Self-quarantine, huh?
Sounds like just another day that ends in Y for me. Pretty much anyway.
I can't say I've never been so happy to work from home (see all of 2019) but this is definitely another notch in the reasons to work from home category.
The downside of working from home is when you do feel under the weather it can be hard to take the day off. It's not impossible, just always feels a little weird. But yeah, I got this self-quarantine thing down. Easy peasy.
I'll admit I've been a little slow to take this seriously. Like many, I thought it was being blown out of proportion. People hoarding toilet paper for a bad cold? What the hell?
But each day I would wake up and read reports from overseas. Italy shut down. And suddenly I started to feel like one of those people in the zombie movies that doesn't take it seriously and dies within the first 30 minutes.
But I still didn't rush to the grocery store.
And then my own toilet paper supply got low. And I started thinking about what if I did get quarantined for 2 weeks? What would I eat? I don't have a lot of storage for food so I tend to buy exactly what I need and I get take out a lot when Rob comes over. But what if my city were to go on lockdown? I'm betting food delivery would stop.
And then I got an email from my apartment complex saying they were monitoring the situation closely and that if there were any reported cases in the complex we would likely be quarantined. And I'm fairly certain that definitely means food delivery stops.
And then I woke up and read Disney World and Universal Studios were shutting down for two weeks and shit got real. I mean, Disney World closing? That never happens.
So I finally went grocery shopping. And I'm not hoarding food or toilet paper or anything but I definitely bought enough to last several weeks. In fact, I had a hard time putting it all away. I have food on top of my dryer at the moment because I have nowhere else to put it.
But I forgot trash bags and I am on my last one so I guess I'll have to get back out there again.
Rob and I also went to the Pub Thursday night but haven't been back since because now I'm starting to get a little panic-y. Let's call it an abundance of caution. I'm even tempted to tell him to stay away for a while except I don't really want to. But he is definitely more exposed on a daily basis than I am.
Except by seeing him on a near daily basis, I am now exposed to everyone he is exposed to, right?
It's so complicated.
Also I am out of contacts and I put off my eye exam and now I don't think I should go get an eye exam just because I am vain and don't want to wear my glasses and it isn't like anyone is seeing me right now anyway. Besides, Kim says she's been really busy because everyone is getting their eyes checked which is weird but I guess if it's the end of times everyone wants to be able to see it coming.
I immediately thought of the Twilight Zone episode. If you are old, like me, you know the one. And if you don't, here's the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAxARJyaTEA
Luckily for me, I can see up close without contacts/glasses. At least for now.
Yesterday I re-posted a Facebook post from an exchange student from Jana's year. She went to Hutto High School too and friended me before arriving so she could get in touch with Jana and maybe be friends before school started.
Anyway, Giulia is in Italy. And she said they didn't take it seriously at first either. And now Italy is a ghost town and every night at 6:00 the whole country gathers in front of their TVs to learn what the new death toll is that day.
So I reached out to my European friends to check on them. And everyone is good so far. And Charlotte in Paris just said she is working from home and they expect the government to tell them to stay home for 45 days starting today.
Forty. Five. Days.
I do not have enough food for that.
And I'm not trying to be flippant. Quite the opposite. I find myself wondering if I should go buy more food. It'd have to be dried goods now because my tiny freezer is full. But I definitely don't have enough food to last for 45 days.
Do you?
And I'm not trying to start a panic or anything - that's Paris. But I can't help but wonder if I need to be more prepared. I want to be prepared but I don't want to over prepare and I don't know what to do. I have all this food but I'm sort of afraid to eat it since I can still get delivery or go out and maybe I should take advantage of that while I can?
Do I sound crazy? I'm starting to feel a little crazy.
I think there can be a fine line between being prepared and hoarding. I'm trying not to cross it.
And I do worry about the economy too. Quarantines will hurt a lot of small businesses that can't sustain without money coming in daily. I'm already seeing it impact some of my friends. I don't think the government will bail out small businesses. They only seem to care about the big businesses. You know, the ones that could probably take care of their own if the CEOs didn't make so much money.
Not that I know what I'm talking about. Truly. It just stands to reason that if people can't leave their homes for an extended period of time, then they aren't going shopping or out to eat. And those businesses can't keep paying employees or keep their doors open if there is no one to come in. So what happens? People are going to lose their jobs. People will lose their businesses.
Ugh. I hate this. How long will this go on? Should I cancel my May travel plans?
I wish we could all be well. I wish they would create a vaccine/find a cure quickly so that we can all stop worrying. I wish that life could go back to normal for everyone.
Unfortunately that doesn't seem likely.
Stay safe everyone. Stay healthy. Be smart. Be prepared. I love you.
#stilllucky #justdifferent #definitelybetter #2020 #coronavirus #covid-19 #selfquarantine #beprepared