Coronavirus reckons

[Alpha]

Give them to me.

[Pete]

Not sure where I'm going with this because it's 4am and I haven't been able to sleep for the past two hours. Probably a bunch of candid non-sequiturs until I go to the bathroom to crank one out and hopefully fall asleep.

I've been heavily anticipating the FF7 Remake release. Maybe the virus is kind of like Aeris' releasing of Holy, to partially heal the planet from all of the pollution over the years. I mean logically it's impossible, but the thought crossed my mind, especially after seeing how drastically different places look without all of the pollution. The Venice canals and that mountain range in India come to mind.

Also, what if aliens do exist, crash landed in China and were just eaten? Probably unlikely, but if you told me it happened I would absolutely believe it.

It's weird having people being forced to stay home, but as someone who has to actually go to work now and then (they've imposed a lot more restrictions about what "essential" is), it's both creepy and awesome to see parts of the city completely empty. It's also weird now to watch TV from before the Rona, see a bunch of people sitting next to each other and think "well that's not social distancing". Even worse is when I do have to go food shopping or out for an errand and I see other people who get a little too close. There's almost a feeling of anxiety amongst everyone because of this shit. I've been tempted to dual wield Lysol cans and spray people within 6 feet of me.

That's all I've got for now.

[Xanatos]

Luckily, I can work from home for the most part given I work in IT. My company sent us all home three weeks ago, I had to take ton of equipment with me though and I'm still lacking stuff. Fortunately no layoffs but some cuts had to be made. My landlord is a surprisingly understanding person, he cut rent in half, banks are delaying their dues so financially it's more than manageable. Unfortunately, I live in a pretty much third world country, our hospitals aren't really prepared for far less let alone this.

It's so bizarre to go out to get groceries and see a relatively large town so empty, honestly it's still bit unreal to me, the entire situation, feels like some post apocalyptic scenario at times.

Aside from work I'm killing time by playing games, watching films & TV shows, the usual. Currently going through Nioh, really enjoying it, it has that Dark Souls vibe to it while still feeling like its own game. Playing Settlers of Catan online with friends regularly. Watching The Leftovers, super crazy show, in a good way. I'm also working out bit more, have a stationary bike, some weights, lost two kilos actually during the quarantine.

[Alpha]

For me, work has been pretty similar, except I do it from home, which is my preference anyway. I really like having lunch with my family, and I take my toddler out for a walk in the morning, and for a run in the evening. Earlier in the year I'd got really into running again, routinely running more than eight kilometres, but then as the sun started to sink earlier and earlier I fell away. The lockdown has got me out for more running again. However we have our second son due really any day now, so I'm really just making the most of things while they're still calm.

This will be a really weird Easter for Christians I guess; for me it'll be the first Easter in my life where I wouldn't have been to Mass. I hope by slowing down and spending more time together as families that people will learn to once again appreciate simplicity, and realise that you can't buy your way to hapiness. I hope most of all that children will really appreciate all this extra time with their parents.

I have a few friends and family members who have lost their jobs already. One friend was a pilot, who was in the middle of switching airlines when the pandemic hit, so his new job offer was withdrawn and he'd already left his old job, so he didn't even get a payout to cuishon the blow. He's scrambling around for work now, possibly in a supermarket or a seasonal job picking fruit. I suspect we'll see lots of this "under-employment"—as well as simple unemployment—people with special skills like flying planes being forced to accept unskilled labour. This will in turn push wages for unskilled work down, so it's not going to be an easy ride for anyone. My eldest brother's wife lost her job, and my brother's job is essentially convinving Asian students to come here to study in our universities: with the planes grounded there's not much to justify his role and I think he's worried about it. However Asia looks to be recovering from the pandemic, and New Zealand seems to be keeping a lid on outbreaks, so perhaps he'll be OK afterall.

