The Mental Health Thread

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by stevew

Instacart? Make sure you’re super picky with that. Land mines abound.

Shipt. And from my perspective based on what you're describing, I'm sure it varies from place and place and I don't know how things are going to go obviously until I do it for a while. Having said that, you also clearly have a higher standard of pay that you're aiming for to make it worth it than I do. That's another thing that's relative.

Everything I hear - I have a brother who is working on getting into it as well and works at the local Meijer - indicates the local shoppers are making good money right now and they are planning on adding 2k people just in this part of the state and basically hiring everyone they can get their hands on cause of demand. How long that lasts is clearly going to depend on unknowables just like everything else right now but even in worst case still seems to me to me worth doing.

[Lathum]

I have been using Instacart at acme. Either delivery or pickup. Twice I’ve gotten the order and once they just cancelled it with no explanation or reschedule. I have another pending for tomorrow.

[tyketime]

We're typically ordering out 2-3 times a week. Most of the time, we do curbside pickup. Last weekend, we had Mission BBQ deliver and it was excellent. The food was hot, packaged very nicely, and I didn't give it a second thought.

Last night, we used DoorDash for the first time to support one of our favorite local restaurants. Besides the driver turning into a different development and calling me to say the Security Guard can't find our name/address (the DoorDash website shows the current location of the driver, and I could see he drove right past our entrance), he also placed the food at our door with the bag turned sideways which caused spillage. I immediately made a decision to only order from restaurants that do their own deliveries. I've at least talked myself into thinking they may have a slightly higher level of care.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by tyketime

We're typically ordering out 2-3 times a week. Most of the time, we do curbside pickup. Last weekend, we had Mission BBQ deliver and it was excellent. The food was hot, packaged very nicely, and I didn't give it a second thought.

Last night, we used DoorDash for the first time to support one of our favorite local restaurants. Besides the driver turning into a different development and calling me to say the Security Guard can't find our name/address (the DoorDash website shows the current location of the driver, and I could see he drove right past our entrance), he also placed the food at our door with the bag turned sideways which caused spillage. I immediately made a decision to only order from restaurants that do their own deliveries. I've at least talked myself into thinking they may have a slightly higher level of care.

We do door dash about once a week and almost always have a great experience. We have been sticking to our local pizza joint. They do a great job and we want to support them. What we do it order a couple pies and a couple dinners and freeze what we don't eat.

[Lathum]

Cool little story in the local papers about what one of my best friends and her husband are doing to help out while staying sane.

Interior designers’ colorful masks brighten dark days | Star News Group

[stevew]

Originally Posted by tyketime

We're typically ordering out 2-3 times a week. Most of the time, we do curbside pickup. Last weekend, we had Mission BBQ deliver and it was excellent. The food was hot, packaged very nicely, and I didn't give it a second thought.

Last night, we used DoorDash for the first time to support one of our favorite local restaurants. Besides the driver turning into a different development and calling me to say the Security Guard can't find our name/address (the DoorDash website shows the current location of the driver, and I could see he drove right past our entrance), he also placed the food at our door with the bag turned sideways which caused spillage. I immediately made a decision to only order from restaurants that do their own deliveries. I've at least talked myself into thinking they may have a slightly higher level of care.

I DoorDash all the time and the cheeseburger people I see doing it makes me never want to order it for myself. Seen some “yikes” out there. Like no showers greasy ripped T-shirt types with kids in the car. I don’t think I’m fundamentally better than those people, but I do know proper grooming. Also there’s literally no ID check EVER once the account has been created. So whomever is delivering your food might not be the same as the person on the account. So good times, no background checks, yay! Probably also some exploited undocumented people working as well. I have no proof but it’s also not hard to imagine with the complete lack of verification .

As a company DoorDash used to routinely steal tips and force itself in on restaurants that didn’t even know they were on the platform. My area doesn't have any other food apps available so I’m stuck with them. It doesn’t make sense to commute out with no uber rides. Uber Eats is my personal delivery platform of choice to work for.

[ISiddiqui]

Interesting stuff. We've used Grubhub, UberEats, and Doordash. All have been pretty good, even though we live in an apartment complex with a gate. Maybe we're lucky.

