Post a bad thing that happened in your life today

[NYCat]

Oh nooooo... I'm so sorry to hear that, Michael. I think one reason I have escaped is that my clients are cats.

 

Paulette

[Cecile Marion]

Sorry to hear the news, Michael. Hoping your case is mild and that having to cancel the upcoming shoots is the worst of it. It’s probably amazing you’ve avoided Covid for this long.
 

Our large medical center here has returned to having mask requirements, so I’m back to wearing a mask whenever I’m inside any public space. Levels in North Florida have been high and the new variant reportedly spreads more easily. I’d almost forgotten what a pain it is to exercise (indoors) while wearing a mask.

[Bryan]

Bad news Michael, hopefully it will be for a short time. Mine lasted 2 weeks, but no really nasty symptoms, and nothing at all in the second week. My wife got off even lighter, symptoms similar to a cold.  We were both fully jabbed.  Being retired it was just an inconvenience for us, but I appreciate that it is much more serious for you. Fingers crossed that you can get back to work quickly !

 

In these parts a different disease Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV is now causing problems. It has similar symptoms to a cold but can lead to complications, particularly for the very young and old.  A friend of ours has something of this sort and, despite antiviral treatment, is still not right, and has a hospital appointment booked. Hopefully the coming warmer weather might see a reduction in transmission.

[Michael Ventura]

Thanks all!  I am fully vaxxed so hopefully it will be mild....so far so good. I think the next 48 hours will be the barometer.

[Rebecca Ore]

Hope you have an uneventful case.   My helper and I had pneumonia, but tested negative for covid (the test here is swabs up the nose, which my helper has now had twice and describes as "a violation, butt not painful."   I haven't stopped masking except at a friend's hotel when I'm eating breakfast. 

 

Being ill is one of the liabilities of being an independent contractor of any kind.  Hope you feel better soon.  

[sooth]

So I'm in Boston today, worse f.. drivers here. I thought NYC was bad with its NJ drivers, and ride share (Uber,Lyft)  driver, but the amount of honking, people running red lights, drivers with enough time to stop at red but choose to stop inside a crosswalk and where there is nobody to else on that road????? People that continue to move while I'm in a crosswalk...That's just in the span of a few hours walking. I usually try and be in Somerville across the river from Boston (it's like Brooklyn vs Manhattan, but not quite, Somerville is a small town with a higher educated, progressive, andmore courteous populace), but today I'm in boston this masshole of a city

[gvallee]

6 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

Well my luck ran out.  Just tested positive for Covid this morning.  Amazed I lasted this long not getting it.  My shoots have me around new people all the time, had 8 shoots this past week, all were portraits....so no way of telling who I got it from.  I started feeling bad Friday night and last night I had a tough time sleeping, had a cough and slight fever. I tested myself yesterday but was negative then.  When I got worse, I thought I should test again.   My doctor has prescribed Plaxlovid, which if taken right away, it is suppose to knock down the symptoms.  Hopefully it will be no worse than a bad cold.  Sadly though, I need to cancel upcoming shoots and that will sting in the wallet, I have 7 waiting to be done. 🤥

 

All the best Michael. Plaxlovid should send Covid packing pronto, it did wonders to me. Good luck!

[Betty LaRue]

Michael, I hate that for you. I hope your daughter is keeping an eye on you. Sometimes one can get a nasty chest infection. I know I do. I can get the sniffles & end up with a bad chest.

Take care & stay hydrated, that’s important. There are some sugar-free mildly flavored electrolyte drinks that are pretty tasty, in bottles. The brand my daughter bought me is Propel, strawberry-Kiwi flavor. I drank a lot of it when I was sick for a month after Thanksgiving. I lost a lot of fluid coughing & blowing my nose. I didn’t have Covid, but probably RSV.

[Allan Bell]

18 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

Well my luck ran out.  Just tested positive for Covid this morning.  Amazed I lasted this long not getting it.  My shoots have me around new people all the time, had 8 shoots this past week, all were portraits....so no way of telling who I got it from.  I started feeling bad Friday night and last night I had a tough time sleeping, had a cough and slight fever. I tested myself yesterday but was negative then.  When I got worse, I thought I should test again.   My doctor has prescribed Plaxlovid, which if taken right away, it is suppose to knock down the symptoms.  Hopefully it will be no worse than a bad cold.  Sadly though, I need to cancel upcoming shoots and that will sting in the wallet, I have 7 waiting to be done. 🤥

 

Sorry you have caught the bug. Hope it is not too bad and you get well soon.

 

Allan

 

[Ed Rooney]

 

Damn it, Michael -- what a drag. 

