Suspended animation: the lockdown continues
Lockdown Day 30: And here come the roots. I’m finally seeing what my real hair colour is, but I’m also being forced to face the fact some of those strands are grey. So I am essentially 16 and 75 at the same time. Lockdown Day 31: I’ve finally learned to stop asking who will be home for dinner.
Lockdown Day 32: My sleep patterns are chaotic, which is not good for someone who balances mental health issues. I’m bipolar. This lockdown is enough to push even the toughest among us into depressions so please speak out, and please keep a (metaphorical) eye on each other. I’m reading that many of us are having loopy dreams, no doubt the product of unrelenting stress. I went in search of something to provide white noise in my room at night, to help quiet my brain. My favourite place is my bedroom at the cottage when it’s raining. If you scout around on YouTube, you can find anything. I found a rain soundtrack and cued it up for the first night. Lockdown Night 32: Got up to turn off the white noise because
the thunder kept waking me up.
Lockdown Day 33: My back has been getting increasingly crinkled up because I plunk myself into a chair and don’t move all day. Sometimes I mix it up and work on the couch. Neither is good. Finally remembered some yoga stretches I once learned. Sweet Pea woke up from her ninth nap of the day and asked why I was pretending to be a cat. Tonight’s music selection: ocean waves. Lockdown Night 33: Got up to turn off the white noise because
the seagulls kept scaring me. Lockdown Day 34: Watching reports of those resisting lockdowns in the U.S. get diagnosed with and dying from COVID-19. I think many, many things. I say nothing.
Lockdown Day 35: Loaded the dishwasher, pushed the go button, nothing. Ruh roh. There is an outlet in the garage tied to the same breaker. I called an electrician last time only to watch him push the reset button on the outlet. I triumphantly pushed the reset button.
Nothing. Pushed it several more times. Got out my multimeter then decided I was one of those people who pose with a multimeter right before they electrocute themselves. Called my electrician (he immediately asked if I tried the reset button). No, my dishwasher isn’t essential, but I imagined a faulty outlet that would kill us all. He went into the garage and then the basement. He yelled at me to try it. It worked. We’d installed a shelf over the washer and dryer and nudged a weird switch off that made the dishwasher
work. Old houses are just a laugh a minute, aren’t they?
Lockdown Day 36: Found a promising rain soundtrack, with no thunder. Just the perfect plinking sound like the rain outside the window at the cottage. Slept great. Strongly recommend.
Lockdown Day 37: Spent too long pondering the fact that I really should have started a Lockdown Diary with pictures, like people do to show the progression of time as their plants or beards grow. Decided seeing photos of me wearing the same sweatpants for six days in a row is not remotely entertaining, though my moustache is coming in nicely if anyone is wondering. Lockdown Day 38: If I catch any person throwing their discarded masks and gloves on the ground, let it be known I WILL be saying something. It will be loud, if somewhat muffled behind my Bugs Bunny mask. Seriously, people? Stop being so gross. Lockdown Day 39: I have food, shelter and loved ones. I still spend at least a couple of hours a day being the crabbiest bitch on the planet.
Sigh.