COVID-19: The Aftermath

I was not worried about this synthetic  corona virus from China. Mom was upset, but I was telling mom not to worry about it. It felt  weird that despite my anxieties, and being a chronic worrier, I was not feeling anxious about it. Life went on as usual.

The first inkling of trouble was this past Monday when I was covering a route. I was already nervous about it, but my anxiety pills helped take the edge off.  Some of the residents decided to stay home. I thought it was great because it was a lot of people to pick up, and it involved a lot of north, south, east and west driving. The morning shift was a horror because I had to find the addresses. We’re not supposed to use GPS, so I had the aide use his.  He is about as useless as a mule stuck in quicksand, but that’s another story.  We managed to find everyone, after lots of trial and error. The afternoon shift went much better.

On Tuesday, the morning shift went much better. I was already familiar with the area, so I found everyone with no problem. I thought the rest of the week was going to be a piece of cake. One program closed, so I finished quicker.  After dropping everyone off at Ops, I went home to relax before starting the afternoon shift.

At around 11:30 am, I get a call from one of the supervisors. I had to come in for some kind of meeting. Ugh!! I was not happy with that. What could be so damn important that I had to come NOW, instead of when I came to the yard to pick up the aide. I thought it was probably related to the corona virus. Fine. I get dressed and go.  When I arrived at the yard,  we all had to form a queue. The supervisor was having a one on one conversation with each employee. When my turn came, I walked in, sat down, and braced myself for the news.

It was not what I wanted to hear.

Due to the corona virus, all programs would be closed for the rest of the week, and I would be reassigned to work in the Pine Street group home. I did not take the news well. I felt really numb and disconnected. I didn’t even bother to go back home. I just stayed in the yard until it was time to leave. Why waste the gas to go three miles back home when I would be back in a half hour to start the route? I sat in my bus playing Bubble Shooter on my phone and enjoying the quiet. Then my aide, who looks like presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, came over.  I was not happy about that. His idiosyncrasies annoy me to no end.

He always has to plug in his battery charger, and he frequently switches batteries, which means I have to stop and wait whilst I’m trying to maintain a schedule. He’s always cold, even if it is cool outside, and he speaks in gibberish most of the time. I just nod my head like I understand him.  I remember when he wore a mask on the bus because of the corona virus. I didn’t say anything, but he got bawled out by the supervisor for that. Now he wears his scarf around his mouth.

So from Wednesday to Friday, I hast been working in the group home. This one hast only four ambulatory residents and it is not far from my house. The hours are reasonable and it is only five days a week. It beats being furloughed and collecting unemployment. There is not much to do except clean, do activities with the residents, and watch movies with them. I would rather be there that the houses with wheelchairs. Those are a horror to work in.

Thanks to this virus, the library is closed so I cannot work on my blog from there. I hast no internet at home. and I’m almost done with the library DVD’s.  Currently, I’m watching season three of Game of Thrones and the sixth season of Dukes of Hazzard. I’m glad I picked those up when I went to the library a week ago to print my pay stubs.  I used up all my high speed service on my phone listening to the radio on the WBAB app,  and I had to purchase 2GB of data for $10.  Without WiFi and high speed service, surfing Facebook and Instagram annoys me so much that I throw the damn phone on occasion because the slow service makes me crazy! I can forget about watching YouTube. Can only do that with the library WiFi.   I really want to switch to Verizon Wireless. Straight Talk is jank.  But, before I can get my internet back, I hast to pay a $350 cable bill.

I am not handing this outbreak well. I hast been very moody since Friday. On Wednesday, I felt an energy shift. The world hast slowed down, and it feels weird to me. I want things to go back to the way they were. I dost not like all this uncertainty. But I will say that I am thankful for being employed. Most of my friends are working from home.  Mom is not doing well. She is barely scraping by. I do what I can to help her, but I wonder if it will be enough. Governor Cuomo wants all non essential employees to stay home. I certainly can’t stay home. I hast no TV, and I would be considered an essential employee. And its Aries season!! My birthday is coming up. Yay for me!

Remember I said I wasn’t worried about the virus? Now I am. How much longer will this go on?  Am I gonna be pulled over and arrested because I’m supposed to self isolate? At least I’m not panicking and buying up all the toilet paper and hand sanitiser. I dreaded going into Wal-Mart today, and it was not so bad despite the bare shelves where the toilet paper and paper towels are supposed to be.

I read a Facebook article that suggests that people with type A blood are more likely to be infected, whilst those with type O are more resistant. That explains why I I had a mild case of the chicken pox, and why the flu dost not confine me to bed. Because I’m type O+. I can still get the virus, don’t get me wrong. But I may have a better chance at recovering from it. But forgive me if I would rather not test that theory. I still wash my hands and keep them away from mucous membranes.

Right now, all I can do is hurry up and wait for this pandemic to go away. I hope I dost not hast to wait long.  My nerves are shot. Sat Nam.