How is the virus affecting you?

[Cat_Driver]

Shut down my business about a year ago and glad I did. Between insurance coverage, workers comp, etc. etc. I just got fed up.
The last straw for me was when I had employees quit because they could make more money by not working. Now even though they quit
here is California the state helps the employees find ways to still hit companies with unemployment insurance and they side with the employee
no matter if employees steal from you, quits, etc.

Probably the greatest thing that happened to me was the wife and I had to close out our retirement accounts from the business corporation and turn everything into
cash. Three brokers were trying to get or cash and place it in stocks weeks before the crash.

Three brokers were pushing me, the wife was pushing me, but something was talking to my guts and I ignored them all and said nope. They all argued that having cash isn't a good thing. After the crash, I made it a point to contact all of them and show them how wrong they were.

Everything I have is paid for so I owe nothing to anyone except property taxes, water, electricity, etc, but I'm covered for that.

We don't really go out and eat as the food we make here far exceeds anything we can purchase in a restaurant.

I don't have "toys" like RVs, Boats, etc. I have the same clothes I purchased a dozen years ago and they are all good to go. I only wear T-shirts and jeans or overalls so I and the DW aren't clothes hounds.

As far as seeing friends and family, I cut most of them off years ago as they only came around when they wanted something and not one would ever pick up a restaurant check figuring I was in business so I could always afford to pick up the tab - no more and I don't miss being taken advantage of.

I have enough projects around the ranch to keep me busy for a lifetime so I'll never be bored.

 

[Diggin It]

Probably the greatest thing that happened to me was the wife and I had to close out our retirement accounts from the business corporation and turn everything into cash.

The markets will recover and you may (or may not) have set yourself up for a serious tax hit.

 

[shaeff]

My sister is out of hospital and getting better.

Very glad to hear this, buck!

As far as or lives:

My wife is a RN, however hasn't been working in a year due to some health issues. We're pretty young, mid 30's, and she's finally starting to feel better. She hasn't left the house in over a month. She hates that she's not "out there" helping people, as that's her passion. I hate to say it, but I look at it as a blessing in disguise. Not too many cases up near us, but everything is still shut down.

My work is considered essential, I work in the natural gas pipeline industry as a Field Operations Technician. Been in this role since 10/2019 and I love it. I'm happy to still be working. I work with one other guy and we're both clean and healthy. So far, nobody in our company has caught the virus. We've taken pretty extreme measures to make sure of it, too.

I feel for those affected, I feel for those whom, while they may be physically healthy will suffer emotionally. This type of thing will wear you down. Phone calls and FaceTime/Skype calls only help so much. We stopped in my parents' driveway a few days ago and stayed in the truck just so we could talk in person while keeping a good distance.

Supposedly, the social distancing is working. The "curve" is flattened and cases in NY (I'm upstate, about 2.5hrs north of NYC) are dropping. So far, we're doing ok. Again, thankful to still be working and for a company that truly cares about us and our health/safety.

Stay safe, everyone.

 

[Hay Dude]

Not affecting me or my wife much. Were both working. My earnings are taking a modest hit.

Im just sick of having to live my life according to whats going on in New York City, where they are piled on top of each other like cordwood. Naturally, they have a high infection rate. And I feel terrible for them.
Where I live, its common to not see another person outside your family for an entire day. So I have to stay hunkered down like someone from New York City?

Seems extremely oppressive to me here in fly-over country.

 

[crashz]

I know this probably hasn't been easy on anyone. To all my fellow TBNers: Stay safe and keep slogging through.

My experience has been periods of good things through a month or so of tough times. Both my wife and then my mother were hospitalized for non-COVID issues. I could at least visit my wife, as it was early on in March and the hospital did not restrict visitors until a few days before she was released. That end has been really difficult to deal with. And in both cases I needed to advocate for them. Which, for me is very difficult to begin with, not to mention only being able to communicate over the phone, at the convenience of the other person on the line.

Both my wife and I are still working (from home) and I work for a great company that is an essential business. But I hope we can hang on until the country gets up and running again. There was some mutterings about furloughs last week...

The periods of good: My wife and I have connected and bonded over this. We are usually so busy, that we never see each other. Now we pack a picnic dinner and go and sit in our car at the airport and watch the planes and sunsets. Another thing is that I'm killing these home projects! I've gotten a lot of things completed, probably a year of weekends done in the past month:
- Rebuilt my bush hog (welded up the deck and everything).
- Serviced the tractor (200 hr)
- Fixed the front-end body work, AC condenser, and serviced my car
- Serviced the dump truck and added a new radio
- Insulated the entire basement (still have a bit to finish)
- Built an office area in the basement
- Wired in and installed some outside lights for a back entrance way
- Raked and thatched the lawn
- Power-washed the house (can't believe the difference!)

