Week in Review: Week 211
Here’s my goal this week: to find and acknowledge something good in every day. Even if I have to manufacture it myself.
MONDAY
These charming crocuses (crocusi?) were blooming alongside the driveway. Ain’t no virus stopping Mother Nature.
So, the school where I work is closed for the next two weeks – and they’ll have to reassess at the end of that time. The three of us in the main office are alternating days so there’s always someone there to take phone calls and provide support to management that is coming in daily to figure out what the heck happens now.
On my days off I’ll list as much as I can on ebay and Poshmark. Are people buying online right now? Who knows. For financial reasons as much as health concerns (germs on items/packages?), it’s questionable.
TUESDAY
Today was my turn to be in the office. Things are intense. We’re trying to get set up with long-distance learning and web-based team meeting platforms so we can continue providing services to our families and their kids during this school closure…that I suspect will be longer than just these two weeks.
I went rogue on my way home and stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a green donut for St. Patrick’s Day.
WEDNESDAY
The day started as a work from home day but I ended up going in before noon as the things I was working on (see above) were easier to do from the office so I could grab people as needed to ask questions.
THURSDAY
Back at work all day. I think we’re finally making progress! But it’s been a long couple of days.
Today was the first day I’ve noticed less traffic and fewer cars in parking lots. Starbucks was closed. Even the drive-thru!
Oh yeah…I feel like I’m getting a sore throat…OR it could be an infected molar. I can’t quite tell.
FRIDAY
Back at work – this was my scheduled day to be there on the rotation. FORTUNATELY, we the (above) things got pretty sorted out so it was calmer today, thank goodness.
And as of Sunday, March 22 at 8pm, NY is officially on “no non-essential people are to be at work or out&about without essential cause” status. So, it’s work from home next week and I spent the afternoon going through everything on the computer and saving anything I thought I might need in the next few weeks to a thumb drive.
I’m so ready to have some of that social isolation everyone else is complaining about!
For the first time all week I came home and relaxed. I went to the sofa with a snack and watched two movies, a Grey’s Anatomy and one A Million Little Things. That’s a lot of hours to be spent just sat and staring…but I needed it.
I rewatched Love Story after a gazillion years. I don’t actually remember when I first saw it – I would have been 9-10 then so doubt I saw it when it was first released. Anyway, for all the “oh my god, LOVE STORY” acclaim it gets…it is really not a good movie. Ha. Maybe for 1970 it was good, but. The dialogue was forced and awkward. It was like someone said “It’s the seventies, goddammit, let’s goddamn use goddamn profanity!” So the word “goddamn” was sprinkled liberally throughout. Awkwardly.
Then, the whole “Jenny is dying” part? Doctor: Jenny is very sick. Ryan O’Neal: That’s impossible, she’s 24. Doctor: Jenny is dying. Ryan O’Neal: Will it be very painful? Doctor: Perhaps. Ryan O’Neal: What can I do for her? Doctor: Keep things as normal as possible.
They didn’t even TELL her! And they never told US what she was dying from! I mean, we know it’s leukemia from, I don’t know, movie trailers or posters? But they never actually say it in the movie.
Then they’re doing New York things til one day she says, “take me to the hospital,” and they put her in a bed with an iv and a few days later she’s dead.
And I’m Sorry but “love means never having to say you’re sorry” is the stupidest.
Also the only music throughout the entire movie is the theme from Love Story, played on different instruments in different tones (modern, somber, etc).
Yeah, it got me a little worked up. For 50 years it’s been considered one of the greatest movie love stories of all time? Oh man. We’re setting the bar a little low, there.
Sorry (ha ha) but I’ve been staring at ALL THINGS GOOGLE all week, my brain is a little fried.
SATURDAY
Went erranding in the morning as I needed to go out into the world to the UPS Store for a return. Stopped at a usually-deserted little beach on my way back and just stood in the air and wind and watched the surf.
Went to my little local market and it has been decimated 🙁 I’m legit down to my last roll of paper towels and can’t find them anywhere, not even online (at a reasonable cost, that will get here before mid-May). The entire butter section was empty except for a full stack of like, Pepe’s Butter. I don’t know who Pepe is but I’m sure glad no one else wants his butter. I actually still use Earth Balance, a vegan butter, but it doesn’t always work as well for baking. And I feel that somehow the coronavirus is going to turn me into Bettye Crocker.
I had a pretty productive day. I frequently use the FlyLady 15-minute thing (I don’t follow ANY of her other stuff). When I get overwhelmed by ALL the things there are to do in the apartment, I set a timer for 15 minutes and just start on one task…knowing that it’s only for 15 minutes can help me start doing something that seems overwhelming as a whole. Like CLEAN THE CLOSET vs Spend 15 Minutes Cleaning the Closet. And the next day I can spend ANOTHER 15 minutes. I don’t try to do EVERYTHING in 15 minutes. But after just one week, you’ll be amazed at how much you accomplished in just 15 minutes each day. Like today I tackled the kitchen: dishes in the sink, too many groceries not put away, stacks of things on the table. You can get a lot more done in 15 minutes than you think you can. I got MOST of the dishes done (filled dishdrain), found homes for all the groceries, cleared off the kitchen table, and got through the stack of mail on the table. That table has been taunting me for weeks!
