I think this is in the same vein of people who didn't want to acknowledge that the virus was even a serious thing. Until is shut down the entire country. In another thread a few (couple? Time flies) of weeks ago I talked about what life was like in the epicenter- schools closing, jobs going to work from home, and the thread was literally called something like "does anyone else not care about about the virus." (renamed to "not oveerly worried") and I couldn't understand how people could be so flippant. Now I wonder if those people who say to "be positive!" will feel the same way if someone they know or love gets sick. And ends up in an overwhelmed hospital. Without enough ventilators. Will they still be in the same "be happy" frame of mind. Why do some people have to be in the mire to finally figure out what other people are saying? Btw, I don't feel vindicated in regards to the previous thread, I just feel sad. It would have been nice to have come together before everything turned so terrible for everyone.

I think it was the title "Am I the only one not caring about Covid19?" Because saying you don't care seems a bit cold-hearted in light of what's happening in many areas. It sets the tone for the rest of the conversation.

I don't think I've made any assumptions about you- that feels unfair. I simply answered your response to me. Maybe we are just talking past each other, I'm trying to convey what is measured, fair, and clear when you are at ground zero of an epidemic so other people can be prepared for what might come their way. Saying it's not a big deal or people are overreacting *is* minimizing and dismissive.

I added a quote above that is in our news from our university to hopefully illustrate what is happening here, but I'll add it again down here: Geoffrey Gottlieb, a professor with the division of allergy and infectious diseases, said the university is taking the potential threat very seriously as it has surpassed both SARS and MERS in terms of deaths and illnesses worldwide. “The scale of this epidemic is unprecedented,” he said. I have no idea if you are watching the news or not. I don't think it is required to have compassion for what other people are dealing with. I feel sad for anyone dealing with illness or death. I held my father's hand as he died from a lung disease, maybe that is why I don't dismiss and minimize other people's fears and pain, no matter how insignificant the numbers may seem to others.

Ugh, this topic is rubbing me the wrong way and I can't seem to stay away. I think it feels really dismissive to those who are being impacted right now. We are living with major disruptions in life with the hope of containing the virus. People are dying here. We do have reason to be concerned, if not flat out afraid. The minimizing and disregarding of this feels really, I don't know, snide maybe? Or is it just me overreacting? Here is a quote from the University of Washington from a professor there: "Geoffrey Gottlieb, a professor with the division of allergy and infectious diseases, said the university is taking the potential threat very seriously as it has surpassed both SARS and MERS in terms of deaths and illnesses worldwide. “The scale of this epidemic is unprecedented,” he said." I hpoe that helps people to see why we are so concerned.

How do we know that this won't be bigger than the flu? It's a new virus that is just beginning. We don't know what the next month will look like, much lessa year from now. I certainly hope you are right that this will be just a temporary thing.

After catching Norovirus at Disneyland, I can't agree with this more.

Oh, and Trump's economic advisor today warned people not to travel to Seattle. Yay us.

This is me too. People are dying a mile from me. Schools are closing around me, my son's college just went to online only classes today, my husband's company has closed the Seattle branch indefinitely, requiring those who can to work at home. Grocery pick-up options are filled a day or more in advance and many of the needed things are sold out. Every city around me, including my own, has declared a state of emergency. It is estimated that hundreds of people are infected that either don't know they are or have not been tested. That number is supposed to double every six days. For those who aren't affected I truly hope your community remains safe from this. Even if it isn't scary to you, it is a huge disruption to life.

At the nursing home by me that is experiencing the deaths of the residents, I believe there are family members that have held signs outside of the windows to try to communicate. Other stories (I recommend reading the Seattle Times for better information) are truly heartbreaking.

I'm in the middle of the epicenter of the epidemic (I posted about this before, but removed for too much info), here are the things that have been useful to have/do: A lot of us have prepared for "The Big One" earthquake due to a lot of awareness here, so having a 2-3 week food supply (some of it Mountain House freeze-dried packs from Costco so there doesn't have to be as much of a rotation) is great peace of mind. We do have quite a few grocery stores with curb-side service, so that is useful for limiting time in crowded spaces. We already had bottled water (I'm not sure if that will be needed for this, but is nice to have again for peace of mind reasons). When we do go to the store, some things haven't been available- lentils in all forms, spaghetti sauce in certain brands, certain produce items (can't remember which ones, sorry), and there is now a limit on how many cold and flu items you are allowed to purchase- the limit is 5, but some things are out of stock anyway. We were already stocked up on TP (again, earthquake!), so I'm not sure what is going on with that. We had nitrile gloves in the house for cooking purposes (chopping lots of things, protecting from hot peppers), and these have been handy at gas stations for pumping gas. Even if I use hand sanitizer afterward, I still don't feel "protected" until I get home and use soap and water. There are too many possibly infected people in my area to feel good about handling common items with bare hands. Other than that, the ability to prepare for life disruption is good. Where will your kids go (if they are in public school) if the schools close down? For older kids, is there the ability to do schoolwork at home is things are switched to online learning? For adults that work, is there an option to work from home? Is there a usable set-up to make that happen? Businesses around here are trying to keep people at home to work to help stop the spread of the virus. Schools have been closed for cleaning. Buses are finally being cleaned in common areas daily- I still don' t let my son ride the bus around here. Do you know where to go if you are sick (a lot of doctor offices ask that people don't come in unless it is very serious, same with hospitals). I'm sure there is more, but this is off the top of my head right now. Edit to add: Our insurance company (and others) are allowing people to get 90 day supplies of maintenance medications w/o need for approval first. The only difficulty we ran into with this is the prescribing doctor has to put in the request for the 90 day prescription to the pharmacy (you can't just take a 30 day prescription and turn it into a 90 day with the pharmacy).

