I mentioned this earlier on the twitter, but I guess I never really internalized how much being in isolation would drive extroverts crazy. I have a ton of friends who are just losing it, and it has only been a week. People I know arehaving virtual happy hour on zoom, playing board games on facetime, one couple decided to up and paint their house. I know how miserable they are, because it’s the same way I feel in crowds, but at least I can leave.
So it’s super cool that all the museums and symphonies are doing what the other front pagers have posted. And remember, you are allowed outside. You just can’t be near people. Talk to people while sitting on your porch, chat with people out your window, etc. Just don’t get in coughing distance.
mrmoshpotato
Wow.
Hungry Joe
I have this vision of people in prison watching the news and hearing people moan about how “We’re stuck in the house and the back yard, and we can only walk the dog and ride our bikes around the neighborhood, and I spend the whole day watching Netflix in my pajamas and end up ordering takeout, and when I go to the store they only have half the stuff I want and I’M GOING STIR CRAZY!” and the prisoners thinking, “Oh, give me a fucking break.” I mean, it’s a little rough, but it’s not THAT rough. Suck it up, fellow peeps.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
I guess I could be called an introvert. I like my private time. I don’t mind crowds myself. However, even I’m starting to get bored. I wish the weather would warm up so I could go cycling around town
geg6
I feel you, Cole. This in not really torture to me and, if I’m feeling a bit restless, I can go to the grocery store. I expect that my John will be laid off next week, so I have a few projects I’d like to get done if he’s around, but I’ll actually be happier if he doesn’t get laid off because then I’ll be home alone. Well, with the pets but no humans. My boss insisted that I take a camera for my computer home so “we can all have normal human work interactions,” but I am not happy to do that as I’d prefer to keep my normal no-makeup, sweats wearing self to myself. And I had enough Zoom meetings last week to last me a lifetime already. Just email or call me people! LOL!
joel hanes
My sister today organized a group sing-along on Zoom with 50 years worth of former counselors at the local Girl Scout Camp.
I read and commented on blogs.
Punchy
@mrmoshpotato: It’s been a week and Im already halfway thru a bookcase, made a new TV stand, and planning on painting 2 rooms. I simply cannot be idle in my house. If others are like me, Home Depot is not going to be needing a bailout.
By week 6, I may have moved on to tiling my garage or installing shower curtains in the closet. I cant be the only one struggling to stay…..relevant.
James E Powell
There’s more to this than introvert/extrovert. Many people are out of work and are not used to having to fill up the time. I’ve got guitars and a very large number of songs I know and even more I don’t, so I am never at a loss. I read. I’ve got netflix & amazon, but I can’t sit all day.
My dogs are loving this. We’ve walked all over and we’ve played for hours in the backyard. The fact that they never get tired of chasing balls around makes them pretty easy to amuse.
I have to start riding the bike around or I’m going to gain ten pounds.
Kilgore Trout
@geg6:
I did a lot of online meetings last week in some nifty golf shirt / pajama pant combos.
At least the weather has been nice here in the Seattle area, getting out for daily walks has helped, especially through a nature preserver we have near by. But this morning was the first day I got up and had a bit of dread about being in the house all day – doesn’t seem as bad during the week when I have work to occupy me.
MissWimsey
I’m entering my third week of self-isolation and my biggest problem now is there is a full house and the extroverts are keeping me from my quiet time. I miss my quiet time. :( on the other hand, at least I know they are not behaving recklessly.
debbie
@geg6:
Coincidence that the cameras on both of my laptops don’t seem to be working? ?
mrmoshpotato
@Kilgore Trout:
Haha
eemom
Yesterday my hubs took the doggies off to our rustic little cabin on the WV mountain top, and at first I was like, “shit….am I gonna freak out being alone in the middle of all this?”
Then I was like, fuuuuck no.
L85NJGT
@mrmoshpotato:
Paint is flying off the shelves at the home improvement stores.
