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Date:March 15th, 2020: The Ides of March

Time of Writing: 7:28 Pm.

Weather: Colder than yesterday.

Mental and Physical Health State: Running a low fever. Aches and pains and soreness worsened. Cough worsened. Hurts to hold in a breath for very long. Given that the other people in the place where I think I would have been most likely to contract Covid-19 don't have symptoms, I think this is just a separate cold. Moodwise, I'm doing alright.

Day Overview: Haven't done much today except be sick at home. That's what the next few weeks are going to be, effectively. My state has banned gatherings of more than 25 and people can't eat in restaurants and bars anymore. There's no reason to go outside and worsen the effectiveness of social distancing. Not only will this be a plague diary, it'll be a cabin fever diary. Wonderful. I took some Acetometaphine earlier, and it's going to be time for me to take more in an hour and a half from this writing. I don't really have much else to say. Dad went to the store for what is the last time in the foreseeable future today, the RMV that Mom works at is closed for the next couple days, I think. It feels like society is coming to a halt.

On My Mind: Let's say I don't have the disease. Honestly, I'd say at this point that this is most likely. If I'm this miserable with a bad cold, then how am I going to fare if I actually catch it? I need to practice ignoring my body's pain so that I can function normally in my house and not bother my family. I'm also thinking about what room I'd want as my quarantine zone. The living room is pretty nice, I can sleep on the couch just fine and this way Ari would get the room to himself. Good access to the television, and to video games. Anyone who needed to leave could do so through the back door in the kitchen. What if we get attacked by raiders? They'll decide it's not worth it if I cough on them! Or they'll just kill me. I don't think raiders are going to be a thing that happens unless this persists until May. I'm too weak to do that, but if I catch it and then it passes and I become immune, and the situation calls for it... I shouldn't be thinking about LARPing during a pandemic!!!

In other news, I'm incredibly hopeful about tonight's Democratic Debate. This is Bernie's time to shine; it's just him and Biden and the moderators. There hasn't been a lack of a live audience since the famous Kennedy and Nixon debate. Biden is going to be shown as infirm and incapable of handling the responsibilities of the presidency. Additionally, more people are going to tune in because they're stuck indoors. It's almost a perfect storm. The problem is that voter turnout is going to be low because of the virus, but hopefully that's just at risk populations (the elderly Biden voters) and young people show up and outnumber them.

I need to find a way to stay fit during this. Most of my exercise comes from taking walks, and I can't exactly do that now, can I? Hmm. If I feel well enough tomorrow, maybe I'll do some push-ups, jumping jacks, crunches, and stretches. I'm thinking like fifteen of each at least.

• Nail by Foetus (or as they were known at the time, Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel): Pulse-pounding industrial music perfect for the collapse of society. I got it off a chart of albums that are suggested for various flavors of the apocalypse. You can find that chart here, but it doesn't have a Global Pandemic section. I guess the closest would be Dystopia or Societal Collapse, but the Global Pandemic feels somewhat unique. Maybe I'll put together my own addition to the chart, another eight albums that fit the malaise and boredom of being trapped inside and social distancing. Anyway, though the lyrics on here are somewhat over the top, the sheer brutality of the metallic sounds and arrangements on this album (literally metallic, as in they're drumming on pipes and shit) sells the least bad ones. The instrumental interludes are nice but don't fit. It goes out on a nice note. Overall this gets an 8/10. If I was in more of a physical state to jump around to it, then maybe it'd be higher, hahaha.
• Sixteen Oceans by Four Tet: True to the name, this sounds incredibly aquatic. It's the same rough sonic palette as New Energy and, to a less extent, Morning/Evening, but it's definitely better defined than those - as in the confines that it operates within are better defined, which in this case is a slight drawback. This is very calming music. Good for calming the nerves in these times. They should play music like this in doctor's offices and stuff, to get people relaxed. Some of the tracks are dancier than others and won't fit that kind of environment, but others are just perfect for it. It's gonna take more time to marinate, but right now I'm also feeling an 8/10 with this one.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered developed by Raven Software, original by Infinity War: On the The Sins of the Father mission. Enjoying the campaign a lot so far.

Works Produced: I'm working on a list of works to read during the social distancing, like a bunch of recommendations, of stuff that is either too long to have time to consume otherwise or is vaguely topical. If you've got suggestions, send them my way. They can be literally anything!

Other Thoughts: Thank you for reading my blog. As you can see, I have given Yukko on the front page a face mask. This is to ensure that she does not contract the virus electronically as she welcomes guests to the website. I've considered moving her closer to the text so that she can be visible on mobile, but I'm not sure how to do that without blowing up everyone's feeds with a million site updates. I have followers with Neocities accounts now, which is exciting. Hello! Thank you for the follow! Welcome to the plague zone! I hope you stay tuned to the blog as, in my oncoming wave of stagnant milieu, I make updates to the site. They will likely be ill-advised, and break things. Be careful to not cut yourself on any broken glass.