[Michael Ventura]

These last 24 hours have been a bit tough but not the worst thing I have encountered.  Mostly tough to sleep with the hacking cough and low fever.  Sadly my daughter has not been around much (she has had Covid twice) since she works so much and when not working, she's sleeping.  So she helped me with a few things before going to the firehouse last night but keeping her distance so she is not taking Covid to work, basically staying downstairs in her "apartment" of sorts.  

[John Mitchell]

Sorry to hear your bad news, Michael. Hopefully the symptoms won't be too bad. Hang in there.

 

 

[Betty LaRue]

4 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

These last 24 hours have been a bit tough but not the worst thing I have encountered.  Mostly tough to sleep with the hacking cough and low fever.  Sadly my daughter has not been around much (she has had Covid twice) since she works so much and when not working, she's sleeping.  So she helped me with a few things before going to the firehouse last night but keeping her distance so she is not taking Covid to work, basically staying downstairs in her "apartment" of sorts.  

Understand about the coughing. I slept on the couch 5 or 6 times because of it. The bought-extra throw pillows I have on the couch are stiff, and with them on one end & using the arm of the couch to prop them against, I was able to prop up enough to hold the coughing to a minimum. The more upright you can sleep, think recliner, the better it helps the coughing.

[Chuck Nacke]

On 29/01/2023 at 17:14, sooth said:

So I'm in Boston today, worse f.. drivers here. I thought NYC was bad with its NJ drivers, and ride share (Uber,Lyft)  driver, but the amount of honking, people running red lights, drivers with enough time to stop at red but choose to stop inside a crosswalk and where there is nobody to else on that road????? People that continue to move while I'm in a crosswalk...That's just in the span of a few hours walking. I usually try and be in Somerville across the river from Boston (it's like Brooklyn vs Manhattan, but not quite, Somerville is a small town with a higher educated, progressive, andmore courteous populace), but today I'm in boston this masshole of a city

Welcome to my "Driving world"  In my opinion and AAA (American Automobile Association) Boston has the worst drivers in the United States.  The only time I don't mind driving in Boston is at 4:30 AM.......

 

Chuck

[Chuck Nacke]

On 29/01/2023 at 10:53, Michael Ventura said:

Well my luck ran out.  Just tested positive for Covid this morning.  Amazed I lasted this long not getting it.  My shoots have me around new people all the time, had 8 shoots this past week, all were portraits....so no way of telling who I got it from.  I started feeling bad Friday night and last night I had a tough time sleeping, had a cough and slight fever. I tested myself yesterday but was negative then.  When I got worse, I thought I should test again.   My doctor has prescribed Plaxlovid, which if taken right away, it is suppose to knock down the symptoms.  Hopefully it will be no worse than a bad cold.  Sadly though, I need to cancel upcoming shoots and that will sting in the wallet, I have 7 waiting to be done. 🤥

Sorry to hear Michael.  Be as well as you can.

 

Chuck

[CAROL SAUNDERS]

On 29/01/2023 at 15:53, Michael Ventura said:

Well my luck ran out.  Just tested positive for Covid this morning.  Amazed I lasted this long not getting it.  My shoots have me around new people all the time, had 8 shoots this past week, all were portraits....so no way of telling who I got it from.  I started feeling bad Friday night and last night I had a tough time sleeping, had a cough and slight fever. I tested myself yesterday but was negative then.  When I got worse, I thought I should test again.   My doctor has prescribed Plaxlovid, which if taken right away, it is suppose to knock down the symptoms.  Hopefully it will be no worse than a bad cold.  Sadly though, I need to cancel upcoming shoots and that will sting in the wallet, I have 7 waiting to be done. 🤥

So sorry to hear that Michael, hope you aren't suffering too much.  I had it back in June, luckily I didn't have the hacking cough that others have experienced, just a very bad cold & catarrh which seemed to last ages but definately felt better after 3/4 days and hope you will also 🙏

 

Carol

[Michael Ventura]

1 hour ago, CAROL SAUNDERS said:

So sorry to hear that Michael, hope you aren't suffering too much.  I had it back in June, luckily I didn't have the hacking cough that others have experienced, just a very bad cold & catarrh which seemed to last ages but definately felt better after 3/4 days and hope you will also 🙏

 

Carol

 

Thank you Carol and others!  The anti viral meds my doc put me on seem to be really working, no longer feverish.  Cough has even slowed down.  But my ab muscles hurt from coughing...didn't even know I still had abs Ha!  I actually got some decent sleep last night, first time in three nights.  Still pretty congested but I do feel like I have been through the worst of it.  Now I just need to take it easy and stay hydrated.  Shoots for the next two weeks have all been taken off my plate so nothing to stress about...cept for lost income.

