WhiteGhost is on Ninjary Reserve

[Manarelle]

On 1/26/2020 at 11:15 AM, WhiteGhost said:

This also means that I am probably not going to be able to follow through with my food bingo game.   Sorry to everyone who took the time to put a card together. 

 

One the one hand, food bingo. On the other hand, keeping you and yours safe and healthy.

 

Yeah, I'm gonna go with the latter one being wildly more important.  

 

Hopefully the sax guy picks up some new tunes, and you've got enough with you to enjoy the extended vacation!

[WhiteGhost]

18 minutes ago, Manarelle said:

 

One the one hand, food bingo. On the other hand, keeping you and yours safe and healthy.

 

Yeah, I'm gonna go with the latter one being wildly more important.  

 

Hopefully the sax guy picks up some new tunes, and you've got enough with you to enjoy the extended vacation!

I thought about trying to cook some of those things down here, but with the current situation decided not to. It is kind of like living in an postapocalyptic wasteland. Every day we look at how much food we have left and try to figure out how we can extend it to postpone having to go out into the no man's land to forage

 

Sanya actually isn't too bad.   We are still getting food into the grocery stores and the infection rate is still low (only 14 confirmed cases for the whole city) so it isn't too crazy. Many of the stores in Beijing have been completely cleaned out as people are stockpiling. The latest news is that the government has ordered all businesses (both government owned and private) to extend the holiday until Feb 9 and stores that are engaging in price gouging are getting slammed with huge fines. 

 

Privacy has never been a thing here, so I wasn't surprised that the police have the residents of our complex a breakdown of all Wuhan residents that own property in our complex and their current residency status. 

 

Tuesday

 

Today was mostly similar to yesterday but based on inspiration from 

@Scrawlcreatelive's challenge I broke out my darebee app and got a workout in. 

[Manarelle]

2 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

I thought about trying to cook some of those things down here, but with the current situation decided not to. It is kind of like living in an postapocalyptic wasteland. Every day we look at how much food we have left and try to figure out how we can extend it to postpone having to go out into the no man's land to forage

 

Oof, ouch. And I'm guessing venturing out with a shotgun for protection would be heavily frowned upon.  To put it mildly. Glad they're cracking down on price gouging, that's way not cool. 

[Scrawlcreatelive]

I thought about trying to cook some of those things down here, but with the current situation decided not to. It is kind of like living in an postapocalyptic wasteland. Every day we look at how much food we have left and try to figure out how we can extend it to postpone having to go out into the no man's land to forage [emoji3]

 

Sanya actually isn't too bad.   We are still getting food into the grocery stores and the infection rate is still low (only 14 confirmed cases for the whole city) so it isn't too crazy. Many of the stores in Beijing have been completely cleaned out as people are stockpiling. The latest news is that the government has ordered all businesses (both government owned and private) to extend the holiday until Feb 9 and stores that are engaging in price gouging are getting slammed with huge fines. 

 

Privacy has never been a thing here, so I wasn't surprised that the police have the residents of our complex a breakdown of all Wuhan residents that own property in our complex and their current residency status. 

 

Tuesday

 

Today was mostly similar to yesterday but based on inspiration from 

@Scrawlcreatelive's challenge I broke out my darebee app and got a workout in. 

If I ever need a quick workout, I use Barbee workouts. You did it though, congratulations.

 

 

 

 

 

[WhiteGhost]

19 hours ago, Manarelle said:

 

Oof, ouch. And I'm guessing venturing out with a shotgun for protection would be heavily frowned upon.  To put it mildly. Glad they're cracking down on price gouging, that's way not cool. 

Yep, shotgun wielding would definitely get a disapproving sniff. 

 

16 hours ago, Scrawlcreatelive said:

If I ever need a quick workout, I use Barbee workouts. You did it though, congratulations.

 

Thanks, I have not heard of barbee but I will look it up. 

 

Today was another day of nothing but eating & gaming.

 

Wait, that's not true - inspired by @Mad Hatter's recent art activities I broke out the pencils & sketch pad and practiced some shading. Just some basic shapes and they didn't even come out very well,  but I did it. First time breaking out the pencils this year

 

[Mad Hatter]

Yay for breaking out the pencils! The first one is the hardest.

[Kishi]

Hell yeah! Get swole, do art!

[WhiteGhost]

15 hours ago, Kishi said:

Hell yeah! Get swole, do art!

Not going to get swole with these token workouts, but it's certainly better than nothing

 

22 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Yay for breaking out the pencils! The first one is the hardest.

I'll get them out again sometime soon

 

Thursday

 

Today started out with a foray into the contamination zone (aka the supermarket) for a supply run.   Everything was so... normal. The shelves were fully stocked and the lines were short. I kind of felt like we are being overly paranoid, but we still stocked up on supplies and now we are good for another 2 weeks at least. 

