No Problems…  So Far

Fortunately, there have been no business changes due to the current worldwide pandemic, not because SophSoft, Incorporated and Digital Gamecraft are essential producers, but primarily because the company has always been set up to work in this fashion.  I only work from home, and when there were more of us, everybody worked from home (or, at least, remotely).  Our active projects for outside clients always have been delivered digitally, so nothing changes there either.

In truth, in the midst of all sorts of upheaval, my personal situation is actually quite stable, for several reasons:

1. As noted above, I work from a home office, so (in theory) development work and company business do not change at all.  The only two analog functions that were regularly performed out of the office were banking and picking up the mail.
2. My world was turned upside down and my life completely torn apart a little over a year ago.  Compared to suddenly losing my wife, this current situation is a mere aggravation, but very minor when put into perspective.
3. Due to the above, I had already been adjusting to life (and work) alone here, so the solitude and loneliness were already something I was managing.  Of course, I do have two cats (plus a new stray on the porch), so that helps.
4. Perhaps to the surprise of some, I am very much an introvert and, for the most part, prefer to be at home.  My default stance is to not leave or go anywhere, so I no longer need to make an effort to be social (for a while).
5. I am quite healthy, and still relatively young, so I am not in a high risk group for hospitalization from COVID-19; nevertheless, I am taking as many precautions as practical.  Also, I got my “affairs in order” a while back, so I am not scared of being unprepared should I suddenly get sick or even die.

At this time, I have no known exposure and no symptoms; in fact, my body temperature has been running low ever since I started daily checks a couple of weeks ago.  I went to the grocery store today for the first time in more than a week (and only the third time since the pandemic was declared) and should be stocked for two more weeks.  Aside from that, I get fresh air and go walking outside, completely alone (and irregularly, it must be said) and otherwise have not gone anywhere (nor had take-out or delivered food) at all in the two weeks since Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed her “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order for the State of Michigan.

What annoys me right now (beyond those ignoring the recommendations and endangering us all, which registers fury with me) is the number of people who seem to be complaining about getting to stay home.  Because I was already close to self-quarantine before we had even heard of this coronavirus, I did not gain any significant quantity of extra time, and I never have enough time to do the things (at home) that I want to accomplish.  Now, some people have gained lots of excess time and talk about being bored.  Bored?  What is that?  Seriously…  I do not think that I have been bored at home in 30 years!

That said, productivity during this crisis has not been what I would have liked, although it has been getting better, with progress being made on all fronts.  I think that I may be dwelling too much on pandemic concerns, and that could be taking away some of my focus, all of which prompted me to write down my thoughts here.

It is my full and honest intention to make this the last COVID-19 related post for a while, and instead get back to product development and posting about other topics, all while maintaining the maximum practical physical separation from other people.