The entire San Francisco Bay Area is now officially on lockdown.
Regrettably, I don't live on a charming Italian street where the residents come out on their balconies to sing with their neighbors.
Fortunately, I live in a house with a lovely garden I can work in...provided the rain stops and it warms up. Except that we want the rain after almost no winter wetness here. I can wait.
I have no problem avoiding restaurants and nightclubs and concerts and crowds. I am basically a loner, by choice, and am happy with my own company most of the time. I hate crowds at all times. So all in all, the Shelter in Place mandate actually doesn't change my life.
The problem lies in the food chain and the hoarders. I'm not a big person. I do not require a lot of food. Still, I sort of need to occassionaly eat.
Last week I took an a friend to Trader Joe's market. It has never been my market of choice, but usually I pick up a few things. However, once at the front entrance I told my friend I would wait for her outside. The place was packed tighter than a can of sardines with lines clear to the back of the store. My concern was less corona virus than claustrophbia and the commom cold.
A few days later, I went down to the local Safeway at 7am. I thought I might beat the crowds, and I may have. However, the store was by no means early morning empty. The poor employees rushed to unpack and shelve items. They looked knackered. I tried to make cheery remarks and thank them as I went about trying to get a few items.
No eggs, no tofu, no soy milk, no oatmeal, one package of suspicious looking chicken. (which I left on the shelf.) I got the last pakage of spaghetti. No toilet paper, no cleaning supplies, no tissues. What are people thinking? What happened to the concept of sharing?
And now we all have to be locked up and only go out for necessary items. I am a little unhappy that I might have to go out into the Germ Zone every single day until I find a package of toilet paper, or a carton of milk. I know I will never again see a bottle of bleach or container of hand sanitizer.
The lockdown goes into effect at midnight. I'll give it a few days before I once again try to find some sort of protien. The three cans of beans should last until then.