 

I felt a little justified when we got back and watched the news.   SARS had a total confirmed cases of just over 8,000 and a mortality rate of about 10%. nCov so far has more than 7,000 confirmed cases with 170 or so deaths, so it seems to have a much lower mortality rate. However, the bad news is that so far only 124 people have been released from the hospital so the mortality rate could end up being much higher. 

 

The holiday season was originally scheduled to find;ish up tomorrow, with Saturday a work day. As such, a lot of people who didn't change their travel plans will be heading home tomorrow so the travel will spike for a few days. It will be important to see how things progress once people start heading back home. 

 

 

[Athena]

2 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

I felt a little justified when we got back and watched the news.   SARS had a total confirmed cases of just over 8,000 and a mortality rate of about 10%. nCov so far has more than 7,000 confirmed cases with 170 or so deaths, so it seems to have a much lower mortality rate. However, the bad news is that so far only 124 people have been released from the hospital so the mortality rate could end up being much higher. 

 

You ARE justified. Viruses are basically tiny invisible enemies, which is all fun and games when there is mass available medicine but otherwise creepy as hell  The less chances you give 'em to spread, the better. In the NL the news is rapporting that medical supplies (like mouth caps) are selling very fast, but "rest assures, we are capable with keeping up with the stock". The online stores have been closed, however, because it has gotten too busy? Most clients are thought to be Chinese buying for their families? 

 

At least over there nobody is complaining about vegetables in plastic wrap? Do they wrap most foods in plastic? Excuse all my question marks?

Here there's lots of fresh stuff in plastic, to keep them fresh, but since I've seen people COUGH WITHOUT using their HANDS/ELBOW HOLLOWS on/in the direction of market stands, I'm kinda glad there's also the supermarket plastic wrapped option for when I feel queesy. Do these people know how far spit particles reach when you sneeze/cough?!

 

I'll still shop from the market place, when I can shove those memories aside, but brrr. 

 

Anyway, my (totally justified nowadays) mild germophobia aside, hurrah for breaking out the pencils from me as well 

[WhiteGhost]

22 hours ago, analoggirl said:

Excuse all my question marks?

Ok,  but just this once?

 

 

22 hours ago, analoggirl said:

In the NL the news is rapporting that medical supplies (like mouth caps) are selling very fast, but "rest assures, we are capable with keeping up with the stock". The online stores have been closed, however, because it has gotten too busy? Most clients are thought to be Chinese buying for their families? 

This is very likely. All of the hospitals are running out, so people are looking for every available channel to get them. My friend sent me a screenshot from eBay or somewhere where people were bidding up a pack of 5 masks to over $1,600

 

Friday

 

Not much happened this morning, but when we were making lunch the wok broke so we had to make an emergency run to the store. Since we were there anyway, we also stocked up on water so hopefully we won't need to leave the house any time soon. 

 

As expected, tons of people decided to go home today anyway even though the government had warned against it, and now new cases are spiking all over the country. 

 

I don't think it is even close to peaking yet, even though it has already eclipsed SARS by a fair margin. I would be very pleased to be proven wrong, though. 

 

Looking on the bright side, of all the places to be stuck in quarantine, we could do a lot worse than a warm tropical island. 

 

 

 

 

[sylph]

3 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

As expected, tons of people decided to go home today anyway even though the government had warned against it, and now new cases are spiking all over the country. 

This is slightly terrifying

[WhiteGhost]

20 hours ago, sylph said:

This is slightly terrifying

Indeed

 

Saturday

 

Another slow day.  I broke out my darebee app and got another workout in. Apparently my cardio endurance no longer exists. After just the warm up stretching I was breathing hard

 

In the afternoon I got started on the book Making Money on @sarakingdom's recommendation. I am thoroughly enjoying it. 

[shaar]

10 minutes ago, WhiteGhost said:

Another slow day.  I broke out my darebee app and got another workout in. Apparently my cardio endurance no longer exists. After just the warm up stretching I was breathing hard

 

Oh lordy I feel this update in my soul. Cardio why are you so hardio? (Harhar)

 

Hope everything over there is going as good as can be give the circumstances!

[WhiteGhost]

On 2/1/2020 at 11:01 PM, loire said:

 

Oh lordy I feel this update in my soul. Cardio why are you so hardio? (Harhar)

 

Hope everything over there is going as good as can be give the circumstances!

My theory? Cardio is like relationships: The more effort you put into it, the easier it seems

 

Everything is going as well as can be expected. We have booked our return flight back to Beijing for the 10th of Feb, but that could change depending on the situation at the time. 

 

Sunday

 

Did not do much in the morning, but after lunch I got in another workout. The rest of the day was spent playing mahjong with the family

 

[Mad Hatter]

17 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

My theory? Cardio is like relationships: The more effort you put into it, the easier it seems

Maybe a very abusive relationship.  

