May you live in interesting times, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.. I’m not sure if the hunt for toilet paper is interesting but fortunately for me, we’re good in that area. We don’t use much and we’ve got enough for probably two months. BUT – and here is the problem – if I see some, I likely will buy some. And that is what everyone else is doing, which is the entire problem in a nutshell.
Said nutshell has now spread to other goods, which is troubling. But we’re set for a couple of weeks, so we’re mostly just going to hunker down and wait it out. The trouble there being, I think in a couple of weeks we will be in a very different situation which makes me want to go out and stock up, which is also the entire problem in a nutshell. If we don’t do this now, will we regret it later? I do not know. Do I want to find out? Not really.
I hate to be the voice of doom but I have a very bad feeling about leaving the schools open. Kids might not be affected very badly but they can carry it well, and if they bounce between school, a crowded bus, home where perhaps their parents have picked this up from their work, a crowded bus then back to school, what might they bring along with them to infect the other children? And what about the teachers? Not cool, Scomo. Not cool at all.
If I had a kid they would not be going to school at this time. If you have kids I’d pull them out of there if you can.
Steer clear of public toilets because nobody shuts the lid when they flush, is my second piece of unsolicited advice.
Re-reading The Stand by Stephen King is likely the worst idea of all time at this time but I’m doing it all the same. Don’t do it, is my final piece of advice to you.
Cats, chooks, humans are all well at this time. We’ve both had a bit of an inner ear thing for a while now but that is survivable. The Other Half has started his Uni course, and I am busy with the business, when I can get some stock in. That is certainly going to be Not Very Easy for a while with so few planes flying.
The cats seem to be getting along with each other reasonably well, well enough that they don’t like to be too far from each other. If they are sleeping it usually is in the same room.
Sure, Happy will still sometimes whack her on the head impatiently, but Cuckoo is persistent in her attempts to hug Happy, and more and more often now, Happy just rolls her eyes and allows her to do it. When Happy thinks we are not looking, she will play with Cuckoo. Happy does not realise we have cameras in the kitchen which is their favourite play time area, and we can watch from afar.
Anyway, that is our current mostly boring status. To be fair I do not want interesting now.
“Can you believe those chickens” says Happy?
Thanks for the advice on The Stand! (Not that I needed it.) I’m much more relaxed knowing our entire country is on lockdown. For me, at least, it seems to be the only way that will truly work. Meanwhile, being on lockdown, toilet paper is plentiful when we shop. People are being much more rational. It’s amazing how the panic is contagious. SG went shopping before lockdown. That supermarket was a nightmare. Everything was gone. He grabbed three packs of hot dogs because there was no other meat in the store. Hot dogs! I can’t remember the last time we had hot dogs in the house. He said he was suddenly consumed with panic. Thankfully, that panic is over. We have a higher-end supermarket close to home (we split our shopping between the two because they don’t carry the same things). This supermarket is civilized, fully stocked, and beautifully managed. The other has announced that, during lockdown, they’ll limit their inventory to 500 items. We figure they won’t include the specific items we would normally go there for so we’ll stick to the better shop and do without the things we could only usually get at the other.
One of the first things that happened here was that the schools shut down. However, too many aren’t staying in or even social distancing(mainly the young) and they are the Typhoid Marys of this virus. We also haven’t had enough test kits and that’s the only thing that will stop the spread. Everyone needs to get tested, even those who are asymptomatic. Perhaps especially those who are. I’ve had trouble finding toilet paper which isn’t that stressful for me (I have a spray bottle) but it certainly is for my elderly parents. There’s a lot of hoarding going on which makes the rest of us short on items we need. Terrifying times.
In California the schools are shut down, and in our town the churches and libraries have been shuttered. So, that’s about it for me and my social life! No restaurant dining rooms, just take-out. That doesn’t bother us as I usually cook all of our meals.
The hoarding epidemic is bothersome, though. I am buying only what I need and will be using in the next few days. Let’s leave items on the shelves for others.
Ohio is shut down. It’s been a rolling entity shutdown. First schools, then gatherings of ten or more, then restaurants and theaters, then libraries. We’re pretty shut down. It’s a good thing.
We didn’t panic buy when we could have, especially when in Tasmania where there weren’t any shortages. We should have loaded up the car. Things here do seem to be reappearing on shelves at various supermarkets.
I agree about schools. They have been closed in the UK in and several other countries. It’s a question of balancing the needs of working parents against the risk of spreading the disease.
The main supermarkets here, including Sainsbury’s and Tesco, are making efforts to maintain supplies and reassure customers. When we went to Sainsbury’s yesterday, there were many empty shevles but, although we did not find exactly what we would have wanted in every instance, we found alternatives. At the till we were told we could not have the six (small) bags of Mozarella balls we had picked up as customers are being limited to three of any product. We accepted this as a reasonable restriction. Of course, there is nothing to stop selfish people making several trips and collecting the “ration” each time.
Stores are also operating special sessions for the old and vulnerable and health workers. In theory, if you are in isolation, you can order online and have the goods delivered to the door for you to bring in when the delivery person has left. I say “in theory” because online ordering sites are currently oversubscribed and in some cases you cannot even access the site, pending clearing of the backlog.
Tigger’s employers have instructed all staff to work from home. She has been issued with a company laptop and a headset ennabling her to log on to the company VPN, access all necessary accounts and answer phone calls from the public. The question, of course, is how long the company can continue to operate before a decline in business causes it to start laying off employees.
Talking of books not to read during the present crisis, one of the most famous is surely Albert Camus, The Plague. A jolly good book: don’t read it!
I’m glad you are appropriately stocked up and enjoying time at home with the animals. I am shocked that public schools haven’t been shut down in Australia. Here at the east coast of Canada, although the number of cases is very low, all schools, libraries, bars, restaurants, rec centres, churches, etc are closed. I agree that ideally, everyone should be tested – I wonder if that will be achievable in the coming months.
Tourists are told not to come to Hawaii. If they do, they will be quarantined for 14 days at their own expense.
I’m glad that Happy and Cuckoo are starting to get along. My two have a kerfluffle now and then, cuddle up and sleep together now and then, and completely ignore each other much of the time. They’re cats.
And I think now is a bad time to read the Stand and any other dystopian novels. I had my worst panic-moments with flashing back to reading the Stand many years ago. Less years ago I tried to re-read it and found it kinda of stupid…. Not stupid, but what? I don’t know how to describe it. I think I just don’t like horror anymore. I started reading a Nora Roberts short series on the same topic and although she was staying in the reality lane, it could virtually have been the same book and was tremendously depresing. i’d rather be foolishly optimistic right now.
Oh, I rather wish I’d grabbed a few things from the store when this first started. I didn’t see the hoarding thing getting this bad. If they have them, I’m going to buy some more cheap microfiber towels for kitchen cleaning. I don’t use many paper towels anyway. My nose wants some nice soft puffs and I want soft TP. Even Amazon is out.