Thursday 4/9 Chat

[Velar Fricative]

With the new unemployment numbers, while I'm still fairly confident I'll remain employed, it's definitely making me want to start coming up with a hypothetical household budget with only DH's income (his job security is ironclad).

[pixy0stix]

Apr 9, 2020 8:55:06 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

With the new unemployment numbers, while I'm still fairly confident I'll remain employed, it's definitely making me want to start coming up with a hypothetical household budget with only DH's income (his job security is ironclad).

Yeah, I'm getting fidgety too. Only with just my salary, because I'd been the solid provider for so long. I really don't think DH's job is going anywhere, though. It's just hard not to plan, especially as my work is looking at "The Great Recession" as being the best case scenario. Those were dark and lean times.

[breezy8407]

We plan to do the hypothetical budget, too. H is a teacher, but my job is very volatile right now.

[cattledogkisses]

We're expecting 10-18 inches of snow with 40 mph winds today into tomorrow. I'm wondering how that's going to affect the grocery store situation. Tomorrow would normally be my once-a-week shopping day, and I was going to pick up food for Easter.

[SusanBAnthony]

Yep. Both our companies are talking openly that layoffs are coming, likely in the next couple weeks. I've already been furloughed 20% and h is being required to furlough or use up vacation time.

"Luckily" most of our discretionary spending is travel which we obviously can't do. But we are going to have to make additional cuts if one of us is laid off. And it seems possible that we may both be laid off which will suuuuuuuck.

[sofamonkey]

Yeah, I need to come up with a budget next week. I got furloughed, but can’t file until Monday, so no clue what my “income” will be. Luckily, DH job seems fine for now, and as my dad puts it, out expenses are at an all time low. But I still need to know what my budget is. I’m kicking myself for buying a new EV though. Haha. Still gotta make the payment, still driving nowhere.

[pugz]

we have to have our HVAC company come out today because the fan stopped working so we can't get A/C or heat. (yesterday we needed A/C, but now it's getting cold again). So I'll be following him around with lysol wipes. I hope it is an easy fix and we don't have to replace the whole system right now.

[Velar Fricative]

Apr 9, 2020 9:39:59 GMT -5 pugz said:

we have to have our HVAC company come out today because the fan stopped working so we can't get A/C or heat. (yesterday we needed A/C, but now it's getting cold again). So I'll be following him around with lysol wipes. I hope it is an easy fix and we don't have to replace the whole system right now.

I've been so concerned about having a house emergency during this time. I'm sure the workers are trying their best to keep themselves safe too, but the idea of having anyone else come into my house scares me. We had a major leak in November that came out of nowhere that obviously needed to be addressed immediately and it's not like that kind of shit will be kind enough to hold off until the pandemic is over. 

But I hope it's an easy fix!

[pugz]

Velar Fricative they said they are taking precautions but not sure what those are. I'm like half terrified and half excited to talk to another human being in person.

[racegrrl714]

Welp, I'm either getting furloughed or going to have to take a 20% pay cut. I kinda saw this coming since a big chunk of what we do is in the corporate travel and convention biz but it's still going to hurt like hell. I love my job and I just hope we can ride this out.

[buffalogal]

Apr 9, 2020 9:42:47 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Apr 9, 2020 9:39:59 GMT -5 pugz said:

we have to have our HVAC company come out today because the fan stopped working so we can't get A/C or heat. (yesterday we needed A/C, but now it's getting cold again). So I'll be following him around with lysol wipes. I hope it is an easy fix and we don't have to replace the whole system right now.

I've been so concerned about having a house emergency during this time. I'm sure the workers are trying their best to keep themselves safe too, but the idea of having anyone else come into my house scares me. We had a major leak in November that came out of nowhere that obviously needed to be addressed immediately and it's not like that kind of shit will be kind enough to hold off until the pandemic is over. 

But I hope it's an easy fix!

