@lostforgottensoul - Yeah,
@scout86 is right. Any soap. Try to not overthink it. The key is liberally using soap, any soap.
Washing hands 20 seconds also matters a lot, especially backs of hands and fingertips. Some sing the Happy Birthday song. I have memorized 20 second positive affirmation style mantras I say when washing my hands. I have also been taking deep breaths every time. I am hoping my brain begins to associate hand washing not with fear and anxiety, but a moment to calm.
Lesson learned today:
Just like the first release of software is usually the most buggy, the same appears to be extremely true for pandemic responses and management.
If attempting to access at the hour for immune compromised/disabled/elderly, it is better to wait until after the first day they do this.
I went to one store today, to try it out. They had something in stock that I needed fairly badly. My doc gave me a ridiculous amount of protective gear if I decided to go and told me to wait until there were no crowds. I went to a store that generally rarely has people. (Not even sure how it stays open other than being part of a huge chain.) I should have just asked a friend to go for me. There were no crowds this morning. Just two people. I decided to risk it. I had a note from my doc and a copy of the ad about the special hour, just in case. I went in, no issues, and midway through picking up the item, an employee came over and started yelling (wtf with all the yelling?! Calm the f down people, you can not scream the virus away!). She was yelling for me to GET OUT NOW. I asked why, and she explained I wasn’t a senior. She called me an asshole for even being there. How dare I. Holy moly... She didn't need to yell it. I pulled out the doc note that I’m immune compromised, and the store ad stating this hour included folks like me. I could barely even say it before she she indicated it didn’t matter, it was seniors only, not the immune compromised or disabled, and she was calling police. I walked to the front stuffing a panic attack, where the store manager happened to be standing by the door.
I told him I was leaving as requested, but asked to speak to him. He said sure, and I explained what happened and showed him the note and store ad. He said “I don’t know what’s going on I just got here.” He ended up letting me stay, said it was totally fine, that yes it was designed for folks like me as well... he even offered to have someone walk with me if needed, and I said no. I just needed to get in and out. When I went back in, the first woman followed me around glaring at me. The manager told her I was allowed in but she still followed me glaring and shaking her head. Moron. To get her to leave me alone, and to calm my nerves about her possibly screaming again, I held up my phone to video her following me, and she walked away out of sight with out a word. Problem solved. I got what I needed, but holy moly...
To top it off, one of the cashiers was rambling away loudly about how she just got checked for pink eye. I didn’t stay long enough to find out the results of her test. wtf wtf wtf... This is why this store is always empty!
If you can, I recommend going the second day when they have crap like this all figured out. Hopefully...
Flexibility is key. A young woman tried to walk in after me, was told to leave, and walked out in tears. I asked if she was ok... clearly not... I just couldn't walk by someone crying in the rain without saying something... She said they shamed her for trying to go in... I explained what happened to me, and that yeah, it's really hard. We chatted for a moment, at greater than the recommended distance, and we both lamented about how nothing is predictable anymore. Not even store hours. They had changed them overnight. Everything is changing. As we parted, she said something people say a lot around here now. "Stay safe."
"You too. Be well."
It's no longer "hello" or "goodbye" around here. It's "Are you ok?" and "Stay safe."
I know, store hours changing isn't the end of the world. In developing nations, this kind of constant changing can be ordinary life. It takes a different mindset to deal with than what most Americans are used to having... I find myself going back to my old ways of thinking and being when I worked for an NGO abroad, because it works. Surreal to do it in my city now.
We have had a huge spike in cases in town the past few days, and everyone is super jumpy here. Everyone from hospital workers to young college kids who stupidly partied last weekend testing positive and ending up in our now full ICU.
When I got home, I was so jumpy I startled myself with the sound of my front door opening. Thank you exaggerated startle reflex. Ugh.
I’m going to listen to myself better and follow my own advice to wait until things settle out before I engage any pandemic responses again. It worked to skip the grocery store panic buying rush before businesses closed down... by the time I needed groceries the store and city had that figured out, and when I drove up, someone went into the store to get items for me and I paid in the parking lot. At a safe distance. By the time they do these special hours again, they’ll likely have this sorted out too. People will adjust and settle into a new normal over time.
Last week, they had no bleach, Lysol, wipes, TP, etc, etc, anywhere in my city when everyone was freaking the f out. But today in my city, there was plenty in stock all over town today with every store rationing them so they don’t have a few people buy it all up. They are indeed figuring out how to navigate this novel virus and novel crisis experience.
Now if everyone could figure out how to calm down and stop screaming left and right, that would be nice. Sigh. My nerves...
