Mostly Apolitical Thread for Discussing/Venting our Rational/Irrational COVID-19 Fears and Experiences in 2020

I've worked from home since Nov. 2001 and it messed me up so bad I became an ILX mod.

Whoa. Now THAT is a cautionary tale.

Kids, study hard and work hard. You don't want to abase yourself so.

I'm planning to maintain my exact same working hours as I WFH, because I know myself well enough to say that any other course of action will result in me maintaining basically zero viable working hours. I mean...just look at all this other, funner shit I could be doing. Just look at it.

getting up at 9.20, not showering and not doing any work until noon
is
my normal routine

not gonna FEEL LIKE doing work at home, ever

what if work is reading and writing

Depends on the reading and writing tbf.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETKiAtcXkAY9bbv?format=jpg&name=900x900

you laugh but

If anybody in the Boston area needs anything, let me know. I am here until the end of the month, working from home mostly, before packing up for Florida. I am mobile and happy to help.

Being aged myself, all my siblings are also old. My wife has only her brother left out of three siblings and he is hanging by a thread in ICU right now. Then there's our daughter and four other residents in her group home who are deeply medically compromised and if COVID-19 gets started there it will spell death for at least some of them. Finally, my wife must have a couple dozen close friends and at least a hundred strong acquaintances who fit in the high risk 'elderly' group.

I expect it is going to be a long, sad year for us, no matter what happens to the two of us. We're determined to see it through.

<3 aimless

feeling you, dear sir

Keeping you in my thoughts, Aimless.

I know I'm just a random internet figment, but I wish you and yours all the best, Aimless (same to Morbs and everyone else who is dealing or is about to deal with this undead pathogen in some shape or form).

The anger I feel seeing Facebook posts of my coworkers out at bars and restaurants last night makes he understand how wars begin

Christ aimless, love to you

Thoughts of health and strength for everyone.

Strength to you and yours, Aimless.

Be safe and well, Aimless, Morbs, all of you.

I was joking earlier that I might get up in the morning, cycle half way to work and then come back, and then do the same at 5 - but I might actually go out and around the block twice a day anyway, both for some exercise and also to mark "werk is here" / "werk is gone".

can only echo the above. strength to all those with vulnerable family and friends

There is the 'open air treatment' that they used during other pandemics. We always always have windows open unless it's crazy cold out.

xpost that was for the thing about cycling to work. Fresh air and sun.

Our county is supposedly on lock down and yet the parking lot of the Hobby Lobby is full. Economic collapse averted I suppose.

I've already gotten into one terrible screaming match with my wife, and I'm still stewing about it. Literally every single sensible person has given the same recommendations: avoid going out and contact with others as much as possible, because the longer isolation is postponed, the longer and worse this will get. And yet she keeps letting our kids hang out with friends, or have friends over. I know it's hard, but it's only been a few fucking days! I don't care how careful they are, or how hard is it to make the barest fucking effort to just take it easy, it's selfish. shortsighted and irresponsible. But there's literally nothing I can do about it if they're not all on board. I've basically thrown up my hands and said fine, don't do anything. If I and the people making the recommendations are wrong, we'll all be lucky. And if they're all right, then we're all going to be stuck inside with no socialization at all, anyway, except more and more people will get sick or worse in the meantime. I mean, why can't they just give it a few days? What can I do besides rant and yell?

So sorry, aimless, wishing for the best

jic, had something v similar yesterday

I convened a short notice skype chat with my team this evening. I suggested that from tomorrow we minimum man the office with everyone else working from home and response was decidedly lukewarm. Don't really understand the lack of urgency around it especially as I was suggesting to it for everyone's welfare.

People don't like disruptions of their routines. They don't like to face harsh facts and usually prefer to distract themselves, deflect them, or ignore them. They just hate change in general.

yet the parking lot of the Hobby Lobby is full

I read recently that older Republicans are the least worried (because Fox and DJT told them it was a dem hoax). Then I read that evangelical churchgoers are having a hard time staying home, because church is so important to them. Then you tell me that Hobby Lobby fans aren't practicing social distance.

And... of course my brain realizes these are bad things (because contagion is no respecter of political affiliation). But thereis a secret dark part of my heart that is like "hmmm. Older Republican Bible-thumpers getting sick and/or dying in an election year?"

I preemptively denounce myself.

my roommate is treating asking to be able to use the living room (the only place in the apartment there is wifi) instead of having her watch TV there all day (which, unlike using the internet, can be done elsewhere in the apartment, like in her room) as a personal affront, even though starting tomorrow -- really, starting tonight since I have freelance -- I work from home (which, unlike TV, is mandatory)

Josh in Chicago, my experience of this so far is that people take a while to adjust to the change, and that someone can seem completely, infuriatingly resistant one day and then come around a few days later. I realize that's not much comfort when what you're arguing for is for change to happen right now, but that seems to be the way it works.

I preemptively denounce myself.

― love will keep us apart (Ye Mad Puffin), Sunday, March 15, 2020 4:08 PM (thirty-three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Why type something so despicable then?

I warn you to stay away from the UK politics thread then.

Much love and best wishes to everyone currently dealing with hard corona-related shit.

People don't like disruptions of their routines. They don't like to face harsh facts and usually prefer to distract themselves, deflect them, or ignore them. They just hate change in general.

― A is for (Aimless), Sunday, March 15, 2020 3:07 PM (thirty-one minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I am definitely this person under normal circumstances, just because it's easier for me to do the things I don't want to do when I'm able to just go through the motions. But these aren't normal circumstances so if I, a person who gets briefly bent out of shape if a software update changes the look of a familiar work program or finds that his computer monitors have been knocked askew sometime overnight, can suck it up and deal with these radically changed circumstances like a responsible adult, then anybody can.

also just had to restrain myself from screaming through the phone at a relative who is going out for the necessity of getting her nails done

I warn you to stay away from the UK politics thread then.

― God gave toilets rolls to you, gave toilet rolls to you (Tom D.), Sunday, 15 March 2020 20:47 (nineteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i keep trying to get the two groups in a thread together to really blow minds but alas

also

idk would i go "despicable" on such a thought when the site spends full election cycles wishing death and harm on ppl who vote differently to em (even with the same party)

but hey

As someone else said, if in your darkest thoughts you're thinking of effect on voting demographics, this will hit city-dwellers hardest, I'd have thought.

I finally checked my work e-mail. If we have a "valid" request to WFH, we must complete a "reasonable accommodation form".

NYC schools finally closing?

So it would seem.

oh oh my god

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETLQ_WGWsAIHQKS?format=jpg&name=medium

NJ probably gonna close schools starting tomorrow. My wife hates our downstairs neighbors' kids (TBF they're pretty wretched kids). Can't wait.

Sorry YMP I’m freaked out and scared, I apologize

my partner is working at an NYC charter school; they've just announced to staff that they're closing through late April.
just stocked up on flu medications. local drugstores, bakery, grocery stores all running fine and friendly at the moment.

also: XBox Live is down

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

My INTERNET went down for about 20 minutes the night before last, that was troubling

I was absolutely doing the pet sematary nooooo