March 31, 2020 - Tuesday. Week Two: Dispatches from SIP. Shoppers report: Costco.

In this Age of Sequestering, we are trying to take turns going out for supplies. With three adults hunkering down at the house, it's not so bad. If each of us goes out once during the week,  most of our bases are covered with each person only having to venture into the contact-possible zones once.  Anyway, that's the plan.

It was my turn for the big run, so I went to Costco in Novato to stock up for a few weeks. Pretty organized, I thought; it felt fairly secure. The parking lots looked to be about a quarter full. If that. And sure, a goodly line to get in,  but everyone was patient, sticking to their square of sidewalk, with one full square between each of us. Therefore, the line was long in term of distance - along the whole huge warehouse, around the corner, past the auto shop and out almost to the back access road - but short in terms of the number of people waiting, maybe 30 to 40 folks standing about 8 feet apart. Plenty of people wearing masks.  I felt socially irresponsible, only carrying wipes soaked in rubbing alcohol in one hand which I planned to use to wipe the handle of my cart. However, Costco employees were sanitizing the cart handles as they brought them back from the parking lots.

I jammed the wet, alcohol-fragrant wipe in my pocket. I thanked the young man at the door who was letting us in, ten or fifteen at a time. This made the line jump up quickly ... and then stop for a time, like some sort of erratic conga line.

There was a sign on an easel just inside the door noting what was available and what wasn't. Toilet paper was back in stock, though only one package at a time per customer. No ibuprofen right now, which had been sitting on my list since I learned that was the preferred pain med for the 'Rona. We'll see if we ever get any, as it seems to be out of stock everywhere, online, offline, IRL.

With only 100 shoppers in the cavernous store, customers could easily have an entire wide aisle to themselves.  It got tight around the meats and produce and in the frozen foods, but employees with wide white wipes were disinfecting the door handles along one side, then the other. Meanwhile, I was dipping my fingers into the alcohol-soaked wipe dampening my jacket pocket. I made it a point to only pick up what I was going to put in my cart. Which meant I - and everyone, I noticed - stared at things a lot, cocking our heads and necks, squinting to read ingredients written sideways or in tiny print along the bottom.

Coffee (two bags of French Roast, yes!),  crackers, sugars, some tri-tip, peanut butter pretzels, frozen fish, Annie's Mac N'Cheese. A few things for our neighbors across the street who shouldn't be going out to stores. Some little potatoes, onions. Rice. But no hands soaps to speak of. Well, perhaps in a few weeks.

Once I got to the check out stations, there wasn't much of a wait to get out. I had to hold my receipt up to be marked as I left the store, but otherwise, I exited with most of what I came for, plus a few extras, which was always the way of that place. And as long as we have coffee, I'm not worried about toilet paper.

And so here, we are, the end of Week Two. We got through it - and we already know we're in it for a much longer haul, until the first week of May, for sure.  But personally, I'd rather go long than go short on this particular play.