Swine Flu

I think the Swine flu has officially taken over the World.

Our office has officially been raised to 'level 3,' which consists of additional daytime cleaners who do a sweep of the office around lunchtime to address any 'hot stops' that may need attention, new antibacterial soap in the bathroom (umm not sure what the soap in there was before) and automatic sanitizer dispensers every 15 feet. It always baffles me when I see someone bypass the sink in the bathroom after using the toilet and reach their hands under the dispenser. Isn't this type of waterless-sanitizer for those times when you get get to a sink and soap? I really just don't get it.

This is all in the midst of my co-workers being 'diagnosed' with the Swiney. Seeing as she was due to a party of mine in a couple of days, I was rather happy to have her quarantined to her apartment, though the level of alert and anxiety seemed to grow knowing that she had been swaggering around with the Swine only a few days prior. Those in the immediate vacinity of her desk seemed especially agitated.

The first few weeks of the outbreak, the gym was a ghost town. I really came to appreciate it because you didn't have to wait for machines and the level of stench was down a notch or two given less sweaty-ass people in the small space (see ymca post for additional clarity on this subject). Then today I'm working out when I see a man coming through inspecting the 'cleanliness' of the cardio room followed by an old woman with a bucket of soapy water, sopping down each machine down. Apparently this isn't good enough for some of the members, as I am working out behind a woman who is on the stairmaster with 20 strips of paper towels hanging over the handle. Every time she changes her position on the handles, she grabs a new piece and places it between her hands and the machine. After 20 minutes she had a pile of sweaty paper towels piled up on either side of her. I was half expecting her to bust out a mask. She wasn't Asian though.

Recently they updated Swiney from an epidemic to a pandemic? Is that right? I don't feel like Googling it but I think that's right. At any rate -- it seems to really be sweeping the World. So watch out folks -- and don't forget to sanitize. Though if you're near a sink with soap, do yourself a favor and just WASH YOUR GODDAMN HANDS!