Working From Home Survival Journal: Day Seven Thousand

And it's really just beginning... That is... if we get to work beyond this week.

We are under a "Stay at Home" order in my county. My coworker and I have already been doing this, but having it be mandatory is unsettling.

My coworker and I went into the corporation yesterday to gather some things and take care of a few projects. The coworker has several large projects he's in charge of currently. I'm doing my regular thing and helping him. He's lucky he's cute.

The furry coworkers are an absolute mess. We think the orange one was fixing to pee in my shred box which just happened to have the coworkers jacket semi-draped over it. Not sure if that's what the orange coworker was up to or not, but he has a history of this type of thing. The littlest furry coworker keeps fighting with the ancient coworker. The gray one stays with the human spawn coworker, so we rarely see him. The big brown one follows us like we will dissipate in front of her eyes.

The office is cold today. I need socks. But The Coworker made me some breakfast and is planning on making a fire to warm us up.

I'm trying to focus and get my stuff done, but it's difficult...

That's all I have...

Behave.

Feel Good Friday on Saturday...

I know most of us don't even know what day it is anymore. I feel luckier than some because I still have my day job for now, so at least I have that way to keep track of the days. K4 has no idea what day it is most of the time. She's heading into her third week off.

So let's get to the list...

1. Work for another week! Whoot!

2. Sleeping in a little this morning. We were in bed stupid early, so that's actually quite a feat. I did wake up at 5, but forced myself to stay in bed and actually fell back to sleep until almost 8.

3. That Man had to take care of some work stuff, so I headed for prescriptions and provisions. We were out of coffee and I needed creamer, too. Found both no problem, though they only had one other can of coffee. Still no paper products at the store and barely any cleaners. I got the last container of dishwasher detergent. Didn't really need anything else, so avoided the urge to fill my cart.

4. Getting words on the page this week. Not a lot, but I did make some progress. I think I'm figuring stuff out, so that's good.

5. Warm blankets! It's kind of chilly in here. Not quite chilly enough to start a fire, but enough that I am feeling cozy in my blankets on my couch.

6. Dinner in the oven. Actually it went into the crockpot at like 10am, but I think the crockpot has perished, so... Stuffed cabbages. Haven't made it in a long time, so I hope it's good.

7. The forecast is for a nice day tomorrow. I really hope so! I need some sun!

8. The constant of funny memes between K1 and I. We've been cracking each other up for days. The same with my brother-in-law in California. He sends me hysterical pictures and I do the same to him. It's a break and a distraction for sure.

That's all I have. We're about to tune into some Disney channel and watch cartoon movies even though it's just the two of us. Ha!

Behave!

Working From Home Survival Journal: Day Five

It's Friday! Whoot!

Got the word this morning that we will be working next week! Relief! It's a week by week decision, so...

Anyway.

My human coworker had to go to corporate with some safety supplies. This has left me all alone in the home office with the furry coworkers.

They are jerks.

I am trying to get the payables done and those jerks are stealing my pen, trying to put their paws in my ink pad, biting my envelopes... It never ends. I put music on my laptop and it was like a siren song for them. I guess Jack Johnson does something to them. They were trying to walk on my keyboard, trying to lay in the printer... ack...

It's cold in here.

I'm hungry.

I'm out of coffee. (Not really - just in my cup)

This day is going slow.

That is all...

Behave!

End of Work: Day Four

You wouldn't think you would be exhausted after working from home all day. But I am.

I was very busy today though, and also did laundry, washed our sheets and remade our bed, made spaghetti sauce for dinner, folded laundry, provided constant emotional support for That Man, K4 and our very stressed out dog, cleaned the work area, organized the household administration items, reorganized the fridge, ate cheese balls, and well...

(I did most of the stuff on my lunch break. We still take our usual hour, so there is time, especially when you eat all day and don't have to source lunch.)

We've been taking a walk every evening to stave off cabin fever. Except last night since it was pouring.

