Tag: coronavirus

The Stir Crazy Files – Episode 5

My wife made a command decision. She said that even after all this quarantini stuff is over she’s kinda done with visiting Manhattan.

I proposed that from this day forward all of our vacationing would be in Iowa or Kansas or some other mostly empty place.

Also, today we had a Socially Distanced visit. We went to Jen’s mom’s house but we didn’t go inside. We stood in the driveway while she stayed on the front porch. We managed to visit in person without coming anywhere near each other.

We also tried buying groceries with instacart. I don’t recommend it. The buyer got literally everything on our list wrong. What the ever loving fuck are we supposed to do with two packages of salted cod and three six packs of… I can’t even say it, it’s too awful… caffeine free Diet Pepsi?

I ended up going to the super market myself… twice. Oh well.

The Stir Crazy Files – Episode 4

I just poured myself a bowl of Cheerios.  Not to go off on a tangent, but the box of Cheerios we have is not actually Cheeri-“o”‘s.  They are heart shaped.  They are not “o” shaped.  I can’t help but think that is part of the reason why the world is in such chaos today.

But I digress… back to the stir crazy file….

I poured out a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast.  I then opened up the utensil drawer and grabbed a fork.

It’s going to be a long quarantine, babie.

Work Week #1 – Wrap Up

I haven’t read the news yet today.  Has Massachusetts upgraded from Social Distance to Shelter in Place?  That was the rumor going around yesterday.  I don’t think it makes any real difference as far as how we’ve been riding things out goes.  The only thing they could do to mess us up is restrict traffic over the state line.  That would be a major problem for us.  We live in Massachusetts.  The kids’ dad lives in New Hampshire.  We have to be able to travel back and forth.  I’m not going to worry about that today.

So how did the first week at home go as far as work is concerned?  It went okay.  Our upper management suggested we have regular check ins with our staff, and to have the group as a whole meet as often as possible.  We already do that.  Daily check in meetings for the entire group and weekly one on one check ins have been in place for a couple of years now.  I feel like I am way ahead of that particular curve.  My manager did not have regular check ins with his directs so he set up quick, full group check ins for every other day.

It’s all about trying to make us feel connected.  As it is, there are only two days a week when my entire group is in the same building at the same time.  We all telecommute, some of the guys telecommute twice a week.  We have a guy who works in a different building a couple of days a week.  On Tuesdays I’m the only one in the building.  On Thursdays none of us are in the building.  Despite that, I never got the sense that we were disconnected.  This week?  I felt it a little.  I can’t say exactly why, but maybe it was just something in tone of everyone’s voice during the daily meetings.  Maybe it was just me and I was projecting it onto everyone else.

Productivity didn’t go down as far as I could see.  For me personally, I spent more time with my hands on the code than I have in a while.  I did have one miscommunication with another group’s supervisor, but it was a timing thing and it had nothing to do with everyone being at home.  One quick email resolved it and all was well.  No worries at all.  I did have to shoot down a request from another group.  I brought my manager into the discussion, and he told me later that he fully intended to back me up, but a manager from another group stepped in and beat him to it.  I had all sorts of people agreeing with my downer of a decision.  I felt nice and validated.

That doesn’t mean the whole thing wasn’t super weird though.  Thursday is my usual telecommuting day.  This week literally every day felt like Thursday.  Even as I was signing out for the day on Friday I still couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that I wouldn’t be driving to the office the next day.  Today is Saturday and I still woke up at the same time I do on a work day.  That isn’t uncommon, but today when I woke up I had to wrack my brain for a while (0.68 seconds) to figure out what day it was and what I needed to do.

I am worried about my family’s health.  Not just physical but mental too.  I can’t control if any of us catch the bug, and statistically speaking it’s a safe bet that at least three of us will, but I can try and help with how everyone handles this mess.  I need to stay positive in the hopes that I can help to keep everyone else positive.  I can’t lose my temper… ever.  The stress level world wide right now is insanely high and am nervous that my temper’s fuse is now really short.  I cannot cannot cannot lose it.  I have to pay close attention not only to what I say to people, but how I say it.  I can’t snap.  I can’t sound pissy.  I can’t be anything other than cool and supportive.  Everyone is having a hard time with this and I need to be the rock, if I can.  Not The Rock because I don’t like wrestling and I really don’t like his acting, but just a rock.  Dig?

Okay, I am getting silly now.  It’s time to click publish.

  • Stay safe
  • Stay healthy
  • Wash Your Damn Hands
  • Keep your cool
  • Keep your focus at work
  • Don’t let it bring you down, it’s only castles burning.  Just find someone who’s turning, and you will come around. (N. Young, 1971… I think?)

Is Shelter in Place Coming?

Jen heard a rumor that Massachusetts is going to announce a shelter in place.  Unrelated, an email thread is going around work saying that we’re closing our buildings (most of them) at close of business today (that was actually decided a few days ago) but if a shelter in place goes into effect and you haven’t picked something up you’re going to be out of luck.

The kids just left for their dad’s house.  They don’t come back here until Wednesday.