[Brian Swartz]

I've often said that you don't want to order from a restaurant that doesn't have high standards. Get, say, chicken from a place that lets things slide and you don't get a bad meal - you potentially get salmonella. My recommendation is that if a delivery service, store, restaurant shows that they don't care - go somewhere that does, even if it's an hour-long drive each way. The alternative simply isn't worth it.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Shipt. And from my perspective based on what you're describing, I'm sure it varies from place and place and I don't know how things are going to go obviously until I do it for a while. Having said that, you also clearly have a higher standard of pay that you're aiming for to make it worth it than I do. That's another thing that's relative.

Everything I hear - I have a brother who is working on getting into it as well and works at the local Meijer - indicates the local shoppers are making good money right now and they are planning on adding 2k people just in this part of the state and basically hiring everyone they can get their hands on cause of demand. How long that lasts is clearly going to depend on unknowables just like everything else right now but even in worst case still seems to me to me worth doing.

Ah. Never messed with Shipt but I hear they sometimes have some great promos. Amazon Flex delivery pays decent (as low as $18 up to 23$) but hours are sometimes hard to scrape. You probably can’t get more than one 3 hour block a day. But if you’re trying to hit a $$$ daily goal it helps cause it’s actually guaranteed money. It usually takes me 2 hours to do a 3 hour block. (Did you used to work for amazon). Depends on how close the warehouse is to you and if it’s hiring.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And what I saw in Michigan the very first thing that's given me any reason for hope since the beginning of the panic junkie pandamonium. A few million like them, maybe there'll be something left to salvage after all.

{shrug}

At least some things never change. The Sun will rise in the morning, and Jon and I will never agree on anything remotely political.

(I think that's more reassuring then anything, actually )

[rjolley]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And what I saw in Michigan the very first thing that's given me any reason for hope since the beginning of the panic junkie pandamonium. A few million like them, maybe there'll be something left to salvage after all.

{shrug}

Jon, are you saying you agree with protesting the stricter stay at home orders that Michigan implemented, or that you agree with protesting the stay at home orders in general?

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by stevew

(Did you used to work for amazon). Depends on how close the warehouse is to you and if it’s hiring.

I did not. I used to work for Applebees. Amazon warehouse in our area is about 50 mins. roughly commute away, and is a weird case where other people tell me they are hiring, but the actual official Amazon stuff on the website and whatnot says they aren't. In any case, I looked into it and didn't get anywhere, and I can Shipt more locally.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

I did not. I used to work for Applebees. Amazon warehouse in our area is about 50 mins. roughly commute away, and is a weird case where other people tell me they are hiring, but the actual official Amazon stuff on the website and whatnot says they aren't. In any case, I looked into it and didn't get anywhere, and I can Shipt more locally.

Ah. Yeah you’ll smash Applebee’s earnings most likely by doing some mix of gig stuff. I’m a bit worried about a month from now. But my overhead is really low.

[stevew]

Also track your own mileage.

[PilotMan]

Today is a down day.

I can't help but think about things I can't control and the fear that it brings. Even my standby activities that distract me aren't working today.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

I did not. I used to work for Applebees. Amazon warehouse in our area is about 50 mins. roughly commute away, and is a weird case where other people tell me they are hiring, but the actual official Amazon stuff on the website and whatnot says they aren't. In any case, I looked into it and didn't get anywhere, and I can Shipt more locally.

Used to go to Applebees for the bourbon st. steak. The one close to us shut down and was replaced by a burger joint years ago.

[RendeR]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And what I saw in Michigan the very first thing that's given me any reason for hope since the beginning of the panic junkie pandamonium. A few million like them, maybe there'll be something left to salvage after all.

{shrug}

Please clarify this, because for once I'm NOT going to jump down your throat about something until I'm absolutely sure you're being a complete imbecile.

[thesloppy]

The protestors were a group of open-carry yokels, playing militia dress-up, bemoaning their freedoms being taken away by liberal oppressors, while waving confederate flags.....are multiple people really wondering which side Jon was on??

[rjolley]

The protests came about due to the stricter restrictions the governor decided to implement. Sure, there were some there who were against the entire stay at home order, but I think that was a small percentage.

That's why I asked Jon which part he agreed with. I took other comments that he's made over the last few weeks as he and his family were following social distancing, which means he agrees with the orders at least somewhat. The stricter orders could be a step too far...

