Day - 1367

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Today went quickly.  And it was a lot of fun.  The Bham gang had a really enjoyable happy hour starting at 3 p.m.  Everyone was there.  By there, I mean Zoom Video.  It was great seeing everyone.  We chatted and hung out until 4:30, when Neal, Karin, Ron and Jeni's D&D game was about to begin.

Zoom Happy Hour - Jeni's photo

Afterward, I Face Timed Brenda Arend, and later in the evening after dinner, played JackBoxTV with them for an hour before bed.  It's fun interacting with people online.  For the next two months, it's our immediate present.

Alice and I completed our second meditation this morning.  Peaceful and pleasant.

Many tasks to take care of tomorrow:

1. Read Grandudes w/ notes
2. Begin Pachinko, book I'm reading for book club with mom and Chris
3. Begin Self-Made NetFlix mini-series, movie club with mom and Chris
4. Read SeekingAlpha articles, overview of portfolio

New Coronavirus video from Chris Martensen:

Great info on sterilizing masks.  Chris has been on top of mask wearing from the beginning.  Such great information on his youtubes.  I appreciate him so much!

Day - 1368

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Made cinnamon rolls today.  So good!

They were just as good as bakery cinnamon rolls.  So good.  The recipe is here:

Alice wanted to begin a 21-day mediation program.  So we started with Day 1 today.  It lasts 15 minutes.  I don't tend to meditate, but I do see the advantages.  It's a good thing to do every day.

What will the markets do next week?  I'm sensing another big drop soon.  This shutdown is going to be historic in terms of tripping up the economy.  I don't know how we get out of this one.

Day - 1369

Friday, March 27, 2020

Day - 1370

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Day - 1371

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Prince Charles has Covid-19.  This thing is everywhere, in every community, every network.  But as far as I know, it's not here in my apartment or in Alice's house.  We're safe so far.  I haven't been to a store in over a week.  The only time I go outside is to move garbage cans to the curb or do laundry.  I can manage an inside routine indefinitely, so it's not really a problem, but I do miss not going down the street for lattes and pastries.

I watched five episodes of The Morning Show after dinner tonight.  I like this show.  I like the realism of the drama and chaos.  I loved the fight between Alex and her daughter inside her daughter's dorm room.  That felt real.  I like watching Billy Crudup play this smart, smarmy sociopath.  Lots of good things going on in this show.

So many things to do.  I'm reading too many books at one time.  

Day - 1372

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

I had a training session to give this morning for the Center ladies, Best Authority and all its hidden secrets.  The connection went out twice, which was frustrating, but at least I gave them all the info they needed.  As our shelter in place becomes the norm, I'm finding myself listening to less and less of the news.  It's the same story each day, only with larger numbers.  The lack of preparation and lack of supplies are surprising on one hand, but also how this country rolls.  When you look back in history, we've always been caught off guard and scrambling at the beginning of events.  Things get better once we get things going.

We made pizzas for dinner with homemade dough and pizza sauce.  We made three pizza total.  I thought there'd be leftovers.  Wrong.  We ate every slice.  These zzas were delicious!  I think our favorite was the pesto pizza.  So good. 

I headed back to Oakland around 8:30.  I'll stay a few days, work and write and read and practice violin and organize.  There's certainly plenty to do with so much time on my hands.  

Day - 1373

Monday, March 23, 2020

Another week at work from home.  I was given permission to visit the office this morning to pick up my personal laptop, web cam, thumb drive, a few books, and my headphones.  Alice drove me.  The office was a ghost town.  No one was there.  It was like a scene from one of those end of days movies where only a handful of folks survive.

The coronavirus is all anyone can talk about.  Congress is gearing up to pass a 2 trillion dollar stimulus package.  2 trillion.  Wow.  Printing more money. 

I get my daily cornavirus update from Chris Martensen six days a week.  From the beginning, he's been a great resource.

Today went quickly.  In the evening, I watched the first episode of The Morning Show on Apple TV.  Alice has a one-year subscription with her new Apple device.  Pilot is very good.  I'm looking forward to watching it.

