if you make less than $80,000/year. I'm hoping we get this ASAP because this will really help. Also, unemployment is supposed to increase from $300/week extra to $400/week extra. We will see when we get this.
Jace isn't going back to school this school year because the bus route, there is only one, picks up the kids by Heritage Ranch which is past the school. I don't want to take him and then pick him up two hours later. That's really annoying, especially since I have stuff to do during the day and what if I get a job? Then he comes home and does work on his computer until 2 or so anyway so it's just super annoying. I'm crossing my fingers that the second bus route will open back up when he goes into 5th grade in September. It's too bad that he will be spending his entire 4th grade year not at school.
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
I feel like there is a lot to catch up on. As of now, in the COVID world, a lot of people have been vaccinated. There are several different vaccines - Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and a few others. Well today Johnson & Johnson just paused their vaccine to look into potential blood clots. Only 6 women between the ages of 18-48 have received this blood clot due to the vaccine but this is why I haven't gotten the vaccine yet. They only have 6 months worth of data to prove that it's 99% effective. Some of the brands take in two doses, some are only 60% effective and now this one is paused. I want to wait and see what the results are long-term before getting it. And if I do get it, I will definitely still wear my mask just to be protected because you never know. I have a lot of friends on Facebook who have been vaccinated but not anyone close by or personally that I speak with often.
I feel like there is a lot to catch up on. As of now, in the COVID world, a lot of people have been vaccinated. There are several different vaccines - Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and a few others. Well today Johnson & Johnson just paused their vaccine to look into potential blood clots. Only 6 women between the ages of 18-48 have received this blood clot due to the vaccine but this is why I haven't gotten the vaccine yet. They only have 6 months worth of data to prove that it's 99% effective. Some of the brands take in two doses, some are only 60% effective and now this one is paused. I want to wait and see what the results are long-term before getting it. And if I do get it, I will definitely still wear my mask just to be protected because you never know. I have a lot of friends on Facebook who have been vaccinated but not anyone close by or personally that I speak with often.
I received an email from Jace's school yesterday saying that they had a meeting and 60% of parents/teachers/faculty said they did NOT want school to continue full-time in person so they decided to go with that. I'm fine with that since school ends in like two months anyway but I'm hoping when 5th grade starts for Jace, school will be back to normal, especially with so many people getting the vaccine.
Amanda and the kids and Alexis are coming out here in August and staying with us a few days. I'm so excited. I can't wait for her to see our place.
I started making glitter tumblers and since I've been on unemployment, I've been able to invest more money into this since I don't have a job still. I have sold or made about 8 to 9 tumblers for either birthday gifts or sold. Not a lot but started about a month ago so not too bad. Hopefully I can turn this into something. I love doing it and it's super fun!
I received my stimulus check about a month ago which was nice. I've been able to finally set up payment arrangements for some collection accounts and some places that I owe. It feels good to have a little bit of extra money. Now that we are back from Vegas, we are able to save money or have extra money which has been nice. I know Vegas was more than a month ago but I spent a lot of money on that trip. I still need to get my back brakes taken care of but I did get my front brakes done awhile back.
Wednesday, April 14, 2021:
I got on here today to talk about what the world has been going through the past month or so, non-COVID related. Remember a year ago when I mentioned the George Floyd case? We are 12 days into that trial so I'm looking forward to Derek Chauvin (the officer) getting life in prison without parole or the death penalty. That won't happen though, will it? Our system is so messed up. Just a few days ago, a 26-year veteran, white women cop shot and killed a 20 year old black man less than 18 miles away from where the George Floyd case is being heard. That one isn't as blatent as the Chauvin case where he had his knee in his neck for 7 straight minutes until George Floyd literally died. But she did "think" or "say" she was using a taser when in the body cam video you can see it was the gun. She shot him several times and "realized" after the fact that it was a gun. She did sound super remorsefull in the video but today she is being charged with 2nd degree murder. And for the past few months, there has been a lot of Asian hate crimes as well. Random Asians being shot or getting killed all because....they are Asian. We are in a sad world right now. I don't know if people are going crazy because of COVID or what but this, to me, is unacceptable in 2021.
I got on here today to talk about what the world has been going through the past month or so, non-COVID related. Remember a year ago when I mentioned the George Floyd case? We are 12 days into that trial so I'm looking forward to Derek Chauvin (the officer) getting life in prison without parole or the death penalty. That won't happen though, will it? Our system is so messed up. Just a few days ago, a 26-year veteran, white women cop shot and killed a 20 year old black man less than 18 miles away from where the George Floyd case is being heard. That one isn't as blatent as the Chauvin case where he had his knee in his neck for 7 straight minutes until George Floyd literally died. But she did "think" or "say" she was using a taser when in the body cam video you can see it was the gun. She shot him several times and "realized" after the fact that it was a gun. She did sound super remorsefull in the video but today she is being charged with 2nd degree murder. And for the past few months, there has been a lot of Asian hate crimes as well. Random Asians being shot or getting killed all because....they are Asian. We are in a sad world right now. I don't know if people are going crazy because of COVID or what but this, to me, is unacceptable in 2021.
Friday, April 16, 2021:
Well today I woke up to a $600 stimulus in my bank account which I did not expect. I guess California did a stimulus if you make under a certain amount and you filed your taxes this year, you will receive it. So, nice surprise and super helpful because I have been able to pay off or work out payment arrangements with collection agencies and companies that I owe so I have been able to get caught up in some way.
Well today I woke up to a $600 stimulus in my bank account which I did not expect. I guess California did a stimulus if you make under a certain amount and you filed your taxes this year, you will receive it. So, nice surprise and super helpful because I have been able to pay off or work out payment arrangements with collection agencies and companies that I owe so I have been able to get caught up in some way.
Tuesday, April 20, 2021:
Today we, as America, made history! The jurors determined that Chauvin was GUILTY on all three charges. I am soooo happy! George Floyd and America now has received justice and this is a huge turning point for racism in America.
Today we, as America, made history! The jurors determined that Chauvin was GUILTY on all three charges. I am soooo happy! George Floyd and America now has received justice and this is a huge turning point for racism in America.
