Lockdown Check-in and Roll Call!

[Stevie]

Greetings from Melbourne Australia. My wife and I are both fortunate to be able to work from home as our offices are in lock down, with non essential travel not permitted. Both sons are at home, one studying on line the other on a forced stand down. The virus impact has been dramatic to all involved.

Stay safe!

 

[Astrofreq]

I was laid off about three weeks before the quarantine started, so the new year has already been a rough one for my depression. I’m trying to remain positive because I know many people are in far worse circumstances.

Stay safe everyone.

 

[DrKev]

I was laid off about three weeks before the quarantine started, so the new year has already been a rough one for my depression. I’m trying to remain positive because I know many people are in far worse circumstances.

Stay safe everyone.

Oh man, I'm so sorry. Yeah, depression also has been part of my life, for 20 years. I'm always here if you want to reach out and talk. Just PM or email me. Hang in there buddy.

 

[johnnyboogie]

I was laid off about three weeks before the quarantine started, so the new year has already been a rough one for my depression. I’m trying to remain positive because I know many people are in far worse circumstances.

Stay safe everyone.

Depression is the monster of our times, if not the monster of all-time. Stay strong, keep fighting. History remembers the fighters, regardless whether they won or lost.

All the best from Athens, Greece.

 

[Big Poppa]

April 12 took myself out of circulation. Still working...actually more. The game board changes every day when trying to figure out how to keep everything moving a little and making sure we are taking care of the team.

BBQ comps are over for now. Im cooking a tn of stuff..a lot not bbq Follow my cooking side on instagram Bigpoppasmokers face book the same and the Sterling Big Poppa Ball facebook page Recipes included

All of you be safe.

 

[xjbebop]

fwiw, I've been following BP's other 'hobby' for awhile now... I even mentioned here some time back.

Also fwiw, I've battled depression most of my life as well... still do... severe stress & anxiety too. Have worked hard to learn and understand and battle these harmful emotions. Have to say these current events aren't helping things.
One positive strategy is to just turn off the 'bad news', wherever you get it from, and just focus on you and yours staying healthy, and keeping your immune systems strong all the time...

 

[DrKev]

Thanks everyone for checking in. This thread does not age and so anyone can drop in and say hi at any time. Keep us up to date on how y'all are doing.

Thanks for sticking your head in, Big Poppa. Nice to see ya!

 

[threeminutesboy]

Yep still around too but busy even more since the lockdown as I need to keep teams safe and also busy for the after lockdown. Doing more music though especially during weekends.

 

[Craiguitar]

I'm working from home, (I work in Logistics which has to keep supply chains going no matter what. The food still needs to make it's way onto the shelves through this).
My home office is also my music room and I'm stuck in there all day every weekday now. As a consequence, I've never played LESS music than right now. When I get a break from work, I can't think of anything less appealing than heading back into my music room. So from the standpoint of my hobby/2nd job, it's not so great. Nevertheless, i'm thankful for being able to stay home and safe.

 

[Flash Gordon]

My home office is also my music room and I'm stuck in there all day every weekday now. As a consequence, I've never played LESS music than right now. When I get a break from work, I can't think of anything less appealing than heading back into my music room. So from the standpoint of my hobby/2nd job, it's not so great. Nevertheless, i'm thankful for being able to stay home and safe.

This!

Greetings from NW Suburban Chicago.

Normally I’m roaming about the greater Midwest as a Sales Engineer for an adhesives technology company. Luckily, I was not on the furlough list (yet), and am working remotely from home. Also have my 2 girls (Almost 10 and almost 12) who are “distance learning” With my Wife, who was furloughed from her part time retail gig in town.

Between spending my waking hours in my home office/studio and some chronic neck/nerve issues... I’ve barely played a lick.

The depression is real. Guilt for still having my job when 3 of my peers lost theirs (temporarily we hope). Tensions in the house with anxiety about the future...

Just breathe!

 

[Sweat]

Frustrated in Las Vegas, my job is essential so working everyday. Wife is unemployed so no issue there, just impossible for me to work from home as I require zero distractions to do so.

Lucky that I can and do work and get paid. If I was still in Texas would be unemployed. My opinion on this is not the most popular. Be safe and do what you think is best. Best part is finally getting back to some guitar playing and getting out to nature which is awesome out here.

 

[DrKev]

Just heard that one of our close friends and her 4-year old son have symptoms and tested positive. That's in addition to a friend whose uncle in NJ died last week of the virus, and my brother's neighbour's daughter died last week too.

Let's NOT get complacent thinking "we're over the peak, it's OK". No it's not OK until we are as far or even further down the peak as we were before lockdown. Remember, as long as infections and deaths are still high, *even of they are declining*, high still means higher risk for you and your loved ones.

 

[johnnyboogie]

We are nowhere even close to getting over this guys. Not to mention there's going to be a second wave in September onwards.

