COVID-19; How are you guys doing?

[tigger]

Just wanted to reach out to see how you guys were and what you're dealing with... (PLEASE DON'T GO ROGUE!!!... Aurora Club of North America Charter of Conduct)

[kbpickle]

Hi Tigger, It looks like you are up late. How are you doing?

We're good at my house. We live in Wake County (Raleigh area) which is North Carolina's hot spot. Two healthy retired folks with no need to go to work, so we don't yet have the serious worries that many folks will be facing in the coming weeks or even months maybe. We are cancelling a couple of near-term family vacations. Also postponing two non-essential (at the moment) medical procedures. Limiting travel around town. wrt groceries, we are going to the store with a focused list for what we will need in the medium term. I can report that on one recent trip I went to Publix and Harris Teeter and neither had even one piece of chicken, nor even one chicken fruit. Just a bad day, I hope. We've signed up for grocery pick-up. But not yet grocery delivery. Greatly reducing eating at fast-food businesses. (I think those businesses are hurting.)

Two daughters in Ohio with the kids home from the closed school system. Luckily the school system has on-line capability for three grandkids, and the other grandchild is already home-schooled. One daughter a stay-at-home mom, and the other a teacher home at least through 3/31. Both husbands continuing to go into work. The daughters are vegetarians, so you might rightly guess that they're serious about precautions.

My wife persuaded my 35-yo single son to leave NYC a few days ago. So he's with us here in NC for some undetermined length of time. Again, luckily his work allows him to telecommute. (Although Wake County is NC's hot spot it's way less risky than NYC.)

On the brighter side - maybe this 'down time' is a good opportunity for some of us to fix and spit polish our Auroras!

Ken

[kbpickle]

Oh, re-reading my post it seems pretty rosy. It's true that we are in a pretty good situation compared to many.

But, of course, my wife and I both worked for over forty years, and what we accumulated is largely in the stock market...….

Ken

[quixote]

Nothing much going on in Southern Iowa. There were only 38 confirmed cases in the state, last I heard... Schools are following the Governor's recommendation of a 30-day break. Restaurants are limiting service, gatherings, & events are being cancelled or delayed indefinetly. Nursing homes are on lock-down, with varying limits on visitors. Limiting travel & "going out" are recommended, that's a little difficult in communities where people are used to having to drive 50-60 miles, to get to a price club, shopping mall, or a favorite restaurant.

The dominant grocery chain in the state is supposedly only allowing one semi truck of products into each store, each day. They are also spending the 1st two of their normal business hours, closed, while they stock and disinfect. Quite a few staples are sold out of stores, or nearly sold out. Things seem pretty tolerable, as long as you don't plan to run to the store because you need one particular thing.

I and everyone I've talked to, are mystified by the toilet paper shortage. Are people trying to price-gouge their neighbors, or just building a 6+ month stock-pile? The last store I head of, with TP still in stock was an Amish store ---which I consider highly suspicious, gouging-wise.

People talk about panic, but I rode out three hurricanes (plus 2-3 that we knuckled down for, but the storms missed us). Panic is when you have absolutely zero of some staple, and you can't get/find any, for less than an obscene price. For those storms, you are told to stock a gallon of water per person per day, expecting to be otherwise without water for a week or two. My job was hurricane-related, so I stock-piled. After the worst of the storms, people were waiting 3-6 hours for a gallon or two of bottled water from the National Guard ---and I [smugly] had 20+ gallons to see four of us through it.

Going by those emergency experiences, I'm suggesting to everyone that they buy a little extra of things with a 30+ day storage life, if they can without clearing store shelves. We all have to hope that store shelves will stop being empty, long-term. However, there's really no predicting the future. If we are forced to spend a week or two with very little available beyond something like beans and rice, a couple of bags of chips and a jar of salsa will seem like a gift from heaven. It's not that it's highly likely & you don't want to be jerk who buys 24 cans of something, because you found 30 for sale --but you can buy an extra or two, knowing that the next few months could be difficult & uncomfortable. I feel you have to plan on having limited opportunities to buy groceries, for 6-8 weeks, & hope for less of a problem.

It also seems wisest to try to get over any kind cold you might catch as quickly as possible. I have not seen any news report that went into great detail, but it seems likely that if you happen to already have to flu, and you get exposed to Covid-19, you are at extreme risk.

Everyone is worried anyway. This seems pretty reasonable, with the anecdotes you hear from Italy and China. It can be bad. We're just hoping to minimize and delay the worst impact, with little or no hope of completely avoiding it. Business and Financial news is already pretty horrifying.

