The Virus Diary: May 1: Another Friday
Welcome to May.
I don't know how I feel about that. Usually I'd be excited about May. We'd be well into spring and summer unofficially starts at the end of the month. I'd be expecting sunny warm days and trips to the NJ shore. But as we all know, there is nothing usual about 2020. The country is "opening up" as the NJ death count reaches over 7200 people. As I write this, there are over 3.25 MILLION people worldwide that we know of with the disease. Welcome to May indeed.
I TRY not to be full of gloom and doom, but this past week has been overcast with lots of rain and wind. The daily walks have been limited. (Pretty much non-existent which may explain the 3 pounds I managed to put on in one week...I'm sure the wine drinking and massive consumption of the new brownie flavor M&Ms had NOTHING to do with it!) To pass the time I've been rewatching Doc Martin. I seemed to have missed season 9, but I did catch the brand new mini-episode which is centered around the quarantine and is a thank you to health care workers. (If you've got 7 minutes, and who doesn't these days, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7-tHqgOasA&feature=youtu.be) The weather has been so miserable here that I started my rewatch on Monday with season 1 and today (Friday), I have reached season 5. (Of course there are only 7 or 8 episodes per season, so...) The weather seems to be much nicer in Port Wenn than here in NJ. (Of course it's a FICTIONAL town!) Anyway, here in NJ seems to be a constant chill in the air; although the local forecasters have me hopeful for some warm spring days ahead. (But what does that mean when it comes to the re-opening of parks? I'm ready to walk around the lake, but how many people are going to want to join me and NOT maintain social distancing?) Instead of looking forward to summer; I'm feeling apprehensive and unsure. Surely I am not alone.
We are all trying to get through this with various levels of anxiety. Anxiety that ebbs and flows day by day. I grateful that I am still employed. (Should I have even said that?) I have a cousin who has been furloughed. A friend was sure that she was going to lose her job this past week. (She didn't.) With one in five people being unemployed, aren't we all worried that we might be next? Do I try to save more? (You always should.) On the other hand, shouldn't I give more? There are so many in need. I can't help everyone, but I can try to help some. And in some way by helping others, I'm actually helping myself. (And maybe earning good karma points as well? My mind works in weird ways.)
One of the ways I can help others is by grocery shopping. It may be the first of the month, but it is also Friday. And if it's Friday it must be grocery day. If it's Friday, it also must be raining. Or at least that's how it seems to be for me in the morning when I head out.
This week I'm modeling a new mask. It was a gift from a neighbor. I have purchased a few groceries for her and her family. She wants me to be safe. (We all want to be safe.) I'm grateful that she's looking out for me. We all need to look out for each other don't we? Is that the point? (I'm not talking about the pandemic, I'm talking about life in general.) We need one another to survive and (hopefully) thrive, even when we cannot be physically close to one another. By supporting each other in whatever ways we can, we are actually helping ourselves.
This week's shopping list was not as extensive as last week's. And I didn't even know what I spent until I got home and my husband found the receipt. I was too busy bagging to even check what the cost was. I have to say last week's bill was the largest for a week that I can recall. (However, last week in addition to my own family I picked up items for 5 other people/families and this week I only picked up for 2 other people/families) Not that I want to tempt fate; in addition to certain items being harder to find, they are also increasing in cost. Such is life in the pandemic state.
Observations from today's trip to Shoprite (in the rain). There were less cars in the lot when I arrived (5 minutes before opening). There were probably about the same amount of people in line to get in. (I was cart #13.) Produce was pretty well stocked. Rice is making a slow come back. Pasta and sauce remain strong and the canned and boxes goods are also increasing. Meat is starting to be an issue. I was looking for poultry (not for me, but for a friend) and there were slim pickings. Prices have gone up. (No surprise there.) There are more cleaning products (although I still have not found Clorox or Lysol wipes) and paper goods are increasing. Frozen veggies continue to be a hot commodity (and for the first week I bought none). While last week's run on creamer seemed to have resolved itself; French Vanilla flavor was no where to be found (no matter what brand.) I wish I had some profound insight into why.
Checking out was surprisingly easy today (I hope I haven't just jinxed myself). There were no lines to speak of (almost like a "regular" shopping trip). There was only one person ahead of me. I specifically picked cashier 11 because she has been helping me for so many weeks. I finally purposely checked out her name tag and now I can say that Sandy is truly a dedicated employee and caring human being. In a world where nothing is as it was or should be, seeing her and knowing that she is well is an important part of my week.
Now I am home. I've unpacked the groceries, showered and put my "shopping clothes" in the laundry. With my coffee (sans French vanilla creamer...although the Oreo flavor is quite nice), I'm ready to start my work day and new month. I'm hoping for some clearing so that I can walk off some of the junk food at lunch, but if not, it will be back to Season 5 of Doc Martin and sunny Port Wenn.
