Just finished my first week of working from home, and I can report a few developments from my tiny corner of the world. First of all, as you can see from my pictures, my pets are not at all perturbed by this recent course of events. There is something to be said of the bliss of ignorance. My second observation is that there seems to be a lot greater need for meetings in my work life now that we’re all scattered to our home offices and living rooms. The sort of communication you might get by dropping by the office of a colleague to discuss an item is now virtually non-existent, and it’s often more efficient to call a check-in meeting rather than engage in a long e-mail or text string. One thing I noticed is that the sunlight in my office casts my face in shadow for the camera on my PC, so I took the liberty to order a little desk lamp so that people can see me online rather than a silhouette.
Things seems to be improving on the grocery front. They’re still picked over in places, particularly disinfectants and TP, but other items that have been missing are beginning to return to the shelves, such as chicken, bread, and eggs. Trader Joe’s looked virtually normal today, with the exception of having to accept the store bags free of charge or bag my own groceries if I supplied my own. I chose the latter course–no reason to waste resources if I can help it. I tried Costco, but there was a long line to get into the store due to its recent social distancing policies. I also noticed people coming out with TP, so I may come back tomorrow morning before it opens to see if I can get some and a couple of other items. The sight of the TP was encouraging. Perhaps the recent shortages may be the temporary circumstance that I had hoped it to be, though I would imagine that some items will either remain scarce or become such later; the scale of our economic dislocation would suggest that to be a virtual certainty as time passes. Also, gas is cheap–not that I’m using much of it lately.
Perusing online journalism is pretty much an exercise in how much bad coronavirus news you can handle in the course of a day. There is virtually nothing else to read about in the New York Times, Washington Post, Atlantic Monthly or other real news publications. One finds either current developments in the situation or advice on how to cope with it in your daily life. There are no sports, of course, and even when I find podcasts or articles on subjects apart from the coronavirus, they seem somehow irrelevant and no longer interesting. If I truly want to escape our communal anxiety and relax, movies and books are pretty much the places to go nowadays. Good time to have streaming services and e-books.
Speaking of online news, it is frustrating to observe stupidity when life is at stake. And, let’s face it, most of it seems to come from the red-state side of the political spectrum. When they’re not insanely calling for an end to social distancing or suggesting that the elderly among us are expendable, they regard the situation as a conspiracy to sabotage the election prospects of their dear leader. I have long believed that crisis magnifies who people are. Many rise to the occasion, as we’ve seen particularly among the health professionals on the front lines of the pandemic. Others, such as the aforementioned, confirm every bad opinion you ever had about them.
No one I know has had the coronavirus yet, at least not confirmed cases. A couple have had what seem to be minor colds recently, which sets all of us on pins and needles until the danger appears to have passed. As for myself, I’m actually feeling much better than I have for a while. The flu that I contracted upon returning from China in December (probably not the coronavirus but not totally certain) left me with a cough that subsided only within the last month, and it has been wonderful to resume regular exercise and begin to get myself into something remotely resembling decent shape. I’ll take whatever silver linings I can find nowadays.
Stay healthy and safe. Until next time.
– Vino Knight-Trane
