Yeah, I know. It’s not supposed to be enjoyed. I realize the gravity of the situation, and don’t need a lecture, thank you very much; please leave your high horse in the corral before entering. I’d just like to know if you’ve found anything kinda pleasant about this situation so far. Anything at all?
I mentioned in the podcast that I went into the weekend knowing I wouldn’t be leaving the house much, which would generally make me a little crazy. But the expectations were set in advance, so it wasn’t so hard. Of course that doesn’t mean that next weekend will be the same. Oh, this shit could go south at a moment’s notice. But, this past Saturday and Sunday were kick-back lazy-ass days, not at all unpleasant. I got caught up on two TV shows I enjoy (Homeland and some ridiculousness called Devs), listened to some good music, read part of a questionable adventure novel, spent some quality time with the family, etc.
Of course I’m still working. So the cabin fever will come later for me. On Monday through Friday I’m still going to the office. The boys aren’t working, and Toney works from home. But I’m still commuting 36 miles down and 36 miles up the Devil’s Parkway each day. So, maybe I’m not an ideal person to ask about this. I’m a loner by nature, which makes it easier, and my life is only really changed on the weekends. But what’s your field report? How are you holding up so far? What’s your situation? Are you still working?
And have you found anything somewhat positive in the lockdown so far? At least for the time being? Tell us about it, won’t you? Use the comments.
I saw on the Adam Carolla Reddit page a quote from him about this subject, and thought it was pretty good: “It’s a prison sentence. It’s a short prison sentence. As they say, as the convicts say, you can do the time or the time can do you. I figure you should do the time, meaning go out, build a treehouse with your son or daughter. Cook lasagna with your wife. Don’t let the time do you. Don’t end up with a face tattoo and a toilet filled with prison wine.”
Please check in and give us a status. And I’ll see you guys again soon.
Have a great one, my friends!
Support us with a monthly $4 donation at Patreon, and get an extra podcast episode every week! We’re also at Venmo (@thewvsr) and PayPal (jeff@thewvsr.com). Thank you, guys!
Self Isolated for 14 days because we went to a trade show in Las Vegas. And since Vegas is an International point of Origin for us, we were told to stay home. Still working from home though, so lots to keep busy.
Having lots of time allows one to explore the wonderful world of the internet (kinda how I got here, oh so many years ago). I came across this quote: “The biggest governments on the planet cannot stop a virus from spreading… but they say they can change the Earth’s temperature if we pay more taxes”
I got nothing else.
Riding the bus after losing my license has been a challenge. Just getting in the rolling petri dish makes me concerned, and not touching anything. The good news….its free now to risk your health! Losing both my day and night job for now has jolted me into lockdown of previous things i enjoy. Just hangin tight.
My brother, I hope you can draw on both jobs and become the Unemployment King of Florida. Keep your mask on and your gloves clean so you can come out the other side well and back in the drivers’ seat. Stay healthy.
John
Being in the utility operations business, not much has changed other that they have split us all into two groups, half in one place half in another. I was of course assigned to the old shithole center which is also 22 miles further from home. My one-way drive went from 17 to 39 miles. The upside is there are no traffic issues whatsoever. I love swinging from lane to lane without having to even check for other vehicles.
I also haven’t had to deal with all the hoarders/idiots out there. My son manages the night crew at the local grocery so he gets first pick at the nights deliveries. We send him a list and it all magically shows up in our garage around 6:30 in the morning.
I had a woman scream at me on Saturday morning at the grocery store. She thought I had taken all the hand wipes they keep by the door. The container was empty when I arrived around 7:30 am. I have never seen so many people in the store at that time of day. It seems to be people were grabbing everything – cans of crab meat, spam, butter beans, etc. Stuff that usually sits on the shelf for a long time. I was at a different store the night before and all the chicken, ice cream, Tp, wipes etc. was gone. And the entire bakery was empty. I have to wonder how much of this stuff people are grabbing will end up in the garbage? I guess the owners of these stores are happy right now. They must be raking in a ton of money.
I wondered that myself about how much will get tossed in the garbage when this is over becuase people are either dumb enough to think something can’t last beyond the expiration date, or they just don’t want to look at it anymore.