[tarcone]

Good day here. My brother found a web based poker site called bluff ave. You can set up private rooms with private games. The last few days we have been trying to get my 90 year old Dad in.
We get on Zoom and try to talk him through stuff. Mind you, he still uses AOL. So it is a chore.
My BIL went over 2 days ago and got Firefox ser up. And we tried to get him on. Now he gets testy and can be hard to deal with. That isnt an age thing, just a him thing. But at 90 you get it.
Today we got him in. We had to get over the hurdle of him thinking it was on the zoom site, which he got locked out of for too many incorrect log in attempts. But we got him to bluff ave and were able to play with zoom on in hte background so we could chat while playing.

Great time. Next is to get my other brother and my BIL together with us.

Oh, its Texas hold em.

[tarcone]

And they announced graduation will be July 19. Awesome.

[PilotMan]

Same here, moved it to July 11, after the college closed all activities through June. Hoping I can move my days off in time to grab those dates now.

[tarcone]

And the good stuff keeps coming. Got my refund back from Allegiant already.

Dang. A much better day than yesterday.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by RendeR

Please clarify this, because for once I'm NOT going to jump down your throat about something until I'm absolutely sure you're being a complete imbecile.

I don't speak for Jon, obviously. He's on record as being far more concerned about the economic impact than the virus. This does not make him an imbecile. It makes him someone with a different opinion.

[RendeR]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

I don't speak for Jon, obviously. He's on record as being far more concerned about the economic impact than the virus. This does not make him an imbecile. It makes him someone with a different opinion.

No worries Brian, Jon and I's disagreements and commentary go back over a decade. He's a very special imbecile to me.

[SirFozzie]

I actually give Jon a lot of credit. I'm fairly sure he knows his opinions aren't among the majority here, but he presents them openly, up front and doesn't pretend to be someone else than he is.

In all our arguments, I think we've never convinced each other on much of anything, but at least it's got to a respectful level where we know we're not going to agree, and rather than spend tons of vitriol and virtual anger with each other for no effect, we just say "Yeah, that's (Jon/Foz) for you."

[RendeR]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

I actually give Jon a lot of credit. I'm fairly sure he knows his opinions aren't among the majority here, but he presents them openly, up front and doesn't pretend to be someone else than he is.

In all our arguments, I think we've never convinced each other on much of anything, but at least it's got to a respectful level where we know we're not going to agree, and rather than spend tons of vitriol and virtual anger with each other for no effect, we just say "Yeah, that's (Jon/Foz) for you."

BINGO!

[SirFozzie]

(eyes RendeR) for Jon, or me?

Actually, don't answer that, I don't want to know the answer

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

I actually give Jon a lot of credit. I'm fairly sure he knows his opinions aren't among the majority here, but he presents them openly, up front and doesn't pretend to be someone else than he is.

In all our arguments, I think we've never convinced each other on much of anything, but at least it's got to a respectful level where we know we're not going to agree, and rather than spend tons of vitriol and virtual anger with each other for no effect, we just say "Yeah, that's (Jon/Foz) for you."

I do sometimes wonder why he chooses to fraternize with so many of "the enemy" on this board. But I will admit I got a little concerned when I hadn't seen him on the board for a couple of days, and was glad to see a post from him afterward.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I do sometimes wonder why he chooses to fraternize with so many of "the enemy" on this board. But I will admit I got a little concerned when I hadn't seen him on the board for a couple of days, and was glad to see a post from him afterward.

I'm alive. Pretty much doing the same flippin' thing everybody else is: trying to survive the shitstorm, however much me successfully doing so might chagrin some people*.

I generally float between despair and rage for the past month or so, - with a variety of prompts for each - with the only relief being occasional short spans where I can zone out completely (thank God for Civ 6 coming to console).

And while I may not be able to prevent either of those, I'm at least smart enough to TRY to limit how much I feed either. So if I have a longer than usual absence from threads (or the board entirely), odds are I'm just trying to avoid feeding my negativity (or anyone else's). And even higher odds that's the case if I uncharacteristically fail to respond to something specific.

If I'm wrong about how shit ends up, there's time to argue later with anybody here. And if I'm right, then how much is gained by arguing with anybody here?


(ftr, that's directed at exactly nobody in particular, merely acknowledging the reality that someone who'd prefer I didn't probably exists)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by rjolley

Jon, are you saying you agree with protesting the stricter stay at home orders that Michigan implemented, or that you agree with protesting the stay at home orders in general?

Was on a longer-than-usual-break, only saw this now. Perfectly fair question, I got no issue answering it at all.

Broadly speaking, I oppose virtually all the s.a.h. orders I've seen.

