I can not live on a steady diet of doom and gloom so ...

It's spring, warming up and I have noticed the air is much cleaner everywhere, even in downtown Toronto.  I don't think I have seen a contrail in the sky this whole week, it's nice, quite. I have been deemed an essential service so the drive to and from T.O. has been so relaxing, it takes half the time to get where I'm going.  Most of the other drivers on the road are well behaved, only a few A--holes and there is lots of room for them to zig zag . 

Anyone else noticing positive aspects of shelter in place?

Yup.... cleaner air here. No jets and fairly quiet roads.  Lots more people out for walks too.

People here are starting to get used to things, I think.  Had a couple of ten foot conversations this morning.  We're all just waiting.  It's definitely quieter though, less traffic, both auto and people.

I drove from the north Puget Sound to Tacoma in just over an hour starting at 6:00AM this morning.  On a weekday at that time, that trip would easily top up at around 2 and a half hours or maybe slightly more with all the traffic, starting with Boeing in Everett, through the Miserable downtown Seattle commute, South Boeing field, and so on.  I was in a 40 foot International box truck with the cruise control on I5 in downtown Seattle at 6:25AM.  Crazy times.

Edited April 2, 20204 yr by Reptoid Overlords

I have little excuse to procrastinate on my wife’s honey-do list!  ?

There are silver linings indeed.

Spending more time with my 3 yr old grand daughter than I ever thought I would. We are playing daycare four days a week. Never played so much barbie or Hide and seek in my life. Even have an indoor swing, and that thing does NOT swing itself. 

Also have her earning her keep in the shop. Doing her part sanding the air cleaner bolt cup washers. 

Edited April 2, 20204 yr by zKars

Hope she gets a cut of the profit 

I was thinking about this the other day. Here in Los Angeles, we've been shut down as long as almost anyone in the US, so there has been a lot of time for reflection and introspection. Some of the things I've thought about in the last few weeks, at least on the personal side:

• Reflection and introspection itself is worth a lot, and it's something I didn't allow for myself previously.
• I've been reminded how appreciative I am of my family. There's a lot of pieces out there about being cooped up with people you don't get along with or being left alone. Our family has been forced to have more time together, and that's been a good thing. Work, chores, hobbies, errands, everything else was often higher on the list before. I think we've gone on more family bike rides and walks in the last 3 weeks than in the last 13 years combined.
• The first night when LA was shut down, my wife and I were a little too worried/preoccupied to do much of anything, let alone cook dinner. My 5 year old daughter wanted In N Out. So that's what we got, and she was so happy about it. It's a small thing, but it's stuck with me so far.
• These circumstances have been a stark reminder of the value of both luck and preparation. We're not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but we've saved aggressively, made good decisions, and had good fortune. I'm just under 40, but could weather a storm of unemployment for several years if things got to that point. It would undo years of work, but I also know there are people who are worrying about paying for rent or food after missing a paycheck. I'm extremely grateful to be where I am, but know that in many ways I don't deserve it more than anyone else, and hope I can help out others who haven't been as fortunate.
• We're more conscientious about, well, everything. I've made two loaves of banana bread in the past two weeks instead of throwing the old overripe bananas out.
• There are other things, but somewhat more trivially, while I miss going to the gym, at least my cardiovascular fitness has improved! I've hit some PRs on Strava segments that I've run dozens of times. That's cool. Don't want to know what my deadlift and squat will be like when Gold's reopens!

Hard to know what the new normal will look like, whenever it comes (ideally by summer; we have plans!), but I hope some of the good stuff will stick.

 

Eating better now that Janet is home 24/7 ?

7 hours ago, charliekwin said:

Reflection and introspection itself is worth a lot, and it's something I didn't allow for myself previously.

Very true, a little taste of mortality certainly puts things into perspective and what is truly important.  The old "slow down and smell the roses" phrase, well it is now being forced on us. I have always taken pride in how busy I keep myself, how much I can get done in a small amount of time, multi tasking and such.  It is certainly a good skill to have sometimes but I'm starting to see that there is no need to spend my whole life in fast forward.

Having my shop right in my backyard is a blessing. I have been buried neck deep in body work and paint for the last three weeks, so I have hardly had time to process this new reality.
My wife is essential services (City police payroll manager) and still needs to go in three days a week and work from home two day’s a week. The blessing is now she doesn’t work three hours of overtime a day.
We spend a lot of time taking walks and watching our three grandsons for our daughter. Built a half a dozen puzzles at least.
Looking forward to more time on the car, more time with the wife, and to finally see some sunshine and less snow.
Still waiting to see how the military decides to employ us going forward. I am an Operations and Training Warrant Officer at the school, and all our student courses have been cancelled for the foreseeable future. I might end up deployed somewhere disinfecting hospital rooms or who knows what!


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11 hours ago, 240dkw said:

Hope she gets a cut of the profit 

She has been convinced to donate her wages to the cost of our Disney+ subscription....