Day - 1374

Sunday, March 22, 2020

A quiet, sunny Sunday in which I read a few pages of Warren Buffett's Interpreting Financial Statements, along with Stony the Road by Henry Louis Gates.  I texted, checked in with the family, and hung out with Alice in the back yard, soaking in a few extra moments of sunshine before the coming rain.  I didn't spend too much time online reading the news because, really why bother.  The news is just like yesterday, only more so. 

My a yummy lemon cake with only five ingredients:  almond flour, salt, sugar, and lemon zest.  It was really good. Even Austin liked it.

Day - 1375

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Back in San Francisco today, baking bread, eating bread, making tacos, eating tacos, reading the books I have and old scripts like Grandudes, which I hadn't read in a decade and holds up very well.  Chris and I will revise it to today.  I see lots of possibilities with the Grandudes, especially now that high schoolers today are more distinct than ever.  The typical high school movie of my generation just feels different now, perhaps because the times are so different.  Rather than graduating high school in the late 50s, then can come from the late 60s, which has it's own form and iconic details.

Little if any news today.  Everyone needs a break once in a while.

Day - 1376

Friday, March 20, 2020

After dinner, I looked over the latest articles and reports in the New York Times and Washington Post, and actually had to stop reading them because they were too dire, too real, too depressing, too full of doom and gloom.  Chris Face Timed just as I was turning off the apps, and it was perfect timing to connect with a face I know, even though he's more than a thousand miles away.  We're all caught in the crazy reel of one very weird scifi film where the danger is out there, but doesn't seem too dangerous, but is when you read reports, see YouTubes from Italian hospitals, and watch the numbers exponentially grow by the day.  It's like a movie from the '50s with no budget for special effects, one of those psychological thrillers that keeps most people off the streets.  Some people still go for walks around the lake, order lattes and go shopping in the afternoon. Not me.  I'm all in with the shelter in place for the next two months.  No need to risk it.  No lattes.  No walks around the lake.  None of that.  Just here in Oakland reading, writing, thinking, watching, working, and at Alice's reading, writing, talking, making yummy food, and hanging with my sweet adorable wife. 

We had a firm meeting online today.  Our managing partner Andrew mentioned to everyone that back in 2008 Hanson Bridgett didn't lay off a single employee during the recession, and today they aren't planning to lay anyone off as well, assuming this will only last two months or so.  Even those workers who cannot work from home but cannot work in the office will receive full pay and no fear that their jobs will be gone.  That's pretty amazing. There were a few questions people had, including mine about stopping by the office to pick up additional equipment (web cam, thumb mouse, my personal laptop, books from work, etc., ... I can schedule a pick up time and go to the office on Monday).

In the evening, I watched a few YouTubes about today's news, and also watched Trump's press conference, in particular the questions he was asked, and his answers.  By now, everyone had everything they need to know about this man, his limitations, his dysfunctions, his narcissism, his ability to ignore reality and create his own.  He's a type, a predictable tool with maybe twenty or so standard phrases he uses to explain everything.  We all know what they are because he says them every day.  Let's all hope that by November he will be rendered to history and to future generations to judge.  Was he worse that I'd imagined?  No, he was exactly what I'd imagined, though I'm relieved he's less capable of strategic thought than I'd imagined. He's simply out to protect the Id, the Trump ego, that's all.  Nothing more than that, which in a way, is our saving grace.

Day - 1377

Thursday, March 19, 2020

There's talk of a temporary hopeful drug, chloroquine, that might help stop the more sinister effects of the coronavirus.  We shall see.

The numbers continue to rise.  I'm keeping track of the numbers from Italy, UK, US and CA on an Excel spreadsheet.  They continue to double every 3-4 days and look to increase by a factor of ten every two weeks.

I watch the news, read, take on a few tasks, work when a job comes in, read some more, then watch the news again.  It's difficult to take it all in when everything happening and changing and deteriorating so quickly.

I listen to Chris's podcast every day for a daily briefing.  He's so good.  I don't know how he does it.  We'll see what the results are for this promising miracle malaria drug that is supposed to manage the coronavirus.

Later in the evening, I watched a movie on Netflix.

Great effects.  The story was all right.  Went to bed around 11 or so, then up at 2.  Watched news an hour, then back to bed.