 

[sb photos]

2 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

 

Thank you Carol and others!  The anti viral meds my doc put me on seem to be really working, no longer feverish.  Cough has even slowed down.  But my ab muscles hurt from coughing...didn't even know I still had abs Ha!  I actually got some decent sleep last night, first time in three nights.  Still pretty congested but I do feel like I have been through the worst of it.  Now I just need to take it easy and stay hydrated.  Shoots for the next two weeks have all been taken off my plate so nothing to stress about...cept for lost income.

 

 

Like you Michael I thought I had avoided covid but then was surprised when I caught it last August. I was lucky, it was just like a mild cold. After a few days I took a walk along local footpaths that were deserted midweek, clocking up around 9km. It took 2 weeks until my tests were clear. My wife caught covid off me, and she was coughing and wheezing feeling quite rough, but tested clear after a week. I now have a bad cold far far worse than the covid, and testing clear from covid. I've had the cold for around 3 weeks now. Good to hear you haven't caught it bad. Hope you are fully recovered soon.

[Ed Rooney]

 

Here I am, a Yank living in England. Adjustments are called for. I don't want to voice the big issues, but if you don't mind, I will complain about some little things, things I find annoying. 

 

Zippers. American zippers are designed for right-handed people. For some reason, British zippers, in fact all European zippers, are left handed. Why? Only 10% of the world's population are left-handed. And American zippers are better made. Much better. 

 

And of course, Brits drive on the wrong side of the road and sit on the wrong side of the car.  So they are shifting gears with their left hand. 

 

Am I suggesting that Great Britain copy the USA? God no! They've taken on Yank-style advertising and endless news on the radio, TV, and Internet. 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2023 by Ed Rooney

[Betty LaRue]

1 hour ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Here I am, a Yank living in England. Adjustments are called for. I don't want to voice the big issues, but if you don't mind, I will complain about some little things, things I find annoying. 

 

Zippers. American zippers are designed for right-handed people. For some reason, British zippers, in fact all European zippers, are left handed. Why? Only 10% of the world's population are left-handed. And American zippers are better made. Much better. 

 

And of course, Brits drive on the wrong side of the road and sit on the wrong side of the car.  So they are shifting gears with their left hand. 

 

Am I suggesting that Great Britain copy the USA? God no! They've taken on Yank-style advertising and endless news on the radio, TV, and Internet. 

 

 

It’s about time a country recognizes us lefties. (Zippers)Hip hip hurray!  Grapple with it. Now, the driving on the wrong side, shifting aside, BOO!

[John Mitchell]

2 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Here I am, a Yank living in England. Adjustments are called for. I don't want to voice the big issues, but if you don't mind, I will complain about some little things, things I find annoying. 

 

Zippers. American zippers are designed for right-handed people. For some reason, British zippers, in fact all European zippers, are left handed. Why? Only 10% of the world's population are left-handed. And American zippers are better made. Much better. 

 

And of course, Brits drive on the wrong side of the road and sit on the wrong side of the car.  So they are shifting gears with their left hand. 

 

Am I suggesting that Great Britain copy the USA? God no! They've taken on Yank-style advertising and endless news on the radio, TV, and Internet. 

 

 

 

Aren't zippers all made in China now?

 

The ironic thing about 24-hour news is that nothing is really "new" any longer.

 

Are you sure that Brits actually change gears (or just prime ministers)?

[spacecadet]

18 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

 

 

 

Are you sure that Brits actually change gears (or just prime ministers)?

Yes, automatic transmissions are quite rare here.

That will change with EVs, of course, which don't have gears at all. Apparently Toyota have a patent for a simulated gearbox for boy racers.

But we'll have our petrol engine for a good while, with luck.

Edited February 1, 2023 by spacecadet

[Ed Rooney]

18 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Aren't zippers all made in China now?

 

 

I'm just tying to zip up my jacket and jeans, not do a global analysis of manufacturing. 

[Ed Rooney]

20 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

It’s about time a country recognizes us lefties. (Zippers)Hip hip hurray!  Grapple with it. Now, the driving on the wrong side, shifting aside, BOO!

 

You wouldn't cheer if you could see how poorly made European zippers are and how badly they work.

Edited February 1, 2023 by Ed Rooney

[John Mitchell]

1 hour ago, spacecadet said:

Yes, automatic transmissions are quite rare here.

That will change with EVs, of course, which don't have gears at all. Apparently Toyota have a patent for a simulated gearbox for boy racers.

But we'll have our petrol engine for a good while, with luck.

 

Just the opposite here. Standard transmissions, which I still prefer, are rare now. Most young people have no idea what a clutch is, let alone a choke.