I have a plumber in my basement right now. Broken drain pipe under the floor that the kitchen sink & dishwasher use to get to the main. We obviously could not wait till this was over. Both DH and I are working currently, though he is getting laid off for a week at the end of the month. It sucks that we have to get this fixed right now.

[SusanBAnthony]

Apr 9, 2020 9:42:47 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Apr 9, 2020 9:39:59 GMT -5 pugz said:

we have to have our HVAC company come out today because the fan stopped working so we can't get A/C or heat. (yesterday we needed A/C, but now it's getting cold again). So I'll be following him around with lysol wipes. I hope it is an easy fix and we don't have to replace the whole system right now.

I've been so concerned about having a house emergency during this time. I'm sure the workers are trying their best to keep themselves safe too, but the idea of having anyone else come into my house scares me. We had a major leak in November that came out of nowhere that obviously needed to be addressed immediately and it's not like that kind of shit will be kind enough to hold off until the pandemic is over. 

But I hope it's an easy fix!

We had to get a hot water heater on Monday.

We had the HVAC turned off, stayed out of the basement, and just had one company come do it rather than getting quotes from a few plumbers.

It seemed pretty low risk to me. After they left (two people) H wiped stuff down.

[Velar Fricative]

Ugh, I'm sorry buffalogal.

[pugz]

Day 4 of not engaging in fights on FB and I almost slipped up. Staying strong. This practice is actually really helping me narrow in on who I should unfriend.

[pugz]

SusanBAnthony yeah if we have to replace it would suck not getting multiple quotes. Fortunately i like the company we get twice a year service with so I'd feel comfortable with them doing the install, I just would hate not shopping around!

[dottyblue]

We just laid of 10% of our workers and the remaining employees are taking a 10% pay cut. We are an essential business, but our customers are pulling out or flat out violating contracts and not paying us.

And my mother just texted that my father, who is high-risk, is coughing. He has been stubborn and insisting that they need income because they are self employed. He has been going out and working (they do garden design and yard/garden maintenance). He figured since he was outside he'd be fine. I'm terrified.

[eponinepontmercy]

I'm struggling a bit today. I'm so tired but not sleeping well.


DH's job seems very secure, even if he just started. He got a huge salary increase which is helping me breathe a lot better. I'm so grateful that he found this particular job (100% WFH) before all this started. Otherwise, he would have been out of a job this month when his office closed. (Planned close before the pandemic.) We've been able to put a decent chunk into savings.

[buffalogal]

Apr 9, 2020 9:51:18 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Apr 9, 2020 9:42:47 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

I've been so concerned about having a house emergency during this time. I'm sure the workers are trying their best to keep themselves safe too, but the idea of having anyone else come into my house scares me. We had a major leak in November that came out of nowhere that obviously needed to be addressed immediately and it's not like that kind of shit will be kind enough to hold off until the pandemic is over. 

But I hope it's an easy fix!

We had to get a hot water heater on Monday.

We had the HVAC turned off, stayed out of the basement, and just had one company come do it rather than getting quotes from a few plumbers.

It seemed pretty low risk to me. After they left (two people) H wiped stuff down.

The guy who is doing the work isn’t the guy who was here the other day to quote the work, so I had to go downstairs to give him the rundown. I stayed far enough away, and I’ll wipe everything down after. I’m just praying this work resolved the issue and doesn’t create more problems with the rest of the older pipes in the house.

[smock]

Mr. Smock was one of the 6.6 million people who filed for unemployment this week.

Our situation is a little different, because his company laid him off in January but April 1st was his official last day. So we've had time to come to terms with the situation and plan our budget. I thought we'd be okay financially, but I'm nervous about how a recession/depression will affect my freelance work. I practically had a meltdown yesterday because another freelancer claimed a piece I wanted to write.

[InBetweenDays]

FIL tested negative!!! He's 83 living in a long term care facility after having a stroke last year. And he's a life long smoker. So if he had it I didn't think he'd be able to beat it. Still 20 other people at his facility have it so hopefully they can keep everyone safe and isolated.

