MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020

This is such a sweet photography story. Pictures, even just quick snapshots with a cell phone or point&shoot camera, can be so important. As memories, as inspiration, as history.

TUESDAY, mARCH 10, 2020

I love books. I have always loved books. This is different than loving to read. I love that, too…but I even love books that I’ve never read, that I’m sure I will never read. Books in other languages, books about things I have no interest in. There’s just something about them. Their weight, their promise, the pictures, the feel of the pages. My father had a book in Japanese and the pages were like tissue paper. I just loved turning the pages and feeling them. It made no difference that I hadn’t a clue what the pages said. I used to find and sell a lot of old engineering books. I have no interest in building a steam engine. But the diagrams were so detailed and precise with every part numbered and titled. I wish I’d kept at least one.

Sometimes I miss having SO MANY books. There was a weird sense of pride in having so many books they wouldn’t even fit in the bookcases. They were stacked under the coffee table and on the stairs and anywhere a pile could live without being toppled by an animal. I’ve downsized so many times in the past 10, ooh, now 11 years…and books are bulky and heavy and are one of the things that had to go en masse when I sold my house.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020

From a past life.

I’m all recipe-hunty this week and found this, which looks delightful. My daughter gave me a spiralizer a few years ago but I have not used it, and in fact, do not actually know where it is now in this apartment. Does anyone have experience with spiralizing? Some helpful hints or tips, perhaps?

So, this week is All Coronavirus All the Time. I feel like almost hourly there are updates at work (which is good!). We’re on a robust sanitizing schedule, limiting who can enter the building, and there’s now a 3-point assessment as to who can make/keep appointments in the building. There’s some anxiety being the “gatekeepers” in the main office, as far as who can come in and who can’t. So that’s a little stressful, but necessary.

Not that it’s a laughing matter, but the funniest coronavirus thing I have seen so far is that a coronavirus conference has been canceled…due to coronavirus. Ba dum bum?

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2020

Coronavirus. What else is there?

I will say this. There’s a lot of “news” out there. But I do try to follow this one guideline: ignore (or at the very least, take with a BIG grain of salt) statements with the words “could” or “may” (or any variation thereof) in them. “The virus could kill onezillion people.” “This may be the end of the world.” Sensationalism is, unfortunately, a little fun (c’mon, admit it) AND a big seller of print and advertising. Of course the news platforms are going to use it. But we’re smarter than that 🙂

FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2020

I fell off the no-sugar, no money spent before lunch wagon today. After a week of increasing stress and anxiety I broke and hit up Starbucks for the coziest, calm-inducing-est, sugariest thing they have (grande white chocolate raspberry mocha latte with whip) when I had to go out to the bank for work (dirty dirty places, banks) AND it was raining and my umbrella is stupid. SO, I got some joy and pleasure for me and the other women in the office. And it was good.

Got the disappointing news that a SUPER fun thing we were going to do later in March was just canceled (as most everything here is). Everything’s closing with this new “no gatherings of more than 500 people” moratorium. Museums, theaters, many parks.

I will say, though, that I’ve been waiting my whole life for “social distancing” to be encouraged. MY TIME HAS COME.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020

And one more trip to the market. My normal market where they have Janey’s food. And now even my little local market is looking a little apocalyptic. Many expected things are out of stock entirely, like bread (so I bought flour and yeast to make my own if needed), toilet paper, sanitizing wipes and hand cleaners. But ginger? And mozzarella cheese?? Gone. Not even a block of part-skim (and who wants that, anyway?). I guess lasagna is to virus pandemics what french toast is to hurricanes.

In the absence of my usual products, I had to start looking at different options. Did you know Campbell’s makes a Cream of Bacon soup??

In the assembling of my Go Bag, I did come across a purse-size bottle of hand sanitizer. I’ve never been a hand sanitizer person. Someone probably gave it to me when I was in the hospital in 2017. But it seemed as long as I had it, I may as well use it. So into my purse it went, and now I’m sanitizing before and after every “outside my own personal space” experience: the market, stationery, bagel store, gas station, etc. And it’s gonna be gone in like two days, so I looked on Amazon. HA HA HA HA HA. Every bottle of hand sanitizer on the PLANET is gone. If you don’t mind ordering from China (uhhh) and waiting 3-4 weeks, you can get yourself some, but.

I don’t generally give much thought to all the things I touch in a day. I went to the post office, had to pick up several flat-rate boxes before finding the right size, had to use a pen off the counter when mine ran out of ink halfway through addressing…then I went to the market where – SHOPPING CARTS. I tried as best I could to keep my sleeves pulled down over my hands to push the cart, but…I picked up an apple, saw a big bruise, put it back, picked up another apple…lather rinse repeat with oranges, tomatoes, and grapefruit. Picked up cans off shelves, looked at nutrition charts, put them back. Etc. Then to the stationery store where I got scratch-offs and candies for my officemates for St Patrick’s day…took back the DIRTY DIRTY MONEY change from the cashier, went to the bagel store, made my own coffee with my hands that had just touched ALL THOSE OTHER THINGS, and then brought home my breakfast, groceries, and probably a gazillion germs. I don’t usually think about germs! It’s exhausting. It seems virtually impossible in a day out in the world to not touch things with unsanitized hands. So there ya go.

THAT’S why we’re supposed to stay home whenever possible, so we don’t touch all the apples and spread this thing.

SUNDAY, MARCH 15, 2020

Hey! I’ve got a couple things up on ebay and Poshmark. It’s a start. I think my strategy will be to first list things at auction on ebay…and if they don’t sell, then put them over on Poshmark (which is all fixed price). I’m working on a blog post about selling clothing online so I’ll explain the why of my strategy there.

I got out for a little walk today in the sunshine and fresh air.

Got the word that NYC schools will be closed through April 20, and Long Island schools through March 30…and then they’ll reassess. As far as I know, the administrative staff (including me) will be working. Just a week ago I had no inkling that ANYTHING like this was coming. And now here we are.

Wondering what the next week will bring!

WHAT I’M READING

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. Maybe I’m a bad reader (I don’t think so). Maybe I’m just contrary (highly likely). But I feel there are a high number of Very Well-Liked Books that I just do not care for. This is another one of those. First, it was translated from Czechoslovakian so there’s a slight awkwardness there. It’s a story…but wrapped very tightly in the author’s philosophical views, so there’s a lot of the narrator just…talking. Interrupting the story to just share his take on things. The world. Life. I didn’t really care for any of the characters. Man #1 was weak, Woman #1 was weak, Man #2 was weak…only one character, Woman  #2 seemed to have any backbone at all…and she wound up sad and alone, so. Yeah. It did nothing for me and it was difficult to get through. BUT, many people think it’s tremendous, so… 3/5

The One-Eyed Man by Ron Currie. Uhm. Hmm. Did I LOVE it? Maybe not so much. Did I have to keep reading to find out what happens? Yes. It was a unique premise. Guy’s wife dies and he sort of snaps in a way that makes him extremely literal (which I like cuz I can be that way), which keeps getting him in trouble with everyone and everything he does. Unrealistic adventures ensue. It’s clever and, sort of like TULoB (above), a little philosophical. But in a far more palatable way than TULoB. 3.5/5

I’m sorry this all got so coronavirus-y, but that’s really what this week was. 

Stay safe and healthy, my friends xoxo