My job was designated as “essential” in West Virginia where I work. The same job, in PA, is called “life sustaining.” Now I’m jealous.
Holed up at home due to “work” from home. I repair things. I have a work lap top… ain’t much happening here. Suppose I shouldn’t complain, but I could be out and about enjoying the empty roads and getting things worked on in complete isolation on the job site since I work for a school district. Yeah, I’d rather be going in to work and get things done, then kick back for a while so I can avoid the masses when they open schools back up for buisness.
Grocery stores still have empty paper product shelves and none of the other common high demand items either. Plenty of everything else, but fuck people, don’t take your whole family in tow to go to the damn grocery store! I want to go in get what I need and get out like I do during normal times done during the dead hours, now I get there, few cars in the lot (hey great!) get in, and there are fucking gaggles of 3-4-5-6- people and kids clustered around a cart taking up entire aisles…bastards…
But the roads are great, lovin it, reminds me of when I started driving and really enjoyed driving around. Just got to mind your manners because cops are everywhere now!
When the schools are closed people (women) need to take their small kids out with them, you know, rather than leave the 3-year-old home to “babysit” the 2-year-old.
Sheesh, too many kids in grocery stores is such a dude problem.
I have heard stories of people actually grabbing stuff out of other people’s carts.
I’m actually working a little more.
I’m an ER nurse so I’ve picked up some overtime lately. Frankly it’s better than staying home with three alternately crying/screaming children.
The last few shifts I’ve been outside in the “drive thru” sticking swabs in people’s noses and basically tickling their brains. While I’m out there I wear a PAPR (Powered Air Purifier Respirator).
It’s an air filter/blower that pulls in air and blows it into the helmet. It just keeps airborne particles from getting to your face and lungs by blowing air into the helmet. It’s a little like how a diving bell keeps water out.
The blower is about half the size of a shoe box and is worn on a belt and rests on your lower back/butt.
In training you learn that it does not keep out gasses or odors.
The first time you wear one you learn that it instantly delivers your entire fart cloud directly into the helmet.
What’s the deal with some places saying there aren’t enough test its, and other places being able to do stuff like drive through testing?
Those drive thru places are out of just before they even open. People start lining up around 3 in the morning for a spot and the places donations until 6:00 am. They put out the filled to capacity signs before the swabbers even arrive.
Depends on what they’re able to get. Supply chains are all jacked up.
My hospital is giving us a daily count of how many tests we can perform based on available supplies.
Sometimes it’s about swab availability (northern Italy was a major manufacturer of swabs) other times it’s about viral media.
At the beginning of testing we used up a lot of tests on people who were healthy but worried.
Now we’re hurting. We’re starting to see the wave build, one local community hospital is out of ventilators and one of the big centers is asking hospitals outside our area to allocate 10% of their beds to accepting transfers.
I’m begging everyone, please, please, stay home.
If only we had a competent head of state urging everyone to do the same…
If only we didn’t have Dbags trying to score political points in times of crisis. No Politics here please.
Geez Louise, Wisey, I was merely commenting on the importance of getting the message out for everyone to stay home/social distance, not making a political statement. The mistake was in interpretation. Sorry you took it the wrong way.
This is life or death here, dude. Stay healthy and stop calling old ladies douchebags; it’s not polite.
I’m with you Wisey. I come here to get away from all that crap. It’s not helpful or entertaining at a time like this.
Mea culpa for neglecting to thank you for risking your life for us, Jorge. We owe you.
What Clueless said. We owe you BIG TIME. Please stay safe.
Jorge, thank you (and your colleagues) for what you are doing and keeping it real for us.
I was already working from home halftime, so I was all set up. Now it’s full time, and it’s great. Saving a shitload on gas, tolls, breakfast and lunch. My daughter still commutes, but without traffic now. And the wife can’t drag me shopping anymore.
I’m not allowed to work from home, which has always sucked and now it’s dangerous as well. But the traffic is awesome because there isn’t any.
Some of the grocery stores are opening an hour early so geezers like me can shop in a whippersnapper-free environment. My local Wegman’s is reasonably well stocked. Last time I was in Costco, they had no paper products of any kind.
Already worked from home so not much of a change there. With all bars and restaurants closed it has been hell. Usually got done, went out to eat, stopped had a few beers. Now home with nothing.
