Five Months into the Pandemic

Since this blog is also a way for me to remember events in my life, I was thinking today that it would be good to put in writing what my new normal looks like and how I have adjusted life and managed to make it work well for me and some silver linings!

For some reason, I've become a complete morning person.  My body simply is ready to go at 430AM.  I wake up and my body is excited for the day.  I simply can't sleep anymore.  I rise and I make coffee, doing the bathroom routine and then sit down.  Breakfast is a bowl of fruit, some vitamins, black coffee and sometimes cake or cookies.  The routine then proceeds with me scrolling through Facebook and working my way through the NY Times. One fantastic bonus is that school purchased all adults a subscription to the Times and it hasn't yet ended.  Fingers crossed.  One thing I've discovered that organizes my reading is the "open link in new tab" function.  Something this simple allows me to know what I want to read and keep track of where I am on the front page.

I finish my NY Times by doing the mini-crossword as fast as I can.  My goal is to finish it in under a minute and then I text my time to my friend Trey.  Over the course of the day, we discuss the puzzle which inevitably leads to other topics.  So, this right here will be a theme of what has kept me happy and sane, that being continuing to have connections with people, even though they aren't in person.

After the NY Times, I do a quick scan of the SFGate website for local stories and then I read a couple political websites.

Depending on the day, the rest of the morning consists of going to the gym and doing work on my laptop.  On M,W,F, computer work, which can be anything from answering emails, handling life paperwork or even work for school, and then going to the gym at 10AM.  On Tuesday's and Thursdays, gym at 7AM and then the rest of the morning is for general work.

Somehow, each and everyday, I've managed to connect by text with a friend.  Everyday it seems to be a different person, and however it happens (half the time I reach out and the other half someone finds me) this "human" connection through texting really lifts my spirits.  A 10-20 minute texting conversation can make the day just that much more joyous.  Some of the texting traditions include simultaneously reading a book with my friend Jennifer.  We decide to read a Jack Reacher novel and "discuss" it as we go along.  I get book recommendations from Peter.  I text with Trey and Jeff about Crossfit. David in Florida and I end up talking about hurricanes. And then there is the China group over on WhatsApp.

Sometime during the early afternoon, I'll lay down and try and read a book on my phone and I'll end up dozing off for an hour.  My body simply knows that it's time to rest and I allow my nap to happen. Most of the time I just fall asleep in bed or even better now, the pullout bed that Onions has relocated to the family area in the back of the house with the great windows and light.

Podcasts have been another thing that I look forward to.  As episodes from different podcasts I listen to show up, I put them in my feed.  At this point, I've got some 30 different podcasts lined up and since I don't look ahead, it's always a fun surprise when I find out what the next one is.

Around 4PM, I start get ready to do a second workout here at home.  Down in the homegym that Onions has set up, I sign into my gym's Zoom online workouts.  I've managed to make the morning workouts more about weightlifting and the afternoons more cardio based.  Again, seeing friends online and hanging out with Oscar, Steph and Alex online is fun and keeps me connected.

Other things that have kept me happy are that I've learned the power and great feeling of stretching that Yoga brings and then my friend Chuck has organized online versions of his famous Euchre tournaments!

This life of shelter in place has also allowed me to participate more easily in my recovery.  I can sign into meetings all over the country and it's allowed me not to make the excuse of "I don't feel like hauling myself out" but I simply have to type in a code and participate in that way.  I've found a really great meeting I like based out of Palm Springs.

Around 8PM in the evening, Onions "dings the dinner bell" (yes, literally) and we sit down to eat.  I'm no longer allowed to bring my phone to the table so we watch YouTube videos (Chinese ones) of a cute couple in Sichuan that does a homemade cooking show and our favorite Taiwanese talk show.  After dinner, I wash the dishes (inevitably I do something that is wrong or annoys Onions), I do my evening bathroom routine and am in bed between 9 and 930PM.

This is what has and is making me happy during the summer of 2020.

2020 PGA Championship -- Round 4

 

The final round!  Early start time with the first player teeing off at 730AM.  It's FOGUST in San Francisco and since Harding Park is located in the western side of town, it's the foggy part of the city.

The Wanamaker Trophy!

Today, I was assigned to the Par 3, third hole.  This is what the players see from the tee.

This is a view of the third green from the "Quick" perspective.

The person closest to me works for CBS Sports.  That person's job is to gather information about the player and report back to the studio.  For instance, caddies will give hand signals to the person to tell what club is being used. The person then also tells the studio, "player X for birdie."  The volunteer in the distance is the walking scorer.

On this day, I was the "Final," therefore I needed a view of the entire green.  

My lonely red camp chair!

This was a pretty typical view for me.  Two balls on the green.  Turns out the "Final" is simply supposed to confirm that the cameras have correctly located the ball.  The "Final" confirms the location.  

I also could look off to my left and watch players tee off from the fourth hole.  When the fog lifted (only a little), I could see The Olympic Club golf course on the other side of Lake Merced.

This being the third day at the tournament, I was getting bored, so I decided to take pictures of guys who had interesting and good fashion choices.  I also kept track of facial hair...turns out caddies have facial hair more often than the players.  Here's Erik Van Rooyen, the only player to wear what appears to be a camo pattern and a ski hat!