Better than going Jack Torrance…..
dmsilev
Going out for a solitary walk was already one of my standard things to do to relax, so not much change there. However, it’s only been a few days of work-from-home and I’m already starting to miss the small everyday interactions with my coworkers. Zoom meetings are all well and good, but a lot gets done just bumping into someone when we’re both getting our morning cup of coffee or whatever.
mvr
And yet you started a blog that brings people together . . .
Thanks!
Fair Economist
@MissWimsey: i am with you. Missing my alone time. Fortunately my son was just un-laid off 10 minutes ago* so I get alone time tomorrow.
* Except the company is still probably having money trouble so I fear he won’t get paid again after his last check bounced.
Jackie
I love being home alone! Unfortunately, I’m home alone with a 6 and 8 yo granddaughters. I love them dearly, but I’m the take them to the park gramma to burn off their energy while mom and dad are at work. I was put in stay at home with pay hiatus for two weeks the same time the girls were let out of school for 6 weeks. It’s only been a week… ???
Yutsano
Tomorrow starts two weeks off from work. I’ll pretty much treat this just like I did the shutdown, although I was a lot more nervous then. Since it’s paid I have a good incentive to catch up on bills and such. Oh and a few more anime series to explore.
Firebert
My job had me so burned out that during the last week of no work, I’ve done little constructive. Also, I have to go back to work tomorrow, with longer hours to make up for all the lost labor. No, we’re not essential to anything. Lucky me.
Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA)
I’m working from home now and I’ve got Iggy, Muppet, Chauncey, and the cats Harpo and Oops. I’ve also got guitars, and I’m taking flute lessons that were in person but now are done via FaceTime.
But now Mr. Mingobat’s been put on a weird schedule — one 12 hour shift every five days, but with full-time pay so I can’t complain. So now he and I are home together all day almost every day. I love the guy, but I like being left alone too. I mean, I really like it.
Much bickering will ensue. Poor Mr. Mingobat.
Origuy
Since I work with a team in Bangalore, I have been having Skype meetings early in the morning for years. Nobody uses the video camera for anything; it’s convenient to share documents and the agenda though. Sometimes I don’t even get out of bed for them.
I’ve been working at home for more than two weeks. I’m a programmer. Since the Bay Area went to shelter-in-place, the offices have been locked and no one is allowed in. We can’t even get to the computer labs. Fortunately a lot of our computers were moved to Fort Collins last year.
Ruckus
You guys.
I’m enjoying my run at retirement practice. I was part way there by only working part time, but the biggest thing for me now is remembering what day it is. And that’s not all that difficult as my computer and phone show me the day. And especially as it’s not really all that important anyway. The biggest thing is going to the store and not seeing what I want but even there with a little thought it’s not that tough.
Jaysails
I am losing my mind only interacting via phone,email and text. I’m going to have to set up some sort of zoom cocktail party or something fairly soon.
Nicole
Yeah, my husband and I are both introverts, but our 9-year-old son is not, and he’s getting pretty miserable. It’s hard because we don’t have any solid answers for him- we don’t know how long it will last, or what things will be like after. He’s been getting outside and bike riding with a friend or two, and we finally accepted that his downstairs neighbor (one of his best friends) and he will just have to risk it, as they’ve been together practically every day since before everything started (though as his friend is visiting his dad the past weekend I don’t know what his mom will want to do when he gets back). But it’s not enough. He’s lonely.
I hope I live to be old, because I’d like to talk to him about this time, years from now, and find out what he’ll remember from it.
Sad but true
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I’m an introvert. I’m not bored. But I’m incredibly angry, more than I think I’ve ever been. Normally I go to the office or to my friends’ places and bury myself in work or in good times with the people I care about. Without those outlets I’m having a hard time concentrating on the things I like to do at home. I can’t stop thinking about how screwed up this all is and how it’s inevitable that it’s going to be a whole lot worse for so many people for no legitimate reason.