Wednesday, April 28, 2021:
As of today, San Luis Obispo County is now in the Orange Tier (It goes Red, Purple, Orange and Yellow). Although I'm now in Monterey County, Nana and Papa and Sus and fam are in SLO county. Here is what can open under the Orange tier:
As of today, San Luis Obispo County is now in the Orange Tier (It goes Red, Purple, Orange and Yellow). Although I'm now in Monterey County, Nana and Papa and Sus and fam are in SLO county. Here is what can open under the Orange tier:
- Hair salons: open indoors with modifications
- Retail: open indoors with modifications
- Malls: open indoors with limited food court capacity
- Nail salons: open indoors with modifications
- Electrolysis: open indoors with modifications
- Personal care services (body waxing, etc.): open indoor with modifications
- Tattooing and piercing: open indoors with modifications
- Museums, zoos and aquariums: open indoors at 50% capacity
- Places of worship: open indoors at 50% capacity
- Movie theaters: open indoors at 50% capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer
- Hotels: open with modifications, plus their indoor pools can open and fitness centers can open at 25% capacity
- Gyms: open indoors at 25% capacity and can open indoor pools
- Restaurants: open indoors at 50% capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer
- Wineries, breweries and distilleries: open indoors at 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer
- Bars: outdoor only
- Family entertainment centers: open indoors at 25% capacity for naturally distanced activities like bowling and rock climbing walls
- Cardrooms: open indoors at 25% capacity
- Non-essential offices: encourage telework but can reopen in-person work spaces
- Professional sports: outdoor stadiums can have audiences up to 33% capacity
- Schools: can reopen for in-person instruction after five days out of the purple tier
- Theme parks: can reopen at 25% capacity
- Live performances: outdoor only at 33% capacity (allowed indoors at limited capacity starting April 15)
Wednesday, May 12, 2021:
According to the California governor, the mask mandate is to end on June 15 assuming that all numbers are down by then. The vaccine is now available to kids ages 12-15. I'm still on unemployment, set to renew on the 31st of this month. And I talked to the office at Jace's school and they are set to have kids return to school next school year as of now. Masks required and bus route is still up in the air but their plan is to bring the kids back full day so I'm really looking forward to that. He only has about a month left of school before summer so I'm not worried about this year at all.
According to the California governor, the mask mandate is to end on June 15 assuming that all numbers are down by then. The vaccine is now available to kids ages 12-15. I'm still on unemployment, set to renew on the 31st of this month. And I talked to the office at Jace's school and they are set to have kids return to school next school year as of now. Masks required and bus route is still up in the air but their plan is to bring the kids back full day so I'm really looking forward to that. He only has about a month left of school before summer so I'm not worried about this year at all.
Wednesday, June 2, 2021:
I took the hit and went and got the vaccine over the weekend. I received the Moderna vaccine which comes in two doses - I'll take the second dose in one month. I didn't really have a reason of why I did it - I still expect to wear a mask where I go - but I guess I'm glad I did. The first few days were really hard. My arm was so sore and I felt naucious. Supposedly the second shot is the worse. Some people felt flu-like symptoms and others a really sore arm. I thought I wouldn't have any symptoms that first time.
I took the hit and went and got the vaccine over the weekend. I received the Moderna vaccine which comes in two doses - I'll take the second dose in one month. I didn't really have a reason of why I did it - I still expect to wear a mask where I go - but I guess I'm glad I did. The first few days were really hard. My arm was so sore and I felt naucious. Supposedly the second shot is the worse. Some people felt flu-like symptoms and others a really sore arm. I thought I wouldn't have any symptoms that first time.
Today I received an email from Utah news and they have 3 more deaths from COVID and 200 new cases. I guess for the whole state, that isn't too bad. I'm not sure how the vaccine is affecting people. So far I haven't heard of anyone dying from the vaccine itself, just blood clots so far with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
My unemployment is pending renewal. I could not believe that I have to go through renewal again when I just finished talking to them for hours on end just five months ago. This time though it seems like they got it right. I received a new unemployment card and my unemployment looks like, if approved, it will go from $271/week to $285/week plus the additional $300/week from President Biden through September. I cried when I first found out that I had to reapply for unemployment again. I didn't want to wait 7 months before getting paid again. It looks like things are moving along and rent is due in 8 days so fingers crossed I get something this upcoming Sunday when I have to certify for benefits.
I had a job interview today for the first time in...I don't know...months? It went well. It's with a company called Dataversity for a Marketing Manager. It would be remote and either part time/full time and on a contract basis. I like being a contractor (except when dealing with unemployment of course) so we will see. I have a second interview next week. I'm not getting my hopes up - every interview I have had since January has been a fail. At least I have my tumblers that I've been really focusing on. I've received consistent orders and even a donation but I don't think I can make money from it. I've invested a lot of my unemployment money into it to turn it into what it is but it's just not something I could make a lot of money from unless I get really, really good. Right now I charge about $25-$30 on average per tumbler. I looked online at this girl who also makes some but has a lot of experience and she charges $65+ per tumbler. Her time is valuable but she is also really good. Hopefully I can get to that point and start making money on them. We will see. In the meantime, I just need to focus on my unemployment and getting that approved.
Tuesday, June 8, 2021:
I heard back from the job interview I had last week and they told me that they aren't going to move forward with a 2nd interview and that they think they found their match already. Quite honestly, even with nine years of marketing experience, I am sooooo used to hearing "unfortunately...." so it's all good.
I heard back from the job interview I had last week and they told me that they aren't going to move forward with a 2nd interview and that they think they found their match already. Quite honestly, even with nine years of marketing experience, I am sooooo used to hearing "unfortunately...." so it's all good.
I heard back from unemployment on Sunday when I certified for benefits and I GOT APPROVED!! I literally was so thankful and so happy that this time around it didn't take 7 months! I also have an appointment tomorrow with CalFresh for food assistance which would be amazing. Even though I get unemployment, we basically still have no money left at the end of payday.
I have been selling tumblers consistenly which has been so nice. A little extra income is always nice. I think I have sold 7 in the past few weeks which isn't bad seeing as how I just started 3.5 months ago. It's finally picking up.
SLO County and Santa Barbara Counties are now in the yellow tier with COVID! This goes into affect tomorow. We are Monterey County but these are bordering counties which is promising:
Moving into the yellow tier means expanded capacity at gyms, movie theaters, indoor businesses, wineries, breweries and distilleries:
- Restaurants - 50% capacity indoors; 200-person maximum is removed.
- Gyms, fitness centers - 50% capacity indoors; saunas and steam rooms can open.
- Wineries, breweries, distilleries - 50% capacity indoors or 200 people maximum.
- Movie theaters - 50% capacity indoors; 200-person maximum is removed.
- Bars that do not serve food can reopen indoors with a maximum capacity of 25 percent or 100 people maximum.
Hawaii is set to open after most Hawaiians are vaccinated. I keep receiving emails about other countries or states and their opening process. With things and places reopening, this is a GREAT sign.
Sunday, June 13, 2021:
I got an email from the casino a few days ago saying that if you are vaccinated, you no longer have to wear a mask in the casino. They are also removing temperature checks and the social distancing markers on the floor.