Tomorrow is possibly our last day to work until this BS is over. Guess we'll find out tomorrow at some point. We'll have to sign up for unemployment and figure it out from there. I keep telling myself that it is what it is and we'll be fine, but...

I haven't really been writing much. A friend challenged me to write just 10 words the other day, but I managed 38. I'm mostly taking notes about things I want to add to the story. I know I'm not alone in not writing. Much of my writing group is feeling the same way. We encourage each other constantly, which is nice, but it doesn't change the fact that it's a bad feeling not to be writing.

I'm hungry for a burger and fries. There's a little place down the street that delivers. We might check that out tomorrow. We'll see.

At some point over the weekend, we'll have to venture out for supplies and such. Don't really want to, but there are a few things we need.

That is all.

Behave!

Working From Home Survival Journal: Day Four

The theme song today is "Cat in the box". Actually, everything is a theme song.

The human coworker and I are a little loopy today. We've already consumed one pot of strong caffeinated beverage and are encouraging the caffeine maker to hurry and finish making the second.

We are both incessantly talking to ourselves, our computers, our papers.

The non-human coworkers are on edge. The big one is still following me everywhere I go. To the sink. To the pantry. Like these are four steps away from each other. I'm going to fall and break my neck soon.

The other ones are fidgety and each of our movement makes them jump and run. Our boxes continue to be a source of interest for them. The big one is growly at the small ones.

Yesterday, we had a small reprieve from our designated working space. We had to go to the building that houses our offices. I needed to grab my mail and work order folder, and he was on a special mission. It was odd to be out and about. I even showered and put real pants on. The upside is that they still fit.

We had other missions to complete for the corporation, which meant going to places that sell things. That was also strange. My human coworker is currently making a trip into the corporation. It's very odd being in our workspace alone. The spawn human coworker is still sleeping. She was still up at 5am when her patriarch coworker awakened.

So... this just happened... My big glass mixing bowl was on a towel on the sideboard. Drying. One of the feline coworkers decided it would be a grand idea to jump up there. Well, she missed and reached out with her claws, hooking the towel and bringing my bowl crashing to the floor. In a million pieces. There was glass from one end of the workspace to the other. It was not pleasant and now I'm out of the bowl I seriously use constantly. Pssh.

That is all.

Behave!

Working From Home Survival Journal: Day Two

My coworkers are strange.

One hovers over us like she's afraid we're going to vanish. One could not care less about us. She wanders around, throwing up on random parts of the floor, and then sleeps. Two are always in our space - sitting in boxes, stealing pens, getting hair on stuff. The other is a mix between the rest, except the puking part.

Any movement away from our temporary work space causes alarm and panic. And following. It's like having toddlers in the house again. You use the bathroom and there are body parts reaching under the door for you.

Our spawn human coworker is fine. She appears every so often for coffee and sustenance, but rarely comes to communicate during our working hours. That's a good coworker right there.

The coworker I share office space with (i.e. the dining room table), is kinda crazy. He talks to himself an awful lot and if the light flickers a bit he starts muttering. Mostly he leaves me be, too. Though I'm sure he will say I talk to myself an awful lot as well. He has to be on the phone at times, so I try my best not to be annoying with my scanning and self-discussion.

We take feast together mid-day. He's pretty cute, so, who knows... We talk about pretty much everything and he makes me laugh. I know it's taboo to get involved with someone from the office, but...

Ha!

That's all!

Behave!

Sunday...

I slept in this morning. Only a little bit, and maybe even not considering I got up at 4am and couldn't go back to sleep until 5:30! And we went to bed late! That Man got up just as my brain started shutting down again, so I had the bed to myself and I refused to get up until a certain time! Ha!

We decided to try to get our pet food this morning. That did end well, though we ended up having to switch Elsa's food. Same brand, but a different kind. We'll slowly incorporate it into her regular food so she doesn't have any digestive issues with it, but when we let her try a bit she liked it a lot, so that's a bonus. Cats are good now too. And I guess, so are we since we won't be their next meal now! ha!