Eljai
I come from a long line of introverts and, I must say, I was made for this.
In other news, my county had to close ALL of the parks today because a bunch of assholes flocked to certain parks yesterday, particularly along the coast, creating heavy vehicle traffic that prevented emergency and local law enforcement from doing their jobs and also crowding into areas and putting residents at risk because of unsafe social distancing.
Jesus H! I’ve managed to go outside everyday to enjoy the trees and sunshine and keeping my distance from others and not being a dick. This is not difficult, folks. WTF is wrong with some people?!
RoonieRoo
My sisters and nieces and nephews and us are doing a zoom room every Sunday just to talk. It helps tremendously.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Nicole: I can’t imagine what this is like with young kids.
If I were on my own I’d be fine, but I’m a little worried about a few people in my family with health issues, physical and mental
FlyingToaster
We had our first week of all 3 of us home during the day; HerrDoktor in the basement remote into work, WarriorGirl in the Living Room (1st floor), Zooming into School, Music School, Spring Play Rehearsal and Tour Group rehearsal. Me Bopping about dealing with everything else (dishes, laundry, cleaning, “are you logged into class?” “rosin your bow” “quit leaving your phone in the dining room, mister”).
WarriorGirl is quite bitter that she still has school and pretty much nobody else does. Tough tootsies, kid; in 30 years, they’ll all be working for you and your classmates — unless we all die from some stupid Trumpshit first.
Target now has both toilet paper AND paper towels, so basically we can at least subsist while this goes on. BestBuy won’t let you in the store anymore; it’s all going “order online and drive up so we can put it in your trunk!” And I’m going to end up ordering coffee (dammit, George Howell!) and possibly ice cream (yay, Moozy’s). Plus we need printer ink, for which Staples has dropped their minimum order for free shipping.
I’ve looked at the numbers (ugh) and right now, it looks like we’re facing 6 weeks, not 3, of lockdown before the curve is flattened enough to risk relaxing anything.
Lyrebird
Thanks. I normally love working from home, but trying to get anything done with their schools closed? #$!! And the younger one doesn’t even know what germs are yet, forget me explaining why we can only see friends on the phone screen.
The teachers sent home things for them to do, okay fine, but now I am supposed to do my job and become an elementary school teacher and clean five times as much?
Still lucky in so many ways, but I sometimes wish I could have that “retirement practice” instead of this circus. Can’t get by without my job, though, so circus it is.
Zelma
@Punchy: I am having a different reaction. I’m retired but I usually have a pretty busy schedule. I get stuff done before I go out and about. Now that I have unlimited time do do things I’m pretty much doing. . .nothing! Didn’t even make my bed this morning. I hope I can figure out how to motivate myself this coming week. Maybe I’ll paint the bathroom. I’ve had the paint for weeks.
I live alone so this should be easy. But I’m really discombobulated.
Nicole
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I hear you. My stepmom is having lung issues (no pneumonia on her last chest X-ray but crackles in her lungs) and I’m really worried about her if she picks up Covid19.
Mary G
I’ve only left the house twice in six weeks, to get IV meds. My life is pretty much the same as it ever was. I was worried about the teen, who’s having a hard time growing up, but he’s been super careful around me, mostly content to stay in his room talking on the phone with his gf 16 hours a day, playing games with friends remotely, and watching television in his room. He emerges to get food and drink and skateboard up and down the driveway, but he hasn’t gone AWOL to the beach since Monday. Of course, his mom has turned herself into the NSA, with cameras on all the outside doors and a tracker on his phone.
Aleta
We’re off and on panicky, sad, depressed, scared, worried, overwhelmed and fighting with each other, and every day one of us spontaneously says to the other how lucky we are compared to what’s going on elsewhere and it’s true.
MissWimsey
@Fair Economist: I’m in the news industry. It has collapsed like so many other industries. So yeah I hope I get paid Friday too!
