The Plague Diaries, Issue 1: Events Leading Up to the Present

All week, I'd suspected that things were gonna get weird.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I carried on like normal, but with an underlying sense that everything was about to be thrown into disarray. At my second job, where I work for The Prof, an immunocompromised IU professor, she and I slowly started to take steps to get her prepared for a prolonged self-isolation. At the Library...well, more on that later.

Wednesday was the day that the Traitor Parading as President invoked travel restrictions, and the WHO declared a pandemic. I was supposed to be off for five days, because my friend Brian was planning to fly in for a long weekend filled with birthday surprises for him. Brian and I are the exact opposite; I worry and plan, he does neither. And so, it wasn't until Wednesday night that Brian raised the possibility that our plans might have to shift. We agreed to wait and see how things shook out on Thursday.

Thursday, I was off work, to prepare for Brian's visit. I spent the day cleaning the home, and watching the news, but by mid-afternoon, Brian made a tough decision--he called off the trip. It was the right decision to make; non-essential travel is very irresponsible right now. As soon as the decision was made, I threw on my shoes and headed out to the grocery store to pick up a few extras. At the store, things were intense, but not chaotic, but I'm glad I went when I did; later that night, the Bloomington Facebook groups were reporting bare shelves.

Friday, my library made the decision to close until April 6. Again, it was the right decision to make. Yes, the library does great work and is essential to the community, but in the face of a global pandemic, "essential" means something different than in normal times. Friday, the "President" declared a national emergency, as well. What will this look like? Hell, what will life look like? What if two or three weeks isn't enough to contain this?

Facebook has been inundated with COVID-19 posts; I've appointed myself Social Media Guardian of Morale, and post mainly pictures of my cats.

Because I've been off, I've had no reason to stir from my apartment since I went to the grocery store on Thursday, so I don't know that places are open, how busy the roads are, how crowded the sidewalks are, so on and so forth. But I do know...these are extraordinary times.