Coronavirus19 Diary - The Luxury of Time

The luxury of time. When I am working I yearn for it. Now that I am furloughed I have an excess of it. I struggle to fill it, as opposed to my usual life when I struggle to find it. Now I drag tasks out instead of completing them as quickly and efficiently as possible. I stay up later than usual, wake up later than usual, savoring it, knowing that at some point I will once again have to wake up when the sky is still dark. In my usual life I am in suits and ties 5 days a week. Now I dress in pajamas, or track pants or gym shorts when I leave the apartment to go to the grocery store, do laundry or run up and down the fire stairs in our building, trying to keep as fit as possible while gyms are closed. I take on tasks I had put off because I lacked time. I still have other tasks planned before I return to work, because, right now, I have time.

Coronavirus19 Diary - A Beginning a Middle and an End

Earlier this week one of the talking heads on a news show described this pandemic as having "a beginning, a middle and an end". Somehow this helped.

Man is a social animal. Early on in our history this was necessary. There was safety in numbers. We, working together, could take down larger prey, gather more, not to mention that it takes 2 to mate and rearing and protecting young is easier in a group.

But now our social groups are stressed, modified. They exist online or on our phones. The face to face, the hugs, the incidental human contact are, for this moment in time, put on hold. The thought of an end when we are in the social isolation of the moment gives me solace, helps me see the light at the end of this tunnel.

Coronavirus19 Diary - A Trip to a Grocery Store

It is becoming surreal. Being in retail I sometimes forget what day of the week it is. Now I truly forget what day of the week it is. I keep track by my phone and laptop. I check in for news from my employer, it is scant. The governor has issued a stay at home mandate extending a week longer than I or my employer anticipated. It is too cool for walks. A trip to the local grocery store reminds me of propaganda photos from the 1970s of Soviet shops with empty and half filled shelves.

We are more fortunate than some. We have a balcony to step out on for fresh air. I'm getting paid for at least a portion of this time away from work. I use the service stairs for exercise. We have managed our finances well over the years and no longer live paycheck to paycheck.

3 weeks is a blip in my life. A moment really. By late afternoon the sun comes out breaking through the gray skies of the past few days. It feels like a soft kiss, a sweet promise.

This transcends nations. This has no borders, even as we rush to secure them. This is shared by all humanity. As is being said, "We all are in this together".

Coronavirus19 Diary - 3/19/20 - Attacking Home Improvement Projects

Cloudy, rainy, my husband has to have emergency dental surgery due to pain. The t.v. news is exhausting.

I am dying for exercise. Since I have a load of laundry to do anyway I decide to use the stairs instead of the elevator. We live on the 9th floor, the laundry room is on the 1st. 9 floors down, 9 floors up, repeat 3 times, twice carrying laundry. It helped. I may do it several times over the next days.

Quite some time ago one of my husbands clients gave us a cache of quite tarnished silver plate dishes. 2 sizes of parfait cups, sherbet cups, small liqueur cups. We have never had the time to restore it to it's original splendor. Now seems the perfect opportunity. From under the black patina gleaming metal appears, although it takes 3, sometimes 4, go arounds before the transformation is complete.

The furniture store calls to schedule the delivery of our new sofa. I explain our situation and that I can't schedule anything until, once again, I have full contact with my employer. I quip that "When this is over we will know what everyone's real hair color is." She quips back "And what their eyebrows truly look like." My husband adds later "Then there are those women with the nails" fluttering his fingers.

I look at the calendar and realize how many days I have before I return to work. I learn I will receive pay for 3/4 of my normal working hours, better than nothing at all. When you come right down to it where am I going to spend it right now anyway.

Coronavirus19 Diary - 3/18/20 - Rainy days and Wednesdays

God has an odd sense of humor. I am attempting to maintain a sense of normalcy. So, suffering from cabin fever I showered, dressed and went downstairs to take a short walk, we are allowed to do that as long as a certain distance from others is maintained, and was met with the beginning of a rain that would continue for the remainder of the day. The light, misty type of rain that envelopes you leaving you, oddly, as drenched as a cloudburst. Still, I stood out in the air under the canopy that covers the carriage entrance in the front of our building, watching the scant foot and auto traffic pass by.

I collected our mail on my way upstairs. Our income tax return check had arrived. It will be a while before we will be able to put it in the bank. I nap, watch t.v., make banana bread to use up some overripe fruit. I make certain I eat and consume an adequate number of calories and drink enough liquid. With out a life rhythm you can fall into ennui, where the normal functions of existence come through your mind and then pass out again without being acted on.

My husband texts me letting me know that the beauty salon he works at voted to shut down until April 1st. It feels as if it is January with 20 degrees below zero wind chills and 4 feet of snow outside. 

Netflix may become my best friend.

Coronavirus19 Diary - 3/17/2020 - Leaving Work

It started in China, moved to Europe and, in short order, arrived on the U.S. shore. We learned a new term "social distancing". Life started to change. Companies had those that could work from home. Bars, restaurants, some retailers and fitness centers started to close or greatly curtail their business hours. People were requested to stay home. The stock market fell, then rose, then fell again becoming an economic roller coaster.

I work in fine jewelry for a venerable, legendary, well known and respected department store. Out of concern for the health and safety of their employees, and after several days of almost non-existent foot traffic, somewhat heartening, it mean't many were taking the suggestion to avoid contact with others seriously, my employer made the decision to place us on a 2 week paid furlough. We spent much of our final work day securing everything of high value. Jewelry, designer handbags and sunglasses, It left many cases bare. The effect was eerie and somewhat melancholy.

Our store is one of the smaller ones in the chain. Our staff is less than 100 people. We spend a great deal of time together. The word "family" is often used when referring to the store staff. An illness or death in a coworkers family is a sorrow shared by all. A birth or the antics of a small child is a joy similarly shared. We know the names of spouses, children and even pets. We celebrate and commiserate as one does with others one cares about. We vent about one another as family members do.

On the last day we shared plans and projects for the next 2 weeks. We bid one another goodbye. We could not hug one another. Our departure, like the physical store, had a melancholy air.