frinspar
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Post by frinspar on Mar 16, 2020 17:47:51 GMT -5
How are things in your region? How are you reacting personally?
Schools have closed here, stores are empty of the usual items. Tensions seem mild so far.
I've heard the psychology behind it, but the toilet paper thing still baffles me. Especially those who are going out day after day to acquire more.
I saw the pharmacy in Target closed today. Didn't see a sign as to why. People need medicine.
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Mar 17, 2020 7:54:55 GMT -5
Feeling a little less zen today. Today one of my coworkers called in sick with a fever, cough, and sore throat. Still no confirmed local cases (again, no fucking test kits) but I'm a little worried. He and I were supposed to take a truck on a long delivery drive on Thursday (2 hour round trip) but I guess that's not happening now. It's the way this new reality slowly creeps in and disrupts regular routines that makes me more uneasy than the global scope of the whole crisis.
Also, try to think about your local food relief organizations. I work for our local food bank and we are struggling to adjust our practices and still get food out to folks to need it. Find the nearest food bank (or whatever you feel like supporting) and hit them up on PayPal. I'm sure they'd appreciate all the help they can get right now.
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Post by ravenmaniac on Mar 17, 2020 9:49:33 GMT -5
Our governor is doing a great job of stepping up, especially in getting the idiots off the street. Closed all restaurants and pubs except food carry out and pick up. Only 43 cases so far in MD, and only 1 in my county. I know it won't last but it's encouraging, especially with the steps the state is taking. Like everywhere else, shelves are empty. I should have known it would happen here, the news predicts 6 inches of snow and everybody buys up all of the toilet paper, milk and bread.
Personally, I normally don't waste time worrying but this is bugging me. Thinking it's the upheaval of everyday life and the uncertainty as to how bad it's going to get and when it will ease up that's getting to me more than anything. That and having this happen under the current administration.
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S. Griffin
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Post by S. Griffin on Mar 17, 2020 15:22:09 GMT -5
Our governor is also doing a great job. Northam > Hogan, but it's not a competition. 67 confirmed cases here in VA two deaths. Schools closed, many businesses empty, food establishments only doing carry out or delivery, people told to work from home if they can, people told to avoid crowds greater than 10, and adults over 65 have been told to self-isolate for their own safety. It's a bit crazy how bad things seem, and I really do feel that we're witnessing the downfall of society here. No end in sight, and people are fighting over and hoarding essentials. EVERYWHERE. We have enough TP to get through a month or two (not sure exactly), some hand sanitizer that we stocked up on for cons that have since been cancelled, soap, lysol wipes that we've had, milk for now, bread for now, rice for now (we eat a lot of rice), rubbing alcohol (we already had this), and Mrs. Griffin was able to get some peroxide (use it to clean my night guard during the day) and also ground lamb for shepherd's pie tonight (but we are running low on garlic). We even have rubber gloves and masks that I bought previously because of other health issues. Aside from the diminishing anti-bacterial hand wipes that I keep in the car, I feel set but for how long? How long will we last vs how long will this shit last? How long until Lord Humungus and his gang of marauders go raiding for Charmin and Purell?
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frinspar
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Hi, Buck Melanoma. Moley Russell's wart.
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Post by frinspar on Mar 17, 2020 17:52:40 GMT -5
I run the produce dept in a grocery store and it's fucking grim. Our entire store order for grocery was cut in half yesterday. My produce order today was about half of what I ordered as well. And my cooler and dry room were both EMPTY as of noon today. I had some lemons in the cooler and broccoli sprouts, but that was it. My working area is about half of what it normally is. Meaning, I shut down about half of the display areas in the department by condensing what we had for at least a decent-looking display. 85% of what came in today went directly to the floor and there was still a large amount of space not being used. We've cut operating hours by 90 minutes to add to the time we can spend stocking, straightening, cleaning and sanitizing.
We got notice today that our grocery, dairy and frozen orders are limited to a very small amount of lines. And that's still no guarantee of what will be delivered. I got an email limiting our produce to an average of our typical orders. My vendor doesn't have enough people to pick everything, not to mention they just don't have the stock right now anyway.
Our sales have still been about 3-4 times what they normally would be, even with the holes. All of the typical goods that are going fast were gone immediately. We got in our egg delivery today and they were all gone in less than an hour.
