My Pandemic: “How I Survived the Global Pandemic”

By Michael Faul

An overpaid, underworked Silicon Valley engineer with too much time and money goes overboard while surviving the Global Pandemic of 2020, 'My Pandemic,' follows David through his daily journal entries as he discovers his place in the new world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9781312814806

Book preview

Day 2

The struggle is real, folks. At least, I hope there are folks left out there.

The food supply is still strong. I am running low on BBQ sauce, though. I should have planned that better.

The Garden is growing strong. I should have fresh veggies in about 60-90 days. I hope I can make the frozen veggies last.

This morning I looked out the front door and saw many small dirty children running rampant in the street. I don't know if they have parents, but I'll wait a day or two before I go out to find out. They might be walkers, although they move much faster than I expected.

Just cut the neighbors overhanging branches off their tree today, so I have a good stockpile of firewood. There are many squirrels in that tree, so tomorrow, I plan on trapping a bunch of them to have fresh meat. Maybe cutting those branches drew the children to my position.

The power is still on, and I have made significant progress getting the old ham radio going. I'll start my transmissions as soon as I get it powered up.

I'm down to the last orange off my tree. I will have to find a way to get to the neighbor's house, three houses down the street, without those kids seeing me. They have a ton of fruit on their tree.

Netflix was acting up last night - it kept slowing down in the middle of movies. I'm stuck watching foreign stuff with subtitles. I could try Amazon Prime Video or Hulu if Netflix stops working or I run out of content.

Tomorrow I might pack up some gear and venture out to where the Safeway used to be. Some canned stuff might be there if it hasn't been overgrown or burned down. I've heard that the odd can rolls under the shelving when places get looted. There used to be a Jamba Juice there too. There might be some frozen juices in there still.

I almost forgot. Last night when I was eating my beans and weenies with a glass of 1985 Opus One, the dogs were looking at me strangely - a bit too much drool than usual. I hope they are okay.

It's a struggle. And it's real.

That's it for today.

Stay safe.

Day 3

I started patrolling the neighborhood this morning. I saw a couple of walkers out. Luckily I could distance myself, and they didn't see me. It's like they were oblivious to me being there.

The weirdest thing today was a couple of Teslas driving by. It must have been stuck in autopilot mode. I suspect they will run out of electricity soon and stop in the middle of the road. If I can find one, I might be able to get the walker out and then charge it up with my portable generator. I have enough solar power on my roof that I should be able to keep it charged up when the gas and diesel supply runs out.

I'll keep up my patrol of the 'hood daily. But it seems like an eternity since I have interacted with people.

The dogs are acting strange. All they do is lay around the house. Before, when I came home, they would be excited and freak out anytime I returned. Their fur is all over the place. What the hell? I've never seen as much dog fur on the floors. I'll have to try and figure out what is causing this. Maybe the BBQ sauce.

Last night I went to the gas station to see if I could siphon diesel from the tank. Luckily, the pumps were still running, and they accepted my credit card. I'll keep going there as long as the power is on and my Amex platinum card keeps working. It was eerily quiet. I suspect that the attendant is a walker too. He stood there looking at me through the glass window, waving his hands. At least he is stuck inside.

I woke up last night hearing a strange sound in the house—Bang, bang, rrrrrrrr, bang. I quietly got out of bed, grabbed the AR, and went downstairs. The sound got louder as I approached the bottom step. The laser on my weapon pierced through the dust, speckled darkness; I slowly reached for the light switch. Bright light temporarily blinded me, and I heard it again as I adjusted my eyes. It was coming from the pantry door. When I opened the door, I found the fucking Roomba stuck between the wall and the rice stockpile. It was not only stuck but was full of dog hair. I turned it off and told Alexa to remind me to clean it and change the schedule in the morning.

I fixed the Roomba problem today. Man, that scared the shit out of me last night.

I was a little worried today when I didn't see my wife anywhere in the house. A quick search found her still asleep in bed. Phew!

I did my daily inventory. Stockpiles of whiskey are running low. Ammo, food, and the wine cellar are all good. 

Netflix was wonky today. I had to go through the whole signup process to get HBOGO working. My Tivo doesn't support HBOGo, so I used the built-in app on my 80" Samsung Ultra HD TV. In a couple of days, I might see if I can break into BestBuy to find a newer model Tivo. 

It's my birthday – breaking into the Jameson stash today.

The struggle is real, folks. 

If you are out there, stay safe.

Day 4

The days are streaming into each other. My sleep schedule is getting weird. I'm going to bed much later and getting up much earlier. 

I got the Ham radio working, and it seems like other people are out there. I hear a lot of chatter, but I think it is safer to listen for a few days before I let anyone know I am here. I don't want to give anyone any ideas about my location. I'll find out more about their intentions first. 

I think my neighbor across the street is a walker now too. Saw her staring out a window last night. I almost thought she was waving at me. I'll look when I start my patrol tomorrow or the next day.

I fired up the sauna today. It is incredible what a good hot sauna can do for your morale. Maybe tomorrow I'll get the swimming pool ready, and then I can do a sauna & cold plunge until the weather warms up enough to swim.

I made a startling discovery today. One of the doors upstairs was closed. I thought I had left them all open. When I looked inside, I found my daughter sitting on her bed. She looked slightly off, so I carefully closed the door without disturbing her. I put a fishing line across the doorway and hung a few empty Roland Escargot cans. That should give me a warning if, for some reason, she comes out. 

Same routine again today. Patrol the neighborhood, inventory supplies, etc. I am running low on the Nespresso pods. I will have to cut my rations of coffee to three cups a day. I think someone else is using it all. We will have to number each pod to make sure.

Alexa reminded me to fix the Roomba. It turns out that all the dog hair on the floor was because the Roomba had gotten itself wedged in the cupboard last night and somehow had pushed the door closed. It was jammed full of dog hair. I asked Alexa to set up some alerts to remind me to clean it more often.

I spent the rest of the day out in the Garden. I still need to figure out how to get to the neighbor's orange tree.

Is anyone reading this? If you are the ones talking on the radio, let me know. It would be great to talk to someone.

The struggle is real. 

I am missing everyone. Stay safe.

Day 4

The days are streaming into each other. My sleep schedule is getting weird. I'm going to bed much later and getting up much earlier. 

I got the Ham radio working, and it seems like other people are out there. I hear a lot of chatter, but I think it is safer to listen for a few days before I let anyone know I am here. I don't want to give anyone any ideas about my location. I'll find out more about their intentions first. 

I think my neighbor across the street is a walker now too. Saw her staring out a window last night. I almost thought