Tuesday, March 31, 2020

This pandemic was suppose to be an introverts dream. But now all my extrovert friends are needy.  They are all bored and coming out in weird ways.

19 comments:

  1. I put my extrovert friends in a special calling group that only takes calls from them for three hours per day, just after my usual dinner time.

    All other calls from them get dumped unceremoniously into voicemail.

    That's not being anti-social, that's just the ruthless efficiency for which the INTJ personality type is known for.

    Unknown callers get sent to a Turing test interactive voice prompt system that forces them to prove that they're human and paying attention, so what I'm doing to those extroverts I know is much nicer than that. :-)

    "I would rather be alone than go to a party."

    "The blonde" during my absence was complaining about Sundog Books in Seaside being closed, which is something I can relate to.

    Our preferred activity would be to go over there to look for books, each of us on our own, followed by hitting the music shop, and then we'd get coffee after we were done looking.

    Nearly all of Seaside is now closed to the non-resident public, and even then it's only open for local deliveries.

    But by now "the journalist" before her would have been complaining about all sorts of shit that would go on and on and on you know like how all of the journalists are getting shitcanned and how the world's on fire and how the sky is blue yet it's a fucking apocalypse now and how you shouldn't touch your face because you know where your hands have been and how because I'm a "rich person" I don't deserve to get $1200 of my tax money back and OMG JUST FUCKING STOP, BEEETCH.

    Yes, leaperman, I know what you're thinking: hot but crazy.

    I think I moved here so I could see more hot women in swim suits, and that's why someone like Julia Roberts does nothing for me, BTW. :-)

    There's a special calling group for those super-annoying extrovert people that just dumps their calls into a busy signal unless it's also those three hours in the evening.

    I could just do that all the time, but sometimes the extra entertainment for such low effort is worth it.

    Also, there is music for this mood. :-)

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  2. I think I would get bored without people. They are endlessly entertaining...... but sometimes they go a looooooong way.

    Last night I had the experience where a real life friend wanted me to subscribe to their new youtube channel. Because she is bored and needs attention. I keep my blog and my real life kinda segmented. No one in my real life knows about my blog.

    All of a sudden I'm trying to figure out ways to say no without hurting their feels. Acquaintances I can always try to use the "I don't understand the internet" sort of approach.

    Everyone wants to talk to me about pandemic dating. I never knew how much I just didn't give a shit about that. They are going to be dating someone new next month. I am not getting invested in this. Apparently there is going to be less catfishing because everyone is all of a sudden video dating. I find the whole thing sort of weird because I'm more focused on people being financially ruined and what the world is going to look like on the other side.

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  3. Oh yeah. On line dating is going through a transformation too. People used to list their professions in their dating profiles and apparently that is out now because so many people are out of work. It makes you immediately non desireable dating stock if you are in one of those professions. Like real estate for example. This is coming from the female perspective. I know you guys are always in that boat. Since people really can't get together for coffee, things are moving fast to FaceTime. What's a catfish to do?!

    And..... we don't really have to pretend what guys do with fingering away. Right? I know you are all deviants. You know you are deviants.

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  4. "Pandemic dating? WTF is that?"

    The year is 2029, and the world is still under lockdown as anti-viral medicines prove themselves to be useless after the global spread of COVID-48 ...

    But a few adventurers have immunity from an unknown source, so after a while, they become bored.

    "Slip another whore through the airlock?"

    "Nah, if she gets the virus, we'll have to intubate her and prep her for transport, and then there's all the fucking mopping ..."

    "Who would have thought the virus from the early twenties would have evolved to force the infected to projectile vomit so it'll spread faster?"

    "Besides, I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine ... it's healthier."

    :-)

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  5. I've been coping by filling my FB page, and now my blog, with memes making fun of it all. It's either that or murder. And murder is illegal.

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  6. Love that.

    I'm glad to see you pop up. I worry a bit about my people near hotzones.

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  7. Capital of Texas RefugeeThursday, April 02, 2020 7:37:00 PM

    "... any sane heterosexual WOULD vomit ..."

    Would you believe that guy is perfectly straight, had a wife at the time, and has had several kids?

    That's all just for The Grand Show of Chess. :-)

    "You're not human. Just admit it."

    That INTJ death stare confuses people who are not used to being deer in our headlights.

    Just admit it, you're a deer. :-)

    IT'S NOT RABBIT SEASON THIS WEEK
    IT'S DEER SEASON :-)

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  8. Mostly just tired enough to not have much to comment. Work is very short handed due to folks who've decided that they don't want to risk being exposed to the public. I don't blame those folks, and neither does my employer, but it makes for busy days for the rest of us. For example, Wednesday I was scheduled for an 8hr shift in Garden/Seasonal (which also handles cleaning), got into work and was greeted with the news that the Receiving supervisor had called out due to a (non-coronoavirus) death in the family and I was the only other person in the store who had a clue about handling Receiving. Oh, and there's NOBODY scheduled in Electrical today, any chance you can take that phone too? It makes for a long day.