[WhiteGhost]

7 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Maybe a very abusive relationship.  

Definitely a one sided relationship

 

Monday

 

Did not work out today, but I did get out the pencils and try sketching a hand. It seems I have forgotten all I knew, but it felt good to be sketching again anyway. 

 

Listening to the news today has not put me in a good mood. Up until now, I considered the whole corona virus deal was more of an inconvenience than anything to really worry about. However, given the trends over the last 2 days, and the explosion that will surely come in five days when people start going back to work, I honestly don't know when we will be able to go back home. 

 

I miss Wraith

 

 

 

[Manarelle]

6 minutes ago, WhiteGhost said:

Definitely a one sided relationship

 

Love/ hate for sure. 

 

Glad to hear you guys are hanging in there. Too-long vacations can get real old, real fast; Being on a tropical island is probably less fun when you can't really go outside to play/ workout. Keeping my fingers crossed for you guys, hopefully you can (safely) go home soon. 

[Rookie]

53 minutes ago, WhiteGhost said:

Did not work out today, but I did get out the pencils and try sketching a hand. It seems I have forgotten all I knew, but it felt good to be sketching again anyway. 

I tried drawing noses yesterday... Noses are weird.

 

53 minutes ago, WhiteGhost said:

Listening to the news today has not put me in a good mood. Up until now, I considered the whole corona virus deal was more of an inconvenience than anything to really worry about. However, given the trends over the last 2 days, and the explosion that will surely come in five days when people start going back to work, I honestly don't know when we will be able to go back home. 

It has been crazy reading your last updates. I can't even imagine being concerned about going to the supermarket. We had one confirmed case 1-2hrs from me. My friend lives near there and they don't really have doctors offices so they have to go into the hospitals for general medical appointments. I told her I really hope she is going to cancel any she might have... not worth it. Especially since she would be taking 3 young'ens under the age of 4.

 

53 minutes ago, WhiteGhost said:

I miss Wraith

I'm sorry  

[WhiteGhost]

20 hours ago, Manarelle said:

 

Love/ hate for sure. 

 

Glad to hear you guys are hanging in there. Too-long vacations can get real old, real fast; Being on a tropical island is probably less fun when you can't really go outside to play/ workout. Keeping my fingers crossed for you guys, hopefully you can (safely) go home soon. 

It is tough not being able to enjoy the beach which is only a 15 minute walk away, but I can't really complain. The weather is great and we can keep the windows open 24 hours a day for ventilation. 

 

20 hours ago, Rookie said:

It has been crazy reading your last updates. I can't even imagine being concerned about going to the supermarket. We had one confirmed case 1-2hrs from me. My friend lives near there and they don't really have doctors offices so they have to go into the hospitals for general medical appointments. I told her I really hope she is going to cancel any she might have... not worth it. Especially since she would be taking 3 young'ens under the age of 4.

Yeah, a lot of people are saying if you don't have it when you go the hospital, you'll have it for sure when you leave. 

 

Tuesday

 

What a day it has been today. I could fall asleep last night so Ghostess and I ended staying up until about 2 discussing the news and the current situation. About then, some idiots decided they were going to have some fun and set off a bunch of firecrackers. Apparently that want enough because they came back and set off some more around 4. 

 

I woke up around 8 because there is a guy who walks around the complex practicing his singing (mostly scales, 3rds and 5ths, progressing up and down) as loud as he can and he usually walks past our building around 8. I went back to sleep but got woken up around 9:30 when The Sax Man came out to play. 

 

Had some breakfast and played around on my phone until lunch. After lunch I was going to do some drawing but just as we were fi;ishing we got a notice from the building management that someone from our complex was confirmed to have come down with nCoV. Do you remember a while ago I said that the management office and police had confirmed that we didn't have anyone from Wuhan living in our complex. The guy that was confirmed was from Wuhan... 

 

Worried that we would get put on lockdown indefinitely, Ghostess and I rushed out to the supermarket across the street to make sure we would have enough supplies. I think you all would be interested to hear about how this happens:

 