I opened an annoying bill from my annoying doctor for $251! I pay my $30 co-pays when I go to appointments and no one ever told me anything was going to go above and beyond that, so what the heck? Ugh.
Oh, PS – the “is it a sore throat or just a sore tooth” concern turned out to be just a sore tooth. It’s almost better. But my digital thermometer died. And like the paper towels, there are none to be had til May.
SUNDAY
So listen, there’s a LOT of coronavirus-related stuff going on out on the interwebz: how to stay calm, activities, how to socialize virtually, blah blah blah. Is there anything in particular you’d like to see here? I’m not an expert on anything…but I have an opinion on just about everything (refer to Love Story tirade above). For now, I’ll stick with my usual schedule, but I’m not sure how long Workday Wardrobe will be helpful or entertaining (if I’m just wearing my nightgown every day) at this time. So maybe that could be replaced by something more pertinent.
WHAT I’M READING
The news. New York Times, The Daily News, CNN. This is a rarity for me.
Otherwise I had no mental space, time, or energy to read a book this week.
WHAT I’M WATCHING
Besides Love Story (grumble grumble), I watched two of my all-time favorite movies (that about three other people have ever seen) in preparation for a blog post this week: Falling in Love (1984) with Meryl Streep and Robert DeNiro, and Cousins (1989) with Isabella Rosselini and Ted Danson.
Falling in Love is a nice, quiet movie about nice, quiet people…who fall in love when they shouldn’t have.
Cousins is a charming movie about nice people…who fall in love when they shouldn’t have.
Apparently I have a movie type.
Sadly, since they’re both so old they have horrible trailers. Please don’t judge them on the quality of their trailers.
Falling In Love
Cousins
And that’s all for The Very Weird Week.
I hope y’all are finding a little peace at this time…and are staying safe and healthy xoxo
jodie filogomo
OMG…I’m ready to be over the social isolation…it’s driving me crazy. But I am trying to still get dressed every day. For some strange reason it makes me feel better.
You will find the best things to photograph, I bet.
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
bettyewp
And I am in my glory! Ha Ha!
I’m TRYING to find good things to photograph but…the light in here is SO limited and poor. If a picture cannot be as lovely as I think it COULD be, I don’t want to take it. When I feel like I have a bit of a handle on how long this thing is going to last, photo projects are one thing that is DEFINITELY going on the list.
Hayley
In the UK we’re not yet in full lockdown and since I work in a hospital, although there have been a great many changes in my role over the last week or so, my daily routine has changed little. The supermarkets have however designated the first hour of opening to NHS staff…so I may be able to finally get some fresh fruit and vegetables.
I’m glad to hear your sore throat isn’t covid-19.
I agree with Jodie, trying to maintain as much routine as possible is important, and if you can, sit in your outside space for a moment each day to listen to the birds or even just the wind through the trees…get a little bit of spring fresh air.
Take care
Hayley x
bettyewp
Oh, wow, being a hospital worker is a very challenging thing these days! I wish you safeness and ease for this trying time.
It looks like rain here all week, which makes it easier to stay in…and I know I’m missing all the spring-blooming things Out There, but…what are you gonna do. I’ll have another grocery store run this week and will make the most of it!
Stay well!
Melissa
We’re in almost complete lockdown where I’m at! Toilet paper is a scarce necessity, which is still a little mind boggling to me at this point. It all feels a bit apocalyptic, so I’m hoping we avoid the zombie part like in the movies.
Stay healthy!
bettyewp
Definitely hoping for as little zombie interaction as possible.
I am actually down to my last roll of paper towels. I don’t want to pay a fortune for them online, so I’m being as thrifty as I can with what I have left. I keep feeling like we should all set up a swap system: I’ll send you two rolls of toilet paper for one roll of paper towels, or something like that. Like Paperback swap, but for STUFF.
Gina
I am one of the 3 other people that love “Falling in Love”. Great acting, elegant story. Timeless story. Thank you for sharing your experience during this crazy days….you always make me smile.
bettyewp
YAY! Wow, Gina, you might be the first person outside of my family who has ever even HEARD of it! My cousin was involved with it in some way, or marketing it or something, I forget. He sent me a “Falling in Love” sweatshirt – red with white letters. I LOVED it. Wish I still had it. Not that it would still fit from when I was 24! I still remember seeing it at the movies with my then boyfriend, it was the day after Thanksgiving. And I watch it now whenever I see it streaming somewhere…and even happily parted with $3.99 to watch it on Amazon this weekend! Have you seen the other movie, Cousins? If you like Falling in Love, you might like that, too!
Marceline Miller
You asked what we’d like to see… well, i always gobble up your book reviews and movie reviews. And i wouldn’t mind advice on finding plus-sized basics online — like where, FINALLY, to get a plain withe tee shirt (is that a group??) for layering that’s soft but not stupidly thin. Just a suggestion but understand if it becomes too numbingly tedious to execute.