Furthermore, there is no certified medication as of yet and the vaccine is at least a year's time away. I just saw that clinical trials for a possible vaccine commenced today in the U.K.

All this according to the W.H.O., and some of the best epidimiologists and virologists out there.

Stay safe above all and don't underestimate this enemy. Best of luck to your acquaintances Dr. Kev, hope they'll recuperate soon.

 

[TwAn]

Checking in from Belgium. It's hard times all over the world, so hope everyone is doing OK.

I'm working half days and my wife is working the other half. We are both self-employed, so we can more or less arrange our time-schedule... We switch the care for our kids (4 and 6), but they are getting pretty bored not being able to see their friends at school, playing with friends, visiting grandma, etc...

The evenings are filled with building our new house, so very little time to play guitar. Hopefully the house will be ready by the end of the year, so I can setup my fully functional music room...

It's gonna be some hard weeks to come, but we consider ourselves lucky being healthy...

Take care everyone!

 

[Lax]

Home with wife and 21 months daughter.
Was pretty sports at first, then we got the virus.
Intense fatigue for my wife, fever for me, for 3 weeks.
So we are getting back into normal but crazy tired.

 

[DrKev]

Best of luck to your acquaintances Dr. Kev, hope they'll recuperate soon.

Thanks Johnny! She's quite sick. But with a positive test result the French health service kicks into action very quickly. They call her twice a day to check on her condition, she says the people are incredibly helpful and reassuring. But even if she gets through the next week or two OK, the recovery can be very long. She may not be back to full strength for quite some time.

 

[Jamie M]

We are nowhere even close to getting over this guys. Not to mention there's going to be a second wave in September onwards.

Furthermore, there is no certified medication as of yet and the vaccine is at least a year's time away. I just saw that clinical trials for a possible vaccine commenced today in the U.K.

All this according to the W.H.O., and some of the best epidimiologists and virologists out there.

Stay safe above all and don't underestimate this enemy. Best of luck to your acquaintances Dr. Kev, hope they'll recuperate soon.

I am very wary of these vaccination trials here in the UK. We have been accused of (by our own people) of not acting sooner so i and a lot of others feel this is a rushed trial to try and safe face so to say. As you say Johnny its far from over. Please stay safe all and hang in there, we can beat this together.

 

[Wahoonc]

Checking in from our nation's capital, it's just bizarre right now. A lot of people are conspiracy theorists and a lot of other people are doomsdayers. I personally think common sense and awareness are vital right now, which is something we as a country broadly lack. And the people raging against staying home and being flippant don't seem to understand that they are one of the main reasons it is necessary. It's surreal.

I normally work from home, but my job involves a lot of face-to-face and public time. I'm also used to wearing a Respro mask in public as I wore one to bike to work. Business is non-existent right now, though, so only wear it to the grocery store on the very rare trip I've made over the past six weeks. The big change is having our 11 year-old son home in lieu of school and my wife working from home for six weeks now. Fortunately, we have plenty of space and a big yard, so we can play badminton (a lot of badminton), ride bikes, play with the dog, and have some fresh air. But it does get a little bit claustrophobic and testy at times. We do our best to keep the kid busy FaceTiming his friends and grandparents, but sometimes I just have to call timeout. Overall, though, I think a lot of good will come from this. My family, at least, appreciates the extra time to spend together and not having to deal with the traffic, bustle, and general stupidity of the D.C. area. I think it will be a tough transition back to 'normal' life when that happens--although I also think normal has changed and a good percentage of people have redefined what normal is for themselves.

Overall, we have plenty to be thankful for and we are happy and well. Good to hear how everyone else is doing, even if times are tougher than normal. Hang in there.

 

[DrKev]

i and a lot of others feel this is a rushed trial to try and safe face so to say.

Sadly, there is a recent history of such things in the UK govmnt. Remember, you cannot rush a real clinical trial. There are in fact multiple trial phases that must be done, and each must be pre-registered (including trial design, primary and secondary measurements and how analysis will be done, to ensure goalposts are not moved during the trial to claim success where there is none), must have prior ethical approval. And then once done and written it is reviewed before publication. And even then, as we have frequently seen in the last few weeks, that guarantees nothing in terms of quality, if the result can be trusted as real, and even then it may be of little real-world benefit.

And if we see a result in a lab (in vitro), or mice, or pigs, or monkeys, it may not apply to humans at all. Frequently does not.

Can you guess I once worked in clinical trials? Yeah man, I'm not just a physicist with a pretty face and a guitar!

Anyway, onward and upward. Or inward, as the case may be. I'm off to the store for beer. And food, yes, but beer must be stocked.

 

[johnnyboogie]

Home with wife and 21 months daughter.
Was pretty sports at first, then we got the virus.
Intense fatigue for my wife, fever for me, for 3 weeks.
So we are getting back into normal but crazy tired.

All the best and a quick recuperation Lax. It's great to hear you fought and beat the virus.