Day 9 of Self Quarantine
It snowed last night in Shanghai. No, you can’t tell in the photos because it’s mostly just leaves (very nice ones) with a teeny tiny bit of frost. After living in Minnesota and Sweden, I’m a bit of a snob about “snow” that doesn’t even stick.
A handheld steamer I purchased online arrived today, so I spent some time steaming my sofa, a few of my shirts, and my coat. That took up about 47 minutes. Still had the whole day to kill. Hmmm 🤔
I’ve made a concerted effort to wash my hair and put on makeup every day even though I’m in isolation. You can laugh, but a lot of those stuck at home have all but given up on shampoo 😂 But I had learned from my time freelancing/unemployed that it’s a slippery slope. Taking care of myself helps my mood, which is pretty blah today since I haven’t held a conversation with anyone that wasn’t over text in 3 whole days. So shower and makeup and hair drying took up maybe another hour.
By 11 o’clock it was blue skies and heavy winds. Temperature was still close to freezing but the sun looked so seductive I decided to venture out for a walk. I figured I’d hit up that one cafe that I found refuge in last week and give them some to-go business... But it was closed. Along with every single business on the street. And the street after that. And the one after that. I did a several loops around my neighborhood, and only found a handful of open businesses that weren’t convenience or grocery stores.
Yeah, depressing, I know. Thankfully a lot of places still deliver. Most restaurant chains have a few locations open for the delivery orders. These tend to be venues better rated in hygiene SOP. All of the cheap local offerings are closed.
I have no doubt Shanghai will bounce back, and bounce back with gusto. In the meantime, it’s a waiting game. Some of us are lucky enough to just wait it out. Some of us have been out of a job and barred from work and home based on our birthplace. And then there are the ones on the frontlines, the ill and the healers.
So I try to remind myself to be grateful for being one of the lucky ones who only have to wait. I also took a nap after I got home using one of my cats as a pillow. Woke up in a much better mood.
Aren’t cats grand?