Duane
@Punchy: You’re making me feel lazy. I planted seeds last week. This week I plan to watch them grow.
Nicole
The producer of a theater company I work with set up a Zoom reading last Thursday of one of Tennessee Williams’ last plays and it was a pretty nice evening. We’re going to try to do it weekly; it was lovely to be doing SOMETHING creative with other people, even if the ensemble was up on a grid like the Brady Bunch.
There was a trend a few years back of writing the scripts of popular movies as though Shakespeare had written them, so my husband sent along to the producer a (bootleg, because the author never got the rights!) PDF of Two Gentlemen of Lebowski, which I hope we’ll do. The full original Star Wars trilogy was done in iambic pentameter, too, and is equally hilarious.
tinare
I’m an introvert bordering on misanthrope, so as awful and scary as this situation is, I am happy to have a respite from the consent pressure to be social.
mrmoshpotato
Going a little stir crazy? This ad says it’s time to get a custom mascot.
Oh, and you’ll miss these pantsless day…
Matt McIrvin
@FlyingToaster: I think we’re going to have some degree of restrictions for two years. I doubt any society can function for that long with a complete lockdown, but it’s going to be waaaaay longer than six weeks.
frosty
I retired at the end of January, so no WFH issues. We hitched up the trailer and left February 15th for a four month tour of National Parks we’ve never seen. Coronavirus is making the trip very challenging – we’re scrambling as parks (or the whole state of California) are shut down. We’re both introverts and living in the car and trailer is more or less the same as sheltering in place. For our few interactions (groceries, gas, sightseeing, hikes) keeping a social distance hasn’t been a problem. I expect we’ll have to cut this off early though.
Old Dan and Little Ann
Working from home means sleeping in 2 hours and feeling 100% less stress not having to go to work. And the puppy is outdoors in the sun. I have few complaints. Stay safe, all.
Steeplejack
This felt like the first “real” day of (self-)quarantine for me. I got home from Las Vegas Tuesday night and went directly to the store to get a few provisions for the next few days. I didn’t go out Wednesday or Thursday, but those felt like jet-lag days, slightly disoriented. Slept a lot but at odd times.
Then Friday I did a few errands: I went out to get a much-needed haircut before going into full isolation. I offered to pay my hair-cutter ahead for a couple of appointments, but she thanked me and declined. I went on to Micro Center to get a new Das Keyboard to replace my old one, which had developed some (possibly housecat-related) problems. I could not face the quarantine typing on the dreadful, mushy Logitech keyboard that I found for backup. The new Das Keyboard doesn’t have quite as good a feel as the old one, but it does have backlit keys, which makes up for that. I’m pretty well satisfied. But I digress.
I also hit the new “super” Giant that recently opened in the space that my old go-to grocery had occupied. I was extremely relieved to see that it was fairly “normal.” No hysteria, shelves mostly stocked except for a few blanks areas. What is the deal with toilet paper, America?! I was so taken aback at the normalcy that I wasn’t prepared to get a lot of stuff. I got a modest haul and plan to go back very early one morning this week.
Yesterday I picked up the housecat from her Vegas staycation and gave the friend who kept her a ride to work (at Trader Joe’s in Ballston). There was a line of people down the block, because TJ is allowing only 30 people at a time into the store. No social distancing in the line—young Arlington hipsters.
And that was it. I got the housecat and her gear set up again here in Threadkill Lane, and she is back to normal after a period somewhere between “elderly befuddlement” and “I don’t think I like this Airbnb.” We did nothing the rest of yesterday and all day today.
I say nothing, but I mean nothing beyond our usual home routine. The housecat made sure to get her five small square meals and 20 hours of sleep, and I dicked around on the computer, read a fair amount and watched a little TV. Pretty much as usual, except there’s a slightly odd background feeling that you’re doing it because you have to, which for me manifests itself in thinking about food that I do not currently have on hand. But I wasn’t bored and I didn’t feel lonely. I’m sort of a bipolar extrovert/introvert: I like crowds and people up to a point, but I need my alone time and have no trouble entertaining myself. But we’ll see. I guess we’ll all learn some things as this crisis plays out.