Physically, I'm fine, & everyone I know around here is too. There are a few people with colds that could ultimately be Covid-19, but they are not being allowed to stay at work, as a precaution. We are being told that anyone with a fever should stay home and will not be allowed to return, until they have a clean bill of health from a doctor.

I work at a company with manufacturing crews of 8-20 people, so everyone is a bit worried that the company is likely to suspend operations, when people start getting sick. They could slow down production to limit exposures, but they show little sign of any interest in that. (They may be worried about cutting people's weekly check.)

Personally, my old job with the company was re-allocated a year ago. I have been "temporarily" working in Janitorial, since then. It's a long way from the Best, but I had kind of a thing about germs, anyway, so I'm pretty militant about disinfecting. Even if my company does a layoff (which I'd welcome), I'd probably get 2-3 more days of work, cleaning up.

My fiance and I have never liked crowded spaces, anyway. If we can manage to keep the refrigerator reasonably stocked until some kind of treatment or vaccine comes out, there won't have been a whole lot of difference in our lives from all this.

[Tanner Blackart]

Hanging in there. We have 60 cases in the state right now with one case in the county next to ours. I expect to get a couple here soon.

The parts store is experiencing a severe drop in sales. We expect probably half the stores to be closed and the part timers will be laid off/replaced by the full timers from the closed stores. Fortunately for our family, my wife has a good job that allows her to telecommute.

Well wishes to all of you members, "see you" online!

[tigger]

Good hearing from you guys, and glad that you're doing okay. Looks like we're all in the same boat, regardless of where you live.

Wife and I are healthy and pretty well stocked for whatever comes next (and to think I used to make fun of her "couponing", haha!).

Stay safe, be smart.



...And yeah, what the hell is up with hoarding toilet paper?

[brocket]

We are locked up here in Northern California - allowed to do necessary stuff like go for groceries but I am retired so like others not at all affected like those with kids home from school, working from home etc. Of all the things to hoard - I’d pick bourbon over toilet paper!people are weird. You all stay safe.

[Paulaurora]

Ye same here in NJ we good with limited service for food etc. Staying home with a kid no fun for 2 weeks. Cant wait for day care to reopen.

[Toronado3800]

Personally I am doing fine and thanks for asking.

Lets hope this blows over quickly and keep the board running. The economy may just take a bit so good mechanical and life advice will be important.

[tigger]

Mar 19, 2020 22:55:24 GMT -6 brocket said:

...Of all the things to hoard - I’d pick bourbon over toilet paper!people are weird.

I'm a vodka guy, but I'll second that!


Looks like it's going to get worse, you guys take care!

[RCA1186]

Doing ok here. I actually already work from home 4 days a week so adding one more day wasn't much of a change. Otherwise, same boat, I've been trying to lift weights and take walks to keep myself occupied. Also have been playing guitar a lot more which is always nice. The best part though, is this keeps my Aurora in the garage. Less miles to accumulate more problems haha. Just had to do the radiator (second time in 6 years) due to a split in the plastic side tank. It's not a super hard job, but just enough to be annoying. Now she's leaking power steering fluid.......at least I think so, who knows. This thing leaks from just about everywhere haha.

[tigger]

Mar 24, 2020 7:47:47 GMT -6 RCA1186 said:

Now she's leaking power steering fluid.......at least I think so, who knows. This thing leaks from just about everywhere haha.

Haha, tell me about it bro! On top of all of my small oil leaks, I'm losing about a pint of coolant every OCI. And I can't find it!!! Very annoying!

Stay safe.

[RCA1186]

Yeah I was losing the same until I finally found the small split in the radiator. Second time it happened, plastic side tank on the passenger side right on the seam. Very annoying. Maybe one day (when I secure a secondary car) I'll get around to pulling the engine and sealing it all up. But we'll see. Might be more work than I'll feel like doing haha.

[tigger]

Well, we finally got the "STAY HOME" order today. List of essential businesses is kind of a joke, but we are South Carolina, haha...

Still healthy, still working.

Be safe guys and gals!

[RCA1186]

Welcome to the club haha. We got ours pretty early but it got extended to the end of April a week ago.

[Oldsnut]

Hi gang! Just checking in. We moved down to Texas right before the poop hit the fan in Illinois mid March. It is very quiet here which is about 1 hour north of San Antonio. I was going to look for a job down here but that will have to wait and wifey works out of the house since 2002 so we are fine for now. We were supposed to have carpet installed on the 31st and they called on the 30th to inform us that the installers were now considered non essential. Stay Safe everyone.

[Marc]

I am surviving & ultimately will survive!!!!!!

[gdouaire]

Working from home, then as soon as the day ends, I rush to my cars to work on them. I can't complain, and think about all the people out there who are working and taking risks while I'm safe at home.