— चार हजार सात सौ तेईस —

It's strange how quickly you can adapt to a radical and unexpected shift in your life. The first few weeks of "stay at home" left me emotionally a bit discombobulated, but now that I'm nearing the end of the fifth week, it's getting to be like all the days just run into each other. I wonder if that happens to people in prison? I bet it does. And I don't mean to be trite, or to make a wholesale comparison: I can still leave the building if I want—although it is still discouraged. I still have a lot more freedoms than someone actually in prison. But there are still going to be some greater similarities in this scenario than when life was going on as normal. There's a new kind of monotony to the passing of the days, with very little to break them up: no going out to eat, no leaving to spend time with friends or family, no movie-going. I only ever leave for biweekly grocery shopping and twice a week to swap out paperwork at work.

Speaking of which! I did do that yesterday: as soon as I finished my work day at 4:30, I went to the office. Just as I had on Saturday, I chose to ride my bike. The key difference now is that, with Shobhit home on a day off of work, I actually had the choice to drive. But, I wanted to get out and ride for a while. There and back, cumulatively the bike riding was about an hour. And it was glorious. So much so that, unlike in the past when I was just making it part of my regular daily commute, I did not have my AirPods in my ears. Okay, I take it back: I did put them in about 2/3 of the way home, when I was near the Parmount Theater, so I could listen to some Cher favorites to help pass the time on that last stretch that is a fairly long and steep uphill climb.

I was not at the office long, although I did see some somewhat surprising people. When I was locking up my bike and then walking to the building entrance, Terry, the Health and Body Care Merchandiser, hollered hi at me from her car across the street. Later I saw her and a woman I assume is her wife inside the office walking around for a few minutes (they left at the same time I did, choosing to take a different elevator), both of them with face masks on. Also, as I do every time I visit the office, I first immediately went to the men's room to wash my hands—and I saw Scott in there. He had clearly been working at the office, though I don't know how long. If he was there all day, he kind of wasn't supposed to be, but whatever.

I only otherwise saw the new receptionist, who is I believe the only one currently actually working at the office all day every day, which must be pretty lonely and maybe even eerie for her. I don't remember her name, we were never formally introduced, and every time I come in she never even looks up from her computer monitor. I suppose I could actually introduce myself sometime, that wouldn't kill me, but hey—I'm not the receptionist!

— चार हजार सात सौ तेईस —

— चार हजार सात सौ तेईस —

I finally bit the bullet and ordered a pack of face masks from Amazon. It says they'll be delivered between April 19 and May 4. I'd sure like to get them sooner than later. I'm starting to get self-conscious when I go to stores without a mask on, and I saw in email yesterday that PCC is going to hang signs that even say "Please consider wearing a mask while shopping." There will never be 100% compliance on that, but as a known employee, I should probably wear one. I just don't want to have to tear up a T-shirt to make one. I guess I can just wrap one of my scarves around my face if I have to. I do get paid this Friday, which means another round of grocery shopping this coming weekend.

As for the rest of last night, once I got back from the office, Shobhit already had the prepared banana pudding setting in the refrigerator. These days, Shobhit has a day off, he makes food. Two pies now (one pear, one apple), now a pudding. Then I helped him make parathas to have with leftovers of the delicious garbanzo bean dish he had already made for lunch.

Then I decided we'd watch The Matrix, which I haven't watched in ages. I wanted to see it again now that I have visited Sydney, which was where the movie was filmed, and any skyscrapers seen in it are from the Sydney skyline. So that part was fun. It was interesting to see such a monumental, influential, forward-looking movie literally more than two decades after its release . . . that movie was released in 1999.

It was also by far the best of the trilogy, but I am thinking about watching the other two anyway. They're both also available on Netflix, so why not? Maybe sometime soon.

— चार हजार सात सौ तेईस —

[posted 12:33 pm]