One week

Monday:
Work was vastly unfocused. Why? Because we were all trying to figure out the future. "Will we be in the office tomorrow? If not, what can I do from home? What is your team doing? What about your division?" And of course there was the update: what is the status of CV19, how worried should I be, what is inevitable, and did you survive the grocery store.

So, yes, very hard to focus. VERY hard.

After work, I decided to brave the grocery store. And, no milk. Well, there was lactose free milk, and I felt horrible buying it, because what if someone needs it? But I did. I am so sorry. It is just in case. And I only bought one. Also, no eggs. At any rate, life will go on. Weirdest part of the trip? There was an ambulance outside one of the buildings near where I live. The EMTs were gearing up in masks, gloves, and gowns over their uniforms, like you see surgeons do on TV shows. Decked out. I was the only person (besides the EMTs and the security guards) around. So, yes, things are different.

I got home and had a momentary panic realizing that I should maybe go get more quarters, because I still have to feed the laundry machines quarters. Good news, the bank says they are open. So tomorrow. I can do this. Yeah.

The emails from every company I have ever done business with are also getting a bit wearisome. How about if we all just assume that we need to check with the business on whether they are open, have limited services, etc. before we do business with them.

Tuesday:

Did I mention all the people wearing gloves at the grocery store yesterday? I felt like a horrible person not wearing any. (It was two, but the cashier and the person behind me. It is some good peer pressure).

I have a sense of the irony of the people using elbows, knuckles, or sleeves to push elevator buttons. The premise is that they won't get the germs on their hands (or transfer germs from their hands). But we are also told to sneeze into our elbows, so....? A friend pointed out that the elbow is more sanitary, but I only wash my elbow once a day. I wash my hands way more often. And it's way easier.

The dentist's office was able to confirm that I do not have a fever and I had to reschedule another appointment as it was "elective". There was about zero focus on the part of anyone at work today and the numbers of people present are dropping. There are little reminders here and there, things that maybe you wouldn't ordinarily notice but under the circumstances do: lack of people on the streets, having to badge in at work because it is closed to the public, a more silent world. Still the daily non-stop conversation about CV19. You can't not talk about it, because that makes you look stupid or callous, but at the same time, aren't we all ready for something new to talk about? Everyone is pitching the same predictions, marveling at the same things, on repeat.

I want to help out people whose livelihoods are jeopardized and at the same time want to be a good global citizen. Either way, you're doing the wrong thing. That sums up a lot of things.

Wednesday:

To add to the fun and excitement, the day kicked off with an earthquake, 5.7 magnitude, and knocked my power out. The weirdest part is the feeling of still shaking after the tremors had stopped. I (correctly) assumed that there would be no work that day. But since everyone was working from home, was I supposed to? Because I literally couldn't. No power until almost 4:00 pm. It made for a very boring day. I could read on my kindle, which was fully powered. I read A Woman in Berlin and found it interesting to see that in the days after Berlin fell, the trauma experienced by women was the topic of discussion everywhere people met. Just like our coronavirus. The silver lining was I did get to go back to bed, which I wanted to do before I even got out of it. The other silver lining is there is finally something else to talk about than CV19.

Most of the aftershocks were in the morning, but there was another good one in the afternoon. My biggest worry was not having power and possibly losing all the food in my fridge and freezer. Now is not the time to have to replenish. Fortunately, everything was still cold and frozen.

I had to chuckle that confirmation that it was an earthquake came some 30 minutes after the fact, from a friend back east checking in. I'd checked the news, but nothing, and my phone battery was at 30%. I was fairly confident it was an earthquake (it was either that or a herd of elephants had been unleashed on the upper floor of my building) but one does like to be sure. The official statement from HR came out two hours after the fact. I guess with everyone working from home, it probably took a while to get things prepped to send out. Meanwhile, the people who had made it to the building were scrambling--no directors around to give guidance, so what to do? Exactly what they did--make decisions the best you can.

While 90% of the news (probably more) is CV19 related, there does seem to be shocking amount of crime going on for people who are supposed to be self-isolating.

Thursday:
I went in to the office today.  We are down to 2 of my team members still coming. I feel bad going in, but my coworker sent an email that it was lonely (not why I went in--I wanted to try and wrap up some projects that had to be done onsite). Again--every decision seems to be wrong. We did a good job of distancing, though. I went to the bank to get quarters for laundry during lunch (a lunch in which there were no obvious dining out options--even takeout had to be done online in advance, and I just hadn't prepared) and the streets were empty except for people fewer and fewer people with no where else to go or people who were drunk. (I'm assuming the two guys arguing were drunk. They seemed to be). Normally, you are running into coworkers and trying to pick the least busy option (there usually isn't one until 2 in the afternoon).

I get a crash course in hosting a teams video conference. Hope I can still figure it out from home. Even with the declining numbers of onsite workers, the conversation about CV19 goes on as long as ever.

Ever since the earthquake, my home laptop has been having issues. It's driving me nuts. The internet is a nightmare to use. Just on the laptop.

Friday:
And then there were none. From 8 team members on Monday to now--just me. Every collection I try to catalog has unexpected snags and there is no one to hash them out with. I edit a finding aid for a collection that is a mess (a good part of the content has questionable archival value) and am getting frustrated but there is no one to blow off steam with. A teams chat with a colleague doesn't quite do the trick. Sigh. Typed letters on a screen are not the same as the spoken word and body language. I finally went home after lunch and worked from there. Fortunately, the internet is fine on my work laptop.

