Social Distancing 2020

[bluerain]

Given these unprecedented times we are living in right now what is everyone doing to stay busy/occupied as we socially distance ourselves from one another? 😷 Anyone got any tv/movie recommendations? Learning any new hobbies or skills? Reading any good books?

Fortunately in my state we don’t have any wide spread cases of Coronavirus, and none in my town yet, but it is only a matter of time. I have one more day of work tomorrow and then my office is closing for the foreseeable future. I work dentistry and the risk of transmission/infection is high for us and our patients so my doctor thinks we will be closed for at least 6 weeks. 😞 

I have been binging 24 on Hulu for the last 3 weeks and have 3 season left; however one can only watch so much tv. I think I might take up drawing. And clean my apartment. Maybe I will finally put together the bookshelf I bought 2 years ago. 🤷‍♀️ The possibilities are endless. 

[angellovestim]

Wow, this is a crazy time and I think that the solution is more Tim I plan on watching everything of his that I haven't seen yet. I still haven't seen Hitman or the Die Hard movie where he plays the bad guy I love the romantic and happy Tim and the Justified and Deadwood Tim, but I plan to get deep into Tim during this social distancing. I need something hot and wonderful to help me through this scary time. I live in Chicago and our cases of the virus are going up fast. I am an accountant and still have to work from home and my boss gives me extra work just because he thinks I am goofing off He doesn't know that I have my Tim pics and pillow in my home office to help me make it through these weeks or months. MORE TIM IS THE CURE FOR THE WORLD!

[bluerain]

More Tim is always good. I have been listening to old interviews of his and restarted Justified from the beginning. Yesterday I went grocery shopping and cleaned out my fridge, I realized that I have apparently been panic buying string cheese over the last couple weeks, found 3 un opened packages in the fridge. 🤦‍♀️😅

I also decided to watch all of the Pixar movies on Disney+, I started with A Bug's Life and then deviated from Pixar to watch Frozen 2 which was just as good and maybe better than the first. 

I think today I will watch The Crazies again because why not?

[sarad]

Panic buying has got stupid over here in the U.K. People have bought 50% more food than usual, so either everyone going to be stuffing themselves or there’s going to be a lot of wastage over the next couple of weeks.
Seem to be drawn to classic virus movies, rewatched 28 days later & Twelve Monkeys. Quite funny hearing our son saying is that Brad Pitt!?!? Guess The Crazies is next.

[bluerain]

It is the same way here, the shelves were pretty empty at the grocery store I went to on Friday morning. I hadn’t been shopping in a week and actually needed groceries, couldn’t find half of what I was looking for. The guy in front of me at the checkout was buying 6 18 count cartons of eggs. That’s 108 eggs. Ridiculous. Nobody can possibly eat that many eggs before they go bad unless they have a huge family, and from parts of the conversation this kid was having with the cashier that I heard that wasn’t  the case for him. It is so stupid. The good thing at least about string cheese is that it keeps for months, and I go through it quite quickly, it’s super easy to just throw one in my lunch everyday for work. I was playing spot the panic buyer when I was shopping on Friday morning, some of the things people were stocking up on were just weird. There was absolutely no toilet paper or paper products of any kind left in the store and almost no cleaning supplies. I was looking for dish soap, which I actually needed, and there were only like 4 left on the shelf.  Some of the stores here have put up signs saying they will not be accepting returns on a lot of in demand items like tp, paper products, cleaning supplies, rice, etc. So all these people who are panic buying this stuff with plans to return things they don’t use will be stuck with it. Serves them right.  

I watched The Crazies last night, I think Contagion is next up on my list for pandemic movies. I don’t think I have ever seen 12 Monkeys, I will have to add it to my ever growing list. 

[superglue]

So glad you started this thread. I was thinking of doing it when I saw you'd already started it! It's really scary. In about 10 days, my state has gone from zero cases to more than 50 and two deaths. And the number infected has to be way higher since they don't have enough tests. This is infuriating to me. Not having enough tests?!? Total failure. I have a friend who is a physician in another country and he's baffled by this incompetence. 

I work at home so my lifestyle hasn't changed all that much, except no social life in person. I'm really bummed about all the things that have been cancelled. I feel really isolated but this is such a surreal time. I feel like we're bonding more as a society in some ways. I'm heartened to see all the kindness from people, like the late night hosts doing fundraisers, and people taking care of elderly neighbors. Not to mention the people who understand that social distancing will benefit others, not just themselves.

It's hard to find a lot of basics. I can't find my thermometer and they're impossible to buy now. I tried to buy one online and it said expected delivery by May 10! There's supposedly one in stock at my local Target so I'm going to run over now. 

Hope you're all feeling healthy!

