And the clock starts again.
That's what I'm feeling right now. The 14 day countdown begins anew. Today I went to Target and to the grocery store to restock on supplies. I have enough that I think we can make it another 2 weeks without needing anything. So just when this countdown stops and I know for sure that I don't have the virus I'll be ready to head back out into the world and risk picking it up again.
Assuming that I don't pick it up from the mail or from something we have delivered.
Because that's the slight back of the head worry as well. That even when we are staying home we've had things delivered to the house so maybe we just imported the bug with that?
But you can't spend your day wrapped in plastic so we do what we have to do to still live.
Which means every few weeks we will need to go to the store. Or at least I will. Fewer people out means one of us at a time. And since I'm the one doing the cooking it really does need to be me so substitutions on the fly are, in theory, easier.
If you remember the last time (about a week and a half ago) Brent and I both went. It was crowded and uncomfortable and people were not understanding social distancing. We both felt just gross by the time we got home, showered and washed all of our clothes and still just felt kind of icky all day. Today wasn't bad. The shelves still aren't full, but neither are the stores. Not nearly as many people out shopping, and most of the people out there understood the whole distancing portion.
Most.
I did have a few wanderers at the grocery store. All men. Which may have been a coincidence or may be why men seem to be getting hit harder with this than women are. I told Brent that I think their problem is that they aren't used to moving for other people. They take up space. Taking turns isn't natural. They are used to people giving way, and so why change? So they tended to be middle of the aisles walkers and not checking to see if there was someone already in a space before they tried to go there as well. I only had to tell two of them I needed them to move though, so that wasn't too bad.
I also ended up with some GIANT sizes of things. I guess it's because people are hoarding and buying large amounts so what is getting restocked is the large sizes. Even with Brent and I both at home and eating every meal here we have enough dishwashing powder to last at least 6 months. And there were no cube tissue boxes so I will have rectangles without holders...like some sort of caveman! But I got TP and even snagged a container of disinfectant wipes. The grocery store had the disinfectant wipes and both places had TP so that was sort of exciting. In a this what passes for exciting now sort of way.
Still no dried beans. I was going to make split pea soup but no love from the dried peas department. I told Brent I would never take them for granted again. When we got home from Disney I almost picked up a bag (our first glimpse at the panic shopping day) but thought that there was no way this crazy panic buying would last so there would be plenty when I was ready for them. They've been gone ever since. Brent is fine with them being gone, he's not as big of a fan of split pea as I am. So now I'm wondering if he called the store and asked them to hide the peas before I got there...
Costs are going up too. Eggs were almost a dollar a dozen more expensive this week, for instance. And I spent over $200 on groceries for just me and Brent. I cannot even imagine how expensive it would be if we had kids in the house. So much money. But we are saving a ton on eating out so I think it will all be balanced in the black by the end. Maybe.
Oregonians can pump their own gas now. I know right? They are having a hard time keeping staffing up and they have decided this way will be safer. It actually doesn't make sense. One person touching the pump handle is much cleaner than 50, but it will keep the gas station attendants safer, and will give the owners the flexibility to lay people off as sales dwindle. Which is what I think it's all about. Lack of sales because fewer people are driving. For instance I have a TON of fuel points from grocery shopping and gas is at its cheapest in years but I can't take advantage of it because I'm using zero gas. Even today my errands didn't take a full charge off of the car. No gas. Multiply that by all of the people staying home and you see why we now "get" to pump our own gas.
The president has finally gotten off the idea that we will be done with the distancing and home staying by Easter. Now he's saying the end of April. Which is good. He's lying about what he's said in the past, which is normal but so frustrating. The frustrating part is the number of people the gaslighting works on. His poll numbers are increasing for people thinking he's handling the epidemic well. It is mind boggling. He's lied. He's downplayed. He's accused hospitals of either stealing or hoarding supplies. He's tried to blame his failings on Obama. And he's taking credit for any good idea someone else has. And he's on TV every. single. day. putting these lies out and people hear them and believe them.
I'm so worried that we will end up with him for four more years because he's basically campaigning on TV every single day. It's horrible and so frustrating. He's a liar. He lies. I just can't put it any plainer than that. Don't listen to him. Follow the advice of actual health officials, pay attention to your local rules and regulations and for fuck's sake don't give him the credit for other people's hard work.
My insomnia is not getting better. Maybe tonight I'll sleep really soundly since I won't have a trip out to shop LOOMING like it has been for the past few days. Last night was the worst it's been. I think knowing I was going out this morning and not being sure how that was going to go added to a fight with someone yesterday over something non-Covid related just made sleep impossible. Now that one of those things is resolved I'm hoping to crash and snooze. Wish me luck.
So that's where I am right now at the end of March. It's crazy that the last day of February we were in Florida finishing our vacation and here a month later we're on lock down. What a year the last month has been...
Stay home.
Stay safe.
My countdown clock starts again now...
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