I've discovered The Battle for Wesnoth, and really enjoying playing it. It's a hex-based tactical RPG. High-fantasy, which I didn't really enjoy until I finally sat down and read the Fellowship of the Ring and now I'm kinda getting into it. As well as blocking all the news websites at my router, this has helped keep my mind off things.

[Heartless Angel]

This is obviously a hoax perpetuated by Charmin to sell more toilet paper. Crafty bastards.

[Taco-Calamitous]

I saw this a day or two ago, but keep forgetting to respond to it. Now I will!

Still getting paid by my work, even though I am not at work right now. At first, they were just gonna pay us for the second half of March, and then put us on an unpaid furlough, but at the beginning of this week, they decided they would pay us to do "self improvement" stuff, like watching guides on excel and stuff. We're on the honor system, so they're not tracking it. My boss doesn't expect us to spend 8 hours doing stuff like that, tho.

The first two weeks, I was doing using a couple 20 lb weights to do some stuff for an hour or so every other day, but last week, I got really lazy. This week tho, I mowed the lawn yesterday, and today, I tilled some ground to plant grass on, so I feel like that counts for exercise, heh. I was trying to get back into jogging again at the end of last year and the beginning of this one, but I've gone a few times, maybe, the last couple months. I was going to the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but yeah... not anymore. I was trying to draw something with my drawing software every day too, but I've fallen off doing that, too.

Mostly, I've been playing a lot of Animal Crossing, and Breath of the Wild.

My mom is very churchy, so that aspect's been hard for her. She did schedule a confession. Meanwhile, I finally did confession again after like 5 years in November, and got myself into the habit of going to mass again most of the time last year, so... Not that I ever stopped believing or anything, I was just being lazy/not a good Catholic.

We still have toilet paper, lol. We've gone through like 7 or 8 rolls since this started, maybe. Charmin' ain't makin' money on us

[Zargabaath]

Well I am still working thanks to being considered essential personnel. Supporting the DoD has its perks. Once I got back from SC for work I finished Octopath Traveler. I did beat the true final boss. Now I am working on Dragon Quest VI. After I finish that I plan on starting DQ XI and chipping away Xenoblade Chronicles X as I am slowly working on that game. There are plenty of other games I want/need to play. My current sentiment towards FF VIIR is that I will wait for the PS5 version and I may wait for the bundled version of parts 1 and 2 at that. With so many games to play I will be busy.

Other than work and gaming, I stocked up my alcohol supplies and sipping on some Zubrowka (a Polish Bison Grass Vodka) and apple juice. It tastes just like apple pie. I do 4 fl oz. of Zubrowka and 8 fl oz of apple juice in a highball. A person I met in Savannah, GA told me about his vodka and it has been a revelation. Anyhuma, I am in the midst of making some Braised Oxtail, a recipe from My Portugal by George Mendes which I will have with a bottle of Bordeaux from the Right Bank. Yesterday I made some Roasted Duck with Spiced Red Cabbage from From The North by Katrin Bjork. The duck came out phenomenal but I will have to amend the red cabbage. I had that with a baked potato and some brussel sprouts in a sage butter plus a Barolo to drink.

If I can't really work out, I may as well bend the elbow.

[Coff9]

I honestly don't even know what to say.

I am glad to see that the TFF faithful are still here and kicking.

Well, first, let me say that I am still working at the warehouse; we've been deemed essential, but I don't see how. We only ship clothes and home-goods, so I'm not entirely convinced. However, they are (finally) giving us hazard pay, so that's nice.

Things really haven't changed for me. I'm still working, I live in a small town in basically the middle of nowhere so things are basically the same as they've always been. I've always been the type of person to try and be clean and have good hygiene, so making sure I wash my hands and don't touch my face is decently easy, haha. But with that being said, I'm still kinda worried. If the covid somehow finds its way to my sleepy town, and my family contracts it, it is basically a death-sentence for them. My grandmother is almost 80 with a few health problems that already give her trouble. My father is disabled, and he has COPD, which if he gets the corona on top of that, he almost certainly won't make it.

