I think I like the Corona Chronicles the best of all of my titles so far so I will just stick with that in one form or the other.
So...slow moving disaster movie it is. That's the best way to describe it. Though at times it feels like it's all moved super fast. And in one way it has. We went from totally normal to everyone locked in their own homes in just a few weeks. But the fact that it's still not really everyone, there are states that aren't on stay at home orders, and people that refuse to follow them, so we are still just sort of doing what we are supposed to.
But the slow part is starting to sink in to a few people. The fact that this isn't a week or two weeks, or a month or two months but could very well be a year. Which will be interesting to watch. How in the world are people going to manage this level of social isolation for a year? Even Brent and I as hard core introverts will have a hard time with that. And at least we are trapped together, what about Christopher who lives by himself? I mean he's as introverted as we are, but without work and seeing his friends for games and movies he is looking at ages of no company. How in the world are we all going to manage that?
So right now what I'm feeling is a low level of dread. I'm still not sleeping really well. My dreams are all stress dreams when I do sleep. Nightmares about this situation or others that are all around the theme of having zero control.
Which is really it right now.
We have zero real control.
I mean I can do what I can, like stay home most of the time. But I can't completely control everything. Like I need food and that is out there. So I have to either go get it or have someone bring it to me. Anything else we order has to be brought to us. Then brought in to the house. And the recommendations keep shifting on how to protect ourselves and others.
Like at the start it was, don't go out if you are feeling sick. So we were pretty comfortable hitting up our favorite restaurant and shopping. Just made sure we washed our hands and tried the very best we could not to touch our faces.
Then we found out that you are already shedding virus before you ever feel sick. So you need to not be in crowds at all.
So okay, only take out food and social distancing of six feet.
Which was fine, mostly, except for the people who didn't really get that distance thing. Or that it counted inside and outside. When the weather was better we were going for a walk and I had to stop walking the trails in our neighborhood because they were too crowded and people weren't moving to the sides when you needed to pass. And people were at the playground with their kids all playing together. And in our neighborhood that is still happening. If the sun is out the kids are out playing together. People do not understand what social distancing means.
Now the news is all about how the virus will last on plastic and cardboard for much longer than they thought. And top that off with it's easier to spread in the air. Not just sneezing and coughing but talking to someone. So now we need to wipe off items that are shipped to us and wear a mask if we go out in public.
We don't own masks. I ordered a couple off of Etsy and hopefully they will come sooner rather than later. I think I can make one from paper towels and rubber bands if I need to go to the store before those get here. The problem with not keeping anything we don't use is that I don't own the "things you have in your own house" to make a mask. I'm super worried that this is going to trigger turning me into a hoarder before this is all over.
I'm only partly joking there.
I see a lot of people turning into lifetime agoraphobes or germaphobes over this. I'm not sure how we all get back to a place where being in a crowd doesn't make you feel a little creeped out. Especially if we are doing this for a year or more.
I almost had a story form yesterday to write some fiction. The idea started to bubble up and then it just fizzled away. I'm hoping that means it will be back and not that the Corona is killing my creativity... Which it actually is. The way I write is that stories bubble in my brain. I hear voices. They tell me what they want me to write. Right now that subconscious background story is filled with a low level worry about what is happening. I need to figure out how to not worry about this since I have zero control over it for the most part. And yet because I have zero control over it I can't stop worrying.
So here we are April 4th, 2020.
Cover your face if you need to go out. It's to make sure you don't infect others, so don't feel like it's giving you protection, your mask is to protect others, theirs is to protect you.
Keep washing your hands. Really, soap and water is the best thing to get rid of the germy germs.
Be careful about bringing anything into your house. Have a process for unpacking and washing up again.
Don't visit with people face to face. If you are out on a walk and see your neighbors a friendly wave and a six foot away Hey, how's it going? Are going to have to do. Even outside germs spread. The virus can't travel without a host, now is not the time to be a good host.
The president keeps lying on his daily LOOK AT ME show. Now he's got his son-in-law in on the action. Including changing the websites for government agencies to match what he's said at the podium instead of saying the truth in the first place. Seriously. This administration is so worried about blame and shifting it instead of helping mitigate the problems that they are making more problems.
It's hard to wrap my brain around how many people are infected and sick and how many have already died. Partly because it's big numbers and our brains have a hard time with big numbers and partly because of the social isolation. We aren't going out so we aren't seeing how full the hospitals are and how empty everything else is. It's a weird space to be. By doing the right thing we aren't grasping how important it is to do the right thing. If that makes any sort of sense...
Which is where I think my insomnia and low key stress is really coming from. None of this makes any sense.
A slow moving disaster. Very slowly. Big disaster.
Stay safe.
Stay home.
Get a mask.
Get some sleep.
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