Coronavirus Diaries

Interesting things today, Wednesday 4/1/2020

I had a really rough morning. Incredibly angry at people who aren't modifying their behavior to slow the spread of the virus; completely out of patience with M4A deniers; completely out of patience with Biden voters; done with lame arguments against the policies that will save human beings. Wanting sincerely to hurt those who are profiting on this current system.

It's so odd because I went to bed last night feeling so differently--focused on the commonality of all of us who are struggling to live through this.

Nothing happened to cause that white hot anger. It made me wonder if I'm trying to keep myself overly-occupied with student work, sanitizing the house, texting friends, co-workers, and family to just avoid reality.

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Reality was 15 people dotting the sidewalk in front of Trader Joe's yesterday and we moved forward six steps at a time as each of us was admitted to the store after a 2 minute greeting/tutorial by a kid who looked like a younger brother of Oscar Issac with a startling gleaming smile--but he was all business.

They'd hastily purchased five identical instant pop-up shelters from the adjacent sporting goods store, who had their own oddly spaced line outside.

They let 40 of us in at a time, and it was weirdness inside. Perfectly spaced ballet of grocery nabbing, embarrassing over-kindness, otherwordy almost Japanese bowing for space-infractions.

Plus, no A2 milk or anti-bacterial anything and their romaine was orange-y hued on the ribs, so nooo. I'm doubly concerned about my food. I'm picking up items with cloth gloves and secretly cringing when I feel dampness through the gloves. I think that's irrational. Existence is irrational.

I'm flashing back on an exchange I had with my daughter:
Her: Thank god you didn't show up and demand I get in your car!
Me: (pause) Would you if I did?
Her: (pause) ...no.
Me: (constantly thinking that was a cry for help and I should get I the car.)

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But, then, as I fielded questions and assignment submissions and a never-ending onslaught of yet more new information from the Department of Education, I calmed down. Stopped hating so much, but if I were to be introduced to a Big Pharma CEO, I would rip his face off of his skull.

So, I'm feeling much better.

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I liked Cuomo today. He said a few things I really loved.
We have to stop farming our manufacturing out to other countries. We have to stop relying on other countries and make our own ****.

Other adjustments will have to go along with that.
Companies will have to invest much more of their profits to paying their employees, so we they can get a living wage.

Greed has to be over.
There has to be one set of rules for everybody. People who hide profits need to go to the same prisons as everybody else. (That one's me)

Back to Cuomo--We're headed toward a new normal and we have to think of what that's going to look like and how we'll have to create systems to support it. <---I really liked that!

He said that we have to emerge from this learning from this lessons taught by this catastrophe and with ideas to avoid them and create our new normal.

The best thing I've heard from anyone other than Bernie Sanders who had plans to get there before this pandemic.

So I am sitting her working minding my own business when the dog starts barking and we hear a knock on the door. My husband goes and looks and said someone just left beer on our porch. I looked out the front window and I say - well there is a car in our driveway ---- and then I spy my neighbor across the street come running over.

Oh it got to him - I tell my husband it is R's - (of course) - I said they probably delivered to the wrong spot - tell him he needs to leave us half. He did leave us a few for payment.

Are churches in the US closed? Australia closed all houses or worship a couple weeks ago.

Catholic and Orthodox churches have been closed by their church leaders. Otherwise, it varies from state to state. Incredibly, some states have exempted churches from their "stay at home" orders. New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, California, Louisiana, and Ohio have all either exempted churches or have designated them "essential." According to Buzzfeed (which cites its sources), 22% of Americans say they have been encouraged to attend worship services because of the virus! The same poll says that 17% of Americans say they intend to continue to attend services. Buzzfeed names the "political scientists" who conducted the poll, which has a 3% margin of error.

This is beyond my comprehension. Maybe they're in hurry to meet Jesus.

Or maybe they're like Goldman and think that if they pray hard enough the virus wont touch them.

No wonder the US has become epicentre. Do they they not understand that the more they pray, the more people will die? Or are the religious that selfish that they just don’t care?

One of the most confounding peripheral news items is these idiots.
I'm having a hard time with my level of anger toward people BBQing, actually having coronavirus parties. Now, there are churches that are in defiance of the safety precautions--leading their poor ignorant parishioners to infect one another and their innocent children... For what? Shaking their fists at...who?
Party on.

Yes at least where I am and in most places - all virtual

According to today's news, churches and other religious facilities in the USA will be allowed to remain open in more than half of the states that are the most vulnerable to coronavirus, often with special exemptions to mandated closures of nonessential businesses.

Cherrie, it's worse than that with Goldman. He has stated that because of his religious virtue, God will protect him. Then he cites some goofy scripture.

Wilso:



Probably a combination of the two. Anyway, Jebus will protect them because they voted for President Plump.

