Always is when I go away for the weekend with my family...
You can guarantee when I come back he's "been ill". EVERY TIME. So I phoned him - first sentence "I've been ill". Like its my fault because I went away!
STILL not taking all his medication that the GP gave him so I offer ZERO sympathy. Basically, wants me to tell him how he can feel better - "Take the meds the GP has given you Dad, if that fails then go an see you're GP but I'm not a doctor."
His words - "I desperately need you to visit the weekend." "I've got no food in the house" (Brother lives literally 5 mins drive from him - I live 35-40 mins. Brother is probably laying low). Anyway, he knows my car is in the garage so I'm struggling for transport and he knows my wife works weekends so may need our other car. So I tell him I can't promise. Anyone would have thought I'd told him I'd murdered the family next door.
Apparently, I'm "letting him down" and "need to arrange something", and "wife needs to understand". Of course the standby offer of home delivery groceries is not good enough - he doesn't want to spend the £30 minimum - they have to be hand delivered by me!
I've tried setting boundaries, I've said no can do, I've tried ignoring, I've tried just not doing. Give him his due he's relentless in his quest to get me to do what he wants!
If any of the kum·quat cult here in the US can properly write something intelligent, they should sign it thus: “I am, my Lord, your Lordship’s grovelling worm”
(kumquat: an orange-like fruit related to the citruses, with an edible sweet rind and acid pulp. I agree with the "acid" pulp, the sweet rind depends on the day/minute!)
Also:
"I'm not keen on the intellectual value of chasing balls around a paddock!"
I've felt this way for a long time about golf.. Whack a ball, trek (on foot or in cart) to find it and get it into a little hole... sure. For other sports, add in some physical whacking as well (how much depends on the "sport"...)
"I think all ball games are a complete waste of time, particularly now when they are playing with TV cameras but empty stadiums, but I know that very few people agree with me."
Personally I haven't watched TV in about 25 years! Most of it IS a huge waste of time. I do watch some videos that are originally TV based, such as SGN (recently new, great for getting Some Good News during all the bad we get now!), Last Week Tonight, etc. The latter just did an episode on sports and how to deal with "reopening" them. At the end, he promotes (and even sponsored!) Jelle's Marble Runs! Check it out - good for a laugh at least!
"If the experts say its ok I'm going."
Hopefully you choose your "experts" wisely... just like Indy had to choose the Chalice wisely! We have ALL kinds of experts online, posting so much garbage!
I would advise being careful about FL (only singling that out because that is where you want to go.) They were not quick to adopt any kind of mitigation and the gov's ideas on what is "essential" plus when it is safe to open is questionable. Don't listen to the KumQuat!
From blogs.crikey.com.au › fullysic › 2012/12/07 › ranga
bluey??? for a red-head? weird!
Love stereotypes (not.) My mother is/was good at those... Me, I judge others on their behavior, not what they look like or their ancestry.
Yesterday or the day before I read something about England to begin reducing restrictions, but that Wales is sticking to it longer. Haven't checked today. Update, from about 3 hours ago:
"The Welsh Government is considering relaxing lockdown so families from different households can meet outdoors, the Health Minister has confirmed."
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/lockdown-families-wales-meet-coronavirus-18276447
Hope your dad doesn't see this (not likely since he doesn't go online) OR hear it from his friends...
Time will tell who does it right (based on ALL countries, what they do and what happens as a result.) A lot of people here point to Sweden and say look, they didn't lock down, they are fine. Maybe... but stats show:
1) their death numbers are much higher than neighbors Finland and Norway
(Finland 301 deaths, D/M = 54
Norway 233 deaths, D/M = 43
Sweden 3,743 deaths, D/M = 371)
2) too many people just compare tests, neg vs pos, deaths, etc
The better comparison, in most cases, is to compare the number of deaths/M population, shown above. One has to be careful even with that - San Marino, considered a small "country" within Italy, tops the list at 1209/M, but only has just shy of 34k residents and has 655 total cases and 41 deaths.
Using the deaths/M pop, although we have more total deaths here in the US, Sweden is 8th on this list while the US is 13th (we have about 33x as many people here!) Some locations do skew the local US results, but overall our deaths/M pop is still lower than Sweden. Clearly more heavily populated areas, and esp those with less healthy people, are going to result in higher numbers, but sorry, I wouldn't want to be in Sweden! Although they have no government stipulations, many residents are wary and taking precautions. If everyone would listen and perhaps behave better, we wouldn't have to force lockdowns, but sadly this isn't the case in many locations. If they only impacted themselves, I'd say have at it, but their irresponsibility DOES impact others.
