mistressofmuses | (no subject)

Had a Covid exposure at work. Yaaaaay.

It was our auditor, so extra fun, since she was at multiple locations. My exposure to her was on Saturday, so four-five days ago. Fortunately I did not really have much prolonged contact with her - I handed her some papers, and we talked for a bit at less than 6 feet of distance, but she did her auditing in a separate room, so the contact was in short bursts.

But I did go see my mom and Taylor yesterday to pick up some mail, so if it turns out I did catch it, I could have been a vector for them as well. (And Alex, but in a studio apartment, we've made peace with the fact that if one of us gets it we probably both will.)

I don't believe the auditor was vaccinated. I don't know for sure, but I do know she homeschools her kids for religious reasons, so... it wouldn't surprise me if she wasn't.

The fact that I am vaccinated certainly makes me hope I'm good, and I've been asymptomatic (though the bad air quality has given me some allergy-type symptoms that COULD be something worse), but I want to get a test to be sure. Of course, there aren't any available tests this week that I can find. (Except at a few of the urgent care clinics, but those are expensive and not covered by my insurance, so I need to do it at Walgreens or CVS or something, both of which tell me there's nothing within 100 miles.) I'll keep checking.

I remain angry that at work we've been forced to allow people to stay in the lobby at full capacity AND have not been allowed to require masks. Even if we had been, my exposure would have happened, because it was from a coworker, but that doesn't make me okay with how we just sort of... quit taking any precautions whatsoever, despite the fact that transmission is rising again.

Today was the first day in quite a while I've seen a fair number of people wearing masks. Parents and students both, even. So I guess SOME people are taking the Delta variant seriously, or care that our county has distressingly high transmission right now.
Then again, there was also a big anti-mask protest about the county requiring masks for elementary school students as the school year starts back up, so.

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Arrgh! That sucks. I hope you didn't catch it from her.

Me too!

I hope you didn't catch it or carry it anywhere else. But if you did, sue the bitch. Seriously. Go to HR and complain that this happened, and that you want to know what your options are to getting compensated by her directly or from the company due to there not being mask mandates. Make them suffer. Dance on their bones.

Me too!

We already had to sign shit saying that we understand catching Covid is a reasonable job risk, and the company has zero liability if we do. And I think there *was* something about whether there was legal recourse toward an employer or toward an individual in the case of catching covid, and basically there isn't any, unless maybe you could prove that someone tried to infect you deliberately. :/

Though dancing on their bones sounds like just what I'd like to do.

They really should not have made y'all sign shit like that. That should not have been legal. Gross. Just really gross.

Have you thought about - while you're working for this shitty place - looking for other work that might be even a modicum more ethical and caring? I know it might not be easy to do, but you never know what you could fine. Anything to get you away from these asshats.

Yeah, it's part of the employee handbook now. :) And if I recall, it was pretty much stated back when there were a lot of essential workers getting sick that there was no legal recourse, because they couldn't PROVE that they had been infected at work.
There's plausible deniability that gee, maybe I got it at the gas station, or when I went out for coffee, or from a neighbor because they sneezed on the elevator right before I got on... so I can't blame work!

I've poked at other work a few times. I'm in a tricky spot because I can't make more than I do now, or we lose our apartment, because it's income-limited... but even if I did make more, unless it was a substantial increase I couldn't afford market rates on my income alone. But I also don't want to take a pay cut, heh. And there's a bit of "devil you know" - I know what's expected, and can do most of it very easily, plus I like the people I work with directly. But at the same time, it really is garbage sometimes.

Ugh. That's bullshit. But I do get it - the devil you know. That's why Kathy stayed with Eckerds/CVS for so long - until last year when she retired. She'd been there so long that she had the most benefits that she'd probably get anywhere - except, of course, when she moved up here, she did full-time at first and then had to go down to part time (and lost her insurance through them and like vacation time, I think), and she didn't want to start over anywhere new that wouldn't give her as much as they did there. Even though what they gave her was shit compared to what she deserved.

Yeah, that's true in a lot of places. Starting somewhere else starts you back at the bottom rung of whatever their payscale/compensation offerings are, and that's often a struggle. (And the waiting periods for things like insurance to kick in, or for time off to accrue are bullshit.)

Arg, that is shitty. I hope you're safe.

Thank you, I hope so too. :/

We've been mostly working from home since last March. I have to go in to the office 1 or 2 days per week. We just got notification yesterday that anyone on site has to wear masks when inside. When this all started, they had the mask mandate and none of the maintenance workers bothered with masks (or they had them doing a good job protecting their chins). I just don't understand how this is political. The politicians need to be so contrarian on everything. Luckily we have a testing site in our building that is open twice a week. I schedule my on-site days for one of the days the testing is open so I can get tested (without charge), just for the peace of mind.

I was thinking of spreading a rumor that the vaccines increase fertility and intelligence. Maybe the dumbasses will be more inclined to get it then.

I was furloughed for a few months back at the start (March/April of 2020), but was back in-office by May. Unfortunately most of our work can't be done remotely (and our corporate office refuses to let even the jobs that COULD be done from home be done that way.)
We get to see LOTS of chin diapers and ear hangers for masks, for sure.

I truly do not get how both masks and vaccines have become SUCH a political statement. I mean, I do understand how assholes rally around the worst possible things, and stupid people and anti-science sentiments run rampant.

Yes, please, haha. "I heard the vaccines just like... make you super smart, and also help you lose weight, and make you irresistible to everyone you find attractive."