The one hope I harbor for this entire clusterfuck of a pandemic is that maybe people will finally wake up to how unworkable the current system is, and how badly it needs permanent change. Bandaids and burying our heads in the sand have gotten us nowhere, and this proves it.

And I live in the place with the fastest growing number of cases. And based on what I saw from people at the store I worked at before getting fired, I absolutely believe it. I saw up to 40% of people refusing to take the free hand wipes that were being offered, and a significant chunk of them were dismissive of the entire idea of taking preventative measures (but they were sure as hell gonna panic buy anyways).

Harness that anger, use it to affect some positive change. Keep snowballing it. Don't lose hope.

Welp, I got fired. Indirectly because of the virus. My state's governor has put a stay home order in place and closed all non-essential businesses, but thankfully, the job search requirement for unemployment has been waived.

Actually, its a bit different from that. They're saying that there are already 4 endemic strains of coronavirus (which are actually responsible for a lot of, though not all, cases of the common cold) and that this one could become the 5th. The flu was only mentioned as comparison/historical precedent.

Yeah, that's what gets me. Why haven't they put price controls and rationing in yet? And better yet, why not start mandating curbside pickups? Makes it a hell of a lot easier for us to keep the stores stocked and sanitary if the customers just put their orders in online and we either send it out to them at the curb or use a 3rd party service to send it to them directly.

Except looking at only the raw numbers denies you some critical context. Percentage wise, more people die from COVID19 than the flu. And I'm pretty sure most flu deaths are preventable by the vaccine. As there is no vaccine against COVID19, and it kills a higher percentage of people than the flu, it is a much bigger threat.

Fucking ouch, hope you get well soon.



Nothing confirmed in my parish yet, but they're freaking out.



I heard from one of my friends (who knows the guy who was pushing buggies tonight) that we were so jammed that he couldn't even bring a load of buggies into the corral, because after he'd get a load together and start pushing it, everyone in the lot would swarm him for one of them.



Yeah, that sounds like the same as us. Tomorrow (technically today, I guess, since its 1AM) is gonna be hell. Hopefully the ban on gatherings of more than 250 people will keep the church rush on Sunday from killing us all in one massive horde.



That's a bruh moment.

Yeah, I've been busting my ass at work for the last 3 days. But, my store decided to just have someone standing around near the entrance offering hand wipes to people, and I got to be that person for a few hours today, which is a welcome break from my normal duties. Unfortunately, while most people take the offer, there's a few stubborn assholes who refuse to (I'd guess about 35%).

In other news, we've run out of hand sanitizer, and we can't keep toilet paper stocked on our shelves. Apparently, the walmart up the road from us had a fist fight over it earlier tonight (overheard a customer say that to a cashier). I'm constantly having to stay an hour over what I was scheduled in order to finish everything I have to, which is great for my paycheck, but I won't see it for 2 weeks, and I'm pretty sure if this keeps going on, management is going to want to have words with me about it (not like its in my control, though, not my fault people keep swarming the store like its a week before Thanksgiving).

As for Bernie, I'm hoping this whole virus scare makes people realize we need Medicare For All.

And, on a final note, life has no intrinsic meaning, thus, we are free to give our lives whatever meaning we wish. That's always helped me.




Honestly, I've noticed the same thing about the flip of a switch. The state flagship university is closed, but the one in my town is still open (they even had the semesterly visit from Diet Westboro Baptist Church today), and all the festivals and concerts are cancelled, except the biggest festival my town holds, which is still on, apparently. But everyone is acting differently, even the people who are pretending to not be concerned.

Good to hear your extended friends network is untouched for now.

As someone who takes care of my mom, who has COPD, those shitstains (because lets face it, there's no polite term for individuals like that) need to be decked.

As a hairless bipedal freak, I am utterly unsulted! Good day to you, SIR!

Tonight, I made chili mac. Blue box, Hormel beanless, a can of queso dip, some diced onions, and a whole bag of shredded cheddar.


Odd ingredients warning:

I was a kid when he was president, but I remember the second half of his term pretty well.

Sir, this is a Wendys.

"Physicist with a drinking problem" just sounds like a real life Rick, tbh. Coming from a physics dropout with a drinking problem. Otherwise known as a real life Morty.



Bruh. You're telling me that not only are we in the same state, we work for the same company?

I mean, I'm not one to kinkshame. Unless its something actually harmful. It ain't my thing, but everyone's got things they like in that department that other people think are gross.



OOF.



God, that sucks.

I once accidentally included them in a picture on discord, and had a rando tell me I should do that.

I mean, I figure that's the closest I'll ever get to creative anything. But putting a story together still kinda escapes me. I think the best I can hope for at this point is a technobabble writer or something.

And I really look down on people who look down on art majors. Like, I've never been good at art, of any kind. So I appreciate people who have drawing ability, music ability, etc, because its something I want to do, but can't (not that I hate STEM by any means, I'm very passionate about it, in fact). I guess its kind of a weird role reversal, because sometimes people tell me the reverse when they find out I'm a physics major.

Yeah. Everyone says "Go in STEM so you can actually get a job when you graduate, sweaty!". And then almost nobody wants to hire you when you actually do.

I mean, like I said, I'm a dropout, but I've heard stories from friends who've graduated.