ETA: oops! Thought this was the chat thread. Got too excited. pixy0stix can you move it? Or I can delete and repost in the chat thread.

[breezy8407]

Apr 9, 2020 9:21:53 GMT -5 breezy8407 said:

We plan to do the hypothetical budget, too. H is a teacher, but my job is very volatile right now.

Welp, I got the call. 50% pay/time starting Monday. 

Off to budget ....  

[racegrrl714]

Virtual, socially distant hugs to all of us who are dealing with unemployment/furloughs/pay cuts. Just found out that I'm getting the paycut rather than the furlough. At least for now.

[CloudBee]

Apparently my batch of tests has proven to be unreliable. I'm on nearly 1 month of a fever with few breaks and dips beneath 100. Yesterday my PCP had me video with a pulmonologist who is treating covid patients at our local university hospital. My chart has been updated to reflect me as a positive, and they've adjusted my meds. Based on experience with other covid patients, the pulmonologist things my fever will break in about another week, but said my cough will last a lot longer than that.

Today it's rainy and cold and I am miserable. Another day of body aches.

[winecat]

Apr 9, 2020 11:40:12 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

Apparently my batch of tests has proven to be unreliable. I'm on nearly 1 month of a fever with few breaks and dips beneath 100. Yesterday my PCP had me video with a pulmonologist who is treating covid patients at our local university hospital. My chart has been updated to reflect me as a positive, and they've adjusted my meds. Based on experience with other covid patients, the pulmonologist things my fever will break in about another week, but said my cough will last a lot longer than that.

Today it's rainy and cold and I am miserable. Another day of body aches.

I'm so sorry.  Did you see the breathing technique video going around?  Guessing you might have but if you haven't: youtu.be/EQlFeBLrbS0

[Ashley&Scott]

One of our neighbors called animal control on us for our dog barking. They reported that the dog was barking non-stop from 5am-7:30am. In reality the dog barked for about 2 minutes at 5:40 and 2 minutes at 7:15, he was out for potty breaks and we quickly let him back in as soon as he started barking. I can't believe someone called animal control, thankfully DH said the officer was very understanding and said someone is likely just having a bad day.

[lilibet]

We only have my income and I thought my job was pretty safe, but apparently almost every other department in our company has like no work. My area is slammed, but who knows how that will all shake out.

They did finally announce that we will all work at home until the end of April but it sounds like May 1st they may make everyone come back and wear masks and call it good.

[Ashley&Scott]

Sorry CloudBee, I hope you start feeling better quickly!

[SusanBAnthony]

Cloudbee, have any other members of your household shown symptoms?

[ohgillian]

Apr 9, 2020 11:40:12 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

Apparently my batch of tests has proven to be unreliable. I'm on nearly 1 month of a fever with few breaks and dips beneath 100. Yesterday my PCP had me video with a pulmonologist who is treating covid patients at our local university hospital. My chart has been updated to reflect me as a positive, and they've adjusted my meds. Based on experience with other covid patients, the pulmonologist things my fever will break in about another week, but said my cough will last a lot longer than that.

Today it's rainy and cold and I am miserable. Another day of body aches.

I'm sorry. I feel like you guys have had a tough year - didn't you have the skateboard injury? And then I know you said your DS's medical camp cancelled b/c of covid. I hope you get a break soon and hope you feel better soon. 

[scout8]

Apr 9, 2020 11:40:12 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

Apparently my batch of tests has proven to be unreliable. I'm on nearly 1 month of a fever with few breaks and dips beneath 100. Yesterday my PCP had me video with a pulmonologist who is treating covid patients at our local university hospital. My chart has been updated to reflect me as a positive, and they've adjusted my meds. Based on experience with other covid patients, the pulmonologist things my fever will break in about another week, but said my cough will last a lot longer than that.

Today it's rainy and cold and I am miserable. Another day of body aches.

A month with a fever? I'm sorry. 

When you say that your batch of tests has proven to be unreliable, what do you mean? Like they figured out that is batch was not accurate?