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The U.S. personal savings rate has jumped to 13.1%, the highest percentage value since November 1981. Of course, if GDP falls, it will be even higher. The 1981 recession was due to the Fed Reserve, at the time led by Paul Volcker, increasing the interest rate to fight inflation. In his letter to shareholders, Warren Buffet praised Jay Powell, the current Fed Chairman, profusely and said that he had always put Volcker on a pedestal, but that Powell's willingness to step into the market so early on had put him up there, close to the top of the pedestal.

This crisis is strange not just for the implications to our health, but also because, after we've intentionally inflicted the biggest beating to the economy since the Great Depression, the overall demeanor of people does not seem as desperate as during the subprime crisis. In my personal case, the only times in which I have felt sheer panic were when I had been walking the dog and people would strike a conversation and start to get close.

As soon as someone looked my way and smiled, I could feel the beginning of an anxiety attack. I was taken back to my childhood, when I would walk outside and pray that no neighbor would speak to me. I was perceived to be rude and stuck up, but what I suffered from was fear, extreme fear of talking to other people. So I was taken aback by the resurgence of my early childhood phobia.

I worked on overcoming my panic by reverting to what seems like a more logical approach. I am five feet tall and the social distancing guidelines indicate at least a six-foot separation between people, thus I began to measure in my head the distance between myself and others by evaluating whether I could comfortably fit between the other person and myself, were I to lie down. It still feels overly contrived, but things are settling down.

Since I began working from home on March 16, I have gone shopping three times and today I ordered Uber Eats for the second time. It ends up being quite expensive, since I make sure to tip the driver well and I also put extra money for the restaurant, but I am not spending money going out to eat or even driving to work, so I still come out ahead. Other than that, I always make my own meals and I have been really good about not wasting food.

I did run into a minor snafu on the food front, though. There is some leftover quinoa that I cannot bring myself to eat. I am not a big fan to begin with, but I noticed that the other time I had it, I did not feel well. My face started burning and itching, so I am wondering if I am allergic to it or it could have been contaminated with rice or gluten. I should just dump it.

J. Crew filed for bankrupcy today. I cannot imagine life without J. Crew, so I hope they are able to get the company's affairs in order.