Oh my goodness, I didn't realize that you were still involved in healthcare....what a nightmare this year must have been for you!
Yeah, I'm still involved. I'm actually still involved specifically
because of the pandemic. I re-treaded back in March due to the need for healthcare workers. I spent 10 years in the field before that. 5 years as a CNA, and then 5 more years as an EMT-B. So, when I re-treaded, I went back as a CNA with the understanding that if we started to lose EMT's in my area, I'd re-cert for that and move back over to that area as well. (I was much happier as an EMT anyway, but I can't drive nowadays due to not being able to afford to replace my glasses 2-3 times a year every time the astigmatisms in my eyes decide to change, and it's just not fair to one's partner to stick the same person with driving all of the time.)
So. Yeah. I had left the field for several years due to on-the-job injury. But I went back for the pandemic. And I was continuing to work up until recently. I will probably go back again once my current issues are no longer requiring me to stay off my feet.
Yes, it's been a tough year. But nothing that's happened here has surprised me in the slightest. I've known for many years that a sizable portion of this country's population are selfish instant-gratification-centered cavemen. I also know that a lot of this nonsense we're seeing now happened here during the 1918 pandemic as well. And given how this for-profit healthcare crap has led to
intentional understaffing and under-supplying of healthcare workers in facilities for
years, I was also NOT the slight bit surprised at the PPE and supply shortages, either. We all
knew this would happen in another pandemic, because we've seen this coming for
years, and the idiots looking at profit margins could care less about the patients or about the staff trying to care for those patients. My facility is STILL rationing our n95's. I am STILL having to bake my ONE weekly mask in my oven at home. I am STILL having to buy and supply a lot of my gloves because there just aren't enough to go around. Nothing has changed since February with this situation. I'm hopeful that with an administration in place that actually pays attention, this will begin to change soon. I hope.
The nurses recently had a strike at a nearby hospital here, too. The pandemic was not the cause of the strike, but it did exacerbate the already existing problems and provide the last bit of fuel to set the strike in motion. We are not heroes. We are not some mythical legend rushing into battle knowing we're going to be struck down. We never signed up to do our jobs
without our necessary safety equipment in place, and prior to this pandemic, we would have been written up, disciplined, and-or
fired for working without it, and endangering ourselves, our coworkers, and our patients this way. No one expects firefighters to go into a burning building without their turnout gear. But that's exactly what we're being expected to do.
I've had this virus twice. Every single one of my coworkers has been sick with it at LEAST once, and most of us twice. They don't keep you at home when you're sick, either. You can get a positive test, and still be told to come back into work if you "aren't showing symptoms." The only time they keep you out of work for having it, is if you're showing visible symptoms. So, in other words, they don't care if you infect people, they only care if the public can SEE that they're at risk of you infecting them. This is all typical for-profit healthcare management crap.
So, yeah. It's been a tough year. But the main things that have made it a tough year could have been
avoided if people would just listen, do what they're asked, and oh, I dunno... maybe
care about someone other than themselves or their profit margins for a change???
The for-profit aspect of this nonsense was actually the main reason I left the field int he first place. My parting words to my DON at the time were along the lines of "Call me when healthcare is actually interested in healing patients instead of turning a profit and growing someone's off-shore bank account. I don't work for insurance or pharmaceutical companies, and I don't work for shareholders."
Shrugs. We're getting by. We always do.
Seliah, glad you'll be around a little more, and back in 3D. I took a break last year to move, so I'm just now getting back up and running. I've been trying out DAZ Studio 4.15 and the new Genesis 8.1 Michael. Took me awhile to figure out that everything for Genesis 8 works for 8.1 (except expressions), because I was not about to start over with that content. The difference will be, anything created for 8.1 will only work with 8.1. So I'll be trying out just Michael 8.1 to check out the facial expressions/animations.
Yes, I'm actually trying to get Poser up and running again, so I can do some LaFemme/L'Homme content creation, and more Dawn/Dusk stuff. I've seen the 8.1 releases for Mike and Vicky, but I wasn't sure if they were worth it - especially as they've come out at the standard gouging costs associated with new figures and/or "branded" character packs. Is he worth using? I'm really stingy with my 3D cash these days. I don't just willy-nilly buy stuff. A lot of the time I can just make it myself anyway. LOL
I was just beginning to get the hang of Studio when I had to take a break last year....
LOL! That's kind of how I feel with Poser right now. It's been a trip trying to get this back up and running, especially with the change in ownership between SM and Rendo now.
I'm enjoying using Studio, and am at least past the "jaw-dropping" stage when opening the program. I can remember doing the same thing the first time I used Poser, just totally overwhelmed...haha. Seliah, I remember your being somewhat of a Studio guru around here, so feel free to advise, instruct, help, whatever....I'm sure by now you know where ALL the bells and whistles are
It's nice when it all starts to come together finally, isn't it? When things start making sense, it's a bit of a relief. LOL I'm no guru, there's a lot that I *don't* know about DS. Especially now with the Filament and Iray and dForce stuff, none of which I understand yet.
I'll help where I'm able, though. You know that. It's not in my nature to do anything else if I know I
can help someone.
I'm glad you're starting to enjoy it, now. Hopefully I'll reach that point again with Poser, but we'll see. Once I got comfortable in DS, Poser has just felt clunky and awkward and
annoyingly, frustratingly inefficient for me ever since. Hopefully that will change once I get going again.
