Off-Topic: Checking In

I thought we should check in with everyone, see how we are doing in the middle of a pandemic. And, though it is a lesser concern, how we are doing without baseball.

In my house? We are day 11 of self quarantine, and really, surprisingly, we are not getting on each other’s nerves too badly. I’m feeling sorry for my wife because she took her sewing machines in for a ‘tuneup’ before we left on holiday. When we come back 12 days earlier than planned, they aren’t ready. Just when she would love to lock herself in the basement and sew, she can’t.

Me? I’m fine, I’m a introvert anyway, and can handle being locked in the house without too much trouble.

I’m enjoying the new OOTP Baseball. My Blue Jays was going well, about a month into the season, when Nate Pearson was injured and is out for the season. I haven’t made many trades yet. I did pick up Michael Wacha on waivers, which, now that I lost Pearson, seems like a good move.

I’ve watched all of Homeland on Netflix and now I’m wondering what to watch next. I’ll take suggestions.

I’m reading, far too slowly, Bob Elliott’s new book “If These Walls Could Talk”. I’m going to lock myself in a room to finish it today. No one has as many stories as Bob, and he has them all in this book. Maybe my complaint is that he can’t finish one story without segueing into another story (or other three stories). It reads a bit rambling, much like listening to Bob talk (but in this you can hear him). We’ll have a real review in the next couple of days.

I’m listening to a lot of John Prine, since hearing that he was sick. And I’m trying to pluck out some of his songs on my ukulele.

And I’m running on the treadmill. I’ve signed up for a half marathon in November. No it wasn’t my idea. On our trip friends said ‘Hey, when was the last time you did a half marathon?’ Oh 8-10 years ago. I did a marathon and then for a long time would do a half or two each year but I haven’t been running the last few years. “We are doing this one in November, you should join us”. Well, it would be a huge ramp up for me, I don’t know that I have the discipline. When the day to sign up, we were in the middle of no-where, on a highway in Morocco and their phones couldn’t connect, but mine did. So I signed them and me up.

I was hoping the weather would cooperate and let me run outside, when our 14 days runs out, but we’ve been hit by a late winter storm and cold. I’ve a fair weather runner. I’m also riding in the MS Ride again this year, so I’m wanting the weather to smarten up so I can get out on the bike.

Since I put on 10 pounds in Morocco (food is good there) and the gyms are closed, I really should like some nice weather to get some runs in outside.

Tell us how you are doing in these very strange times.

I’m am worried about younger people who are trying to get their career’s going. It is really tough to know how to deal with losing employment when you are trying to get a career started. We are fine, we were looking to slow down work anyway. My wife was figuring she would retire in a couple of years, it is quite possible she’s retired now. And, most of the stuff I get paid for is gone. But it really won’t change how we do things much. Maybe instead of buying ever guitar I look at, I’ll just buy the occasional one.

So share how you are coping. Or, if your story seems to long for a comment, give us a FanPost telling how you are doing in these interesting times.