CaseyL
I went for a nice long walk around the neighborhood yesterday and saw fewer than 10 other people. Some of us smiled and nodded at each other (the width of the street apart).
I’m weathering isolation well: I communicate with friends over the phone and by email; and there’s alway the glass to keep me busy if regular work isn’t enough. Finished a bunch of pendants and now need to photograph them and upload to my Etsy store. At the rate I’m going, it’ll be another couple of weeks before everything is uploaded and I’m ready to do a Grand Opening.
In June medical schools get ready for fellowship applications. It’s a rather involved process, and I really hope quarantine/isolation is lifted by then and I can do my bit from the office. It’s just… a bit better organized there than my couch.
hitchhiker
I’ve been thinking a lot about how this is like/unlike wartime (as experienced in the USA, meaning from a distance).
The sense of uncertainty, longing for it to be over already, distrust of rumors, need to blame somebody, general boredom as nothing much changes, fear of possible future bad shit — all that is in the “like wartime” column. Also, everyone has a story, and they’re all equally interesting/strange/eventually boring.
In the “unlike wartime,” there’s this weird physical isolation from people generally and your own family/friends in particular. It’s like we all moved into silos at the same time. I’ve getting this dreadful feeling of a pressure cooker, just imagining all those dysfunctional relationships under extreme strain from money/addiction/denial before this came along … what the hell are these people going to do if they’re forced to stay inside together indefinitely? Without money? With no assurance of when it will end?
I’m extremely lucky to be not (that) stressed about income, to be in a marriage that’s comfortable for us both, to be emotionally close to adult daughters … and it’s STILL feeling cramped after two straight weeks of only leaving to walk the dog & buy groceries.
What’s becoming obvious to me is that I’m only going to be able to stay calm & centered if I force myself to focus on creative projects. Edit the novel. Practice the guitar. Work on other writing projects. Think about Jane Austen, scribbling longhand, year after year. I think this is making me understand more clearly what drove her.
Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ
There is a very lovely new Fry’s with a sushi bar, a in-house Starbucks, wine bar and cheese counter, etc, etc that I’ve only ever managed to shop at about 6 times before I realized the crowds there were making me so anxious it simply wasn’t worth it anymore. That’s how much of an introvert I am. I’m perfectly content to be around my two kids, my two cats, and texting a couple of close friends. If I need a change of scenery a decent hike is only minutes away. That will change when the summer heat grips us like Death. Now next month I have a one on one meeting with HR that does not bode well (long story). Suffice it to say I have a 50/50 chance of being laid off. For now I’m determined to try to make the most of this time at home.
Ruckus
@Eljai:
Not to be too blunt but they are assholes.
It’s not like this will be forever. Unless of course you don’t have a clue, don’t separate and die from this. I think that’s what’s known as thinning the herd. Problem is of course that their stupidity affects others who aren’t assholes. On a smaller scale, but like trump.
FlyingToaster
@Matt McIrvin:
I think you’re right, but I also don’t think that we can keep society functioning in lockdown for two years. Even the giant conglomerates can’t survive that, let alone small businesses.
I think states that can sucessfully bend the curve (ahem, NOT NY) can start reopening the “non-essential” stores in 6 weeks. I don’t think schools will be able to reopen before September. I’m dreadfully worried about summer camp; we’re already paid for, and without our fees, one place will go outta business and a second will end their summer program. The last 2 (1 week each) will probably happen come August, though if not they’ll survive because they’re not dependent on summer camp fees.
The essential test we’re going to need this summer is the serological test: Are you immune? No? Continue some degree of isolation. Yes? Get the fuck back to work.
And it could be two years before we have a vaccine. So you’re probably right.
Steeplejack
@hitchhiker:
The project urge I am getting is to do a full Marie Kondo, “Swedish death cleaning” type decluttering and streamlining of my space, both mental and physical. My modest rooms in Threadkill Lane are comfortable and work for me well enough, but there are lots of small undone (or never started) projects that are a drag on my background mental state. I would like for everything to be just so, or at least give that a shot.
And I want to cook more and experiment with cooking new things, although that will depend somewhat on what is available at the store.
Eljai
@Ruckus: Yep. Unfortunately, as you say, trumplike. And there’s plenty of room to enjoy the outdoors without being assholes. The county is just asking people not to all go to the same place at the same time.
Mnemosyne
@Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ:
Hopefully the meeting won’t happen until after Congress gets their shit together and has some money ready to hand out to everyone who loses their job.
Mnemosyne
For straight ladies and gay gentlemen: the parade uniforms of the Spanish Legion broke Twitter today, and rightly so —
https://mobile.twitter.com/JillFilipovic/status/1241857598778900481
They apparently had a nasty history under Franco but, well, it’s not like the US armed forces are universally beloved worldwide.
Soprano2
I didn’t realize how much I was gone until I couldn’t go to those places. I miss going to the pub and seeing the customers. I already miss my Jazzercize buddies. Doing it at home isn’t the same, although I’m glad I can do it. This is going to be a long two or more months. Most people here still think it’ll be over in a couple of weeks. There was a letter in the local paper today about how the county limiting groups to 10 or fewer is unconstitutional. This numbnuts thinks they should just explain it to everyone and they’ll comply. Has he met people? Sigh….
BQuimby
@Ruckus: This! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WPY3345/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
prostratedragon
Cavern fever:
Social distancing with Charlie and Susan Kane
Ends with a moment of my favorite “let’s all go out and have fun” scene.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Mnemosyne:
That is funny. Forwarded to appropriate parties.
Suzanne
Last week marked two weeks with the schools out and Mr. Suzanne also trying to WFH. We are doing this until April 9, at least, says our governor. Last week was especially stressful, as we were showing our house, so it had to be super-clean and I was disinfecting doorknobs, handrails, faucets, countertops, etc. like it was going out of style. In the meantime, I need to pack my stuff and move across the country. I have aged a decade in the past two weeks.
I keep telling myself and my husband that we will look back on this time and be like WHOA that was some shit. I tried to give up profanity for Lent, BTW. I was doing pretty well until one of the four horsemen showed up.
mapaghimagsik
@BQuimby:
For The Aged Senior; The Dementia….
oh my.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Suzanne:
Thanks for the update. And hang in there! Remember: profanity now prevents bloodshed later.
Steeplejack (phone)
Because of course he did:
Suzanne
@Steeplejack (phone): Rand Paul is…. not good people.
See? No profanity.
Opinion: is a three-day drive across the country, with the hotel and gas and meal stops that includes, more or less safe than a flight? Probably a flight with a stop, plus a cab ride at the end. We’ll do masks and gloves.
JaySinWA
To you extroverts, as my father would say “I feel for you, but I can’t reach you”.
NotMax
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Seems you might at some point in the past have mentioned something about working on your writing…
;)
KrackenJack
@Suzanne: I gave up Pangolin-borne viruses for Lent and that didn’t turnout so well either.
Dan B
@Mnemosyne: You are right about the Spanish military uniforms (and contents). I believe that 6 feet of distance is essential to avoid spontaneous pregnancy for both straight women and gay gentlemen, and the straight guys had better be careful as well.
NotMax
@Dan B
The world’s 7 goofiest-looking military uniforms
Jeffery
Plane with 5 passengers on board: Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Angela Merkel, The Pope and a 10-year-old schoolboy. The plane is about to crash and there are only 4 parachutes.