Store is still out of pretty much everything. Did manage to get a package of chicken, but it was the last one, and we're pretty sure it was only there because it was an ugly package. Luckily, the pet food was all we needed. (besides the chicken) Though I did buy a lemon cake mix and some cream cheese for dessert making. Except I forgot powdered sugar. I guess I can make my own with regular sugar and my food processor?

The stress-cooking continues! This morning I made western eggs with bacon. We made burgers with a million different toppings for dinner. Who knows what I'll come up with tomorrow? Or, I think I might organize my pantry to make sure I know where everything is and am not letting things go to waste.

Got the vents back on the camper. Fixed the one that was really broken, and while it won't last long, it's good for now while we search for a new one. They don't make that same one anymore, so we have to find a replacement. Cleaned up all of that stuff and parked the camper until the remaining gross floor dries out a little and we decide how to tackle replacing the floor. Did a little laundry and vacuumed. Cleaned the kitchen like six times.

We had to cancel the rest of our tree trimming for this weekend coming up. Pretty sure that falls into the "non-essential" category. Talked to our tree guy and he said the same thing. Plus, spending the money probably isn't in our best interest at the moment.

Turned off my early alarms and left the "work from home" alarms on. That means an extra hour of sleep in the morning. Which I guess is good, but as it turns out, it doesn't really matter because sleep isn't good anymore anyway. The coffee is ready to be plugged in to brew, so there's that...

I'm thinking about getting some writing done next. I'm not sure I'm in the proper head space, but we'll see what happens.

That's all!

Behave!

Well... How Are Y'all?

I hope good. I know it's rough and it sucks, but we are going to be okay.

We're hanging in there!

It is weird that there's not much traffic at all. The cars going by outside are less than they are on major holidays. When we picked up our camper, we were the only vehicles on the road. That's good. Stay Home people, or else we will be absolutely stuck at home!

We do need dog and cat food. If we don't procure some soon, they will eat us, I am sure! The grocery store had none yesterday. Neither did the big box store. So... We'll probably venture out tomorrow or Monday to see if we can feed our beasts!

We're both working from home now. At least for this week coming up. After that, we're probably both on unemployment, though That Man might get called back since they updated the mandates on essential services.

We did go to pick up our camper this morning. Came home and started ripping out flooring. It's an ungodly mess and will need some creative solutions, but it can be done. That Man replaced the screens in the vents, so that's a plus. The actual units were fine, but the bug screens were damaged. We happened to have a roll of screening and some good glue, so that's a done deal now. Saved us about $60 x 3 to replace the vents. We just need to replace the air conditioner vent. It's in super terrible shape, plus someone drew a penis inside of it... Ha! We should have enough primer and paint to begin painting the cabinets once it gets a little warmer, so that's a bonus. It's nice to have the camper home, because just looking at it gives me hope.

I am not writing. I will again very soon. Probably tomorrow. I think I have my head in the right place now, so that's a bonus. I guess.

I cooked a lot today. I made brownies. I made cheesy jalapeno cornbread. I made some weird concoction of cuban beans, cumin, onions, potatoes, and chicken broth. The whole meal cost less than $5 and it fed 3 people. So much food that we didn't make dinner tonight. That's a bonus, right?

I also took a nap. I don't know what I did, but my lower back and hips are hurting a lot. I was on my knees in the camper for a while, and then I had to be done. After I made lunch, I crashed on the couch for a little while.

Now we are watching a movie and chilling on the couch.

That's all I have at the moment!

Behave and Be Safe!

Crazy Times!

Hope you're all doing okay!

It's stressful. I know as much as I say and do really believe that everything is going to be okay and this is what we need to do to "flatten the curve", I'm still in a state of shock!

