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Bloggy Blog #83

   We're now in day two-hundred something and counting of self-quarantine. I've been okay, knock on wood. Trying to avoid the larger petri dishes like the Walmarts and Targets and what not. Why would you even risk it at this point? Order your stuff online, if you can. I haven't been to either place in over a month now, but the last couple times I did show up, many grocery aisles were disheveled and partially bare. I've been sticking to my closer (and smaller) grocery and dollar stores, neither of which have featured paper products on the shelves for weeks.

Grocery shopping in the time of the 'Rona has been ridiculous here, and everywhere else I'm sure. This is thanks in part to your hoarders and panic shoppers, who managed to purchase all packages of toilet paper every single day before stores finally started putting a limit on how many you could get. Nothing like sanitary essentials being treated like they're a Black Friday special, wheeled onto the sales floor on a pallet, where all the shoppers tackle one another getting all punchy and grabby. Fun! How many poor elderly folks got trampled and nudged out of the way and their purchases snatched right out of their hands. Are humans the worst? Probably!

I do give my local grocery store here a lot of credit. They have gone out of their way to tape down arrows and lines along the ground, so shoppers can follow a simple path without clogging the aisle with multiple carts and people at one time. They also put some plexiglass-sneeze guard thing in front of their cashiers. They're trying, they really are. Does that mean shoppers are obeying these suggestions? You bet your sweet ass they're mostly not. Grown adults are just sometimes too indignant to be told what to do like they're children. Heaven forbid we're out here just trying to help one another.

One of my favorite things in all this pandemic paranoia is how brands act like they're somehow "in this together" with us. They'll toss that cliche line around while continuing to terrorize and pollute the earth's natural resources, furloughing workers during this time, and making sure their front line employees never earn a living wage. But don't worry! Our completely efficient government will be sure to bail out these companies to make sure their CEO's still collect their eight to nine figure salaries.

Another thing I enjoy are all these people non-medical professionals who continue to think they can pinpoint dates when they can magically start businesses back up. The President tries this constantly. Remember the Easter thing, "opening" our country to fill up our "big beautiful churches?" Yeah, that went over well. He also hopped on the phone with the commissioners of North America's biggest sports leagues, hoping they start back up again. As if it's as simple as that. This goes right back to that indignation thing. Humans don't like to be inconvenienced, so they like to think they have control over things like, oh I don't know, a global virus that has affected almost two million people and still currently lacks a vaccine. This President is going to declare the "country is back open" just like Michael Scott declared bankruptcy on The Office. 

Unsurprising, this clusterfuck of mismanagement isn't looking too good for us now. The United States has predictably assumed its number one ranking, in total confirmed cases, according to this trusty site. We're #1, we're #1! I worry about my friends and colleagues in New York City, which has managed to become the national epicenter for this virus. I worry about my parents, three hours north of New York City, but not exactly in tip-top health. They say they're alright, and I like to believe them as they hardly go anywhere, but the worry is still there.

At any rate, I guess the best we can do for now is to keep things clean, stay home if you can, tell your loved ones you care, and hope we don't need to resort to tree leaves on our restroom trips. 

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