Quarantine Update #2
In my last post, I started with an ongoing count of how long we have been in quarantine, but Cara has informed me those numbers are actually incorrect. The timeline I gave was the last time we have seen friends in-person, but as Cara points out we actually began our own voluntary self-quarantine weeks before that. In truth we started quarantine on March 6th when we decided not to go to a concert we had tickets to. This was a profound moment for us, one which began an adventure in restraint and sacrifice for our safety as well as others. So the real numbers I offer below certainly feel more correct than the ones I posted previously:
There is not a lot to update on now except that restrictions have been lifted to some extent. Many state parks have reopened for day-use and we've been trying to get out. We have not done any major hikes yet; mostly we have been driving to a scenic location and just taking it easy. I will publish a post or two about these trips we've taken so far. We're particularly eager for when camping once again becomes available. We haven't gone camping since we tented our way across the country moving out here.
We've also been doing everything we can to make our time inside more enjoyable. Most of it is above-board, but I think our landlords will have a thing or two to say about the screen door we are installing today. Our front-door is the only way we can get sunlight from the south side of our apartment, so we leave it open quite often. Unfortunately this has lead to unintended consequences such as infrequent visits from curious bees. Anyone following the news knows we are feeling a little skittish about bees at the moment since they've upgraded to Hornet 2.0 with new Human Murder™ feature we've all been waiting for. 2020 seems to be the year of the bug, both the microscopic and the absurd. Luckily you can get a pretty cheap screen off the internet which simply tacks on your doorframe and allows passage only for anything large enough to pull apart a series of 20 relatively strong magnets.
We've found that keeping the apartment spotless helps. I also went ahead and cleaned up our network, rebuilding my PiHole and clearing off all the ads on the network. This has been a uniquely enlightening experience because as it stands the PiHole is reporting that 45.5% of all the traffic on our home network is ad domains. I'm all too happy to take that ad revenue away. Ask me again about this when I get a following and monetize this blog. I also built a magazine rack in the bathroom out of cardboard and sisal rope, installed bias lighting on my computer monitor and the TV (something Cara is less enthused about than I am), and have attempted to de-squeak my office chair to no avail. I could truly write a whole mini-series about how making home improvements has significantly decreased the mental toll of being in a social prison.
More importantly, we have started to foster new hobbies and rekindle old ones to keep us productive when we aren't working. Sometime this week, we picked up some gardening supplies and Cara started our own little city-farm right out on the breezeway outside the apartment. I helped, but minimally - I think I just moved some of the cow-manure around. Cara will still tell you it's our garden. I guess at a minimum I came up with the idea to fashion a watering can out of a literal bean can and an old empty bottle, so I will take some credit. My new hobby is actually an old one I am trying to revisit: photography. I've been talking about getting a digital SLR for a while, but Cara was insistent I just use hers. Yesterday, I finally swallowed my pride and did something I swore I would never do. I shot with a Nikon. I am publicly admitting this so that I may possibly be free of this mental torment I currently bear. May this immense weight be no longer.
Until next Sunday, everyone!
