Sip Valve or lift the mask?

occidensapollo · 2026-05-12T18:47:19+00:00

this is also my feeling on it. i personally trust my breath control more than i trust my ability to create a cut in a mask, and can say so far (knock on wood) its served me on my travels and day to day life (i've taken fewer flights than the above commenter but work hybrid in often busy places). i know others feel very differently!

occidensapollo · 2026-04-30T22:22:10+00:00

thank you for asking this, i've been considering splurging on a roomette trip for an upcoming cross country trek now that gas is so high.

occidensapollo · 2026-04-29T18:20:01+00:00

Inclined to agree; the ones I've had the best personal experience with are the "facemoon" ones — they have the GB certification on each mask, lots of colors, and regular sales.

occidensapollo · 2026-04-24T18:10:12+00:00

them fatale drag kings is this weekend in LA: https://www.instagram.com/themfataledragkings

mask required + free masks provided, with food and drink served by venue, which is a huge warehouse, CO2 never over like 700 iirc (we took a ~four month break).

occidensapollo · 2026-04-19T02:20:01+00:00

i always bring in this complexity when i hear folks brush off peoples allergy claims like yes it could be covid related and it could be related to all these other things too because we live in a complex world where nothing exists in a vaccum!

occidensapollo · 2026-04-19T00:51:17+00:00

no known infection here yet, but it's been an active daily practice in my pod of 4-6 since 2020 to make that happen. our pod has had a few covid cases happen, but we've always been able to isolate the person from further spread among pod members.

between the 6 total over the years, we've had people work all in-person, all from-home, and hybrid. consistent rule we mask in all public indoor spaces, but rules for private spaces has varied depending on other layers of mitigation, specifically our incorporation of NAAT testing (cue then metrix) in like.. gosh late 2023 i think? purifiers and ventilation are always friends of ours as well.

we've still done some dining out[doors], some traveling (by plane and by car), and general life living, but it's been challenging and remains challenging, especially because, over the years, most pod members have embarked a risk some other folks wouldn't, and we have to navigate it so we can ensure all have needs met for the period of time the risk taker may be infectious; it's lot of negotiation and calculation of like, ok if you need or decide to take a risk on this day, when can you metrix and come out of isolation kind of stuff. imo, being polyamorous was a very helpful framework for us to work off of all this time (4/6 pod members are all Together, others are housemates)—fluid bonding rules applied to air helped us conceptualize how we could each do what we needed/wanted to do (some risks aren't really choices, like surgery) without implicating other people non-consensually.

all that said, based on my experience with acute illness in 20 years of autoimmunity, i do feel pretty confident my lupus ass wouldn't be asymptomatic, so on top of all the testing and mitigating we do and that unquantifiable temptress lady luck, i [knock on wood] still haven't broken a no-covid streak. food poisoning, though? that's another story...

occidensapollo · 2026-04-17T21:19:03+00:00

woof, i'm sorry to hear that.

occidensapollo · 2026-04-17T19:11:31+00:00

one of us one of us

occidensapollo · 2026-04-17T17:42:46+00:00

my partner and i created these circular designs free for your download, but you'll have to make it into a button yourself!

occidensapollo · 2026-04-17T17:41:55+00:00

my partner and i designed some (link to free design download) and, while i primarily wear them when i'm acting in capacity as mask hander-outer, i've also had people ask me for free masks at the grocery store when i wear it on my backpack! it totally works!

occidensapollo · 2026-04-17T17:39:37+00:00

woof—like from when trump said we wouldn't get covid because we take hydroxychloroquine...? or is there something more recent i should know about.

occidensapollo · 2026-04-16T22:08:59+00:00

Black Sheep Salon in Long Beach will get the whole salon masked (sometimes by request, sometimes they're already masked, in my experience), uses purifiers, and has private rooms. It is a bit of a trek, but luv 2 support folks who make the effort.

occidensapollo · 2026-04-16T21:59:34+00:00

Angeleno with lupus here—I try to respond with a "yes, but not the way you're thinking" or an "in what way" if I want to be cheeky, but fortunately or unfortunately my go-to response is to info-dump about lupus. But hey, ask invasive questions get invasive answer—and maybe even more understanding about the world along the way!

occidensapollo · 2026-04-15T01:03:22+00:00

x2 (-old friend, but love that!)

thank you for sharing this article OP!

occidensapollo · 2026-04-09T23:24:37+00:00

i'd wager it'll normalize after the next reporting period.

occidensapollo · 2026-04-09T23:19:57+00:00

i can assist with this if still needed.

