March 15, 2020: Why I Can't Talk About Anything but Coronavirus So Far

I didn't start this blog with the intention of writing specifically about Coronavirus but this is all anyone is talking about at the moment.  I really would like to talk about something else, but this is an unprecedented worldwide pandemic that my generation has never experienced.  It is everything that Y2K was supposed to be.

I don't say this as if we've never had some kind of crisis or we've never been short on supplies, but we have not witnessed public life so adversely affected.

Our cultural institutions, most notably major sporting events have been affected.

We are in the middle of March, and there is no March Madness.

The NBA has suspended its season.   ESPN is full of news about how NBA players have been helping to pay for arena workers.

All of the big soccer leagues have been canceled with the exception of Mexican league soccer and the Turkish League.  ESPN is putting news about how the 7th Tier of soccer is still playing despite Coronavirus concerns.

Yeah, 7th tier soccer in England existing in the midst of a crisis is in the news in ESPN USA soccer.  That is how much activity there isn't going on.

Local cultural institutions have canceled events/gatherings.

Disneyland...closed/.  LA Zoo, LA Observatory, recreation centers, aquariums, libraries...closed. 

Most events or gatherings of 50 or more people have been limited if not outright canceled.  It not only began when an event I signed up for at CSULB had been canceled.

There was a Compton Job Fair that I had been interested in, which was canceled.

And even if I wasn't reminded by the lack of cultural events, even when I just stepped outside and drive, we encounter things reminding us of the crisis anyway.

We see it on the highways.

We see it with the wraparound lines and full parking lots at grocery, and general stores.

At church, there were restrictions about how many people could sit down in a certain pew, and the sermon was about how we would all eventually get through. There wasn't any singing, and mass was over before we could get to communion.  The sermon was about how we needed faith in Jesus for things to pull us through...

if only...

March 14, 2020: The Sterile Costco

Finally made it to Costco yesterday...(in Torrance)

...at 8:30 AM, way before it's normal weekday opening time of 10:00 AM.

The best way to describe it:

Got a really good parking space in front of the entrance.

I stayed in my car for a good 15 minutes until I observed that regular ass people dressed in regular ass clothes, not just employees, were entering the store

Everyone multiplied from there.

We were then told to wait in a line with our carts just outside the entrance.

15 minutes of waiting in line.

We were then ushered inside when employees were putting toilet paper in our carts.

The entrance, normally, wide open, had all entryways blocked by forklifts, stacks of boxes, as Costco employees were clearing the floor.

Forklifts were in constant motion.

The Costco employees running around, making urgent communications looked like EMTs.

We waited at the entrance for about 30 more minutes.

And then...

At around...9:30 AM...

The rush was on....

Straight to produce and meats and poultry.

Mandarin oranges seemed to be plentiful.

The cheaper chicken thighs were not there;  only chicken breast fillets, though I'm not sure if that's because there was a chicken thigh shortage.

The fish fillet was almost out.

Then to cleaning supplies, my brand of laundry detergent was almost out.  I was surprised there was a lot of vinegar left.

I was not able to find:

• (Cheap) Pancake Mix
• Maxi pads
• Paper Towels
• Good ole Kirkland Water Bottles.  Everyone was buying the expensive "Smart Waters" because that's all that was left

And this is was at the opening of the store. 

March 12, 2020: Coronavirus, What I've Heard and What I Actually Do

Hearing our aunt's voice in my head, I was trying to go to Costco today. 

Thought I'd *casually* stock up on supplies as if we'd be living exclusively at our house for the next month or so.

Only, everyone else had that same *casual* idea. At least at the Signal Hill Costco. 

The parking lot was as packed and then some, as if it was Christmas.  Waiting through a Christmas-time Costco parking lot is a lot like waiting on a Disneyland ride --- mind-numbing, painfully slow, and quickly stricken from memory.

I didn't even bother trying to find parking, which really really upset my son.

I...will try tomorrow, hopefully.

Last night was chock full of information about who has coronavirus.  It started when I read in the mid-afternoon that an Israeli soccer fan had made a trip to the city of Madrid, Spain to watch what is known as el clasico, a match between the Spanish league giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.  He said "he didn't regret his trip" despite getting the coronoavirus there.  Then I read that a player from the Italian soccer league giants, Juventus, tested positive.  And then at around 7:00 PM after *a trip to good ole Victoria Park in Carson*, I was reading that the all-star center for the Utah Jazz Rudy Gobert had tested positive for coronavirus, which prompted the NBA to promptly "suspend" its season. Then not more than 10 minutes later, I'm reading that Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have tested positive and have quarantined themselves.