Day - 1378

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Very good discussion on Chris's YouTube channel with Dr. Peter Boghossian, professor at Portland State University and author of "How To Have Impossible Conversations."  I like the tip of asking, "What would need to happen in order for you to change your mind?"

The numbers continue to climb and our world has changed so drastically so quickly that it doesn't even seem real.  Staying at home and doing my thing is something of a default, but being forced to do that day in day out for the next two months is Twilight Zone surreal.  I'll get things done and keep things clean, but it's unnerving to know how everything will play out.  It seems apparent the country is not prepared for this, and no surprise the Trump Administration flounders daily with mixed messages and constant chaos.  That won't change.  It's only a matter of time before Orange Mussolini says something so outrageous and inappropriate for the times that even his most loyal defenders can't defend.  The sooner he's gone the better.

I'm doing nothing with my 401k portfolio but I am studying good deals that should return handsomely down the road.  I'm glad to see the consequences of stock buy backs of companies that are now asking for bailouts are being called out big time.  I watched this 20-minute piece on Boeing before bed.  So sad to see this once impeccable company fall prey to Wall Street greed.

Had a great chat with mom today, and Dorian.  Work was steady but not too bad.  Work is never too bad when I'm working at home.  I'm so lucky that I'm with a firm that has us all set up. Lots of silver linings in this otherwise unsettling time.

Make a big pot of chicken stew, which I ate throughout the day.  Picked up a Starbuck's mocha in the afternoon.

Alice wanted me to talk with Austin about seeing Hannah.  So I did.  I told him he and Hannah had to come up with a plan over the next two months that didn't jeopardize Alice's and my shelter in place isolation.  He wasn't able to go back and forth from our place to Hannah's and back again, because there's no way to monitor Hannah's family.  So either he won't see her for two months, or he'll have to stay with her at her house for a few weeks without anyone in Hannah's family seeing anyone else.  I'm not sure if he got it, but at least it was said.

I have my books and many manuscripts to keep me occupied.  So much to do, and so many companies to study, so I'm okay.   

Day - 1379

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Up at 7, showered and ready for another day of work in the Sunset.  I had a few jobs that took about two hours or so.  Other than that, it was watching the news, reading articles listening to blogs.  There's not enough time in the day to listen to and watch everything.

After dinner, I headed back to Oakland for a few days.  I brought the garbage cans downstairs, unpacked some things and then watched a movie Nicole's been asking me to watch all week:

Good movie.  I didn't know Steven Soderbergh directed.  I enjoyed it.  Many of the details are spot on.

Day - 1380

Monday, March 16, 2020

Up at 7 a.m. and working from the dining room table at 8:30 a.m.  I have my work laptop set up, Jabber, and my Surface pro as a second monitor.  It works just fine.  Since this is the official first day of everyone in the firm working from home, some folks who haven't set up their home office yet are anxious and frustrated that they're unable to get what they need.  I've been on Jabber and WebEx to help walk secretaries and attorneys through small technical procedures.  Within a few days, it will be the new normal for the firm.  We're lucky that we migrated to a dynamic workforce last year.  Other firms are scrambling to get people to work from home, buying laptops and monitors and setup equipment.  I'm anticipating work will never be the same again after this is all over.

In the early afternoon, mayors from San Francisco, Oakland, and other Bay Area cities announced Shelter in Place Orders effective tomorrow for the entire Bay Area.  Everyone must stay home unless there's a necessary reason to leave (getting groceries, supplies, working as an essential worker, etc.).  Eventually, all big areas will shut down.

We stayed home all day, but did go out to the beach for 30 minutes to soak in the sun and enjoy the clear weather.  This global pause we're experiencing, which will likely last two or three months, will change us all.  We'll adapt because that's what humans do, but for some it will be challenging.  The markets will adapt as well, and perhaps we'll adjust more together the good side of human nature, rather than the selfish, greedy impulses of our nature, which always gets more press and attention.  Already with the Trump Administration, there's been a forced shift away from the economic crisis in favor of the health crisis we're in.  This is a health crisis after all, but with our obsession with the markets and money and business, Trump and his minions have been glued to the falling markets and repercussions of having everything shut down from mid-March through June.  There will be a significant financial toll on so many small businesses and large businesses that are heavily leveraged.  If credit is available, it will at least be cheap to acquire.  I wish I understood more about the fake, illusory monetary system we're under and how the Fed can print print print endless money without facing any consequences.  Are we in for a real reckoning soon?  The Fed reduces the rates 1 point to close to zero, and the next day the Dow loses 2200 points.  Hmm.

