Hello, from Seattle, where we are all self-isolating from Coronavirus
I am a freelance writer living in Seattle, where the spectre of the Coronavirus first appeared in the United States. It started out weird and has gradually gotten weirder, but in some ways, it’s the same as it ever was for me, because I’m lucky enough to not be sick, not have a regular job that is immediately shut. I don’t go out much, except to see friends and when I am really getting stir-crazy, I go work at a cafe.
Time alone is always hard to measure. It’s slow but also seems to slide by. Today I had three goals or events on my calendar: a work phone call at noon, a walk with Sally, and taxes. The phone call got bumped, Sally and I went on a short walk, I picked up a box of feminine products from a stranger on the corner from the Buy Nothing club, and I have been doing taxes for what seems like an eternity, but really only since 9 a.m. this morning. I will likely do them till I go to bed and then wake up in the morning with a feeling of dread.
I am unemployed, technically, but so weirdly busy. I have a book I’m working on, and I’m constantly trying to get more work. But to not see another living being inside the four walls is a strange existence.
I have a feeling it’s going to get stranger. New York is now about to enforce a real quarantine, where you can’t leave the…
