Social Distancing Journal, Day 79

The last day I was in Tampa was February 29th, when we went to the zoo (and fed the Rhinos), and went out to lunch at Goody Goody Burger to celebrate leap day. Life was different then. 

Today, Asa and I ventured into Tampa to pick up some things for Calib's birthday tomorrow. Now not only does hurricane season start tomorrow (and there is signs reminding you to be prepared--there's already been two named storms), but people are wearing masks and there are drive thru testing sites. Traffic signs are no longer telling you how long it will take to get places- probably because there isn't much traffic to speak of- but now sporting Covid-19 health warnings (along with hurricane prep). The only traffic we encountered was on I-275 downtown. There are large protests downtown today (we got off at the Dale Mabry exit, not Downtown so we didn't see any), so we're not sure if it was traffic-traffic or because of the protests. I read recently police are standing at the exits, so I'm not sure. 

Down by Busch Gardens there is plenty of damage though, lots places are boarded up, and there's quite a few places with police caution tape around it. 

 

And of course part of the strip mall that was burned last night, is all caution taped off. 

There's also graffiti around. 

We were able to go about our business and get cupcakes for Calib's birthday, but it seems so weird in times like these to just be "going about our business". 

University Mall, by Busch Gardens and USF was looted last night, so there were police cars blocking the entrances over there, which wasn't a surprise. But, when we drove past the Westshore Mall, police had blocked off that mall too.  When I got home, I saw on Facebook that Citrus Park Mall was closing early and clearing out too. I know Tampa is under a curfew tonight, as is Orange County (Orlando area). Disney Springs changed their hours to close at 7pm, just days after reopening because of Coronavirus. Our Governor activated the state national guard.  

With the exception of what happened down on Fowler last night, I know we've had plenty of peaceful protests. The Tampa mayor was marching with protesters yesterday (she used to be the police chief too),  and Saint Pete remained pretty peaceful. 

So, all of that is going on, in addition to the pandemic.

We also picked up a couple of things from Kohl's on the way back. They've made order on line pick up in store- curbside now. Super easy. 

And we noticed the CVS in Land O Lakes at the corner of 54 and 41 are doing drive thru testing now. 

Some things are returning to "normal", we actually have a couple of neighbors were house sitting for. So, we have a pool to use and extra dogs to play with this week. 

Tonight for dinner, I made NFL pizzas on Naan bread, I let Calib pick them all, and Peyton was like "do I get to pick dinner all weekend for my birthday", and I decided if you have to have your birthday in Coronavirus times, yes... you do in fact get to pick meals for a whole weekend! 

I do have a picture that I took last night while we watched CNN and what was going on in the world.. 

Most popular "hurricane snacks": Any ice cream dessert has been mighty popular! 

Current binge watching obsession: Space Force.. it's eh... 

Most popular game: Civ. It dominates dinner conversation at this point. 

Boredness scale 1 to 10: 7. Like, I cooked dinner and went to run some errands. But other than that, I've done nothing today. Not even a usual bike ride because I'm trying to get my skin to be less irritated. 

Frozen II Watchthroughs: 42. None today. 

How many times we've walked the loop: 63. No walks today either. 

Days Down: 79. Can you believe tomorrow is day 80? 

Days Remaining: Undetermined. 

Social Distancing Journal, Days 77 & 78

It's really a... consequential... time right now. Coronavirus is actually taking a backseat to other big stories. First off, what happened in Minneapolis with George Floyd is horrific, and it's become a catalyst to set off protests, and riots in the larger picture of racial injustice. The National Guard has been called into help enforce a curfew. But, protests have popped up all over the country. Tampa, Orlando, Miami in Florida, Atlanta, LA, Cincinnati, New York, Denver- just everywhere. 

And then today, some good news. Space X successfully launched the first men into space from American soil in 9 years, and it marked the first launch from the private sector. We watched on our TV, sad that we could have gone to see it if it weren't for Coronavirus times. 

And then, of course, there's Coronavirus. A once in a hundred years global pandemic. 

Living through history is strange. 

Peyton asked me yesterday, as the novice historian that I am, how 2020 will go down in the books. Of course, it'll take decades to know for sure. But, I think it mostly hinges on this election. 2020 could be the greatest catalyst to a whole slew of things changing. But only if we vote like change matters in November. Otherwise, I don't have high hopes. 

 Back here, we're still at home. Where we'll be. We have been making alternative anniversary plans that we're getting a little excited about. We're finding some socially distant activities we can go out and do, and we have some special things to do at home, some projects, some things to eat. It'll be fun. Disney has said they will be refunding all dining plans. And we're waiting to see what they do with our hotel reservations. We're crossing our fingers for a really special offer. But, we'll see. They did cancel all of our fastpasses. Our dining reservations are still there, but I'm sure they will also be disappearing shortly. I know why they have to cancel all fastpasses, dining, and special experiences, but it still kind of sucks. We'll make the best of it though! In the overall scheme of shit going wrong in the world, having my Disney reservation canceled is not really even worth mentioning. 

