I'm still working 10-12 hours a day, more now than before but that was all planned work as things for us pick up once the spring thaw hits and we can do actual track maintenance. As a traveling crew, we're outside Denver right now so we're keeping clear of people as much as possible. Instead of restaurants and bar food every night, we pick up steaks and grill out in the evenings for dinner, otherwise it's pretty much business as usual for us, just much more cautiously. The hotel no longer provides daily maid service or breakfast, but they're so damn glad they have thirty rooms filled by us for three weeks (Sunday-Friday) they're letting us keep our rooms across weekends without charging our company extra and doing a good cleaning upon request over the weekends, just to keep us happy. Go Best Western, we're glad you're even open...
My wife is still working, counseling via phone/video 90% of the time instead of everything direct face to face. She hates it, especially with kids since they fail miserably on attention span when you're not right in front of them. Daughter who is also in mental health at a residential hospital is getting very frustrated as the state hospital, where the real crazy folks get sent, is no longer accepting new patients as a safeguard to the ones they have. People are not getting any better, and those with anxiety and similar conditions are all having their fears realized in real life right now. Bottom line, this is going to have a mental health crisis hit the country right along with the medical crisis. Keep an eye and ear out for loved ones, suicide is already seeing an uptick.
For the rest of it, I was already prepared for things to turn sour, although that's pretty easy when there's only two of us. Blizzards and power outages are a reality for anyone in remote town Wyoming, so I stay in a constant three month minimum supply on pretty much everything we use day-to-day. I had a 20 cu-ft freezer about half full and recently fell into a great deal on a 1/4 beef, so it will be packed solid in two weeks. I live in the sticks so I do my shopping by the case anyhow, and had a very good supply of everything other than meat as well right along with all paper goods. A Fisher stove in the basement and two cords of wood on hand in case things get real crazy on the supply, but my tulips and daffodils are coming up so have to say it's an early spring this year and won't be needing that too much.
The only thing I didn't have more of that I'm using now was hand sanitizer, I really don't care for the stuff as my knuckles and cuticles are dry enough and split in the winter as it is. But life on the road necessitates I am in and out of gas stations and other places all the time, and of course I don't have the ability to wash up on the truck. Thankfully our foreman keeps a healthy supply of PPE on hand for our crew, including Purell, so we're good even there.
If shit goes completely sideways, well, BTDT, but nobody's getting their zombie apocalypse melee dream out of a 2% killer.
My wife is still working, counseling via phone/video 90% of the time instead of everything direct face to face. She hates it, especially with kids since they fail miserably on attention span when you're not right in front of them. Daughter who is also in mental health at a residential hospital is getting very frustrated as the state hospital, where the real crazy folks get sent, is no longer accepting new patients as a safeguard to the ones they have. People are not getting any better, and those with anxiety and similar conditions are all having their fears realized in real life right now. Bottom line, this is going to have a mental health crisis hit the country right along with the medical crisis. Keep an eye and ear out for loved ones, suicide is already seeing an uptick.
For the rest of it, I was already prepared for things to turn sour, although that's pretty easy when there's only two of us. Blizzards and power outages are a reality for anyone in remote town Wyoming, so I stay in a constant three month minimum supply on pretty much everything we use day-to-day. I had a 20 cu-ft freezer about half full and recently fell into a great deal on a 1/4 beef, so it will be packed solid in two weeks. I live in the sticks so I do my shopping by the case anyhow, and had a very good supply of everything other than meat as well right along with all paper goods. A Fisher stove in the basement and two cords of wood on hand in case things get real crazy on the supply, but my tulips and daffodils are coming up so have to say it's an early spring this year and won't be needing that too much.
The only thing I didn't have more of that I'm using now was hand sanitizer, I really don't care for the stuff as my knuckles and cuticles are dry enough and split in the winter as it is. But life on the road necessitates I am in and out of gas stations and other places all the time, and of course I don't have the ability to wash up on the truck. Thankfully our foreman keeps a healthy supply of PPE on hand for our crew, including Purell, so we're good even there.
If shit goes completely sideways, well, BTDT, but nobody's getting their zombie apocalypse melee dream out of a 2% killer.