I'm not exponentially more incensed by the Michigan specifics than I am by (for example) the ones that were issued a month ago or whenever it was. There's kind of a ceiling on how mad anybody can get, if you follow me. I've been well into the 90+ percent of capacity from virtually the start so it's not like there's all that much room for me to get madder about it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by rjolley

I took other comments that he's made over the last few weeks as he and his family were following social distancing, which means he agrees with the orders at least somewhat. The stricter orders could be a step too far...

This probably warrants a little explanation, so I'm gonna attempt that.

2-3 factors play into that "social distancing observance" you noted. Some are known to some of you, some may be entirely unknown, I ain't gonna try to guess which is which so I'll just hit 'em all

1) My wife is an elevated risk category, as a lung cancer survivor. Not because of any immune system issues (she's long since cleared from that kinda stuff) but rather because she has roughly 1.3 lungs left after the surgery that entailed. Pretty much any respiratory ailment for her is an elevated risk, and tougher to get through.

2) My mother-in-law lives just across town from us, she's 91. Hello elevated risk. We put her on lockdown in the early stages of all this mess, have handled her supplies, etc etc etc. She's literally been out of her house past the driveway once in ... two months? ... and that was for a doctor appointment.

*Let me note here that I can't put specific dates on my/our various behaviors cause, well, at this point I do well to figure out what day of the week it is without checking my computer clock, much less tell you dates & such. I'd tell you if I could but not even Googling a timeline let me pin it down very well. Sorry, that's just how it is.

So those two things combined for some "stages" of our behavior. Basically for 2? 3? weeks I handled about 98% of the various outings for food, supplies, etc. I was the lowest risk option available, simple as that.

Which brings me to the third factor which really represents the current stage / change in behavior, whatever you wanna call it

3) There ain't a helluva lot open around here. Athens went fairly hardcore on shuttering places independently of the (eventual) statewide stuff, give or take maybe 3 weeks ahead (the state order actually reduced some of that). A recent change we've made like switching to more delivery / less self-shopping has virtually nothing to do with health concerns and far far more to do with the practical limitations of self-shopping.

With the steady stream of trips I was making, to cover the needs of two households -- I know the Great Toilet Paper Search involved at least 11 stores over a 3 day period before FINALLY hitting the jackpot -- the constant drip-drip-drip of "will it be on the shelves or no" that came with every single turn of the aisle was getting to me.

My stress from that was getting to the level that I was conscious of it getting steadily worse, I was doing it with every item on the list large or small. That, plus the absurd conditions of trying to shop in person right now (Walmart parking lot looks like the last Saturday before Christmas), is why delivery became a higher priority option, not because I had any significant concerns about beer flu.

I think, maybe, that covers the subject about 50x more than anyone ever wanted to know.

But it's a mental health thread, right? Maybe it was ... theraputic for me in some way to actually put it into words, and in sequence. And I don't mean that facetiously. I am, daily, very aware of how little anybody anywhere wants to hear me bitch, since everybody is doing their own version of the same shit. And I'm trying REALLY hard to avoid it, so even talking about this level of detail MAY legit be useful, even if it falls short of cathartic.

[PilotMan]

Guys, let's not jack the thread. You want to talk about policy or other stuff go somewhere else. This is a place to unload yourself and open up for support from others experiencing the same things.

[NobodyHere]

Well my job is doing interviews and is hiring right now. So that's lifting any worries that I'll be unemployed anytime in the near future.

[tarcone]

If you saw my garage door saga, the management finally got back to me. They will refund me $100. Which I am happy with.

Been a good couple days here. Lots of stress relief.

Now onto a game of NCAA14 and then poker with the family again. Good way to end the week.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by tarcone

then poker with the family again.

For money?

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Well my job is doing interviews and is hiring right now. So that's lifting any worries that I'll be unemployed anytime in the near future.

What are you hiring for?

[rjolley]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

This probably warrants a little explanation, so I'm gonna attempt that.

2-3 factors play into that "social distancing observance" you noted. Some are known to some of you, some may be entirely unknown, I ain't gonna try to guess which is which so I'll just hit 'em all

1) My wife is an elevated risk category, as a lung cancer survivor. Not because of any immune system issues (she's long since cleared from that kinda stuff) but rather because she has roughly 1.3 lungs left after the surgery that entailed. Pretty much any respiratory ailment for her is an elevated risk, and tougher to get through.

