Meaningless freakout vent post

So as some of you might know I work 2nd shift with a long commute. For me this ends up meaning I basically have no clue what the hell is going on in the world for a week at a time. Right now this means I'm being told the whole world is falling apart around me while I'm stuck in my repetitive bubble of business as usual. Other than basically everything I look forward to in life being cancelled, I haven't felt any personal impact from this yet. So I'm basically freaking out with no clue what the hell is going on waiting for a piece of falling sky to finally hit me.

Everything I thought I had planned for this year has gone out the window and frankly I have no idea what sort of world I'm going to be planning for when we finally get to the other side of this mess. I don't know how long this is going to last. I just know that attempting to make the sort of life changes I was planning on making are probably a terrible idea at this moment.  So I feel like I'm stuck where any progress I was close to making in life is on pause and I have no clue how long I'll be waiting. 

Basically. I'm doing my best to keep my E36 M3 together, but I'm scared. I'm kind of angry. And everything sucks. 

I'm sorry if you actually read all that word vomit i didn't even proofread.

The best thing I can tell ya is that I think we're all in that boat with you!  The whole world has been turned on its head and there isn't anybody who really knows how it's all going to shake out.  Just take it day by day and remember rule #32:  Enjoy the little things.

An important part of the GRM forum is for members to support each other during times like this. I'm glad you posted. We're here, we're listening.

You know what hasn't been canceled? This forum. 

Keep trucking on man, we're all in it together.

In reply to Javelin :

Apparently canoes aren't #canceled either

If all else fails, you can build the Miata into a sweet offroad Mad Max vehicle and navigate the apocalypse in style.

Buy a $100 hulk of a car off of CraigsList. Beat the berkeley out of it with sledgehammers and blow torches. Rinse and repeat until you feel better or your arms fall off. Violence can be an answer.

There is a bright side, you and i have work, which usually equates to money, which means if you find an open store you can buy all the toilet paper!

It is turning everything upside down, and it sucks.  I have a couple veteran friends that were in their last, or second to last semester at school.   Got job offers and everything.  One of them had a class cancelled as it wasn't one she could do online, the others are having to deal with summer classes being cancelled, so they wont be able to graduate on time.

It's one small aspect of everything going to hell, but the world is a E36 M3 show right now.

Happily the worst thing I have to worry about right now is keeping the dogs happy and keeping the COVID 19 off (think Freshman 15)

Think positive. Find stuff to keep busy with.  It will pass.

Breathe. Wash you hands. Listen to some music. Maybe go for a walk. But, yeah, I hear ya. 

If it makes you feel better, you aren't the only one that's looking at 2020s plans going down the drain.

This is gonna be the year I finally get down to the challenge, it's a huge trip because unless someone cones from Seattle.....im far and away the longest drive. 

So what could make that better? My Australian friends flying over and all of us doing a family road trip across America on the way back. New Orleans, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas......these were our first stops. It was gonna be over 2 weeks. We were gonna stop at a few places we missed on our Rampage across America trip, and stop again at a few. 6 weeks they were gonna be with us. Super excited

Australia cut off non-essential flights til October. They were flying over in october. I work construction too and I'm not sure of the job picture yet either.

It's nowhere near as bad as it could be but I'm still disappointed

Thanks guys. Perspective and suggestions are welcome. I know we're all in the exact same mess right now. 

I can't think of anything else to put in this post that actually fits after trying for several minutes of sitting in the car staring at my phone typing and deleting stuff, so I guess I'll end it here and actually go in the house now. 

You're still working, which isn't without its own risks, but it also means you're valuable to your employer and you can figure out how to make something else work if you have to at some point down the road.  Yes, life is different right now, and I don't know what "normal" really is or should be but this doesn't feel like it. That doesn't mean things can't or won't be better in the near future.  Sometimes you just have a year or so where things aren't what you planned.

