The awakening of the collective; mind, body, soul and the beginning of the end of industrial society - a New World Order I was living and working casually at a children's outdoor education centre one day I was sitting on my sofa the next I was on the street. Week 1 - all casuals laid off Week 2 - All full-time staff cut back to half hours Week 3 - all staff living on centre given eviction within 72 hours Week 4 - homelessness and couch surfing Week 5 - Self Isolation & Family Week 6 - Family Feuds & Domestic Violence Week 7 - A run in with Police whilst living out of my Car Week 8 - My own place new beginnings Although life has thrown many curveballs I struggle with mental illness and addiction - now the world knows how it is to feel in social isolation - depressed, alone, unmotivated, unwanted, uninspired and ironically for those of us who have lived with mental illness our entire lives are no longer alone in our suffering. I shaved my head to symbolise being reborn into a new world order - one of hope, health, compassion and understanding with the soul & spirit being central to our livelihood.

Social Distancing

Over the last month people in my street started placing teddy bears and toys in their windows and attaching them to fences. It only took a few houses to do it before they started popping up everywhere in the suburb, and this image shows the bears in the window of my house. -HUM404

In an alternate universe, this week would probably be a lot more different. Prior to this whole COVID-19 thing, I was planning to study abroad with my school to Italy. I planned this as far back as fall of last year, and I was getting pretty excited. I was unsure I would even be able to go at first, but my mom encouraged me to go for it. After filling out all sorts of stuff to go on the trip and to get financial aid, my worst fears came true. Not only was the virus ravaging the globe, it especially hit Italy pretty hard. I was really looking forward to be able to go over there and learn more about the country's culture and history, but it's looking more and more like that won't happen for a while. I've never really gone out of the country before, so this would've been a very new experience for me. Even so, it's not that big of a deal. I'm sure I could always go another time when things have cleared up and the world is in a better condition. What I'm more concerned about is how it will affect other people in general. I imagine that tourism is a big facet of Italy, and that people not being able to come could hit them really hard in addition to its effects on internal affairs. While I'm not sure about what the outcome of this pandemic will be for everybody, I am sure that the world will never be the same after all of this.

Some of the neighbor's kids went around our neighborhood and dropped off goodies! In the photo we can see one of the neighbors dropping off care packages to help ease some of the stress during this isolation period.

I found a video on the app “TIK TOK” and these nurses were all dancing! It is extremely liberating to see healthcare workers staying positive throughout this extremely touch period. The video really showed me that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This pandemic is devastating but knowing that we have amazing healthcare workers who are spreading positivity while saving lives is extremely raw and humbling. *@Nursesavyrose *The video is an inspirational Tik Tok

Hmart is an asian market that carries a variety of food items popular in many different asian countries. It is one of my favorite grocery stores to shop at. It was also the first grocery store I have been to doing the pandemic that has i.plemented careful procedures for guest whose entering the store. First, the workers outside are keeping close count of how many people are in the store by monitoring the entrance and exit. They are also sanitizing all shopping baskets and carts at the entrance so guest don't have to touch them until after watching then be sanitized, and finally the store is giving plastic gloves to consumers who enter the store and do not have a pair. I also noticed while doing my grocery shopping that every single person in the store had some form of face mask on them, including employees. I know as time goes on more stores will implement similar policies, for now it seems like Hmart is adjusting well to the pandemic and taking the necessary precautions to keep everyone safe. Seeing this just confirmed why Hmart will continue to be my go to store for supplies during the outbreak.

My twin brother and I celebrated our birthday in quarantine! Our parents dropped of some cake and we had a zoom party with them later that night. It is crazy to think that this might be our "new" norm when it comes to large gatherings.

I have become very fearful for what the future holds for a number of reasons. We are in a time of many uncertainties and truly do not know what the future holds. There are many implications about how society will be after all this is over. The first reason why I am fearful is if this is the new status quo. What I mean by that is, when there is a new virus that comes around, are we going to have to stop everything that we are doing and stay at home. Can we endure that multiple times as a country, because with just this our economy has skyrocketed downward and millions are without work. I am scared of a society that closes down everything and puts millions of people into hardship due to unemployment just because a new disease has arisen. What if this were to become a seasonal thing. Another thing I am very weary of is just how powerful the government has become in people’s day to day lives. I am hoping that after all this is over that the government’s power will retract to how it was, but I am not too sure it will. In my view of things, people in positions of power either try their best to keep the power that they already have or try to expand it. This is fearful because I do not want to live in a society where the government has major control on most civil liberties. Another reason I am fearful is the fact that people would be so willing to give up their freedoms as individuals for a false sense of security. People are so willing these days to just not question what is going on and just believe whatever they see in the news. It has gotten to the point where I feel like I can not speak my mind on certain things without being shut down instantly. I have been having long talks about this idea of trading our civil liberties for false sense of security. I keep saying “false” sense of security because in the real world you can never be truly safe. Security is not a fundamental human right so why would we be so willing to give up the rights that we are entitled to. I hope people will consider things like this in order to come out of this situation stronger.

