Day #31 of Self-Isolation in Epidemic Central

It's been more than 30 days now. I do take brief little excursions - a walk up and down the street - with little to no people - mainly to get air. Sometimes I wish I had a dog as an excuse. (Dogs everywhere are lucky that I do not.) Also, to pick up packages from the lobby downstairs. Today I received face masks from my college buddy and conuly, thank you! I have a link by the way on face masks courtesy of the NY Times Briefing, The Many Types of Face Masks You Will Encounter and Their Effectiveness.

Since there's an edict that you can't go anywhere publically without one, not that I have for the last month, it's good to have a healthy supply. I can't leave my apartment without entering a semi-public space (ie. encountering people I don't know and don't live with.)

Doing fine, otherwise. My boss called to check on me this afternoon - to see if I was okay. I don't know why - I sent him the mid-afternoon report. But I was rather impressed and pleased that he cared. I did alert him to one item - that may be a problem later on. But other than that - it was basically are you and your family okay, yes they are, are yours? Which I've been doing a lot of lately. Constantly reassuring people that I'm not sick. (Outside of seasonal allergies, I'm not. Actually I feel better than I did November through Feb, when I had a persistent cough that would not go away due to dusty workplace and blood pressure meds. Also my sense of taste and smell is working VERY well. I sometimes wish the sense of smell wasn't - since I smell the other apartment's food choices on occasion.)

Still no period. I don't know what that means. It waited 64 days between December and Feb, then 28 days between Feb and March. Now...I don't know. But I am craving things and PMSing like crazy - it's as if the body expects it somehow.

1. New York State vs. Trump (and the Coronavirus)

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Well, I've received multiple notifications now that I'm supposed to wear a mask everywhere. If you don't have one for public transportation - you'll be turned away. Or told to get off the train. (Curious to see how they enforce this on the subways. Buses and Trains are easier to enforce. Subways not so much. Hence the reason that more subway workers are dead.)

My workplace sends them to me, as well as the Governor, and NYC Code.

2. I'm slowly making my way through Season 1 of The Steven Universe on Hulu.
Episode 7 and 8 were by far the best to date. Episode 7 introduces Connie and is rather funny in places, partly due to Connie. Episode 8 - was harder to follow, but kind of fun, in how the group and Steven worked together.

As an aside, Steven can be really annoying at times. I completely understand why Pearl wants to smack him. But then, so can Pearl - there are times, I'd like to smack Pearl. I love Garnet though. This is a rather clever, if slightly absurd or somewhat bizarre, animated program. Kind of reminds me of the bizarre children's programs of my youth.

CATFINGERS is an example. I thought it would be metaphorical. No. They are actual cats as fingers. ( spoilers )

3. Oh well, let's hope my food delivery from Imperfect Foods shows up at some point. They are supposed to notify me when it does - which I hope they do, because I have to put on a mask every time I leave my apartment, and the box is big. And it's an ordeal unpacking groceries.


Oh, well, this is a minor problem. I'm lucky - I have a job, it's secure, and I'm working each day - remotely. Also I have a safe and quiet apartment, and plenty of food. I decided to donate money to the Food Bank of NY, City Harvest and <ahref="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/coronavirus-best-face-masks.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_p_20200417&instance_id=17720&nl=morning-briefing&regi_id=77305672&section=longread&segment_id=25374&te=1&user_id=f04206125c89d6326f2b911adfb9a4e3">COVID-19 Emergency Food Fund for Those In Desperate Need, which was rec'd by a friend of mine.

My heart goes out to the people in this country who are lining up daily just to get food. There are so many people who are struggling to just get that.

(no subject)

1. This is kind of cool... NASA's LIST OF PLAUSIBLE TECHNOLOGY TERMS YOU CAN USE IN SCIENCE FICTION Go. NASA.

2. Fantasy Science Pt. 27 - The Science Fiction Writers Guide to Quantum Physics

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The guide is included in a PDF that you can click on and save to your computer.

3. Essential Reading on the CoronaVirus - for those who aren't burned out on it, like I am.

4. You're a Completely Different Person at 14 and 77 - the Longest Running Personality Study that There EVER WAS.

Coworker: You're personality never changes. People don't change, they stay the same.
ME: Not true, but you're not quite old enough to have figured that out yet.

It's true. I didn't figure it out until I hit my 40s. And I realized that my personality had in some respects changed, yet again. Life is not static, it is forever changing.

5. I still haven't gotten my Imperfect Foods delivery, damn it. It was scheduled for Thursday. I received an email on Thursday to expect it today. It's not here, and there's no followup email. I sent an email to them to check on it. This is my response:

Thanks for reaching out.

As demand continues to rise we're doing everything possible to make sure your delivery arrives on your delivery day, but we do expect to see some delays. We’re doing our best to communicate the status of your order via email should your order be impacted, so please be sure to check your email associated with your Imperfect account as we may have already sent you an update. If not, we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Thanks so much for your flexibility and patience during this time!

Now, I feel guilty and don't know what to do. The good news is they won't charge me until a day after it arrives. It's just a pending charge on my credit card at the moment. Not a fully authorized one. The bad news is this may require another run to the grocery store. Sigh.

When did getting groceries become so stressful? Oh, yes, around March 1, 2020.


6. Apparently Florida's Virus Cases Jumped, and the Governor - reopened the beaches in Jacksonville Florida, which were packed

IS this true? Because dear lord. [ETA: My Aunt M in Florida stated" "Yes, of course it is true. It's Florida. And our cases spiked to 1400 in a day."]

Note? The Mayor of NYC announced that all city pools and beaches would be closed for the summer and not be opened this year for fear of over-crowding- and crowds cause the virus to spread.

See? New Rochelle scared the hell out of NY, but apparently it didn't scare a lot of other people. (What happened in New Rochelle scared me, it should scare you. ( What happened in New Rochelle, NY )

7. How to Grow Vegetables From Kitchen Scraps

See, you don't need to buy seeds, you can do it from the left-overs.