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.
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