But it’s true, if you cannot do it from home, it’s likely because you have to be touching something. Perhaps its the wheel of a big rig carrying goods to the Dollar General, or adjusting the oxygen levels on a patient on the hospital, but there’s a new divide that’s being seen in the working world.
Neither is better than the other, or more desirable, but let’s face it, the hands-on jobs are the ones that are truly keeping the world running now. I am so glad they are doing what they are doing. I don’t think I could do it as well as they.
But I am glad to be able to be a temporary remote worker because it keeps Patrick and myself able to stay at home, inside, and away from any potential illness. With his diabetes and my less than stellar respiratory system, neither of us would fare well if we ended up with it.
Working from home has always been a a big goal of mine, but after several years of applying to remote jobs and never hearing a peep back, I’ve kind of given up. It’s not going to happen for me at this stage of life without it being pandemic-induced and I’ve taken that to mean I need to work on myself and my skill set before that can happen. It’s fine. I’ve come to terms with it. This trial period will likely only prove to me that I am truly one of the few kinds of people who thrive in it, so we shall see if I am singing the same tune in a few weeks.
Outside of remote work, we can’t go anywhere or do much of anything, which is nice on the money-saving front. The only expenses we have other than bills are food — both the grocery kind and the kind that we are spending at our favorite restaurants while they are hurting. I tell you what, there has never been a better time to eat at a restaurant then now, because everyone is taking extra EXTRA precautions to not be known as a viral outbreak epicenter. So don’t feel like you need to worry about getting pick-up from restaurants. These professionals know what they are doing. Plus, you’re helping to ensure it’s there once our world opens back up again.
Lists are keeping me sane. I keep two lists, one with things I can do if I find myself bored, and the other has meals, snacks, and desserts I can make instead of doing the existential stare into the void of the fridge. Some are smaller, like clean out and wipe down the utensil drawer.
Others are larger projects for the weekend, like finish painting the garage interior and the doors. Believe it or not, this time last year the garage was being re-done. I’ve been extremely slack about getting it all painted up, but now is the time. I recently finished touching up a few spots on the ceiling, and the doors need one more coat, before I can call this project complete.
As far as my meal list, it consists of things that can be made out of ingredients I had specifically stocked up on, many of them shelf stable or frozen. Favorites include:
Fried rice-style quinoa Matar paneer Confetti mac and cheese Pasta and jarred red sauce Rice and gravy, lima beans, and fried okra Cheesy orzo Butternut squash and black bean enchiladas Spaghetti squash alfredo Frozen gnocchi
A lot of people want things to get “back to normal” or “business as usual” as quickly as possible, but those people are being incredibly short-sighted. A virus overtook the globe in a matter of months. It’s disrupted the economy, changed how the government is working, it’s making people see that so much of the stuff we make ourselves do daily on the hamster wheel of life is all kind of… irrelevant when you strip life down to the basics. This whole ordeal is going to make a new normal in the future. How can it not, when we’ve seen what life looks like when it comes to a screeching halt? But for now, while we all — from the top (and I do not mean the U.S. president, but other, better top people) to workers across all walks of life — try to adjust to our current reality, we all do need to remember to do what we can for each other, and that’s stay in and away as much as possible until we know how to proceed.
The post Staying In appeared first on The April Blake.
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