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Focusing on the positive -- GOOD things about the coronavirus situation (1 Viewer)

Otis

Footballguy
The text chains with my extended family have been brutally bad -- just all negative stuff, updating each other on the news ("Look at this report from the Imperial college. This is bad.";  "Did you see they just closed all of freaking California."  etc.).  And the more you watch the news, the more you can be dragged down into this pit of despair.

No question there's a lot that's bad about our current situation.  But there is some good.  And since there's really very little we can do about the bad, let's focus on the good in here.

What are some good things about everything we're facing in these strange days?  

I'll start:

1. No commute.  Say what you will about working from home, but no matter how you slice it, no commute is nice.  I am saving probably around 3 hours every day.  That's a massive plus.  A week into this and I'm starting to think it may be hard to go back to "normal times" after all this is over (to the extent the new normal will be the same as the old one...).

2.  Slowing down.  There are no alarms to set anymore.  We all get up when we get up.  And then there's no mad dash in getting the kids ready for school and our the door.  It's taking some time to wind down from that, but boy, it's pretty darn nice.  It's not like we're sitting around in our pajamas all day, but we sort of get there when we get there.  It's a much nicer pace for life, I've gotta say.

3. No business travel.  Never much liked traveling for work, and always had to do it more than I wanted.  Now I do exactly zero of it.  And maybe won't for a long while.  That's a good thing.

4. Time with my family. Can be a double edged sword with small kids in the house, having to work from home, kids barging in on video conference calls crying, Mrs. O losing her marbles because she's got 3 small kids to remote school while I'm holed up in the office all day, and she can't really even take them anywhere--just shut in with them, most all the time.  Still, there is some of this, with each passing day, that I realize is so special. We go for walks.  I take more bike rides with my eldest daughter.  We play board games.  We read together.  Shoot hoops in the yard.  We've never spent this much constant time with each other.  And I'm starting to realize we're going to look back on it pretty fondly, and maybe even miss it.  As I think about this, what was a gloomy, depressing feeling about this whole situation actually makes me feel pretty happy.  Don't get me wrong, there are moments we get downright stabby, but on the whole, this is quite a moment, and I realize more than ever that we're so lucky to have one another.

5. The kids are getting closer than ever.  Related to the above, but a little different.  The interactions between the kids are somehow different. They still fight sometimes, but a lot less, and they just seem to be growing a lot closer.  Love watching them play together and bonding more than ever.  Yesterday we sat in the yard and I did some work on my laptop while they explored the yard.  We've been living in this house for 5 years or so now, but with all this time and nothing to, they're exploring more -- they found a "secret passage" behind a row of shrubs at the back of the property, and love going back there now.  It's like a whole new world for them.  Just cool to see things like this happening.

6. Time for hobbies.  I decided since we're locked in, I'd pick back up playing the guitar again, and went online and bought an amp and guitar.  It's something I haven't done in 20 years, but the more I've thought about it the more excited I get about it.

7. Time to get caught up on projects at home.  Our house is slowly getting to be more clean than it's ever been.  And we're working through a bunch of little projects that we just hadn't gotten to before.  

8. More time to focus on diet and exercise.  This one is tricky, because my first instinct here has been to drink more alcohol than I was, and eat more junk food all day.  But if you think about it, one of the main excuses we always hear about health is that people don't have enough time -- no time to work out, no time to prepare good meals.  Well guess what.  Now you're stuck in your house with all the time in the world.  Plenty of time to exercise more and focus more on healthy habits.  Who knows, if we can manage to figure out how to navigate our new lifestyles, maybe in the end of this, we can come out of it feeling better than ever.

9. A shared experience.  Even with people just on text chains, or social media, or here, and as much as this is a pretty terrifying experience for so many, there's also something kind of cool in living through what it's clear is going to be a historic moment in time, and sharing that experience with our friends and family (and iFamily!).  

10. Stock market investment opportunities and mortgage refinances.  Yeah we're all mostly getting completely clobbered, but if you had any cash sitting on the sidelines, in the end this should presumably give us a chance to get in on some bargain basement prices that in 10 years will end up fantastic investments.  And so many of us had a chance to refi our mortgages recently for silly low rates--that's not bad.  I'd rather the market be booming, but hey, silver linings and all that...

11. Good reason to skip social engagements you didn't want to attend.  We had a couple of upcoming dinner dates at places and with people I had zero interest going to.  Oh no, guess we have to stay home and watch Netflix instead!  Social distancing!

12. Zero traffic.  I know we're supposed to stay home, but for those couple of times I do run out to the grocery store to pick up some things, it's a ghost town.  It's sort of nice not having traffic; not having cars and noise pollution everywhere.  My town feels much more "park like" and pleasant without all the cars.

 
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I'll take any good news about the virus too. 

I decided earlier this week to ignore the news. But as a father, that is irresponsible. Need to keep informed, but my anxiety was getting the best of me.