I got an email from the casino a few days ago saying that if you are vaccinated, you no longer have to wear a mask in the casino. They are also removing temperature checks and the social distancing markers on the floor.
I applied for and got approved for CalFresh which is basically food stamps here in California. I get $89/month plus a COVID amount mid-month which I won't receive until next month so I'm not sure of the amount. I'm glad I got approved because this will give me a chance to catch up and not have to spend a lot of my own money on food until I do catch up. I had my interview last Wednesday so Thursday I went to King City to get my card which had a prorated amount of $71 on it and then went straight to the market to buy food. It was SO helpful. It will reset on the first of the month and then I'll get the COVID amount on the 18th of next month and it's a month-by-month basis with the COVID amount depending I guess on if the state approves another month.
Jace is done with school for the summer. He isn't going to the camp on base so he just has a 2-week summer school that he will be going to starting on the 21st.
Sunday, July 18, 2021:
A lot has happened the past month or so since I last updated this blog. Jace loved summer school and it was actually at the school from 8:30am-11:30am M-F for two weeks. Masks were required but he actually played with kids and was at the school for the first time in a year and a half almost. Food stamps were approved for $89/month and I just received a mid-month COVID benefit of $163 today. They said they would do the COVID benefit month-by-month but with that, that was almost $250 this month for food which has been sooo helpful.
A lot has happened the past month or so since I last updated this blog. Jace loved summer school and it was actually at the school from 8:30am-11:30am M-F for two weeks. Masks were required but he actually played with kids and was at the school for the first time in a year and a half almost. Food stamps were approved for $89/month and I just received a mid-month COVID benefit of $163 today. They said they would do the COVID benefit month-by-month but with that, that was almost $250 this month for food which has been sooo helpful.
Things seem to be more normal this past month with no mask mandate. Kevin and I went to the casino last weekend and they didn't require masks. They did have dividers in between the machines but no temperature checks or vaccine card checks. Speaking of vaccine, I recieved my second vaccine the end of June. I didn't feel good for a few days which was expected and of course my arm was sore. It didn't last too long and I was back to myself in no time.
I think yesterday or the day before, Los Angeles decided to put into place the mask mandate again. Between the 4th of July and mask mandates being lifted, people with the vaccine are mingling with those without and COVID cases are back up again. L.A. is 3 hours away from us and Jace starts school next month so I really hope there is not another mask mandate here which could equal virtual school again and I'm not prepared for that. I want life to go back to normal. Although I haven't been wearing a mask where I go, I keep my distance from people and I'm very aware of what I do.
The 4th of July was fun. Last year there wasn't any fireworks anywhere but this year we went to Kevin's work and watched the fireworks from there with some of his co-workers. The base put on some fireworks for the first time so we were able to watch those. Jace and his Nana were in Vegas for about a week and a half.
Amanda, Alexis and the kids will be in town early August. The last time they were here was literally the very first day I wrote this blog. It was March of 2020 when COVID had just barely started and everyone thought it would pass. Who knew that more than a year later we would still be seeing the results of COVID.
Monday, July 19, 2021:
I don't think the world is ready to open up quite yet. I think maybe things started opening up way sooner than it should have. The State Fair starts this week in Paso and the first concert on Wednesday, Brett Michaels, is already cancelled due to COVID concerns. His staff may have been exposed to COVID so they cancelled the show completely.
I don't think the world is ready to open up quite yet. I think maybe things started opening up way sooner than it should have. The State Fair starts this week in Paso and the first concert on Wednesday, Brett Michaels, is already cancelled due to COVID concerns. His staff may have been exposed to COVID so they cancelled the show completely.
Santa Barbara has a recommended mask mandate where they recommend people where a mask indoors since cases are going back up. And then LA put the mask mandate back up. I wanted to take Jace to the fair this week so we will see.
Wednesday, July 21, 2021:
I find myself writing more often because we went awhile with COVID getting better and more people getting the vaccines and now it's like things are going back downhill again. My fear in all of this is Jace's school going back to virtual next month. I literally don't know if I could do another school year from home. Especially since I have to get a job in the next few months before my unemployment runs out. Yesterday the city of Pasadena announced it will reinstate the indoor mask mandate and require all city employees to be vaccinated.
I find myself writing more often because we went awhile with COVID getting better and more people getting the vaccines and now it's like things are going back downhill again. My fear in all of this is Jace's school going back to virtual next month. I literally don't know if I could do another school year from home. Especially since I have to get a job in the next few months before my unemployment runs out. Yesterday the city of Pasadena announced it will reinstate the indoor mask mandate and require all city employees to be vaccinated.
The COVID variant that is concerning now is called the Delta Variant and it's what 83% of COVID cases are now. This originated in China (I think) back in October and it is just now hitting the U.S. And I just received an email about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and how it's not as effective against the Delta variant. I received the Moderna vaccine but even then, I keep my distance. I don't wear masks when I go out but I don't try and get too close to people. Especially since we really don't know the long-term affect of these vaccines which is why I was unsure if I wanted to get the vaccine in the first place. COVID has only been around the U.S. for almost a year and a half (!!!!) so how much vaccine research can you do in that time?
I just received an email about a new COVID variant called lambda and the first case is now in Texas. It originated from Peru in December 2020. Also SLO County just hit double the COVID cases this week than last week. My anxiety is spiking because I have a feeling that Jace's school will reconsider virtual school this year as long as things keep picking up and cases go up.
Thursday, July 22, 2021:
Breaking news, Los Angeles County is reporting 2,767 new cases of COVID, the highest level seen since February. Delta Variant is spreading amongst the unvaccinated.
Breaking news, Los Angeles County is reporting 2,767 new cases of COVID, the highest level seen since February. Delta Variant is spreading amongst the unvaccinated.
Tuesday, July 27, 2021:
With the Delta variant just going out of control, the former CDC director said the U.S. could see 200,000 new COVID cases within weeks. I know a family in Utah that just got hit with COVID, one of which is hospitalized. I talked to Kevin last night about getting the vaccine and he is adiment about not getting it. I understand why as I didn't get it for about 6 months after family and friends got it. But now it's mostly the unvaccinated that are dying or getting COVID. Although getting the vaccine does not protect you from COVID, I feel like it's just an extra layer of protection. I really hope he doesn't get it. He doesn't think he will but you can't really say that because anyone can get COVID. It doesn't discriminate.