Getting out asses kicked, especially with people calling out. The company takes good care of us and is giving us percentage bonuses through this and a raise, along with overtime. And we might be among the few who have job security to a good degree. But it's taking a toll already, and it's only been a week since this really started.
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S. Griffin
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Post by S. Griffin on Mar 17, 2020 19:54:55 GMT -5
We need a dislike button, I think.
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S. Griffin
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Post by S. Griffin on Mar 17, 2020 20:00:22 GMT -5
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frinspar
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Hi, Buck Melanoma. Moley Russell's wart.
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Post by frinspar on Mar 17, 2020 22:58:39 GMT -5
And we have to take the moments we can to find some light. Although my song would sound a lot different.
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Mar 18, 2020 9:22:08 GMT -5
It feels like a slow-motion 9/11, with probably a higher casualty count when the dust is settled. It just seems like nothing is gonna be quite the same after the dust is settled, and we’re going to look at things in a pre/post-COVID mindset from now on.
On a lighter note, I’ve been watching a shitload of movies over the last few days. Blade Runner 2049 is a goddamn masterpiece. Oblivion is a mostly forgotten but really cool Tom Cruise sci-fi flick. Yesterday is dumb but sweet. Raiders of the Lost Ark remains the best action movie ever made. So don’t forget to turn off the scary stuff once in a while and decompress.
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S. Griffin
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Post by S. Griffin on Mar 18, 2020 9:41:12 GMT -5
Blade Runner 2049 is great, but I don't like it as much as the original, mainly because Villanueve spoon-feeds his answer to the mystery he sets up instead of leaving the identity of Deckard and Rachael's child ambiguous, which I think would have made it perfect. It's even more frustrating when the movie continues to set up parallels between K and Stelline until the end...like maybe they could have actually been twins, but either he or WB didn't want that, I guess. The thing at the end with the JOI advertisement is the most Phillip K Dick thing in any movie and my favorite thing in the whole film.
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Mar 18, 2020 11:10:41 GMT -5
I haven't been fully self-quarantining quite yet, but I have stopped visiting my 70 year old parents for the time being. They live very close by so I usually see them a few times a week, but even though I feel fine I don't want to risk passing anything to them.
Indiana has been (probably deliberately) very slow in releasing any info. They release new numbers daily, and as of this morning they've administered 193 tests statewide with 39 confirmed COVID cases. 193 tests in a state with 6.6 million people. So yeah, not really comforted by any data coming from the state just yet. One of these days the dam will burst and then things will get really interesting.
Living in interesting times fucking blows. 0/10 would not recommend.
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Post by ravenmaniac on Mar 18, 2020 12:29:57 GMT -5
I'm tempted to share that on Facebook just to see the reaction of some bible thumper friends.
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frinspar
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Hi, Buck Melanoma. Moley Russell's wart.
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Post by frinspar on Mar 18, 2020 15:54:59 GMT -5
People are fighting over toilet paper. If we all just shit like a horse we'd be good.
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S. Griffin
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I read your pass post and u sounded smart enough to not be stupid and there level.
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Post by S. Griffin on Mar 18, 2020 16:40:44 GMT -5
I'm tempted to share that on Facebook just to see the reaction of some bible thumper friends. The song?
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S. Griffin
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I read your pass post and u sounded smart enough to not be stupid and there level.
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Post by S. Griffin on Mar 18, 2020 16:44:33 GMT -5
If somebody doesn't work for a food bank or have a family of twenty, what the fuck is the point of filling a shopping cart (COMPLETELY) with bread and milk? Bread and milk go bad. Bread can be frozen and thaw okay, but are their freezers that large? Are they freezing the fucking milk? Eggs go bad, too. Are they eating nothing but French toast for the next couple weeks? TP and water I sort of get. This shit makes no sense.
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frinspar
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Hi, Buck Melanoma. Moley Russell's wart.
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Post by frinspar on Mar 18, 2020 20:59:12 GMT -5
I'd like to believe those kinds of people are either shopping for a group that agree to help collect provisions for each other, or that they'll go knocking on the doors of neighbors to see what they might need. But I doubt it.
It's unreasonable. Some people are just getting as much as they can because they can. Stores are going to be implementing no-return policies for when the regret hits some of these hoarders. I believe there's discussion in ours about doing just that. No returns for anything purchased during this stretch.
