One of the good things for me during this time when most people are not at work, is the fact that my drive to and from work has been cut in half! I still would prefer to be working from home, but I work for a financial institution which is considered an essential business. I am one of three employees in my department who will be working on-site to perform our job functions as well as some other functions from other departments.
I will say it’s really strange not seeing many cars on the roads, empty parking lots, packed grocery stores, lines to get in to grocery stores, and empty restaurants. It is nice that most of the stores and restaurants have delivery and curbside pick-up available.
Right now, I am in a Marketing class as I am getting my MBA at Western Governors University. And, it’s a great time to be in marketing for any type of company, because they have to think quick of new ways to help the customers, sell products, and keep generating revenue. Last night, we got a delivery from a restaurant supply store; normally they don’t do that. Well, we will place another order from them for next week.
I am hoping that everything will be back to business as usual by the end of April.
The company I work for is taking care of all the employees by providing extra time off, free food in the cafeterias, and some extra pay for the employees who have to remain on-site.
Nina already works from home and her hours have decreased a little bit. My work hours remain steady at 40 hours a week and I am even doing a few extra hours a week for overtime. I am fortunate that my job brain can shut down at 4 pm and on the weekends. I can spend all that extra time with my family and I cherish that!
Just within the past few days, we got some extra money in the form an escrow check and we received a tax refund from the IRS. I am glad that the US government will be providing relief help in the form of additional money. We sure can use it to help pay off some debt, but will also stash most of it away.
And, like I mentioned, my company will be providing me some extra money on top of my salary and that should be coming in April and May. That is how I will buy myself a new laptop and I will probably keep my Acer Chromebook for Niko. Yesterday, I was showing him how to use a mouse and I downloaded a painting program so he can practice.
Nina has been ordering groceries to be delivered from a few different places so we are doing OK on food and toilet paper. And, even our parents have dropped of food and toilet paper for us.
Yesterday, I really wanted to take Niko for a quick drive just to get a cold drink and hot food from somewhere, but when we we getting ready to leave, Niko wanted absolutely no part of leaving the house. He screamed so loud! And, the screaming won as I wasn’t going to force a mad child in the car.
I did get him to calm down by enticing him to come help me in the backyard and he can bring a toy, drinks, and his iPad. He did help me a little bit and I had just enough time to finish mowing the backyard while he hung out on the porch.
When we finished, I asked him if he wanted to get a smoothie and his answer was yes. I even told him he could wear pajamas, but he wanted pants and a shirt. After I got him dressed, I got a very happy child in the car and we had smoothies from Kneaders and hot food from Freddy’s. Nina wanted me to bring her something to eat, but she never told me. I know what my wife likes and I liked seeing her happy face when I gave it to her a hamburger and fries! Happy wife, happy life!!