Be careful, be there for the people you care about, and don't beat yourself up because you don't have great answers to the current sitiuation because nobody else has them either.  And be sure to stand up for yourself if you think your boss or someone else is asking you to be in too much contact with too many people or some other potentially unsafe situation. 

I doubt that any of us aren't freaking out in some way.   We just deal with it differently, and sometimes it doesn't show.


You have my number, if you need to, use it.   I'll turn my ringer on.

This whole thing has us all out of wack.  I feel like I am on a marathon with my wife and I working from home full time and juggling a 20 month old at the same time. There's no end in sight. I think I'd be nuts if not for the trailer I just got for my bike and the trails behind my neighborhood. daily routine has be loading kiddo up and going for an hour ride. 

I'm  focused on fitting in the little things. snipe a half hour here, an hour there, and actually get some projects moving along. 

How long is your commute? What time?  I'm sure someone on here would be willing to have a phone conversation with you while you commute talking about virtually nothing. It helps.  

As with any emergency, long term planning is close to impossible. 

“Basically. I'm doing my best to keep my E36 M3 together, but I'm scared. I'm kind of angry. And everything sucks.”

Sounds familiar. That was definitely me for the last couple weeks. Yesterday I called my grandma to see how she was doing and, as it usually goes, spent a while on the phone listening to her tell random stories. She talked about her memories of rationing during WWII, the polio epidemic when parks and new beaches were closed and they couldn’t play outside all summer, their house being quarantined when she had scarlet fever in 1948, but now her biggest worry now is that she and grandpa might not be able drive out to Amish country this spring.

I guess that helped me realize that we’ve been here before and made it through.

Dunno if that helps or anything but yeah, you’re definitely not alone.

In reply to BlueInGreen - Jon :

As I have said elsewhere and you have illustrated, "this will be the one you tell your grandkids about.". One of those life changing events. The new world on the other side of this event will be different. 

The world is going through a "reset".  Choose whatever higher power you want. Could be spiritual power or could be natural, evalution, worldly power.  Either way, it's happening. 

Now is the time to get your mind right with the idea that you will contract this virus.  Have a plan for getting through it.  Someone you know won't come through it.  Those who do come through will be left with a different world.

We have a little compound here and I could regale you with stories of being stuck in the house with a 3, 5, and 9 year old and 4 adults. Imagine you're going crazy and also a small terrorist is yelling at you about how you didn't let her rinse her mouth out after brushing her teeth despite you giving her the cup and her dumping the water out and then she spends the next ten minutes berating the world for existing and you're just hunkered down trying not to end up in jail and ... err is that helping?

Keeping busy really does help. But most of all be thankful you're not stuck with a bunch of kids furloughed from school in the house too. 

Think of it as surfing--just stay on the board and try to enjoy the ride.  

There is a lot of information to process right now and that has people overloaded. Talk to us. We're here to help. 

I'm doing my share of freaking out for sure. Working in the disinfectant business we've been watching this closely for ...too long. 

It's the waiting that's so hard. It's like watching a hurricane coming toward you times a billion. Dealing with long run catastrophes is maddening.

Everyone deals with disruption differently.  I was 17 when Hugo hit Charleston and threw my life upside down for weeks.  My mind reacted by forgetting the first 3 days after the hurricane.  Best thing is talking with others.  If you don't want to do that to your family and friends in person then remember we're all your family and friends here.  Or do both if you want.

I keep going day to day by thinking about my grandsons. We've chosen to stay away from them to be safe, but I sure could use an afternoon of holding the 4 month old and watching the 3 year old run around our house. We need to maintain the separation so that I can do just that in a few weeks or months. Life will certainly change after this, but I'd like to be around to enjoy it and share it with those two little boys.

Podcasts on current events. Joe Rogan had a CDC guy on last week. The Freakanomics talked about social distancing. NPR probably has something. Find the news outlet that aligns with you. Just download a few before leaving WiFi coverage. I use the Google Play app. There are many other apps. iTunes, too.