I am seeing people more on edge today. It's still under control, but there was definitely an undercurrent of growing fear in a lot of the interactions I had.
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Mar 18, 2020 22:09:56 GMT -5
I think people are kind of holding their breath and waiting for the dam to burst. Once testing becomes more widely available and the real numbers of people infected come out, that’s when we’ll see some real panic. It’s about to get a lot worse.
I wish we had a president.
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S. Griffin
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I read your pass post and u sounded smart enough to not be stupid and there level.
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Post by S. Griffin on Mar 18, 2020 23:10:40 GMT -5
We have a used car salesman. And a shitty one at that.
I'm assuming millions of Americans are infected. The good news about finding that out is that the mortality rate might actually be a good bit lower than 3.4% (I believe Fauci said he thinks it's closer to 1%, which is still high but also still significantly less). I don't think that will calm anybody down, really, tho. I also don't think we're going to go "back to normal" ever again.
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Mar 19, 2020 11:08:01 GMT -5
Every month our food bank handles the distribution for the commodity supplemental food program, a federal program for low income senior citizens to receive of box of food. This month we’re handing out the boxes for April as well as March, so I’ve been here all morning in beautiful Paoli Indiana in the southernmost of the 6 counties we serve.
I’ve handed out 220 boxes and gone through dozens of squirts of hand sanitizer. 220 boxes means touching dozens of car door handles, tailgate latches, backseat upholstery, assorted car trash, etc. And I get to do it all again tomorrow in a different county.
This is the kind of thing that won’t stop no matter what comes next. Low income people still need food, pandemic or no pandemic. I’ve worked for this organization for 14 years and this is the most stressful week I’ve ever had. Think about the agencies that serve vulnerable populations and help them out if you can.
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frinspar
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Hi, Buck Melanoma. Moley Russell's wart.
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Post by frinspar on Mar 19, 2020 13:04:37 GMT -5
Came home early today. My wife came to pick me up, I didn't want to drive. I think it's exhaustion. Feeling weak and dizzy, short of breath. Not a heart attack, blood pressure is good. No temperature, so not necessarily flu. I'm a fairly healthy guy with a decent diet, but have been going at a solid clip since last Tuesday. Sure fucking hope I'm just tired. Planning to go back tomorrow. Everyone else at work is showing strain today as well.
I saw a thank you note from a customer in our break room today. That was nice.
All of our stores work directly with our local food banks, twice a week they come to pick up donations. We also don't use plastic bags. We sell store bags and boxes, and encourage everyone to bring their own. Each time they do we donate 5 cents to the food bank. And they're going to be taking a huge hit with new families, seniors and everyone in need because of this.
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Post by ravenmaniac on Mar 19, 2020 13:40:25 GMT -5
I'm tempted to share that on Facebook just to see the reaction of some bible thumper friends. The song? Yep. My response got lost behind other comments that made it in ahead of me.
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Mar 19, 2020 14:26:57 GMT -5
Came home early today. My wife came to pick me up, I didn't want to drive. I think it's exhaustion. Feeling weak and dizzy, short of breath. Not a heart attack, blood pressure is good. No temperature, so not necessarily flu. I'm a fairly healthy guy with a decent diet, but have been going at a solid clip since last Tuesday. Sure fucking hope I'm just tired. Planning to go back tomorrow. Everyone else at work is showing strain today as well. I saw a thank you note from a customer in our break room today. That was nice. All of our stores work directly with our local food banks, twice a week they come to pick up donations. We also don't use plastic bags. We sell store bags and boxes, and encourage everyone to bring their own. Each time they do we donate 5 cents to the food bank. And they're going to be taking a huge hit with new families, seniors and everyone in need because of this. I'm feeling similar myself. Not sick or feverish, just completely exhausted by the end of each day. Every time someone makes a Paypal donation to our food bank we get a notification email. I usually send them right to the junk folder, but this week I've been keeping track. Between the last time I emptied my junk folder (last Friday) and now (3:17 on Thursday afternoon) we've received $26,218.28 in donations. One person donated $10,000 alone. I lost track of how many people sent a donation. It's incredible. The toilet paper hoarders and spring break morons get the headlines, but there are still plenty of wonderful, good-hearted people out there who are responding to this crisis with generosity and not selfishness. Be like those people.
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frinspar
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Hi, Buck Melanoma. Moley Russell's wart.