With the Delta variant just going out of control, the former CDC director said the U.S. could see 200,000 new COVID cases within weeks. I know a family in Utah that just got hit with COVID, one of which is hospitalized. I talked to Kevin last night about getting the vaccine and he is adiment about not getting it. I understand why as I didn't get it for about 6 months after family and friends got it. But now it's mostly the unvaccinated that are dying or getting COVID. Although getting the vaccine does not protect you from COVID, I feel like it's just an extra layer of protection. I really hope he doesn't get it. He doesn't think he will but you can't really say that because anyone can get COVID. It doesn't discriminate.
Monday, August 2, 2021:
Once again, I am writing more because a lot more things have been happening lately compared to the past few months. We had a few months where things were OK but now things are getting worse again. Jace goes back to school in a few weeks and as of now he will be going back with masks being worn but no second bus stop so I have to take him and pick him up everyday :(
Once again, I am writing more because a lot more things have been happening lately compared to the past few months. We had a few months where things were OK but now things are getting worse again. Jace goes back to school in a few weeks and as of now he will be going back with masks being worn but no second bus stop so I have to take him and pick him up everyday :(
The additional $300/week unemployment ends September 4th so I have 2.5 more checks of full unemployment before I will only be making $285/week instead of $585/week. This means I have to get a job ASAP. I thought I would have a job by now and I never thought I would still be in the same financial hole I was in before December of last year. It's definitely not as bad as last year but I still struggle. I don't know if or when I will get ahead. I have two interviews on Wednesday so hopefully at least one of those is promising.
I just received an email and this is what it said, "A day after it recorded the most new daily cases since the start of the pandemic, Florida on Sunday broke a previous record for current hospitalizations set more than a year ago before vaccines were available. The Sunshine State had 10,207 people hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to data reported to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The previous record was from July 23, 2020, more than a half-year before vaccinations started becoming widespread, when Florida had 10,170 hospitalizations. Florida is now leading the nation in per capita hospitalizations for COVID-19."
Although the vaccine helps, I would say I have been getting conflicting data about it. Some places have majority of unvaccinated getting COVID but there is still a huge population of vaccinated that still get COVID. I see the vaccine as an extra layer of protection but obviously it can't prevent me from getting it. Just because I wear sunscreen outside doesn't mean I won't ever get cancer, but it's an extra layer of protection.
I read an article last night that said more people may become unemployed if COVID cases pick up so hopefully President Biden can look at that and continue with the $300/week additional. I know they already said no to that but anything at this point would help. I also have been thinking about how much money I would need right now to feel financially secure. And to be honest, that amount is $10,000. That is how much debt I am in with leftover to go on dates and not feel like I can't spend money.
When I first started this blog, my sister was in town and guess what? My sisters and nieces and nephew will be back in town on Sunday! I can't wait to spend Sunday-Wednesday with them. It will be such a great time before I go back to work, Jace goes back to school. I have a feeling things will pick up in a few weeks and just be non-stop busy. Kevin said the other day that he wishes he had extra money so he could build me my own shed or storage space like craft room for my glitter tumblers and I could expand on that business. That $10,000 would definitely help with that too. I really love glitter tumblers and making them and wish that was doing better than it is.
Thursday, August 19, 2021:
Jace officially had his first day of school yesterday at the school and he was so excited. Masks are required indoors and optional outdoors, they have to bring hand sanitizer and visitors/parents aren't allowed inside the building. Hopefully he can have a full school year without any cases going up or any quarantine happening. Fingers crossed. My unemployment ends in about two weeks. I have an interview tomorrow but I have to get a job by September 4th because that's when the $300 extra per week ends. It is very stressful and nerve-wracking.
Jace officially had his first day of school yesterday at the school and he was so excited. Masks are required indoors and optional outdoors, they have to bring hand sanitizer and visitors/parents aren't allowed inside the building. Hopefully he can have a full school year without any cases going up or any quarantine happening. Fingers crossed. My unemployment ends in about two weeks. I have an interview tomorrow but I have to get a job by September 4th because that's when the $300 extra per week ends. It is very stressful and nerve-wracking.
We are going back to down to SLO in two days for Timmy and Rosie's birthday party and Uncle Duane's birthday and retirement party. This past week with my sisters and nieces and nephew was SO fun. We had a big birthday party for Elli, Pres and Amanda last Monday at Nana and Papa's with a pinata, pizza, goody bags, decorations and cake. We went to the beach for a few hours, had a water balloon fight, Amanda, Alexis and kids came up to my house and we had a BBQ. Presley was in LOVE with Kevin and kept talking to him about how much she loved cheeseburgers. It was the cutest thing ever. Michael watched all seven kids while Sus, me, Amanda and Alexis went to downtown SLO for dinner and shopping.
My tumblers have been fairly consistent which has been nice. It's been a struggle to make money but I've been consistently selling them. Amanda bought one from me which was nice. I have two to send out tomorrow. I have also been selling some things on Poshmark too which has been nice. I also won a $200 giveaway while I was in SLO last.
Mom will be here the end of this month. She will be coming here for another BBQ and then I may go down to Nana and Papa's to visit depending on if I have the gas to go down there and depending on my work situation.
Wednesday, September 1, 2021:
COVID restrictions are going back into place again unfortunately. I went to Food 4 Less today and I saw a lot of people wearing masks which really surprised me. I saw a sign saying mask is required but those signs have been up for those unvaccinated. My cousin called today and said as of midnight the mask mandate goes back in place because COVID numbers are going up again. In SLO County there were 60+ hospitalizations yesterday which is the most since pre-COVID.
COVID restrictions are going back into place again unfortunately. I went to Food 4 Less today and I saw a lot of people wearing masks which really surprised me. I saw a sign saying mask is required but those signs have been up for those unvaccinated. My cousin called today and said as of midnight the mask mandate goes back in place because COVID numbers are going up again. In SLO County there were 60+ hospitalizations yesterday which is the most since pre-COVID.
Jace got accepted into the after school program at school and started today so he is at school until 5:30. I still don't have a job but I did have an interview today and been applying like crazy. My unemployment goes from $575/week down to $275/week starting this Friday.
Mom is here until Saturday. She was up here on Sunday for a BBQ which was nice. She met Rayetta and Kevin for the first time which was nice. I'll go down to SLO tomorrow to visit with everyone.
Friday, October 8, 2021:
A lot has happened since I wrote last and I currently feel like the world is against me. My relationship has been amazing, it's just other aspects that have fallen apart.
A lot has happened since I wrote last and I currently feel like the world is against me. My relationship has been amazing, it's just other aspects that have fallen apart.
