Silver linings / good news thread

[Anselm]

Hey, is anyone else besides me dropping weight from the lack of the usual dining options? I am down about 10 lbs. since the start of the lock downs. 

The furry animals are invading the cities and reclaiming lost habitat.  Gasoline is cheap.  Children are getting more quality time with their parents.  Overworked people are getting a break.  New wars are being delayed.

[clean]

I noted a 5 pound drop in the Water Cooler thread.  After posting that, though, I ran out of the pre made salads I had been eating.  I had to revert to eating the other things in the house or ordered.  Im not saying that I didnt enjoy the grilled steak, mashed potatoes, and fried okra, or the Wingstop wings I ate Friday - Sunday, but my tummy regained some of the reduced bulk tonnage. 

I had a doctor's appointment (online for the first time) today.  It seems that my blood diagnostics like being away from the office!   My HDL numbers are genetically low, but I was near a lifetime high this draw!!  My LDL was also much lower than my usual numbers.  I think that those levels are related to the inability to eat french fries on the way to work And the reduction in stress caused by my coworkers or discussing the lunacy of the admincritters there. 

My retirement accounts were down well over $250K in March. I think that I have recovered 1/3 of that.  Maybe more.  So Im hoping that I will still be able to retire, IF I want to in about 5 years.  Im not sure I will want to (willingness), but I want to be ABLE to!

For the next few days Im hoping to get my next tests ready AND the final exams written.  Once those are behind me, I hope to be able to finish the research project I should have finished over Spring Break - before being redirected to online education. 

[ciao_yall]

Hey, is anyone else besides me dropping weight from the lack of the usual dining options? I am down about 10 lbs. since the start of the lock downs. 

The furry animals are invading the cities and reclaiming lost habitat.  Gasoline is cheap.  Children are getting more quality time with their parents.  Overworked people are getting a break.  New wars are being delayed.

Yes, I have lost a few pounds. Even with all the extra wine drinking....

[Wahoo Redux]

Los Angeles clear of smog.

[downer]

I'm up to 65 sit ups a day. Though not all at once!

[mahagonny]

I didn't spend even one minute looking for a parking space this week.

[AJ_Katz]

That meeting to Europe as one of the keynote speakers and the regional meeting that was going to be hosted by our department were both cancelled.  This is good news to me.  I am over-committed now and the project I had planned to talk on for the keynote talk is not as far along as I had hoped. 

My retirement funds were down 30% in mid-Feb and have rebounded to about half of that (so ~18% down) as of this week, so not nearly as bad as it was previously.  I'm still a couple of decades away from my target retirement. 

It's been 5 weeks since we last went to the grocery store, so I was eating very healthy for weeks 1 and 2, but then most of the "freshies" ran out.  I've been making a lot of bean-based soups, rice, and using frozen veggies.  We're going to the grocery store on Wednesday morning and hoping to stock up for another 5-week avoidance period.  I've been able to effortlessly maintain a 15 lbs weight loss achieved in Jan / Feb.  The last time we ate from a restaurant was 7 weeks ago -- neither of us like take-out / drive through and we are also want to avoid potential exposure to the virus.   We've been wanting to significantly reduce our eating out for a long time, so this is a good change.

[OneMoreYear]

Perhaps an obvious one, but:
My average weekly driving mileage prior to the stay-at-home order: 650 miles
My mileage from last week: 20 miles (groceries)

[Cheerful]

We're going to the grocery store on Wednesday morning and hoping to stock up for another 5-week avoidance period.

Please report back and let us know if you were able to buy enough food to last 5 weeks and if it is something more than canned veggies and rice.  Hope you can report good news! 
Otherwise, please post on one of the virus threads -- to stay on topic -- since this is the positive thread. : ) 

[Cheerful]

We're going to the grocery store on Wednesday morning and hoping to stock up for another 5-week avoidance period.

Please report back and let us know if you were able to buy enough food to last 5 weeks and if it is something more than canned veggies and rice.  Hope you can report good news! 
Otherwise, please post on one of the virus threads -- to stay on topic -- since this is the positive thread. : ) 

I just read my reply and it sounds like I might be suggesting you posted on the wrong thread.  I didn't mean that, sorry.  I missed the edit window, so second post here.

What I meant to say is that if the grocery experience ends up being less than great, I realize reporting back may not belong on this thread.  Bottom line: hope it's great.

[clean]

For what it is worth, I thought that the reply from Cheerful, was anything but!  It looked out of place to me on a thread that was for 'good news'.
I look forward to hearing that the grocery stores are full of food, and not overcrowded with people, but just enough people to make it seem like a comfy, cozy, happy, but healthy,  place full of social distancing practitioners!
AND I hope that you find a good sales price on the fresh veggies and meats that are there too! 

[Nightshade]

I was offered, and I accepted, a visiting position at a great school next year. While the TT didn't materialize as I had hoped, it is a relief to know I will continue to be employed and I can try for a permanent position again next year. It does mean a cross-country move, but I am excited to experience a new region of this vast country of ours.

[apl68]

I was offered, and I accepted, a visiting position at a great school next year. While the TT didn't materialize as I had hoped, it is a relief to know I will continue to be employed and I can try for a permanent position again next year. It does mean a cross-country move, but I am excited to experience a new region of this vast country of ours.

Congratulations!

[clean]

I was offered, and I accepted, a visiting position at a great school next year. While the TT didn't materialize as I had hoped, it is a relief to know I will continue to be employed and I can try for a permanent position again next year. It does mean a cross-country move, but I am excited to experience a new region of this vast country of ours.

Yee Haw!!

[Vkw10]

I was offered, and I accepted, a visiting position at a great school next year. While the TT didn't materialize as I had hoped, it is a relief to know I will continue to be employed and I can try for a permanent position again next year. It does mean a cross-country move, but I am excited to experience a new region of this vast country of ours.

Congratulations!