I am working, haven’t stopped. My in-laws are freaking the fuck out. Yesterday they asked me if I’d like to go in with them on a garden. I told them, “If it comes down to having to survive by eating cucumbers with y’all and drinking my own recycled piss at some point, I’d rather check out with the cool kids.” That’s my view on this nonsense. I think this thing has been hyped past the point of absurdity.
I’ve been WFH for two weeks, which is good practice as it’s something I’ve been planning to do anyway as I edge towards retirement. Durham, NC is going into lock down today. THe biggest thing I guess that means is that I can’t play disc golf, even though it’s a great sport for social isolation.
At the local disc golf course there is a covered basketball court… No social distancing happening there! There have been at least 20-30 people playing both times we went… Darwinism at work?
Also, at the grocery store, I was in self checkout, and finishing up. The guy behind me immediately got right on top of me so that I had to reach under him to get my receipt. I was stupid in not saying something to him like “what about social distancing don’t you understand you fucking idiot!”
I still have to go to the office (it’s next to impossible to do my job from home) but I like the normalcy of sticking to a schedule. The weekends are certainly very quiet but it sucks that a few activities we had planned are now canceled. I just don’t like how eerie it is to see NYC look like a ghost town.
https://nypost.com/2020/03/17/nyc-st-patricks-day-parade-before-and-after-coronavirus/
And that was a week ago. It’s even less populated now.
I have changed nothing in my daily life.
As an administrative civilian working for the army, it is mission critical that me and everyone around me continue to answer emails from our office at work, instead of literally anywhere else. I mean, it’s not because of network access or security that they don’t want me and the teams here to work from home. It’s because the leadership already us and they don’t want to allow their subordinates the least amount consideration.
As a person who shops for groceries once a month at about 9PM to avoid crowds, i haven’t changed anything regarding what i purchase to eat or where I purchase it.
Since i only hang out with the woman i live with, i haven’t had to stop going out on the town. You see we spend our time reading, podcast listening, and gardening.
I don’t know what the fuck people do everyday in their common life that this is so great if a challenge.
I just want my free days off if work.
I can’t work from home but everyone is home. I miss having time to myself as opposed to trying to teach 4th grade and supervise 7th and 10th grades. As a teacher, I yell, curse, and drink. I’ve also been turned down for unemployment but that will get fixed I hope. I see no work until May. I’m sure the viewership of the shows I do work on is through the roof. I miss being around America’s Misfits.
The only ones truly benefitting are my dogs. Three mile walks everyday.
Jeff, I am very sorry that 350 Waffle House Restaurants closed. I hope the one by you is still open.
Just found out I can’t go to Rhode Island for a while. Anyone from out of state will be forced into a 2 week self quarantine upon entering.
My job is in OH but my family is in NC, so on March 9 I loaded up the car with every roll of TP and all the cleaning supplies I had in OH and drove to NC for the duration. I am WFH for the foreseeable future, and I have to teach the rest of a university course online starting tomorrow, something I have never done before. I am just asking the students to watch videos for now. I have an office in the basement and it’s actually nice to have time to catch up on things. Wifey is on a 2.5 day work week, rotating in and out with others at her company. She is deemed “essential.”
We don’t have cabin fever just yet, we are getting some veggies planted and doing a lot of spring cleaning that is sorely needed. I hope the Thrift Shop and Habitat for Humanity stay open because we have several buttloads of stuff to donate. We’re also cooking a lot of neat things like spicy duck soup and lamb-burgers with melted fresh mozzarella and basil leaves on top. I’m also using my smoker a lot for meat and fish, as smoked stuff lasts for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. We will gain 25 lbs but probably not get divorced – we knew a long time ago that no one else will have us.
My boys are still on an extended Spring Break but they are coping well. One goes for solitary bike rides and the other plays hoops by himself, so they are getting fresh air and not glued to their electronica all the time. Once we have binge-watched everything, it will be jigsaw puzzle time, which will be the beginning of the long, slow, spiral to death.
Jesus, Mary, and all the damn Saints; 21st century Americans think we have an absolute right to luxury.
