Life Under Shelter In Place

So what does life look like between March and June, 2020?  As seen in previous posts, lots of time is spent looking at screens.  But it's meant making sincere efforts to keep in touch with people (at least at the beginning).  Here we are with Yvonne!

Oh, this is me doing some physical therapy (literally Superman position was considered PT) for a few weeks after the surgery, but that has turned into me doing my gym's online yoga program four times a week!  I also do the workouts six times a week at 430PM.  I'm actually doing more physical activity than before!

In April, I spent some time with Gunny and his wife Diana who were quarantined in Brooklyn at the height of the outbreak. 

One by one, peole began to show up.  Their daughter Aldrin showed up and at the point of this video hadn't been out of their apartment in two months!

Then Brian logged in from London!

And then Ann-Katrin joined in!  By early June, Gunny and his family up and moved from NYC to Nashville.  Apparently it had been in the works before the pandemic but the outbreak confirmed their decision to leave the city.

I have to thank others for providing and organizing entertainment!  Here I finished 4th place (argh, I wanted to win) in the Meredith Family trivia Kahoot.  Alas, too many questions about Russian History!

My friend Chuck has been running online Euchre tournaments.  I've been able to participate in 4 out of 5.  The fifth one I didn't play because Onions and I were out camping during one of the early rounds.  Alas, haven't won any money yet.

The normal gaming group has moved online and I have to say, it's an improvement as the set up is instantaneous and there is no confusion as to the rules, the computer does it all for us.  I hate to admit, but I've spent almost 100 hours playing versions of Catan online (either with Onions and Carl) or just by myself.  

At the beginning, I won...but everyone has been playing and everyone is getting better.  Alas, I admit that my losing streak has shaken my confidence, but I've been trying to make sure that I learn from my errors.

It was fun to hang out with Cameron (and his boyfriend JP) and Leslie!

O's 5th birthday!

And sometimes we just watch O eat!

I've also provided some technical support to Flo (who lives in the neighborhood).  Being a big activist, she wanted to learn how to follow the protests online.  I taught her the concept of hashtags on Instagram and how to follow people/organizations she likes!

Then the next day, she stopped by our house to ask me to reinstall her MUNI bus app which had disappeared.  Turns out her phone had 8 (yes, you read that right) GB of memory (apparently she's had the phone for almost a decade!).  So, I told her son Camilo (who I left a voicemail for) that he needed to help Flo upgrade her phone.

As things have opened up, and Onions and I have gotten a bit stir crazy, we spend a couple hours in the afternoon outside driving around.  We've discovered new places in the city....here's the view from Walter Haas Park up in Diamond Heights!

The Bison Paddock in Golden Gate Park!

On the weekends we drive down the coast....just to get some air.  One weekend we went all the way to Santa Cruz to return Hans' stuff.  And one Saturday we stopped to pick strawberries!

Organic strawberries do taste way better than the ones we buy at the store.  Speaking of store purchased fruit.....shelter in place has meant Costco runs every two weeks!  We can pretty much eat at home for about $100 a person per week.  We are part of the population that is NOT spending money and thereby hurting the economy.

And we have gone to Onions happy place!  Usually I get to sit in the cafeteria......but this time I just sat in the car and it was enjoyable because I read and listened to podcasts.

Speaking of reading.....it's all moved onto digital platforms.  I had a bunch of books checked out from the library but I finished all the physical books, so I've moved to reading books on my phone using the Libby App.  Also, school has purchased us (or perhaps it was given to school and employees got it as well) free subscriptions to the NY Times, which I've made daily reading.  Also, I've certainly increased my podcast listening.  So...that's what these past three months have looked like!