I Went Outside!!!

Today I left the house.

I wore sneakers and socks, jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie. And I had a scarf to wrap around my face when humans approached too closely.

First I dropped off my laundry, using proper social distancing. The hours have been reduced to nine-to-five, and everyone in there seemed healthy. I wished them well and continued on.

To the ATM. I had a chunk of paper towel in my pocket, and I used a twist of it to wrap around my finger so I could hit buttons without contaminating myself. I got some cash for food deliveries, although most of them go by a middleman company that charges their own delivery fee.

To the drugstore! Where I was lucky enough to score a 12-pack of toilet paper. I also got some alcohol moistened glasses-cleaning cloths that come in little foil envelopes. I love these things for cleaning glasses, but I've also been using them to disinfect phones and money.

Diet Pepsi was on sale, plus I got some low-sodium taterchips because my blood pressure has been a little high lately. My doctor wanted me to get a blood pressure gauge to confirm that, so I did, but I haven't unpacked it yet. Also some Snickers bars, which I am hoarding, because if I do get sick, they're a nice digestible way to get calories down my throat. And ... some butter! It was sitting inexplicably in the dairy case so I snagged it.

I have a good supply of butter, because butter makes everything edible. Pasta, bread, frozen waffles, potatoes. I have a ton of pasta and lots of cheese and alfredo sauce. Lots of soup and Dinty Moore and Beefaroni. And Chunky Jazzy Jambalaya, which I practically lived on at my previous job, because I could nuke it in 3 minutes and have 27 minutes of lunch break left. I have lots of frozen piroshkis, and some BBQ ribs and pulled pork, and plain beef and chicken. A dozen frozen entrees and some chicken pot pies. Bread and bacon and cheese, and lots of juice concentrate. Massive amounts of La Croix and diet soda. Lots of Pop Tarts, another good energy source for the sick and feeble.

Once I pick up my laundry tomorrow I'm not coming out for a while.

After Walgreens I passed by World Wrapps. Back in the '90s World Wrapps on Chestnut Street was one of my favorite places. Originator of the Thai Chicken Wrapp, which became ubiquitous. Chicken, cucumbers, carrots, jasmine rice, peanut sauce and a spinach green tortilla, all rolled up burrito style. It faded away like many other good restaurants. Don't even get me started.

During the beginning of 2020, when everything was magical and I had a shiny new job and marvelous restaurants were opening all around me and I thought life was going to be just peachy for a while, I was walking down Chestnut Street and -- OMG! -- the place that used to be all rustic in decor where they sold tiny cheeseburgers and elaborate salads was being replaced by a new incarnation of World Wrapps!! With a new and improved menu! As in, I can get Indian, Korean, Thai and Japanese style wrapps in there now. Which I did, with very little encouragement. Plus they have Mexican style. And even Hawaiian style, although I can't handle the onions and garlic in that one.

I still remember the night I was walking down Chestnut where I happened to walk in when they were having a dry run, and serving everything on the menu -- free. And I had my first Thai Chicken Wrapp in 20 years. And then suddenly ... bang, pandemic. What a great time to open a new restaurant. They are still serving takeout, and I ordered some from them last week.

I'm trying to get delivery from the restaurants while they're offering it, because they're hurting a lot. My job's okay, but a lot of people are on shaky ground and I feel terrible about it. Planning to spend my stimulus check on art from my artist friends.

So anyway, I walked past World Wrapps ... and past all the retail shops that were shuttered. Some boarded up. I decided to get a burger at the new place up the street, and everyone was socially distancing, with tape Xs on the ground for us to stand on as we waited. It was weird seeing other human beings.

San Francisco is doing very well in the "staying at home" competition, or so I've heard. It felt like a ghost town out there, with nobody loitering or lingering.

Once I got home I took off my clothes and put them in Contamination Corner. I unbagged the groceries and put the bags, and the new toiletpaper, in another Contamination area. I put the butter in its own isolated region in the fridge; won't be touching it for a while. The new alcohol wipes and blood pressure thingy and candybars went into a pile where they will sit for a few days. I took a shower, washing my hands and face with lots of soap. I could improve this routine by removing my shoes at the door, wearing a mask and so on, and I expect I will be doing all of that in the future.

Two Weeks of Isolation

It's probably a safe guess I don't have coronavirus. I've been in the house two full weeks, having minimal human contact with food delivery people while interacting with the world over the internet.

I'm getting lots of productive work done in my home office, but I had to swap out chairs. I was getting a horrible backache from the chair that was in there, and it occurred to me that it'll be May before I can get a massage. Because the City of SF has locked us down until May, at this point.

