Friday, July 3, 2020

covid notes 13


Time is messed up. I was moving photos off my computer the other day, onto an external hard drive. January 2020 came up, and there were photos of Paul’s 80th birthday party. What are these doing here? I thought. How did they get in the wrong place? I figured it had been at least a year since Paul turned 80. Then I did the math. The photos were taken five months ago.

Similarly, this morning, I flashed on the days when my neighbor’s mother was on the Westerdam—I think it was that ship, that last one that left Hong Kong or some such and then no one let them dock anywhere until at last they were allowed to disembark in…Cambodia? Please forgive me if I’m getting these details wrong. There was a photo of his mother and her husband disembarking, possibly in the New York Times. I tried to find it, but couldn’t, and I swear I was thinking this must have been in maybe November? Nope. February. Oh, that’s right. They were stuck out there over his birthday, I think. He had begged them to not go.

But it is already Friday again and it feels like time is speeding by and I have accomplished so little. I haven’t even gotten back to talking about style school.

I’m trying.

3 comments:

  1. Yes, I've heard that people are having a hard time with time -- days of the week, etc. I'm not, but life has not really changed for me.

    How awful for your friend and his parents. That was a scary time to read about. I can't imagine living it.

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  2. This is truth. My March passed in a blur--I think because I was so relieved to be home for an extended spring break, it felt like a much-needed respite. But then April and May went on so long, relentless. Today the pediatrician (annual vaccination and checkup appointment) told us to have a great holiday weekend and I thought, "what holiday?" because it didn't strike me that it was July, much less July 4 weekend.

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  3. Yes, I think you're right about Cambodia. (Which has led me to look up Cambodia's COVID stats and wonder how accurate they are.) And your timeline has confirmed something for me in a conversation I was having with a friend, so thank you for that.

    BC (Before COVID) truly seems so long ago, doesn't it?

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