But I am doing my best to not worry.

I'm just playing my games, mostly PBBGs and Final Fantasy 14. Having a good time with those. Looking forward to this stimulus check, if that's even *actually* going to happen. You know how these things can go.

But yeah, I hope you all continue to be well.

[Kurt Zisa]

They've just extended our lockdown for another week (so 5 weeks total) before they lower the threat level. The idea will still be to stay home if you're able to and to restrict travel, but businesses can operate through click and collect etc. They can let workers in this week to prep for reopening so my Bosses are meeting today to see what that looks like for us.

It's hard to picture what work life will look like going forward, I don't think I'm going to be working full time for a while, or at least consistently. I'm not too worried about life outside of work, we can still access essentials where we are, and as much as my wife and I want to visit our families, we can hold off until they allow travel again. Plus we have Animal Crossing and I've got Magic Arena so there's shit do do.

[Yoko]

It's nice to see that the majority of us are still here. Thanks for keeping this place alive folks.

I've been visiting the site daily and reading your posts. Haven't really been posting myself since I've been busy and caught up in life.

This pandemic hasn't really affected my job, so in a way I'm incredibly lucky and grateful for that. It has affected my mental health though. Initially I was working from home in March (somewhere around the 16th I think). I attempted to keep a "schedule" but not leaving the house for many days while also being incredibly anxious and stressed really starts to get to you. My boss recommended I start working at the airport again. I agreed and he set up a secluded office in the airport for me. I've been working at the airport since April 7th. The guys haven't been very happy with how things have been, as they've been super upset about my bosses behaviour (I'm not going to get into it here). So it's been nice for them to be able to talk to a management figure in person verses calling myself and colleague to vent whenever they have an issue. I also enjoy being able to get out of the house and go somewhere that has very little exposure to the virus. The airport terminal is closed to the general public. Has been since the start.

When I was home, I was on discord talking with friends pretty much everyday... However with the huge hit to the daily routine and the overall anxiety of the situation, I've not been doing great mentally.

I'm not scared if I get sick, but I'm absolutely terrified of getting my mother sick. I get home and disinfect myself and everything I've touched before even talking to anyone. Everyone else is in the same boat I'm sure. The measures that are in place are absolutely necessary for the situation we are in. My colleague and myself worked on a document that evaluated and addressed the risks that an airport could encounter when something like this happens. We spoke with airport managers across Ontario and developed a document to share with others in the industry. It was an interesting experience to learn what other airport managers were doing verses our response and come up with a guideline that everyone can use... However no one discussed the risks that can occur regarding the wellbeing of the employees that are still working through this mess when those meetings occurred. I honestly didn't even think of them when the meetings took place. I read a document from another airport that finally decided to evaluate the risks of those who have a mental illness and are expected to continue to work at somewhere near a "normal capacity" while also being stressed and anxious. While I have my own projects to work on that keep me incredibly busy, I hope at some point either myself or my colleague will also work through the exercise to evaluate the mental wellbeing of our organization. I know basically all of us are are our wits end with what's been going on. The pandemic response isn't the issue. It's the way we have all been treated since the pandemic response started. We aren't robots.

Sorry for the mini vent session. Outside of work I have been thoroughly enjoying Animal Crossing-New Horizons. That's been a much needed way to stay social and relevant with friends across the world. I consider it the perfect game for those in quarantine. The museum aspect is absolutely amazing.

I had my birthday last week. My friends took it upon themselves to surprise me with a few things here and there. All while still able to keep socially distant. I'll have to find a way to pay back the kind gesture in my own way. Incredibly thankful for the friendships that I have.

For those who have a switch, I'll have to share my switch code with you so I can shower you all with miscellaneous Animal Crossing party favours. I miss everyone here incredibly.

Stay safe and healthy.