so, it’s here
The panic has finally arrived. We’re all gonna die. No not all of us, just the sickest and some of our elderly. The virus has been in the news I read since January, though it seems pure panic has only recently set hold. This morning I was at the grocery store early, ready to get in and out quickly but it was mad chaos even at 7:30. All the canned goods were mauled. Lots of pasta, vanished. Suddenly everyone wasn’t gluten free and ready to eat canned food like they never were before. I have an instant pot which makes dried beans the only choice, but it seems I am not the only one since there was none left of many.
Right now it isn’t quite the time to fully panic, but neighborhoods and communities will be shut down because that is the nature of a virus. It is susceptible to the economic viability of a population to sustain and be able to take the hit. Someone always has to take the hit, and more often than not it is the weakest that suffer the most. They simply do not have the resources to suffer and take one for team America.
But the rich certainly do. I think right now provides them with the perfect opportunity to show us why we don’t need to take more of their money immediately to simply survive through this. An emergency tax on larger companies should be considered for the wealthiest 1% who own them, based on valuation of said company within 24 hours of declaration of catastrophic disaster. Oh whatever capitalism, they can afford it with basically no change in their circumstance. There is nothing that will happen to those people, but the benefit to society should be forcefully compelled, as its off the backs of many of us these riches were gained. There is a reasonable expectation of contribution to ensure that you are able to continue gaining those riches given they generally do require some consumer participation somewhere along the line, from the markets to the buying of products and services.
So, here are the steps I am taking to ensure I do not get it. I did go to the dentist earlier this week and had to take antibiotics for the whole bacteria in mouth thing with the St. Jude’s valve.
1) Still the number one rule. Wash hands always.
2) Wipe down all doorknobs with Lysol wipes or cleaner and paper towel.
3) Wipe down all food items coming in with the exception of produce. My theory there is sick people who are out there have touched things or sneezed on packaging. In the panic of quarantine, maybe, with the panic touching of all these products of the sick, I have been trying to do this for months, again.
4) If possible, wear masks or cover mouth in small spaces with poor ventilation. There is this story to consider, keep in mind the people wearing masks did not get it.
5) Wear glasses whenever possible out in the world. Most of us are half blind and require some assistance, but mine are usually sunglasses almost always in the store. I assume the ventilation in the grocery store in general is enough to blow off most droplets but then there’s the theory where do they land? Hence my theory on wiping stuff down. 30 times more contagious means 30 times more opportunity to infect I would suspect. So cut the bridge where you can.
Not sure how we are going to be able to trust going out in public without temperature scans after a point. There are theories this could take 2 months to 6 months to contain. So what do the compromised do?
I came up with my ideas. There are many of you who have never worked from home before so there are things to consider, and basically that is not turning too bitter or antisocial. Chat features are incredibly important in office settings. Use them.
*Wake up every day at the same time. Not commuting helps but use that extra time to shower a little longer, make breakfast, exercise, do yoga, a guided meditation savor your coffee, clean up a bit.
*Definitely get dressed by no later than lunch. This of course is advice for the childless, but I found myself often taking a shower at lunch and getting really awoken no earlier than then. Those were the days I worked an earlier schedule as lunches tended to be late or mornings, so I would be starting work at 6 or 8 and didn’t want to get up at the crack of dawn like I was a commuter. Having a whole day is ideal in terms of working to stop before 5. 2:30 or 3 is even better.
*Get outside every day. I know this is counter to the intuition most would follow in a pandemic, but if you have a place to walk or be outside in nature, it definitely has a calming effect on the mood and spirit. I am next to a massive highway but there’s also baseball fields and bike paths not far away so there’s always a windy place to walk to for ultimate peace. Lately my intuition while outside is the largeness of it all and the smallness of us..but enough so that I still want us to be able to achieve that living out under a planetarium sky dream I’ve had. Being outside is not something to worry about in general. and it helps up the steps. I live in a little over a thousand sq feet, and still get 12,000 steps in and did all throughout work. That does mean you gotta pace sometimes in a smaller room, but I am consistently walking around to stretch the legs because of the blood clot.
Be calm. Not sure what the hoarding of toilet paper did for anyone, but there is no two ply anywhere. It’s a cheap panic move in a population that feels largely helpless to an invisible threat. Are our asses going to be dirtier or is the inevitable reaction to a country that just shit its pants, a metaphorical solution to the shitshow we are about to endure?
At some point this will end, one way or another. Try to find the stuff to be grateful for as there is quite a bit…That’s what I am doing. And I am unplugged from social media largely right now though I have been tweeting under a corona address….more on that another time. I have heard everyone is freaking out, and to me, nobody is freaking out enough… xoxo
