drive / lunch
Shobhit and I had three episodes left of Netflix's The Queen's Gambit to watch last night, but we only watched two of them: one before and one after going out.
And by "going out," I just mean . . . for a drive. I just wanted to get out. Never getting to go anywhere for months on end besides grocery stores or for walks is one thing, but COVID-19 is now spreading twice the rate it was during our first stay-home order, it's looking like it will be months on end to go before that changes. The whole thing was just starting to get to me. I wanted to go somewhere. Anywhere. Some place we needed to drive to.
One challenge is that it's now dark as soon as the work day is done. Otherwise we could conceivably, say, just drive to Discovery Park (like we did last year) or to the Arboretum, to look at fall colors. I suggested, though, that we drive out to West Seattle. Why not? There are gorgeous views of the city from over there, and it would give us something to do, even if the West Seattle Bridge closure added several miles to the trek. It took us nearly half an hour to drive out to Admiral Viewpoint. (It still amazes me the degree to which that story got sidelined in 2020; without all of President Fuckwit's fuckery and without a global pandemic, the West Seattle Bridge closure would have been all anyone was talking about.)
Side note: I only just learned while writing this that the Low Bridge remains open to transit, so at least that route is still open to some, including freight vehicles, emergency vehicles, and "non motorized users," which must mean it's also open to cyclists. Hmm. Still: we were in just a regular car, and the required detour adds about five miles to a route that should be closer to only six.
I figured Shobhit would still be up to it, though, as I told him he'd get a Social Review point out of it. When we got to Admiral Viewpoint, only one other couple was there also taking pictures. They did not have masks on but there was plenty of space to give them a wide berth.
I took a couple pictures from there, and then we drove further on to Alki Beach, driving around the north point of West Seattle until we could see the skyline across the water again. That view is actually far better, and one of the two photos I took there is seen at the bottom of this post.
We drove back home from there, picking up takeout from an Indian restaurant called Spice Box on Broadway between Pike and Pine (right next to the Mud Bay pet store) on our way. We ate while watching the next episode of The Queen's Gambit.
Shobhit works today, but not too late; he should be home by around 6:30. He actually asked me this morning if I had any plans tonight (nope) and suggested we go somewhere again so he could get yet another Social Review point. I'll have to do some brainstorming on that. Another lookout? Kerry Park maybe? I don't know what the hell else we can do at night without being indoors somewhere. Also there's rain in the forecast and that could change his motivations.
And as of now, I just finished lunch over FaceTime with Karen. We do first and third Thursdays rather than strictly every two weeks, which means every few months there is a three-week break, which was what we just had; our last time was Friday October 23, the same day I had the Zoom Pumpkin Carving Party with Gabriel and Lea and Mandy that evening.
In a somewhat curious twist, she and I did not discuss the election at all today, even though it occurred in the meantime between when we last spoke and now. We did talk about the wildfire spread of COVID-19, and her initial response was to say "But hospitals are not overwhelmed." I replied, "Not yet," and she countered that doctors have a much better handle on how to treat it now than they did in March or April. This may be true, but it still doesn't mean giving up on containing the spread is a good idea (not that I'm suggesting she said that, because she didn't). The general consensus currently is that the spread is due to "small, private social gatherings," reflecting both "pandemic fatigue" and a trend health officials already have been warning us about for months: the shift in weather forcing people indoors.
And, yes, I took a few trips over the spring and summer, for Shobhit's and my anniversary in June; to visit Christopher and Tristen in August after Mom's death in July; and the day trip to see family in Leavenworth in September. I do really feel it relevant to note that in neither case did Shobhit and I spend any time indoors with anyone other than each other; even the lunch we had with Christopher and Tristen was socially distanced outside our hotel room. We have not had a single visitor inside our home, with the exceptions of necessities like a Comcast cable guy visit or building fire inspection, in the meantime; I have slightly considered a calculated risk with Sachin over to visit but I was always resistant and even that still has not happened—and apparently he's gone to Atlanta for several weeks for work now anyway.
My point is, the driver of the virus spread right now is something I have not done at all. The same cannot be said of the rest of my family, particularly in regards to that September "family vacation," and in that instance I only hung out socially distanced outside the house they were all staying at. They all stayed overnight in that one giant house and I was the only one who would not. I'm still holding out hope that circumstances will be different next year, though.
Anyway! Karen and I spoke about lots of other things too, and it was nice to catch up. I was just thinking recently about how glad I am that we have kept up this twice-monthly routine for many years now. Not having something built in like that is the very reason I only see Shauna once a year during my Birth Week anymore. But at least I still get regular interaction with Karen, and Laney, and Gabriel, and to a lesser degree right now but she's not going anywhere, Danielle.
Now I need to get back to work.
[posted 1:26 pm]