I didn't sleep well last night at all. I'm sure no one is sleeping well these days.

We're home to get set up to potentially work from home. They had fast-tracked it to yesterday, but there was something wrong with our server and it had to be switched to today. We've been home for over an hour waiting for IT to call. My huge-assed printer is setting on my dining room table so I can test it. Then I have to drag it back to work tomorrow. Then back home on Thursday since we're doing a test work from home day. It is what it is. That Man is probably going to have to go in a few times a week (if possible), even if we do work at home, so we'll see how this is going to work out.

One thing I wonder is how on earth people can afford to buy as much stuff as they've been buying? That Man says they can't, but they don't care right now. He's probably right.

K4 is off for the next two weeks, given her business-type is one of the ones the governor wanted closed. She's freaking out a little, but can sign up for unemployment, which is good.

My struggle is that I write that kind of thing that's happening currently. It's hard to put the words on the page and then realize that the current world isn't much different. My current work in progress is about an unknown illness that wipes out a lot of people. I don't have a safe place anymore. So I'm thinking of writing something much lighter for the next little bit.  I just need to figure out what that is. Then I will be able to have writing as my safe place. But who knows. Maybe this current situation will help me with my work in progress.

I think that's it. Check in with your elderly family and neighbors. Don't buy all of the toilet paper or meat. Other people need to eat too and the grocery stores are still open.

For now, we're still going to the day job. The office is pretty well isolated and the field guys are as well. We have a few at risk people in the office, so that's a concern. But we're working on a plan for them. And all of us.

Behave and stay safe!

Feel Good Friday?

What a crazy day!

State of Emergency! All schools closed! Library closed! Borough Offices closed! We're still up and running at work, but field precautions are in place. Meaning our guys have specific instructions on interacting with other teams, customers, and what to do. If our field guys don't work, there is no money coming in, therefore no paycheck. We will get set up to work from home on Tuesday afternoon, including That Man and I taking the phone calls that come in through the switchboard. And then we'll wait to see if we actually can/have to work from home.

K4's work is on basic shut down. They won't take any customers in the store at all anymore. Only drive through and they are cutting the staff back. She's worried. She works about 46 hours a week now, but this will greatly impact her schedule. Several of her coworkers are asking to be taken off the schedule, especially the pregnant ones. She's super worried about her bills and money. She's out with friends tonight, but when we texted, she was so overwhelmed she decided to shut her phone off. Her boss's message was worrisome, so I totally get it.

Hell. We're all worried. The financial impact of this is huge. For all of us. 

We had to stop at the big box store on our way home. We needed cat litter because Jesus, these cats poop a lot! We also decided to get charcoal since our goal is to grill all weekend. So, anyway, I thought, well... we'll just look at the chicken, because it's always cheap and why not have a little extra in the freezer. Ha! No meat at all... It was all gone! So crazy! When we got there, the cart area was full. When we left, like 20 minutes later, it was empty! And they have a lady at the wipe dispensing area, handing out one wipe per cart...

I do get it. Especially if you have kids now stuck at home for the next two weeks. That's mostly what we saw. Families with carts full of mac and cheese, snacks, and pasta. Milk and eggs were gone, too, and bottled water. Most folks were not overbuying, which is heartening. Some people were. Some people were total jerks. Some people weren't.

I know everyone is in panic mode. I get it.Though I don't understand how people can afford to overstock. We're buying the basics. The stuff we buy every week.

I don't know what to think at all. I do know that we're going to be okay. This is a temporary thing. And I think the right things are being done. And taking care of our families is the priority. Making sure we're safe and that our communities are safe. We're going to get through this. It's going to suck, but it's going to be okay in the end. I have also stayed off Facebook for most of the day to save my sanity. I can't deal - it's the virus, politics, and politics and the virus. Ugh. And I will continue to stay away. I just can't. I am seriously thinking about deactivating my account.