The generation that preceded mine were children of the 1920s, a time of modest economic prosperity and no social safety net, and teenagers and young adults of the Great Depression. From the late 20s into the early 40s, the idea of someone claiming to be bored because they couldn’t listen to their favorite radio show to exhaustion would have been lunatic. Food and shelter were primary needs, and securing and maintaining them occupied most of people’s time. A deck of cards was a luxury, and could entertain an entire family for months. Libraries, both public and private, were available, and were busy. Although everyone over 13 was either working a job after school or looking for one, business closed down by 6:00 or so, and people actually read and, if they were lucky, played musical instruments that had been in the family since before the economy went to hell.
For those with no sense of the passage of time, this wasn’t a long time ago in a galaxy far away or in pre-Columbian America: this was my parent’s generation. My parents and their siblings didn’t talk about it much, but my grandparents were willing to occasionally. I’d seen my Mom’s county badminton championship trophy in the attic, but her mother told me she had won it with her “tennis shoes” jammed full of cardboard so her foot wouldn’t fall out the bottom. Grandma said that Mom had successfully concealed the shoe condition for long months because she knew her parents couldn’t do anything about it, and didn’t want to make them feel worse than they already did.
My little point is that anybody who feels bored because they have to stay home or go running instead of driving to a restaurant or bar and, staying home, can binge-watch million-dollar-an-episode TV shows should go fuck themselves.
This isn’t the damn beginning of the end or even the end of the beginning. Things are going to get a lot worse in two weeks and devilishly worse in a month. An acquaintance or relative of yours will likely get very sick and, also likely, die. Then two.
This is a lousy time to feel anything but resolute and a little nervous. I’m out of toilet paper too, but I have a lot of cats and I’m rotating them through the bathroom, then hosing them down. And toilet paper isn’t the problem. The problems are a virus that is capable of mutating and changing quickly and a President who can’t think beyond his fake tan and his 3-wood and isn’t capable of changing at all. He’ll go away in ten months, but the virus will be with us much longer. We need to learn how to live with it, and we need to learn how to live with each other.
And we need to learn that whatever right to luxury we thought we had had been suspended.
Good luck.
John
Well said John. I almost spit my coffee all over the laptop when I got to that last paragraph. My company shut down last week while some people were getting tested. Some were found to be positive and I apparently had contact with one so I was put on work-quarantine for two weeks, so I’m home this week. Supposed to return to work with a skeleton crew next week. Don’t know how responsible that is – after all, we don’t know which employees are going to nbe going out and mingling with who-knows-who after work and then bringing the rest of us a present. But, we do work for the military, so we’re exempt from the lockdown rules. Like Jeff, I’m also a natural loner, so I’ve been getting a ridiculous amount of work done on my yard and house. Pretty much done with what I would normally be doing until the end of April. The thing that I do miss more than anything is sports. I could sit in this abode forever if I only had my sports fix attended to.
The problem I see is that this seems to be the first time we’ve ever tried to stubbornly eradicate a virus by starving it to death. In the past – see Spanish Flu, H1N1, SARS, etc – the virus has been allowed to run it’s course and mankind built up a collective immunity to it. I’m not in any way saying that we should do that now, I am aware of how much more potent this one is compared to recent versions. But, I do not know if we can succeed on this path. We may just prolong its presence for an extra 6-12 months. Hoping that the summer season helps our cause. For now, let’s all try to stay sane and safe. For my part, I’ll be leaving the house for work and only isolated forays for supplies – there is way too big of a percentage of the population that lose their shit at the slightest sign of stress and start driving and acting like lunatics.
Mike
Well put. My parents (late teens during ww2 and my mum was just starting in nursing in Europe) almost like a prophecy many years ago would say that people today wouldn’t know what to do if another war was to break out-they are too dependent on everything and somebody else to do it for them. I’m happy to say between them and my grandparents a do it yourself attitude and learn how to do as much as you can is the pay off during times like this. Anyway, bunch of stuff deleted, turned into a rant. But people for the most part are stupid.
Politics is EVERYWHERE. I come here to get away from it.
I have to say, the rest of the post was well written and thoughtful.
From Jeff, “Please leave your high horse in the corral before entering”
That didn’t last long.
