Girl Scout Zoom Scavenger Hunt

Pre-Covid Girl Scout

Several years ago, I was one of the leaders of my daughter's Girl Scout troop. I had taken a lot on that year - I had also been a Sunday School teacher and a Girls on the Run Coach. It was a lot and I ended up quitting all of my volunteer positions because I was just run down.

But my daughter's Girl Scout troop needed a leader for the Brownies and no-one else was coming forward so I volunteered. I'm not going to take on anything else, especially since things like Sunday School aren't happening right now anyway.

In pre-Covid times, we met at a local church in their youth room. It had lots of space, which was good because our troop has different ages groups so we could all spread out. But because of the pandemic, the church isn't comfortable with us using their indoor space. They do have a covered pavilion with picnic tables outside and we have been meeting there

Since we are in NC, the weather has been warm enough for us to do that. But for this week's meeting, it was suppose to be 45 degrees out so we decided to move the meeting online to Zoom.

Over the summer, we had a few Zoom meetings that I ran because I was asked to set up the meeting. It went pretty well, but we were only doing it with the older girls. Today was the first time we were doing it with the whole troop.

Now our troop has gotten a lot smaller. We have some girls who just lost interest and some parents who didn't feel comfortable with meeting in person at all even though we are outside and require everyone to wear masks. Even though we are smaller, we still have three different age groups from 2nd grade to 6th grade so we had to do something that all of them would enjoy.

I found the idea to do a scavenger hunt and started to look up things for the girls to find around their houses. I found a lot of vague lists but nothing that was Girl Scout related so I made up my own.

As the weather gets colder and while the pandemic still rages, I thought I'd share my Girl Scout themed scavenger hunt so any troop can use them. All our girls had a lot of fun finding their items and showing them off!

1) Find something Daisy blue

2) Find something that would be useful on a hike

3) Your favorite patch or Girl Scout shirt

4) Find something that is Brownie brown

5) Find something that would be useful at a cookie booth

6) Something you made

7) A pet or stuffed animal

8) Find something Junior green

9) Find something Cadette beige

The only one that isn't really Girl Scout related is the pet / stuffed animal one. I have found that nearly every Zoom meeting has the girls wanting to show off their pets. Something you made I said could be something at Girl Scouts or elsewhere. 

As we continue to use Zoom as we go into winter, hopefully we can think of more fun things to do!

Ableism

Image - https://rehabpub.com

 Life has been hard and I haven't been blogging at all. I'm going to try and remedy that and try to write at least one post a week. Mostly so I can get in the habit of writing more and to keep my brain on its toes.

My post today is kind of all about my brain. My poor broken brain. I have a lot of health issues. My foot, that I sprained back in April, thinks that it is very hurt. Or my brain thinks my foot should hurt when there isn't really much physically wrong with it. I've been diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome in my foot and have to have a chair for work because I can't be on my feet for eight hours anymore.

I still suffer from my chronic migraines and I have short term memory issues thanks to the brain mass I had back in 2014. This comes up often at work. I work in the deli of a local grocery store. We have a hot bar that we serve breakfast food and then lunch/dinner options. We also have an asian food bar and a sub bar. These bars are were I work - it's my job to serve people and keep things stocked and clean.

We can be short handed sometimes, especially when people go on their lunch breaks. Sometimes I find myself alone to handle all three bars. Usually it's not a big deal and I can holler for help if I need to. This is the situation I found myself in last week.

A trio of young men came up to the sub bar and started to order. Just after a woman came up to the asian bar. I was trying to take the mens' order and holler for help. This caused my brain to do a little bit of a meltdown and I couldn't remember what meat and cheese they wanted for their subs. This happens a lot but these young men thought it would be fun to mock me for my memory issues.

I honestly don't remember exactly what they said but it was snide and ablest. I still did my job and got their subs made. After they left, the lady was still at the asian bar though someone had come up to help her. She was very, very upset though - she was upset for me, that they had treated me so bad.

At the time, I told her it was ok, that I didn't mind. But honestly, it's been in the back of my mind ever since then. Those young men didn't know who I was or that I am technically a disabled person. But they didn't need to mock me for my memory issues. Similar interactions where I forget what meat or cheese for a sub happens everyday, but most customers are gracious and just repeat what they want.

As my health gets worse, I get more annoyed with people being ablest. I honestly wish that people would treat everyone with dignity and respect, but that's not going to happen sadly. I'm sure the young men who mocked me haven't given it a second thought. 

