What You’ve Learned During this Isolation

I've learned that I've already been practicing "social distancing" for the past several years without even realizing it.

Watching the economy crater is interesting. It's in essence a house of cards.

translation: no, most of you don't have to work 60-80 weeks on salary pay. just mostly bullshit make-work anyway.

be like the French--just go home and turn off the phone.

Doctors and nurses are heroes. As are low paid wage earners. Most of the rest of us are overpaid to sit behind a computer.

Things can look normal when they’re not.

Preppers may not be a little less crazy than I thought.

My mom was right to keep multiples of all the cleaning supplies.

Amazed at how much money there is for social welfare in a crisis, but never enough to make us more resilient before we encounter one...

Vote for real leadership and smarts, even if they are not your 100% choice.

Our governments need to come to terms with 21st century interconnected life. Roddenberry was right about his vision of one world composed of many differences.

I have never before experienced complete uncertainty about my life.

I have come to appreciate the concept of "psychic numbing."

[bold]Psychic numbing is a tendency for individuals or societies to withdraw attention from past experiences that were traumatic, or from future threats that are perceived to have massive consequences but low probability.

All great comments. I’ve realized I’ve found the perfect environment for me - and that others are completely incapable of spending even one day alone. Those people tend to well in our society in normal times. I don’t. But the tables have turned.

I’ve also realized that as a survivor of the AIDS crisis I’m much more ready to deal with random death and am much more accepting of fate.

A former colleague of mine, a very practical, pragmatic, kind of guy once innocently remarked: "You know, it's amazing that more things don't go wrong in the world." I can't recall the topic of conversation, it was back in 2003, but I never forgot it. At the time, I laughed, we both laughed in a grim, kind of gallows humour, but we both knew and agreed that we're living in this "facade" kind of reality where things are "supposed" to operate a certain way, all the time, no exceptions. I think the key word is "facade" and in this regard, I guess this echoes previous posters' comments up thread.

In contemplating the separation I must keep from others, I have found there is no 'other' - we are all interconnected and dependent upon each other

Rich people and the institutions they control are not to be trusted.

My son may not be able to have a normal high school graduation and may not be able to move into a dorm in the fall. It’s selfish but I kind of feel cheated of these big moments.

I've learned to appreciate cannabis a lot more.

Trying to convince others that this is an emergency is futile. If they live with you and don't want to believe it, get out, or throw them out if you can. This is truly a matter of life and death.

I hope your son will be able to have those moments at another time, R16. Lots of folks getting cheated of those moments, but imagine yourself as going all the way to 100 and not being able to celebrate with your family. That's a moment that cannot be repeated, even if the celebration is held later and provided she makes it.

I think what it was like in WW2. Life interrupted for everyone and thousands of men in their prime killed. This doesn’t seem as bad.

[quote] My son may not be able to have a normal high school graduation and may not be able to move into a dorm in the fall. It’s selfish but I kind of feel cheated of these big moments.

How does your son feel? Does he feel cheated as well?

That I'm lonely as fuck!!!

R21 I’m sorry 21, hugs and kisses 😘 🤗❤️

Thank you R22, I could use it. Much love back at you.

I've learned that I'm more of a drama queen than I thought I was. Also, that I value my freedom far more than I realized. I'm going crazy sitting around the house and not going out!

Nothing in life is as good—nor as bad—as you anticipate it to be.

That my weekly night out to the gay bar may have been an addiction.

That the news media is relentlessly flogging the issue of this new illness and frightening people to rush into stores and buy hoards of goods that they do not need, among other things.

Certainly this illness/virus is serious but the media is overhyping it in a hysterical manner and it strikes me as downright evil to scare people this much. Yes, EVIL. The news is not your friend.

That we're proving, more than ever, that humans are the cause of environmental decay. The air pollution essentially dissipating within days. The Venice canal waters turning crystal clear within days. It's completely disturbing how fast Mother Nature would revert back to normalcy if we were suddenly gone.

That I really do like being at home. People are great, but I value my time alone. I enjoy being surrounded by things I love and just puttering around the house, the yard and waving at the neighbor, but not wanting or needing more than that. I get peace and comfort in knowing I've taken care of the responsibility I have to the people in my life and now...enjoy the quiet.

The media hasn't been telling people to rush out and buy anything. Just the opposite. Too many idiots are so afraid of reality they have to insist that it's all a hoax -That the media and the liberals are conspiring against them. Fuck that shit. This is a pandemic. It's more deadly than anything else going around, and it's spreading like crazy. The best protection, and the best way to combat it, is to simply stay home as much as possible. If you can't stay home, keep your distance from other people.