[bluerain]

It is definitely a scary time. I almost feel like we are living in a movie with all the crazy things going on right now. My state has 21 cases as of today and 1 in my county now. Most are travel related but one county is having community spread so it is only a matter of time for the rest of the state. I don't think the country is handling this well either. What is even more infuriating to me is the fact that people won't stay home. And all the college kids on spring break down in Florida and South Padre right now is insane. How many people are they going to infect once they start heading home? My boss was hoping we would only be closed for 2 weeks, 6 at the most, but I really am starting to think it will be much longer than that. 

I'm on day 3 and I am starting to feel stir crazy/bored; which is funny, I don't normally work on Friday's so this would be a normal 3 day weekend for me but I think the fact that I know I'm not going back to work anytime soon is making me not enjoy all my weekend free time as much as I normally would. I would kill to have a balcony right now, even though it isn't quite nice enough to sit outside and enjoy the weather yet. I'm a pretty introverted person so being home like this isn't that hard for me but I'm sure I will start to miss social interaction at some point. 

I hope you get that thermometer at Target! Funny story about thermometers, before we closed the office, my boss wanted to get a couple for the office so we could screen our patients before we saw them so she sent her husband to pick a couple up. He couldn't find any of the thermometers that you swipe across the forehead so he went to the hardware store and came back with one of those infrared thermometers that electricians use to detect hot spots which are not accurate on humans at all. 😂😂😂

[superglue]

Mar 22, 2020 18:59:35 GMT -6 bluerain said:

I hope you get that thermometer at Target! Funny story about thermometers, before we closed the office, my boss wanted to get a couple for the office so we could screen our patients before we saw them so she sent her husband to pick a couple up. He couldn't find any of the thermometers that you swipe across the forehead so he went to the hardware store and came back with one of those infrared thermometers that electricians use to detect hot spots which are not accurate on humans at all. 😂😂😂

Hah yes. When I first looked online I was surprised so many affordable ones were available and then I realized they were all meat thermometers! They didn't have the one the $15 they claimed was in stock, no surprise, so I ended up buying a $40 forehead-scanning one in the baby section. I do like it though. My face was getting flushed and it's interesting that my cheeks are about .8 higher than my forehead. I usually run very cool, like 96 or low 97, so I'm worried if I do get sick and my fever is only 101 I'll be dismissed, since I've heard they're only testing people with 103 or above. 

[bluerain]

I’m surprised they had any thermometers, even in the baby section. I’m sure my boss’s husband didn’t even think to look there since he’s a guy. New studies have shown that 98.6 is not the average anymore. I believe 97.9 is the new “normal” temperature. I too tend to run lower, the last two times I had my temp taken I was under 97. I have also seen several articles claiming that people who tested positive never had any fevers. Just dry coughs and feeling exhausted along with loss of smell/taste. Hopefully this will open up testing to more people. 

The FDA has approved a rapid test now I think and it sounds like more tests are becoming available so hopefully more people will start getting tested. I think it depends on where you are at, how hard it is to get tested. My state (small population) has tested just over 1000 people and only had 28 positive cases with about 270 still pending. Community spread in 3 counties now. From the people I have talked to who know people who have been tested it doesn’t sound like they had much issue getting tested, but like I said we have a small population compared to the rest of the country. Most big cities have larger populations than my entire state. 

[superglue]

There were only two left, so I didn't hesitate to buy one. I think the price is why they were still there. I've also heard quite a few people start off with digestive issues as the first symptom. There's also a high percentage of people who test positive who are asymptomatic. 

I'm so bored, I've been switching between rewatches of House and 30 Rock. I've always been watching a lot of cooking shows but it's making me crazy, with my stockpiles of soup and mac & cheese, so I need something else to watch. I finished a Lost rewatch before all this began. I might rewatch La Casa de Papel aka Money Heist, one of the greatest shows ever, and The Last Kingdom, in preparation for season 4 coming in April. 

But my boredom is so intense I might actually start cleaning and organizing old clothes to donate when this is all done. I've been too lazy to Marie Kondo anything but it's a goal for the year.

[bluerain]

I'm only on day 5 and the boredom is setting in. I have been going back and forth between 24, Disney movies, Justified, and random stuff on the Travel and History Channels. 

At some point I am going to clean my apartment, I really need to dust but I just hate dusting. Another project that I will tackle at some point is cleaning out and organizing my storage closet. But I'm going to put this stuff off for a few more days I think. 

I ordered some crossword and puzzle books just for the hell of it the other day but won't get them until Friday. I'm also seriously debating doing the adult paint by number that a friend gave me like 3 years ago. It has so many tiny areas though that it stresses me out to look at but I figure I have plenty of time now. 🤷‍♀️ Same goes for adult coloring books that people are so crazy about. Everyone claims they are so relaxing but those things give me anxiety just looking at them. Way too many tiny bits to color. I would much rather just get a normal kids coloring book. 😅 

[superglue]

The first death happened in my county yesterday They finally closed all non-essential businesses in my state, but only in the counties where they have confirmed cases, which is idiotic, because they are surely being spread in the rest of the counties. It's not like they sealed these counties off with the National Guard. We have a brand new governor and he's proven himself to be a total moron.