Jace has been in school for six weeks and, quite honestly, he hasn't been doing that great. He doesn't understand a lot of topics and, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to relate it to him doing virtual school for 18 months and having the help of Mom and Nana. He had four missed assignments last week because he didn't know how to do them. I think he is still getting used to a classroom setting. He did get into the after school program and loves it but I think he needs more of a tutor after school instead of just an after school program. He does love it though. So yesterday Jace had a stuffy nose and due to COVID protocol, theyi had to send him home unless he sees a doctor or gets a negative COVID test. His doctor's office was full and Kevin called three places that offered COVID testing so I took him to one in Paso but it's 3-5 days for results. They didn't offer rapid testing but it was free so he missed school today and then Monday is Columbus Day so there isn't school anyway so he should know by Tuesday latest. He has a field trip on Tuesday so I hope we have results by then. Last Friday there were 2 kids who tested positive for COVID, 10 kids who had to quarantine as well as all of the TK (preschool) but yet we never received any email about any of this. I just found out because one of my friends works at the school and she told me. I'm very annoyed by this.
Last Monday I had three interviews in one day. I had two assessments last Thursday - a full-on strategy and a personality test. With the personality test assessment, they offered me the position so I just accepted a full-time job yesterday! I'm so excited and ready to work and I start next Wednesday. The pay will be great (almost double what I made on unemployment) and I would be a contractor so I will have flexible hours. I can't wait to start and pay off some debts. I also really want to go to Utah for Christmas so we will see if that works out.
I applied for Rental Assistance 4 weeks ago and I literally am so glad that I have a job. With Rental Assistance, they have to go through an application process that can take up to 6 weeks. I reached out to United Way and they transferred me to a company who said I don't live in Monterey County so I was disqualified. I was then sent to another company (and I'm still confused because I keep hearing that we live in Monterey County and my Food Stamps are through Monterey County) a week ago and, with rent due on Monday the 10th, I was freaking out because my unemployment is now $550 bi-weekly. They removed the extra $300/week. My first $550 check was almost two weeks ago. I had to call my landlords/owners today and explain the situation. It's embarrasing borrowing money, not being able to pay rent, not having a job, etc so it was tough having to call them but I still did it and we only paid half of our rent this month and then the remainder next month with next month's rent. I'm hoping by then we can at least get one month's worth of rental assistance. They also have the option of paying utilities which also includes internet and power so I'm going to see if they can pay for at least one month of that as well. If not two months so I can get situated with my job and bills. I am just SO sick of being continuously stressed out. Even with unemployment and the full $300/week, I still had enough to barely pay bills (still behind on a lot) and pay for some supplies for my tumbler business. I really wanted to turn that into something. I did have a custom order of eight custom tumblers with names which I thought turned out cute and it was local so that was fun and nice to meet someone here locally. I didn't sell anything on Etsy for one month and then I got two orders sold. I think I'm going to stop for awhile until I get situated with my job and new schedule and have more money to invest into it. I've invested a lot of money and I love making them but I just need to take a break until I can get some more money coming in.
I receive Utah news in my email and cases have gone up there. They have had 11 new COVID deaths since yesterday and reaching almost 3,000 deaths total. That is nothing compared to California but Utah is also a lot smaller of a state. They also had their mask mandate removed months before we did. And they had kids in schools for most of the COVID year. Jace had to do virtual school for 18 months so it's extremely a different case here in California. Masks are required everywhere you go here still, vaccinated or not. Kevin is now fully vaccinated as his employer forced him to get the vaccine. Kids age 12+ can now get the vaccine. They are working on approval for the younger kids. Also, I heard as of January, they are mandating all teachers at Jace's school to be vaccinated. They are required to wear masks in the meantime.
December 1, 2021:
A lot has happened in the past two months since I wrote last. Let's see - I got a full-time job working for Atticus as an Assistant Marketing Manager and I started the end of October. Let's just say that I LOVE having a job and love having money. My food stamps stopped and I don't receive unemployment. We did receive 3.5 months of rental assistance. I applied before I got a job and they are paying through January 10th which is amazing. And so helpful since Christmas is in just a few weeks!
A lot has happened in the past two months since I wrote last. Let's see - I got a full-time job working for Atticus as an Assistant Marketing Manager and I started the end of October. Let's just say that I LOVE having a job and love having money. My food stamps stopped and I don't receive unemployment. We did receive 3.5 months of rental assistance. I applied before I got a job and they are paying through January 10th which is amazing. And so helpful since Christmas is in just a few weeks!
Kevin and I are officially engaged. We got engaged a few weeks ago and we will probably do a court house wedding and then a bigger reception early next year.
Thanksgiving we went to Nana and Papa's who hosted. We had a really nice time :)
There is now a new Omnicron COVID variant (yes, another one...) and I've been hearing about it a lot the past few days. It was outside of the US so it had impacted travel and travel bans. Well I literally just saw a news flash that said the first case of Omnicron is now in the US. It was first detected in South Africa and now the first one in the US is here in California. Some counties have put their mask mandate back in place. I would say I wear my mask 85% of the time of going out. Some places in CA are also requiring that you show your vaccine card if you got vaccinated in order to enter their place of business. The booster is now available which is like another shot to protect yourself. Nana and papa got their booster and my cousin got hers a few days ago. I don't know of anyone else who is getting theirs.
New York hit 10,000 COVID cases TODAY along with 45 deaths which is the highest amount of cases since February.
December 2, 2021:
New York hit more than 11,300 COVID cases yesterday which is the most since January. This is exactly what happened last year. New York got hit the most/first and then all of the other states got hit. This sounds like a re-run of 2020. The variant was found in someone who lives in Minnesota (who is vaccinated) who traveled to New York
New York hit more than 11,300 COVID cases yesterday which is the most since January. This is exactly what happened last year. New York got hit the most/first and then all of the other states got hit. This sounds like a re-run of 2020. The variant was found in someone who lives in Minnesota (who is vaccinated) who traveled to New York
December 13, 2021:
I just received an email saying that from December 15-January 15, there is a mandatory indoor mask policy for all of California. Only one person in Britain has died from Omnicon (the new variant) but apparently two vaccines are not strong enough and you can now get the Omnicon variant it seems just as often as without a vaccine. We still use masks wherever we go. We took Jace to Dave and Busters this weekend and wore masks indoors. When I go to the market I do. Most places still require masks anyway. Jace and I are going to Utah in two weeks and they will definitely require it on the plane like last year. We went to the casino for my birthday and had to wear masks as well. Seems like they went backwards because when we went maybe six months ago, they were back to normal basically.
