Living Through A Pandemic (And Other News)

May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. -Nelson Mandela

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The human race seems to have lost its inner compass as fear takes hold. Shopping has become more of a treasure hunt for the items on our shopping lists, than a weekly necessity. Often this involves traveling to two or three supermarkets (instead of just the one), in order to get most of the items on the list. People are bulk buying to the point that some items, like toilet paper, meat, fruit and vegetables are becoming scarce and hard to find. Whole isles in the supermarkets are empty. Its the uncertainty of not knowing how long Coronavirus is going to be around for. So people feel that they need to be ready in case the nation goes into total lock down. Its gotten to the point where some supermarkets are limiting the number of products you can buy. Many of us have seen the videos of punch ups over toilet paper and other high demand products (hand sanitizer, soap, etc).

A lot of coffee shops (Costa's, Pret A Manger, etc) have closed their seating areas and have turned to serving just takeaway, as well as refusing to serve their drinks in anything but their own single use cups. I went into Starbucks last week and overheard a conversation that, even though it made me laugh at the time, it did show the state we're in. A gentleman asked one of the Starbucks Baristas if they had hand sanitizer, to which the Barista replied that they didn't. The gent then went into a whole speel about how they should have it for customer use. A lot of places don't have sanitizer for customer use, because of the risk of theft. People would genuinely steal it (I have heard this happening a lot in hospitals). Many coffee shops (Starbucks, Costa's, Caffé Nero) have hand washing sinks behind the tills and often have a toilet with sinks somewhere in store.

I understand that people are afraid of the unknown due to this virus. Nobody knows what's gonna happen. Many of the most vulnerable are already going into self isolation or are distancing themselves from those around them in an attempt to reduce the risks. I know several people on this list and the danger they would be in if they got the virus as their immune systems are already compromised. There's more information on the NHS website on how to protect yourself and those you love from getting the Coronavirus. The link is here.

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Very few of you will be aware that I lost my job ten days ago. I won't write about all the reasons why. I have literally spent every day possible trying to find something else as fast as possible. Being unemployed is not fun, especially in a country that makes it so difficult, albeit impossible to claim unemployment benefits, There are too many loopholes and red tap, so the best thing to do is to find that new job as fast as humanly possible. Finding a job in this time of uncertainty has been difficult. Businesses and shops are laying off staff as people aren't going out to do shopping as much anymore. So its a miracle that I've got this position as an office cleaner. It is temporary but it brings money back in and allows me to keep looking without the huge amount of pressure I was under, previously, to find a job. One thing that I had decided (which was a bit tricky) was to come out of the pub industry. I've spent most of the time I've been employed in England, as a bartender, and its time I got a new job in an industry that won't be so damaging on my mental health.

Over the next few weeks I am planning to write about my mental health, but not today. I still have a few things to do before I head home and, thanks to Coronavirus, both libraries I am a member of are closing until further notice. This means that I won't be able to use their computers. My laptop has given up the ghost, so to speak, and won't turn on. My iPad is in the process of going down the same road, and my phone is a useless platform to write a blog on as the screen is too small. So my posts are going to be more spaced out than before. I'm not using Facebook at the minute, which I will also write about at some point. However, if you would like to hear about how I'm doing on a more regular basis, please follow me in Instagram or Twitter.

Until next time, please stay healthy and safe!