    Plus I was taking god only knows how many phone calls from people who are clearly anticipating the nice weather this weekend and are calling to find out if we have plants and mulch for sale.

    I have so far resisted screaming at those idiots about shopping for non-essentials.

    I'm bringing extra chocolate to work with me today. Its going to be a long weekend.

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  9. Leaperman... don't poke a bear. LOL.

    Ruth - You don't have to comment, but I do worry a bit. You are in a high hazard job right now. I've been telling all the grocery people that they are hero's too. We need doctors and nurses, but without food - we wouldn't need doctors and nurses. People working the front line deserve a debt of gratitude too. Stay well.

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  10. Leaperman: I get it, doesn't make me happier about it, but I get it

    Snarkolepsy: I found caffeinated chocolatea, and Amazon shipped. I'm happy now......

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  11. Glad to hear. You guys are working your asses off and we all know and appreciate it. I think everyone is coping with it a little different. If they can work out their frustrations through gardening, I think it's not the worst outlet.

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  12. Capital of Texas RefugeeSaturday, April 04, 2020 7:23:00 PM

    Right now I'd be getting my hand-made chocolates and other stuff that requires a high degree of hands-on handling and attention from a place that doesn't have The CO-VID Convoy nearby ...

    No cases in Cody, Wyoming, BTW.

    At least two chocolate shops in that town, and the religion-inspired one is actually pretty good.

    Not that I'm trying to sell you on Wyoming stuff, but ...

    CO-VID Convoy cases in Cody, WY: 0

    WY excluding Cheyenne, Casper, Lander,
    Riverton, and Grand Teton (Jackson): 42

    In all of WY: 187

    Contra Costa County, CA: 307

    Travis County, TX (Austin): 430

    Alameda County, CA: 433

    Orange County, FL (Orlando): 656

    Salt Lake County, UT: 708

    Denver County, CO: 769

    Santa Clara County, CA: 1094

    All of FL: 11545 (only 372 non-residents)

    All of CA: 12026


    And of course the numbers just get worse from there, because Ontario and Quebec together have more cases than California despite all of Canada having roughly the same population as California.

    But you might as well do some of your shopping where you're less likely to catch a new bug, and they might be able to ship faster when you want more.

    It's not like Amazon's going away right now, but some smaller businesses might just ...

    BTW, I don't know what the French authorities are doing in Saint Barts, but their numbers are staying stable. It's been two weeks for some Caribbean countries and their numbers haven't doubled yet, so they're also probably going to make it through this.

    It remains to be seen whether islands are really problematic or not, but so far they're not behaving like cruise ships.

    OH, HONEY ... HONEY ... HONEY?
    YOU MUST TRY THE PANDEMIC SURPRISE
    IT'S ABSOLUTELY TO DIE FOR!
    THEY HAVE A FULL BUFFET OF IT!
    WE CAN SHAKE THE CAPTAIN'S HAND AFTER THAT!

    :-)

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  13. Capital of Texas RefugeeSaturday, April 04, 2020 7:40:00 PM

    Ruth: "I have so far resisted screaming at those idiots about shopping for non-essentials."

    If it keeps these people out in the sun, which might help with its UV rays in keeping The CO-VID Convoy at a distance, then it's not really non-essential.

    Plus a lot of people take a lot of time to adjust to The New Normal.

    A friend of mine said that people like me who play way ahead "shine" in circumstances like this, but that's because he hasn't seen what's been going on at my place this weekend.

    Here my Tipton "Best Gun Vise" is seeing some action in doing some long-needed rifle and shotgun maintenance, including the mounting of several new scopes and laser sights, after which I'll be rolling through some pistols and then maybe next week there'll be some heavy-barrel conversions and bedding jobs on a few new rifles.

    When that's done, maybe I can rehabilitate my shitty sewing skills to finish some modifications to some holsters and ammo belts since my normal sewing lady's not seeing anyone, even her own kids.

    Earlier today I was installing blackout shades so my neighbors don't catch a glimpse of me working on all this hardware ...

    So keep in mind that maybe my way of coping isn't as nice as what these people are doing instead. :-)

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  14. "A friend of mine said that people like me who play way ahead "shine" in circumstances like this, but that's because he hasn't seen what's been going on at my place this weekend."

    I've been paying attention to this since January because I was at that huge trade show. So it hadn't occurred to me that other people might have a really hard time. I've just been watching ti grow over time so I'm somewhat desensitized. I started telling my friend in Seattle to hunker down and she listened. I hadn't talked to her for a little while after that. When we did talk again she said - you gave me ten days. I had a full meltdown, but at least it happened before everyone else freaked out.

    It was only then I was like - oh... right.

    It's very wise for everyone not to poke bears right now. And everyone is a bear., Everyone is raw and we all are just trying to get through this. And right now..... it is really pretty heartwarming that people are being really gentle with each other so far.