Day - 1381

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Up at 5:30 a.m. to go to Safeway this morning for ingredients to tonight's dinner.  Wow.  Many shelves are bare.  The onions and potatoes...gone.  Rubbing alcohol...gone.  Dishwashing liquid...ah, about 12 or so bottles that were just stocked, so I grabbed one.  And a 12-roll of tp, which was also recently stocked.  The soup section...gone.  I've never seen grocery shelves so empty.

I treated myself to a Starbuck's mocha inside Safeway, then returned home to self-isolation.  I hopped on Facebook for the first time ever and shot out emails and texts.  I'll continue to do that throughout the day.  It's a good time to take a break, reflect on everything, catch up on things and connect with the peeps I care about.

Afternoon:

Face Timed with Jill and Chris, spoke with Kevin, and even connected with a few old friends on Facebook.  Things are getting very real very quickly.  It's all happening so fast.

This pic gives me pause:

I listened to the latest daily update from Chris Martensen:

He states infection is increasing by a factor of 10 every two weeks.  That means two weeks from now 1 million people will be infected with the coronavirus, and a month from now 10 million people will be infected.  That's mind blowing, but also the way exponential numbers work.

One great way to handle all the craziness is to eat and cook wonderful food.  We made a delicious lamb shank in red wine sauce with garlic mashed potatoes.  It was so good!  We'll be doing that a lot this month and April.

Day - 1382

Saturday, March 14, 2020

Packed up and drove into SF this morning.  There was an accident on I-580 toward the Bay Bridge, so it took an hour to get there.  Once at Alice's I stayed put, setting up my laptops on the dining table and absorbing news and more news.  It's going to get bad.  It's already bad, but it's going to get worse.  I Face Timed with family and talked with Nicole on the phone.  We're fully stocked with food and supplies.  Alice has cancelled her Airbnb guests through March and April.  Good thing I like to read.

Day - 1383

Friday, March 13, 2020

The markets are recovering today after a total beating yesterday, down 2k points.  Brutal.  The new normal sure impacts everything.  I'm not even looking at my portfolio this week.  Why torture myself.

I left the apartment today to get quarters for laundry.  The parking lot at Trader Joe's was completely full at 2 p.m. with a line all the way down the on ramp.  Insane.  Picked up quarters and nothing else.  Managed to complete two loads of laundry and clean a bit while working.  Ended up being busy in the late afternoon.  I can see working from home being the new normal going forward. I can see the next two months really changing so many things.  I'm ready for it.  Change is good!

The coronavirus continues to play its course.  Really enjoyed Chris Martensen's YouTube today:

Day - 1384

Thursday, March 12, 2020

Home today, working and cleaning and updating blogs, etc.  As the world adjusts to the new normal, I'm pretty much doing what I've been doing the past two weeks, watching the news, listening to my coronavirus updates...

...and checking in with family.  I was hoping to catch up on more blogs and begin updating my Twitter account, but after dinner I crashed and veged in front of the TV before falling asleep before 9.

Day - 1385

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Final day in Los Angeles.  I met Neil Bason for breakfast at 7 a.m. at the Corner Bakery Cafe next to HB.  We caught up for an hour or so.  He's now engaged to Karin.  He proposed on Valentine's Day.  Karin isn't divorced yet.  She's been separated for four-five years.  I asked why she and her ex weren't divorced, and of course the reason was complicated.  How could it not be complicated.  Karin's step-father is handling her divorce, but also representing her ex.  Huh?  I didn't probe too deeply.  No one has met Karin yet, though Neil is hoping we'll meet her this summer.  We'll see.  It's hard to plan for anything until the pandemic calms down.

