This has been my view from my life in quarantine, from my seat at the desk in my two-room accommodations at a Residence Inn in Rochester, NY. That’s my car, at which I looked longingly every day after it arrived (earlier than expected.)

I thought I’d have a lot to say about my two weeks closeted in my hotel, but found myself strangely blank when I sat down to write.

Arriving in New York—a state in early Phase 4 of Covid life— from California, a state struggling in Phase 1, I was required to stay put for two weeks to ensure I didn’t carry Covid to my hometown of Rochester, NY.

So this was my routine:

Get up. Dress for a 30 minute run in the parking lot. It’s a big parking lot, thankfully. I could run on the street, but I go out at dawn, streets are quiet,  and I’ve seen too many Datelines. So I’ve enjoyed the delights of exercising in a parking lot. Just me and guys leaving for construction work. Everyone masked.

People are definitely out and about, but the vast majority mask and just take masks as a matter of routine. I LOVE THAT. In fact, almost every day I forget my mask is on til halfway through my run. So far I haven’t seen any of the whiney anti-maskers who deny reality and say they can’t breathe. That’s ridiculous–I run in my N95.

(And what is the harm of masking?)

In from my run, I get coffee from the free breakfast and maybe a banana or some raisin bran. They do have egg and cheese and sausage offerings but I like to control my own food prep so I might make bacon and eggs in my little “apartment.”

The first week was filled with boxes arriving. Maybe 16 of them, clothes and toiletries, because I will cross seasons while here. And I wanted the boxes to be small enough that I wouldn’t injure my back wrestling with them. So yes, boxes. Unpack, sort, find a place to put the goods and the boxes.

Then I kind of lost my mind and bought some over-the-knee black suede boots for more money than I’ve ever paid for shoes. As I write, they aren’t here yet. Two days. Hope I can get into them without help. Free returns, too, if I get buyer’s remorse. Or if i can’t get into them.

The arrival of my car was really a big deal, too. It was full of shoes and a few winter coats and two pairs of Uggs. Hard to believe we will be here in winter, but yep. Lake effect snow.

No oven in my rooms, but a terrible stovetop, micro and dishwasher. I’ve been preparing my own food and shopping at Wegman’s via Instacart. Sister-in-love has dropped food off, too, and I got to see my doggie-nephew, Henry, whom I love. Did I say I miss Cutie and Benji terribly? The reason I haven’t mentioned them is because it makes me feel sad.

There’s a laundry room. And some of the nicest hotel staff you’d ever want to meet. Impressive staff.

And my life is filled with calls! So many calls and Zooms with my greater circle. I’ve stayed alive and busy, thanks to the many great conversations I’ve had. I can’t thank my gay husband enough for being such a steadfast presence now and always–some 30 years plus now. When two people have been friends that long there’s not much they don’t know about the other, and how to be a support. He has been in isolation since the start other than seeing me and a couple others, and as we all know, you can go a little batty with all this time on your hands. My favorite text from him was this photo:

Friends dropped by with some garden vegetables, which he promptly turned into an art installation.

Vegetable art.

Honestly, when he sent me this, I laughed so hard it took me a few minutes to recover.

I wish I had some amusing photos to share, but I don’t.

With all that human contact, quarantine’s not been so bad. 

I thought I’d do a lot of reading and writing, but instead I’ve been taking webinars—with Krishna Das, Eben Alexander and others. If you don’t know the Shift Network, everything they offer has been super high quality and well-priced. Worth a look.

As I write this I am just a couple days from seeing the new place for the first time. I’ll have more to say then. Meanwhile, quarantine wasn’t so bad. It seemed interminable at first and then it seemed to speed up. Now it feels just ephemeral: did it ever really happen? Am I really here?

Hoping all is well in your world. Namaste, gang.