Song of the day:
Wayback Wednesday
Two years ago today I was packing for a trip to New York. I went back and forth for days - should I go? should I reschedule? is this virus really that serious? In the end, I made the decision to go. I packed the only mask I owned at the time - bought a few years prior when California began to be regularly filled with smoke. We know now that was not the right kind of mask (it has air vents), but, it made me feel better. I packed a bunch of blue gloves that I had at home for some reason, and I scoured the stores and found some Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer to tuck into my bag as well. I’d been planning this trip for months and couldn’t stand to cancel. I was visiting a friend upstate then heading to Manhattan to see Hamilton, meet up with other friends, catch a Rangers hockey game. It was going to be amazing. Honestly, it feels like a lot more than two years ago, and I don’t think anyone can honestly say they thought we’d still be talking about COVID-19 two years later.
I arrived at JFK the morning of March 11, 2020 - masked and gloved - then hopped a quick flight to Syracuse where my friend Jim picked me up. Things were already weird, but we hadn’t planned anything big and figured we’d spend most of our time talking and eating and watching movies anyway. There were no reported cases in that county or even in that area so we did some shopping, did some dining out, did some sightseeing, but mostly we hung out at the house. Little did we know…
Things started to shift two days later on March 13. I was supposed to get on a train back to NYC the next morning but things were getting cancelled left and right. I can’t remember if it was Broadway or hockey that got cancelled first but by the end of the day they were both gone and the refunds were already on the way. Friends I was going to meet didn’t feel comfortable coming into the city, and I totally understood. For a while I thought I might still go, that I could still enjoy the city…have some good food, walk around, do some shopping. But it still felt a little sketchy, like there was too much unknown, and spending money on a hotel seemed silly. Jim said I could stay there for a few more days so I got on the phone and started changing plans.
I cancelled the hotel - and got a full refund after a small battle. I cancelled my train ticket then booked a flight back to Manhattan so I could make my flight back to California a few days later. It was mostly easy but still felt like one of the weirdest things I’d ever had to do.
A few days later I got a call or text from my boss asking if I could get on a call because they were closing the campus the next day and people had to go home. Things were serious. So I got on a call with our leadership team then connected with my staff and told them they should plan to be out for a couple of weeks. It seems ridiculous now that we all thought this would be over that quickly. Later that day I cancelled appointments back in San Jose that I’d scheduled for my remaining vacation days when I returned home. But the spa was closing, as were the hair and nail salons, so there were no appointments happening.
The next morning dawned and I had to get back on an airplane. I did not feel as confident about it as I had the week before. We knew it was contagious and that it was in the air but it was all very mysterious. I wore the mask and the gloves and wiped down every surface in sight. I hand sanitized and glared at people if they got too close, but the plane from JFK to SFO was packed because everyone was going home.
I arrived in a mostly-empty airport on March 17, 2020 in the middle of the afternoon, got my bag, and was the lone rider on the shuttle back to my car. It was eerie. I drove back to San Jose and was mesmerized by how few cars were on the road. The Bay Area was shut down. I debated going to my office to pick up a few things but opted to come home instead. I was pretty tired and ordered some dinner thinking that I’d at least be able to go to the grocery store the next morning.
I remember taking my car in the morning of March 18 for a basic oil change - something that was still considered essential. As soon as it was over I went to Target and it was shocking how empty it was. I was extremely thankful that I’d bought toilet paper before I left for vacation because as you all recall, there was none to be found, a fact I still find beyond bizarre. I bought a few essentials there and actually bought some extra things, just to be safe, just in case. I then went to Safeway and was equally shocked at how empty it was. I bought what I could and went home to figure out what came next.
I couldn’t imagine that two years later we would still be wondering how safe it was to do certain things. I couldn’t imagine that a public health crisis would become so political. I couldn’t imagine how many people were going to die. I couldn’t imagine how much “normal” was going to change.
I’ve learned a lot about myself over these last two years; I’m sure you have as well. I never thought I’d be a person who loved working from home but wow, I really do. I only get to do it two days a week now, but I cherish those two days. I’ve learned that I don’t need to see people to connect. Yes, Zoom can be annoying, but it allows me to see people every day and I think in a lot of ways it’s made me more productive. I’ve actually embraced FaceTime on my iPhone and Macs so that I can video chat with friends and family. I haven’t missed concerts like I thought I would, but I am genuinely excited to attend two of them in the coming months (both are outside, thankfully). I missed hockey more than I expected to and while I haven't gone to every home game this season, I’ve made it to a few. I missed Broadway shows a lot and have enjoyed visiting the theatre a few times in the last six months or so. I think I missed dining out the most, and am thankful to be able to do it regularly again. I still try to dine outside if possible though. I just think it’s safer in the long run. I’m amazed how much furniture I’ve bought in the last two years…a couch, a chair, two new TVs, two lamps, two table and chair sets, a shoe storage bench thing (that’s the technical term), and a couple of Christmas trees, too. Apparently I am a big shopper during a pandemic…that’s probably not that big of a surprise.
Anyway, I’ll stop my reminiscing there. I’d love to hear some of your thoughts about what was going through your mind two years ago and how you got through everything, how you’re still getting through. I still don’t feel like we’re out of the woods yet, especially when vaccinated and boosted people are still getting infected, but hopefully one day soon it will feel a little more normal; whatever that even means.
Happy Wednesday, everyone…make it a good one!
Video of the day: