Author: Peg

This is the first shoe before total lockdown. They are not insisting that I remain in my room. Just urging me to stay in the Asylum, And, this is a chuckle – they are going to help us get grocery delivery. Well, good luck with that – on lots of levels. Since they feed us – this is a little disconcerting. Also disconcerting

Our geedunk was being stocked today with these wonderful comestibles. Plus some other delights off-camera like Welches Grape Jelly. Does this mean that the house expects to run out of food? Or people to cook it. I am not sure that I even have a can opener to gain access to the hash. By the time it comes to cracking a can of corned beef hash I will have a Plan B.

Most of the inmates are hanging onto sanity by sheer will power. But that could change if we get locked in our rooms 24/7. Or if people start dying. Of coronavirus.

I went out for a walk before the edict came down, then I did some yoga. And tossed a few hissy fits about the general state of my world.

On the plus side:

My In Box is empty!

And finally, from my Garden Box “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray, love, remember.”  – Hamlet, I believe. In Shakespeare’s day, rosemary was tossed on top of coffins.

You know, two weeks ago was normal times.  Like early September 2001.

(Towards Plan B – or at least canned corned beef hash avoidance – beef tenderloin was on the boxed dinner menu night. Half of that fine rare beef went into my freezer. As did some bacon from breakfast. And a roll. There you have the makings of an outstanding sandwich. Just add beer.)

Mālama pono

These are big gin bottles. Some of the residents on my floor really know how to handle a crisis.

Just some pictures today. My big event was a nice long walk. Photos from the neighborhood.

I found the toilet paper. It is all in the Ethiopian Dollar Store.

Lots of these signs. This is at a new Orange Therapy Gym. Guess those Peletons don’t look so silly anymore. (The stock went up today.)

Off to check out the grocery store. Here is the meat counter.

But wait, here is some meat. ONE lonely $9.43 pork chop.

But, the beer aisle is very well stocked.

This is the sliced cheese section. Where you get the cheese to put on your ham and cheese sandwich. But, you don’t need cheese. Because there is neither bread nor ham.

The fruit and veggie section is bare.

But, well stocked with reeses and kitkats. So, life can be sustained with Beer, Reeses Peanut Buttercups and KitKat Bars.

And 3.5 miles later, back at the Asylum

Healing Prayers are canceled. But, you can still get a custom made prayer if you want one.

Mālama pono

The big event today was a trip to get my teeth cleaned. Figure that it was most likely a violation of the house rules, but I went anyhow. My appointment was for 3 PM but I called at 8:45 to see if they had had any cancellations. And sure enough – they could see me at 9:30. Buses are on Saturday schedule, so, I had to Uber it. Took the bus back to the Asylum. So little traffic that the bus waited at 3 stops to be sure that it didn’t get ahead of schedule.

The restaurants were not just empty. They showed every sign of being closed. But, this being St Paddy’s Day, that might change come sundown.

.Everything from my smallkidtime prepared me for 9/11. It was a surprise. But not unexpected to someone who grew up in the Duck-and-Cover era. (This is the entire creepy 10 minute Duck and Cover film ca 1951.  Watch it, you have plenty of time. And, it is kind of funny. Especially the creepy grownup and the girl.)

I always expected to be a widow. Carlton was nine years older. So, it was a surprise to come home from work and find that he had ever so peacefully died. But, not unexpected. And a great blessing because we were both spared the long-drawn-out death that we were mentally preparing for.

Nothing at all in my entire life has prepared me for this slow-moving disaster that actually begun on November 8, 201 6. Apocalyptic outbreaks of diseases are a standard feature in literature: The Plague, The Stand, World War Z, The Andromeda Strain, the list is endless. Think I have read everyone ever written. Plus some non-fiction ones too. But, I am totally unprepared mentally for THIS. I also fail to make the connection when the authorities recount how dangerous this is for “the elderly”. And they mean anyone over 60 as “the elderly”. And, that includes me. So, this Covid-19 thing has me completely flummoxed. I should be handling it better. I am not afraid of dying. I am afraid of watching everything fall apart in slo-mo.

Guess that I am stuck with Carlton’s “Shut up, suit up, show up” mantra.

Mālama pono

Decided to make a little slideshow. Playing with Final Cut Pro. I have been using iMovie. Don’t think Final Cut will make any difference in my final product.

Today, I lost a bunch of money in the market. This will stop sometime. Hopefully, before my balance gets to zero.

Need to get with the gratitude thing.

Gratitude

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Grateful that I don’t have a margin account.
Grateful that I went on my lap around the planet last summer.
Grateful that no one strangled me at “The Last Supper” tonight.

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At 5PM this afternoon, it was announced that  as of 0730 tomorrow, we will be served boxes of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, for the duration. I should be grateful that they are still feeding us. But, I am having a hard time with box lunches. I am honestly thinking about leaving for the duration. But, I am not sure where to go. Back to Kona maybe? Singapore? I am a tough old bat. I can get through this. There doesn’t seem to be an alternative.

Always look on the bright side of life: This is a good time to start a diet! In fact, it is almost essential. Comfort food ≡ high-calorie food.

I am sorry people, but I am just not handling this crap real well. I am not afraid that I am going to get sick and die. That might happen. I am old. I just HATE confusion. And we got that in spades.

Hey, yesterday, I declared myself Norweigan. Today I found this: The Norwegian University of Science and Technology emailed it’s students: “NTNU strongly recommends that all NTNU students who are outside Norway return home. This applies especially if you are staying in a country with poorly developed health services and infrastructure and/or collective infrastructure, for example the USA.” Yeppers, that would be us.

Oh and did I mention, the wifi went out.

Today, I am a Norwegian. Filling out my census form this morning, I was surprised that I had to tell them what kind of “white person” I am.  They seemed to want me to fill in a country and not something smart-ass like “old, cranky, well-tanned, etc.” Well, I haven’t a clue what sort of “white person” I am. So, I typed in Norwegian. Sorry, Norway. But, right now I would rather be a Norwegian than almost any other flavor of “white person”.

Thinking about going back to work at the hospital. If it were just me. If I were living in an apartment building stuffed with Millenials. I would have gone back last week.

But, I don’t. I live in a building stuffed with frail, elderly, scared people.  No one will die if I don’t go back tomorrow. But, someone might die if I do. And, that brings me to Mr. Spock “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few”.

Remembering Mr. Spock on Pi Day.

Mālama pono

Damn: The Cheeto in Chief just tested negative of Covid-19. Not very nice of me is it? Nobody ever accused me of being nice.

Taxes all most ready to ship off to The Tax Guy. They just need to be tidied up a bit.

And, I did tidy of the garden box.

The big thing on the left is a rosemary plant. No, it is a bush. Maybe I should learn how to topiary it. Or turn it into a bonsai.

Nothing new at The Asylum. Some ambulances visited. But that isn’t unusual.  No so many people eating in our “dining venues”. Guess they are getting take out and eating in their rooms. But, this moving disaster is just starting.

I always though about some modern day plague that would change life on the planet. But I always imagined that it would be a horrid hemorrhagic fever. Not some killer head cold from hell.

Mālama pono

Went to the grocery this morning for trash bags and mustard. This a modest grocery in an ethnically diverse just barely getting by neighborhood. Never mind that 400 well off old white folk live there too.

They still had an ample supply of mustard and trash bags. But, lots of white space on the shelves.

Over by the trash bags, paper napkins were flying off the shelves. Folk were filling up carts with paper napkins. I suppose the napkins will be used in lieu of toilet paper. Take that plumbing.

Fortunately, The Asylum supplies toilet paper. So, I don’t have to worry about the neighbors clogging up my sewer lines.

Have I done anything to prepare? No. Should I have? Most likely. But, I have an ample supply of beer, chocolate, and coffee.

Nobody gets out alive.

Mālama pono

No known cases of Covid-19 in The Asylym, yet. They are ever so slowly trying to lock us down. But, it is a bit of a problem. Because – if they shoot all the bullets trying to keep the virus out  – what will they do when that fails? That’s why management makes the big bucks.

And looking on the bright side.

Mālama pono.

Yes, they called it “rights” back then. I didn’t take any pictures today. So, I found one on my server that I have never used. Sort of recycling.

The Cheeto is going to “address the nation” at 9PM tonight. If it were any other president I would listen. Don’t know if I can stomach him. I am concerned about Covid-19 but terrified that he will declare martial law. Or attempt to shut down the internet, which might be doable under the Communications Act of 1934, I think it is. I simply hope that he is his normal ignorant Cheeto self.

President Wilson, the much revered Democratic President, did not exactly cover himself with glory with his handling of the Spanish Flu of 1917. The US and GB both used massive censorship (in the US, penalty was 20 years in the slammer) to completely suppress any mention of the flu other than “it is under control”.  Spain wasn’t a participant in WWI so they had a free press which reported all the deaths. That was the first “news” that most had of how serious it was and it was then named the Spanish Flu, nevermindthat it started in Kansas in the good old US of A. By rights Spanish Influenza should be called the Kansas Flu.

Malama pono.

Just when you thought you were safe from my videos! This one is pretty jerky. Must have been hitting the coffee too hard this afternoon.

I was supposed to be working on “stuff” this afternoon. But I had crows in all of my windows. All three of them.

So, I took pictures of crows. Using my Pixel 2XL.

Virus Life in The Asylum. We didn’t lose anything, or any people today. Tomorrow we are going to lose the ability to BOYB  be it a bottle of wine, a can of beer, or a coffee travel mug.  Stay tuned. (One lady brings her own jelly to breakfast. Wonder how that is going to play out. She always eats breakfast alone. I can not see how her jelly will hurt anyone.)

Sort of over the Gratitude thing.  But, I am really grateful that the crows came back. Almost all of our crows were killed off by West Nile Virus about 20 years ago, and it took them at least 10 years to come back.

Waiting. Waiting. More Waiting. Waiting for Covid-19. There isn’t any science to tell folks what to do about Covid-19. Well, beyond the common sense hygiene suggestions. These same suggestions were made 100+ years ago.

Our Asylum being part cruise ship and part nursing home is sort of in a quandary. They really haven’t a clue. Not their fault. There isn’t a clue to be had anywhere. SO, they seem to be doing the “Let’s just throw every at it and hope that something just happens to work.” The other extreme would be to do nothing and hope for the best. Seems to be that either option has a chance of working. But, The Asylum’s  option would help the most in case of a law suit.

They took the self serve  soft ice cream machine away today. That is sort of the end of life on the planet as we know it. Bet the Jacuzzi goes tomorrow. They took the salt and pepper shakers away yesterday.

I fear that I will be nailed in my room by this time next week.

But, I escaped for dinner tonight at an Ethiopian restaurant with a few of my adventurous friends. We had dinner with a couple of young women who used to work here at The Asylum. Isn’t that too  cool. They wanted to see us. And, they even bought our dinner. It was really special.

Another day of reentry. But, this year is different. There is this steady under current of unrest. Waiting for Covid-19. I am having a really hard time accepting that when they mention “the elderly” they are talking to me.  Heck we have a 103 year old woman who just came back from a two week cruise today.

Dusted for the OMD-EM1 today for some flower pictures and some crows. The objective was to shoot 3 big black buzzards. But, by the time I had swapped out the battery and gotten the manual focus set – the buzzards were long gone. So, a crow must suffice.

Everyone is this OLD folks Asylum is a little jumpy about what might happen when Covid-19 shows up in our facility. It really is a cruise ship. With the added feature of an 80 bed skilled nursing facility on the 2nd floor. There is a central kitchen and several satellite kitchens. We have a building HVAC system. About 400 residents and as many staff.

My greatest fear is that my friends will get really sick.  Next comes the fear that I get locked in my room.  Oh well, I have read enough post-apocalyptic fiction to know that it ain’t going to be pretty. I would have been safer in Kona. But, nobody is promised tomorrow.

Nobody is promised tomorrow.  With that firmly in mind I had chocolate cake and coffee stout for lunch. It would be ashamed to die with chocolate cake and beer in the house.