I can eat A LOT!

I've been sick as hell all week and can't get tested but for some strange reason I'm not worried.

I've learned what a lazy ass I am. I have so much I can do around the house and for my business and instead I'm on the Internet and watching TV.

What isolation? For me, today is just Thursday.

I learned how much of our drugs are manufactured in China. We have to bring production back to the US!!!

How much that I take for granted every day. This has been a good wake up call.

Instead he'll have the once-in-a-hundred-years experience of those things during or after the corona crisis, which will ultimately be a MUCH better story and memory.

How gullible, mindless and incapable of perspective and proportion supposedly well-educated people are.

R16, watch Contagion. There’s a young girl and her boyfriend that are missing prom. The girl’s dad puts on a little prom dance for the two in the living room after they get their vaccinations.

While the girl and her bf are happily slow-dancing downstairs, the dad is crying in the bedroom closet upstairs, looking at a picture of his dead wife. He hastily wipes his eyes and goes to take a picture of the two in their best clothes downstairs.

I guess the message is, life goes on, but have a sense of priorities too. There are worse things than missing a few ceremonies.

Andrew Cuomo said when this is all over, he will put on a big family party for his daughter, who will miss all the celebrations too. I bet a lot of people will do that.

I’ve realized how fucking retarded, complicit and compliant most people are. Little passive aggressive assholes who are like traumatized little Disney Princess Incest Survivors who just want to live in a world where they can roll their eyes back in their heads, sarcastically upspeak, watch Reality TV and never deal with actual reality.

The possibility of martial law and other things never crosses their minds until the tanks are rolling through the streets. I want smarter friends.

A bunch of asshole men has an urge to buy guns instead of reaching out to their community as to what needs to be done.

I'm not sure if I'm up to being a telecommuter. Too many distractions working from home.

My cat REALLY loves me !!!! She is all over me and in my lap while working ! Follows me from room to room!!

I am going to appreciate the little things more when this is over - like being able to getting out without thinking am I going to come into contact withe the virus and have it kill me (even though I think both are a longshot). My heart is breaking for people losing loved ones - the family in NJ losing 4 people is just unbelievable. Grateful I have a roof over my head, electricity and enough food to get me thru.

It took a quarantine to discover my calling. Doing absolutely nothing.

I'm watching tons pf Porn Hub and I can't get over how TERRIBLE most is. Stupid, STUPID camera angles and so on and they all look alike.

I’ve come to realize that the suburbs are awesome during a crisis. I love the city life, but left town last week for my parent’s house in a “boring” sunbelt belt city.

Instead of roommates, gloomy weather, stay in place orders, I have sunshine, lots of space, and quiet. The tranquility is like a refuge compared to what I see on the news. We’ve even shut off cable news so our world is really like a bubble where everything feels rather normal, despite staying inside.

I’ll stop turning my nose up to suburbs.

That my friend Clare's cat likes to moon the cam when she's on Zoom.

Mimsie's cat ass onscreen at 10 am will be my enduring memory of this crisis, I hope.

Keeping my hands off my face is almost impossible.

I’ve learned today that people in my city of about 50,000 are not taking this seriously enough. The streets and parking lots are PACKED with cars. I ventured out today for the first time in 3 days. I was stunned by the number of people out and about.

that I am 3 weeks tops away from being a truly fat whore

Ditto R29 and R36.

R50, you were out as well. If everyone needed to get out at the same time it might look packed. It may not be people only from your town.

Unfortunately, the lesson is learned when the neighbors infect their friends die, and that’s not really something where you can say “I told you so”. Not that this is ever a good idea, but still...

R10, I know the 1918 flu came in on the mail, but I have not wiped it down. Or what it all touched, or what that touched...it seems too crazy,but I expect the mail yo infect me.

I've learned that basic math, e.g., figuring out a simple percentage, is beyond the grasp of a shocking number of Dataloungers.

I've learned that COVID-19 spread via spore.

I've learned that sneeze-to-uncovered-ear is a common means of transmission.

I've learned that MDs are not scientists and are therefore not qualified to critique a conspiracy-theory site's misinterpretation of a paper published in The Lancet.

I've learned that the "martial" in martial law is most frequently spelled M-A-R-S-H-A-L-L and always capitalized.

I've learned that airborne transmission and droplet transmission are synonymous and that anyone who attempts to explain the difference "has drank [sic] the Coolaide [sic]."

I've learned that "spinner lids" for five-gallon buckets are of utmost importance and can be purchased at Winco. Just be sure to seal your ears before entering lest you catch a hot spore.