'Ronacation

I never heard back from my HUM on whether or not I'd be able to work from home.  I think some of that may be me inadvertently pissing her off.  We've both talked about people taking advantage of the system we work in.  For instance, if you're a close contact you can choose to follow our new guidelines.  Those are the getting a  temp check twice a day, even when you're not working, and getting an instant test every day.  If you choose not to do that, then you have to sit out for two weeks.  Well, we've had nurses that have been close contacts that have chosen to get their 'Ronacation (a vacation that's paid for because it's created by having exposure to the coronavirus) instead of going through some easy to follow safety measures and coming in to help out.  

In this case, I'm a victim of our new guidelines.  I don't have that choice.  Unless something happens, I'm out until December 13th.  But this isn't a matter of me wanting to be home... while work is incredibly stressful and soul crushing, I know my absence just makes it harder for everybody else and I WANT to be there.  On Friday while I was emailing both HR, statewide HR, and my HUM, I got an email mixed up.  You see, HR won't share my information with my boss.  So I take everything they send me and forward it to her, just to keep her in the loop.  One of the local HR reps had seen that I'd contacted the statewide HR and said I just needed to wait to hear from them and that she guessed I was out for at least 24 days.  

I figured that was a good in to find out how exactly I was going to get paid.  There was something back awhile ago stating that if we were made to stay home due to 'rona that we'd get special 'rona pay.  That way we wouldn't have to dig through our sick leave and annual leave (vacation time).  But does the 'rona pay come first?   Do I have to use sick time first?  I don't know.  So, I replied to her message, let her know that the state HR agreed with her saying I was out until mid December, and asked her about how pay would work.  

Later, I found out that I didn't reply to the local HR rep.  Because I'd forwarded the last message to my boss, my 'reply' went to her.  I can easily see her having a bad stressful day and seeing my message as a version of "Hey boss, I'm on 'Ronacation... how do I get paid?"

Damn it.  I haven't heard her respond yet to it and it's now Monday morning.  

Regardless of me possibly pissing off my boss, and regardless of me working from home, I'm on a 'Ronacation.  There's no way I can get to work sooner than 10 days from now.  The standard for being a close contact with someone you live with is you're quarantined from work for the 10 days that that person is infectious.  You're then quarantined from work for the 14 days that you may be positive but asymptomatic.  Then you have to get a negative test result, and only then can you return to work.  Now here's the rub... if I get a positive test result at any time during this, I can return to work 10 days later.  

But should I get a test?  Yes, I could be infected right now.  But I don't have any symptoms worse than when I last tested negative.  And what exactly does a negative test result show me.... that I'm negative right now.  I'd still have to get a negative test result closer to me returning to work.  I'd obviously get a test if I showed any worsening symptoms.  Fever, sore throat, loss of taste/smell.  But I don't know that I could get a benefit from burdening the already burdened healthcare system just to get to work sooner.  

I don't know.  I flip back and forth.  This isn't like a 49% at one moment then a 51% in the next.  In one moment I'm 100% against getting a test.  Wait a moment then I'm 100% FOR getting a test.  I flip flop on that all day.  

At best, I'm here for 10 days.  Since getting a job as a nurse seven and a half years ago, I haven't had a 'staycation' for more  than a long weekend.  Maybe 4 days.  I get bored easily and am pulling out my hair after the third day off.  And now I have 10 days.  10 days where I shouldn't leave the house at ALL.  I'll leave the house to get some groceries and such, but it will be with me in a car with the windows up and the person loading the groceries in the trunk.  The rest of it can be delivered.  Hell, DoorDash now will deliver CVS and Walgreens!  

What does that leave me?  

Well, I more or less have my computer and my TV.  I live with my brother and my niece, but they're not exactly board game or card game type people.  Plus our sleep schedules are almost in complete opposition to each other.  I'm trying my best to push my sleep schedule ahead some but for now I get tired around 830PM and am in bed by 1030PM.  My damned body won't seem to let me sleep past 430AM.  Hopefully after this week I can get that to 1130 and 530.  

TV.  I have the series and movies I've been meaning to watch for months/years.  I'm right now watching 'The Americans' and it's really good.  There are a few movies that I can add to my already huge selection and if The Americans doesn't last, or I need a change up, there are other series.  I also have YouTube on the TV.  I subscribe to about a dozen youtubers and enjoy their content.  But I hate just sitting in front of the TV all day.  

The Computer.  This one is a little more varied.  I have email and websites I like to visit.  Neither of these tasks are shared with my phone or my iPad.  They CAN be done on those devices, but I just prefer the upright sitting position, the big screen, and the mouse with keyboard that the computer gives me.  I can facebook and twitter, but those I actually do just as much on the phone.  The only social media task I prefer on the computer as opposed to mobile devices is writing up a post longer that "HA!" or "Good One!".  Then I like to sit and use a keyboard.  

I also have games.  Right now I have Team Fortress 2, Control, Death Stranding, and Assassin's Creed Valhalla installed.  TF2 is for when I see some of my old friends online and want a quick 'what the hell' time.  I got Death Stranding and Control about the same time for similar reasons.... they're beautiful.  Seriously, Death Stranding with it's acting (it stars Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Conan O'Brien, and Guillermo del Toro among many others), it's scenery, and its calming "walking simulator" game style is just wonderful to behold.  Control, on the other hand, is a tour de force of technology.  It uses ALL of the RTX features.  My Nvidia RTX 2080 actually chugs on it.  It's playable, but just barely.  It's a horror game that lives up to the genre.  I actually don't want to play it in the dark.  But AC Valhalla is where most of my time will go.  While TF2 is fun, it requires friends to play with.  Death Stranding and Control are fun, but in a less game and more movie type of fun.  AC Valhalla is just pure fun.  

I also installed an android emulator so that I can install clash of clans. My brother got me into it and since its classified as a 'time waster' game and I have a lot of time to waste, it felt inevitable I'd get into it.  I can play it on all of my devices now, so I can see how much I like it.  So far, it's fun enough on the iPad and the computer but sucks on the small phone screens.  

I don't really role play any more.  I might grow into the mood, but I know ultimately I'm heading back to work so why start playing when, at best, its a three week 'trial'.  I do write here and make caps.  And I'm considering picking up writing a story again.  There's still that story I started last year (2019?) that could be fun.  

That sounds like a lot, and honestly this is purely a first world problem, but it's not all that much for that long.  Three weeks.  We'll see how it goes.