I’ve been reading up on the things California and New York have set up.  The Governor of New York refuses to use the phrase “shelter in place” but California does not and the two plans sound about the same.  Whatever you call it, it sounds like you can still leave your house, there just isn’t anything to do if you do.  Does that make sense?  I have to assume that there will not be any restrictions that stop someone who has a joint custody arrangement with a co-parent from driving to the other parent’s house and picking up the kids and bringing them back to their house.

If that is somehow restricted… you can try to stop me, m’kay?

Happy Spring, at Last

Winter is dead, long live the spring.

And while we’re at it, hows about you go and choke on a big bag of dicks, winter.  You prick.

The forecast for the first day or spring is temps in the mid 60’s and a 74% chance of rain.  Pretty much the text book spring day.

California is telling the entire state to shelter in place (assuming the headline I read this morning is correct, of course).  New York is in a worse state than California and they have said they will not do the same (assuming the stories I read yesterday are correct, of course).  We haven’t heard anything along those lines from Massachusetts and New Hampshire yet.  No one I know is sick… yet.  Statistically speaking it’s just a matter of time.  As of yesterday’s state health department update there are 328 confirmed cases in Massachusetts.  The expectation is that there are probably more like 6,000.  At least that’s what they said yesterday.  The CDC count has the United States over 10,000.  I have to guess the real number is also much higher.

There is nothing we can do about it beyond the meager steps we are taking now.  We’re staying home, we’re avoiding contact as much as we can.  We’re trying to avoid going stir crazy.  Last night Jen and I got in the car and drove around.  We didn’t go anywhere.  We took the highway north a couple of exists and then took the backroads back.  It was nice to get out.

I am feeling disconnected from everyone outside of the house.  I sent some emails and texts and facebook messages yesterday.  I just want to make sure everyone is still out there.  They are.  All is well.

Just hang in there, people, and don’t forget to wash your damn hands.

The Stir Crazy Files – Episode 2 (Preempted)

I had a second episode of The Stir Crazy Files all lined up and ready to go and then something came along to negate the need for it.

Yesterday my love came up with a plan to take a tiny little bite out of the cabin fever and also fight against the lack of exercise we are bound to suffer from during our social distancing.

She asked me if I wanted to take a walk around the block.  I said sure and off we went.  It only took about 15 minutes or so and it just felt great.  I mean, the exercise was just exercise, you know?  But actually spending a few minutes outside of the confines of our house just really hit the spot.

Normally I would be 100% in favor of not going outside for any reason, but now that The Man is telling us to stay in it just felt so good breathe fresh air.  We both felt invigorated and we agreed we’d do the same thing every lunch time until The Man sets us free.  Weather permitting, of course.

Can you see where this is going now?

When we woke up this morning it was pouring rain.  When we started working it was pouring rain.  When I looked outside after my morning meeting it was pouring rain.

Damn it.

When 1:00 came I didn’t even bother looking outside, I just went to the kitchen and made myself a sandwich.

Then… a minor miracle.

Jen had a meeting end around 1:00.  As I was sitting down to eat my sandwich she asked if I wanted to go for a walk.  But… but.. I thought.  Then I looked outside and wonder of wonders the rain had stopped!  It was still cold as ass, but at least it wasn’t raining!  We went outside and went for a walk.  Oh happiness!

So instead of writing a post about feeling stir crazy again, I get to write a post about not feeling stir crazy again.

Sweet.

Now go and wash your damn hands.

The Stir Crazy Files – Episode 1

Our toaster is a fickle minx.

Prior to the concept of social distancing taking over the known universe, my sweet, angelic, brilliant, beautiful, beloved wife Jennifer started having a hankering for English Muffins.  I get it.  Every once in a while I go through a phase where I can’t get enough of those muffins.

I like them on the well-done side.  Jen and the kids like them on the just-barely toasted side.  What ever your preference, our toaster can do it… it just doesn’t want to.  There is a sweet spot setting but it’s so hard to find it.  When I make toast it’s either just a little too done, or just a little too underdone.  No matter what I try it’s always just barely not-quite perfect.  That’s not to imply the English muffins don’t come out delicious, put some peanut butter on one of those little suckers and it’s bordering on bliss, it’s just that they could stand to be a tiny bit perfecterer.  Dig?

Yup… it’s only day four of the working from home/social distancing experiment and I am feeling rather stir crazy.  Hold on, kids.  It’s gonna be a bumpy ride!

Embrace the Bad Situation Part II

After doing all of the chores imaginable before work this morning, we found another way to embrace the shitty situation.

My wife and I took our lunch breaks together and went for a walk around the block.  It took about 15 minutes at a moderately brisk pace.  Weather permitting we are hoping to make this a regular thing.  If this mess continues long enough maybe we’ll be able to make more than one trip around the neighborhood.

Optimism AF, people.

Still Not Real

I listen to a lot of podcasts.  I use the podcast app on my iPhone to queue up a whole slew of episodes and I just let it play.  I play it in the car, I play it while I work, I play it while I’m cooking dinner, and so on and so on.