I just received an email saying that from December 15-January 15, there is a mandatory indoor mask policy for all of California. Only one person in Britain has died from Omnicon (the new variant) but apparently two vaccines are not strong enough and you can now get the Omnicon variant it seems just as often as without a vaccine. We still use masks wherever we go. We took Jace to Dave and Busters this weekend and wore masks indoors. When I go to the market I do. Most places still require masks anyway. Jace and I are going to Utah in two weeks and they will definitely require it on the plane like last year. We went to the casino for my birthday and had to wear masks as well. Seems like they went backwards because when we went maybe six months ago, they were back to normal basically.
January 3, 2022:
Well a lot has happened since I wrote last. I'm surprised schools aren't cancelled over this Omnicron variant. I just received an email saying that New York has officially broken the 2021 covid cases from when covid first started. More than 9,000 people have covid in New York and they haven't seen these surges since May 2020.
Well a lot has happened since I wrote last. I'm surprised schools aren't cancelled over this Omnicron variant. I just received an email saying that New York has officially broken the 2021 covid cases from when covid first started. More than 9,000 people have covid in New York and they haven't seen these surges since May 2020.
My brother unfortunately had COVID but with Omnicon, the quarantine time is cut in half so instead of 10 days, it's only 5. I was in Utah last week and afraid I wouldn't be able to see my brother but he tested negative before I got there :) He said it wasn't bad and he was vaccinated. I know several people who have gotten covid this year and mostly all of them live in Utah. My sisters ex-husband has it right now. That is all I will say about that topic.
A bunch of flights lately have been cancelled due to COVID within the staff. Unfortunately, on the way home from Utah, my flight was cancelled with no rescheduling. I don't know if that was COVID related or snow related because it snowed for 3 days straight it seemed. I finally was able to book my flight a day later so I got back on Saturday afternoon instead of Friday afternoon.
2022 has not been so great, I won't lie. I guess I left my backpack back at the Salt Lake Airport with my license, credit card, debit cards, prescriptions, vaccine card, and Jace got a keychain from Utah. No one has used my cards but I still don't know where my backpack is and it's been two days. I really hope I get it back. I realize all of that is replaceable but it's still super annoying and frustrating and it was an inconvenience to have to go into town to pick up all my prescriptions again. I can use Samsung Pay (thank goodness for technology) and hope I get my card soon. If not, I'll cancel it and get a new card but I don't want to do that quite yet.
Yesterday I was doing laundry and tweaked my back pretty good. I have been in pain for more than 24 hours. I woke up every two hours last night. I finally bought some Bayer Back & Body so I'm hoping that helps. And I have two cold sores on my lips. I never get them here but got them in Utah all the time. Usually it was due to the changes in weather but it could also be stress related since I am currently missing my lifeline of my debit card and everything that comes with that. I also have the marketing director for my company leaving for a month so I'm basically in charge. As much as I enjoy my job, that also adds a complete layer of stress for me. But I am glad that we are overly busy vs. not busy at all. And I'm so grateful that I have a job.
January 4, 2022:
#BREAKING A testing company says it has confirmed the first known case of 'flurona' in Southern California, referring to the condition of being infected with COVID-19 and the flu at the same time.
#BREAKING A testing company says it has confirmed the first known case of 'flurona' in Southern California, referring to the condition of being infected with COVID-19 and the flu at the same time.
February 9, 2022:
The past month and a half has been crazy with COVID cases flying through the roof. Less people dying due to vaccinations, but more hospitalizations. I now know a lot of people that have had COVID - some of which ended up in the hospital including my sisters ex-husband. The indoor mask mandate for SLO county ends next week since cases have finally started to decline. Unless you are not vaccinated or in a heavy-populated area indoors. We will see if cases rise due to this.
February 12, 2022:
The state of California will end their mask mandate on Tuesday - that means only three more days. They have seen a downward spiral in cases so they decided to drop the mandate for the whole state. I'm not sure what this will mean but we will see. This has been almost two years of mask mandates with only a few months worth of stopping in between. Maybe we could actually get back to a more normal routine but I'm not getting my hopes up.
February 20, 2022:
Today was the first day in almost two years that I didn't wear a mask in public. I went to the local market and did not wear a mask. It's crazy to me that the mask mandate dropped here but our state is definitely further behind than others. In Utah, I think they dropped their mandate like a year ago. Jace got a bad cough on Tuesday (the 15th) and even though we now have accessibility to free at-home COVID tests and he tested negative, the school said those are not good enough. We made an appointment with his doctor for a rapid test but we couldn't make an appointment until Friday. Of course it came back negative. We also tested him for strep and it came back negative as well. I think that was his 4th or 5th test he has had to take since being in school. Poor boy. We have stocked him up on some medicine and since tomorrow is a holiday, he will be good to go back to school on Tuesday.
Also, just some updates - My CalFresh food stamps stopped after six months and since I had a job, I couldn't renew. My unemployment is basically done unless I go one week working less than 15 hours per week. So far, I typically work 40-50 hours per week and love it!
I am probably one of the very few who have gone all of COVID without getting a COVID test. Jace has been tested 4-5 times and Kevin once or twice. I've never been tested.
Since I finally have a job, it's been nice to be able to buy things that we need and want. I just bought new barstools for our house since ours are falling apart. I'm also getting a root canal on the 28th and that is $1,500 cash. I've had to push it out a few months but glad that I can start saving my money. I won Legoland tickets so Kevin, Jace, Rayetta and I are going to Legoland and San Diego the end of next month. I am going to Utah in May for Alexis' college graduation and this feels like the year where we can finally live a somewhat normal life.
Next month we are resigning a new lease to stay here another year. We will probably be here until next June realistically so Jace can finish out school at this school. Technically he starts jr. high in August which is INSANE! It's still all at the same school so he will at least have some friends going into Jr. High. The school still requires masks (although when I pick Jace up, he never wears one so it seems off and on) and still doing full 100% school there and not remote or hybrid. Only four months until summer so hopefully it stays this way. It's annoying to not have a bus but I've just accepted it for what it is. I take Jace to school in the morning, come home and feed the owners sheep and then work from 8:30am-5pm or until I pick Jace up before 5:30pm. I help him with homework (Kevin too of course) and make dinner and watch a movie or plan for bed.
March 18, 2022:
It's been so nice not having to wear a mask the past month or so. I go to the market, no mask. I pick Jace up, no mask. They dropped the elementary school mask mandate about a week ago but let's be real, every time I pick Jace up no one is wearing a mask anyway. We are headed to Legoland next week so hopefully it's not too crowded and hopefully no mask mandates.
I just saw an email a few days ago about another COVID variant - this one is called Deltacron - and it's already been through China and Europe. You know what that means - we are next. This variant is a combination of two variants so from what I am reading, someone may have had two strains at the same time and passed it along. We will see if we start seeing something soon.