Calib was lucky enough to FINALLY get into Spanish. We've been trying for many semesters, because he has to take a language for his associates, which he should have in December. But, when you're a duel enrolled student you get last dibs on classes. Since the college is not open though, they had to send him his books- and he got them next day, so that was nice. Also, thank goodness we still get his books paid for too. The two books (Spanish and Statistics) would have been over $400. Bananas. But, everything worked out, he's working on his next two classes (the limit in the summer for duel enrollment) So, some good news there. 

Yesterday Asa and I took a walk around the loop. But, today I'm staying inside. I'll get to that in a minute. 

Calib's 20th Birthday is on Monday, and he doesn't really want anything. Usually we get him tickets to go do something, but in Coronavirus times that's not really an option. There's no football games or 5Ks that we KNOW will happen, or that we'd even feel safe attending if they did. We're going to try the beach on Monday, but that's the extent of outings. I feel bad we can't do more for him. But one thing Calib likes is food, so I let him pick all the meals for this weekend (and of course his birthday), and then yesterday I surprised him with another Coronavirus open bar. I even ordered some things from Publix and Costco as a surprise. 

The menu was expanded from last time, it was two-sided! 

It was also open from noon until 7, so it would cover lunch, snacks, and dinner! 

Just ring the bell for service! 

I told them the price for everything was one picture of them with whatever they ordered. And boy, did people order A LOT. 

Pizza Rolls... 

And Chicken Salad... 

And nachos.. 

Calib's mid-afternoon snack was a grilled banana and nutella sandwich. 

There was a lull in service until dinner. 

Where meatball sliders were popular. 

As was burgers, and chicken nuggets. 

Everyone was so full, I decided to stay open a little longer for dessert. 

Peyton asked for some popcorn with sour patch kids.. 

While Calib and Hayden both had Orange Julius.. 

And No Way Jose Sundaes. 

I filled A LOT of orders yesterday. 

And then I hung out in the blanket fort and we resumed our Civ Game. I don't think I'm doing very good. But all my cities have a circus. So, there's that. 

This morning Asa went out and picked some veggies. 

And then I worked on a little science project to try and find the best material and style for masks. 

So, the masks outside in the heat for even a little bit is REALLY irritating my skin (the sweating coupled with the mask is just creating an issue). You can kind of tell in the picture from yesterday, it's all broken out, dry, and red. But it's itchy and kind of burning too. It's VERY uncomfortable. I realize this is a very minor problem to have in relation to everything going on in the country right now. It's white girls in the suburb kind of first world problems. But, it is frustrating. Since we're going to the beach on Monday, and I will have to lather on the sunscreen, I'm staying indoors and avoiding sweating at all (part of my problem is I'm a "mustache-sweater" as Calib calls it), as to not make it any worse so it's not wildly uncomfortable on Monday. 

So, anyway, I'm working on a bunch of different masks. I tried a different inner material than outer so it would be softer but thinner. I tried tshirt material. I tried lighter cottons and heavier cottons. I tried elastic straps, hair ties, and t-shirt material that ties. I even made an elastic strips with buttons to help behind the ears (I think my neck gaiter made the issue way worse, my neck and my ears are all irritated now too), and I even sewed buttons onto a headband to see if that made it better.  (Also worth noting, with Asa's nose shape and his glasses, it's really hard to find something that works for him). 

It's hard to tell now since my skin is already irritated. But, hopefully one of these work out for me.

Calib's pick for dinner tonight was Tennessee Mac & Cheese (as opposed to Nancy Reagan Mac & Cheese), made Chicken Guy style (topped with chicken tenders, bacon and green onion). He loved it. There are some calories in it, though, I'm sure. 

And for dessert today, I made the "kitchen sink" (another Disney ice cream sundae that is served in a literal kitchen sink). I gathered up a bunch of supplies and made our version of what we had on hand. 

But even with everyone eating it, we couldn't finish it. Close, but not quite (worth noting, the real kitchen sink is like twice this size!) 

Most popular "hurricane snacks": Um, Publix had ChocoTacos on bogo. 

Current binge watching obsession: Breaking from Billions to watch Space Force, and we've been sprinkling in Modern Love. 

Most popular game: Civ and NCAA still. Hoping to get in some Moving Out today. 

Boredness scale 1 to 10: 6. Without going outside, I'm feeling a little cooped up today. 

Frozen II Watchthroughs: 42. Something has to be on while we play Civ. 

How many times we've walked the loop: 63. But, it'll probably stay here for a few days while my skin clears up. 

Days Down: 78. 

Days Remaining: Should I even still leave this here? It's not like next time I go out, my social distancing journal will be over. It'll be more like, in a new phase...