No matter what the weather, please stay SAFE and stay well.
I don't know how I feel about that. Usually I'd be excited about May. We'd be well into spring and summer unofficially starts at the end of the month. I'd be expecting sunny warm days and trips to the NJ shore. But as we all know, there is nothing usual about 2020. The country is "opening up" as the NJ death count reaches over 7200 people. As I write this, there are over 3.25 MILLION people worldwide that we know of with the disease. Welcome to May indeed.
I TRY not to be full of gloom and doom, but this past week has been overcast with lots of rain and wind. The daily walks have been limited. (Pretty much non-existent which may explain the 3 pounds I managed to put on in one week...I'm sure the wine drinking and massive consumption of the new brownie flavor M&Ms had NOTHING to do with it!) To pass the time I've been rewatching Doc Martin. I seemed to have missed season 9, but I did catch the brand new mini-episode which is centered around the quarantine and is a thank you to health care workers. (If you've got 7 minutes, and who doesn't these days, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7-tHqgOasA&feature=youtu.be) The weather has been so miserable here that I started my rewatch on Monday with season 1 and today (Friday), I have reached season 5. (Of course there are only 7 or 8 episodes per season, so...) The weather seems to be much nicer in Port Wenn than here in NJ. (Of course it's a FICTIONAL town!) Anyway, here in NJ seems to be a constant chill in the air; although the local forecasters have me hopeful for some warm spring days ahead. (But what does that mean when it comes to the re-opening of parks? I'm ready to walk around the lake, but how many people are going to want to join me and NOT maintain social distancing?) Instead of looking forward to summer; I'm feeling apprehensive and unsure. Surely I am not alone.
We are all trying to get through this with various levels of anxiety. Anxiety that ebbs and flows day by day. I grateful that I am still employed. (Should I have even said that?) I have a cousin who has been furloughed. A friend was sure that she was going to lose her job this past week. (She didn't.) With one in five people being unemployed, aren't we all worried that we might be next? Do I try to save more? (You always should.) On the other hand, shouldn't I give more? There are so many in need. I can't help everyone, but I can try to help some. And in some way by helping others, I'm actually helping myself. (And maybe earning good karma points as well? My mind works in weird ways.)
One of the ways I can help others is by grocery shopping. It may be the first of the month, but it is also Friday. And if it's Friday it must be grocery day. If it's Friday, it also must be raining. Or at least that's how it seems to be for me in the morning when I head out.
This week I'm modeling a new mask. It was a gift from a neighbor. I have purchased a few groceries for her and her family. She wants me to be safe. (We all want to be safe.) I'm grateful that she's looking out for me. We all need to look out for each other don't we? Is that the point? (I'm not talking about the pandemic, I'm talking about life in general.) We need one another to survive and (hopefully) thrive, even when we cannot be physically close to one another. By supporting each other in whatever ways we can, we are actually helping ourselves.
This week's shopping list was not as extensive as last week's. And I didn't even know what I spent until I got home and my husband found the receipt. I was too busy bagging to even check what the cost was. I have to say last week's bill was the largest for a week that I can recall. (However, last week in addition to my own family I picked up items for 5 other people/families and this week I only picked up for 2 other people/families) Not that I want to tempt fate; in addition to certain items being harder to find, they are also increasing in cost. Such is life in the pandemic state.
Observations from today's trip to Shoprite (in the rain). There were less cars in the lot when I arrived (5 minutes before opening). There were probably about the same amount of people in line to get in. (I was cart #13.) Produce was pretty well stocked. Rice is making a slow come back. Pasta and sauce remain strong and the canned and boxes goods are also increasing. Meat is starting to be an issue. I was looking for poultry (not for me, but for a friend) and there were slim pickings. Prices have gone up. (No surprise there.) There are more cleaning products (although I still have not found Clorox or Lysol wipes) and paper goods are increasing. Frozen veggies continue to be a hot commodity (and for the first week I bought none). While last week's run on creamer seemed to have resolved itself; French Vanilla flavor was no where to be found (no matter what brand.) I wish I had some profound insight into why.
Checking out was surprisingly easy today (I hope I haven't just jinxed myself). There were no lines to speak of (almost like a "regular" shopping trip). There was only one person ahead of me. I specifically picked cashier 11 because she has been helping me for so many weeks. I finally purposely checked out her name tag and now I can say that Sandy is truly a dedicated employee and caring human being. In a world where nothing is as it was or should be, seeing her and knowing that she is well is an important part of my week.
Now I am home. I've unpacked the groceries, showered and put my "shopping clothes" in the laundry. With my coffee (sans French vanilla creamer...although the Oreo flavor is quite nice), I'm ready to start my work day and new month. I'm hoping for some clearing so that I can walk off some of the junk food at lunch, but if not, it will be back to Season 5 of Doc Martin and sunny Port Wenn.
No matter what the weather, please stay SAFE and stay well.
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