Another big part of our world right now is there is a war going on between Russia and Ukraine. This started maybe a little over three weeks ago. Thousands have died because Putin wants to take over Ukraine. I keep seeing headlines about it and what Joe Biden, as president, is doing. There has been a lot of aid and donations sent to Ukraine. When things like this happen, again, it seems like COVID is just put to the side. I'm not too worried about what Russia will do to us, if anything, but people definitely thought it would be somewhat of a World War 3 if it goes past Ukraine.
April 15, 2022:
Whoo a lot has happened this past month. Because of the war and other things, gas has been the highest it's been in - years. Right now here where we are it's $5.72/gallon. It costs $70 for me to put 3/4 of a tank of gas in my car. It used to cost $40. Also, Jace had a stomach ache two weeks ago and of course the school sent him home. Luckily they now use the at-home COVID tests but we had to test him when he got home and then again in 48 hours so he still had to stay home for 2.5 days. Then he went back for two days and now it's his spring break. Before he comes back to school, he has to take another test -all of the kids do - since spring break is two weeks long.
Jace and I are going to Utah in less than three weeks. I know they still have mask mandates for travel and planes. Also, I got an email yesterday where, even though kids have been able to get vaccinated for awhile now, it's not mandated in schools yet until at least summer 2023. Thank goodness because I had a few bad side effects of the vaccine and I'm more scared for Jace to get it. I thought the vaccine was final for children and ready to give children but it sounds like it's not approved yet.
"But the mandate will not take effect until federal regulators give final approval to the vaccine for children. That hasn't happened yet."
April 27, 2022
According to Yahoo news, the United States is finally out of the pandemic phase. For the most part, mask mandates have dropped except at doctors offices, instacares and hospitals. The United States has about an average of 50,000 cases of new infections but nothing compared to two years ago (when daily counts were more than 1 million). This makes me super happy. Airlines have even dropped their mask mandate and Jace and I are flying out to Utah in one week from today! I'm so glad because wearing a mask on a plane was super tough. Cases have dropped, I don't know of anyone who has had COVID lately and I think it's slowly making its way out. I'm SO happy!
May 20, 2022
A lot has happened since I wrote last
- We went to Utah May 3-8 for Alexis' college graduation which was way fun but super busy. No masks on the plane or in Utah
- I came home and was sick for 8 days, tested for COVID and was negative (my first COVID test in the 2.5 years that COVID has been happening here!)
- Gas is expensive and has gone up the past few weeks. The gas station by us was $5.76 a few months ago as the high and now it's up to $6.18/gallon.
- There was a baby formula shortage for about two months. It sounds like the plant was shut down but now it's up. Alot of problems there
- COVID cases have increased in Utah and I think we are now on the "5th wave"
- There is a disease that has first entered the U.S. called Monkeypox - - LONDON (AP) — A leading adviser to the World Health Organization described the unprecedented outbreak of monkeypox in developed countries as “a random event” that might be explained by sexual behavior at two recent raves in Europe.
- Mass shootings are on the rise (Buffalo, NY supermarket, NY subway, elementary school in TX)
- Mass shootings are on the rise (Buffalo, NY supermarket, NY subway, elementary school in TX)
June 8, 2022
- My cousin has COVID
- Jace had 5+ missing kids in his after school program last week due to COVID
- Gas is now at $6.28 a gallon
- Baby formula is no longer in shortage
- Have heard a little bit about Monkeypox but nothing crazy..yet
- My cousin has COVID
- Jace had 5+ missing kids in his after school program last week due to COVID
- Gas is now at $6.28 a gallon
- Baby formula is no longer in shortage
- Have heard a little bit about Monkeypox but nothing crazy..yet
July 3, 2022
- Jace's tutor has COVID and our family friend just got over COVID, a few weeks ago a few of our clients at work had COVID
- School is out for the summer, gas is still at $6.28/gallon (although a few weeks ago it hit $6.48/gallon)
- Utah has had 4 cases of Monkeypox and they are now creating a vaccine for it
- COVID still exists but less people are dying from it
- Inflation has affected groceries, gas prices, and airline flights
- I received a $5/hour raise at my job, a $250 Amazon gift card and a $10 Starbucks gift card which has all helped balance inflation for me and my family
- I am so glad that I am working full-time, it has provided me with balance and peace
- Jace's tutor has COVID and our family friend just got over COVID, a few weeks ago a few of our clients at work had COVID
- School is out for the summer, gas is still at $6.28/gallon (although a few weeks ago it hit $6.48/gallon)
- Utah has had 4 cases of Monkeypox and they are now creating a vaccine for it
- COVID still exists but less people are dying from it
- Inflation has affected groceries, gas prices, and airline flights
- I received a $5/hour raise at my job, a $250 Amazon gift card and a $10 Starbucks gift card which has all helped balance inflation for me and my family
- I am so glad that I am working full-time, it has provided me with balance and peace
“It feels cautiously good right now,” said Dr. Dan Kaul, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. “For the first time that I can remember, pretty much since it started, we don’t have any (COVID-19) patients in the ICU.”
July 6, 2022
- Jace's tutor still has COVID - she tested positive again yesterday
- There was a shooting at the 4th of July parade in Chicago two days ago. Six people died and 24 injured. Shootings are on the rise and I don't feel like we have the resources and tools to take care of our mentally unstable. So many people are hurting - I'm sure due to COVID and being quarantined for years. So many people, including myself, lost income. I wish they had better resources to take care of our depressed/mentally unstable.
- Jace's tutor still has COVID - she tested positive again yesterday
- There was a shooting at the 4th of July parade in Chicago two days ago. Six people died and 24 injured. Shootings are on the rise and I don't feel like we have the resources and tools to take care of our mentally unstable. So many people are hurting - I'm sure due to COVID and being quarantined for years. So many people, including myself, lost income. I wish they had better resources to take care of our depressed/mentally unstable.
July 8, 2022
"The risk of COVID reinfection in New York has increased each of the last four weeks as a highly contagious subvariant dubbed by some the "worst version" of omicron yet tightens its grip on the Empire State and America, fueling a sixth wave of the pandemic. Subvariant BA.5, which accounted for more than 40% of all New York state positive COVID samples sequenced for variants in the latest two-week data set and is the dominant strain in the United States"
July 10, 2022
My friend is in Europe and she got COVID for a second time. This is what she said on social media:
My friend is in Europe and she got COVID for a second time. This is what she said on social media:
"Well, guess who has COVID again?
The BA.5 variant is sweeping Europe like crazy right now, and it’s headed for the US next. Please mask up, be wise, and stay safe!"
Hopefully that's not a sign for what's to come.