Years ago in Arizona there was a PSA song to stop the spread of hepatitis. I have adapted that hand washing song to the current circumstances. *original video

I celebrated my birthday in quarantine! My parents dropped a cake off and we had a zoom call with them later that night! It is crazy to think that this might be the new normal (at least for some time).

This morning the first thing I saw on my social media pages was the announcement that ‘Asian giant hornets’ were spotted in the U.S. for the first time. On top of worrying about the COVID19 pandemic we now must worry about killer hornets. This year was supposed to be a new and great start for everyone but clearly 2020 is nobody’s year. A lot of people are trying to deal with all the stress of 2020 by making memes. I thought instead of having a negative entry for my post I would put together a couple of different memes that made me smile.

It has now been a month or two into the pandemic surrounding my local area. Many local businesses are never going to open again because they have been out of business for too long. Walmart is also out of fabric because people have been making a living off of masks now. 3 of my co-workers are even selling and sewing masks. How interesting is it too that now people are selling them with specific designs like sports teams. I just bought my grandma a patriots mask the other week for $7. People come in all the time for masks since I work at a grocery store, to begin with, we never sold that many. Now we have people ordering them through my previously mentioned co-workers and picked up later. I didn't even think that these would be a business.

I was diagnosed with Coronavirus a little over two weeks later but I had just started to feel the symptoms. My wife swears that everyone she has seen (herself, me and people on television) have these very distinctive puffy Coronavirus eyes. It is May 3, 2020 and I have finally tested negative and my eyes are no longer swollen. I think she may be on to something. #HST643

Orlando testing site closed fast again! while sitting in it. 250 tests a day with restrictions to qualify for testing in April is not acceptable from our country in my opinion. #HST643

You still need to have a fever and be in a high risk group to get in a huge line for the potential to get one of the 250 tests available daily for all of Central Florida. #HST643

The drive up testing site is finally open to those under the age of 65 with a fever and symptoms. My wife and I will try for a week to get tested because there are only 250 tests per day and thousands of cars lined up by hours before they open. #HST643

After two full days of traversing the world from Marrakech to two London airports, to JFK airport New York, to Orlando, we found this wonderful surprise in our car when our daughter dropped it off for us, so we could get to our Timeshare without possibility infecting anyone from our family. *Scott Mentel #HST643 & wife Tammy Mentel *iPhone photo *Scott Mentel #HST643

Life has changed so much in such little time. The things people used to do on a daily basis has been shaken up dramatically. The stay at home rules were put into effect almost two months ago. I have not been able to see my friends or certain family members even though I am finally back home. I have been trying to get out as much as I can whether that be running by the beach or just going out and exploring nature. It has been really difficult for me dealing with all this, but I have been trying to fill my time being outside. I do not take the beautiful area that I live in for granted anymore. The other day I went to the river by myself, which I hardly ever do, and just sat and enjoyed the sun reaching down on my body. It was quite peaceful and since I am taking a full course load, very relaxing. We now have to wear masks when entering “essential” businesses in our state, California. I was yelled at by a gas station worker the morning it was put into effect because I was not wearing a mask. I was mad at first but then I realized this poor man was just trying to do his job. I tried to reason with the man saying no one else was here and that I had literally seen him the day before when I got some snacks. He ended up kicking me out and I did not get the bottle of water I needed. People have changed a lot too. They are more fearful of each other than they were before. I realize this everyday as I go on walks with my mother. For every person that would smile at us, two others would stray away fearful that our breath may contaminate them. For me and my peers, this is the first time we have ever seen mass-hysteria. I was talking to this with my father about how fear can lead people to do drastic things. That is what is scary to me. What happens when people begin to steal because they can no longer work the jobs they had and provide for themselves and their families? What happens when people begin to riot because they no longer feel able to endure not having a steady stream of income? What will the world look like after all this is over?

