April 8th, 2020

Pandemic Facebook Diary: first week

I haven’t been blogging during the pandemic so far, or rather I have but on facebook. The reason is pretty obvious, in that although Facebook is no longer exactly the zeitgeist, people are still looking at it pretty often and fairly responsive on there, and I am so very lonely during this period it helps immeasurably to have these FB dialogues going through the day. But it is also nice to have things neatly put together in one spot, so I’ve put all my main FB diary posts (not the links and photos, and regrettably I can’t think of a way to capture all the interesting comments from folks, or my own comment updates) here for my own reference and anyone else who cares (if anyone). Here you go–I didn’t start counting the days until a few days in but the first day was, of course, Friday the 13th… (this was originally going to be the first month, but it was so many words I just did a week–the other three to come, I guess)

March 13: Is probably going to have to go to work on Monday and, while I’m a bit envious of those who get to enact their social distancing properly, at home, I’m glad they are doing it because it makes it safer for those who can’t. Staying at home is ideal, but a subway car just for me would be second-best, I think…

March 14: Grocery store report: Freshco was quite civilized, though crowded, compared to the No Frills madhouse yesterday. I gave up quickly at No Frills because I wasn’t feeling great yesterday and had foolishly thought I could “pop out for a few things” but it was a terrifying zoo with many empty shelves. Today I felt better and Freshco had fewer people and a lot more food. In both places everyone was polite, but yesterday the veneer felt quite thin.

A few observations:
–the cheapest brand of everything seems to be sold out or nearly so. I would normally buy those things in most cases, but I can afford an extra buck or two, and I realize others can’t. Spare a thought for folks on super-tight budgets in these panic shopping days!
–a lot of vegetarian staples seemed to be sold out–I couldn’t find veggie broth and beans were in short supply. I think this actually depends on your neighbourhood, because I’ve heard from others that in other places there’s no meat, whereas Freshco had plenty, so maybe it’s possible to shop around and find stuff?
–a lot of shelf-stable things are just gone–no pasta, no oatmeal–but there’s plenty of fresh fruit and veggies wherever you go, which seems weird. Immune-boosting powers of fresh produce, anyone?

I hope you are all well and well-fed. My household is not the healthiest (we’re FINE but not socializing) but if you find yourself in a serious bind, please reach out–if there’s a way I can help, I will certainly try!

March 15: First weekend of distancing dubious highlights: got groceries without incident, watched Mark Maron standup special, brushed cat, worked on US tax doc, stood on sidewalk under my mom’s apartment and waved at her, texted a lot with friends, slowly driving Mark Sampson insane. Actually not that slowly, since it’s been three days. I’m not really meant for this indoor life, but I want to be respectful of other people’s health needs, which means leaving them alone.

Also I’m going to work tomorrow, where I guess I can distance myself from others in my office?? You know, after my one-hour commute on TTC.

The real bright note here is that I had to brush the cats because they are shedding like crazy because their tiny bodies know spring is coming and they are getting READY. Me too. [Note: it developed in the comments that I didn’t have to go to work the next day or at all in March, as it turns out]

March 17: My parents are very reserved, quiet people. When I was born, they lived in a crumbling house on the outskirts of a tiny town (Woodburn, ON!) and would have been happy living in an isolated splendor of three in their weird house all the time…until I learned to walk and my mom noticed if she set me down in the grocery store, I would run away. I would run until I found another kid and then…I would kiss that kid. They realized I was lonely and put me in playschool and I have been able to avoid bothering anyone at the supermarket ever since.

THIS STORY SEEMS RELEVANT AT THIS TIME.

(2) My email today contained Covid-19 preparedness notes from A&W, SickKids, my city councilor, DavidsTea, CIBC, EnterpriseCarShare, and for some reason SmartSheet, which is entirely virtual. The big question is why doesn’t anyone use character spaces anymore??

March 18: Finally found a single, small, $11 bottle of hand sanitizer at a corner shop…just in time for the building to shut off our water. How is your incarceration going?

(2) Update from day 6 of home incarceration: with both of us working from home, the cats have been somewhat non-plussed, but excited to try napping in the rooms where the computers are during the day. They aren’t allowed to do this when we aren’t here due to tendency to nibble on wires. Today, with the water turned off, we have filled the bathtub as an emergency reserve and Evan (elder cat) displayed an alarming inclination to death by unsupervised drowning, so the bathroom door is now shut, leading to feline despair.

In human news, I have made enchiladas and am halfway through the four-day process of making bread, Mark started listing all his flaws this morning for no reason but is actually still good company after 120 uninterrupted hours, and with the gym shut I’ve gone back to my 17-year-old pilates DVD (remember, Jaime Murdoch??) which is still pretty good.

Later I may do my nails, one of those things I normally don’t have time/patience for, and now I have SO MUCH. I feel this period and attendant micro-updates is going to cost me a lot of FB friends.

March 19: Is on day 7 of this indoor life. Also day 4017 of her shared life with Mark Sampson–our first date was 11 years ago today (the above figure includes leap years). One of my favourite questions to ask Mark is, is this how you thought the relationship would go? Presumably, most boring happy couples imagine they are on a grand adventure and we are certainly no exception, but I suppose the important thing is, whether we are crawling on the floor looking for a shard of chipped tooth or trying to jam a cat into a backpack or meeting the Scallop Queen in Digby, we find it interesting.

Mark, thank you for being so interesting. I do not want to stay trapped in the apartment with you anymore and am seriously considering spending a couple nights in the ravine just for the change, but that is not your fault. You are the best thing that ever happened to me and I’m just really sorry about the past few days. I hope when Covid-19 is all over you still want to be married to me. Maybe you could come live in the ravine with me?

(2) rarely eats lunch at home. I’m at work 5 days at week and on weekends I’m often running around or if I’m at home I just grab something quick. With the new covidity, both humans have been at home for every midday meal all week and, with little better to do, we’ve made them somewhat nicer than normal and talked over them. For the first time in their tiny lives, the cats have noticed the presence of a third meal, when since their kittenhood they have been fed only two, morning and evening. And they are FURIOUS.

March 20: Day 8 of severe anti-sociability. Between the YouTube workouts that are too hard for me and the constant barrage of reassuring emails from Galen Westen, I am very sorrowful. Also it may be raining, which means I can’t even go for a walk, which was my ONE THING. Cats persist in embarrassing me on video calls. Starting to entertain fantasies of…going to work! It feels stupid to complain when I am safe and relatively healthy but also is there a better place for stupid complaining than Facebook among friends? Believe me, if you would like to bring me your trivial (or not) concerns, I am here for them, and you. By which I mean far from you, but emotionally here. I would also completely understand if now is the time you feel you need to mute/unfriend. I would mute myself if I could.