How is the Corona virus affecting your life?

[Myles]

I am curious how everyone is being affected.   The last thread was closed because it kept veering into politics and such. 

So just short updates is all that is needed.

 

I'm still working from the office each day.  Been able to procure plenty of masks, sanitizer and disinfectant for the plant and other plants.  No family members or friends have had the virus yet.  

Not going out much, but been taking walks with my wife and daughters each evening and playing games each night.   

[zep73]

Being anti-social, I'm enjoying this a bit too much. But I've decided on a date to end my bliss: May 10th. On that day I'll give up my isolation, and rejoin this annoying smothering world.

[XenoFish]

I think I've gotten used to it all. Can't really say that it is stressing me out much anymore.

[Stiff]

Still very much...

 

[Davulao]

I've had a lot of time to think during this lock down. Its really opened my eyes. I will be so much more appreciative when this whole thing returns to normal.

[simplybill]

I’m limiting my grocery runs to once every 2 weeks, and today was the day: the Farm + Ranch store had a plastic shield at the cash register, and distance markers to keep people separated. At Walmart, many people wore masks and were good about not bunching up in the aisles. 

What surprised me was seeing elderly folks with no masks. They didn’t seem to be worried at all! 

I downloaded the McDonald’s app so I can order and pay in advance, then merely drive to the window and pick up my cheeseburgers. Life is better with cheeseburgers.

[XenoFish]

2 minutes ago, simplybill said:

Life is better with cheeseburgers.

There is a restaurant about 30-40 minutes down the road from me (mom and pop) place. I swear they have to best burgers I have ever tasted. Their honey mustard sauce is homemade and I love the hell out of it. I hope they'll still be around after all this mess is over. I may have to call them on Friday to see. I could go for one of their cheese burgers. 

[HandsomeGorilla]

If there's any time to stay the hell home, it's now. South Carolina is starting to open back up and people are insane. Earlier, a woman stopped her car in rush hour traffic in the middle of the busiest street in this city to start digging in her purse. 

I'm thrilled to see people start going back to work, but I hope they are smart about this. As for us, we're getting slammed with new work as we really don't have final word on when we'll open yet. All this stuff we were told to "take our time" on suddenly needs be done right away. Hopefully my hours will be normal, soon. 

[Raptor Witness]

19 hours ago, Myles said:

I am curious how everyone is being affected.   The last thread was closed because it kept veering into politics and such. 

So just short updates is all that is needed......

I’m glad that you brought this thread back. Perhaps we should Dog pile anyone who tries to D rail the thread, again.

I’ve started finding small quantities of disinfectant hand soap at retailers, limit one, which is reasonable.

A few days ago I had an interesting experience where some guy was behind me in line at a retailer, and he was on the phone with; I believe the Health Department, complaining that he had attempted to see a physician, but was turned away because he had an upper respiratory illness.

He said that he knew he did not have COVID-19, and was certain of it, and just needed some antibiotics for his yearly condition.

I don’t know what advice he was given over the phone, but he wasn’t making any headway our progress, seeing a doctor, which I found odd. When I told the story to my spouse, she said that he should go to the emergency room, which made sense to me but it seems like a fairly expensive alternative to basic care.

My guess is, he didn’t have a very good relationship with a local doctor, which is a mistake, but fairly common, especially for men of a certain age.

At any rate, the gentleman was coughing, without a mask, and telling other people in line that he just had a standard upper respiratory infection, but of course that just made people more nervous.

The whole routine seemed a bit odd from several standpoints, and I say routine because we do have people out there who feel like this virus is a comedy show. For example, I had one lady laugh uncontrollably when she saw my rather square type safety goggles on, at a Home Depot, recently. Were I not a generally good natured person, I’m sure I would’ve had something ugly to say to her, but the truth is, everyone manages stress a little different, and some people choose laughter over depression, and who can argue with that?

Target still has zero stocks of TP, and paper towels, which I find strange. Surely all the hoarding of those items, must be over with, by now? If not, why not?

[+susieice]

@F3SS  We're hearing now that you and your crew can return to work on May 1. Stay safe out there!

https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/coronavirus/2020/04/construction-in-pa-can-begin-before-state-reopens-wolf-says.html?utm_campaign=lehighvalleylivecom_sf&utm_medium=social&utm_content=lvl_facebook_lehighvalleylivecom&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1Ekc5KX2pewitsS-6h07D_DDbfT3WyS9F3w2NKWgIPfU7ELKoN8q68ZTw

[Myles]

25 minutes ago, Raptor Witness said:

 

Target still has zero stocks of TP, and paper towels, which I find strange. Surely all the hoarding of those items, must be over with, by now? If not, why not?

That is odd.  I've heard most stores have good stock now.  A coworker told me Sams Club had plenty when he was there over the weekend.  I'm still over a month away from needing any TP.  