When I work from home I don’t use my iPhone.  If a podcast is playing and my phone rings, the podcast keeps playing in my ear while I’m trying to listen to the person on the other end of the call.  Tres annoying.  When I work from home I either use my MacBook, or my iPad, or my iPod Touch… yes, I am King Apple Fanboy the First.  After the work day ends I go in and edit my running podcast playlist on my phone so that it doesn’t try to play a podcast I’ve already listened to.

On Monday, the first day of social distance telecommuting, I didn’t listen to anything.  On Tuesday I did.  Just a couple of episodes (The Walking Deadcast and Grumpy Old Geeks) before shutting it down.  I used my iPad.

Here’s the sad part of the story….

After I punched out for the day I picked up my iPhone so I could update the queue for the next day’s commute.

Meaning, I was setting it up for this morning’s drive to work.

You see the problem?  There is no drive to work.

At my core I have still not accepted the changes our society requires from us.  In my heart of hearts, yesterday was just another day.  Yesterday was not a lock down to try and slow the spread of a virus that is going to fuck up our health care system and overrun our hospitals.  The company I work for sells software to hospitals.  The division I work in within the company supports new customers as they implement our software.  Even before most of the tech companies around here started talking about keeping their full staff at home I was hearing that some of our customers, hospitals, were telling our training staff to stay away from them.  They were implying that their lives were about to get really difficult and they didn’t expect to have time or energy to deal with anything other than their own patients.

This is real.  Don’t you doubt it.  Still… my tiny little wisp of a brain isn’t evolved enough to take that information into itself and impose a new, albeit temporary, reality onto the old reality.

Crud.  This sucks.

Wash your damn hands and stay home.

Music and Money

I’ve mentioned that at the start of March I decided to curb my post-RPM Challenge blues by doing another RPM Challenge.  I’m still working on it though it is very easy to be distracted by other things right now.  I’ve got two songs done, six more partially done, and I still need two more.

This morning there was a post on the RPM Challenge Facebook group (I didn’t check the actual RPM Challenge website, it might be there too) suggesting we all take advantage of being stuck at home indefinitely and do another RPM Challenge in April.  Good idea!  I mean, I was already planning on it, but I don’t have to do it alone.  Why not?  Why not use our stay-at-home time to do something creative?  I’m all for it… but I would have been without a global pandemic to lock me in the house so I guess I’m not the target audience there.

Turning to politics, remember when Andrew Yang was running for president and proposed giving everyone in the USA a $1,000 stipend every month?  I thought it was a good idea.  A creative way to help those in need as well as to stimulate the economy.  I also loved the implied, “you think Sanders is a socialist?  Wait till you get a load of this” vibe.

Yesterday Mittens Romney threw out a similar proposal.  Today Joe Kennedy did as well, though he provided some actual details with his idea.  Now it sounds like the fucking white house is jumping on the wagon.  They may be considering a plan similar to Yang’s.

First off, let me get it out of the way… if the dickless president really wants to make being anti-socialist a platform in his campaign, then giving away money isn’t a good way to do it.  I expect that anyone who ever said a negative word about socialism should refuse that money, right?  Just like they refuse public schools and public fire departments, and trash pick up, and police, and snow plows, and highways, and all of those other socialist things.

Second, can we just make Andrew Yang president now?  Like, let’s all vote today and just give him the job.  The proposal he made that everyone laughed at could very well be law within days.  Good work, Mr Yang.  Smart leadership is what we need and it is literally the furthest thing away from what we have.

So as for the social distancing, today is my second day working from home.  Yesterday felt like a normal telecommute day.  All day long I had this idea in the back of my mind that I would be back in the office tomorrow, same as any other telecommuting day.  It really wasn’t until I got up this morning and didn’t drive to work (I drove to the super market instead) that it really started sinking in.  Things are different.

There is a little sense of stir craziness, sure, but mostly what I am feeling today is the sense that this is going to be really hard to do.  Some how removing the commute and the office from the work day equation is going to make things more difficult?  I don’t get it, but that feels like where this is heading.  I wish I could explain it, but I can’t.

There is so much wrong with the world right now, and I’m not even talking about that textbook nazi prick in the white house.  There is so much out of wack that I can’t figure out what to focus my worries on.  I’m trying to only worry about things I can control like stocking the pantry and working from home and making sure everyone has what they need to do their work/school work without driving each other to drink (wink).  I don’t want to worry about all the other shit.  I don’t want to worry about the projections or the infection rates, or the mortality rates, or the stock market, or layoffs or closings, or the fact that I am weeks overdue for a haircut and now can’t get one (anyone want to lend me their flowbee?).

Positivity used to be the hardest thing in the world for me before I met Jen.  It’s still not easy, but it is closer to my normal mindset.  I am trying real hard to stay positive through all of this.  I may need to bash my guitar around in order to pull it off, but I owe it to everyone to do my best to keep the ship upright.  (I typo’d ship as shit and somehow that sounds better to me, hehe)

So keep your shit together, planet Earth.  I have faith in you.  You can do it.  Now let’s all celebrate St Patrick’s Day in our self imposed isolation by listening to some Irish music.  No, not U2.  No, not Makem and Clancy…

Rory Gallagher (I wanted the Irish Tour album but those pukes at Spotify don’t have it)