July 14, 2022
"The indoor mask mandate is on the verge of returning to Los Angeles County" It sounds like this new variant is bad. I know another acquaintance who has COVID now as well.
Gas is as low as $6.08/gallon but inflation has gone up 9.1% which is the highest in 40 years.
July 18, 2022
There is now talk about this new variant throughout my email. It's "concerning but not alarming"
"The latest surge, driven by a spike of BA.5 subvariant cases in this country since May, has sent infections rising in at least 40 states, particularly in the Great Plains, West and South. Hospitalizations have climbed by 20% in the last two weeks, leaving more than 40,000 people in American hospitals with the coronavirus on an average day.
More than two years after the pandemic began, though, public health officials are sounding only quiet warnings amid a picture that they hope has been changed by vaccines, treatments and rising immunity. Deaths are rising, but only modestly so far in this new wave."
August 15, 2022
A new article came out on July 26 saying that COVID emerged from the wild and is pinpointing in on one supermarket specifically in a China market where animals were sold. The market sold racoon dogs that are susceptible to infection.
I also found out that my sister had COVID in May.
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October 26, 2022
I can't believe we are still talking about COVID more than a year and a half later. Jace had to do his first COVID test yesterday for being sick. He tested negative. Last year he had to get nine tests so I'm hoping we don't have to continue this process again. Here is a headline that I read today in my email: Is the US facing a potential 'tripledemic' of flu, RSV and COVID-19?
Supposedly hospitals are planning for a really bad flu and COVID season. I called my doctor for an appointment and she is booked through December 19th.
December 7, 2022
After almost 3 years since COVID started, I finally got it. And it hit me hard. I started getting sick on November 30. It started with a sore throat and went to body aches, chills, a 101 fever, a bad cough, stuffiness, hard to breathe at times because of how stuffy I was, and fatigue. I had almost every single COVID symptom. I took a COVID test on 11/30 and was negative. After four days of being sick, I took one on my birthday - positive. That was on Saturday. I tested again yesterday (Tuesday) and still positive. Kevin tested positive yesterday as well so Rayetta is nice enough to take Jace to and from school and keep him with her in the meantime since our house is full of COVID. I'm so tired of watching TV And laying down. I've been getting 9-13 hours of sleep per night but still not really close to 100%. I feel maybe 75%. I have lost most of my taste and some of my hearing. I also get headaches from coughing so much. This is not something I wish on anyone. Everyone around me that had it seemed to have light symptoms but I pretty much got everything and I was the one that was not even worried about getting it - I don't leave the house often. I'm just glad it wasn't bad enough to go to the hospital. Also, since I got sick over the weekend, by the time I called a doctor on Monday, she didn't recommend any type of medication except just a nasal spray since I was already at day 5 of being sick. I can't wait to test negative or at least be out of the "contagious" zone - I think that would be Friday morning. Jace's birthday is Saturday and I have a feeling we will have to reschedule any of his gifts and decorations and things we had planned. I miss our boy so much. I helped him with homework for a few days - he sat in the hall while I was in my room and I helped him with his reading log. And we had to give each other air hugs :( I want to clean house but I'm not sure if it's worth cleaning since it's COVID infected anyway. We will have to do a major deep clean before Jace comes home. I'm hoping by the weekend I can test negative so I can at least start taking Jace to school and give him his birthday gifts. I worked 2.5 hours today, that's pretty much all I could do. I missed the past two days and then half of Friday. Energy level is at zero. I haven't really been sleeping during the day but definitely taking nyquil around 8:30/9 to try and be asleep at a decent time. On Saturday and Sunday when people would ask how I felt, I literally felt like I was dying a slow death. OK, maybe that was a little bit overexaggerating but I still felt like it. A few people at my job are sick, Timmy and Rosie are sick, my sister had COVID a few weeks ago, and nana's friends both have
COVID (husband and wife). It seems like it's going around right now and hard. I also have co-worker who just got over RSV. The triple threat is real. I literally just threw all my masks away a month ago thinking I wouldn't be needing them. Crazy to think that in two to three months, it will be three years since COVID started.
December 8, 2022
We just received a notice from the school saying that 28% of the school is out due to sickness. I'm sure this will rise after Christmas break.
We just received a notice from the school saying that 28% of the school is out due to sickness. I'm sure this will rise after Christmas break.
December 21, 2022
I finally tested negative last week - I had almost two full weeks of COVID and was sick for 2.5 weeks. I still have a lingering cough but finally starting to feel decent. According to NPR, "China is now facing what is likely the world's largest COVID surge of the pandemic. China's public health officials say that possibly 800 million people could be infected with the coronavirus over the next few months."
I finally tested negative last week - I had almost two full weeks of COVID and was sick for 2.5 weeks. I still have a lingering cough but finally starting to feel decent. According to NPR, "China is now facing what is likely the world's largest COVID surge of the pandemic. China's public health officials say that possibly 800 million people could be infected with the coronavirus over the next few months."
December 29, 2022
There is now another COVID surge in China (where COVID originated) and this new variant could possibly cause another or more severe diseases. Because of this, the U.S. will require airline passengers from Chine to test negative before flying starting January 5th.
January 8, 2023
New Covid variants are sparking fresh health concerns as Omicron relatives XBB and XBB.1.5 have seen a surge in cases in countries worldwide.
It comes as UK-based health experts have suggested that up to 9,000 people are dying from Covid a day in China, where infections have dramatically risen following the country’s end to strict isolation rules.
The surge has prompted the UK and US governments to require all passengers arriving in the respective countries from China from 5 January to return a negative Covid result before travelling.
So what are the XBB subvariants and where have they been seen? Here is all you need to know:
XBB is a subvariant of the Omicron BA.2 variant, and XBB.1.5 is a subvariant of XBB.
It emerged as a “recombinant lineage between the second generation Omicron variants”, Professor Kei Sato wrote in a study by University of Tokyo, Hokkaido University and Kyoto University, posted to preprint server bioRxiv.
The Japanese researchers studied XBB’s characteristics in hamsters including transmissibility and immune resistance.
Their results suggested that the subvariant is highly transmissible and has developed resistance to immunity.
March 15, 2023:
https://www.afar.com/magazine/china-finally-reopens-its-borders-to-tourists-on-march-15?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=031423ChinaReopenstoTourists&utm_content=Final&utm_term=Daily%20Wander%20Newsletter
After three years of COVID border restrictions, the Chinese embassy and consulates in the United States will begin issuing tourist visas again on March 15. China will finally begin welcoming international tourists back to the country on March 15.
May 12, 2023: Yesterday marked the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency in America, according to the White House. That doesn't put an end to the disease, of course.
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