 

[Raptor Witness]

17 hours ago, Not Your Huckleberry said:

If there's any time to stay the hell home, it's now. South Carolina is starting to open back up and people are insane.

South Carolina, especially coastal communities like Myrtle Beach, are in deep trouble right now.

Foresight is a gift that few men are given.

Edited April 23, 2020 by Raptor Witness

[Raptor Witness]

48 minutes ago, Myles said:

That is odd.  I've heard most stores have good stock now.  A coworker told me Sams Club had plenty when he was there over the weekend.  I'm still over a month away from needing any TP.  

 

You can now find plenty of TP at the wholesale stores, where I live.

[+susieice]

There's TP where I live too. There's still limits but I can pretty much find what I want now.

[Big Jim]

20 hours ago, simplybill said:

I’m limiting my grocery runs to once every 2 weeks, and today was the day: the Farm + Ranch store had a plastic shield at the cash register, and distance markers to keep people separated. At Walmart, many people wore masks and were good about not bunching up in the aisles. 

What surprised me was seeing elderly folks with no masks. They didn’t seem to be worried at all! 

I downloaded the McDonald’s app so I can order and pay in advance, then merely drive to the window and pick up my cheeseburgers. Life is better with cheeseburgers.

Masks seem to be optional where I am.  On my last grocery trip I took one with me but didn't wear it.  But when I went to pick up an order at Home Depot, I did.  Different cities, different rates of infection.

There is one aspect of this that I don't understand.  We're encouraged, or in some instances required, to stay away from strangers, but it's ok to have them make our food.  The person at the drive through comes into contact with more people in a day than I do in a year.  I remember the warning from the AIDS scare, that you were with every partner your partner had.  But now somehow, passing a stranger in the aisle is considered more of a risk than going to the drive thru.

[simplybill]

5 hours ago, Big Jim said:

Masks seem to be optional where I am.  On my last grocery trip I took one with me but didn't wear it.  But when I went to pick up an order at Home Depot, I did.  Different cities, different rates of infection.

There is one aspect of this that I don't understand.  We're encouraged, or in some instances required, to stay away from strangers, but it's ok to have them make our food.  The person at the drive through comes into contact with more people in a day than I do in a year.  I remember the warning from the AIDS scare, that you were with every partner your partner had.  But now somehow, passing a stranger in the aisle is considered more of a risk than going to the drive thru.

I keep a mask in my pickup now, and I’ll wear it the next time I go shopping. The county where the store is located has had only one confirmed case of C-19 in a population of 14,000. The risk of being infected is low, but I think the people who are most at-risk feel better knowing that other people are watching out for them by wearing masks and using the hand sanitizer at the door.

I had planned on patronizing the local family-owned Mexican restaurants for take-out food during the crisis, but they’ve closed down. If they’re able to reopen when this is over, I’ll make a point to go to those places more often. 

 

[Big Jim]

3 minutes ago, simplybill said:

I keep a mask in my pickup now, and I’ll wear it the next time I go shopping. The county where the store is located has had only one confirmed case of C-19 in a population of 14,000. The risk of being infected is low, but I think the people who are most at-risk feel better knowing that other people are watching out for them by wearing masks and using the hand sanitizer at the door.

I had planned on patronizing the local family-owned Mexican restaurants for take-out food during the crisis, but they’ve closed down. If they’re able to reopen when this is over, I’ll make a point to go to those places more often. 

 

I also live in a sparsely populated mostly rural county.  The last I heard there were 15 cases, no deaths.  Most people around here seem to be taking it all very casually.  Probably less than 10% wear masks here in the village.  A little more in the cities.  Social distancing is easy because it's never that crowded.  Other than seeing people in masks when I go out I barely know that anything is going on.  My life and routine has changed very little.  The only time I ever ate out was when I was running errands over lunch and grabbed a quick bite.  For all other occasions I prefer my own cooking.  The only other difference is being willing to spend a little more in order to stay close to home rather than going bargain hunting.  I'll probably start to feel more constrained as we enter into what is normally yard sale and flea market season.

[XenoFish]

On 4/22/2020 at 7:18 PM, Not Your Huckleberry said:

South Carolina is starting to open back up and people are insane

Believe me I know how south carolinians are.

[XenoFish]

6 hours ago, susieice said:

There's TP where I live too. There's still limits but I can pretty much find what I want now.

I haven't been to the grocery store in about a month so I don't know if they've restocked fully yet. I do know the dollar store down the road from work still can't keep any in stock. I'm like serious "what the hell" people. I did decided that each Friday when I get off work to stop there and pick up a few things that I might need.

[Doug1029]

Day 36:  Oklahoma:  3017 cases, 179 deaths.  Payne County:  40 cases, 3 deaths.

