04/03/2020
Been a while so figured I'd give an update. Welp, looks like we're gonna be stuck Stateside for the foreseeable future. When the coronavirus outbreak hit fast and heavy and Canada and the US moved quickly to close the northern border, we were unable to escalate our emigration plans ahead of it. Originally, our departure was supposed to be April 24th (a date we set back in December), and I suppose it still is. But think everything will clear up and they'll reopen the border by then? We don't think so, either. So, we're stuck.
Michi was furloughed from her retail job a little over three weeks ago. At first, the company was going to keep her pay going, but after a week of that they decided against it until the (supposedly) 26th, so she's another of the 3+ million people out of work and out of pay. Still waiting on the documentation to begin the unemployment compensation process, and a good luck on that one since Ohio's UE system was never designed to handle this much of a crush of people.
As for me, I'm still pulling in my 40 at my work. Since my company was deemed an essential business, it's still open. But the activity in my department has slowed down so much, I can't help but wonder how much longer I can expect to keep coming in when I can finish everything and be done by lunch. We're getting no direction at all from the CEO; we're rather of the opinion that he's waiting to see what kind of a handout he can get from the Feds.
Our little Fuss-fuss is still as happy and entertaining a toddler as always, growing bigger and heavier and smarter and more independent by the day. While mommy and daddy worry about keeping pestilence out of our household, money in our bank account, and trying not to go insane with anxiety/exhaustion over it all (and with each other), he in his childhood innocence is completely oblivious to it all. Just wants to play and explore, especially outside now that the weather is finally turning.
Seeing how life is still pretty much same-old, same-old from my point of view, until I get furloughed time for new arts remains virtually nil. If my hours are cut, there's more than enough stuff to do around the house vis-a-vis housework, yardwork and work on Betty. On the latter especially I've had to scale back my spring pre-cruise-in continuous improvement initiatives that I do on that car every year. Whereas before I had plans on replacing her windshield or replacing her A/C compressor and restoring her ice-cold air, now looks like I'll be dropping that in favor of replacing her driver's door armrest, patching her front seat, restoring her body trim and sheet metal work since those materials are already in-hand and paid for. Somewhere in there will be new artwork and new cartoons. I am determined to see "April's Project" through to its conclusion.
Well, that's it for now. So far so good (and healthy and safe) with us. Hopefully all of you can be so as well. Laters! :-)