After breakfast, I went to HB for a couple of hours to go over yesterday's training talking points, then packed up and headed back home.  My flight out of Burbank was at 2:40 p.m.  There may have been 15 people on board.

It was so good to be home.  Now, for the foreseeable future, I'll be practicing social distancing, the new term we'll all adopted.  I sent a text to Chris, our assistant conductor of the Oakland Civic Orchestra, saying I would not be at rehearsal tonight, and in the afternoon our conductor Marty sent out an email to everyone saying rehearsals would be postponed until the corona emergency was over.  Then at work, an email was sent out telling employees to work from home, so now there's no reason to leave the house and apartment, except for food and supplies.

With cancellations of orchestra rehearsals and the new policy to work from home every day, today feels like a tipping point.  Today, the WHO officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic.  Covid-19 is all you hear on the news, and flattening the curve, a term I've been familiar with for a couple of weeks now, is now making its way to the main stream.

The podcasts I've been listening to are being echoed on major news programs.  Chris Martenson's blog is being listened to by 80,000 new listeners every day.  I've been listening to Chris's YouTube channel since mid-February.  Today's was excellent and informative.

Day - 1386

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Woke up early to the news.  Got ready and hobbled down to Starbuck's across the street.  I FaceTimed Alice before arriving at HB for the day.  Along with our trainer Deborah, I led a couple of training classes until noon.  That was fun.  The LA office is very nice.  The staff is upbeat and pleasant, and the office manager Joseph is really great.  Such a nice guy.  For lunch, I went to California Pizza Kitchen next to my hotel.  After one more afternoon session, I was free for the day.

I came home and listened to the latest Coronavirus YouTube podcast by Chris Martensen.

I met Arianne for dinner in Santa Monica at a place called Ingo's Tasty Diner.

It was so wonderful hanging out with her for a few hours, talking about life, her family, bad TV, etc.  What a treat!

Back at the hotel, I listened to primary vote returns.  Biden cannot be stopped.  The establishment has made its decision.  Biden won four of the five state primaries and is in a commanding lead.  He's just like John McCain in 2008.  I can see the election taking a back seat to the coronavirus emergency as things begin to heat up and hospitals are inundated.  I stayed up until 11:30 or so, then fell asleep with the TV on. 

Day - 1387

Monday, March 9, 2020

Worked in the morning and left for Los Angeles at noon today.  I was not excited to go at all, now that the coronavirus is consuming all of my thoughts whenever I go outside.  My Uber to the Oakland airport was a breeze and traffic inside the airport was nonexistent.  My flight to Burbank was easy.  I took Uber to the Intercontinental Hotel on Wilshire Blvd., about a 25 minute ride.  This hotel is beautiful.  From the ground floor of the hotel, I took the 70th floor to the lobby, then took the 54th floor to my room.  It is wonderful!  Every little detail has been thought of.  I love the Intercontinental.

I walked outside looking forward to a sushi meal at Sugarfish, but of all the restaurants on 7th Ave., it was the only one I placed that was full with a line out the door.  So I ended up having my first Chic-fil-A at a restaurant across the street from the hotel. 

I watched the news until midnight, including the latest coronavirus update:

Day - 1388

Sunday, March 8, 2020

Got a haircut at Ivy's in South San Francisco, then came over to Alice's.  I'm moving better, but still slow and still very sore. 

We headed to the East Bay for lunch, eating at Lin Jia (ordered won ton soup and eggplant curry...we were the only customers in the restaurant), then going to Leo and Louanne's for the afternoon. 

We came to celebrate cousin Kim's 59th birthday.  I'm not sure it was wise to visit with the virus swirling around.  It was on everyone's mind.  Leo and I talked about his trip to Gonzaga last week, and their trip to Hawaii and Mom's.  They met Rich for the first time and enjoyed his company. 

We stayed until 5 or so, then drove back to my place.  Alice drove home.  I leave for Los Angeles tomorrow, staying until Wednesday.  I have no desire to go anywhere right now. 

Day - 1389

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Day - 1390

Friday, March 6, 2020

Day - 1391

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Day - 1392

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Back at work but working from home the rest of the week.  My foot needs to heal a little faster by next Monday when I fly to LA to train the HB LA office on a few software programs.

