I want people to like me.
I travel to meet new people because it is a compelling way to connect with readers. At heart, I’ve always been a performer. My soul feeds from a room lit with my message of hope and memory-making. Sequestration is hard. I already miss the stage. Profoundly. I don’t know when I’ll be given another opportunity. And because I’ve never mastered the art of an online message, I’m sure my angst will grow with time. Yes, I’ve honed some new coping skills in recent months. Like anyone, I hoped life would give me a bit more practice before a big test. Ha.
While many may think my chosen level of sequestration overkill, I am determined to voluntarily shelter-in-place until next weekend. I traveled to Atlanta and Washington DC in the past three weeks. (The opening picture is me with Elaine demonstrating the elbow bump in Rockville, Maryland.) Consequently, I met hundreds of new, possibly infected people.
Sequestration is necessary to save lives. This crisis is bigger than me and my needs.
I got very little done today. The news is overwhelming. I’m concerned for my Italian friends. They live in a region with a casket shortage and days-long waits for corpse retrieval from homes. Forgive me for failing to provide two days of levity.
But here’s what levity I’ve got.
9:45am – Wake up
No. That is not a typo. Extra glass of wine last night = twinge of migraine this morning. I took my daily temperature, swallowed some Excedrin, and launched my butt out of bed by 10:25.
10:30am – Two yoga flows with Ross Rayburn
My six-week Peloton bicycle challenge dictated a rest day. Or maybe that was my headache. Anyway, I didn’t clip into the demon bike and spent extra time on my mat.
11:45am – Brunch
Anyone want to place bets on how many pounds I’ll gain while grounded? Or share your targeted weight gain goals? Because barring a food shortage, serious gourmandery and gluttony are happening in our condo!
1pm – Meditation with Anna Greenberg
Okay. That’s a lie. I wanted to go back to bed. I turned on the longest meditation class I could find so MTM wouldn’t yell when he found me asleep.
2:30pm – Shower and dress in loungewear
YES, I REALLY SLEPT THAT LONG. Don’t judge. Sometimes it is okay to not try very hard, people.
ALL AFTERNOON/EVENING
Check email and social media for updates on my publicist’s labor and delivery. She was induced today to keep hospital space open for waves of sick patients in coming weeks, a reality we couldn’t fathom two weeks ago.
3pm – Coffee with MTM
AND I ACTUALLY WORKED. ON MY ACTUAL BOOK.
One of my characters is an accomplished gaslighter. She is the empress of inflicting pain while insisting it’s your fault if you’re offended.
This behavior is incredibly hard to portray on the page. A key element of gaslighting is tone: Making a benign statement with certain inflections to wound the target, usually in front of a sympathetic or oblivious witness who will back up the gaslighter’s version of reality.
So the question What are you doing for your birthday? can be one of genuine interest. (Tone: I actually care and empathize with the fact that you won’t be able to celebrate this year.)
A skilled gaslighter can turn this question into a form of mockery. (Tone: I think it’s so hysterical that your birthday is ruined. I want you to know I think it’s funny. If you call me on it, I’ll laugh and say you’re too sensitive, of course that wasn’t what I meant. My oblivious witness will side with me.)
MTM and I talked a lot about how to portray this dynamic in my story. Absent tone and facial expression, these nuances of character are challenging to weave with mere words. Thank you for enduring my unwashed hair and first attempt to scribble through it.
4:45pm – Schedule FaceTime for Saturday with a friend in Nebraska
5pm – Dinner
Cajun BBQ Shrimp over rice with a side of steamed broccoli. We did the customary text share with our foodie friends.
7pm – Kitchen clean up and me unleashing a big ole can of whup-ass in Yahtzee
8:30pm – Texting with New Orleans family to organize a shipment of toilet paper and face masks
My cousin is a nurse in New Orleans’ biggest hospital system, AND SHE CANNOT GET CLEAN FACE MASKS. Please think about medical personnel on the front lines.
She sent me this picture. Dad is SO PROUD. HE WILL NEVER EVER EVER GET AN IMPLANT!!!!
ACTUAL I SHIT YOU NOT MOMENT
My brother-in-law called. He is entrenched in the “coronavirus is a hoax” mentality on MTM’s side of the family. He hasn’t been to church in decades, but he is outraged that people cannot attend church right now. “It’s a violation of their religious freedom!” He trumpeted. “People ought to be able to die for God!”
So one side of the family (mine) think this is God judging a sinful world, and much of the other side (MTM’s) think any suppression of individual liberty, even in a war for our very lives, is liberal elitist bullshit made-uppery.
We are very schooled in the intricate web of our country’s alternate reality. Stay home if you can. Don’t spread germs. Wash your hands. Survive.
Did you know you can travel to the following places in my books? New Orleans, the Natchez Trace, Nashville, West Point, the Hudson Valley, New York City, Honduras, the Ohio River and more! YOU CAN BUY MY BOOKS HERE.
11 Comments
Catching up on reading my magazines (Sun/Orion). Fell way behind during “Horizon,” one of the most profound, well-written, insightful books I will probably ever read. Mantra: be well; be safe; be kind.
I’m still reading Little, and I love it. Very creative. The drawings in it are sort of what I tried to do with To Live Forever. I need to get back to Horizon. I fear it may be too much right now.
I’m sitting here pretending to write a novel but actually doing anything but, including admiring people who can get down on the floor to do yoga and then get up again, and THEN cook. So impressive. Continue to take care of yourself.
I am NOT the cook. MTM does the cooking around here. 🙂
What is your novel about? How far along are you? How are things where you are? (Texas, right?)
In my wildest dreams, I never imagined working from home. Tuesday was my first day with a virtual all day workshop in Las Alamos. Next stop was two days of virtual meetings in Albuquerque then back to Las Alamos for more virtual meetings. Hauling computer equipment out the gate in the back of my truck to setup at home was a bit surreal. These are unusual times…
How are you faring? I know you’re close to San Francisco, which is the worst part of CA’s outbreak. I cannot even imagine how they can keep your work secure from home. Please check in here and there to let me know how you are. I worry more about those who are close to the action, though I fear that will be all of us within two weeks. Until we commit to shut everything down and start testing everyone, we’ll never get this under control.
When you crunch the numbers, the number of deaths delta total world population is 0.000147%
So far the epicenter in our area is Silicon Valley. Livermore has been very quiet and so far I am not aware of any confirmed cases in the Tri-Valley. Lisa had just returned from a vacation with friends in Costa Rica, which had zero problems, and was working from home due to her company requiring a 14 quarantine. Five days later, Lisa’s whole office was working from home. She now has the home office which doubles as the project staging room (think paint cans etc.). I’ve set up on my antique drafting table in the parlor (my first corner office). I’m now the office barista and Maggie is the office therapy dog. My commute went from 12 minutes to
0 minutes. Not much we can do but stay calm and chive on.
What’s hard is that’s still a freaking lot of people. Not to mention all the frontline healthcare workers who will die. Or people with other medical conditions who won’t be able to get care and may die. I’m very happy at home. For the time being, we are fine. One of us is still making money. I hope that continues.
What make this virus concerning is how quickly, and easily, it spreads. For those with medical conditions, it overwhelms their immune system. These facts are rattling everyone and affecting everything. I’m happy that you and your family are safe and healthy. I am hopeful that by everyone taking this seriously, the movement of this virus can be stopped.
And I just read a whole FB group thread about symptomatic people who are hiding at home because they don’t want to be separated from their loved ones who may still be going out into the world. I mean, I don’t want to be stuck in my house for 14 days right now, but I’m doing it for all of us. When I see behavior like that rampantly displayed, I fear we’re all going to die. ?
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