For better comparison for those in the US pointing to Sweden, Sweden is around the same size as California, but SW has about 27M fewer residents. Current # deaths are SW= 3,743 CA = 3,321, D/M = 371 for SW, 84 = CA. If the numbers were closer, to reflect the difference in population, it might make sense, but 4.5 x as many deaths in Sweden vs 4 x as many people living in CA... you do the math!
Everything is relative...
That was a great find on red-heads! 😂 All true too!!
I got 'Bluey' when I was a kid (from the older gen). Or Red. My sister was Little Red. Now she has two of her own! Both bright as copper pans as my Grandma would say! She also said take no notice of any taunts on your temper - you can count to 10 as well as anyone else.
Good Viking genes - hope they are Coronavirus proof!
Practically, we can't all stay in for the next year. I already know people whos lives have been ruined by losing their jobs etc. I dread to think how this is going to affect the suicide rate. :-(
Yes, make special efforts for the vulnerable and most likely to be affected. BUT, everyone else the chances of catching and having serious health affects are diminishing by the day. People who say "Oh I'm not going out until there are ZERO cases in the world".
You cross the road, drive your car, get on a plane. VERY small chances, and you can be careful (if you're driving/walking) but you don;t stop doing this.
I read somewhere that, in the UK, the chances of a fit and healthy person under 55 (thats me just!) dying of Covid now is the same as if you drove 180 miles in your car on a motorway every day. Puts it into perspective....
Short for GingerNob
Sadly, in areas that are not as populated, hospitals have been laying off staff as they don't have the need.. yet... Restricting "elective" treatments as well as other necessities has reduced income for hospitals - there has been some help for them from the "stimulus", but in some cases it might not be enough.
Problem is, in those less populated areas (not necessarily rural, but they will be impacted negatively too, as many don't have any medical services), IF the virus gets ramped up there, the hospital services are more limited and it *may* result in overwhelming those limited services. Caution, rather than isolation, is what we must maintain!
I'm in NH, and one of the concerns about opening up too much/too fast here is the lake "district". A lot of tourism/activities, but VERY limited hospital services. Given that MA, just south of us, has such a high rate of infection and deaths, and many of the "tourists" come from there (or even CT and NY/NJ, also hot spots), it could spell disaster! NH has a nice map showing where/how many cases, and the majority are in the SE area, bordering NE MA and a lot of people live there and work in MA. Those areas are more densely populated too, but there is a lot of work/travel/vacationing/shopping, etc that goes on between the two states. Further N and W in NH, it is less populated and there are fewer cases, most likely due to lower population AND less interaction... at the moment!
What I don't really get is how opening hair salons, bowling alleys, tattoo and massage parlors, etc really does for "opening up the economy." Do they really think these kinds of employment keep our country afloat? Do they not understand that many of these require rather intimate "contact"? I am baffled by these decisions. There must be any number of jobs that can be "restored" that allow for mitigation - restaurants only allowing certain numbers in, plus spacing is one, but there must be many other places that had to shut down that can reopen carefully before these AND contribute to restoring the economy better than these places! These first choices seem very misguided!
I just read an article about NHs as well - many rely on income from self-pay clients and Medicare coverage (limited to 100 days for rehab) to offset any Medicaid clients, and in addition to losing many clients to this virus, there are fewer needing rehab (reduced elective surgery) and reluctance to choosing NH for those who might self-pay. The LTC business is going to really need to change somehow (not just NHs.) Our mother is in a private pay IL/AL/MC and so far they've kept the virus out! Scary that she will need to get to a treatment next week, hoping she doesn't get anything and expose the rest! This is the only allowed "outing" at the moment - necessary medical treatment. YB tried to argue this wasn't necessary, but with dementia and serious hearing loss, losing her eyesight would be devastating! This appt was rescheduled from April, is a procedure done every 3-4 months, to preserve her eyesight! The facility is in one of the high infection spots in MA (she lives about 10min from me in NH), but they have MANY restrictions/protocols, so fingers crossed that nothing happens!
