Quarantine: Weeks 10-13

I received the news this week that my quarantine will soon be over—my Bureau is finally beginning to phase people back into work next week. I have very mixed feelings over this. It will be nice to be on a regular routine again, and have some sense of productivity, but I will miss my afternoon walks with the dog through Troy, and sitting out on the back deck enjoying the newfound summer sun and breeze.

The last few weeks of Quarantine have seen a gradual reopening for our area, and the number of new cases and hospitalizations have gone down. I’m getting used to venturing out in my mask. I don’t like it. But I’m getting used to it.

• Day 71

  

  As foretold in prophesy, Hello Dolly finally happened—and it was glorious

• Day 72-74 — Memorial Day weekend

  

  In which we get to enjoy drinking on a deck, and make the most of social-distancing visits with local friends and family. We’re getting better at this holidays-while-quarantined thing.

• May 25 – Memorial Day

  George Floyd murdered in a chokehold from excessive use of force by police.

• Day 76 – Day 91

  In these first 2 weeks, the Black Lives Matter movement surges forward in a way it hasn’t since the movement first officially began in 2013. Since then it has definitely been an emotionally-charged and heavy few weeks. Many of my peers, myself included, have spent a lot of time deliberating on the fact of our own white privilege and the fact that we have all been contributing to a societal structure that impedes the security, livelihood, and prosperity of people of color. Protests have been ongoing in nearly every city in the US, as well as around the world. Spent a lot of time trying to figure out the best ways to be more actively anti-racist and supportive of efforts to make much-needed changes. Protesting is good, but ultimately we need to ensure legislation gets passed for policy reforms in policing, and essentially re-write the rules of how our society functions; how educational institutions are funded, zoning, housing, and banking laws, etc. Supporting advocacy groups and legislation reforms are going to be a big part of change moving forward, and it is going to be a long haul. But a necessary one.

  View at Medium.com

• Day 92

  I decide to attempt a fancy new recipe for dinner, in my wealth of spare time. While hubby went to the store to pick up a few things, I decided to make myself a drink, put on some music, and start cooking.

  One hour and one whisky-drink later, there was song and dance, questionable fb posting, and dinner was nowhere near done.

  But I sure did have fun.

  Here’s me trying to determine if my thin-sliced breast cutlets are done cooking. This picture was taken about 5 minutes before I lost an entire pot of ramen noodles down the garbage disposal while attempting to drain the water from the saucepan… I’d like to say I learned my lesson and will not imbibe cocktails while cooking dinner but we both know that’s not likely.

  

Thus, as we near the end of “Act 1” of the drama of 2020, the plot (or more accurately, a half-dozen different subplots) continue to thicken.

The Black Lives Matter movement has had promising achievements, including legislation in several locations to ban chokeholds and repeal police secrecy laws that prevent disciplinary records from being available for public disclosure. Protests are still ongoing, and the whole world is listening. Statues are tumbling. Laws are being rewritten.

While summer is upon us, and new cases dropping, nearly all social events involving mass gatherings have gotten canceled, including several concerts for this summer, Albany’s annual 4th of July celebration, and the annual Vermont GarlicFest in the Fall. I’m still waiting with bated breath to hear if other events I’d been looking forward to later this year will wind up getting cancelled or rescheduled.

Social gatherings outdoors are becoming more acceptable, but in-person meetings are still a little strained. I’m enjoying the normalcy of seeing other people more often, but certain social circles have all but completely fallen out of touch. It’s hard wondering when we will all be able to be together again, or get to hug someone. I MISS HUGS!!!

Then there are the silver linings that have come out of quarantine. Namely, the connections that have developed (albeit virtually) with people who we wouldn’t normally see/speak to on a regular basis due to distance or lack of time, who we’ve now become closer to through weekly virtual hangouts, movie nights, shared workgroups, etc.   

The closing number of Act 1 of Les Miserables is, of course, the epic “One Day More”. I’ve said before that this song has become emblematic of life right now as all the subplots are intertwined together in one rousing reprise before the curtain closes. The Revolution is underway, the authorities are standing by waiting to quash it, and everyone has their own personal dramas taking place in the middle of it all.

…The problem, for those of you who are familiar with Les Miserables, is that Act 2 gets pretty bloody.

Until next time…

That’s all, folks.