Isolation Isn’t the Same as Boredom

I promised you a report on my banking adventure. It did not turn out to be much of an adventure. I was expecting to have someone run out of the bank to shout through a bullhorn that I could not walk-thru the drive-thru but that didn’t happen. There were cars in the two lanes of the drive-thru as I walked up. One pulled away and I stepped into the lane. They asked what I wanted and I told them. They send out a withdrawal slip, I filled it out and sent it back with ID, ATM card and the list of the dollar dominations that I wanted. While they were counting the money, one man came to the window and told me to watch out for cars. The only car was the one in the other lane but I said I would be careful. They sent out my withdrawal in an envelope with my receipt. I walked back to the apartment.

Some of you may be wondering what I do every day all alone in isolation. Today is kind of typical.

I was up at 6:30 and by 7:00 AM I was out the door to walk. I’ve found that I need to leave by 7:00 or I start to encounter too many other people out for walks. For the most part if we are approaching each other on a side walk one of us moves out into the street except for joggers. They barrel straight ahead like they own the road. You just know they are not going to move over, so I do. My walks are about 2.5 miles but they are a good pace with no stops and I’m feeling stronger so I plan to kick it up to 3 miles everyday.

When I return to the apartment it is breakfast time and I’m a breakfast eater. With breakfast I scan emails and the NYT’s and then the work begins. Today, I spent time trying to trace down a package that said it was delivered yesterday but wasn’t. After some defective work I found Mr. Baker of the USPS and he told me that the regular delivery person was off yesterday and the substitute didn’t know what to do with the packages since they could not be left in the office of the apartment complex so he marked them delivered but the regular person was back today and he thought I’d have my package today.

Next came signing on to the Kroger app and trying to order some items. I was really excited when the first thing I saw was Clorox wipes. Check YES but the limit is one. Okay, I’ll be glad to get one. By the time I was ready to check out, the Clorox wipes were no longer available. And that seems to happen regularly with the Curbside and delivery apps I’ve tried. I checked back on other grocery apps and none of them had Clorox wipes are any of the cleaning supplies that are effective against the virus.

Next, the Bosu I ordered was delivered. Yea! But my Yea! didn’t last long. The little hand pump was a cheap piece of crap. I doubt that I could ever blow up the Bosu with it but I tried valiantly for a long time because I want to use it. So, now I’m trying to figure out if I know someone who will bring me a real pump or if I should order a pump on Amazon.

Downstairs and out to the mailbox. No package delivery yet. Back upstairs and disinfect door, keys and hands.

I bought an inexpensive laptop from B&H but I don’t like it for working with my images. Actually I hate it. I won’t go into the long story but after some lengthy discussions with B&H that included about how long I had been their customer and how I had to flee my home in Mexico because of the virus and here I was in Houston unable to work on my images. Oh, woe is me. I’ve made a terrible expensive mistake. What I wanted was to return this computer and buy a Mac Laptop which isn’t a wise financial decision but what the hell. They finally relented. Sunday morning I’ll order the Mac laptop but that meant that I then had to spend time comparing models and deciding which one I would order.

Next was downloading the app for the apartment complex and setting up to pay the rent on line. That went fairly well after a phone call to the complex.

Downstairs and out to the mailbox. Yea, the package was there. Back upstairs and disinfect door, keys and hands.

During the day there were a few phone calls with family and friends and an occasional session at the TV to see what is happening.

By this time it is 4:30 and I haven’t eaten since breakfast so I cooked dinner. Another day of isolation has passed.