The continuing effects of the global pandemic on my life

In list form, because I lists:

  • Still no toilet paper at the grocery store
  • Hand sanitizer also remains vanished
  • As of tomorrow, I am working from home until [no date specified]
  • Things I can’t do because they are closed:
    • Buy a book at Indigo
    • Buy an iPad at an Apple store
    • Buy a Surface Pro at a Microsoft store
    • See a movie at Landmark Cinemas
    • Have a stiff drink at any bar to try to forget about the pandemic
    • Exercise, go for a swim or play a sport at any indoor public facility
  • Things I can’t do because they are no longer allowed:
    • Gather with more than 50 people
  • Things that are still allowed:
    • Fretting
    • Worrying
    • Pacing back and forth
    • Checking your temperature
    • Did I mention fretting and worrying?

The whole thing still seems surreal, but the new wrinkle of working from home (which in a way is a relief as it allows me to avoid the long commute on public transit where I could be exposed to the virus or unwittingly expose it to others) has added a more tangible sense of yep, things have changed.

The question now is, for how long? Optimists say weeks, pessimists say months and I haven’t checked with the nihilists yet. I’m expecting that we will at least be edging into summer before anything resembling a sense of normalcy returns, and I consider that leaning toward the optimist side of things.

A somewhat surreal morning commute on the SkyTrain

If the last week’s worth of posts haven’t tipped you off, the coronavirus is officially a big thing. This morning Prime Minster Trudeau announced fairly drastic restrictions on air travel and literally asked Canadians who are abroad to “come home.” He also urged everyone who can stay at home to do.

I write this while on my lunch break at work. 😛

The commute on the Expo Line of late has been less than ideal. With trains getting ever-more crowded I often find I can’t get a seat when I board at Sapperton (there are 15 more stations after Sapperton before I get out). It varies, but I usually get a seat anywhere from one to six stops later.

But not this morning! Instead I was able to get a seat entirely to myself. Luxury! Many other people also had seats to themselves. This not only never happens during the morning rush hour, it never happens on the morning rush hour ever. I mean, I have never seen it happen since I started riding the SkyTrain in 1986.

I finally got someone sitting beside me at Commercial-Broadway. Why I am not sure, as there was an empty seat across from me. This person began rooting around in her purse, digging through the many layers before finally finding what she was looking for: a surgical mask, which she then put on.

I would have facepalmed, but we’re not supposed to touch our faces now.

She switched seats at Main Street and I rode solo again for the rest of the trip.

The Canada Line was different with its itty-bitty under-capacity two-car trains, but even there I had a seat to myself for about half the trip.

I made it clear this morning that getting everyone working from home should be a top priority, as public transit is an excellent vector for spreading COVID-19 far and wide. I neither want to unwittingly spread it, nor catch it from someone who is similarly unaware they have it.

Also, some toilet paper would be nice. (Trudeau also told people to only buy what they need. He was very polite but the subtext was clear: Don’t be a greedy, hoarding a-hole.)

As they say, interesting times.

My next post will be a funny cat.

Orange is not a skin tone

People have long mocked Trump’s use of orange tanning spray on his face–and rightly so, as it’s always looked terrible. It seems, though, that it has been getting even more heavily applied lately and the results are kind of disturbing. How could anyone think this is a good look? Especially with the beady pink eyes poking through like holes in a mask.

I mean, observe this still from a CBC News video:

This is the stuff of nightmares, which is apropos, I suppose, when it comes to Trump and everything he has bungled through his ineptitude, incompetence, lying and general corruption–such as the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Really, though, the orange. It’s just wrong.

Treadmill walk: Pandemic edition (1 of an ongoing series)

Tonight’s treadmill walk was a bit unusual in a few ways. Let me put them into a convenient bullet point list:

  • Despite walking the same distance and same pace as the previous walk, I burned 25 fewer calories–not a huge difference, but notable
  • My BPM was also lower
  • I fell off the treadmill

Let me explain the last one. I felt a bit chilly before starting, so donned one of my sleeveless running shirts. It became obvious a few minutes in that I would get too warm rather quickly, so I opted to remove the shirt–while still walking on the treadmill. It’s not as bad as it sounds, as long as you maintain pace and keep focus.

I did neither.

Instead, after scrunching the shirt up to my chest so I could pull it over my head quickly, it got caught on my AirPods and they started coming out of my ears. This is the only time the much-mocked “stems” have gotten caught on anything. I tried to re-insert the AirPods, a task that distracted me sufficiently that I found myself sliding toward the end of the treadmill. By the time I fully comprehended what was happening, I was off the treadmill entirely. Fortunately I stayed upright, so no damage done–to me, or anything else.

Lesson learned: pause the workout before doing anything not associated with the workout.

Overall, the walk went by surprisingly quickly and I felt more energetic than the last few, as reflected in the lower BPM. So even though the world is collapsing around me, it was a good workout. 

Speed: 6.5 km/h
Incline: 10

Pace: 9:22/km (9:21 km/h)
Time: 30:05 (30.03)
Distance: 3.21 km (3.21 km)
Calories burned: 277 (302)
BPM: 133 (138)

Society is doomed, but at least the last of us will have chili style beans

I went shopping at the local grocer today and sure enough, no toilet paper to be had. This is not a surprise as they have likely not gotten a new shipment in yet, but it is irksome when you want to buy (not hoard) it. I expect there will be plenty of toilet paper for the first day after the shipment, then the shelves will be stripped bare again.

This will probably go on for a few more weeks. By then all the panic-buyers will be well-stocked, though irrational behavior may compel them to buy even more. Who knows.

I noticed that other stuff was disappearing, too. Hand sanitizer, of course, but also an entire section of fresh meat, boxed pasta and a large variety of canned goods.

