Captain's Log: Quarantine Day 32
All things considered, we’re weathering okay over here in the COVID-19 storm that has upended everything as we know it.
I’ve been on paid leave for a month.
I was recently furloughed until mid-July and literally just finished filing for state unemployment. Such a surreal feeling. I was wide awake and out of bed at 6:30 AM thinking about it. And while Kevin is on the software/operational side of the climbing industry and currently still working - his customers’ climbing gyms all over the world continue to close and remain closed with no re-open date in sight, which is no comfort either.
But all things considered. . . we’re doing okay.
I understand pets much more now.
I get why dogs get so excited when someone passes by the window.
A PERSON! A FUCKING PERSON! That’s interesting! What are they doing? Where could they be going?
Wait, we get to GO OUTSIDE?! How fantastic. How fucking fantastic. This is the best thing that’s happened to me today.
I get why cats sleep all the time.
Captain’s Log: Quarantine Day 3,269. Time is a construct. I grow weary of the foolishness of these humans. I will stare blankly into the void, then I will take a nap - because, fuck it.
Captain’s Log: Quarantine Day 5,174. I will enjoy life’s simple pleasures today, then I will take a nap - because, fuck it.
Our essential supplies pile.
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For us, quarantine looks like this:
Coffee and tea. So so much. We long ago invested in a Ninja coffee maker that makes lattes (so I would stop spending so much at Starbucks) and it has paid for itself a million times over. Cardamom lattes have been the theme of quarantine, since I can’t run over to my favorite coffee shop/restaurant as often these days. As soon as the coffee is gone we switch to tea. Green tea. Turmeric tea. Chai tea. I think there’s something about the comfort in a cup of tea that has created the desire to have it all the time for us now.
Lots Of Reading. I tend to read more non-fiction than fiction - but during quarantine I’ve been exploring it all. It’s been a good way to let my mind run off and escape for a bit. Just finished reading: “City of Girls” by the amazing Elizabeth Gilbert and I have a big pile of more books on my coffee table that I’ll chew through over the weeks.
Minimal News. I never watch or read the news as it is. Probably to a fault. I’m usually of the mind that if news is really essential - I’ll hear about. (Which is true.) But when this madness began over a month ago I couldn’t help in all my worry but to check and check and re-check the news app on my phone. I wanted to know numbers, cases, crazy headlines, some disastrous thing Trump was saying that day. . . It was definitely too much and definitely unnecessary for my mental health. So no more obsessive news checking. I’ve reeled it almost all the way back to my normal negligence and I’ll check maybe once a day. Maybe a few times a week. My news right now: Stay inside. Stay home. Support local businesses where we can.
Our Favorite Shows + Movies. We both have said that we probably wouldn’t survive quarantine if not for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Also on our constant queue: Arrested Development. 30 Rock. Seinfeld. (We have mature senses of humor, obviously) I’m funny with movies- and by that I mean I’m content to watch my favorites over and over and over and over. Certain movies come out when I’m in certain moods, or the weather changes a certain way — the variables are many. My constant rotation: The Goonies, Clueless, Midnight In Paris, National Treasure, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Big Trouble, I Heart Huckabees, La La Land, Star Wars, & Jurassic Park.
Games + Play. We love games - so this has been a great excuse to have them all out all over the place. Legos here, Scrabble there. Our favorite board game right now is Qwirkle, though admittedly we’ve also been playing a lot of old Nintendo 64 and our Retron Gaming Console (which you can replay NES, SNES, and Sega games on). When Kevin gets off work he likes to play 007 GoldenEye or Star Wars: Rogue Squadron - while I like to kick it extra old school and play Dr. Mario, Tetris, and Super Mario Bros. 3.
Arts + Crafts. I go through ebbs and flows of productivity with my art. Sometimes I could go for hours and hours and a few days in a row creating and making things. Sometimes I spend a few days researching and collecting project ideas. Then a week or two can go by and I’m not compelled to do or make much of anything. Quarantine has definitely been no different. In the first week I spent a few days in a row painting and drawing. I made two or three pieces that I’m actually really pleased with — they deviate from my normal style and were kind of an exploration for me. I spent another few days thinking about some needle felting projects I want to tackle; a macrame wall-hanging project I’d like to try (for the first time); some little Sculpey clay totems I want to try and make. . . and I dragged my sewing machine up from the garage. I figure if I stare at it long enough I may inherently understand it. Kind of like the Matrix.
Teeny Tiny Walks. It’s killing me to not be able to play outside. With the parks and trails closed, I’m trying to do my best not to be sad about it because we all need to just stay at home, but it’s hard. Nature is my reset button and my recharge- and it’s usually my comfort when I’ve got the blues. So we take little walks. In the late evening or night time when no one is out. Looping around our block and not even heading down to the river trail behind our house. It’s not all the outside time I want and need right now, but I’ll take it. I enjoy the shit out of every second that we get to be outside.
A Snuggle Pit. In our house this is affectionately known as “Mega Pit” and is a queen sized air mattress that comes out and takes over the living room only once or twice a year. It’s generally during Winter when we just need to snuggle - or if there’s a big winter storm and we’re stuck inside. Or the Olympics are on, or someone is sick. . . or there’s a global pandemic.
Light Workouts From Home. We like “7 Minute Workout” (a little free workout app we put on our phones) and we try to use it a few times a week to help keep our blood pumping since we’re sitting more. Fifteen or twenty minutes of yoga a few nights a week together is also essential for us to decompress and let go of the stress and weirdness.
Working From Home. Kevin works tucked away in our spare bedroom and I write in the living room- all of us taking breaks whenever we (or the cat) get restless and need to play.
No better time to play with old LEGOs.
LONG LIVE MEGA PIT.
Our needs change a little each day. Some days are quieter and more reflective. Those are the days I need to stretch and bend, drink lots of tea, read, and stare out the window or take a walk around the block. Or play Nintendo and do something engrossing enough to demand all our attention. . .
Some days are just weird and crazy and we don’t know what’s to come, so we just need to laugh. We curl up together and watch Sunny and tell each other we love each other a little more often and forget about it all.
Whatever your days look like and however you’re getting through it, I hope you’re getting through it.
