Totes productive Sunday afternoon…

Posted on May 3, 2020 by A Dreamer

I have a household to-do list that is a mile and a few more miles long.

So, this morning, I got up, brewed some coffee and watched the BBC world news and some other TV for a while.

Then took a nap for about two hours once we hit the actual afternoon hours.  (It was great, even with weird nap dreams.)

Then spent about three hours on the front porch drinking beer and getting pleasantly, mildly shitfaced while watching everyone out walking and being healthy.

Of course, during this period was the first time I have talked to my neighbors immediately across the street since this all started.

Of course, I had to check that they are OK on paper towels & toilet paper.

Because while I may be a total fuckup getting a wee bit day drunk on a Sunday afternoon – I am a fuckup with a good supply of paper towels & toilet paper, and that’s not nothing these days.

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Bleah…

Posted on May 2, 2020 by A Dreamer

I have to run errands today. It’ll do me good to get out of the house, but it’s a hassle I’m not totally in the mood for just yet. I probably need more coffee.

Just went out to start my car since it seems like it’s been forever, but looking at my list of where I’ve been, I guess it was only Monday? The good news is that the car did start!

With the meat case at the grocery store being so hit or miss (and possibly taking another panic hit with all the reports of meat processing plants being closed) I know I can’t count on the pickup service for it, especially since they don’t appear to be any substitutions going on.

So, in person marketing today to see what the meat case has to offer, and grab a couple things that didn’t make the last pickup. (I still don’t believe they ran out of orange marmalade of all things, but OK.) Annnnd I just looked at the site and they’re limiting meat purchases, so I’m guessing it will be totally wiped out when I go in – or maybe it will be OK because folks won’t be able to buy 20 pounds of porkchops in a single go. We’ll see.

I’ll still keep Tuesday’s pickup order, as we’ll be right at the point of needing milk & coke, and even if I drop the meat items off the order, it will be easy enough to get back to the $30 minimum via BEER!

And if the meat case is decimated, it’s off to the proper butcher shop. It’s more expensive, but it’s insanely good quality, it’s a great local business, and they have things in stock. I usually reserved a trip to their shop for special occasions, but if a pandemic doesn’t count as a special occasion, I don’t know what does.

I went to their Facebook page to see if there were any operating changes, and they are requiring all folks to be masked up in the store and have them if you don’t have one. Fine by me. One of the first comments was “Well, you’ve lost my business!” – it was reassuring to see the near universal response of “Welp, bye Coronavirus Karen!”

No one I know enjoys wearing masks out and about. It’s weird and can be claustrophobic. It can feel like plague theatre because of all the mixed messages we’ve gotten on them over the past 3 months. But it’s also a very easy thing to do and it’s not going to hurt, that’s for sure. Just do it.

It’s so weird to have to put so much thought and planning into something as seemingly simple and ordinary as grocery shopping. (I can hear my grandmother’s voice going, WELL DURING THE WAR… Yes, gran, I know.)

But, there will be a treat at the end of all this today. POTBELLY! (It’s right next to the butcher shop, and even if I don’t have to go to the butcher shop today, it’s still happening.) So, since everything went to shit on 3/13, we’ve gotten takeaway 3 other times. I got Potbelly on 3/14 after a day very much like today of “will there be anything in the meat case?” and I was sad and hungry and exhausted. My brother got donuts the next morning (and that was the last time he went anywhere.) And pizza about two weeks ago. I know we should probably be taking more advantage of all the takeout options available, but at the same time, I’m weirdly proud of all our eating in?

And then the other big exciting plan for the day is some trial hair dying. BWAHAHAHA, my hairstylist is gonna hate me when this is all over.

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IT’S FRIDAY!!

Posted on May 1, 2020 by A Dreamer

And somehow, it’s May? Because March taking approximately 10 months and April lasting a week and a half is totally on brand for 2020.

Virginia has said we can go back to the dentist now. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Hard pass on that for the time being. I know, it’s weird that I am not interested in having someone’s hands in my mouth for an hour or two.