First we put on our fake surgical masks* and then put on a proper one over the top. Then we put on latex surgical gloves and head out the door to change into our outdoor shoes. Once we have our gear on, we walk out of the complex and across the street to the supermarket. No issues in the market and we are able to get everything we need. We don't want to use plastic bags so we put down a deposit and just brought our stuff home in the shopping cart. When we get back to the complex we were informed that the complex was now closed and only residents could come in. After showing our resident cards we were directed to the North Gate, which is the only gate through which anyone can now enter or leave. We pushed the cart around to the North Gate (We live by the South Gate) and again have to show our cards and have our temperature taken before we can come in. When we get back to our building, we bring the shopping cart up and park but in front of the door and go stand at the end of the hallway while the in-laws come out and unload the groceries. Once they are done, I head back out to return the shopping cart while Ghostess goes through our decontamination process. When I get back the grocery store, they have begun taking temperatures before allowing anyone in (they weren't doing this before so apparently they had received notification about our complex)  and I went in to return the cart and get my deposit back. When I got back home, it was my turn for the decontamination process which consists of first removing and disposing of the gloves and masks in a seperate garbage bag we have stashed at the end of the hall.  I change back to my inside slippers and then go directly to the washing machine, throw in my clothes and then head to the bathroom. Once there gargle some saltwater and then use a cotton swab to swab the inside of my nose with saltwater, followed by a shower as hot as I can stand. While I am in the shower, Ghostess runs the laundry with a disinfecting soap. 

 

After I get out if the shower I discover that there is another suspected case in our complex but the word right now is that this one is probably negative. We aren't taking any chances though and assume that our complex is completely compromised. I now feel completely justified on our recent paranoia. Dinner and the subsequent playing of mahjong was uneventful. 

 

 * Apparently the Chinese government has purchased up all existing supplies of masks worldwide and even has massive backlog orders with the manufacturers. Ghostess has been furiously buying up whatever she can for her employees and ultimately had to import them from Korea, Brazil, and Eastern Europe. Even so, there are still some masks that are available for purchase and the news was reporting last night that all of the ones on the market now are fakes that do absolutely nothing to prevent the spread of the disease and how to identify them. I wish I could be surprised at the depravity some people will engage in to make a buck, but after living here this long I don't think there is anything that would surprise me now

 

[shaar]

Holy SHIT, dude.  That is intense.  I'm so so sorry you're having to deal with all of this... I am glad to hear though that you guys seem to be doing the right things/protocols and are staying healthy!  That whole situation must be so stressful. :[

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

5 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

 * Apparently the Chinese government has purchased up all existing supplies of masks worldwide and even has massive backlog orders with the manufacturers.

FWIW I haven't heard anything about mask shortages at the hospital but that may just mean it hasn't affected us yet.

[Mad Hatter]

11 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

FWIW I haven't heard anything about mask shortages at the hospital but that may just mean it hasn't affected us yet.

You might notice it more if the entire population started buying masks!

 

This is all kinds of crazy.

[Sloth the Enduring]

Holy crap. What a dystopic nightmare.

[WhiteGhost]

22 hours ago, loire said:

Holy SHIT, dude.  That is intense.  I'm so so sorry you're having to deal with all of this... I am glad to hear though that you guys seem to be doing the right things/protocols and are staying healthy!  That whole situation must be so stressful. :[

I guess on the bright side, every day is so exciting it makes the normal news look dull... 

 

21 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

FWIW I haven't heard anything about mask shortages at the hospital but that may just mean it hasn't affected us yet.

I hope it never does

 

21 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

You might notice it more if the entire population started buying masks!

 

This is all kinds of crazy.

Yeah, other countries have realized it may not go well if they have exported their entire supply and they end up needing them, so most countries have banned exports of masks. Luckily most of the one Ghostess bought got through before the embargos. 

 

14 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

Holy crap. What a dystopic nightmare.

The old curse "may you live in interesting times" seems a little too on the nose right now... 

 

Today was another day, much like the previous ones. It even came in the right order, just after yesterday and right before tomorrow. I like it when it does that

 

I didn't do a whole lot, but I did some things. I wanted to learn how to cook Kung Pao Chicken so Ghostess showed me how today, along with how to stir fry what they call here "Dutch Beans".   I think they look suspiciously like peas, but I have been told in no uncertain terms that they are not.   Perhaps @sarakingdomknows, she seems to be quite well versed in all things vegetable. 

 

 

 

I also finished reading "Making Money" and it was great. It definitely deserves another read through at some point. For now I have moved on and am reading "Wyrd Sisters", which is also great. Pratchett seems just right for my mood these days.

 

I read Orwell's 1984 last year and I find it very lacking. Some suggest his descriptions of the surveillance and data gathering capabilities were somewhat over the top. In fact, they don't come anywhere close the current reality. Today we got a call from some authority or other asking how we were feeling. Apparently the vehicle we rode in from the airport was the same one used by the family that was recently diagnosed from our complex. That information alone is scary enough, but thinking about they were able to know that and contact us about it is equally so 

 

Also, based on big data analytics from credit cards and travel operators, they estimate about 10 million people left Beijing for the holidays but so far only 2 million have returned. Apparently there is a huge wave looming and I fear what will come in its wake. 

 

[Mad Hatter]

I know them as mange tout. But they’re peas.

 

4 minutes ago, WhiteGhost said:

That information alone is scary enough, but thinking about they were able to know that and contact us about it is equally so 

Somehow the latter disturbs me much more...