I think it’s safe to say that no one really thought we’d be HERE in 2020. When Globey and I kicked off the year with the 2020 Carnival Forecast we were gearing up for non-stop vibes. No way in hell did we see Rona coming to fakk everything up in the months to come. I will say this though. I am grateful AF to be done with all surgeries and hospital visits. Because who had time to be sitting up in Mass General with Rona all over the place? Not this girl. Actually, even worse…who had time for cancelled surgeries?! Not me! Whew…I dodged some serious bullets.
I’ll be honest (per usual), I have mixed feelings about all of this. The frugal-hermit inside of me is excited to be working from home, and saving loads of money due to social isolation. I don’t think you understand how excited I am to NOT have to pay the $500 balance for my Bahamas carnival costume, or pay for the second leg of my flight. On the flip side, I am pretty bummed that our Chain Up Gang reunion was just shitted on by Rona and her foolishness. It was going to be a priceless-wotless time with some of my favorite feters on yet another beautiful Caribbean island. Now it’s dry city.
Again, we are here now and there is no need crying over spilled hand sanitizer (well maybe some tears). No matter how unfortunate and inconvenient things are, we have to adjust to the crazy times if we want to keep safe and protect our communities from further spread of COVID-19.
I’m sure like me, some of your carnival events have been cancelled or postponed. Today I spent a good portion of my morning making adjustments to numerous travel plans. Since I just went through this process I thought it only right to remind you of what to do, just in case something slipped your mind.
Cancel/change reservations for flights, lodging, transportation and make-up appointments | Due to Rona, many companies have implemented lenient policies to lessen the financial blow for consumers. Some airlines may only allow you to get a credit for your purchase, while others may refund you in full via the same method of payment you used for the purchase.
Airbnb is allowing full refunds if you purchased by a certain date AND if your stay is before a certain date. To be quite frank, I’m not very pleased with the way Airbnb is handling this. These hosts are showing their greed.
Request fete ticket refunds | So far I haven’t encountered any issues getting my refunds back. Be careful when you read the notices from promoters. Many of them will leave out information about getting refunded so it’s up to you to read carefully AND read between the lines. If you know for a fact that you can attend the event for the rescheduled date then by all means, keep your ticket. Just know that at some point you won’t be able to get a refund.
Decide the fate of your costume | If you’ve paid your costume in full then you indeed have a few options. Do you sell it yourself? Should you have the band sell it (if that’s an option)? Do you take the loss or go to the rescheduled carnival date? QTNA! If you’re like me and have only put $100 down for each costume then I think you’re in a better position.
Cancel your PTO requests | As someone who only had ONE measly PTO day left through July, I was beyond excited to redeem my unused vacation days in the system. However, where TF am I going?! It’s work from home central for at least another month with schools being shut down. Either way, it still feels good to take my days back lol.
On a serious note, all-yuh please take care of yourselves. Here are some super helpful videos to watch if you haven’t seen them already. I highly recommend following the accounts of the doctors featured in these videos. While I am certainly not a news watching woman by nature, I have made an effort to tune into the media outlets these past few weeks. Why? Because I want to be fully in the know about this life altering circumstance. Please do the same! I know it’s a lot of information but we have to educate ourselves periodttt!
Dr. Phililip Coombs (Jamaica): Strengthening Our Immune System
Dr. Jen Caudle: “Getting Corona Virus Does Necessarily Mean You’re Going to Die”
Be safe beloveds….