This doesn’t merit a response, but just in case somebody else didn’t understand what Jeff said . . . Jeff asked Reporters to not get excited about who is breaking social distancing rules and who isn’t, and to loosen up about finding humor in tragedy (where it is certainly to be found). There’s no question, based on Trump’s letter to the Governors today, that Trump is part of the problem, not part of the solution. I didn’t harp about it, but mentioned it in one sentence.
Trump supporters are particularly sensitive about any criticism of Trump — an odd position for a guy who spent eight years claiming Obama was born in Kenya and faked his birth certificate.
I’ll try to resist any obvious criticism of Trump in the spirit of Surf Report collegiality, and out of respect for other Surf Reporters, but when we have a damaged President who is putting large populations at risk at an already risky time, some commentary is inevitable. I’ll try to keep comments about the fake hair and fake tan down to a dull roar.
my regards and best wishes,
John
This doesn’t merit a response, buy you go on a rant…
•Barack Obama would have convened a group of lawyers to sue the Covid-19. He would have also called together a very sensitive focus group to request that Covid-19 discontinue bullying everyone who has been afflicted or those that will become afflicted. He would have also been on TV daily for us to see him observing an imaginary ping pong match called dual teleprompters while he assured (while saying nothing) the nation with a cadence of alternating lines of iambic and dactylic pentameter.
•Hillary Clinton would have ended Covid-19 almost immediately. Covid-19 would have committed suicide.
•Bernie Sanders would have been outraged by the unequal distribution of Covid-19 and taken action to see that all Americans had free access to it.
•Elizabeth Warren would have had a powwow with her staff to see how much wampum they could raise from millionaires and billionaires.
•Michael Bloomberg would have spent $500 million of his own money on TV and social media ads asking if we were better off before or after the Covid-19 outbreak.
•Nancy Pelosi would have reassured the whole nation that the liquor stores would remain open during the Covid-19 crisis.
•Joe Biden would have been on TV daily reassuring the nation that we have nothing to fear from SARS than the fear of SARS itself.
•Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would have suggested washing our pans more thoroughly to stop the spread of the pandemic.
Kisses.
If you listen to Jeff’s podcast, he says he doesn’t read the comments much anymore because he doesn’t like the political commentary and singled our John the Basket is one of the worst to interject politics into almost anything. Pointing fingers in a time of crisis is just asinine. We get it John, you don’t like our President, GET OVER IT. We come here for humor and to get away from all the BS out there. Let’s leave our political insights at the door, shall we?
Quite correct: that didn’t last long.
I’m off to read some escapist fiction.
I’ve been commenting out here pretty regularly since George Bush’s second term, and have tried to be clear and humorous and supportive of the Surf Reporter community during that time. Significantly less than 1% of my comments over the years has contained any reference to partisan politics, and I just said that I would reduce that percentage out of courtesy. If you feel a need to pile on, go ahead, but you are also welcome to check the archives and do the math. I’ve been a student of American social and political history for 50 years and more, and have found that a) political processes are inexorably intertwined with social processes (which is mostly what we’re commenting on on this site, and b) politics frequently contains the humor of the absurd.
It seems that a few Reporters are inordinately sensitive about politics. OK, I accept that and will work on not making them feel so bad in the future. I don’t know what else I can do for them. Feel free to double down, pile on, or shout “fire” in a crowded theater. I’ll be here until Jeff boots me, telling stories about cute doggies and kittens.
best wishes,
John
Thanks, Gionni! As a cat lover, I’m especially looking forward to those kitten posts. ? ? ?
Hell, I’m so in need of diversion I’ve been watching tripe on Netflix – no small feat for someone who swore off television in 1992.
Sorry, those question marks were supposed to be little hearts. Guess I can’t do tongue in cheek very well.
Clue,
Captain Jack, Ducks, Paikea, Hoodoo, Zula, Pinkie, Spot, Bella, and Manolito send their best wishes as they are sheltering in place on the overstuffed furniture and in front of the heat vents. We obtained a fresh shipment of catnip and stuffed it into some socks, and they’ve been playing rugby on the hardwood floor in the living room. Unfortunately I’ve had to issue a half-dozen red cards so far. The cats are unrepentant.
