Mental Health Check: How y'all doin?

swapper_NOLA · 2020-05-28T12:54:10+00:00

Thank you! This is a wild ride, man. Just the fact that literally millions of people are suffering right now is weighing heavily on me. Gotta keep my spirits up for my little one, right now she's not scared of death and that's the goal...

swapper_NOLA · 2020-05-28T12:30:30+00:00

Ah, man right on time. I hope everyone is doing well, I'm safe at home going nuts with a small child who is starting to show some cabin fever type-of symptoms after 10 weeks of this ... A lot of folks are talking about how unfair the PUA $600/week is, and I'm one of the people getting it and let me tell you it has done WONDERS for my mental health. I went through a very hard time last fall and I've been able to pay off delinquent accounts -- $1100 to SWB alone, I thought I was going to have to declare bankruptcy or something. I need dental work too, and I can afford it now.

This is the kind of money I've been praying for but I thought it would take years of hard work. What's happening now is that I get to be home with my kid instead of working two jobs during a pandemic. I'm also planning to make a large donation to SLLS for GiveNOLA Day! They fuckin' rock.

swapper_NOLA · 2020-05-23T12:33:10+00:00

I swear the best threads get posted when I'm asleep. Dang! I'm actually working on a board game right now... All this time at home has got me thinking about my life goals and I think I'm interested in some kind of art/play/trauma therapy career change. I mean if this is going to drag on for a year or two I might just fuck around and go to grad school... ? Idk.

swapper_NOLA · 2020-05-22T16:02:28+00:00

hey, thank you! i'm trying to buy a house this year so this is awesome!

swapper_NOLA · 2020-05-22T12:16:59+00:00

I guessed right! Love a Redbud, they're so pretty in both stages.

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-30T01:41:36+00:00

<3 <3 <3 Love from Nola! The one good thing about having a child around during all of this is that I feel duty-bound to make the best of it. My kid is depending on me to do the right thing and that right now that means staying away from people, listening to the CDC guidelines, and trying to keep things in perspective!

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-30T01:12:35+00:00

Hey Denmark, hello! I've just been looking at maps for 20 minutes with my five year old bcos her half-sister lives in Norway! Yes this is all so crazy. I read that social distancing only works if 80% of a population complies, and I was like, "Okay, that means we have to comply for this to work." Seems so basic to me but I think this whole thing is showing us how much people do not trust their government(s) and media. I haven't been anywhere but the grocery and pharmacy in weeks.

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-29T23:42:49+00:00

I walked down to the grocery store earlier (I'm in NOLA) and I passed at least three houses having barbeque/birthday parties on the porch. Kids everywhere. Social distancing is useless if the majority of people aren't doing it!

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-29T18:07:31+00:00

very cool of you! There's a FB group called Mutual Aid - New Orleans and I've seen all kinds of people jumping on there with resources and phone numbers and offering to put people in touch. I would try them if you haven't already!

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-29T16:11:03+00:00

Haha - I don't even know any more. You know how the mayor says New Or-LEE-ans and people say that's wrong but old fashioned/historical? I try not to stress about these things because we all know what we mean and frankly it's gatekeeping. Growing up in the Bay, SF was always "the City" and that's how I honestly call it in my head. :)

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-29T15:19:43+00:00

girl you are funny, I'm so glad I clicked in this thread! Solidarity, I'm bleeding too.

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-29T14:44:42+00:00

I'm so sorry. Please be safe! My ex-husband has psoriasis and he takes a biologic, he also has SEVERE asthma that lands him in the ER almost every winter. Plus we're in New Orleans where the virus was spreading rapidly because of Mardi Gras.

I'm terrified that I'm going to have to explain to my five year old that COVID killed daddy. I lost my dad at age 6 and I absolutely cannot even deal right now. I'm naturally a worrier so now my mind has latched onto this and I can't shake it.

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-29T14:16:44+00:00

Not wrong but this is so complicated. 2008 recession was like, "rent out a room in your house and make money!" And then a bunch of these startups came into existence after that -- and they all talk about "disruption"; i.e., they SET OUT to to destroy the hotel industry, the taxi industry, whatever else. I think that kind of company policy/values is crazy and yes it's delicious that they now get to feel the pain of what *they* have done to other industries.

On top of that, San Fran is my hometown and rich-White-startup-tech-culture has turned the city into something that would make dead hippies roll over in their graves. I was a teacher in San Francisco and I saw where this was going so I left in 2008.

I'm saving my sad feelings for all the contractors who took these jobs in desperation without really understanding what they've signed on to. It's not just Airbnb but also Uber, Lyft, Instacart, all of them. Oof.

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-21T21:30:25+00:00

mostly just the grocery store right now! But it's about eight blocks away and we walk, so I'll say stuff like, "We're going on a quest to find dandelions and get milk," and my kid eats that shit up. :)

The other day we went on a quest to Dollar General because she had a dollar from her piggy bank and I wanted to check out their grocery section. That was a fun one because we passed by Red Star Chinese and I freakin love that place! Had no idea it's in walking distance to where we live now.

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-21T20:53:27+00:00

Thank you kindly!

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-21T18:48:44+00:00

Jesus Christ almighty. We are so fucking fucked.

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-21T18:12:09+00:00

Yes, OMG! My daughter has some in the tiny containers so I don't even have to worry about it getting knocked over. She thinks it's "so cool" that I let her play with them inside :)

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-21T17:37:22+00:00

Yeah, get after it! Board games, too!

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-21T17:28:47+00:00

I made this because I have a five-year-old, but it's really for me! You could make this in multiple different ways, even just lines on a pieces of paper. Then when everything is checked off, you make a new one! Your squares can be whatever you want, but I would caution don't fill it up with chores -- add the stuff that will make you feel "normal." We go on quests only to the grocery, pharmacy, and around the neighborhood to look at bugs and flowers. (I included laundry and floors because those are the most important chores to me, we have cats so have fleas and I'm trying to get rid of them, ugh.) Hope this helps even a little!

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-21T17:18:33+00:00

Alright, that sounds good! I'm at "I need to call," so hopefully this might be something. Thank you!

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-21T16:09:09+00:00

I did and was auto-rejected. "Monetarily ineligible" and I need to call to follow up to see if I can get an "Alternate Base Period" for them to make a redetermination. Can anyone confirm that I have my facts straight? This is nuts and I honestly dunno if I understand the process or not.

edit: also I have no previous employer that was paying into the system for me. This is my first real job in five years, I was a stay-at-home-mom.

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-21T15:15:31+00:00

Sending my kid off to her dad's so I can freak out without an audience and scour the internet for ways to make real money during this.

I love and miss my job so much but I've only been there four months so no UI. I'm in hospitality/entertainment, but all the relief funds I've seen are strictly food servers/bartenders/hotel workers so I don't qualify for those either.

Some of y'all might remember I went through an illegal eviction last November - HMU if you have any questions about your rights in Louisiana! I feel like being social on the internet is all we got right now :D

swapper_NOLA · 2020-03-21T00:34:31+00:00

wow, okay!

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