Admittedly, the baked beans were on sale, so it was a good time to buy, anyway. The whole shelf was picked clean except for this:

In the coming zombie apocalypse no one wants to eat Chili Style beans.

Including me, actually.

There was also a single forlorn can of British Style beans that may have been missed because it was pushed back from the front of the shelf. It is probably gone now, after I moved it forward. Hail Britannia.

I saw one woman buying paper towels and just something about it made me think she was getting it as toilet paper substitute. I guess in desperate times you take desperate choose-your-own-size-sheets measures.

I am hoping this temporary madness ends soon, but it is a flickering sort of hope.

My last coronavirus post (for today)

In just a single day since my last post, a lot has happened regarding the pandemic. After saying it has had minimal impact on me, I read tonight that UBC will “transition” to online classes as of Monday, March 16:

Hours later, Langara tweeted a message that it was “working on plans to transition to online learning where possible”. Copycats! No date yet, though.

I have no idea how my job would be handled during any period where classes are virtual, but agree that if there are to be temporary closures, they should happen now when some mitigation is at least possible.

Today, Apple announced that the annual WWDC in June would be online-only, which was expected. They also announced that all stores outside China will be closed until March 27. I guess I won’t go window shopping for an iPad mini this weekend. Well, not at an Apple store, anyway. Although closing hundreds of stores seems surprising, most Apple stores tend to be jammed full of people, so they are kind of like cruise ships in terms of germ and virus transmission: easy and fast!

This whole situation is getting more and more surreal. But I’ll be brought back to reality tomorrow when I try to purchase toilet paper.

It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)

Relatively fine, anyway. It’s hardly been a day, but it’s time for another post on this whole pandemic thing. Mostly because it’s hard to avoid.

Everything is shutting down, basically. People are holing up in their homes, surrounded by the mountains of toilet paper they’ve hoarded from Costco.

Multiple cruise lines have shut down for 60 days. The NBA is suspending its season after a player tested positive. The NHL, just about to start the playoffs, is also suspending the rest of its season. Major league baseball is on hold. NASCAR? Nope! The Juno Awards, E3, major events by Google and Microsoft have been cancelled. It’s assumed that soon Apple will announce its annual WWDC event will be set aside this year.

There are travel bans all over, bans against large gatherings, restrictions on visiting elderly relatives in assisted living homes.

The stock markets are melting down, but they are silly and irrational at the best of times, so no real surprise there.

Even Prime Minister Trudeau is self-isolating for 14 days as he awaits his wife’s test results.

Trump has been in contact with lots of people who could easily have transmitted the virus to him, but claims he is fine. He made an address to the American people last night, which some teenager edited down to 36 seconds of heavy breathing and the clip is both awesome and terrifying.

Oddly, the only real impact on me directly so far is the postponement of our semi-annual all-hands IT meeting (roughly 50-60 people in one room, with a buffet-style lunch). I’m wondering what will happen when it’s inevitably discovered that an employee or student at the college has COVID-19.

Fun times.

Note to self: I’m setting up a calendar reminder to update this post one year from now, on March 12, 2021, assuming civilization is still standing. Let’s see what happens over the next 12 months!

UPDATE, March 14, 2022: Yes, I missed updating this post a year later, but here's a link to the post of March 12, 2021, which is a pair of drawing prompts featuring ANGRY and FURIOUS. It kind of works anyway.

A haiku to the fresh new COVID-19 pandemic

You Can't Have Pandemic Without Panic

It's not just the flu
Worldwide and spreading fast
Grab toilet paper

Okay, I couldn’t resist making another crack about the toilet paper hoarding, because really, what is up with people? Do they think toilet paper is some glorious all-purpose thing that will help families make it through global catastrophes? Do they know something about toilet paper that I don’t? I’m pretty sure the answer to that is no.

Not that I can go out and buy some to find out, since they’ve already bought the entire world’s supply in the last week.

Next: Going out and trying to buy toilet paper for real (we’re down to four rolls).

Welcome to the 2020 pandemic. Please bring your own toilet paper.

Today the World Health Organization officially declared the spread of the coronavirus, officially designated COVID-19, as a pandemic. Essentially this means it’s spreading all over the world and there ain’t no stopping it. We have in just the space of a few months gone from the initial reports of the virus in China to containment and now mitigation, to keep the medical systems around the world from being overloaded.

Italy has been quarantined. Yes, the entire country of 60 million people.

The U.S. response is being handled about as well as you’d expect with an orange-skinned narcissist sociopath leading the country.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of all isn’t the cancellation of large events like car shows, professional sports matches and the like (which is logical if you are trying to slow the spread of the virus), but the one thing the general public is fixating on above all else.

Toilet paper.

Yes, for reasons still unclear to me, people are panicking over toilet paper running out. I mean, sure, it’s nice to not have to find toilet paper substitute if you do run out, but what is the actual train of thought here? Do people think toilet paper factories (TPFs) will suddenly close? Do they think trees harvested for paper, including toilet paper, will be placed under quarantine and no longer cut? Do they think the manufacture of everything else–except maybe hand sanitizer–will be unaffected somehow and that only toilet paper has the unique qualities that will see it go scarce?

Of course, due to panic buying, it is now scarce. Here’s a shot I took at the local Save On Foods this afternoon (March 11). Not a single roll of toilet paper to be had:

Good thing we still have a few rolls in the condo. We’ll have to ration them for the next six months, I guess.

People are weird.

Photo of the Day, March 9, 2020

I need to rename “Daily Photos” because I’m often posting photos days after taking them. Maybe I’ll just use a photo tag or something.

Anyway, this photo of the Quay to Quay ferry on the Fraser River was taken on March 7, 2020.

EDIT: I have renamed Daily Photos to the clever Photography.