Day in the Life of an Idiot

 Mason got the news that lay-offs are coming for his entire KAYSC crew (that's the Kitty Anderson Youth Science Center) at the Science Museum of Minnesota.  Apparently, both the Science Museum and the Children's Museum did a clean-sweep of their entire staff. I'm a little surprised that KAYSC can't keep operating, since I would have thought they had an endowment, but I guess this is a "save money NOW, so we can re-hired everyone later" lay-off.  Mason is fairly devastated. This is his DREAM job in so many ways. Plus, I think it was really making him feel part of the pandemic landscape to be video conferencing into work, like everyone else. I guess, they'll still be at it for a few more weeks, but then after that is a long, cold hiatus until we see what the future brings.

But, this is hardly news these days, is it?

Still sucks, though.

One of the friends of my friend that I Zoomed with the other day said that her husband lost her job, and then quickly demurred with "Oh, well, I suppose everyone is in the same boat." I don't even know this person, but I said, "No, it's okay to be upset.  We can still have sympathy for you. Even if it's happening all over, it still sucks. I'm sorry." I thought she might burst into tears.  We need to hand out sympathy more liberally, I think. 

I also really need to stay away from the news. Normally, when I'm out driving around (which today, in Minnesota, is the last day for that for awhile,) I tune into AM950 (KTNF) because it's a very far-left radio station.  Most of the time, I'm out early enough to listen to the Bradcast, which I love, because Brad Freeman is a very calming voice and a very reasoned, and no-nonsense thinker.  Today, because I was up later than usual I ended up tuning into the Stephanie Miller Show and I had to turn her off.  She's usually very funny and finds something to laugh at during trying times, but she was freaking out about the pandemic in a way I didn't find at all helpful. ("The virus can live on your shoes! Don't even go outside if you want to live!") No, no thank you. I can't live like that, even if it's true.

Also,  having read this, DO NOT fill my comments with the places the virus can or can't live. I refuse to spend the next 18 months hiding under a blanket paralyzed with fear and dread. I am experiencing plenty of that without extra help. As it is, I already get mild panic attacks when I have to go to the grocery store because there's no decent way to stay six feet from anyone in an aisle that is two foot wide.

Well, now that the Minnesota Governor finally announced a Stay at Home order, we plan to live off what we've already laid in.  In a lot of ways, this is what the Liberal Preppers group has been preparing us for for years. Did you know that Shawn and I were in a Facebook Group called "Liberal Preppers"? They are not survivalists and are far more focused on how to community-build during a crisis than hoard, but they were vanguards when it came to "hey, have you considered buying a little extra toilet paper with every grocery run" plans. I'm glad we did. Now, we really can just stay in place for two weeks.

Okay. Moving on to other news. Yesterday, I got my first letter from the folks I am jokingly calling my "plague pen pals," the people who reached out on FB and here to offer to write letters to each other in trying times. That was lovely. It brightened my day. Honestly, letter writing is definitely a kind of therapy for me. It's like journaling, but with the purpose of reaching out to another human being. 

I'm really glad I've got an RPG game planned for this weekend. As the resident extrovert, the not seeing people is actually kind of hard on me. Despite the mild panic attacks, I do prefer the company of others.

Stay well, everybody. Check in with your friends when you can!