Stay safe,
John
The MIL is staying here for the duration. Whilst she’s not Sunshine, I *have* bought a month’s worth of wine for the third time this week.
So… is she drinking a months worth in a week, or has she driven you to drink a months worth in a week?
Hilarious if it’s both.
I’m not sure it’s cool to make fun of people’s “conditions”. If Limey’s MIL has a condition that requires medicine three or seven times a day, and if Limey has to take medicine to tolerate the MIL’s condition two or six times a day, well, there are side-effects to sheltering in place. Everybody has to sacrifice. Thank the Lord, the “medicine” aisle isn’t as depleted as the TP aisle. We’re talkin’ about practice. Practice. (ibid. Iverson, Mookie)
jtb
Both. If Mango Mussolini’s vodka business hadn’t failed along with his casinos/magazine/airline/steaks/water/et al he could be making a figurative killing here, to pair nicely with the literal killings he’s achieving right now.
Worked from home for 7 years in my previous job, and my current job is easily accommodated working from home, so routine and system down pat.
I spend most of my time watching movies at home with the man, knitting, reading, listening to music, and cooking stuff, so no change. We do like to hike and bike, but since we live on the edge of town near all of the cool outdoor spots, we’ve been pretty lucky to keep doing that stuff, too. We’ve even started Geocaching again, like the super-nerds we apparently have always been but denied.
The best part is our town is a motorcyclist’s worst nightmare (snowbirds and hometown wack-jobs). With nearly no one on the roads, it’s way safer for the both of us. In a totally selfish way, it’s not bad, but it sucks hugely for a lot of folks, so I’m looking forward to everyone being able to go back to work SAFELY, not because the orange moron says so.
I see why Jeff doesn’t read the comments anymore. Jeez.
All the TP was gone from the Morgatown Giant Eagle – that’s the third Saturday in a row. The president will have to bail out the TP companies when this over. No one will be buying TP.
There was also a woman behind me that had two shopping carts full of stuff.
I am currently on Vancouver Island. It’s easy to be isolated in the backcountry. That’s what I’ve always loved. Currently stocking shelves (night stalker) at a grocery store and am worried about the upset faces of elderly people rushing to get groceries in the morning. Everyone is kind and appreciative…. mostly…….
As a temporary employee, I am least happy with the .25 thickness of the tp we get in the employee room. I stock tp and cleansing material all night then see it disappear faster then it went up. Looking to do some volunteer work too. Take care all!
N-O, you do get around. I used to live in God’s country, but don’t any more. I didn’t move: somebody built 600,000 houses in the wilderness and God got disgusted and moved to Vancouver Island. Last time I was there (many years ago) there was still wild and scenic beauty on the Island. Hope it’s still there, or part of it.
Stay safe, and if you get a chance throw a roll or two of TP over the border. My cats are getting nervous.
John
There have been a couple of Surf Reporters who have been critical of the mechanisms of governance not swinging into appropriate action to fight this pandemic. We pay a LOT of taxes to have a federal government that is structured to address the needs of the country. Katrina was one particular case where they let us down badly. These Surf Reporters have every right as taxpayers to be concerned with the inaction of the federal government. The government, in case we forgot, isn’t Trump, and, for the most part, the government isn’t Republican or Democrat. Please stop jumping on these Reporters and shouting “No Politics Here!” They have every right to expect a competent response from their elected officials.
And this was certainly not a political statement. It constituted, if anything, a quick lesson in civics.
John
The plague just got personal. John Prine is critical.
John Prine has been my man since the release of his first album in 1971 in those good old days in Chicago with Steve Goodman. He is iconic and real and a fine gentleman. I’m not sure we can get by without him. This is terrible. We’re all victims of the Great Compromise.
John
Light some goddamn candles.
jtb
Damn those Founding Fathers and their culpability in this mess.
And don’t laugh, but got it covered on the candle front. Seriously.
I see what you did there…..
John, Over the years of watching you post, it’s obvious that you have a political bias and that bias is very evident when you evaluate what constitutes a “competent” response. I think our Government has done as good a job as can be expected given the unknown variables. I also don’t expect the Government, regardless of which party is running it, to save me when the shit hits the fan. I am not a prepper but I do have contingencies in place for various situations such as this. That’s a life lesson for you.