Videos and pictures were automatically shared in my photo library via the Whats App group “Stuck in Morocco.” I wish I knew the source of the social media commercial as it states in 4 weeks they have “eradicated” the virus and I do not believe that is true for any country. But it also showcases the extreme measures other countries went to in an effort to protect their citizens. We have been in five states towards our journey home to New Jersey for the past six weeks in America and witnessed very little universal and national measures of safety truly being followed. *Scott Mentel #HST643

This article contains a political cartoon drawing stating that "We Can Do it!" The political cartoon reminded me of past political images I have seen in the past. It communicates that we can all unite to wash our hands and get rid of COVID-19. Julian Lapidus, CSUS, HIST15H

Excited our flight out of Morocco to London was really leaving. We missed video taping the cheers when it landed. The flight was packed and we still did not have an onward flight home, but with London not closing down like Morocco, we knew we would have more options. We did finally make it home to Orlando via JFK and the joy was short lived because the virus crisis in America was clearly not being taken seriously and 9 days after we left Morocco we had Coronavirus. Although we could not get tested for another two weeks because America had no tests. #HST643 Scott________ & wife Tammy ________

A song about social distancing *Lil Baby Official 4PF

From Facebook: "Join for a discussion about Arizona's LGBTQ Community reponse to being quarantined. Special Guest will be Equality Arizona, RipplePHX, Social Distancing Hotline, Virtual Arizona Pride, and PHX Gayborhood Pride. Hosted by the Arizona LGBT+ History Project"

Thankfully due to an American outcry for help because the first flights were announced so last minute, the US Embassy arranged for another flight out of Morocco on March 22, 2020 Morocco ACSCasablanca@state.gov #HST643

This is one of the first shows that comes out in wake of stay at home order imposed by the government. This shows just how long the United States has been at a standstill because now TV shows that depict a celebrity at home, avoiding Covid-19 but still needing to make money so they had no choice but to do it from home.

Repatriation flights from other countries had to fly one of 11 airports in our nation. Cities now with some of the highest outbreaks of Coronavirus. Coincidence??? US Embassy Rabat and screenshot from my wife via the Facebook group

This is a screen shot of the email sent to stranded Americans in Morocco who registered with STEP when traveling, letting us know there would be several flights chartered out of Marrakech Morocco only. A signed waiver to repay the $1475 cost of the flight was required. This was the first correspondence Americans received since the shut down of Morocco and many were too far away to get to these flights. Many were in Rabat waiting hours to get into the Embassy only to be turned away. With public transportation limited and Americans dispersed all over Morocco, these chartered flights left at 25% capacity to London while many other countries opened their repatriation flights to everyone into, the US flights were not full, with people from other countries waiting and went to London first. Not only did they fail to help their own citizens in a timely and acceptable manner, they selfishly refused to help anyone else. Embarrassed to call ourselves American during a pandemic impacting all nations and people’s. Scott Mentel & wife Tammy Mentel #HST643

A screen shot of f this tweet to share with others in my What’s App group “Stranded in Morocco.” My wife and I were able to book this flight for a reasonable price. Might I note we were out in the Sahara Desert without service or news when the country shut down and after desperately trying to get help from our Embassy, with no success, we turned to the British Embassy for help and support. Original iPhone screenshot from Twitter. #HST643

Getting close to check-in time for our Ryanair repatriation flight to London from the Marrakech Airport in Morocco. Repatriation flights for England, Turkey, Germany, France and the Netherlands were taking off all week thanks to arrangements made by their governments. The United States finally replied to their citizens announcing there would be a few flights out on March 20, 2020 at a repayment cost of $1475 a person. This announcement was made at 12:01am on March 20, 2020, not allowing enough time for all Americans to get to Marrakech and flights were leaving at 25% occupancy. We worked with the U.K. Embassy and were able to get on a fully packed repatriation flight to London and then onto Orlando via JFK Airport in New York for a total of $925. So disappointed to be an American during this time. We had been traveling the world since late December and got caught up in the Coronavirus pandemic trying to out-run it. Only to have it finally catch up to us in Morocco. Original iPhone video. #HST643

This is a video my wife Tammy took from the Marrakech airport approximately 8 hours before we were to board a flight on Ryan Air to London and then onto Orlando, Florida as a repatriation flight negotiated by the United Kingdom after Morocco abruptly shut down all flights in and out of Morocco. It was a surprisingly happy place but also a potential hotbed for the spread of the virus. #HST643 Scott and wife Tammy Mentel, iPhone video

I set up a Zoom call for my 3rd grade son and his friends. This picture shows that no matter what, boys will still be boys. They had their nerf guns, made faces at each other, and were as silly as usual. Yes, this is hard, but boys will still be goofy and crazy.