I keep trying to convince myself it's not THAT bad even though I know it is. China has 1.3 billion people. A small fraction got this.

Same with us so far. 

I'm also convinced this has been around longer than we acknowledge. My youngest daughter had a fever for three days and then a horrible cough for a few more back in January. A lot of people did at the time. I take some comfort in that because my daughter overcame it and the rest of the family avoided it.

Little things like that are helping me get through the day. Watching the news just puts me into a panic.

 
Dusted off an oldie-but-goodie last night, and hosted an on-line poker tournament with friends. We were supposed to have a full table (10 players) but Governor Wolfs PA shutdown announcement yesterday afternoon kept a few from playing. We used an app called Pokerrrr 2 and everyone just Venmo'd me $20 for entry. Worked great. No technology/interface issues, and everyone wants to play again soon. Planning on doing another tournament Saturday night. Might do a multi-table tournament if we get enough.

Trying to make some lemonade out of these lemons.  :shrug:

 
Fantastic thread Oatis.  

Your list covers a lot of my thoughts but the one point that sticks out the most is the pushing together of families.   Our household is small since i only have one kid but we have spent more time at home together this week than I can remember.   It has been really enjoyable.   Sure, there is some arguments concerning the home schooling but it will be a normal routine in a few days.   

 
Fantastic thread.  Great list.  On board with all of them.  Had a similar discussion a couple nights ago with a SP member IRL.

Silly add:  I’m super thankful not to see my boss for awhile.  She’s a terrible boss and likes to hide from her whole team anyway, so this situation means nobody sees or hears from her.  It’s almost like not having a boss — which is my ideal anyway!!  Winner winner chicken dinner!

 
Dusted off an oldie-but-goodie last night, and hosted an on-line poker tournament with friends. We were supposed to have a full table (10 players) but Governor Wolfs PA shutdown announcement yesterday afternoon kept a few from playing. We used an app called Pokerrrr 2 and everyone just Venmo'd me $20 for entry. Worked great. No technology/interface issues, and everyone wants to play again soon. Planning on doing another tournament Saturday night. Might do a multi-table tournament if we get enough.

Trying to make some lemonade out of these lemons.  :shrug:
Tons of reviews complain about unrealistic odds in making great hands....have you noticed that? Lots of full houses, straight flushes, things of that nature? 

 
My routine hasn't actually changed all that much. I'm still working, as my job doesn't usually interact with many people. Still, this whole thing is teaching me the value of patience and understanding of other people. Still can't believe so many people didn't wash their hands well prior to this.

 
Tons of reviews complain about unrealistic odds in making great hands....have you noticed that? Lots of full houses, straight flushes, things of that nature? 
No, but I've only played a couple tournaments. Could be a case where people tend to remember the bad beats? I was mainly concerned with connectivity issues and interface and it was great on both of those. Im sure there are plenty of others though. If you find one you like better, please share.  :thumbup:

 
I had planned on giving up playing in my weeknight adult softball league this year (been playing for way over a decade) due to heavy business travel, but now that travel has dissipated for the foreseeable future, I get that back.

 
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I had planned on giving up playing in my weeknight adult softball league this year (been playing for way over a decade) due to heavy business travel, but now that travel has dissipated for the foreseeable future, I get that back.
Hasn't softball dissipated for the foreseeable future? I'm thinking its 50/50 on whether or not my daughter's league plays this summer. 

 
Hasn't softball dissipated for the foreseeable future? I'm thinking its 50/50 on whether or not my daughter's league plays this summer. 
We start in mid-May, so I'm holding out hope that things will be a bit more settled by then. But you're right - it's a risk, as is my son's travel baseball league this spring/summer.

 
Positive - We could be creating a blueprint to beat these things. 
This is a really good one.

While the death rate for CV19 is high for something that spreads as easily as it does, it's not that high overall.  If we ever get that real potential worst case scenario world ender that spreads like this thing does and has a death rate like Ebola I think we are infinitely more prepared for it now.  Both in terms of knowing what to do and in terms of people taking it seriously and seeing what we can do to shut it down if everyone cooperates.

 
It was unseasonably warm this AM so I was able to go on a small hike. I discovered a cemetery near my house that’s really hidden away but quite nice. There was something peaceful about going through there., seeing headstones from more than 200 years ago still standing, looking at the rather large monuments some people had built for them, etc. I see myself taking a lot more hikes through all the park area by my house over the next couple weeks - weather permitting.

 
I posted this in the big coronavirus thread, but people are going out of their way to help those in need:

At the local food pantry we’ve had to make some changes to eliminate crowds—instead of having folks come inside to pick out their food, we hand them pre-packaged boxes as they drive by. My concern was that it would take a lot of volunteers to pack all the boxes beforehand, and most of the regular volunteers are retired folks who are stuck at home right now.

