Excitement In the Time Of Viral Infections

Lulu, you just had treats! Lots of them! (Nope, totally not spoiling the purrincess…)

Yesterday, I decided to take a look around Walmart before I headed into work; it’s fairly obvious that people are panicking about the coronavirus. There’s no bleach in the building, disinfectant wipes have been picked over, the selection of rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide is extremely limited, disposable gloves are few and far between, and hand sanitizer is at a premium. People are freaking out over this, as I expected; it’s behavior I’ve seen before. This is what I was dealing with while living in the south during hurricane season. Whenever we were under a hurricane watch, every store in the area would be wiped clean of bottled water, milk(!), batteries, candles, bread, luncheon meat(!), duct tape, peanut butter, and the like. Not because people were doing the reasonable thing and buying what was needed; no, everyone was dumping entire displays into their carts. It looks like the same behavior here. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

On a whim, I looked through the clothing, the travel toiletries, suitcases. There were no long sleeved tee shirts to be found and the polos that were on the clothing racks were far too expensive for my tastes–I’m not paying over seven dollars for a work shirt, thank you–so that was disappointing. For a moment, I considered heading over to Women’s to take a look at the socks but then I remembered that I didn’t need to do that. I already have socks; I have the Transformer-themed socks that I picked up last year. Prime’s been teasing me as of late, asking when I’d consider wearing any of them and was I simply waiting for the next BotCon?

In this case, yes. Yes I am. I’ll wear them next year at BotCon. Because reasons. I just hope Dan stops by again so I can have a reason to dress in head to toe Bumblebee swag. 🙂

I found my Autobot cap and I’m in the process of rounding up all of my tees. I’m thinking of grabbing a couple of pairs of new jeans and possibly packing them away for the trip. I already have most of my toiletries but I am lacking some. But the groundwork has been laid. I’m just this side of prepared; I’m not at the “I can grab my bags and go” level but I’m very close. Even though the convention is well over a year away, I’m getting ready for it as if it’s happening this summer. And I can already feel the excitement building.

If I’m at the door and I murmur “BotCon” under my breath, I start to smile. When I see a suitcase, I immediately think of how long it may take me to ready and pack mine, of how long it would take for me to ready Prime’s. I wonder which shirts I should take, who might be invited as a guest, how many of my friends I’ll see. It’s over a year away but I can’t wait.

It’s only been four years since the last BotCon; I can’t help but be a little excited.