Payne is flat last on the state's list of infected counties.  Statewide totals still climbing.  Payne County case load still going up, but deaths have not changed in three weeks.

Working from home.  Finally feel like I'm getting things done.  The university is planning on using distance learning next fall.  Few in-person classes, except for some labs.  All courses, including forestry summer camp are cancelled for the summer.

Still no sign of that stimulus check.  Went to the grocery store.  They're out of ketchup and mustard, yet.  Otherwise, the supply line seems to be catching up.  Don't know what is going to happen with the pork/meat supply.  We have a lot of packing plants closing due to covid.

Computer died.  I'm reduced to a laptop.  Had all my files backed up so I didn't lose anything.

Only three families still in our neighborhood.  One next to me uphill and one kitty-wampus to them across the road.  Getting to be a lonely place.

My daughter, the oil company geologist, is laid off.  She has self-isolated for two weeks now and is not showing symptoms, so we think she's safe.  Oil prices are negative:  An empty barrel costs more than a full one, at least in theory.  Her boss didn't get the small-business loan, so she has no income from that.  He's trying again.  Looks like she's out of a job until this epidemic is over.

Doug

[spartan max2]

Been playing tons of Chess online. I'm getting pretty good but I'm getting quite antsy lol.

[F3SS]

12 hours ago, susieice said:

@F3SS  We're hearing now that you and your crew can return to work on May 1. Stay safe out there!

https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/coronavirus/2020/04/construction-in-pa-can-begin-before-state-reopens-wolf-says.html?utm_campaign=lehighvalleylivecom_sf&utm_medium=social&utm_content=lvl_facebook_lehighvalleylivecom&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1Ekc5KX2pewitsS-6h07D_DDbfT3WyS9F3w2NKWgIPfU7ELKoN8q68ZTw

Thanks susieice. Sounds like it but I don't know the full details yet. Wolf has said he will lay out the guidelines soon. Senator Toomey tweeted specifically about outdoor construction of which I have some to do. Considering most of my work is with apartment complexes I keep thinking things may not be the same. I fear lack of rent payments will lead to narrow spending budgets for these companies. Our whole routine might change. We're very used to nonstop year round work on inside and outside repairs and maintenance. That and if one of our crew gets sick and has to go home for 2 weeks and possibly all of us depending on of we're around them which is very likely. Plus Wolf said if there are any significant upticks in cases he might shut everything down again. This is crazy. So much uncertainty. Thankfully I'm an optimist by nature although that may be put to the test. We'll see.

[Gromdor]

 It's been work as usual for me.  The power house is back up and running but they had me back for the last week because of an issue other plants were having with an 800 degree air line turning brittle and developing stress fractures.  Sure enough the same thing was happening here.  The crew is down to just me and two other guys, however.  Production jobs are still up and running.  We have a couple of week long projects going on at both 3M and Lennox manufacturing plants.  The Lennox did have 2 cases of coronavirus among it's maintenance staff.  They just shut it down for two days and sanitized before opening it back up again.  https://www.timesrepublican.com/news/todays-news/2020/03/lennox-plant-on-shutdown-after-worker-tests-positive-for-covid-19/

  So we basically just get our temperature checked when we go in.

 Iowa seems alright for the most part.  We don't have people packed in like sardines on public transport or living together in huge apartments like more urban states.  Our hot spots are nursing homes and meat packing plants.  One of the wife's friend's brother got it over in Florida, but he recovered.  Other than those few cases, no one I directly know has gotten it, yet. 

[Myles]

Feeling happy about choosing to live just outside a smaller city.  I live on 7.5 acres and am bordered on the north by 50 acres of forest that is not hunted.  For convenience, I am exactly 1 mile from being in the city limits.  So the grocery store or gas station is less than 5 minutes way.  

[rashore]

I do so hope everyone sticks to just talking about how this is affecting them personally and don't derail the thread with lots of other off topic commentary. 

I had to go out for a couple things on Wed... still no TP on the shelves at the store. Canned foods like Chef Boyardee and a lot of canned soups are still pretty much out. Along with most mac and cheese... and still with the bagged dry beans. I'm starting to wonder how many folks actually know how to cook dry beans, or just got them because it's dry beans, lol. But still lots of canned dry beans on the shelf along with other canned veggies. Fresh meats were out in the cases in good amounts again, but the meat counter was almost empty. There was a bit of TP and hand sanitizer on the shelves at the pharmacy. 

Some folks with masks, some without. Some being good about distancing and not touching everything, some not. A goodly handful of folks shopping for themselves and others- looking at multiple shopping lists or on the phone with someone explaining the store didn't have X, or which size/flavor of what was wanted. Not shopping services people, just neighbors/friends/family taking care of each other.