Quarantine Journal: Week 9
I'm keeping a daily journal while we're stuck in quarantine. To check out previous entries, click below!
Week 1: March 18th-24th
Week 2: March 25th-31st
Week 3: April 1st-7th
Week 4: April 8th-14th
Week 5: April 15th-21st
Week 6: April 22nd-28th
Week 7: April 29th-May 5th
Week 8: May 6th-12th
Well, friends, this is my last week of quarantine. I found out today that I'll be returning to the office on Monday, which means no more daily blog posts (because I don't think, "woke up, went to work, came home" is a very interesting recap to read).
Sean and I will still be doing our best to stay home as much as possible. I think it'll be a little while before we're comfortable dining in at a restaurant or going back to our gym. But honestly, we might feel differently after a few days in the office. Who knows?
I think the hardest part about all this is not really knowing when it's over. According to this lady who was upset Sean and I were wearing masks, the pandemic hApPeNeD iN aPrIl and now it's oVeR, but I feel like she's probably wrong about that.
I just wish there was some sort of timeline that said, "On XX date, you'll be able to hug your family and friends and have cookouts and go shopping and go to your favorite bar again!" One can dream...
Anyway.
Day 57: Wednesday, May 13th
SURPRISE! We deep-cleaned the fridge today. Wasn't planning on it, but when I got out of the shower, I discovered Sean with the fridge doors open holding towels soaked in something with a panicked look on his face. Turns out, somebody left some Diet Cokes in the fridge. (Wasn't us. We're not a Diet Coke family.) With the temperature issues we've been having, the Cokes froze, causing the cans to explode. Diet Coke everywhere!
We literally had to remove everything from the fridge and wipe it down because everything was covered in soda. On the plus side, our fridge has never been cleaner, and we think we figured out the temperature issue now and shouldn't have to drop a couple thou on a new fridge any time soon. 🤞
Now I'm going to talk about the Survivor finale, so if you don't care about that, you can skip this part, and I'll see you tomorrow.
I think this is the best final three we've ever had. (I say that, but I'm not going back through 20 years of history to validate it, so I could really just mean, "in recent years.") Each of the finalists had a very different path to the final tribal council, and each was deserving of the $2 million prize.
Tony was on top the entire game. He was always on the right side of the vote, won four immunity challenges, never once had a vote cast against him, AND managed to flip on his alliance a few times without pissing them off. (A difficult thing to do, and the sign of a great social game.)
Michele was the underdog (and my favorite person to root for). She was always on the wrong side of the vote. Her alliance members were constantly getting voted out, so she had to adapt and remain flexible throughout the entire game. She was scrappy and won two immunity challenges at crucial points in the game, and she successfully used her 50/50 coin she bought from Edge of Extinction (once as an offering to an ally, and then ultimately for herself).
Natalie was the first person voted out of the game. (She's another favorite of mine, not just because we're name twins.) She was on her own from day two and beasted her way through every challenge to earn herself three advantages in the battle-back (sorry for the Big Brother term) in tonight's finale. While she didn't have to play the traditional game for most of the season, she did have to live with the jury (could be viewed as an advantage or disadvantage) and work the social game, and then she had to fight for herself when she ultimately returned to the game because she was the easy target to get out.
I don't really know who I wanted to win. I think deep down, I feel like Tony played the best game because he checked all three boxes: outwit, outplay, outlast. But I also love an underdog story, and I feel like Michele and Natalie were just as deserving.
One thing I do need to rant about is why I think Natalie lost to Tony. Michele didn't end up getting any jury votes (a crime), so it really came down to Natalie vs. Tony. Many people on the jury said they voted for Tony over Natalie because Natalie didn't take her opportunity to get Tony out, even though she knew he was probably going to win.
Here's my issue with that. Survivor Twitter just celebrated the anniversary of the dumbest move in Survivor history. Literally, if you google "worst move in Survivor history," the story of Erik Reichenbach comes up. Honestly, I didn't watch his season, but Erik won immunity and then GAVE IT AWAY to someone else. Stupid move. And he went home for it.
Nowadays, the final three is determined like this: the winner of the final immunity challenge gets to pick one person to take with them to the final three. The other two duke it out in a fire-making competition for the final spot. Natalie won the final immunity challenge, and the likes of Boston Rob had the nerve to say she should have given up her immunity and taken on Tony in a fire-making competition to get him out herself. This is AFTER Natalie watched them all practice back at camp and saw how bad Tony is at making fire.
How can you say that Erik is an idiot for giving up immunity, but then not vote for Natalie because she didn't give up her immunity? Stupid, stupid, STUPID.
Anyway, see you tomorrow!
Day 58: Thursday, May 14th
I remain undefeated in Two-Player Catan. 3-0, baby! This is super exciting for me because I am absolutely defeated when it comes to ping pong, so I'm just going to need everyone to let me have this.