Interesting about "Nob" and "Nobby":
"Nobby comes from the noun nob, which is used in British English to mean "one in a superior position in life." (Nob may have begun as a slang word for "head," but etymologists aren't completely sure.")
From:
www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › nobby
I think if I were a red-head/Ranga, I would consider being called a GingerNob a compliment!
Nobby, short for Noble. That could catch on?
Just heard on the news, due to the shut down, child abuse has gone unreported as the kids are now stuck at home with the abusers with no way to call for help, same with spousal abuse, that is also up. The massive unemployment is now causing more depression, more drinking and more drug abuse. All these will be followed by more suicides, more deaths from overdose. The elderly are withering away and becoming mentally dead. Some died, not from the virus, but from their bodies giving up due to depression and isolation.
And all of the above are just the tip of the iceberg. Yes, just the tip. People are putting off health treatments which in turn result in worsening conditions and late diagnoses and in turn early deaths. There will be closing of hospitals due to not having enough patients to remain open. I haven't even touched on crimes yet. Our smart politicians decided to release criminals from jails so they wouldn't catch the virus. Just on the news today, one person was murdered by a criminal that should not have been let out.
So, Paul, go visit Florida if you want. Live your life unafraid. I also heard Vegas is opening up, too.
Let Dad's constant complains become background noise. I do hope the bet shop will open up soon so at least he can go and have some social interaction.
Same every time. Of course, I think hes worked out I'm sort of ignoring his "ill" pleas. If you remember, it does look very much like he had hayfever. He called a doctor out and told them it was urgent for that. I'd told him to get brother to go to the pharmacy and buy the hayfever tabled a week before (they cost approx £2) but he didnt want to. Hey ho.
So "its getting worse". Its clearly not. I dont think anyone can say its getting worse in the uk. Think we;re down to approx 35% of what the peak was now.
He does like the drama though.
In wales, its a bit more strict. I dont agree but there we go. So far Dad hasnt made any demands for change - so far!!!!
All these other issues no-one cares about. In the UK, its getting shameful if you even suggest it. You're "putting money before peoples lives". Its not that simple.
I WAS member of a community group on facebook. It was FULL of people, "I saw someone in this street and they were closer than 2m". Jeez its getting silly.
People are believing anything the media writes at the moment. The entire country is obsessed with it.
The school thing is causing massive arguments too. "I'm not risking killing my kids by sending them back to school". Its utter chaos.
I'm a mathematical person, I do work in IT after all. I see numbers and probabilities that don't lie. Yes I may get it, I may die (I am over 50 after all) but apart from being overweight I've got no health issues. BUT I drove to work the other day and a massive lorry pulled straight in front of me, I've got more chance of dying that way at the moment!
So I'll be going to Florida - if trump lets us in!
Won't pay 2 (sorry no pound symbol!) for a hayfever pill - anti-worry pills prob cost a lot more...
I'm not a big one for meds, but they can work & I do wish my Mother would add some to her daily life. (I don't think they make 'em big enough or strong enough 😔).
Well, since the "aside" in that dictionary description does say "Nob may have begun as a slang word for "head,"", I guess that would make sense... Different usage, but I guess if that's another use for it, probably wouldn't want to be called that!
PROGRESS!!!!!
1) "I'm getting used to his daily "I've been so ill" and "I just watched the news its getting worse every day"."
2) "I think hes worked out I'm sort of ignoring his "ill" pleas."
It just may be that progress in #1 is leading to progress in #2!!
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK! YAY! He may never stop, but so long as YOU can continue to let it all roll off like raindrops, you won't suffer getting upset by it all!
Clearly the high daily death numbers in the UK (they don't break it down further, you're all lumped together) have come down quite a bit. The places to watch are those that open up a lot of their business and/or cancel the lockdowns. It may take a few weeks to really show the aftereffects. One would guess that, yes, the number of cases and perhaps deaths will go up, but it depends more on how much these go up!
The link above shows every country that reports and there are soooo many places that have very few cases/deaths... Once world travel opens up, many of these places, which are likely small, poorer countries may suffer some serious infection and death rates - as I noted in another post, if you can look at the NH map, the central "core" of infections radiates out, with fewer cases on the outer "edges", but as commerce opens up that could change drastically!