BTW - we did a ZOOM meeting for Greek Easter with my wife's family yesterday. All the fun with no stress of cleaning the house for guests!

 

[Rock Crawler]

I was a mild alcoholic prior to this mess. Now that they have shut down the rural living bars and eateries... I am anxious/depressed and irritable. My wife and I have went from 27 years of marital bliss, to now we are angry, drunk and fighting constantly. We have declared hatred to each other, I am openly rude to strangers and try to make sure that every human I get a chance to interact with... I want them to be a pissed off and miserable as I am. I am sad to be an American in this insane world. I once thought that we were a country of free men, and of strong patriots. I was very wrong. We are a country of lemmings who fall in line under the control of an oppressive government like good little subjects do. I am now admitting to myself that I am a full blown alcoholic, when I pray to god I ask him to take me so that I can be free again. It truly is a sad time to be an American who once thought that strong free men walked this country and who thought that the government was an entity of limited power over the day to day life of good law abiding Americans. I have been shown to be so wrong on both accounts.

 

[Hay Dude]

I was a mild alcoholic prior to this mess. Now that they have shut down the rural living bars and eateries... I am anxious/depressed and irritable. My wife and I have went from 27 years of marital bliss, to now we are angry, drunk and fighting constantly. We have declared hatred to each other, I am openly rude to strangers and try to make sure that every human I get a chance to interact with... I want them to be a pissed off and miserable as I am. I am sad to be an American in this insane world. I once thought that we were a country of free men, and of strong patriots. I was very wrong. We are a country of lemmings who fall in line under the control of an oppressive government like good little subjects do. I am now admitting to myself that I am a full blown alcoholic, when I pray to god I ask him to take me so that I can be free again. It truly is a sad time to be an American who once thought that strong free men walked this country and who thought that the government was an entity of limited power over the day to day life of good law abiding Americans. I have been shown to be so wrong on both accounts.

Rock Crawler,

I will probably butcher this, but it is times like these that test mens limits of their souls. God created these situations to see how we will respond. I actually agree with you that many of our leaders have failed us terribly in this situation.
But maybe, just maybe this test will be a great way to IDENTIFY who are the weak passifying leaders and who expect us to be strong and exhibit personal responsibilty to work our way through the problem.
Once they are identified, it is my hope that voters will vote them out of power and free us from their abuses of power.

 

[LouNY]

Rock Crawler,

I will probably butcher this, but it is times like these that test mens limits of their souls. God created these situations to see how we will respond. I actually agree with you that many of our leaders have failed us terribly in this situation.
But maybe, just maybe this test will be a great way to IDENTIFY who are the weak passifying leaders and who expect us to be strong and exhibit personal responsibilty to work our way through the problem.
Once they are identified, it is my hope that voters will vote them out of power and free us from their abuses of power.

I'm afraid that to many people in this day and age do not want to think for themselves, or be responsible for their actions or inactions,
it is much easier for them to let someone else direct them as to what and how to do something.
Then they can always blame someone else for the failures.

 

[riptides]

I was a mild alcoholic prior to this mess. Now that they have shut down the rural living bars and eateries... I am anxious/depressed and irritable. My wife and I have went from 27 years of marital bliss, to now we are angry, drunk and fighting constantly. We have declared hatred to each other, I am openly rude to strangers and try to make sure that every human I get a chance to interact with... I want them to be a pissed off and miserable as I am. I am sad to be an American in this insane world. I once thought that we were a country of free men, and of strong patriots. I was very wrong. We are a country of lemmings who fall in line under the control of an oppressive government like good little subjects do. I am now admitting to myself that I am a full blown alcoholic, when I pray to god I ask him to take me so that I can be free again. It truly is a sad time to be an American who once thought that strong free men walked this country and who thought that the government was an entity of limited power over the day to day life of good law abiding Americans. I have been shown to be so wrong on both accounts.

Reach out for help on the alcohol.

Worry not about the government at this time. It always works out for the better.

Worry about yourself and your wife.

 

[k0ua]

Reach out for help on the alcohol.

Worry not about the government at this time. It always works out for the better.

Worry about yourself and your wife.

We are in perfect agreement here. Get ahold of this alcohol problem and the rest will work out.