But our weekend is yard clean up and that's what I'm focusing on. And we have to do that to stay sane. We have a dumpster pass at a friends, so we can take the stuff that our regular trash guys won't take, which is super epic. We will get up early, load the trailer, go to unload it, and then probably stop for breakfast. Then we'll load up again.

Then we will grill kabobs. The meat is already marinating and we're making mango salsa and rice! The fact that we're home all weekend is amazing. We had already had this planned, so it has nothing to do with the current state of affairs.

I love you all and I hope you're all good.

Behave!

A Bunch of Craziness!

What the Hell is with this new virus?

I know the media is hyping it, but now it's a freaking pandemic! So...

Yeah... I worry about my friends with health issues. I worry about my new moms and my new moms-to-be. I worry about my sister having surgery. I worry about my elderly friends. I worry about my family and friends that are family. But I don't know yet how much to worry...

We went to the grocery store tonight. We typically go to the store for our weekend/early week needs on Thursday night, because our weekends are crazy and we like to go out to eat Friday night. It was insane and we barely checked off all of the things on our list. The parking lot was full. Getting through the aisles was ridiculous. There was absolutely no toilet paper and very few paper towels. I didn't check the napkins, but I saw a guy going to the parking lot with at least four big packs of napkins as we were going in... What the F***?

We didn't need toilet paper, but we did need paper towels. We were sitting on exactly one roll... Our Granny cat pukes a lot, otherwise I wouldn't worry about paper towels. She's almost 18, or 19 (We're not sure since we got her as a rescue), so she can puke if she needs to. We won't have her much longer, so...

I get a ton of emails from "bonus cards" I have... about how things are clean... blah blah blah... Okay... We all get it. I don't think anyone believes that no one is taking this seriously. Though...

Anyway...

I guess we'll see what happens next??

Behave and be safe!

Oh Hey! It's March!

Not much new has happened this past week...

The reservations for the May Jeep event were changed. The house wasn't available, so we opted for hotel rooms. Separate ones so my sister-in-law doesn't die from all of the snoring. Ha! Our buddy is booking at the same hotel, so it should be a lot fun! And we're about five minutes from the venue which is awesome! Last year we were twenty minutes away and we paid more for the hotel! I know my brother and our buddy will get along awesomely. Our friend is almost like a son to us (in fact, he was our son's friend back in the way back days, which is weird, but awesome too.)

Our future daughter-in-law's birthday. They came for dinner last night. It was a kind of surprise for her. We had spaghetti and fantastic bread and a fire outside. It was nice to play games and talk. K3 made her an awesome cake. It turned out to be a good night. I know she's not used to our weird family dynamic, but I think she's getting used to our sense of humor! lol!

Writing all of the words! Well, not all of them because that wouldn't be nice. But writing my own words! I did very well last week and I hope to do the same this week.

Writing meeting on Saturday. First, I had breakfast with a friend which was awesome and much needed. I am at a crucial point in deciding whether or not to renew with the national chapter. There's been a lot of terrible things going on at the national level. Things I'm not sure can be fixed on the current course. Things I am so against and appalled by. I've been watching since December and nothing really has changed. We have a special election coming up since 99% of the board resigned, but honestly, the people now running are really no different than the folks we've had in the past. I've been trying to gauge what the national level does for me at this point in my career and I can't say it's much. The rub is that I can't be a part of my local chapter without belonging to national, and that's going to hurt. I have about a month to decide...

We did a lot of yard work this weekend. Many trips to the yard waste recycle center. A bunch of garbage bags. We're making progress. And we are tired. We also made some awesome grilled chicken and potatoes for dinner tonight. And I made some awesome queso. The house is clean and the laundry is 90% done (K4 had the washing machine all day today).

Tomorrow is back to the grind. I am on the phones all day tomorrow, which is fine. It breaks up my week, even though I have to run around for a good part of the morning to get my second check run done. Things are slow right now, so it's all good.

And that is all...

Behave!