We have had f***ing televangelists for decades. I don't see the problem.

Actually many are closed - it is more the few outliers in states (like Florida) where they are allowing them to be open many are volunteering to close (those that are common sense). MA has been closed once they started no large gatherings - same as all other businesses.

Whether they are essential or not - they are supposed to still follow same protocol as other essential businesses - meaning only so many individuals in the place; 6 feet apart, etc.

There are still some doing business as usual but my take is these are the "goldman's" of churches that are still open and holding services as previous.

My church when this first broke did hold a service (this was before everything was closed) but even then they had it set up so families sat a good distance from each other, everything was cleaned prior to the service - etc. The following week they closed like everyone else and set up virtual services.

More they pray isn't going to cause more people to die - gathering in large groups is - there is no reason you need to go to church to pray. This is not religious selfishness...this is outlier groups that are stupid. You are finding them in all walks of life - the roof top partiers you noted, the college kids still going to spring break, the people in the grocery store that walk right up near you, etc

Responsible churches have closed their doors and have encouraged their parishioners to practice all the safe habits that are recommended.

My take on those states that are allowing churches to be open while other businesses are required to be closed -- they are worried about the premise of having church and state separate so they feel they have no authority - just my personal take on it as I cannot imagine that any reasonable person no matter their beliefs would encourage such a gathering.

Suddenly, masks.

My son told me last night to drive over and get an N-95 respirator face mask. Those have been impossible to buy for a couple of weeks. Last night, I started an order for a non-medical set of masks and delivery was scheduled for June.... I complained about it to friends who said orders they'd made weeks ago were canceled recently. My son said we won't be getting them now.

So, I'm going to make masks. I don't have a sewing machine and I'd probably sew myself to something if I did, but thankfully, there are easy DIY Youtube videos for non-sewing people. Have gluegun; will plug it in.

I've watched several videos with good ideas and I'm planning today to synthesize ideas to suit my preferences. (I'm not taking my son's filters. He has a family of 3, he thought ahead and ordered these in JANUARY and I won't take one.)

The cool thing about some of these DIY face masks is they incorporate pockets to slip in disposable air conditioner HEPA filters or cut squares of vacuum cleaner bags with HIGH filtration (up to 3 microns in size) .

We may have been looking oddly at people wearing masks to this point like they were overreacting. It may be mandatory soon to wear masks in public.

Things to consider:

1. Check all seals on everything you buy in a store. People are opening items, spitting in or licking and putting them back on the shelves. I was going to bring videos, but all you have to do is google.

2. Don't pick up items in stores with your bare hands.

3. It is suggested that we should try even more seriously to limit time outside our homes, specifically during the next three weeks. Stock up more on canned foods and frozen and packaged foods. I'm going today and I plan to do my best to get enough horrible food to last me at least two weeks. How I hate to utter that sentence, but I think we may enter into a period of unprecedented social unrest.

4. It is suggested that you re-double your efforts to safeguard from theft--all the routines and procedures we all know to dissuade car break-ins, home break-ins, check your windows, check your bank account daily, go out during the day--not at night and only if you have to, etc. These next 2 - 3 weeks in the US will probably be like nothing any of us have experienced stateside.

5. And, thinking of my daughter and so many like her who deal with anxiety, inform yourself, take precautions, set up your Self Care procedures and non-negotiables, but don't dwell on this. Cook, facetime with friend and family, take long luxurious baths, write that short-story, read that classic book list, make masks for medical personnel... Keep in mind to try to own your response--don't be owned by this situation.

6. Deep breathing with movement of tapping seems to be a good thing to do.

What are you doing? How are you coping? Want to vent? What worries you?

This is a leader. Gov Charlie Baker, MA.

I am carefully following the stay at home order out of patriotism; a sense of duty to the society at large. It helps me to think of it this way.

I am not worrying about contracting the virus for myself (not that I want to have the virus). Like anything else, I take my own risk in stride. If after doing everything I can I still get the virus, so be it. Life is uncertain, I am aging and am high risk for a couple of diseases (none of which are exacerbated by covid19). I am at high risk for a certain type of cancer and I had a biopsy scheduled which is now canceled. Worrying about any of this doesn't help me.

It helps my mental health to make this distinction.

One thing I noticed with everyone being home 24/7 - including my daughter who is away half the year in college.

I have been running the dishwasher much more often.
I have been running out of food much more quickly - I bought the extra large box of cereal -- it is almost gone; drinks, bread, eggs, milk, fruit - pretty much everything is running out significantly more quickly than before.

I guess this is all due to everyone being home - eating every meal at home with the addition of one more person.

I better plan my fewer grocery runs much better.

Sounds like you’re able to compartmentalize pretty well. I think that really helps in crisis.