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Life during COVID-19 Update: March 20th, 2020

March 20, 2020July 25, 2020 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

Today it is cloudy and rainy in Salt Lake City, kind of beautiful and kind of doomy. But there have been very few and very small aftershocks from the earthquake on Wednesday. As of this morning, I don’t think I’ve felt any aftershocks or noticed any so I am relieved.

I found out through the Department of Workforce Services that I am eligible for unemployment, it will not be a lot but it is something. It does not give me any information on my Unemployment page about when to expect my first check or anything related to that but I did apply for one Technical Writer position (remote of course) already this morning using the DWS Job Search.

Starting yesterday I am compiling a list of venmo links of my fellow employees at Squatters. On Sunday I will be posting a list of individual venmo links. My restaurant family is large and so many of us are full-time restaurant employees. For most of us our primary income source is working at Squatters. I believe that giving $ directly via venmo to those in need right now helps faster than unemployment/grants/aid funds. For a lot of us our rent is due April 1st with no exceptions to the current events.

(As for me, I luckily paid an extra month of rent only a week before all of this went down just because I could at the time. I am more worried about my friends.)

What else do I have planned today?

Completing required reading/assignments for my (now online) Westminster Poetry Workshop

Setting up my mic/camera so I can start recording videos of myself reading/talking about poetry (I plan on posting those regularly)

Making Art/Making Music

and HAVING FUN!

This has been a crazy week and I feel like I’m still trying to catch up with everything. Keeping tabs on the spread of COVID-19, looking for jobs, and checking the Utah earthquake maps. It is a lot but I don’t feel doomed or sad during this time. I am focused on working hard and staying in touch with everyone in my life.

If you’re interested in helping me out, I am offering POETRY for $ at this time.

Thank you to everyone who is reading, following, taking time out of your day to read about mine. Stay safe and stay well out there and good luck!

–Alina

For continuous updates on what I’m doing follow me on instagram.com/@ahappyhansen

Want to become one of my Patrons? Go to my page here and join a tier. All patrons regardless of Tier have access to all of my patron-only content right now! Tiers start at $3/month! I will also send you via snailmail a handwritten personalized Poem + Thank you card for becoming a patron.

Become a Subscriber! Get notified when new posts are published plus once a week I will send content just for you: poem, personal update, reading list, writing tips and more!

Liked this blog post? Check out these:

Life During COVID-19 (5/30/2020): Reflection on George Floyd, Protests Turned Riots and Growing Tensions in the U.S.(Opens in a new browser tab)

Life during COVID-19 Personal Update: March 25th, 2020(Opens in a new browser tab)

Life During COVID-19 (5/5/2020): Tutoring, Freelancing on Fiverr and Job Searching(Opens in a new browser tab)

SUPPORT ALINA: POETRY FOR $

March 19, 2020July 25, 2020 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

UPDATE: As of 4/17/2020, I have completed 15 POEMS for $! THANK YOU!

poem 1 — Original personalized handwritten poem “Summer Days” by Alina Happy Hansen for an Anonymous Supporter

AS OF MARCH 16th, 2020 DUE TO THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 AND THE CLOSURE OF ALL RESTAURANTS AND BARS IN SALT LAKE CITY UTAH FOR 30 DAYS, I HAVE NO INCOME SOURCE (I WORK FULL-TIME IN A LOCAL PUB BREWERY).

20200322_175024 — Original personalized handwritten poem “Dance With You” by Alina Happy Hansen for an Anonymous Supporter

UPDATE: On Friday, March 20th, I was officially LAID OFF INDEFINITELY from my job at Squatters Pub Brewery in Downtown Salt Lake City. They gave us no financial compensation and LAID OFF approximately 98% of staff including management.

poem 2 support march 20 2020 — Original personalized handwritten poem “Hey Man” by Alina Happy Hansen for an Anonymous Supporter

UPDATE: I received my first unemployment check on March 31st! This has helped so much. My unemployment check is not a lot a mere $270 (after taxes) but it helps pay the bills and buy food right now while I apply for online jobs.

