COVID week 8

Topsy Turvy

Hello there friend. How are you doing? I hope you are home and safe and doing well. I am writing on week 8 of the COVID crisis, day 56 of sheltering in place. I am home and safe and virus free.

I have had a busier week than normal, as I have completed some home work assignments, and have participated in two video conference meetings. I am new to these meetings, and am flying blind in a sense. That being said it is fun to connect and see everyone again.

This week was also unique in that there were three significant astronomical events:

*a meteor shower

*a sighting of Halley’s Comet

*a super full moon-the last of the year

Did you get to see any of these phenomena? I could not see the meteor shower, or Halley’s Comet, as it was too cloudy. 

I did see the super moon, and marveled at Luna’s beauty. I tried to get a picture of her with my phone; however the image I got did not match the brilliance of the moment:

I also had a completely crazy, upside down, topsy turvy week. Everything did not go as planned. I have several examples of this:

The first thing to go wrong this week was receiving the wrong item in the mail. I ordered an item online, and the completely wrong item arrived. To help you envision the magnitude of the error, it was as if I had ordered a pair of shoes, and had received a bottle of guava juice instead. I had not ordered guava juice, and nor would I ever. I am sure the person who ordered guava juice and got a pair of shoes instead was not happy either!

The second thing to go wrong was an appointment. I booked an appointment for a repair of an appliance in my home. 

I was glad to be able to get an appointment at all, given that my city is under a shelter in place executive order during this pandemic. I expected the appointment to be in the morning. It did finally happen, several hours later, in the afternoon. Not at all how I thought the day would go.

Finally, at the end of such a crazy week, I decided to order a meal from a local restaurant. I had been craving real food to eat, specifically a cheeseburger and french fries. I placed my order, and was given a 60-70 minute window for delivery. My meal was delivered in half the allotted time, piping hot and ready to eat. However, it was delivered to the wrong apartment. I went downstairs, retrieved my order from in front of a neighbor's door, and went back upstairs to my apartment to consume my meal.

While nothing was as I expected it to be, everything worked out. I got my pair of shoes, and didn’t pay anything extra to get them. I got my appliance repaired in record time, and was not a major repair. I enjoyed a delicious meal, and have enough left over for another meal.

In thinking about this past week, I think it is indicative of this entire time in quarantine. Nothing has gone as it was expected to. Most people alive have never encountered anything like this before. It is a topsy turvy time for all of us.

In these times, when the world turns upside down, that’s when we need to brace ourselves, hold on, and keep looking up. The world will come out on top again. We will survive and thrive, and honor the thousands lost to this virus. We will come out of this time forever changed, marveling at what we have survived.

I leave you now with images and songs of humor and hope. Take care my friend. Keep looking up.

Love, 

     -E

artist: Banksy