I forgot to take notes about what happened today, and when I asked Sean, "What happened on Thursday? Do you remember?" He said, "I got a blister on my toe...and I complained about it a lot." It's true. He's similar to our nieces and nephews in that way. He likes to show everyone his boo-boos and get sympathy wherever he can.
Anyway, I remember we also got takeout from Demi's, which was incredible. I was worried pho wouldn't translate well as takeout, but I was wrong. It was magnificent.
Oh! Also, Sean got some new noise-canceling headphones:
And with that, this recap comes to an abrupt end.
Day 59: Friday, May 15th
I took Carly to the vet today for her annual checkup. When I told her to get on the scale, she stepped up and sat like a good girl, and when they brought her back to me after clipping her nails, the tech said, "She is just the best dog. So compliant." Compliant.
Carly is a very good girl, with the exception of her occasional table-surfing, shoe-chewing, trash-digging habits, but I don't think I'd ever use the word "compliant" to describe her. Girlfriend is definitely a charmer.
Anyway, the doctor gave her a clean bill of health (including, "Her weight is perfect!" Always baffles me, but I'm happy to hear it?), and I have decided I'm going to continue wearing a mask every time I visit the vet because I didn't have any allergy issues all day!
Later, we played a game of ping pong, and I came the closest I've ever come to beating Sean. 19-21. UGH. The pressure got to me, and I just couldn't bring home the W. One day.
Then we took the dogs for a walk because we realized it was about to start raining. Rain, it did. Halfway through the walk, we started to feel a few drops. I had the slow dog (Carly) and immediately accepted my fate. "Go. Save yourself," I said. Sean and Alli jogged home, and within seconds, Carly and I were standing completely still in a torrential downpour.
We looked at each other, and it was clear she didn't give a hoot. She was not about to run or even walk with any sense of urgency. But then a magical thing happened. A beautiful red golf cart emerged in the distance, parting the waters. Sean had come to rescue us.
"Scoop her up and get in!" Scoop her up and get in, I did.
Anyway, we ended the night with Moscow Mules, Amy Schumer style. (Check out Amy Schumer Learns to Cook if you haven't yet. It's great!) And then I made the buzzed decision run a virtual 5K tomorrow. Because Sean was running it. And the t-shirt was cool.
Stay tuned!
Day 60: Saturday, May 16th
🚨 DUCKS IN THE POOL 🚨
When we first moved into this house, there were a couple of ducks who would occasionally come hang out in our pool. I always thought it was adorable. Sean always thought it was kind of gross. But we hadn't witnessed it in a while...until this morning.
Sean came and got me because I was still in bed. "There are ducks in the pool. Come get your pictures and then make them leave." I absolutely JUMPED out of bed and went outside. Then I took a bunch of pictures and brought them some food. 🤫
Millie was mostly accommodating. She let them hang out for a little while and eat some food before snapping at them and making them fly away. (Michelle is STILL in broody mode, so she did not meet the ducks.)
After that excitement, I threw on my workout clothes and took off on my 5K. I was pretty proud of myself! My goal was to do it in under 40 minutes (basically 13-minute miles) because I knew I'd have to walk a lot of it. I ended up doing it in 34:14 (11-minute miles)! Not too shabby for someone who despises running and did absolutely zero training ahead of time.
My hip/leg was kind of sore after Thursday's workout, and I thought it was just muscle fatigue, but then after running the 5K, I couldn't walk, so I'm starting to think it was actually an injury of some sort. Great!
The Last Day - Day 61: Sunday, May 17th
My name is Natalie, and I am addicted to my Apple Watch. I 100% injured a muscle in my leg. I can barely walk, and it's been twitching all day. I was sure my 56-day streak of closing all my rings would come to an end today because...how do you exercise when you can barely stand? But then my watch kept telling me, "You can do it! Don't forget to get a 30-minute workout in today!" So I gave in and did arms and abs. Make that a 57-day streak. 💪
Today is my last day of quarantine. Back to the office tomorrow! I can't begin to describe how lucky I feel to have had these last two months. We've mastered the art of cooking tofu, something I've been wanting to incorporate into more of my meals. We are somehow in a stronger financial situation than we were on day 1, even with the pay cuts. We have multiple new craft cocktail recipes in our repertoire. We still like each other. AND I'm going back to work with a promotion. This quarantine was really good for us, and I know how lucky we are for that.
It's been fun writing daily recaps (even though I've started slacking on these last couple of weeks). Thank you for sticking with me for nine weeks!
One last recap for you.
I am writing this on Monday, May 18th. Today on my lunch break, Sean and I wanted to get Michelle off the nest to make her eat and drink. Sean held open the nesting box cover while I reached in to pick her up. She, of course, chose the hardest box to get to, and as I was reaching in to pick her up, I felt my shoulder pop out of place. My first reaction was to drop her, and my second was to pop it back in. And now I'm convinced my shoulder is dislocated, and I will probably die.
Other than that, it was a good first day back at the office.