I finally settled on doing a rewatch of the original CSI. I don't think I ever saw the last season, so I'll try to watch the whole thing now.

I've never even heard of adult coloring books! I'm with you, I'd rather do kids' ones. Why not? I'd love to do some Lego projects but I won't allow myself to bring anything like that in until I've gotten rid of current clutter.

[bluerain]

My state has only had one death so far and that was right off the bat. Today our cases jumped from 30 to 41 with 2 in my county now. Our governor recommended yesterday that schools remain closed through May 1st. It isn't a mandate but I think pretty much every school is heeding her recommendations. She hasn't mandated that businesses close statewide but has put out guidelines that she is asking businesses to follow. Apparently the state constitution doesn't allow the governor wide-ranging emergency powers unless there is a wide-ranging disaster that local governments can't handle. My town's mayor said he doesn't feel he has the authority to mandate closures and is leaving it up to the discretion of business owners. 🙄 I think as of yesterday all the bars/restaurants in my town have closed their dining areas but some are still open for take out or delivery.  My coworker said that her daughter, who is a cosmetologist, decided to shut down her chair for the next couple weeks at least and her coworkers just ripped her apart for it.  The states largest town's mayor is putting ordinances in place that restricts the number of patrons that can be in any business at a time to 10. People aren't going to stay home if places are still open!! 😡  If they would just lockdown everyone and make them stay home we likely would be able to stop this from becoming as widespread as it was in China and Italy which means that everything can open up again much sooner. They said things won't peak until May or June which means that many of us won't be able to go back to work until then. 

I got my puzzle books today! I haven't played with Legos in ages but I am always amazed at how many different sets there are. I think I saw somewhere that Lego was having a really good sale but I can't remember where now. 

[bluerain]

Here's Some Good News for everyone today amidst these difficult times. I love that John Krasinski started doing. I hope there is more to come. 

[jemma72]

So here in New Zealand, we have been in total lockdown since Wednesday 25th, 11.59pm. The order is quite clear - Stay home, Stay safe. I can't quite remember how many we had at that stage, but by Monday last week, our Government had enacted a 4 tier Covid-19 alert system, as we faced community spread. Level 1 - here, but contained. Level 2 - contained, but risks are growing. Level 3 - disease is increasingly difficult to contain. Level 4 - Sustained transmission. We are now at level 4. We have 552 infected with Covid-19, and so far only 1 death. I think our Prime Minister took the right step by shutting the country off, and shutting us down at the right time. She did it to prevent a huge spike in numbers, which we have seen in other countries. We are now just trying to eliminate community transmissions. Most of our cases have been travel related - i.e the person has been overseas, or has been in contact with someone who has returned from overseas, but the cases are steadily growing.  From around 50 per day to up to 89 in a day, although today was only 73 which is good.   In the space of a week, we have gone from a fully operational country, to no gatherings over 100, reduce contact where possible, to shutting our borders (no International passenger flights), and total lockdown for ALL. The whole country is literally at a standstill. Only essential workers can travel (to/from work), and public is only allowed out for essential stuff - groceries and petrol. They are allowed to go for a walk/run etc, but only in their immediate community (i.e no traveling by vehicle), and all businesses are shut (excluding essential services). The roads are eerily quiet. I am an essential worker (I work at the Hospital), so get to go out 5 days a week luckily. And I still get paid, which is a Godsend!  The Hospital has basically shut down except for emergencies, and inpatients.  No one can get in unless you work there! And it's a major hospital too - serves a huge catchment area of the North Island of New Zealand.

As for how I'm spending my lockdown time - I have a few things on the go. Depending on my mood, it's either The Good Fight, Bosch, The Shield, West Wing, ER, and of course, Justified! (3rd time!) I have the DVD's, but it's also on Amazon Prime, so I'm happy! I exercise as well - running, walking (I was swimming, but they shut the pools ) And after all that - Sleep!!

[angellovestim]

Wow, my heart goes out to you, Jemma and Tim lovers all!  This is such a strange and difficult time but somehow we must all come together and learn from each other and work to overcome this virus.


I am working from home and my daughter, who has Down Syndrome, does not understand why she is not going to school and seeing her friends.  She is happy, though, watching her Disney Plus all day

I am in heaven watching non-stop Tim   I am now doing a Santa Clarita Diet re-watch since that is my fave Tim - the family man who doesn't seem to know he is smoking hot

We have been eating more than usual so we will have to step up on some indoor workouts or something.

There have been funny memes going around with our Chicago Mayor showing up at all popular hangouts, looking stern and telling everyone to go back home

We're all staying inside and trying to make the best of it and survive!

Keeping the hugs, love, prayers and positive vibes going!

[sarad]

Tim’s doing his bit:

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