Nm

Has your doctor prescribed lamotrigine (brand name Lamictal) to help prevent depressive episodes? It is one of the few drugs that usually don't cause mania and is used for bipolar depression. The black and white thinking might be from anxiety. It removes any ambiguity that anxiety likes to cling onto. Same with needing to keep an exact schedule. Anxiety thrives in uncertainty. Instead of meds for those feelings, cognitive behavioral therapy can help stop anxiety before it takes hold. Good luck to you!

I really appreciate the discussion. As someone who lost faith a while ago, I still keep asking questions hoping that someday something will click for me. I am genuinely looking for answers that make sense to me. Someone once said that I didn't believe and couldn't understand because God hadn't chosen me to. As horrible as it sounded at the time, I now think maybe that does make sense as to why I can't believe. I've prayed so many times for so many years and nothing. It just doesn't work for me. I really envy those who believe with such certainty.

I think it's for the same reason when people talk about heaven being free from pain and suffering. When someone is sick and passes it is common to say they aren't suffering anymore in heaven. If physical and emotional pain can be considered good, why, in the ultimate Good Place, would they not exist?

Thank you for this (and everything else you said)! If Lucifer found evil in heaven, where did it come from? He was there with God and only goodness. Where could he have even come up with the idea to disobey if disobedience didn't exist? Somehow he would have to be exposed to it. If it came just from his nature and not an outside source, then he was created to be able to disobey. Where did the concept or ability come from? Disobeying God is evil. This is why I don't understand that evil is absence of good. Evil is actions and thoughts and things that have to originate somewhere.

I have a feeling we will be going round and round. :) Even if evil is only the absence of good, the fact that we are aware of it and are speaking about it means it exists. Which means the idea of evil had to be created. If God created everything in heaven and on earth, and evil existed in heaven (Lucifer) and on earth (pick up any newspaper), does that not mean God would have to have created evil for it to exist? If God did not, and let's say Lucifer or the fall did, doesn't that mean creation is possible outside God (the creation of evil)? Would he be all powerful if it did?

But even a concept or something spiritual has to have some sort of creation, doesn't it? Even the thought I just wrote had to be created somehow in my brain. If God didn't invent or conceive evil, then who did? Does that make more sense? It had to come from *somewhere* in order to exist.

I guess I don't understand this. If God didn't create evil, then who did? It was my understanding that God created everything and nothing could exist without him.

And I guess a second thing is: How can free will exist when everything is created by God? If he knows everything about you before you are even created, then wouldn't your life be predetermined? Wouldn't your salvation already be known before you are even born? What is the point of going thtough all the motions when the outcome is already done?

I am a total lurker, but I hope I can participate. My question has always been: If God created everything, and nothing can exist without God bringing it into being, why create murder and rape and torture? If God is only good, then how is it possible evil can come from him? How was he able to even conjure things like that up and still be only good? Where did those evil ideas come from?

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It will really depend on what you want to use it for. I have a Kindle 3G Keyboard, Kindle Fire, and an iPad 3 (all gifts- apparently people think devices when they think of me) and each serves a different use. The Kindle 3G, in my opinion, is the best reader for books. E-ink makes for a delightful reading experience. The 3G isn't useful to me as all my books are library downloads that require wifi to load them. So I would be happy with just a wifi capable (and less expensive) Kindle for reading. The Kindle Fire works great for Amazon content. Amazon Prime Streaming is available for it. I watched all of Lark Rise to Candleford on it and it was delightful. Netflix and Hulu+ work well. Amazon promotes free apps every day, which is nice, but not all of the android apps will work on a Fire. There are ways around it, but tech-saviness is required. Reading boards, websites, or anything with smaller print was difficult. An update did help with this by enlarging text on certain websites, but that made board navigation more difficult for me. Anything dealing with small text was unpleasant. Email was tough with the small keyboard to type on. Which led to the iPad. Wonderful screen size. Beautiful everything. And way more than I ever would have spent on a product. I'm sure some people are able to use it to its maximum potential, but I am not one of them. Although I do enjoy playing a few games that weren't available to Android. With my experiences and needs, I would have waited for a larger screened Kindle Fire and kept my Kindle 3G for reading. The 3G is the one thing I will replace if it breaks. Hope this is helpful!

Now I'm confused.

Many people aren't that superficial.