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.

Saturday Outfit of the Day. Get used to it.

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

Surprise! I’m a grandma!

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.

Nobody needs to see this every(any)day.

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