the outside world
6 days ago I left quarantine camp. It was pretty weird leaving, I felt a bit disoriented and queasy but I think some of that was due to the time of night, but probably partly due to the situation. There were a lot of us getting out that same night (can’t be sure but it felt like hundreds!) and they funnelled us all out the same way regardless of which of the 5 blocks we had been staying in. This meant a bit of a windy-weavy route to get out, they had lots of people dotted all the way long pointing out where to go. They checked my ID twice, I had to give my room number a couple of times to different people, and we were all handed a random “goodie bag”. Those taking buses to the station piled into those, the rest of us headed towards the road for taxis or pick up, the police had closed the road which the apartment block is on, so there were also a bunch of cops around. The whole thing felt rather odd. Got home around 1am feeling relieved and overwhelmed and stoked, all mixed together. I took a look through the bag they gave me on the way out - it had a bunch of flyers (the only one with any English on it said “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”!), a case to hold a wet umbrella, a keyring, some noodles, hand-sanitiser and a fridge-magnet whiteboard - super random. My only theory is it was either a thank you or a “welcome back to the world” gift! When I finally got to bed, it was a really good feeling to finally crawl into the comfort and space of a proper bed.
I awoke and luckily found two slices of Vogels (best bread ever from NZ) in the freezer, so had toast with marmite and cheese on top for breakfast - it was a great welcome back to the world of choosing-what-I-get-to-eat. The rest of my food on day one was pretty lazy but soooooo good - burgers and fries for lunch and Poke bowl for dinner - both delivered.
On my second day of freedom I took a care package up to the hospital to the worlds-most-patient-patient. Salmon and quinoa salad, chicken baguette, egg tarts, chocolate, flat white, cheese, hummus, mango, and a cheeky can of beer.
I had really kind welcome back pressies from friends; a wine and cheese basket, a pile of M n Ms and other treats sitting on my desk at work, two bottles of wine from another friend - almost worth heading to camp for… (ok not quite)!
Had another run-in with folks wearing space-suits on Friday when our house was disinfected, a service offered by the government when someone tests positive. Five people turned up and wandered around spraying surfaces with bleach and alcohol and mopping the floor with the same. A bit pointless after I had been home for a couple of days but apparently they didn’t have time to do it before I got back. Pretty impressive that the government is doing this for all cases.
My workdays are now back in the office, although its pretty quiet in there as most people are still working from home. After work I hung out with some more real-life humans while eating the cheese and drinking the wine - sooooo nice to do something so normal. We also had a great video call catch-up with friends on Saturday afternoon - calling in from Japan, NZ and of course Princess Margaret Hospital. Sunday was a nice long hike, some cooking and delivering a second care package. This one had bread, salami, pears, flat white, chocolate, scone, pain au chocolat, croissant, salad, foot-long subway, and a skipping rope!
Sadly no good news on escaping from the hospital, he still feels fine but continues to test positive. He carved out a spot beside his bed (through some rearrangements of furniture) so he is now able to get in a small workout each evening. Understandably he is getting pretty over it, but still staying positive and doesn’t seem to be letting it get to him. I didn’t plan to write again until he got out of hospital, but had so many people asking (and it’s taking so damn long) I thought it best to add an update!
