A Someday in the [quarantine] Life of Schuyler Nowicki

(recommendations for staying sane? maybe?)

7:00am Pretend that I am going to wake up… start reading Calvin & Hobbes… go back to sleep

8:15am Actually get out of bed, make coffee

8:30am Let the chickens out, collect eggs, make toast and eggs for breakfast, delicious

9:00am Pace around the backyard contemplating the nature of the frogs in the pond and the lizards on the deck

9:50am Find a baby black snake near the pond, it lets me pick it up, but I disturb the frogs

10:30am Reach a conclusion that amphibians are generally more antisocial towards humans than reptiles, who seem to enjoy my company. Damn, frogs

11:15am Call my best friend in Asheville because I’m bored, talk about life during the virus

12:15pm Make a chicken salad sandwich and eat it, also delicious

12:40pm Call the same friend in Asheville, he doesn’t pick up

12:45pm Call the same friend’s girlfriend and demand that she put him on the phone because I haven’t yet explained to him my recent observations of amphibians and reptiles, successful

1:15pm Decide I should do something productive, but not sure what yet

1:20pm Start practicing scales on the piano

1:30pm Remember how tedious it is to play scales and decide to improvise over 12-bar blues instead, not a bad decision

2:15pm Decide that I’ve earned a beer

2:45pm Facetime a different friend in Asheville under the pretense that I want to catch up, but really, I want to facetime with her dog, also successful

3:15pm Rearrange bookshelf based on author

3:40pm Crack another beer because quarantine

3:45pm Rearrange bookshelf based on subject

4:00pm Stand disapprovingly in the hallway while roommates are watching reality TV shows that I don’t understand

4:05pm Start packing books based on subject, I’m moving out of here soon one way or the other

4:50pm Get a surprise phone call from my friend in Puerto Rico, we laugh a lot

5:30pm Pace around the backyard again, wondering where my reptile friends hide when they are not on the porch

6:00pm Join an online meeting with my parents, have a beer and chat and pretend that this is the first beer I’ve had today

7:00pm Leave online meeting with parents and eat leftover stir-fry for dinner, not as delicious as it was yesterday, but still pretty good

7:30pm Corral chickens back into their coop, make sure they have food and water

7:45pm Stand disapprovingly in the hallway again, wondering how anyone can watch so much reality TV; trying not to judge, but very confused

7:55pm Get yelled at for making too much noise when I start to play the piano again, God forbid I disturb the soothing noises of reality TV

8:00pm Start rereading Dante’s Inferno, thinking it could be appropriate for the circumstances

8:05pm Realize that Dante’s Inferno was a terrible choice, switch to reading Calvin & Hobbes, much better, laughing again

9:45pm Get a message from the first friend, unsurprisingly, he is still in Asheville, his girlfriend has decided to go to bed early and he wants to play video games online, great news

9:55pm Finally finish downloading an update for a game, get another beer, log on

11:15pm Realize how late it is, decide that we have time for one more round online

12:20am Realize I have stayed up way to late playing games with my friend and should probably think about going to bed

12:30am Not really that tired, start to read more Calvin & Hobbes to go to sleep

1:20am Realize that I am still reading Calvin & Hobbes and I should probably put it down and actually go to bed

Wasn’t a terrible day… maybe tomorrow will be better?

 

7:00am Pretend that I am going to wake up… still lying in bed, open up Calvin & Hobbes…