Quarantine life when you live alone
Apr. 1st, 2020 04:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thistlechaserInspired by a post from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hamsterwoman.
I live alone in a small apartment. My apartment complex is next door to an elementary school, and thus full of families. Most of the families are gone (where? I have no idea).
Usually this apartment complex is full of life. Kids run around, people walk dogs, there are mothers with kids everywhere. Now? I feel like the world has ended. I used to not be able to open my blinds, because I live on the ground floor and that would let too many people look in. Now I can leave them completely open.
I see maybe one or two people outside my windows most days. (My windows overlook the main sidewalk and the main green area, so people have to pass through if they're going to their apartments.) It really feels like the world has ended and I'm the only human left alive. Most of the time, there's nothing to even hear other than wind and birds.
I've always been happy living alone though, so that part doesn't bother me. I have a cat, and even before this happened I've been feeding crows. I see the crows a hundred times more than I see another human. (They come every hour or so calling for me to come out and feed them. Yes, I'm spoiling them to death.)
Like I said, I live in a small studio apartment. It's about four steps from my bed to my desk. Maybe six steps to my kitchen. So there's not much to go or do inside.
I've started taking walks most days, because I'm actually worried health-wise about doing nothing but sitting this long. I'm not an active person in general, but at least going into the office meant I walked to my car, around the floor, all that.
...crows are yelling for food right now. I enjoy going out to feed them, but I wash my hands every time I come in (not because of Corona, I'd do it anyway) and I feed them every hour or so, so that's a little hard on my skin.
My mother is holed up in Maine. On one hand, I wish we were closer to each other, but at least that's one of the safest places for her to be in. My sister lives in South Carolina with her husband and adult kids. No law of man or nature can control her, so no idea if she's being safe or not. Fingers crossed.
Anyway! Interesting stats stolen fromhamsterwoman:
Days since I've been to work:
God, I had to check and check and check again. We were ordered to work from home on Tuesday March 17th, though (thinking things were getting bad) I called in sick Monday the 16th. So it's only been 17 days counting the weekends. Two weeks and two days. It feels like MONTHS. I would have guessed it was at least five weeks now.
Greatest number of days in a row I spent wearing pajamas:
I love keeping that stat! I have no idea what my count is, the days blur together so much. The last few days I've put pants on to go take a walk (sleeping t-shirt covered by a jacket, so didn't change), but I know I've had a long run of not going out.
Number of shopping trips total:
Let's see, on the first day I went to Trader Joe's and the dollar store (I get my snacks there). I figured the grocery store would be insane. TJ still had a line out the door, but I was one of the first 30 or so people they let in.
Then I went more than a week before I went to the grocery store and dollar store again (eating so many snacks...).
On Saturday I went to a sub place (Jersey Mike's, first time ever going, but they were having a half-price sale).
I think that's it, though I have gotten delivery three times now (pizza twice and Chinese food once).
hamsterwoman.I live alone in a small apartment. My apartment complex is next door to an elementary school, and thus full of families. Most of the families are gone (where? I have no idea).
Usually this apartment complex is full of life. Kids run around, people walk dogs, there are mothers with kids everywhere. Now? I feel like the world has ended. I used to not be able to open my blinds, because I live on the ground floor and that would let too many people look in. Now I can leave them completely open.
I see maybe one or two people outside my windows most days. (My windows overlook the main sidewalk and the main green area, so people have to pass through if they're going to their apartments.) It really feels like the world has ended and I'm the only human left alive. Most of the time, there's nothing to even hear other than wind and birds.
I've always been happy living alone though, so that part doesn't bother me. I have a cat, and even before this happened I've been feeding crows. I see the crows a hundred times more than I see another human. (They come every hour or so calling for me to come out and feed them. Yes, I'm spoiling them to death.)
Like I said, I live in a small studio apartment. It's about four steps from my bed to my desk. Maybe six steps to my kitchen. So there's not much to go or do inside.
I've started taking walks most days, because I'm actually worried health-wise about doing nothing but sitting this long. I'm not an active person in general, but at least going into the office meant I walked to my car, around the floor, all that.
...crows are yelling for food right now. I enjoy going out to feed them, but I wash my hands every time I come in (not because of Corona, I'd do it anyway) and I feed them every hour or so, so that's a little hard on my skin.
My mother is holed up in Maine. On one hand, I wish we were closer to each other, but at least that's one of the safest places for her to be in. My sister lives in South Carolina with her husband and adult kids. No law of man or nature can control her, so no idea if she's being safe or not. Fingers crossed.
Anyway! Interesting stats stolen from
hamsterwoman:Days since I've been to work:
God, I had to check and check and check again. We were ordered to work from home on Tuesday March 17th, though (thinking things were getting bad) I called in sick Monday the 16th. So it's only been 17 days counting the weekends. Two weeks and two days. It feels like MONTHS. I would have guessed it was at least five weeks now.
Greatest number of days in a row I spent wearing pajamas:
I love keeping that stat! I have no idea what my count is, the days blur together so much. The last few days I've put pants on to go take a walk (sleeping t-shirt covered by a jacket, so didn't change), but I know I've had a long run of not going out.
Number of shopping trips total:
Let's see, on the first day I went to Trader Joe's and the dollar store (I get my snacks there). I figured the grocery store would be insane. TJ still had a line out the door, but I was one of the first 30 or so people they let in.
Then I went more than a week before I went to the grocery store and dollar store again (eating so many snacks...).
On Saturday I went to a sub place (Jersey Mike's, first time ever going, but they were having a half-price sale).
I think that's it, though I have gotten delivery three times now (pizza twice and Chinese food once).
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2020-04-02 04:04 am (UTC)That is so odd! Maybe they have family in the suburbs they moved in with? But I wouldn't expect that in the Bay Area, really...
Two weeks and two days. It feels like MONTHS. I
Yeah, I've lost all sense of time, too.
Is your TJ's doing the limited number of people inside the store thing? Ours is, and while I approve of it as a practice, we haven't been going, because that would take way too long.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-02 04:40 am (UTC)Yep! That first day, TJ had a really long line (and people weren't keeping with social distancing yet). I haven't been back there yet, because I bought so much of the stuff I usually get from them. I still have five boxes of the mac and cheese! (Had two in the freezer, bought three more then.)
I'm going to need to go to Costco soon, but the idea of waiting on a line for a half hour or more just to get in is making me drag my feet. Maybe next week.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-02 01:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-02 02:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-03 08:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-03 05:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-09 07:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-09 09:04 pm (UTC)I've started seeing more people walking around, but it's still a lot fewer than usual. Maybe five people a day?