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Post by frinspar on Mar 20, 2020 17:37:57 GMT -5
Haven't bought anything from Amazon in years. And I won't shop at Whole Foods. I won't watch his TV channel. Bezos can fucking rot into a puddle of shit and dribble out of his own asshole now for all I care.
My store and others aren't getting food because his cuntass is demanding and receiving special treatment by distribution centers that serve stores like all of ours. We got NOTHING today on a normal load day. No pallets at all. Our shelves have been empty. The stock is there. But the focus has been put on placating the bazillionaire who suggested his employees give their sick days to other employees, rather than him taking care of the people making him richer.
He can get fucked. The supply chain is intact, but it's being kinked. Never, ever will that fucker get a dime from me. He can die in a fire.
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S. Griffin
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Post by S. Griffin on Mar 20, 2020 22:34:11 GMT -5
It wasn't Bezos who suggested the employees donate sick days. He owns Whole Foods, but it was John Mackey, the CEO, who said that. Either way, your point still stands. It is quite fucked up.
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frinspar
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Hi, Buck Melanoma. Moley Russell's wart.
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Post by frinspar on Mar 20, 2020 22:54:26 GMT -5
They're all the same person at that level.
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frinspar
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Hi, Buck Melanoma. Moley Russell's wart.
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Post by frinspar on Mar 21, 2020 11:18:31 GMT -5
The talk about a financial responsibility-free month or two, in America, will be the last nail. If we tell people they don't have to pay bills, mortgages, loans, for s couple of months while they're stuck at home, Amazon and every other online retailer will get nearly all of that "extra" money from bored motherfuckers who all lack impulse control and perspective. When the bills come due again, they're all broke. Because we're fuckin' dumb.
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frinspar
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Hi, Buck Melanoma. Moley Russell's wart.
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Post by frinspar on Mar 22, 2020 20:20:06 GMT -5
Shopping check: my store was dead because we've had nothing new to stock since last Wednesday. But we've been telling people we'll get some things Monday for 4 days. So tomorrow's going to be a fucking nuclear assault of shopping...if we actually get anything.
Went to 2 different Super WMs to look for nitrile gloves. I use them at work all the time anyway, but they're not able to bring them in right now. I found a couple of boxes in the painting section. They are totally bare in everything predictable. I was surprised. I figured at least they might have been able to control their chain a little more. But they had so many outs. It's really disheartening to see so much.
And the Target we stopped at for gloves was also as empty. People are still scrambling.
Employees are touching everything, their faces, every surface, wiping noses. Still not taking this at all seriously.
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Post by solominicknight on Mar 23, 2020 4:15:10 GMT -5
Up here no one seems to be following the self quarantine policy to the point the cities in the Vancouver Area have shut down the parks and are stationing a police office at the busier ones to send people home and have even threatened fines/tickets.
The railroad I work for is finally taking care of the basic cleaning of the interior of our locomotives instead of the maybe they’ll clean it attitude. We had one loco come from BNSF in the states and the fuckers left the toilet full about 4 inches above the rim, then cranked the heat in the locomotive...
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Mar 23, 2020 9:38:07 GMT -5
Today we were all given official letters certifying our "essential personnel" status through the duration of the COVID crisis. Basically something to show cops if we get hassled for being out and about during the inevitable lockdown. I've never been more proud to work for this organization, but with each passing week all this feels more and more dystopian. And not a cool dystopia with sexy androids and shit, but a dumb one with an illiterate president and a huge portion of the population that doesn't give a fuck.
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frinspar
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Hi, Buck Melanoma. Moley Russell's wart.
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Post by frinspar on Mar 23, 2020 12:33:18 GMT -5
Up here no one seems to be following the self quarantine policy to the point the cities in the Vancouver Area have shut down the parks and are stationing a police office at the busier ones to send people home and have even threatened fines/tickets. Not so much here, either, yet. I went in today on my day off to put a produce order in, and saw an email from Home Office detailing further steps to caution shoppers about distancing. There were instructions for us to make guides and markers on the floors with painters tape to help them follow the guidelines. The older folks, the seniors, are among the least careful of those who are shopping. A lot of them actually seem excited by this change in the routines for them. It's sad as shit. That's fucking fucked up. I guess they stuffed the toilet with wipes and things that shouldn't be flushed. That's a growing problem all over. People are just dumb.
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