I am currently looking for Remote work only in the following fields: copywriter, content writing, web content writer, freelance writer, technical writing, SEO marketing writer, journalist etc.

Until I get back on my feet, I am offering personalized handwritten poems to anyone who sends me any $ during this time. Any amount I would be deeply grateful for and would help me survive this next month.

When donating via Venmo, please put your email address and “poem/poetry” in the comment/’paid for’ section so I can contact you and send you your personalized poem. I send a scanned copy of your poem to you via email (pdf/jpeg), then (if you’re comfortable with it) I mail out your poem with a thank you card within 24-48 hours after I email your scanned copy.

venmo.com/alinahappyhansen93

If you are interested in helping out other service industry/restaurant employees during this time of hardship, I have posted Venmo links of all my fellow employees (who want to participate) that desperately need any $ help right now. My main concern is for my fellow employees: servers, bartenders, expos, bussers, etc who worked at Squatters Pub Brewery and Wasatch Brew Pub.

Any help $ I deeply appreciate, Thank you so much.

Cheers!

–Alina Happy Hansen

Become a Subscriber! Get notified when new posts are published plus once a week I will send content just for you: poem, personal update, reading list, writing tips and more!

Liked this blog post? Check out these:

Life during COVID-19 (4/13/20): Poetry for $ and more poems(Opens in a new browser tab)

Life During COVID-19 (4/21/2020): Poetry, Sylvia Plath and My Novel(Opens in a new browser tab)

Life During COVID-19 (4/7/2020): Unemployment, Poetry for $ and Staying Positive(Opens in a new browser tab)

Life during Coronavirus: March 16th, 2020 Personal Update

March 16, 2020July 25, 2020 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

Wow, here we go. It’s Monday and the start of a new week. The world is going on lockdown thanks to Coronavirus and I am trying to stay as up to date as possible on what is happening; the sick and death counts, and travel restrictions. These are now days of quarantine, working from home, and online schooling.

My Poetry Workshop has transitioned to online-only until further notice. I recently registered for online classes at my local community college for this summer (I am pursuing an Associates of Applied Science in Music Recording Technology). As for work, my primary source of income is my job at a Brew Pub in downtown Salt Lake. Yesterday, the Pub closed after lunch shift (Saturday we closed an hour early, Friday we closed three hours early). After hearing about the bars and restaurants closing in L.A. and New York, it is not a matter of ‘if’ it happens in Salt Lake City but when.

I have already started looking for online jobs and I’ve been applying to part-time work at nearby grocery stores since I am thinking they may be the best option for in-person work in the future.

These are interesting times and I don’t think this is all going to ‘blow over’ anytime soon. I am expecting a couple months of this at least but this is just my personal opinion.

What I think is important right now for everyone is staying calm and being kind. Even though everyone should be practicing social distancing and ideally staying at home to self-quarantine, I think being kind is key.

I’ve been seeing a lot of people taking walks, couples, and families walking their dogs around our neighborhood. Everyone appears restless and worried but I believe it is crucial we are kind and calm and we communicate with each other, we must stay connected. We are all trying to deal with what is happening and the worst thing we can do is turn on one another and completely isolate ourselves from what’s happening.

I know that all I’ve been posting lately are my poems and I haven’t done any updates about my Novel or anything else but it is because I’ve been so busy with personal and work life. Now that everything’s going to be put on hold, I feel like I’m going to have plenty of time to write posts including my day to day updates, poems, album reviews, and updates on the progress of my Novel.

Also, to keep myself entertained I have started a Coronavirus-inspired playlist on Spotify. Got to keep the mood light and have a laugh, have fun, and enjoy ourselves. Laughter and joy keep us together and keep us sane.

Listen to my DontBeACovidBeeotch playlist.

Keep Calm and Carry On my friends, we’ll get through this.

CHEERS!

Alina

Become a Subscriber! Get notified when new posts are published plus once a week I will send content just for you: poem, personal update, reading list, writing tips and more!