Twitter definitely is making me feel worse right now, so I'm trying to stay off it. Also, giant work project is greatly limiting my ability to doomscroll endlessly.

JZ's work has extended work-from-home all the way through June of next year.

My work did that a while back and it caused me to sigh heavily.

My husband's work did that, too. Like JZ, he works at a hospital.

I wish people would look at that and just think. Hospitals aren't keeping their non-patient-care employees at home to make Trump look bad. They're doing it, because they know a thing about health.

I mostly follow my favorite authors on twitter. Which doesn't necessarily preclude politics, as authors are people who have to live in the world, and politics affects them, too. But it does cut down on some of the awfulness. Or at least improves the quality of the commentary thereon.

Todddson, thank you for the link. It did improve my day.

Gud: status check

Are you still alive? Delirious from fever? Starved and dehydrated because your "partner" can't be bothered to help keep you alive?

Cindy, I text vw almost daily. Our girls are 6 months apart and we talk constantly about parenting and such. The girls adore each other and have been very sad that we can't see each other right now.

I mostly follow my favorite authors on twitter. Which doesn't necessarily preclude politics, as authors are people who have to live in the world, and politics affects them, too.

Same. Writers + people I know + plentiful use of the mute/block features when Twitter tries to recommend things to me means my feed is fairly nonterrible most of the time.

Twitter is a hellscape. I'm there to talk to other gothy types, follow favorite authors, and hang with the Hannibal fandom. I'm trying to lure everyone over to Dreamwidth.

And I'm barely on FB, especially because the latest redesign means NOTHING shows sequentially for me, even with FB Purity. I spend most of my time on Tumblr.

I'm so frustrated, we are getting "encouraged" to come back into the office next month, although the county's numbers are still going the wrong direction. Our reconstitution plan will require us to work in the office 2 weeks out of every month, but that depends on the county status changing. In the interim, it's just "encouragement" rather than required.

And you know, I would consider going back into the office on a more regular basis, if I wasn't sure that at least some of my coworkers are not socially-distancing or wearing masks when they are out of the office. And we can't open the windows: it's a modern 17-story building. So the risk of going back in is not insignificant.

But the bosses (not my direct boss) are implying that work isn't getting done and so people must come back in. And that's not on us: the problems with the work have to do with the agency fucking around with our ability to telework. They shut off webmail without giving us more slots to dial in to the network, so of course people are less productive!

Grr, argh. I'm assuming this is coming down from DC, but it's infuriating when I know that my branch is actually doing really well and getting our work done.

I love that your daughters love each other, sj. I'm sorry they're sad.

At the beginning of the pandemic, I remember wishing my kids were little again, because then I could just decide what's safe, what's not, and who gets to do what with whom. Not any more. It's been too long for the little ones, and it is just so hard.

Trump prolonged this by refusing to treat it properly and worrying more about the stock market (and his polling) than stopping the spread. The only thing we've really done in the US is stop the hospitals from getting overwhelmed (and not always, but better than what we saw coming out of Italy in the beginning).

When I wished my kids were small, I also thought we'd treat it more or less right, get a true respite in the summer, and be ready to head into flu season like a country run by adults.

My young adult kids have been awesome. B had moved home right before it started. While he was here, he didn't see his GF at all (except on her BD, he brought her a present and take out food and they ate outside). When summer came, he knew he'd want to see her, and that that would put us at risk, so he moved out again. They're careful (no bars, no indoor restaurants, no parties). They mix a little more (indoors) with her family and roommate than I'd like, but since he doesn't live here, it's not something I have to involve myself in.

J & C have been home. J sees a small group of friends, outside, distanced, and masked, in either our yard or one other girl's yard. It will be hard for her once the weather makes that impractical. She's in a tough spot. She decided to take some time off from college right before. She's not in the place to start up again, but she can't really take any job she could get right now.

C has been the most restricted, but although I agree with his choices (and have made the same ones for myself), I didn't have to impose them on him. There's never a moment's complaint from him. I suppose that comes from his health being so hard won.