Category essay

Pandemic Observations #14B

Angel Ackerman 2 Comments

We went to the Grocery Outlet for a few household necessities — and the food is definitely getting more picked over. Fruit is getting harder to come by.

It felt strange to come home feeling like a quart of half and half was a major score and some chocolate milk classified as a treat. We bought mostly beverages which was fine because we needed toiletries.

The teenager enjoyed rooting through the reject cans of Coke products— we came home with some orange soda, diet ginger ale, diet root beer, vanilla orange Coke Zero and diet caffeine free coke (which the teen didn’t realize was caffeine free so now she’s excited she can drink soda late at night and not deal with the insomnia she inherited from her father). 25 cents a can.

We realized upon leaving the store that the Dunkin’ across the street was open (drive thru only) so to reward my teenager for getting up so early I bought her coffee and munchkins.

I then expounded on my mixed feelings about this whole situation— that franchise owners of Dominoes and Dunkin and large corporations are making a killing offering services on the backs of essential employees exploited and underpaid. I’m happy they aren’t having disrupted income but—and I spent 10 years in this category as a Target employee—they are being put at risk for people who want coffee and doughnuts.

Then to make it more of a dramatic monologue, my daughter asked why I avoid drive thrus so adamantly. I mentioned that I worked my way through college at the drive thru at McDonald’s. I was primarily a “runner” and I think that’s where I discovered panic attacks. It’s a stressful position, that really has no purpose. The employees are timed. All because people want speed and don’t want to get out of their cars.

But anyway. Sigh.

I’m drinking not only fully caffeinated coffee for the first time in weeks but cold brew. I may have a heart attack before the end of this entry.

I mentioned to the child that I hope she is keeping a journal as this is an experience she may never have in her life again. If I were her English teacher I would ask for 100 words a day.

I also proposed that someday her children might be required to do their public school education virtually and she could tell tales of back in the day when she used to walk to school and sit in a classroom with other kids.

That thought gave her pause.

I originally planned to discuss meal planning now that food is becoming sparse but I can do that another day. Or later.

School’s out and laundry machines (just another Coronavirus day)

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Hello, all.

I have so many organized wonderful ideas for blog posts but my energy and focus level say, here— have a cat picture. The whole pride!

And more fun footage of kittens in the other porch window.

Misty and Fog

The governor has canceled school for the rest of the school year as of today so for the next seven weeks the teenager will be completing her sophomore year at home.

Alice Cooper & The Muppets — School’s Out

For dinner I did something decadent— I made thick cut black pepper bacon and cooked cabbage in the bacon grease. I piled the bacon, cabbage and some extra sharp New York cheddar onto a bagel.

And the teenager spent some time today recreating her mother on the Sims. Here I am:

And thanks to a college friend getting a vibrage wringer washer for her birthday I actually spent some time today watching YouTube videos of men doing laundry on washing machines more than 50 years old. The teenager found that amusing. And so dreadfully boring of me. I subscribed to this appliance man’s channel. I love this 1952 Frigidaire with the antique box of Tide.

After all, this washing machine is older than my mother. Give it a watch. Go on.

Lorain Furniture and Appliance presents 1952 Frigidaire

The teenager is on a roll

Angel Ackerman 1 Comment

My daughter is enjoying the self-directed pace of being at home, though some days she’s more on top of her assignments then others.

Today she baked homemade banana bread and that turned out scrumptious.

I suggested she break down the cardboard as it is recycling night and use that activity for gym credit. She’s cleaning the whole mud room!

Before

AND she hung the laundry!

Later she’s promised me a game of Scrabble and another episode of The Waltons.

The little things (which include The Waltons)

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It’s important on days when the world is fighting a pandemic or if your mood is not quite right to remember the bright spots.

  • The sun was bright. The air warm. My house windows open.
  • My daughter and I had a picnic on my bed at lunch.
  • My boss likes one of the projects I submitted today, which almost made it a good day.
  • Fog the kitten curled up in a tight little ball and slept in my lap. She looked like such a dainty baby.
  • My daughter— how I wish these days at home with her never had to end— cleaned the kitchen and made dinner AND shared a piece of her peanut butter Reese’s Easter Rabbit.
  • We watched another episode of the Waltons, a throw back to my daughter’s childhood and my own. We both envy the Norman Rockwell rural Americana depicted there. When she was a baby, I used to watch the Waltons while she nursed (with the sound on mute so she wouldn’t hear it and I put the subtitles on). As a preschooler, we would often watch an episode to settle down before bed. And the episode where Elizabeth broke her leg spurred a decade of my daughter having a fascination with broken legs. And a brief desire to be a surgeon. Her reaction to the show now is priceless— I never really thought about the fact that the Baldwin Sisters were alcoholics. That was one of her first observations.
  • Tomorrow the teenager plans to make banana bread.
  • My daughter had planned a cookie and coffee break for me today, but my work day (even a home) that my 9-plus hour stint at the computer didn’t allow it. So I hope we can try again tomorrow.
  • For those interested in the things the cat stowed in the couch series, I haven’t found much lately.

Goals—and how the impulsive selection of a desktop picture breeds hope

Angel Ackerman 1 Comment

My last day in the office was March 17. We were practicing social distancing— not allowed to pass each other in the hall, speaking from inside our offices, wiping down doorknobs and the copy machine.

It was George’s mother’s birthday and he couldn’t go see her in the nursing home. That made him sad.

Tomorrow will be my 13th day of working from home. The fourth day of my second year with the agency. My first full day working on my new laptop. I had to reset windows and I managed to send myself this old picture from my phone for my desktop photo:

Traveling

I took it on the road between Djibouti City and Lac Abbé four years ago. Other than my daughter, I’ve shown one person this photo and they didn’t even ask what it was.