I also think I’ve hit the point where if I hear someone say “we’re in this together” again, I think I’m going to lose my shit, because clearly we are NOT. Regular people are turning themselves inside out to try and help others. And then there are folks with a fuckton of resources, or who can direct fucktons of resources, who haven’t done shit.

And then there is this in Georgia:

If you didn’t think all we did was look out for the investor class and a certain segment of the white folks in this country before now, I do hope that this pandemic has cleared things up for you.

And then we have Lindsey Graham, who doesn’t understand how unemployment works to start with, and thinks if you get paid more on unemployment than at your job, that the problem couldn’t possibly be that you’re fucking underpaid:

This while the Senate doctor has said they don’t have enough tests for all the members when they come back, so he may get his dead bodies wish. :/ I’m guessing he won’t be in favor of any additional direct payments to folks either, even though they are really needed – but with states opening up again, against all common sense and science, I’m guessing we won’t even see it. (And if they do another round, FFS, don’t means test it on 2018/19 income, that is completely meaningless at this point.)

May that man spend the rest of his life stepping on Legos when barefoot, or in cat puke while in socks, and never know a moment of peace or joy.

The meat processing plants… I don’t understand how management looks at what is happening in the world and doesn’t immediately call in whatever the polar opposite of McKinsey is and say “OK, how do we make this as safe as possible” and then JUST DOING IT, but instead, just keep going on until everyone in their damn plants and communities are infected and dying. OK, I do understand, but JFC. They could have just come out and said, “We have to slow down processing so we can keep everyone safe *and* get you porkchops and chicken breasts” but I guess that is a bridge too far.

On a more upbeat note – YOU MADE IT TO FRIDAY, WELL DONE!! Lily is very proud of you. Go be your kickass self from the safe confines of your home, or at the proper distance if you have to go out.

Lily, a black and orange tortoiseshell cat, sitting on a dresser.

You are here, that’s awesome.

 

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It’s Hump Daaaaaaay!!

Posted on April 29, 2020 by A Dreamer

We are up to day… 48, wow. I miss having plans.

Yesterday, I realized one of the reasons I’m not keen on quick reopenings, beyond the obvious reasons of folks getting sick & dying. The faster we reopen, the less likely we are to get any of the structural change we need (and have needed for YEARS) in this country. I can see politicians just going, “But look, we got through it, we don’t need M4A/UBI/worker protections, cause America, Fuck Yeah!”

Yesterday I also made the HUGE mistake of looking up how much our parent company reported for net income in 2019 and how much was paid out in dividends. Someone has been eating a shit ton of avocado toast around here given the hits the employees are having to take. (Yes, I am still s bitter bunny on that.)

In other pandemic news, REI STOP TELLING ME ABOUT ALL THE GREAT SALES ON AWESOME THINGS, PLEASE. I HAVE NO DISPOSABLE INCOME FOR THE NEXT SIX MONTHS.

Alrighty, you have a good day, survive this shit. I’m gonna go try and make money and burn down capitalism at the same time.

Hang in there.

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It occurs to me

Posted on April 28, 2020 by A Dreamer

That if I wrote as much when things are NOT a total shitshow, I could have like, 12 novels written. Oh well, weird coping mechanisms FTW here.

This morning the IHME site is now saying Virginia could ease restrictions as soon as May 27th vs the earlier June 4th date.

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Seriously, IMHE boos, I thought we had an understanding?!

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Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want my out of the house entertainment to be perpetually limited to the grocery store, but… While Virginia hasn’t been slacking, but we were a little late to the stay at home party, and testing isn’t where it needs to be, and I just don’t know if we can really get there in a month.

Maybe it just doesn’t feel like we’ve actually done that much – sitting around and not going anywhere but the grocery store isn’t that hard, and it doesn’t feel like it accomplishes anything. (I know it *does*, but it’s just so passive, it doesn’t feel like much.)

