(I started writing this in April but apparently abandoned it. I have updated where necessary.)
The last several weeks (months, actually) have been very, very strange and very very stressful and sad.
I don’t think I need to recap everything as we all have been living it in real time, but I first became aware of the virus situation with the news of the Diamond Princess cruise ship having been denied entry in Japan. Subsequently, I found an AMA on reddit from a young guy who was quarantined aboard the ship with his wife; they had been on their honeymoon.
It was interesting reading about what was happening but it seemed so far away – a luxury cruise liner on the other side of the world. It wasn’t until the US State Department was starting to evacuate Americans from Wuhan Province and other places that it really started getting going. The evacuation of the US citizens from the cruise ship is kind of what I feel really started things here, though I guess they already had started. But to me, because half of the people went to Travis Air Force Base, which is 40 minutes from me, and the other half went to Lackland AFB in San Antonio where I used to live, that really made me start paying attention.
Anyway, fast forward to March 9. Schools started to close, people were told practice “social distancing”, there were absolutely no paper products, cleaning products, sanitizing stuff to be found. I had already purchased a bunch of toilet paper on the off chance there would be a run on it (ho ho). The week started with Daylight Saving (Spring Forward), had a full moon, which everyone knows brings on the crazy, especially when you work with the public at large, and ended with Friday the 13th.
In the middle of all the chaos we get an email that my uncle Eric was in the hospital and it didn’t look good. I personally had a dental followup from a triple whammy filling situation the week prior, so I wasn’t really in a place to go visit (also didn’t realize the hospital was the other same-named hospital in WC, not Concord).
Eric passed away the night of March 10. With the stricter shelter-in-place orders happening March 17, we have not had a memorial for him as there would be far more than 10 people attending. It’s completely surreal. I haven’t really thought about it too much. I haven’t had the mental capacity to do so.
March 16 was my last day at the office for the foreseeable future – the day that the Bay Area got the mandatory SIP order to start the next day. We scrambled to dismantle our office and get set up from home. That first week was a complete blur. I couldn’t even begin to describe it. Stuck at home, working from my bedroom, not ideal. Week 2 was much the same. In general, there have been ups and downs and some days are better than others, and some days are awful.
Some things I’ve done to spend the time are work on knitting projects – I finished the fantastic FANTASTITCH shawl by Westknits. I finished the Wool & Honey sweater by Andrea Mowry. Both these projects were really good. I have several WIPs right now but none are singing to me so I may consider starting another to distract myself from.
Our monthly D&D game has become more frequent, so it’s nice to see my friends, even if it’s just video chat.
I’ve been ordering food from my favorite Cuban restaurant, which has temporarily closed its storefront yet expanded its catering division to offer meals for pickup and delivery. Patty’s Cheese Zombies remains open and I go there much more frequently than previous.
I ordered a Nintendo Switch and have been playing Animal Crossing New Horizons A LOT (a lot, a lot). It’s very soothing and time sucking. Beautiful to look at!
Aside from ordering Cuban food and zombies on the regular, since I’m one of the lucky ones who still has a job during this whole thing I have been trying to patronize small businesses. Some of the things I’ve ordered include a beautiful new mug from a pottery artisan I’ve been admiring on Instagram, handmade cotton masks, nail polish (I haven’t ordered nail polish in 18 months if you can believe it), a pair of earrings, and a CIRCULAR SOCK KNITTING MACHINE (more on that in a future post).
All of our spring/summer plans were canceled, including a celebratory Disneyland trip to see Malvina and crew, a trip to LA over Memorial Day weekend, day trips (with everything closed, would there be bathrooms??). This has been highly depressing. As a last resort I made it out of town for what would have been the Disneyland trip to hang out with my LA people as part of my “social bubble” and it did wonders for my mental health. If you are able to safely leave town for a couple days, I highly recommend it.
Anyway, maybe I’ll start writing in here more now that I am feeling a little better, despite continual lockdowns from our overlord governor. I do have some things to talk about, maybe my quarantine birthday but especially that CIRCULAR SOCK KNITTING MACHINE!