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  15. Also me watching Naked and Afraid - "can they make it 24 days on Naaaked and Afraid."?

    Me - I can't even make it 24 days in this house!

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  16. Capital of Texas RefugeeSaturday, April 04, 2020 9:34:00 PM

    I'll introduce you to my favorite travel writer ...

    He writes about hell holes and war zones.

    Robert Young Pelton wrote a book that in its fourth edition and earlier was essential for people being sent to hell holes and war zones, especially American and Canadian military forces.

    The fourth edition of "The World's Most Dangerous Places" is the version with the red cover, not the gold cover, and you can't get this as an e-book. (See if you can get it on Abebooks or at Amazon, which now is really the same thing.)

    This book sits on top of my field medical manuals from times gone by because it's still worth consulting as a reference, even after over two decades.

    The introduction to one of the world's most dangerous places was heavily edited and totally whipped in the fifth edition, but what he wrote back in 2000 (or earlier) still applies.

    Pages 927 and 931 of the 4th edition from 2000, anyone who has a copy and who wants to follow along, BTW. :-)

    "Land of the free and home of the brave. And you'd better be damned brave here, because people are free to do pretty much anything they like. Behind white picket fences and two-car garages, husbands clobber their wives silly while their kids make crack deals over the phone with Scarface on the tube. A land where the license plates of one state reads: 'Live Free or Die.' Nice choice."

    ...

    "Hard times breed strange heroes. The hardscrabble days of early America bred the outlaws of the Wild West. Jesse James and Billy the Kid were popularized in East Coast dime novels. The Great Depression gave us Dillinger and Capone, Bonnie and Clyde. Today, in down-on-its-luck L.A., we are hatching a new breed of famous ne'er do wells. In Los Angeles, the land of 'three strikes and you're out' has become 'do a crime, do the prime time.' Are you watching a talk show or is it a Tyson bout? Is that a mass murderer or is he just working through some 'issues'? What is wrong and what is right? Film at 11. Answers, never."

    ...

    You see, America's always had the potential to get really spicy during good times, but it saves the extra-spicy sauce for when things start to slide.

    The boring SWPL Boomer types you see around you who just haven't registered there's going to be A New Normal for a while, maybe for a long while?

    They don't read books like this, and they sure as hell don't read useful guides such as Rosie Garthwaite's "How to Avoid Being Killed in a War Zone".

    Another blonde journalist ... hmmm, never really noticed that before.

    Yeah, it appears that I do actually have a type.

    Because of my father's travels, I don't have any romance toward such things as "roughing it", because that meant shaking the scorpions out of my shoes and my bed sheets, putting up mosquito netting in some places, removing the sand and dust out of everything, including somehow the insides of sealed plastic bags, getting the smell of industrial solvents out of my clothing, and most importantly trying not to get fucked over or killed by the local scum and villainy.

    Oh, and also getting dengue fever and a lot of other shit that other American kids associate with being poor or living in the Third World, for which I had to get shots before going back to school despite not needing them because I'd built up immunity the hard way ...

    So, yeah, there's a basis for what I wrote earlier.

    And then because I must be a stupid sonofabitch at heart, I went into yet another kind of global business.

    But compared to these SWPL Boomer types, I'm like Nostradamus here. :-)

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  17. Yah yah. Clorox wiped the boxes, its all good. I get most of my chocolates from smaller shops, but caffeinated chocolate is harder to come by. I won't tell you how many I ate yesterday.....

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  18. Capital of Texas RefugeeTuesday, April 07, 2020 7:11:00 PM

    Says you, leaperman. :-)

    I normally drink six to eight cups of coffee per day.

    It allows me to turn up the intensity of the normal INTJ way of Getting Shit Done Right Fucking Now into a level of intensity that makes people nervous.

    This week it's been ten cups plus some caffeinated stevia cola, because I have scumbag vendors who can't meet contracted limits to fire, not that we're actually selling a lot of new stuff.

    All those production supplies are going into maintaining stuff for existing customers.

    New sales targets? What new sales targets? That's all totally fucked.

    We're trying to keep those sales guys from being targets by getting them to do useful shit like packing boxes from pallets and hauling ass on putting stuff into shipping containers, or at least that was last week.

    They're also showing their usefulness in doing some engineering support people time so the actual engineers can do their job.

    But there was some complaining ... once.

    YOU SEE ME MOVING THIS SHIT?
    I'M THIRTY YEARS OLDER THAN YOU, FUCKNUTS!
    AND I USED TO BE THE HEAD HONCHO HERE
    SO MOVE YOUR ASS LIKE IT HAS PURPOSE
    IN CONTINUING TO BE HERE!

    I don't have to be Darth Vader to find new ways to motivate people.

    Oh, and leaperman?

    I know you read that bit with Light Colonel Kilgore's voice. :-)

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