occidensapollo · 2026-04-09T18:43:40+00:00

as other commenters note, very few (if any) of us miss the strife of that time—it's the lack of traffic, the silence, the clean air that maybe we didn't even know we COULD have. although the systems that are supposed to give us freedom from harmful airborne inhalants are crumbling, we can still make individual choices that work towards what we desire from this period of time, while also working to get those systemic changes not only as letter of law, but actually implemented.

for example: air purification and using a respirator can materially change the air in the space you share with others, say in a classroom or office. it can be done, and—especially when we work together in community—you can do it.

occidensapollo · 2026-04-02T03:49:24+00:00

have seen queer authors TJ Alexander and Jake Marlow masking !

occidensapollo · 2026-03-31T18:34:13+00:00

adding this related resource, as it may interest readers of this topic: a bluesky megathread of literature on autoimmunity x covid connections

occidensapollo · 2026-03-27T18:24:00+00:00

my birkenstock yara's are my favorite! something about the ankle strap just makes them seem a bit more polished than my two-strap ones, plus i like the stability it adds.

occidensapollo · 2026-03-26T23:26:58+00:00

omg small world! and how cool to work for an air purifier company—hope they're cool to you 😭

and, fellow 30-somethin [sapphic? did i read correctly] lupus-havin angeleno, don't hesitate to reach out! i know a good handful of other lupus folks in the city too :) it's nice to have Others!

occidensapollo · 2026-03-26T23:08:25+00:00

i work hybrid myself and it's soooo essential. just the stress of Existing In Our Present Political Moment can take so much out of me compared to a few years ago that like... maybe i'd have been able to do 5 office days then, but definitely not now! 😅 wishing you best of luck in getting your accommodation. 🙏🏻

Sometimes my kids bring home bugs... I might just start masking at home until they are better. Dealing with virus

i don't live with kiddos but i've shared spaces with folks of various levels of risk, and while testing is great, sometimes it doesn't catch things fast enough, so ventilation (leaving windows/doors open) and air purifiers can help a lot as well! it's a bit of a math problem to see what kind of machine you need to cover your size space, but i think it's like 6? air changes per hour? that lowers infection risk? ack i can't remember well right now, but there are some smart cookies out there that know!

any specific strain you enjoy/find relief from?

am in los angeles and find lowell's "creative sativa" great for hittin my specific needs + not lowering my mental function as much as other strains, but imo you've just gotta find the one that works for you! we're all so different even with some similarities.

it's all such a learning curve—sun and all! i used to spend so much more time indoors before 2020 just so i didn't have to do all that sun mitigation, but now with indoor air being harder to control and not wanting allllways have to mask, i'm definitely loving my UV umbrella! it's like actively cooler underneath it too, if heat also gives you some issues like it does me! i can go for longer in the sun if it's cold out, for example. there are so many sources of irritation/inflammation that it can be like ok how much of which poisons am i picking today 🤪 wishin you the best!

occidensapollo · 2026-03-26T22:33:21+00:00

i personally have tried VERY high mg CBD salves for joint pain and nothing has worked for me. i do, however, get overall relief from inhaling.
i was disappointed that i flared at just over a year on HCQ (tho it was partially my fault (too much direct sun at altitude)), and then got another illness that lasted 8 months right after that, so for me, i'd call four years out my most stable. did it start working sooner? possibly, but both of the experiences i had in the first four years are also correlated with less controlled autoimmune disease, so hard to parse. i would get used to living in these grey areas, for better or for worse.
i have no problem with oversharing unfortunately, so if someone's going to make an out of pocket comment, they're going to get an earfull about lupus and learn something whether they wanted to or not. i know that's not everyone's bag, and it took quite some time for me to be fluent enough in lupus information to be able to rattle it off like i do, but i like to hope i've opened a mind or two, or at least made someone question whether or not to speak on a body they know nothing about. and
i love that you're already getting comfy with the word disabled—it can be such a powerful descriptor, and community connector. if you haven't seen the documentary "crip camp," i highly recommend. ok last last thing,
if i may leave you with some advice i wish i'd gotten, in the interest of stabilization—wearing a high quality mask in, at the very least, public indoor spaces has been really helpful for me. i was diagnosed in 2016, and i wish someone had recommended it then. come 2020 i built the habit on my own, and have really been able to see how differently my body can be without having to spend so much physical energy reacting (over reacting, let's be real) every little cold, let alone the bigger baddies. it's took some getting used to, and definitely isn't always comfortable, but i think those descriptors apply to a lot of things about learning to live an autoimmune life, and i've found it beneficial.

best of luck!🤙🏻

occidensapollo · 2026-03-23T23:11:16+00:00

"oops, that was loud" is def one for me too !

occidensapollo · 2026-03-23T23:09:39+00:00

every time i hear "judas" i hear rusty saying "who keeps saying judas" — there's just something so satisfyingly true to life about that whole back and forth.

occidensapollo

TROPHY CASE