27 May 2020

Spent an hour this morning texting with my sister, checking in on her health and that of a mutual friend. Zoom lunch with my friend Lydia, so that means today is Wednesday. I have standing social Zoom calls with different people five days a week. They help me keep track of the days and give me something to look forward to. In 2020, real life is Zoom life. Honestly, my social life is better in lockdown than it was back when moving around freely was a thing. I prefer not to dwell on what that says about me.

The big goal today was to get my bike to the bike shop for a tune-up but they’re booked for at least a week, so I’m on a waiting list. Started to put netting on the blueberries so I can eat some of my homegrown blueberries this year, instead of sacrificing them to the neighborhood birds. Project aborted due to downpours from a tropical storm (Bertha) I didn’t even know was coming through. That happens when you quit reading the news because it’s just too much.

Speaking of the news being too much: We’ve cleared 100,000 deaths in the US due to coronavirus. That’s almost two Vietnam wars or 33.3 September 11ths. A whole month of September 11ths, y’all.

Writing life

Since I gave myself a permission slip to ease off the 100/50/25 project this year, I’ve gotten back in the writing groove. Got the edits back on a new novella I’m working on for newsletter subscribers. The editor loved the book, which makes me happy. Got the cover design memo off to the designer. Can’t wait to see what she comes up with. Looking to launch that book July 1, so stay tuned.

Felt this post needed something to jazz it up, but what? A free-sharing-license photo depicting work-from-home life, of course. Stock photography necessary because my real-life desk is a horror show of Post-it notes and broken pens. As I perused the options of home office Zen I might aspire to, this one caught my eye. Not Zen, so much as zing. As much as I like the wallpaper in this photo, I think if I actually had it I’d get dizzy every day. Could you survive this wallpaper?

In other Zoom life: Biweekly Zoom cocktail party with college friends cancelled due to everybody having offline lives this week. Gonna go read The Nickel Boys again ’til I fall asleep. Beautifully written, every sentence is a work of art.