Please be kind, you don't know what issues people might be dealing with. And I can make a great sub, I just might need some help remembering what you want on it. 

Online Friends are Real Friends

 

Today a notification came up that it was a friend's birthday. A friend who passed away last year. She was part of a group that I talk with everyday. A few met her in person, but for others, like me, our friendship was completely online.

I grew up in a world without the internet and I first got online in my 2nd year of college. I was a huge geek and didn't have too many real life friends who shared my interests. But all of a sudden I could speak to people all over the world who had similar interests.

It's been 24 years since I first dove headfirst into the internet and things have changed a lot. But some of my best and most enduring friendships are ones I've made online. I'm still friends with a few people from my early days online. 

But my main friend group came about because we had a love for a specific perfume. A friend of mine gave me a sample of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab at the Michigan Ren Faire in 2004. I loved it and I've never been a perfume person before. But these were (and are) magical. When I looked them up on the internet, I found that they had a forum which I joined.

I don't post on the forum as much as I used to, but I try to check it every few days. There are also several groups on Facebook and one is where I spend a lot of my online time. We talk about everything and the friend we lost told the best stories.

Even though I never met her in person, I loved her. She was my friend and I miss her so much. I love my other friends too. Some I've met in person, some live on the other side of the world, but thanks to the internet we can talk and connect.

So chat with your friends, enjoy their virtual company because you will be sad when they are gone.

The Pandemic Diaries - The Mask Slackers

Months. It's been months since COVID-19 has completely upended our lives. Here in the United States of America, we haven't done a great job of dealing with this pandemic. Ineffective leaders and conspiracy theories seem to be at the root of our being number 1 at cases and deaths in the world.

When everything started going to hell in March, I was hesitant to wear a mask. Scientists thought back then (which seems like a million years ago now) that masks didn't really help. But as they learned more about the disease, science proved that masks can greatly reduce the spread of the virus.

So I got some masks and started wearing them anytime I left the house. I have cloth masks so I can wash them. I even used my glue gun and some crafting wire to add to the mask to make it more snug around my nose. It's not perfect but it definitely keeps my glasses from fogging up less.

I hurt my foot in April and then hurt it worse about three weeks after the original injury. I ended up being off work for over a month because of it so I had a lot of time on my hands. I was reading a lot and I read an article about the parallels of the current pandemic and the Spanish Flu in the early 1900's. One thing that stuck with me was that people who refused to wear masks back then were called "mask slackers".

Ever since then, I've referred to those who refuse to wear a mask as mask slackers. It's such a simple thing to do to protect others, but a lot of people are just so against it. I am a glutton for punishment and I often read the comments on Facebook. The crazy on some of the comments is astounding.

Apparently some people think that masks are going to cause you to collapse because they think carbon dioxide won't be able to escape the mask and thus poison the wearer. Others think that wearing a mask is a sign that you are a sheep and being controlled (by whom, I'm not sure). Others claim they don't work at all so it's pointless to wear them, especially if you are 'healthy'.

All of these arguments have either been proven wrong by science or are just so ludicrous that I want to roll my eyes. Masks aren't perfect, but it does help slow the spread of this disease. Wearing a mask keeps my germs in my mask so it can't spread. Now you still have to wash your hands, resist touching your face, and wash or replace your mask after every use.

But because the mask slackers are selfish and won't mask up for the good of everyone, the virus rages on. I wear a mask for 8 hours during work and yeah, it's hot and annoying. But I don't want my coworkers getting this or my customers. Also my store requires us to wear it, which is something I'm glad of. I just wish they would enforce wearing of masks for the customers.

Anyway, please, please, please wear your mask. I really want it to be safe for my kid to go back to school and for life to return to some form of normalcy where I don't have to have panic attacks about being exposed to the virus before my work shifts. 

The Pandemic Diaries - Dragon Con

Me at Dragon Con 2019

Everything is canceled this year. From school to concerts to conventions. And just today Dragon Con announced that there would be no Dragon Con this year. Now, they did say that there will be some virtual con things going on, but obviously it's just not the same.

I love Dragon Con - I've blogged about it quite a lot over the years, though I didn't ever get around to blogging about last year's con. Maybe I'll do that come Labor Day weekend as a tribute to the best con that isn't happening.

Honestly I'm not surprised by the news that Dragon Con isn't happening. Because of contracts, they just couldn't cancel before now though it has felt like it was inevitable to quite a few people, myself included, that there was no way that it could happen safely.

Ironically, someone started a new group this morning before the announcement for people who were still planning on going despite the pandemic. Even if a quarter of the normal 80,000+ people showed, that would be a heck of a lot of people.

