Pandemic Diary, Day 46

Random Bits

One of the things I have found I am struggling with working from home is ever feeling like I am NOT at work. I have MS Teams on my tablet, which is what I use in the evening, so my team can reach me to ask questions when they are working. So even though I leave the home office and try not to go back in there, work finds me.
One of the things I am doing to help with this is that I put on real shoes in the morning. I leave the shoes on the rest of the day. And then, at the end of the workday, I get up and take the dogs on one more walk. When we come in from that, I take my shoes off. This way, I have just walked into the house after a day of work, and I take off the real shoes. It helps me feel like I have come home.

We went to the grocery store the other night. Following CDC recommendations, we wore masks. We happen to have one medical mask. I wore that because if C wears it, his glasses instantly fog up. He wore a bandana. I understand why the CDC recommends the masks. I get that it is more about protecting others from me (in case I have the virus) than it is about protecting myself. And honestly, that is the only reason I wear it. I do not suffer from claustrophobia in small spaces, but I do suffer from it when fresh air is not moving across my face. I cannot hide under the blankets in bed. I seek escape from stuffy rooms. And wearing that mask was a bit of torture. I did it, and if I go grocery shopping again, I will wear it again. But it still takes a major toll on my mental health while I am doing it. (Physical, too, as I am super tense the entire time, causing a headache.)

In lighter news, I am reverting to my teenage years. I have been listening to musical soundtracks while I work. So far, JCS, Les Mis, Phantom, Hamilton (okay, this one wasn’t around while I was in high school), Chess. Soon, Evita, Chorus Line, Joseph, Wicked, In the Heights, Chicago.

Also, I appear to have done things backward. As a teenager and young adult, I listened to a lot of country music. Sometime in my 30s, I started listening to punk bands on a regular basis. But right now, I am going back and listening to some of those artists I loved as a teenager.

I am a person who likes routines. I function best with routines. I am slowly getting my new routines established, and it is definitely helping in my productivity and mindset. At the same time, I was scheduled to take a trip this weekend (canceled, obviously) , but I have decided to still take Friday off. I will not operate on a routine (other than getting the dogs out for walks). I will lay in bed and watch documentaries. And this will be good for me.