Tomorrow I'm going to venture out to the Chinese laundry on the other side of my block. It'll be weird being outside. I also think I'm going to get a cheeseburger at Steak and Shake -- to go, of course. With social distancing. And I don't have a mask but I have a bandanna to remind me to keep my paws off my own face until I've showered.

I hope the laundry lady hasn't been having any problems with prejudiced idiots.

I'm still symptom-free. Sometimes I wonder if I'm a dreaded asymptomatic carrier. Often I wonder whether I already had it, since I had a dry cough earlier this year that lingered for a few weeks and cleared up before I started my new job.

Some of my Facebook friends have it, or are in the process of getting over it. They give me hope.

New To Staying Inside? Let Me Offer Some Suggestions

I’m a hermit from way back. I went through a period of immune issues which convinced me that nirvana had more to do with staying inside getting groceries delivered than interacting with other people. I’m still convinced. I did lots of traveling last year, and while I really enjoy room service breakfast, I’m far happier in my grungy apartment, where all my favorite stuff is within easy reach.

I also live in a place that is very expensive. I used to joke with an ex-roommate that just going outside in my neighborhood costs you at least $100 … grab some food or a beer or a movie, stop by the convenience store, oh hey cupcakes, and there you are, $100 poorer. Sometimes you can safely go outside and walk around in the atmospheric fog around here without spending big bucks, and sometimes I give myself allowance for a $30 pub burger. But unless I’m focused on the aesthetic it’s usually easier to go home and make my own damn burger.

Also, the harsh reality is that I don’t get along with most people. There are certain specific places where I get along with most people (Ween concerts, science fiction conventions, law offices) but there are other places where people who don’t like books/music occasionally get in, and I’m usually at a total loss with those types. That’s why I moved to San Francisco, which is a haven for people who don’t get along with most people due to their different sexual orientation or gender inclination or political affiliation or visual aesthetic. Or it used to be, until the internet happened, and weirdness became generally scattered all over the planet, which is probably a good thing.

So I’m pretty good at avoiding the masses, even though I live in a tourist trap where I (used to) hear tourguides lecturing busloads of visitors cruising past my house regularly. Here’s what works for me.

Grocery Delivery

This is important. I started doing grocery delivery when I had a bad autoimmune attack and couldn’t eat most things without getting a flare up of belly pain and bloating and other unpleasant symptoms. At the time my dietary triggers included wheat, sugar and dairy. Go ahead, walk into any American grocery store and tell me where they keep the wheat-sugar-dairy products, I’ll wait. It was easier to just pay someone else to go shopping for me, from a list, to make sure no impulse buying of wheat-sugar-dairy occurred.

I started going to grocery stores again last year, when I was unemployed, and spending half a day puttering around with my personal cart was a soothing distraction. I’m over that. Instacart is back in my life.

Some tricks with grocery delivery: order a little more than you need, in case something’s out. Do minor stockpiling of things like toothpaste … yes, and TP, I’ve got enough to last me through April. Give your shopper some idea of what to substitute if everything’s out.

Read E-Books

They don’t harm trees. You can shop for them without going outside. You can read them on your Kindle, your tablet, your regular computer, your phone. I’ve written several just for you, and more will be flowing. You can even get e-comics now. Indulge yourself.

Other E-Media

You probably already know about Netflix and Amazon Prime, but consider things like podcasts and Twitch streams and other platforms you’re not that familiar with. I don’t actually do this myself, because I’m good with e-books/writing/socialmedia/occasional video games, but other people have different media needs.

Online Games

I haven’t touched WoW lately. Once I got unemployed I had to start spending my time leveling my “Charon” character so I could get her into a good guild and resume the flow of gold. I still have a full stable of leveled-up characters that I should work on someday, and an impressive array of battle pets too. Online games are great for getting you through periods of your life where you have no idea what to do. Not a problem – go be somebody else until you figure it out.

Offline Games

Some games are more about getting lost in your own marvelous creations, like The Sims. While occasional online games like Minecraft allow you to do this collaboratively, sometimes it’s fun to just fill a blank sheet of paper full of scribbles, or nurture your fake athletes-warriors-adventurers to the height of success.

Play Music

Now is the time to learn musical instruments. I’ve been picking up my guitars again, after spending a decade ignoring them.

Online College

I just signed up to do a business degree! Let’s see if I finish it (unlike my degrees in music, psych, literature, audio engineering, paralegal, et al.) – I’m actually more interested because it could help me do my current job better.

Write Stories

This is the main thing I do. It might be unfamiliar to you, but you can still try your hand at something new. Maybe some fanfic about your favorite characters from some other property – with names changed to protect the innocent.

Arts and Crafts

Needlework does it for me. Maybe you're more into crochet or leatherwork or beads or any of a number of artsy things that can be done. Go ahead, decorate your world.