We all know that the world is in a serious situation. I think a lot of bloggers are feeling the pressure to talk about covid-19 so they don’t seem “unfeeling” or “unaware,” but it sure is nice to find a virus-free zone online.
thanks!
bettyewp
Hi Marceline! Awhile ago I started saving ALL my book reviews to a single page…but I didn’t get too far. I’ve got it on The List and I hope to have a LITTLE more time during this work from home time. Just not dressing for and driving to and from work should save me at least an hour a day. Let’s see if I can be productive with that “extra” time…or if I just sleep later 🙂
Re white tee shirts, I feel your pain. It seems so simple but it’s just not. I wear that Amazon/Daily Harvest one a LOT, but it’s not great if you want to tuck, cuz it’s sort of long and swingy. I hear good things about the Universal Standard basic white tee, but it’s pricey. I like the H&M tees I bought, they’re thin (in a good way, not a see-thru way) and inexpensive, but when one went into the dryer accidentally it shrunk up a lot in length.
I’ll see what I can do about a White Tee-Off before the really warm weather hits!
Yeah, we do have to normalize this situation as much as we can…cuz it might be awhile!
Shirley Horst
I still want to play let’s dress Bettye. You post your clothing pieces and we put together new and different outfits for you. It would be fun to see what people put together for you, that you don’t do. I also am interested to see what you bake Betty Crocker!!! Oh and I think Jodie would be the most interesting one to put together outfits for you!!!
bettyewp
Hey, Shirley! I’ve been cataloging all my clothing items since the beginning of the year, but I don’t know that people would be able to know what was what just from the spreadsheet. SO – I’m working on a video with a Special Guest Star who will browse my closet virtually, then style an outfit or two for me. Just bear with me as I figure out the technology piece of this. If it’s fun, I might make it into a regular series.
Shirley Horst
Oh that sounds intriguing! Can’t wait!!!!
julia
so, wow! I thought since you were so close to the hotspot that everything would be shut down last week. I haven’t gone into town since last Wednesday and parking lots were empty except at the grocery store. Now our governor has put us on “lock down” so we will be at home but honestly I feel safest there. Every time we have to go out it feels like we will be battling zombies! But I’ve been taking lots of walks with the dogs so at least I’m out in nature. Take care!
bettyewp
NYC is much more population-dense than Long Island. We just got our shutdown order as of last night. Today is my first day working from home. Feeling a little scattered as I wait to hear what our priorities are at this time.
Wish I had a dog to walk with 🙂
Stay safe!
Karen
I LOVE your use of the plural crocusi. I always annoy my daughters by calling them “croci” which gets them crazy. I also say on purpose “iri” (iruses) which makes them want to smack me. (It’s the little things, right?). The thing I remember about “Love Story” which I first saw in the 90’s I think, was that the doctor smoked at his desk right in the hospital. WHAT??? I’m gonna look for your two movie recommends cuz, what else do I have to do? I’m like Jodi and get dressed every day, even to the earrings and makeup. My husband says, “where are you going?” and I say “crazy, but I’m gonna look okay when I get there”. ~ sigh ~ (It sounds funnier when I write it down than it actually is.). Stay strong everybody! xo karen
Deborah Stinedurf
My friend you and I are in a similar situation in regard to our kids. We officially started our distance learning yesterday. Last week there was one day that parents had a window of time to come to the school lobby to pick up work/technology, etc. I sent home about two months of work because things like Google Classroom and whatnot are really difficult for my kids to utilize…paper and pencil works best. I have to be in contact with the parents every school day so yesterday I started with that.
I’m trying to get myself into some sort of schedule, but the struggle is real. Things are coming at us fast and furious from work although that has settled down somewhat. Yesterday we were notified that we are officially shut down until at a minimum, April 6th.
Being a creature of habit, the lack of routine, structure and time awareness is super hard for me, but I’m doing my best to set up some type of daily schedule. While it might be super casual, think leggings and sweatshirt, I do try to get dressed every day. I don’t necessarily put on makeup, but I do try to make my hair presentable…especially because we’ve been video conferencing a lot.
We’ll all get through this eventually…together! xo
Debbie
http://www.fashionfairydust.com
bettyewp
Yeah, so far we’re officially closed through April 1, but we all expect that to be extended. The majority of our kids and adults are not at Google Classroom level at all, we were considering using it more for teachers and parents…but now that’s pretty much off the table for us anyway.
I started working from home yesterday. Day One was a lot of UHM…WHAT EXACTLY AM I SUPPOSED TO BE DOING? Fundraising events are on hold, everyone’s being really cautious about what messages we put out on social media, so…me and the other two on the development were just in waiting mode. Today brought a LITTLE more clarity and at least I have a solid to-do list, which is so helpful. It gives me direction.
And I am that person who thrives in social isolation, ha ha. So, from a purely selfish perspective, this is a nice little interlude from “real life,” which can be so…uncomfortable for me.
I’m always the outlier.
Be well, stay safe!
Iris
Interesting to see how others are handling the “lockdowns”. Like you, I could easily be a hermit. I won’t live long enough to be bored at home.
Grace & Peace,Iris
http://www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com