2) My mother-in-law lives just across town from us, she's 91. Hello elevated risk. We put her on lockdown in the early stages of all this mess, have handled her supplies, etc etc etc. She's literally been out of her house past the driveway once in ... two months? ... and that was for a doctor appointment.

*Let me note here that I can't put specific dates on my/our various behaviors cause, well, at this point I do well to figure out what day of the week it is without checking my computer clock, much less tell you dates & such. I'd tell you if I could but not even Googling a timeline let me pin it down very well. Sorry, that's just how it is.

So those two things combined for some "stages" of our behavior. Basically for 2? 3? weeks I handled about 98% of the various outings for food, supplies, etc. I was the lowest risk option available, simple as that.

Which brings me to the third factor which really represents the current stage / change in behavior, whatever you wanna call it

3) There ain't a helluva lot open around here. Athens went fairly hardcore on shuttering places independently of the (eventual) statewide stuff, give or take maybe 3 weeks ahead (the state order actually reduced some of that). A recent change we've made like switching to more delivery / less self-shopping has virtually nothing to do with health concerns and far far more to do with the practical limitations of self-shopping.

With the steady stream of trips I was making, to cover the needs of two households -- I know the Great Toilet Paper Search involved at least 11 stores over a 3 day period before FINALLY hitting the jackpot -- the constant drip-drip-drip of "will it be on the shelves or no" that came with every single turn of the aisle was getting to me.

My stress from that was getting to the level that I was conscious of it getting steadily worse, I was doing it with every item on the list large or small. That, plus the absurd conditions of trying to shop in person right now (Walmart parking lot looks like the last Saturday before Christmas), is why delivery became a higher priority option, not because I had any significant concerns about beer flu.

I think, maybe, that covers the subject about 50x more than anyone ever wanted to know.

But it's a mental health thread, right? Maybe it was ... theraputic for me in some way to actually put it into words, and in sequence. And I don't mean that facetiously. I am, daily, very aware of how little anybody anywhere wants to hear me bitch, since everybody is doing their own version of the same shit. And I'm trying REALLY hard to avoid it, so even talking about this level of detail MAY legit be useful, even if it falls short of cathartic.

Jon, thanks for sharing. Hopefully, thinking that through and putting it down helped somewhat. I hope you and your family are able to come through this healthy. Feel free to share and vent when needed. If you don't want to post, feel free to PM me.

This bullshit that we're going through is, well, bullshit. As much as I know this is helping keep my family safe, I'm not happy about it at all. Never thought one of the biggest accomplishments of my day would be successfully securing toilet paper, having a good line on liquid soap, and being ready to cut my boys' hair.

But, here I am, watching cartoons with my kids. Looking forward to when I can watch some sports. Even the NBA2K20, FIFA 20, and NBA HORSE airings have been enjoyable these days.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by Butter

For money?

No, for fun. But my Dad keeps asking for a check for his winnings.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Edward64

What are you hiring for?

I work for a window maker and under Ohio law we are an essential business, for now. We just did a bunch of interviews for production and warehouse people.

[tarcone]

I really do not know what isnt an essential business besides restaurants, bars hair cut places and nail places. Everything else seems to be running business as usual.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I really do not know what isnt an essential business besides restaurants, bars hair cut places and nail places. Everything else seems to be running business as usual.

Needing a haircut soon.

[Edward64]

I'm not enjoying day by day. I find myself wishing to fast forward 3-4-5 months ahead where we are in the new-normal or well on the way in our transition-to-a-new-normal.

Anyone else feel this way?

[SirFozzie]

We need Green Day to sing "Wake me up when Corona ends"

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

We need Green Day to sing "Wake me up when Corona ends"

welcome to paradise should do it

[CrimsonFox]

hmmmm basket case, longview...american idiot...,all these work...just play all green day

[Kodos]

I broke down and cut my hair with clippers last weekend. It went better than I expected.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I'm not enjoying day by day. I find myself wishing to fast forward 3-4-5 months ahead where we are in the new-normal or well on the way in our transition-to-a-new-normal.

Anyone else feel this way?

My description of that has been "does anyone make a coma-at-home kit?"

I'm entirely "wake me when this is over ... or just don't wake me" mode

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I broke down and cut my hair with clippers last weekend. It went better than I expected.

We still have the clippers when my wife did my son's hair. She'll be doing mine soon.

[Lathum]

We shaved my head a few weeks ago then recorded my kids reaction. Currently I am in talks with Americans funniest home videos. Not kidding.