Finding hope in the midst of a pandemic.

I love this image because it represents an event that never would have occurred had we not all been home together. My husband was on a conference call with the doors to his office shut. While on the call, my son built a wall in front of the door. My husband literally had no idea it was happening. Shows that during all of this craziness we can still have some great laughs!

I took this picture because it demonstrates a new reality alongside the old. Masks hung up to be taken when we go out, next to the backpacks that haven't been touched since school was canceled.

This is a short record of the changes in my life that took place due to the pandemic.

Letter for COVID-19 brides

This image shows how thousands of employees at Gap INC were furloughed due to the closing of all stores. Many of my coworkers have families to pay for and are now on unemployment. A screenshot of the general manager at my work informing us that we have all been furloughed. cshsecon

Attached you will find my admission letter to the School of Nursing and Health Professions at the University of San Francisco. Upon writing this entry, I have been admitted and secured my spot at the institution. I was admitted approximately one month ago, during the crisis itself. This photo of my admission letter is beyond meaningful to me even more so because of the circumstances we all are now facing. My passion for nursing has always been the driving force for how I conduct my school efforts. Despite my extensive family size, I actually am one of the first to enter the medical profession. I was inspired to enter into this field in high school when I shadowed a fellow family friend. I visited her at the Mercy San Juan Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and immediately was drawn to this unit. From that day, I never could consider any other field of study. I am in continuous awe of those on the frontlines, especially nurses and doctors. Upon admission to nursing school, typically clinicals would be a part of one’s first-semester curriculum. Due to the pandemic, my clinicals have actually been pushed back an additional semester. With nursing school especially, and the current incoming cohorts curriculum has drastically shifted. I point this out because no matter how big or small, in some way each of our lives has been changed by this event. At this point, I'm unaware if even my first semester will be held on campus. There is a rather high chance I will be online for my first semester of nursing school. All of our lives right now are for lack of a better word “tentative”, who knows how things will change or when things will resolve to normalcy. #CSUS #HIST15H

This music video of the song “6 Feet Apart” from Luke Combs serves as a message for gratitude during the pandemic crisis. With our constantly busy lives, we often take certain things like family time or going to a restaurant for granted. In times like this, we are reminded that all the little things are privileges and we should cherish them the most.

At this point in isolation, my Twitter feed is flooded with images such as this. This point evokes a great deal of emotion for I assume all that comes across it. I have the utmost respect for medical professionals. I myself have recently been accepted into the University of San Francisco Nursing Program. Being accepted during a time of great uncertainty has led me to an even greater appreciation for all those that serve on the frontlines, not just medical professionals. We are all affected in some manner during this pandemic; however, it is how we respond that will affect the outcome. Working together, maintaining a positive attitude, following instructions, and faith is what will get us through this disheartening time. Although this image is a piece of art, the message still rains truer than ever. Nurses and doctors are giving of their own time, safety, and placing their lives at greater risk for contracting the CoronaVirus as well as any other ailments, infections, diseases, etc. Men and women are left with bruising, scratches, and other facial discomforts as a result of having to wear PPE for extensive duration periods. Not only the physical discomfort but these individuals have endured emotional and mental difficulties as well. This photo saddens me as well as frustrates me. I continuously pray that people follow as the photo illustrates, “Stay at home for us” for the sake of these selfless people. For those who are not taking this issue seriously, I pray for them as well and that they might be awoken to the true reality of the world as it is right now. #CSUS #HIST15H

• This tweet is from Pope Francis on April 23, 2020. His message sums up the importance of unity in our world during critical times like this. In the midst of a pandemic, we need to be reminded that all lives matter, despite our differences. We must come together as one and help each other. #CSUS #HIST15H

