I have watched so many video's and Presidential updates, and Governor Abbott (Texas), and heard from the Hospital leadership, read the CDC web-site...my mind is exhausted. We are only in the early days of this pandemic and already the nurses are getting exhausted. Long hours, shortage of supplies (they say we have plenty publicly...but staff meetings....well not knowing how long what we have has to last...it is getting scary). We have people running in the door and stealing our box of masks (set out in triage for the "coughers"). Supplies disappearing out of the rooms as boxes of gloves just walk out...(peoples pockets, bags, ect.).
People are going insane...the whole Toilet paper hoarding thing and toilet paper wars....our grand-children may look back and laugh someday, but right now...the insanity is real.Toilet paper??? Well I figure we go through about 2 rolls a week. People who are on quarantine or who are "sheltering" in place, are going to be using at least double their usual amount. Why? Because all hours normally spent at work or school, with the natural body elimination processes happening elsewhere... well that is all happening at home now.
I think back to the stories my grandparents told of the Great Depression and how they survived it. People shared...there may have been little to go around, but they shared. Jobs were scarce. Clothes were repurposed to make clothing for children or quilts for the cold winter. Gardens were planted if someone was able to hang onto their land. Produce was shared or canned for winter. People just simply knew how to survive without Star-bucks and McDonalds. Today, a majority of the population only buy enough to last 2-3 days at the most. The idea of buying food for a 2 week period is foreign to them. Most people simply do not know how much they consume!
We are only two people, but we do consume a lot. Egg's 1 dozen a week (no problem between Ben's Chicken's and our Ducks we could eat only eggs if we had to...I hope not!), Noodles, oh, perhaps one package a week, rice 2 lbs a week (we also make home-made dog food with it), Meat …. well there ya go....probably 4 lb Beef a week and 2-4 lbs of chicken a week. Veggies, canned (bleh, not much unless it is my own canned pinto beans...which I love and eat at least a quart a week) , frozen veggies 4-5 packages a week, cilantro, jalapeno's celery, lettuce, tomatoes, avocadoes, onions....yes yes yes, we love our fresh produce (not much growing here except cactus...which by the way is edible), bread a loaf a week, sometime more, one gallon of tea a week (plus 6-8 of the individual size for my work), bottled water 1/2 case a week (we are blessed with good well water, the bottled water is just convenient for work), then there is juice (a 6 pkg of the small apple juice weekly, 1 large orange juice every 2 weeks and the same for grapefruit juice)...then there is the luxuries...beer and wine, 1 box of wine a week and a 12 pack of been a week. I will occasional bake a cake or buy a small cake, we don't do many sweets. I do love my Tortillia chips though! Mandatory that I have two bags on hand at all times! LOL. The dogs and ducks consume 40 lb of dry dog food every 2 weeks. That is just for 2 people and 2 dogs and 8 ducks. When I go to the grocery store every two weeks, my buggy looks like I am stocking up for the Apocalypses (because we live 22 miles out of town I try to get everything on one trip to avoiding wasting extra gas and time).
People are simply not using the good brain God gave them. I went to the store two days ago to get my produce, some bread and try to round out my monthly shopping before all the food was gone. I didn't even bother going down the water isle, as I saw people fighting over the last case of water (now mind you this was at 7:30 in the morning and store had been open for only 30 minutes), I bought two different bottles of detergent as my brand was gone, and I still need to wash my uniforms and shoes (well mostly undershirts and shoes since the hospital is trying to decrease the possibly spread of the flu, but having the nurses change into hospital scrubs at work, and then back into street clothes at the end of shift), everything I wear into and out of the hospital I consider "contaminated" because you cannot possibly not touch stuff after changing...so they have to be laundered, I degress. There was no bleach (it's ok, I ordered some before the pandemic hit, so I am good for now), they did have fresh milk, so I texted my friend who was looking for milk for her little boy, they were putting out fresh produce, so it was fairly stocked. People in front of me in line had a lot of stuff pulled off the line to place back because they were not following the concept of rationing certain items to "2" per person. They literally had two carts filled up with every kind of soda pop available. No nutritional value what-so-ever! No food in either cart... really... none.
I do see people stepping up to try to help each other. I carried extra chicken and duck eggs to work and placed in employee fridge to give to anyone that needed them. Another lady that also has chickens did the same thing. The stores here have been out of eggs for about a week. Somewhere, some egg producer is probably trying to get his eggs shipped out. Here, the people I work with were glad to have free eggs. The duck eggs were the last to go....American's think only the chicken eggs are good...my Pilipino friend was ecstatic to get Duck Eggs!!!!! She told me a new way to do them, and I am going to try it...you soak them for a week in salt water, then boil them....! I am looking forward to this delicacy.
A church group has offered to start sewing some of the-hand-made surgical masks for the hospital, CDC estimates that the supplies will be running out in the coming weeks and is suggesting nurses cover their faces with bandana's to avoid getting the Corona virus...anyone who is working with this, knows that is a horrible suggestion...we are placing these patient's in the strictest of respiratory isolation (the same precautions we take for TB). Basically CDC is saying, "something is better than nothing" ...but get ready to kiss your ass goodbye, cause a bandana is basically nothing!" So we are appreciative of our community! Actually I am looking at a design to do myself today...I have sewing machine, fabric...and time on my hands (not really, but not working today except the mandatory call in meeting that I got up early on my day off for...again...but...staying in the loop is very fluid now-a-days!)
The stock market....crazy beyond all belief. My retirement funds are probably all gone...but who knows....maybe I will just work until I die....ie: wearing a bandana for protective equipment...at least I have goggles and a gas mask. LOL.
Well the ramble is done.....time to check the web for the newest bad news....
