Lots of weird going on

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The weather has been wonky. We had less than five inches of snow this winter. Our average is around 30 but we often get more. The forecasts were for a snowy and cold winter. Glad I didn’t put money on that! Not complaining, just sayin’.

It’s been warmer too. Long range forecast doesn’t show any cold snaps. Old man winter may have left the building. Looking forward to Miss Spring coming in and strutting her stuff. Last year she stayed in the tropics until June. She was spotted at a beach bar with a margarita in her hand chatting it up with a sailor. What a tart!

There is finally something that overshadows politics and it’s a tiny virus. As I’ve said before people be crazy. There is cautiousness in the air. The gym is dead and aside from grocery stores, most other places are too. I had a pizza lunch yesterday and people brought their own sanitizing wipes to clean their table. I was impressed. These are the same folks who miss the toilet and sneeze into the air. Maybe it’s a reboot for people.

Locally our colleges are teaching remotely. I wonder if that will affect the keg parties. Hard to do those remotely. Another reboot. Focusing on…well…education. I wonder what the long term effects will be. If an expensive college can offer an effective on-line program, why pay room and board. Oh yes, for the experience! (My mom just rolled over in her grave at the thought of all that money for an experience!)

People watching hasn’t been as good. The crazies are staying home giving me little to report. I know they’ll come out again. Cabin fever and all that. They may be in full hazmat gear. I’ll take pictures.

83 thoughts on “Lots of weird going on”

  1. My husband set up a learning platform for his school in two days. Starting Monday, the normal class schedule will be followed, only with teachers and students meeting up on the internet. The kids are fully expected to “attend” every morning. Curious to see how it works out. If it works too well, the government might start getting ideas . . .

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    • Just got back from Costco. I picked up a rotisserie chicken. The carts were amazing. The guy in back of me had a flat one with many mega cases of water. That seemed to be the big item today. They told us going in that tp and paper towers were gone. One (smart) lady had two boxes of nitrile gloves. At least those have a barrier and are far better than the knit ones I’m seeing people wear. People be crazy.

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    • Ahead of me in Starbucks this morning was a young couple. Maybe mid to upper 20s. They had flimsy face masks on (which do not help) and were wearing winter gloves. Knit winter gloves without a real barrier. Then they paid with cash. Dirty cash (is there any other kind?) They looked ridiculous. If I had any faith that any of it would help, I wouldn’t laugh. If you are afraid to touch stuff, buy a box of disposable latex gloves. You don’t need the mask, just keep your hands off your face. I would only pay by card which I would sanitize frequently although no one else touches it if you have a chip. Unfortunately ordering through the mask took 3x as long. Argh!

      Maybe they belong to a cult. A cult of crazy.

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      • I’ve been used to seeing people wearing face masks for years. I live in an Asian neighbourhood where the vast majority of people come from China. Face masks are a given all year round.
        The gentleman I saw recently wearing swim goggles with his face mask was, however, highly unusual 😆

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  5. It’s the economic downturn that worries me. The company I work for does transportation. Our business has plummeted as corporations are putting a ban on business travel. A lot of small businesses are suffering in this situation.

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    • I see it all over. I hope it’s short lived. Small companies can’t survive for long. I have a few friends who have canceled travel plans. Can’t say I blame them. One couple was going to Europe (mostly Italy) for 6 weeks starting in 2 weeks. That trip went down the tubes.

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  6. The reboot is welcome, while the deaths are not. Far too long, society has slipped into a less clean place. I see photos on social media of rooms that are cluttered, many are actually dirty looking. The older generations that survived the Spanish Flu and other diseases, were cleaner afterwards. Our present society has grown complacent.

    I’m trying to stay home, but the doctors seem to be thinking up tests to have done. If it were up to me, I would stay at home till it passes.

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    • I don’t get into crowds much. The walkers are still walking (most are 80-ish) but that’s a non-touching solitary endeavor. Younger people seem to be split between germaphobes and people who are not into simple clean. I know many in the later group. They were a lot at work. I don’t know if this will make a significant change long term but maybe short term.

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  7. We are doing some social distancing. We aren’t big crowd types anyway because… peopley. We cancelled out on our annual spaghetti dinner in our community at the end of March. I have kept two doc appointments… lots of hand sanitizing stations around. Lots of spring breakers, pretty quiet in our neighborhood. Restaurants, downtown, and grocery stores are full… the red tide kept more people away. I’m just doing day by day. Definitely a weird feel to life right now.

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    • I got an email from the CEO of Starbucks today listing things they may do depending on the severity in an area. Some of them I do already like pre-order. They are considering limiting seating to allow distance and if severe enough only have the drive through open or close completely. That was sobering for me. We don’t have local cases but it’s only an hour away so you never know. I’m being cautious but not crazy.

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  8. The hubby and I are both in the over 70 crowd but we aren’t in crowds EVER. I’m one of those weirdos who has always done shopping in off hours – I’m at the grocery when it opens and have first pick of fresh stuff – order most other stuff online – have been a compulsive hand-washer since I had cancer treatment some years ago and passed that habit on to my husband. We’re not in panic mode but we’re definitely in “careful” mode. I know it’s selfish to say this but we’re hoping we will be able to take our annual vacation to Maine which will be end of September – I’m praying this virus is an “unpleasant memory” for ALL of us by then.

    Hugs, Pam

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    • I sure hope it’s history by September. You and I are a lot alike. I’ve always been a germaphobe so hand washing was not a change. I hate crowds so we’ve been avoiding them for ages. We don’t frequent restaurants on weekends either. I prefer early morning shopping too. At this point this hasn’t really changed anything for me except I’m watching other people more.

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  9. Well, my sister, Sasha is sick with a virus right now and I’m starting to think that licking my paws clean might not be the best way to go. If I catch it from her I think I’m going to have to talk smack about her in my blog. We’ll see what happens.