Trump says I need one: “I’m the smartest man in the USA and am needed to make America great again.” Takes one and jumps.
Johnson says, ‘I’m needed to sort out Britain’. He takes one and jumps.
The Pope says, ‘I need one as the world needs the Catholic Church.’ He takes one and jumps.
Angela says to the ten year old: “You can have the last parachute. I’ve lived my life, yours is only just starting.”
The 10-year-old replies: “Don’t worry, there are 2 parachutes left. The smartest man in the USA took my school bag.
NotMax
@Mnemosyne
That’s putting it mildly.
Bridegrooms of Death: The Spanish Foreign Legion
Ruckus
@BQuimby:
I believe the point was that the time and day isn’t all that important. Certainly not $40 worth of important to remind me every damn second, when I already have products that will show me the time if I absolutely, positively have to know for some insane reason. I’m not a damn race horse and have to know how fast the world is going by……..
J R in WV
I am a retired, old, somewhat physically disabled per, party from being very active for years… you can use up joints.
So I’m glad to take it easy between expeditions to Kroger — B J is helping with social intercourse to a large degree, for which I am so grateful!
Back to sleep now. I need to pick up a prescription tomorrow, or go without, trying to decide.
HeartlandLiberal
@Jeffery: This joke is going out immediately to all my friends and relatives all over the planet. You, sir, win the Internet for the day.
HeartlandLiberal
Good that my wife, middle aged son, and I are introverts at heart and able to find plenty to occupy us. Just yesterday I dismantled the drain under my bathroom sink to clean out the accumulated gunk. What a pleasant task it was. At least my repair of the door onto the deck installing new seals, then having to reposition the strike plates, although not perfect aesthetically, has stopped the leak that was occurring during heavy rains. House is 28 years old. Things wear out. Thank goodness we went ahead and had the roof redone this past spring. We had stretched it out several years beyond life expectancy.
The only real problem we are having is our son’s neutered male cat. We have not been able to integrate him into the household, he attacks the other three as soon as he sees them, so is living in isolation except two times a day when he gets to roam the upper two stories alone. Looked this up, and we are going to experiment with advice to put him in carrier, and put it where the other three cats dominate an hour a day for a week, so they sniff each other and get introduced. We put a calming collar on him, but it did not help. We do not want to traumatize our three cats. This is their house, not his, so if he has to spent 22 hours a day in solitary, so be it.
HeartlandLiberal
@J R in WV: I know the Kroger web site last week said they were working on trying to bring Rx to your car in the parking lot, as many now do with groceries purchased online. Call the store, explain you are high risk, and see if they have accelerated plans to do so with Rx. Be safe.
PenAndKey
@Jeffery: Thanks, we needed that :)
Steeplejack
@Suzanne:
(On the off chance that you revisit this thread . . .)
That’s a tough question. Almost a toss-up, but I think I would go for the airline option. Compresses all your exposure (and stress) into one day and gets it over with. I flew from Las Vegas to Washington (Dulles) last week, and the plane was barely half full. And the terminals at either end weren’t very busy. It was easy to maintain six feet of social distancing except for a few points (e.g., TSA screening, boarding the plane).
Someone told me that the planes have good HEPA air filters (you would probably know better than I would), and I don’t think an airplane would be “dirtier” (as far as coronavirus exposure) than the motels you would stay in during a car trip. Plus on the car trip you’re going to be facing restaurants that are closed or doing takeout only. Not to mention gas-station restrooms (shudder). Plus potential curfews, lockdowns, etc.
To me it just seems like it would be better to get it over with, especially since you’re all relatively young—except for SuzeMom, of course. And wearing masks and gloves would cut your exposure a lot. But, like I said, it’s a tough call. And it might be tougher later, depending on when you actually travel and what the national situation is then. My sympathies to you.
WaterGirl
@Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA): Maybe Iggy and Muppet and company need to start bickering on a daily basis – for all of us, kind of like they used to?