Well, off to test software and pretend everything is normal.

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Slight tactical error

Posted on April 27, 2020 by A Dreamer

On grocery pickup. Should have done a midday pickup vs evening, as things are more likely to still be in stock.

And I’m not sure they’re actually doing substitutions right now, even though my account is set for it, cause I’m pretty sure they would have subbed out the yellow plastic cups for another color. (Kicker, everything that was out of stock is still showing available online…) I am guessing they’re so overwhelmed with these orders that they just don’t even have time to try and do subs, and if they don’t see something on the shelf at first glance, there is just not time to go searching for it.

I’ll may give it another whirl, cause it is convenient and a timesaver, but it may be less frustrating to just go inside and do my own subs on the fly like I do any other day, and leave the slot for someone who simply cannot go in.

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HOW IS IT MONDAY ALREADY?

Posted on April 27, 2020 by A Dreamer

Seriously, HOW?? Yes, I know how time works, but we just did a Monday like, 3 days ago.

And my brother just finished the pot of coffee I made. ACK. At least I realized it before I went back to get a second cup. Kettle is back on and we’ll just start work a few minutes later than usual. (Hey, we’re in a pandemic, they’ll have to understand I had to make more coffee, LOL. Plus, my ‘late’ is still early, cause that’s how I roll.) And he did clean the pot out, so, points for him.

The weekend just wasn’t really restful enough, and I didn’t sleep particularly well last night to boot, so I’m again staring down the work week with bleary eyes and a foggy brain. Super performer, that’s me.

I was thinking about how things are going to eventually reopen, and how I’m feeling a bit twitchy about it, and wondered, “OK, what business can I look at and say, ‘OK, if they’re open, well, let’s do this.'”

And I can’t think of one. I can’t think of a single business right now that wouldn’t put their employees and customers at risk for the sake of reopening.

And lacking even a temporary UBI, employees are going to be forced to go back to work because the bills aren’t stopping for anyone, and you can’t claim unemployment over an unsafe work environment.

American Exceptionalism, indeed.

Welp, coffee is ready, mug has been refilled, let’s go test some software.

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Day…45? Damn.

Posted on April 26, 2020 by A Dreamer

And it’s a grey, cold, kinda gross day. Which is not awesome in regular times, and worse given that I really should be outside putting together the little greenhouse I ordered, and cleaning out the back of my car so groceries can be loaded into it tomorrow night. But…cold and gross outside.

OK, I went out and rearranged shit in the back of my car for tomorrow night, and FOUND A FOUR PACK OF CHARMIN!!!!!! It must have been from when we went to the beach. (The houses have toilet paper, but we invariably need more, so I usually toss a small pack into the car before we go. GO LAST YEAR ME.) Between this and the 3 pack of Puffs I found last week, I feel like I’m sitting on a goldmine of paper products here.

I had a Reese’s Egg for breakfast…er, lunch, so yeah, all about the healthy eating here.

Dinner tonight is coming straight off the kids menu: Chicken fingers & fries. Sure, they’re FANCY chicken fingers – coated in a mayo/dijon mustard mix and rolled in Italian breadcrumbs w/Parmesan cheese and baked – but chicken fingers nonetheless, LOL.

In other news, I am far too excited about my market reinstating the order online/curbside pickup service now that stock levels aren’t all jacked up. I can continue to tweak the order until noon tomorrow, and you can get beer! (The beer thing is likely not at all new, but it’s quite the novelty for me.)

The IHME heathdata site is saying Virginia can theoretically start relaxing social distancing after June 4th. I like that date a lot more than the May 8th date the Governor was floating on Friday. Granted, I’ll probably be very twitchy no matter what date it ends up being, but it’s something reasonable to look forward to.

And somehow, it is already 4PM. Seems like a good time for a weekend snooze to me.

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Another Saturday

Posted on April 25, 2020 by A Dreamer

Where I woke up FAR too early, and there is a horrific lack of eggs, bacon, breakfast potatoes, and the lovely folks at my local diner.