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  10. I’m glad your weather was a little milder than usual! It’s still pretty cold here, and likely will be until May. We don’t have any confirmed cases here yet, but very likely will. I haven’t been out and about much since all of this started to heat up, so don’t know what our crowd levels are like. Keep an eye out for your local crazies!

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  12. I’m not around too many people, but it doesn’t stop me from worrying. I was excited to have a Winter that I got out throughout the season – who knows, Spring may find me more reclusive – odd how things turn out sometimes.

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  13. Wonky and weird are great words, Kate. I also feel this energy. I think the extra weird is just beginning to migrate our way the past couple of days. Huge lol on “miss the toilet and sneeze into the air.” If you haven’t seen it, this past Saturday’s SNL with Daniel Craig….Saran Wrap was used before conjugal relations. Besides other ‘laughter is the best medicine’ scenes. xx

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  14. I remember that in the aftermath of the SARS outbreak in Toronto in 2003 there were some fantastic deals being offered by swanky hotels to get people to come back to Toronto again (which we took advantage of). Part of me is fascinated, watching this pandemic unfold and what it is doing to the world and part of me is hoping for some great travel deals in the future. And part of me is watching my retirement savings dwindle down at an alarming rate. And the last part of me is horrified at my opportunistic, voyeuristic self. I blame my MBA. 😜

    Deb

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    • Don’t even focus on your retirement savings just now. It will go back up at some point. Actually I keep wondering about the socio-economic impacts. Will anything be better? Or just worse? Can I take an opportunity if it comes? I consider it normal thinking.

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  15. Very funny and yet so sad because it’s true. The media loves to perpetuate fear in us and the masses are happy to oblige. Is this serious? I’m sure it is and it will pass in time. The only question that remains is whether the college crowd will nix spring break? What so you think the chances of that happening are?

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  16. No snow here this winter but lots and lots of rain. I think I read 52 wet days so far this year. Our media are basically talking about old people as though they are expendable. Two deaths today both over seventy with underlying health issues. I don’t think they will start to panic until someone younger or famous is affected. One of our junior health ministers has tested positive so she might have passed it on to other politicians so I am expecting some action. I don’t think the NHS has any spare capacity.

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    • They seem to imply that the deaths were both elderly and with underlying health issues which contributed but you never know. Elderly is a weird word. I don’t think I’m elderly but perhaps someone looking at my driver’s license might thing so.

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  17. I laughed at the reboot for people. There were lots of people in the restaurant we went to Sunday. We may go to a Chinese place next time, since we heard people were boycotting them. And hazmat gear! What a hoot! I adore your humor.

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  18. Maybe it’s a reboot for people.

    A wonderful summation of the current state of things. I wonder how much more reclusive we’ll need to be to be safe? Or if it’s even possible to avoid this virus? Guess we’ll find out together.

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  19. I know we have more confirmed COVID-19 cases than you, do, but people are still out here. I went out to lunch to support my favorite Asian restaurant and it was full! And business people were SHAKING HANDS! Meanwhile, my MIL is currently hitting Vegas casinos before visiting us.

    Clearly we are doomed.

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  20. For me, commuting in traffic is much more scary. Yes, I am concerned about the elderly, especially my parents, but the media is creating this panic. If people would stop watching the news, it might help. I read a quote recently that was perfect, “Hysteria is impossible without an audience.” Turn off the TV and the internet!

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  21. A whole lotta weird. I am doing a little social distancing right now. It’s not difficult at this time, so I might as well . . . . It might get more difficult next month and in May when I’m supposed to go see my mom.

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  22. Take care Kate. We are of the wrong age group and both have underlying health issues, Hubby more so than me, especially now. We are prepared as best we can be, but it looks like I shan’t be going to darts, SW, or any social gathering. Already we have changed our shopping routine to late night.

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  23. What a tart! 🙂 For the moment we’re staying away from the gym, which of course also means we’re missing out on a lot of elbow room. I watched a man at the bank yesterday use the pin pad at the teller window and then immediately rub his face. I guess he hadn’t gotten the memo. – Marty

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  24. I saw a meme yesterday that made me think of you: “I don’t like to brag but I’ve been avoiding people since way before the coronavirus.”

    I’m not sure how many of these good sense hygiene practices will continue on after this crisis du jour but my hunch is not many. Just as soon as many (most?) people stop hearing about washing hands and being germ-aware, they will go back to their old ways.

    Happy spring, Kate. I hope she comes strutting her stuff in your area soon!

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  26. I wonder about the peeps… what happens if we will get something really dangerous? they now start to go bananas here too… no tp in the stores since monday… sadly Mark will not agree with my idea to buy shoes instead food reduce the need of tp…

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  27. Yes, it is crazy out there……and scary. I am a poster boy for the “elderly” who are more likely to fall victim to COVID-19: age 69, diabetic and have COPD. A Trifecta for “you best stay inside”. Sigh.

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  29. I posted a comment and it didn’t show up. I’m having trouble with commenting on WordPress again. It keeps asking me to sign in just to comment, and I’m already signed in.

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  30. Hazmat gear for sure. My husband had to travel on business this week, on a plane! Seriously, he never gets worried about anything, and he was concerned. I’ve never seen him carry around wipes before, but he packed up on those. When he’s worried about something, you know the hype is at enormous levels. I’m still dealing with residual effects from that cold, mostly at night in bed.

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    • I am grateful I’m not working for many reasons. I was the head of Human Resources and they are very active about health issues. Decisions, policies, etc. Don’t miss that! I’m only going where I need to go. Today I was at the vet (and the gym) and tomorrow I’m buying a pair of shoes. (That is like xanax for me!)

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