But they say there is a calm after the passing of the storm,
So I can dream of going back outside when the rain and thunder’s done.
(The Opening Act of Spring ~ Frank Turner, 2015)
I’ve (finally) reached the stage where days seem to bleed into each other. Is it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…? Who cares? It’s a bit disconcerting. There isn’t much to note in this irregular Pandemic Journal of mine here. Maybe I should have gone with counting the days in my own isolation stage. I started a few days before many others, when I was allowed to stay away from the office and work from home starting Thursday 18th March. Which means I haven’t seen coworkers or friends since then. Talked to them on the phone or via Zoom or WhatsApp video chat, but that’s about it. I’ve seen and talked to random people in supermarkets and occasionally at ice cream shops. I had one check up trip to my neurologist and the pharmacy. I picked up some prescription and her medications for my mum once. I had a few – socially distanced – chats with neighbours in my building.
I’ve spent the most time and even that wasn’t really all that much in good 6 feet distance with my elderly mum and Bro2 and Bro3. They have a big patio and an even larger garden, where I might spend some more time tomorrow afternoon. The weather is too nice to sit inside and more importantly the very loud and annoying demolition works next door is driving me crazy! An abandoned factory is finally being torn down to make space for flats and a care home and such. The demolition has been going on for a while but it’s a huge property so I didn’t hear much of it until they’ve now reached the corner where it borders the property I live on. The work starts around 7 in the morning and goes on till about 4.30 in the afternoon. Sledgehammers, excavators, dumping rubble into skips. All day long!
So much for a relaxing few days off from work. It’s been driving me crazy yesterday and distracted me but not in a good way. With knowing their schedule today I could plan my own day a bit better, so I was away from home for some time. Went for another walk/run in the late morning, showered and lain down to rest a bit during the workers lunch break. I spent some time on my mum’s patio in the afternoon and drove to a big supermarket a bit further away to stock up on some things. I knew it would take me some time to get back and I timed it quite well with the work next door being done for the day. No idea where I’m going to spend my time away from home tomorrow though.
I know this all sounds like I’m moaning a lot and I am in a way, because the noise sucks. But my mum and I had a good chat about how well we are actually doing in all of this. Compared to other people. We don’t know anyone who’s gotten ill yet. We’re (more or less) healthy. We don’t have to worry about our jobs or money or being made homeless because we can’t pay rent. We as a family combined have space to spend time outdoors with lot and lots and lots of distance between us if we’d be so inclined. It’s been a few lovely sunny spring days over here, so we could and still can enjoy the outdoors. Bright side and all that.
It got clearer and clearer that there won’t be any concerts happening in Germany any time soon and I’d say the cancellation of Lost Evenings IV in Berlin, which was supposed to happen in five weeks time, is imminent. And it makes me sad in a way. Still. Even though I expected it to happen for a while now. I have no idea if they’ll actually cancel or just postpone and I don’t really want to think about it too much as I have no idea when or if I’ll actually be allowed to be part of a larger gathering, being a higher risk person because of the immunosupressives I’m taking. I spent some time yesterday trying to find out if there is more data or medical advice for my situation (the specific meds I’m taking). And bottom line: Nobody really knows anything yet. And that not knowing is kind of frustrating so I try to not think about it too much.
There will be vacations again. There will be gigs again. I mean, Frank changed the slogan not too long ago from “Always on Tour” to “Forever on Tour” so… it’ll be fine. At some point. *deep breath* And until then he does a lot of online stuff – podcasts, interviews and of course the live streaming of gigs – to keep us entertained and distracted.