I am a little bummed that we didn't purchase memberships for this year earlier in the year like we normally do. This year has been such a shitshow for me and my family, outside of the pandemic, that we just didn't get around to it. Those of who did they will get a 2020 badge and some sort of swag. And their membership will be rolled to next  year.  They are also issuing refunds to those who would prefer that.

So the coronavirus has taken the best weekend of the year away and it makes me sad. When I go into work, I'll cross off the days I had requested off for Dragon Con. Hopefully the virus can be stopped / handled / something so we can con again next year.

Summer Movies - ET

Image: fanart.tv

One of the things I miss most right now is going to the movies. I've always loved going to see movies on the big screen. I was lucky enough to even work at a movie theater for a while in college. I don't know what the first movie my parents took me to see, but I do have some memories of going to see
ET when I was four years old.

On the surface, it looked like it was going to be a cute kid's movie, but it ended up freaking preschool me out. The beginning was dark and kinda scary for a four year old. Though this is probably the first time that I had even heard of D&D since that's what they we playing at the start of the movie.

The ET character was a little freaky too - though I do have memories have having and loving a plush ET doll. But it was a scene near the end that was scariest for me.

It was the scene where ET and Elliott are in the sterile room. It was partly because Elliott was sick and ET was dying but it was also the visuals of scientists in white, PPE suits. It was just terrifying if you are four.

I've rewatched ET several times, and I remember feeling vaguely anxious watching that part of the movie even when I was older. It had quite an effect on me!

I honestly think I would have loved it if I was a little older. It's all fantasy and science and the alien can be pretty cute too! But not really appropriate for a four year old.

Do you have any movies that scared you as a child?

The Pandemic Diaries - The ER Visit

I've been meaning to blog about this for a while but kept forgetting. But I hope to start blogging more.

On April 19th, I fell off my carport. It wasn't a huge drop but I watched my right foot bend upwards in a way it shouldn't have.

The pain was immediate and very high. My husband and kid had to help me inside and onto bed. I iced it and elavated it, but it was still very painful the next day so I had my husband take me to the ER.

We pulled up to the entrance of the ER and they had a tent set up. They had several people stationed there in full PPE gear. After I told them why I was there, they asked me the standard COVID questions and took my temperature.

I was rolled into the building in a wheelchair and my husband had to stay outside in the car. It was more than a little bizarre because the waiting room was empty.

After waiting only a few minutes in the waiting room, I was rolled back to a room. I didn't have to wait very long before someone came to check me out.

They brought an x-ray machine to my room and got the x-rays done. The doctor was very attentive, coming in to check on me several times.

In the end, it was one of the fastest ER visits I've had. The x-rays showed I just had a sprain though it was a pretty bad one. They gave me prescriptions for pain medicine and a referral to the orthopedist.

I only saw one other patient - they had been moving her in a bed when I was being rolled back to a room.

Though I was anxious about going because of the virus, I'm glad I went. They were very professional and I felt safe. I'm glad they were taking extra precautions. I do have to wonder how different it would be now, nearly two months later.

The Pandemic Diaries - On Being Essential

Me, an essential 

I work at a grocery store in the deli. I serve food and make subs. It's not hard not is it glamorous. But it allowed me to quit a job that was sucking my soul away and I've made a lot of great friends.

But in this time of Covid-19, it's less great. For the most part my job is the same. We are just washing our hands and changing our gloves a ton more. And cleaning as often as we can. 

Today everyone was given papers to put in our cars deeming us "essential". In light of so many people being laid off or just plain losing their jobs, essential might seem great. But it's not.

Every time I go to work, it feels like I'm playing Russian roulette. Chances are if (when?) I get the coronavirus, I'll survive. I do have health issues but none are breathing related. But it sounds horrible to have so I don't want to get it. And I certainly don't want to spread it.

I worry about me, my family, my friends and coworkers. It also worries me how busy we continue to be. Lunch rush today was insane with crowds of people coming to the deli for food. So much for social distancing.

But as a grocery store, we are essential. People need food throughout this so I will continue to go to work and do the best job I can. 

The anxiety about going into work today made me physically sick last night. My pain levels have been much higher. Though I am thankful that, for the most part, our customers have been kind.

If you know someone who is an essential worker, please keep us in your thoughts. Doctors, nurses and other hospital workers are on the front lines, caring for those who are ill. The rest of us are trying to keep people fed and supplied. We are open, we have things and we'll continue on throughout this ordeal.