Bonkers bonkers bonkers.

How Serious Is This?

According to this "medical detective", (whom I don't know of but some smart people approved of him so):

• What's happening now is "just beginning"
• Says getting rid of it will take quite a while --- 3 months prognosis
• 10 - 15 times worse than the flu
• Expect 480,000 deaths in 3-7 months

Kind of a contrast to how the Mayor of the City of Compton (not a medical expert) posted an infographic telling us kind of to calm down, by saying "we don't need to hoard supplies."

This infographic was before the blitz of bad news about who had coronavirus yesterday, including the cancellation of the NBA season. Today, she ended up canceling an event.

The only thing that's safe to say is that I've never been through anything like this in my life.

In spite of all the current warnings of staying home, I've been living each day off somewhat normally. 

I'm more aware and weary of traveling to public spaces, though with one exception.

*I said I went to Victoria Park in Carson.  I've also been to Wilson Park in Torrance quite a few times AND played on each of the playgrounds WITH the awareness of coronavirus.  I did administer some hand sanitizer to the yutes after our trip to Wilson Park, but kind of forgot at Victoria Park. 

We and many other people still go to public parks, but even that seemingly innocuous simple privilege might soon become a no no (which I've heard from no one, but think is a possibility given that it is a public venue and has the potential for creating a large public gathering).

So Is This What It's Like to Be a White American...

...who feels like they're "losing" their place in society?  ...who perceives their way of life declining and/or disappearing?

I just might be able to relate to that sentiment, a least little bit, now.

From what I understand, the sentiment is about a sense of being forgotten.  Their way of life being ignored, or marginalized.  Almost like their existence did not make any impact, DID NOT MATTER.  

My family and I visited my grade school friend's parents house recently.  Retirement party for his mom.

Good times seeing old friends.  And by "old", I mean "ooooollllllllllddddd."

These old friends are people I've known quite a while.  One of them I've known since the 1st grade (when Michael Jordan was winning his first championship).  We've all kind of lived our lives, gone our separate ways but it's nice to keep in touch with this part of my circle. 

It didn't really hit me how much my friends' parents house meant to my youth until I saw a modern-ish two-story multi-unit complex built next to it.

The multi-unit complex looks like a skyscraper compared to the rest of the formerly single family homes in the block.

"Pretty soon this house is going to be the Up house" said one of the party attendees when I reacted out loud to some of the fellow party attendees.

The "Up House" is a reference to the 2009 3-D animated children's movie titled "Up" in which in an old man widower resists attempts by developers to sell his house, which by proxy is the container of all of his cherished memories with his deceased wife.  As it appears that the widower is about to give up the land on which his house stands to developers, the audience sees that this will not be the case.  Turns out that the widower had spent some time setting up a lot balloons all over his house, enough to the point that these balloons lift the house from its foundations and he is able to "fly" with his house (and all his cherished memories) in tact.

Somewhat of an apt metaphor because there are quite a few cherished memories I have of being in my friends' house.

• Weekdays after school, I remember playing some intense games of backyard basketball
• Where I would just sit in his room and find new music and movies
• Site for Manny Pacquiao fights
• Parties where I was fully immersed with the friends, family, and fooooooood
• That first summer out of high school --- this was the most central place where we could all just chill in that period of what looked like absolute freedom --- not in school, minimal responsibilities.  An emblem of possibility as well as stability.

Hopefully, quite a few more left.

March 11, 2020: Coronoavirus Has Officially Affected My Day-to-Day

Yesterday, I was supposed to go to an information session with a prospective employer at Cal State Long Beach.

Guess what happened?

Just 2 hours before the session, canceled --- because of coronavirus.

In the news is that 10 Cal State Long Beach students and 2 advisors have self-quarantined.

It's one thing seeing markets crashing hard, people on the docks being out of work due to a lack of shipments, Serie A soccer in Italy basically shutting down, the banning of large public gatherings in various places, and hearing our aunt call us to warn us about how water bottles are running out at the local Wal-mart. 

Quite another to feel the impact directly when the wife is hearing whispers of possible school cancellation and when a seemingly innocuous meeting (that actually could've meant a lot for my economic future) is canceled.

Now the big dripping question shooting through my head:  how is anyone going to get paid, and what is this going to do to us?

Cal State Long Beach has sent me two different updates:  they're playing going to play basketball games without spectators and how face-to-face classes will be suspended for about 1 month, until April 20th, about 1 month and a half from now.

The person or at least person representing the people who were supposed to show up sent us an email this morning.

Basically... "here are some flyers, check us out online, g'luck!"