That being said, if the Governor opened everything up tomorrow, there is no way in hell I’d be going out.

As it is, the Gov is talking about opening some things as soon as the second week of May and I am cringing hard at that. They want 10K tests a day before opening and given our growth rates in testing, we don’t hit that until late May. Plus I want a couple **weeks** of 10K tests, actual contract tracing, and testing of asymptomatic folks before I go wandering about. (Hell, I want random folks picked by zip code and tested just to see.)

The good news is that though our raw numbers seem ugly as fuck, the actual growth rate of cases is going down. In 30 days, we’ve gone from 30% increase/day to under 7%, so that’s definitely something.

Thing is, we still haven’t even hit 1% of the Virginia population tested.

Trying to figure out what numbers will make me feel less twitchy is a hell of a mental exercise.

I really wonder what tics we’re all going to come out of this with that are going to he hella hard to shake.

I think there are going to be a LOT of medical professionals that have a closet at home that is nothing but stockpiled PPE.

I’m already weird about my pantry and freezer stocks, don’t see that sliding anytime soon.

Not at ALL excited about rescheduling my dental cleaning. Someone standing next to me with their hands in my mouth for an hour? NOPE. Not enough nitrous or valium in the world to make that comfortable yet.

Hell, I’m not even sure about getting my hair done. I literally *just* got an email that my salon is tentatively reopening on 5/12. As much as I VERY much need my hair done… I mean, sure, we’ll see, but right now, not so much. That and I have purple color depositing shampoo enroute that may need time to wash out. :-D

Basically, can’t wait for things to open up while I sit here going…

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Watch, I’ll be ready to get out and about just in time for the fall lockdowns.

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Hey, it’s Friday!

Posted on April 24, 2020 by A Dreamer

And you’re here!  Excellent job!

A happy Friday to everyone except that idiot in the Oval Office and everyone who enables him.

I’d been pretty pleased with my very responsible levels of alcohol consumption through this. I am very much enjoying my evening post-work beer, and weekend Irish Coffees, and yes, there has been one shower beer. (That was delightful!) I am really understanding my Dad’s after work cocktail these days, but yeah, we’re all about the moderation here.

Then 45 had his presser yesterday… And I want to just have an entire pitcher of Bloody Marys for breakfast.

I mean, I don’t want to discourage intellectual curiosity. I am sure he heard about the UV disinfecting machines for masks and thought…wait, can that work on a person? It’s actually not a terrible question to ask, especially if you’re not a scientist or doctor. But you ask it BEFORE you go in front of a group of reporters.

The “get disinfectant inside you” comment… That one, well, I got nothing.

My mental health has been pretty good through all this (considering everything) – but knowing how many people we could have saved if we actually had a competent and functioning executive branch is so, so very depressing, and that just gets worse every day.

One of many things I keep coming back to is that if we’d had actual widespread testing & contract tracing so folks *knew* they were positive and could have quarantined right away – first, we would have reduced the positive numbers overall, and with those reduced numbers, we could have had earlier medical intervention for symptomatic patients. (I know there is no actual “treatment” but having folks not go to the ER until they are *having problems breathing* seems…too late.) And less positives means more people still here with us.

Thanks to the GOP, 45, and his followers who just hate science and education and gleefully embrace willful ignorance, we have 50,000 deaths that didn’t have to happen. I will never forgive them for this, I want every one of them voted out of office, and I hope they never know a moment of peace for the rest of their lives.

Yes, if Hillary Clinton was President, we would still have cases. There still would be people who wouldn’t survive. But you can know damn good and well that we’d still have the pandemic office, she would have taken it seriously from the outset, there would be testing levels rivaling South Korea, and I genuinely think everyone’s anxiety levels would be a notch or two lower.

But no, we have the racist moron and his merry band of xenophobic shitbirds.

Take care, and survive this just so you can see this man removed from office.

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