Routines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

#CSUS #HIST15H

People are frustrated with those who will not take the pandemic seriously or refuse to follow safety guidelines. Most want to make sure the numbers match the decision to reopen America. However, many believe us to be opening too soon and fear a rebound in cases and ultimately an increase in deaths. Full text of post included here: So - this is the least stupid picture I can find to illustrate what I think is about to happen. This process is called a lot of things, and often, in this context, it is called "will power fatigue." Focused, intentional action for primates is often a short-lived thing. It is very costly in terms of overall energy expenditure and - evolutionarily speaking - we MOST often can get through MOST threats in just a few minutes (oh fuck its a tiger) to a few weeks (oh fuck its tiger season). Occasionally the thing we need to have intentional action to defeat has a much longer half-life than our own personal or community will. Human will is less matter of strength of character or any other such waspy bootstrappy Enlightenment nonsense: It is more a matter of biology and statistics. Intentionality is energetically expensive. Habit is cheap as fuck. We can usually only easily do really hard, non-intuitive things for 3 - 6 weeks at the very mostest. And then our pre-frontal cortex (=PFC=the thinky smartypants part of our brain) just says, well, there you go! Gave it our best shot. Did what we could. Cheerio! Back to tea and biscuits. This part of our brain is simply not designed for the protracted, complex cognitive and social labor required for things like, say...a pandemic. This is when even very determined people most often relapse after quitting whatever is really plesaurable (booze, porn, cat videos, twizzlers, playing tiddlywinks, or - er...being a social human). This is when our determined career of trying to fix depression through yoga fizzles. This is when you stop responding to your duolingo alerts about your Tagalog lessons. This is when....social distancing falls apart. Watch for it. I suspect we will see our first resurgent C19 "wave" very soon as many of us lose our ardor for staying alive and for keeping everyone else alive by giving up the things that we love and that come instinctually to us. Like interacting with the rest of our primate troupe. Giving up these things has taken a great deal of intentional will power. And the system is becoming fatigued. And yeah - it is not a surprise that the first surge of this behavior is from a bunch of white guys that have never had any practice managing their own selfish desires. (Take note - do not be like these numbskulls.) And none of us are immune, but yes - looking more toward what we care about and noticing our increased desire to do what we want or crave (often connection)...this can help keep our intentional selves online long enough not to kill any more John Prines. The trick is to notice that it is really hard, And still do the right thing. Please. Stay the fuck home. The main thing that keeps the PFC online and functioning - even when it is fatigued - is values. What we believe in. We can push the system a little if we decide to act on something other than what we WANT, but rather, what we think is MEANINGFUL. The better we are at keeping that super smart, ethically-driven, complex-thinking, empathic, compassionate and thoughtful part of our mind on line despite stress and fatigue, the fewer people we kill. STAY THE FUCK HOME. These next few weeks are going to be way way way harder than the first few. Stick with it. Maximize your virtual interconnections, your exercise, good food, self care, help of others, sleep, reruns of Friends, whatever it takes...these self-kindnesses will all help the will power fatigue from eating your brain. Stay. The. Fuck. Home. #HST643 -many locations in the us opening up. facebook post-creator of diagram unknown. posted to the profile of a friend of the Contributor. *graph added as an illustration to a social mediapost

Poem about isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PUBLISHED TUE, APR 28 20202:45 PM CNBC.COM. Key Points • Vice President Mike Pence toured the Mayo Clinic without a mask despite that renowned medical facility requiring all visitors to wear masks to avoid potentially spreading the coronavirus. • Pence, who leads the White House’s coronavirus task force, when asked about going unmasked, said that he is regularly tested for the virus, and so far has been shown to be negative for it. • Donald Trump has said that he will not wear a mask, even as more than 1 million Americans have contracted the virus that causes Covid-19.

A plethora of graduation decorations I acquired in order to celebrate my husband's canceled college graduation from home. Being the first in his family to graduate from college deserved to be celebrated, even if in our own backyard.

This is the mask station we have created near the door. It has everything we need to streamline the process of PPE both leaving and coming back in the house. There is a bag with coffee filters to use as mask filters plus a pair of scissors to cut them and medical tape for the bridge of our noses ; my partner and I wear glasses and this prevents fogging. There are hangers for drying masks when they have been boiled and a reclaimed cell phone holder we call "The Mask-ed Man" that holds masks which are ready to be worn. We have already collected several different styles of mask from homemade to bought on Etsy to made by a large swimwear company to a scarf repurposed for emergencies. It still takes at least 5 minutes to get out the door now and 15 to come back in but this little station has made it a bit more convenient.

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