I talk to my brother that night. One of his daughters is having a hard time being quarantined with her family (they aren't sick, just isolating, but hearing a 6 year old express her frustrations with quarantine is darling, and sad). It's not the same being at home with just the family. I tell him about my laptop and how it always had quirks, but now is impossible and that I want to buy a new one. "Do it! Help the economy." So I do. It was a great price so why not? I checked and I can afford it, and it's at least a drop in the bucket for the economic Armageddon. Maybe.

When I woke up, it took me longer than usual to figure out what day it was. I knew the earthquake was on Wednesday, but honestly couldn't remember how many days had passed since then. Without routine--regular meetings at work, events in the evening, church on Sunday--it is hard to keep track of time. Also, every day is some new major announcement or event, so you can't even distinguish well by that.

Saturday:
Thank goodness car rental companies are still going. Although, I am sorry, all car rental employees. I'm grateful, and hopefully you are, but I know it's all sorts of problematic.

I pick up an SUV--way too big a vehicle for my tastes, but I'm taking my niece home from college. Well, partway. We'll meet up with her parents partway, which means none of us have to do an 18 to 20 hour round trip and that has to be a more responsible way to handle things. Right? Before we leave her apartment, we get a text from her parents telling us to use the restroom there before we leave. They have a 2 hour headstart on us and are finding gas station restrooms are closed.

It's a pretty smooth trip. More traffic than I'd expected, but everyone is in their cars. I've gotten use to the deserted streets this week. It's good to see my sister and her husband, but there are no hugs or anything. We are all keeping a bit of space (not 6 feet, sorry everyone). They have a daughter who just got back from living abroad, who was in a city that had cases of CV19. This is a good moment to shift from working in the office to working at home.

The gas station we meet up at does have their restroom open. There is hand sanitizer as you go in the store, more by the bathroom. But my brother-in-law makes a purchase and, despite his best efforts, the cashier touches every item (not sure if they wore gloves). Like the woman in Berlin, this is the new norm. Everything revolves around CV19 (what an attention seeker, ha ha!). Their recently returned daughter has an exercise camp for her younger siblings--she hasn't changed at all, I'm happy to hear--and my sister is trying to navigate having all her children at home and figuring out how to provide structure and support the ones still doing school online. My brother-in-law and I commiserate over the challenges of working from home. Getting dressed is a must. The pajamas all day thing is not as great as you might think. We finally bid each other farewell, again no hugs. But lots of love and wishes for sanity!

When I get back, I go to the grocery store. After an earthquake and the push to stay home as much as possible, I'm feeling like it's my turn to stock up on things. There are signs everywhere encouraging shoppers to be considerate and not deplete the entire stock. One store has no eggs and limited options on pasta. Another store has better selection. No one has flour (I checked 3 stores. Although, if I were interested, I could get all sorts of non-wheat flours). Or toilet paper. Although there are a few boxes of kleenex. I am kind of surprised by how full the parking lots are, but people gotta eat. I may try doing the online ordering and just pick up my groceries. We'll see.

Mostly I'm trying to think ahead in case my area hits the "shelter in place" point. Even then I'll probably be able to get groceries somehow, but I want to do my best to not contribute to the problem, so preparing now to minimize needing to go out seems like a good idea.

Sunday:
Second Sunday with no Church. Worshiping alone isn't as satisfying as worshiping together but it's okay. It's not the worship part, it's everything else. Not having that schedule really is wreaking havoc on me. I'll get there eventually (and hopefully in time to shift back. Doesn't that sound exciting!) More conversations with people--church people and family--and all about CV19 and the earthquake. (Less the earthquake. The conversational value of that is already waning. Things can hardly get more than 24 hours of attention these days). One niece is still making plans for the spring term of college. Another, who recently had a birthday, got tickets to an event that will likely be cancelled or postponed--obviously purchased before this chaos. Spoken or not, in the back of everyone's mind is "depending on what happens in the next few weeks." Another aftershock, today. I didn't feel it much. Heard it more than anything. The perks of a basement apartment. Zagreb, Croatia got hit by an earthquake today. The damage was far worse, I'm guessing because the buildings are generally older than where I live, but they felt the same thing we did out here: "Seriously? This too?" I feel there pain, at least a little. It's one more thing that no one needs right now.

*****

There's a saying or proverb, May you live in interesting times. I much prefer to get my interesting times by reading a book about them years after the fact. Or in the archival records I'm working with. I guess to that end, to acknowledge my interesting time and give a little documentation to whoever may be researching and writing about this, here's a glimpse at a week living with COVID-19. It's unnerving, and at the same time tedious; maybe because I'm an archivist, there's a certain fascination (already archives are developing plans to document CV19). I should probably feel fear but I have limited emotional energy for that right now, although I understand and appreciate everyone else's fear and concern. I feel a bit guilty for not being more afraid although I expect that there is still a good chance my fear threshold will be met. We're only getting started, I think. Either way, there is that 'fly on the wall' part of me that is observing and so here are some of those observations. 

Now can I not write about CV19 for a while?