quarantined-ish day 2

Quarantined-Ish Day 2
Thursday March 19, 2020 OKC, OK

1:03am
I don’t even bother delaying looking at the clock this time. I know it’s a stupid hour, and I anticipated it when I got in bed less than three hours ago. Apparently, I can’t drink a glass of wine (or two) anymore without repercussions. Or it affecting my math skills, because I was in bed less than two hours before my eyes popped open. I try to read, but after reading the same sentence twelve times, I decide to put the book away and lie there in the dark.

2:54am
Maybe I slept more? It’s hard to say. I note this and then check the news. I switch over to clear notifications on my social media, which has now become a spectator sport for me, and get sidetracked by my email. I swear I don’t have ADD, or even a short attention span, usually…. just a little bit of monkey mind before the sun comes up.

4:00am
I’m over lying down, so I start to clean yesterday afternoon’s organizational eruption. I’m questioning why I even began this, as everything already had a home. Why would one create more disaster whilst in the midst of an actual sort-of disaster? Whatever. At least I now have bags of stuff that I can’t do anything with until the outside world has been scrubbed. In two to six months, I’ll make someone at the Good Will’s day.

7:38am
I’m driving downtown for coffee again. I do actually own coffee and a badass pour over set, but I want to support the local joints. It’s selfish, really, as I want a place to come back to when all this is over. To be clear, though, I get it to go and maintain a hefty distance between myself and others waiting in line. I text my friend that I’m dropping his book by and snag him a coffee, too. After playing musical chairs over COVID and life chatter in the name of social distancing, I head to my downtown office. It’s less than a month old and they’ve capped it at 15 coworkers daily while we’re on lockdown, so it’s quiet in there. Too quiet, but I stay and do god knows what for however long, until I accidentally slide into doing actual work.

2:00pm
The Conference Call. I have a conference call scheduled with a yoga business coach out of New York, and her preferred form of communication is Zoom. I’m fine with this, as I used it on Monday and discovered it’s a pretty intuitive platform. I did not, however, consider the fact that the bags under my eyes are big enough to pack for a European vacation, and although I’m washing my hair daily, now, I didn’t bother with a hairbrush this morning. The little box in the top, right corner with my face taunted me for forty-five minutes. I’m just sorry she had to stare at me in that state on the big screen from her side. Note to self: when any sort of a camera may be involved, use a damn hair brush.

4:23pm
I’m back home for the evening and wondering if I should publish these notes or if it’s inappropriate/insensitive. I text the hidden link to two friends: one who takes most things in life very seriously and the other who suggested I watch Contagion last week. Shockingly, Contagion said it wasn’t inappropriate, but he did warn me that I may get reamed for not social distancing enough. Solid advice. Serious hasn’t answered yet.

5:10pm
I make a playlist and throw a solo dance party in my house. I soon realize that I’ve never known the words to Come on Eileen. I also realize that it doesn’t really matter.

7:29pm
I’m trying to remember the name of the show that baby Yoda is modeled from. Maleficent? Magnificent? Malevolent? I can’t ask the question a third time, and I don’t need another song in my head, so I decide to turn on Amazon Prime and choose the first suggested show to put on in the background. Something called Modern Love - a show based on a New York Times column, and it’s so good that I leave it on for several episodes while I clean. It would probably be even better if I gave it more attention.

10:16pm
Serious responds with essentially the same answer as Contagion, though I’d already decided not to share the journal - a least not until we are well past this. Grateful to have people who aren’t afraid to be honest.