Chapter Six (243 days Until the 2020 Election)

Tom Friedman is channeling his inner Risk player, asking all candidates to team up as one grand coalition to back a moderate centrist against the left wing of the Dem party (i.e. Bernie).  I agree with that.  Pick the Dem nominee quickly so that the dust can settle and Team Purple can prepare for the battle against Team Orange. 

Meanwhile, coverage of the coronavirus is starting to escalate.  Alice and I have been following this story since mid-January when the Chinese government had to directly deal with the outbreak in Wuhan by locking down the city and much of the country.  Between mid-January and now, I've been watching lots of videos online that do an excellent job of explaining the virus, the numbers behind the virus, and why the U.S. is so profoundly unprepared in handling the pandemic.  We watched six weeks without doing anything, and now the virus will spread throughout the country without preparations to slow down the progression.  This is really going to get ugly.

Day - 1393

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

I took another day off work.  My foot is very sore and I can't move around well.  Lisa took my ballot to the local polling location at 7:30.  Before she came over, at 6:30 a.m., I filled out my ballot.  I had no idea who to vote for, Bernie or Biden, Bernie or Biden.  Biden felt like such a non-vote, but Bernie seemed unelectable.  It was the most difficult voting decision I've ever had to make.  Finally, I voted with the kids and voted for Bernie.

Later in the day, when the numbers began to come out and it was clear that Biden was having a huge night, I was relieved.  Even though his mind isn't as sharp as Bernie, Joe Biden is at least well-liked and stands in stark contrast against Trump.  I think he's the more difficult opponent.

And clearly the DNC agrees.  What they orchestrated since South Carolina was impressed.  They managed to talk Mayor Pete and Amy Klobuchar out of the race before Super Tuesday.  That's really something.  From the 20+ candidates who ran for president, it was Joe all along who would win.  I don't see anyone stopping him after tonight.  It reminds me of John McCain in 2008, a campaign left for dead, then revived on Super Tuesday. 

Day - 1394

Monday, March 2, 2020

Day off.  Nothing but rest.

Day - 1395

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Stayed home and recovered today.  I ordered $100 worth of groceries at Safeway.com for the first time, using a $20 off coupon and free delivery through Door Dash.  Major success.  Very good and so convenient. 

I watched coronavirus videos and listened to politicians spin yesterday's results in South Carolina.  Yesterday was really something.  I didn't watch the returns right away.  I was too out of it.  

Day - 1396

Saturday, February 29, 2020

After 25 years of racquetball, I finally suffered a debilitating injury in the first round of the playoffs this morning in our club Doubles Tournament.  Kirk and I were playing Carlos and Roger and were down 4-14 in one game to 15.  Then we rattled off 9 points in-a-row, but at 13-14, I felt something in my left foot as if someone had kicked me from behind.  No one was around me, and then I knew something bad had happened, a tear or popped Achilles similar to what had happened to Kevin Durant last spring.  I stopped moving and was carried off the court.  My foot was not functioning so the game was over and I iced my foot for the next hour, wondering what to do and how bad the injury was.  I hobbled down to the showers and hobbled to lunch across the street, then hobbled to my car and managed to drive home, where I rested from sheer exhaustion after hopping around on one leg.  My working leg was now totally gone and my right hip was starting to ache.  Getting old never sucked so much as it did today.  I managed to get a time in the afternoon to see a doctor at Kaiser and took Lyft to and from the Broadway facility.  No Achilles rupture, thankfully, but most likely a severe tendon strain or tear.  I was issued a pair of crutches and had an ace bandage wrapped around my left foot.  I'll come in Monday to get the foot splint that was ordered for me.  Once I was back at home, I was couch bound for the rest of the day.  I iced my foot throughout the afternoon and evening.  Not fun.  I'll take tomorrow and most likely Tuesday off work to heal.  Curses.

Day - 1397

Friday, February 28, 2020

Had a nice evening with Richard, Lisa and Sophie at Mijori for dinner, then Dustbowl Revival at the Fillmore.

Dustbowl began at 10.  We stayed for half the show.  I had a racquetball tournament early in the a.m., so weren't able to stay much longer after 11.  In bed by 11:30.