As Paul has noted, you could step outside your house and encounter death anywhere. In this pandemic, just take precautions, like any other endeavor. You look before crossing the road, you have to watch out for other drivers (drive defensively!), etc. Same with this virus - use all the precautions you can, once they have "stabilized" the infection rates. What the idiots clamoring to get out or not take ANY precautions don't get is we don't want to overwhelm the medical staff/facilities. If you do, then you might not get access to treatment should you happen to catch it and get very ill! Plus, keeping distance, wearing mask, washing hands, etc is to try to reduce the chance that you infect others, in the event that you happen to be infected, contagious, but have no symptoms.
Latest update at mom's facility is still reporting no cases. The state still recommends lock down for them and NHs, with testing focused on NHs at this time. So far no recommendation to test at their facility. I can't even imagine trying to perform that test on the residents in the MC unit! From what I've read, I wouldn't even want that test done on me!
Now, if they have an antibody test that is close to 100% accurate, I would do that. If antibodies show up, it would mean we've been "infected", and if we have no reaction, then more than likely won't later if exposed again. Obviously it would not mean boogeying around just looking to test this theory, but it would make me feel more assured that I likely won't get ill. Even better, having antibodies combined with being O-, I would like to donate blood and/or plasma. I don't think it matters for plasma, but I am sure they need blood donations for other issues and I am considered a universal donor.
While they are at it, study my blood, find out why I didn't get symptoms and also why I have NEVER had the flu, ever and have never had a flu shot! Full time working, going to school, raising 2 kids, I have been exposed plenty of times. Come to think of it, I don't ever recall seeing either of my parents sick long enough to say they had the flu either, nor my brothers or my kids. There must be something people like me have that protects us - perhaps it can be used to protect others, than trying to grow stuff in chicken eggs! I'm willing to donate it, if they can figure out what it is (think Omega Man or the later version I Am Legend, although they had some kind of antidote injected, mine is au naturel!)
Retired people never had to pay that or kids. Also, in wales it got abolished a few years ago so it doesnt cost a penny to get a drug from your doctor.
Lucky really. Dad would have keeled over by now if he had to pay for anything lol.
In the uk, things like hayfever tablets and painkillers are cheap anyway. People are encouraged to just buy them. They reckon it costs the NHS £10 or so anyway in admin fees if people insist they have to have it for free......
Anxiety/Depression - No chance with Dad. I've had problems in the past (as have a lot of people obviously). NEVER EVER told Dad. He thinks it doesnt exist and people need to "pull your socks up and stop moaning". Great eh?
He gets "meals on wheels". When this started the said no more cash payments, we'll sort out a bill in time. Obviously, they're busy with probably more wanting it etc. and no-one in the office.
Dad asks the poor lady who delivers EVERY WEEK. I told him Dad look they're busy just be patient and wait, they know you exist they will bill you in good time.
Last night hes trying to tell me how he REALLY wants to pay now and hes "had enough" of waiting. ITs over £100 he owes. Economy might collapse because of this! ha ha.
Hes had a letter now saying its going up 15p. And its got a phone number on it! Hes got his wish. He wants me to phone URGENTLY at 9am today to get them to sort his bill.
This is Dad all over. Its what he wants. These poor people are probably working hard to make sure old and vulnerable get fed, and plan to sort payment out when they can but its not good enough for him. Even though I've pointed out to him the practicality here he still wants what he wants.
I'm not even going to phone them. Its just embarrassing. Chances are office is going to be closed anyway. He wants an "update" tonight - no chance. I'll phone him in a few days and tell him no answer.
He also wants me to phone his satellite TV provider and tell them hes an OAP and he doesnt want to pay as much as he does, he can't afford it, and can he have a discount? Ummmmm NOOOOOO I am not doing that.
If he had no money I would but when hes got £40K in the bank it just doesn't sit right with me doing something like this.
Bad news will likely be when they finally give him the bill - be prepared to ignore all his whining and complaining about the cost!
Gotta love (not) people who have a phone and a contact number, but call someone else to do the dirty work! He wants to have them sort it out, he needs to call - stand your ground there!
Before looking it up, decided OAP must mean Old Ass Person! :-D
(actual is old age pensioner, but if the shoe fits...)
I would just tell him they need to speak to him, not you. You have no "authority", as he hasn't signed any kind of POA for you! Applies to both MoW and the TV provider. You are not the subscriber, so you can't do anything. He wants this done, dial their number dad!