Danny Lee with the short sleeve over long sleeve look that turned out to be pretty common.  That's my "Quick" partner on the other side.

If it's Sunday and it's Tiger, he's wearing red.

Always a fan of colored pants!  Yellow on Billy Horschel.  Also, turns out lots of guys like to go monochrome, like Abraham Ancer here.  I'd like some more contrast, please.

Mickelson out of the bunker, one of the few who hit it in that trap all day.

Hideki Matsuyama and Li Haotong clearly didn't coordinate (or maybe they did?) when both went with all white ensembles!

Interestingly, the ONLY caddy I saw wear a mask was the caddy for Japanese native Matsuyama.

Green was a popular color.  It's Emiliano Grillo putting in this photo. I spent some time talking to his putting coach.  I was trying to get his coach to tell me what exactly a putting coach does, but I didn't really get much of a satisfactory answer.

By far the MOST INTERESTING thing that happened all day.  Both players hit their balls into the front bunker and the two balls were so close, Adam Hadwin (squatting) had to mark his ball.  Denny McCarthy (standing left) played his shot and then when Hadwin went back to place his ball, even though his ball was in the same location, the lie had actually improved.  He called the rules official (standing right) who allowed him to play his ball with the improved lie.  

Justin Thomas putting, but I like what Harris English is wearing on top. It looks like a vest, but the front vest part is actually part of the shirt/top.  The vest part doesn't extend to the back.

Charl Schwartzel is only player to wear a Panama style hat.  

Big fan of Lantos Griffin's shoes.

Dylan Frittelli shows off three major themes all at once. Short sleeve over long sleeve.  Mint green and a vest.

Harold Varner III, the only African-American player to make the cut.

Big and tall Jon Rahm, who wore monochrome both days I saw him.

Matthew Wolff with very cool rainbow colored shoes.

Bryson DeChambreau pictured here not for his fashion, but for his unique putting form.

The 2020 PGA Champion Collin Morikawa.  Right after this photo, he sunk his birdie putt, his first of the final round.

Dustin Johnson in action.

My final screen after Dustin's 3-putt.   Up there it says 8th of 21.  Turns out the computer system ranks all the laser operators based on how quickly they enter the information.  As a "Final" I confirmed the location of the ball on average 2 seconds after the cameras located it.

I saw this commentator numerous times, turns out it's Judy Rankin.

Another commentator, Trevor Immelman

After I was done at hole 3, I wandered back along the course.  Here's a look at hole 15 with Lake Merced on the left.

As I was packing up my stuff at the 3rd hole, Steph Curry walked by.  This photo is taken from SFGate, but he was at the course.  He's not in the NBA bubble because the Warriors weren't invited.  He got to spectate because, according to SFGate, he was designated a special correspondent/reporter.

After the 3rd hole, I sat down next to a tree by the 8th green and watched the final four groups play through.  Brooks Koepka!

Dustin Johnson made par from this grass bunker.

The final group walking up the 9th fairway as I was crossing the fairway.  Goodbye to the players and a fun three days at the PGA.

2020 PGA Championship -- Round 3

 

Third Round on Saturday.  At this point, half the field was cut and there were now 79 players.  My shift was for the entire day and since I was assigned to the first hole, the first group (one player and the Harding Park Club pro as a filler to make an even 80 players), I was on the course at 8AM.

My view of the 1st green, with the hole right behind the bunker.  As the "Quick" today, I had to make sure that I could see the bunker to identify if balls landed there or in the rough, that's why I'm farther back down the fairway.

A nice bonus is that the first hole is right in the center the course and I could also watch action on the 2nd (left) and 7th (right) holes.  Turns out, I didn't actually see much.

The view down towards the first tee.  Yeah, it was pretty overcast and gloomy most of the day.

Jordan Spieth again in an early pairing.

My first view of Phil Mickelson

Tiger in the left rough.  He would have had to move spectators had they been present.

Big hitter Bryson DeChambeau hit a drive that was closest to me, so it was the longest drive of the day.

The Japanese media showing up for their countryman, Hideki Matsuyama, who wins for the best splash of color!

Dustin Johnson went so far left, he was on the slope leading up the second green.  I was in his line of sight, so I had to move.

Coming back from a bathroom break!  There's my lonely red chair.

ESPN commentator Gary McCord

So the golfer I really wanted to see was the leader Li Haotong!  He's 25 and from China.  He's tall.

He shot an over par round and apparently lost a ball in the trees on the back 9. 

The official policy was that once a shift is over and duties are completed, a volunteer is supposed to leave the course and not hang around because of COVID-19 restrictions.  But, to leave I had to walk by the 18th green and so I hung out for a few groups as they finished up.  This is the view from where I'm standing on a hill at the back of the green.

I got home about 45 minutes later and for some reason Onions had a tape delayed broadcast of the 18th hole coverage and the players I watched were on screen.  And then they showed this panned coverage and I saw myself on TV.  I'm that guy standing by the white post in front of the green building.  Onions said he could tell it was me because of the way I was leaning on the poll and the way I bent my leg.