“Some random African photo,” he said when I asked if he noticed it, “I know your fascination with Africa.”

So I explained. “Ah,” he said, “that makes sense.”

This is the original photo that I took in January 2016.

On the Road

There is beauty in that photo, and oppressive dry heat, and the implication of hardship. Where are they going? Is it far? Yet, such color and contrast. Simplicity.

The man in the front is wearing a traditional man’s skirt. They say it helps you stay cool in the heat. The women have such light but colorful layers, lovely hijab blowing in what appears to be a slight breeze.

This photo takes me away when I look at it, and for me, it offers perspective and optimism.

I do have a critical theorist’s fascination with Africa, but my passion is actually post-colonial Francophone Africa and how their colonial experience and subsequent (ahem) immigration issues and Muslim relations provide lessons for American imperialism in a post-9/11 world.

Though recent political upheaval in South Africa may provide an interesting cross-examination of the British colonial experience… and what that means for the next generation of African citizens across the continent.

But I digress… not uncommon.

I have some goals I want to set this week.

  • Have several meals with my daughter at our patio cafe.
  • Take 3 walks.
  • Do 5 push ups tomorrow, 10 on Tuesday, and as many as I can each day as long as it is at least the same as the day before.
  • Care for my nails.
  • Take a bath.
  • Cut the grass.
  • Do a blog series on Tarot cards
Happy Sunday

Acrylic Nail Home Maintanence

Angel Ackerman 1 Comment

In early March, I made the decision to keep acrylic on my nails for two-ish more weeks before switching over to a natural French manicure.

That was scheduled for March 28.

As far as nails growing out go, they look good and Beth, my amazing nail professional at Hyperion Salon, posted lots of tips of how to decorate them if one has an opportunity to go out.

She also posted how to remove acrylic and gel manicures at home. I have lots of experience removing gel manicures with the Up and Up Gel Removal kit from Target (though I only have 6 pads left). The process for acrylic is similar.

She mentioned that I need to watch for acrylic lifting away from the nail because if water gets in there fungus can grow. Well I have some concerns about two of them so I’m taking them off.

If this helps anyone else, look up Hyperion on Facebook:

Today from the couch: what a formerly feral kitten stashes in her den

Angel Ackerman 4 Comments

My daughter has suggested a new series for Instagram— #thingsfoundinthecouch hidden by #fogourcat.

Fog is the sister of Misty, one of three kittens the teenager trapped this Christmas. Fog was the smartest and was out on her own the longest. The three of them were born under our neighbor’s porch.

I never intended to keep any of them but to make a long story short— I’m a soft-hearted sucker especially when it comes to babies.

So Fog likes to stash her prey in her den, which is the couch. I’ve found pens, keys, and they even tried to drag a skein of yarn there.

Follow me on Instagram as the adventure develops!

Saturday foraging

Angel Ackerman 1 Comment

I didn’t sleep much last night, wide awake at 5:30 a.m. After tossing and turning for an hour, I got up, fed the cats, reset windows on my newly arrived computer and decided to do my grocery shopping at Lidl when it opened at 8.

There were about 8 of us in the parking lot when it opened and the population of the store doubled in the first ten minutes. I did a lot of shopping in about 20 minutes, with everything from bathroom supplies to Easter Candy, plums to the last of the Brussel sprouts.

Lidl still has toilet paper, hand soap, various wipes, acetaminophen and disinfectant spray.

Many of the shelves are completely empty but others are untouched — so some of my protein choices are unorthodox. I bought some things I prefer not to eat, like frozen black eyed peas, because they are cheap and will keep. I also bought processed foods I avoid for health reasons for the same reasons, namely hot dogs. I also snagged the last carton of liquid egg whites. I’ve never cooked with those but they have a freshness date of June. So it’s a protein I can store.

I bought the teenager a bag of lemons and a bag of plums. I treated myself to a large cantaloupe. I will surprise us both will pre-cut watermelon— a luxury I never indulge in but we can use the extra fruit.

And while everyone else ran to things like meat and toilet paper, I went to the bakery and put on the disposable gloves they offered, grabbed a pastry paper and selected warm croissants— you know before everyone touches them.

I also bought juice, again which I never do preferring the fiber and extra satiating qualities of real fruit, but if we’re not going to the store, we need some vitamin c source.

And one man noticed how quickly and efficiently I shopped. He made robot gestures and called me a machine.

And I got a big old bag of lavender Epsom salts. That was my treat.

Mental Exhaustion

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I’m proud of my daughter. I’m proud of her teachers. I’m proud of her school district.

This was the first week of her traditional public high school functioning virtually. She started strong.

She struggled a bit with geometry.

She downloaded all the apps she needed and kept up with all the work.

But yesterday her dad’s internet proved unreliable then my provider had an outage throughout our entire neighborhood.

Today she got up at 8 a.m. We both started work then, and neither of us finished. I clocked out at 6:15, after problems with the work server all afternoon.

Over dinner, at 7 pm, my daughter mentioned that she was exhausted even though she wasn’t tired.

I explained that was mental exhaustion.

“Now I understand how you feel when you get home from work,” she said.

I mentioned that’s why I watch so much Gordon Ramsay. Mindless.

My HP elitebook arrived today. My daughter got it charged and working and on the internet.

She brought it to be and I downloaded the remote server file for work.

I worked on the new machine for about 3 hours but I kept having issues. It didn’t occur to me that the work server was having problems. So when I saw the message that I had windows updates I restarted.

When I came upstairs, it was still lingering on the screensaver.

I had a stressful week so I hope the computer isn’t broken.

It wasn’t supposed to arrive until sometime between April 7 and 10. So it was 4 days early.