At our big box-packing event last night, however, we had more volunteers than I’d ever seen before. We’ve also had so many donations that our warehouse is nearly full. It’s great to see people stepping up in times like these.  :thumbup:

 
I think tonight will be family game night with the wife and kids. 
We've played a family game each of the past two nights after dinner.  With a 16 and 18 year old boys, family game nights is like pulling teeth.  There never would do it.  They are now so bored now, they don't even argue.  Each throws out a game of choice and we put them in a hat to draw.

First night was a bit of a cluster.  We played Clue (newer version that the last time I played as a kid, but same premise).  My wife of course screwed up and put two people and no weapons in the final envelope.

 
Made a couple of pan fried burgers last night. A little sharp cheddar on top. I like them medium rare but when I cut into the first one was really pink, on the really rare side. Normally would have cooked it a little more but just said eff it and sucked them down. Delicious. Didn't get sick.

 
More time to prep for Roto baseball drafts.....

and to do those home projects I never seem to have the time to do

ETA - never been much of a TV watcher, but I am sure there is a series or two or even a few movies that I have never had the chance to watch that I can now get into as well

 
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I'll take any good news about the virus too. 

I decided earlier this week to ignore the news. But as a father, that is irresponsible. Need to keep informed, but my anxiety was getting the best of me.

I keep trying to convince myself it's not THAT bad even though I know it is. China has 1.3 billion people. A small fraction got this.

Same with us so far. 

I'm also convinced this has been around longer than we acknowledge. My youngest daughter had a fever for three days and then a horrible cough for a few more back in January. A lot of people did at the time. I take some comfort in that because my daughter overcame it and the rest of the family avoided it.

Little things like that are helping me get through the day. Watching the news just puts me into a panic.
I had that too in January and my wife sort of got it a little. Kids didn’t. Ended up getting an inhaler, musinex and some cold medicine from the doc. It definitely was a weird cough and I remember saying that everything was in my chest (called it a respiratory infection) and I couldn’t cough it out. The musinex really helped as did the inhaler. I don’t smoke and never had asthma and I did wonder recently if it wasn’t part of this thing. I had to travel a bunch after Thanksgiving, Pratt much every week until Christmas and then 3-4 weeks straight after that. On one trip right after the new year it got pretty bad at the hotel. 100% had a fever and that was the worst week.

I work from home so luckily didn’t have huge contact and I might have just had an upper respiratory infection. The fever part though and the coughs that didn’t seem to be productive. I did have some coughing fits a few times. Anyway, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. Wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t.

 
Made a couple of pan fried burgers last night. A little sharp cheddar on top. I like them medium rare but when I cut into the first one was really pink, on the really rare side. Normally would have cooked it a little more but just said eff it and sucked them down. Delicious. Didn't get sick.
Gave my kid a cookie for lunch today and my wife asked what that was about and I said who gives a #### anymore. She agreed and had one herself. 

 
Coming home to my dogs that just dont give a @%*& about anything other than seeing me, is just a huge breath of fresh air after dealing with all of this. 

Dogs Rule, People Drool

 
Made a couple of pan fried burgers last night. A little sharp cheddar on top. I like them medium rare but when I cut into the first one was really pink, on the really rare side. Normally would have cooked it a little more but just said eff it and sucked them down. Delicious. Didn't get sick.
Liar

I tried to eat red meat last night for the first time a while since all the chicken seems to be gone everywhere. Browned it to use up with some pasta sauce and rigatoni 🤢

I want to take the healthy foods I see obese people hoarding in the stores and say "Give me that! You're just gonna throw it out in a few days when it goes bad because you're going to eat the frozen pizzas in your cart before you start looking at apples and fresh produce as real food. 

Try a slice of avacado on that almost still breathing burger you're indulging in. 

 
Liar

I tried to eat red meat last night for the first time a while since all the chicken seems to be gone everywhere. Browned it to use up with some pasta sauce and rigatoni 🤢

I want to take the healthy foods I see obese people hoarding in the stores and say "Give me that! You're just gonna throw it out in a few days when it goes bad because you're going to eat the frozen pizzas in your cart before you start looking at apples and fresh produce as real food. 

Try a slice of avacado on that almost still breathing burger you're indulging in. 
I only eat grass-finished beef and grass-fed cheese. No bun. As healthy as it gets.

 
I only eat grass-finished beef and grass-fed cheese. No bun. As healthy as it gets.
The beef I bought was from Whole Foods, not sure it was grass fed but it was all they had in their case...no matter though, I've had grass fed steaks and they are delicious but I can't hardly walk the next day, just cripples me inside. 

 
The beef I bought was from Whole Foods, not sure it was grass fed but it was all they had in their case...no matter though, I've had grass fed steaks and they are delicious but I can't hardly walk the next day, just cripples me inside. 
Sounds like you're constipated. Metamucil caplets time?

 
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