Item
Quarantine Journal
Title (Dublin Core)
Quarantine Journal
Description (Dublin Core)
Quarantine Journal
Date (Dublin Core)
Creator (Dublin Core)
Contributor (Dublin Core)
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
Collection (Dublin Core)
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
04/03/2020
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
10/11/2020
1/26/2021
2/2/2021
07/03/2021
05/17/2022
Date Created (Dublin Core)
04/03/2020
Text (Omeka Classic)
Contributing to the archive of daily life during the COVID-19 plague, I will add my own accord of the mundane aspects of everyday life during the plague year. I will recollect the first minutes of how the response has quickly and substantially changed aspects of my daily life. The first of which to crumble was the relationship I had with my girlfriend, “K.”
The severity of the plague hit home immediately. News of the virus quickly spread through social media and news stations. New buzz words and statistics relating to the spread of the pandemic and the severity of the situation made headline news around the clock, day and night.
Before the start of talk considering widespread forms of quarantine, I had taken a short trip up to Glen Canyon for kayaking and hiking with my girlfriend and her family. The trip was beautiful, but the waters in the canyon never rose above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and the weather was still unusually cold for this time of year. We had planned the trip with the assumption her dog Luna would do well on our kayak. Without having tried such a feat, we were unpleasantly surprised by how awkward our craft would become with 75 lbs. of a timid soaking wet dog riding between us in the double kayak we’d rented. What would be 15 miles of serine natural delight became 15 miles of stress and discontent.
I fully understood the precarious situation after successfully launching the boat, Luna in tow. I was going to have to carry the trip. With the dog sitting anxiously in her lap as the boat rocked with the river current and my paddle strokes, “K” had no way to paddle. Between her, the dog, and their necessary gear, I was going to have to row with approximately 340 lbs. of dead weight. Still, because I’d packed a more than sufficient carb loadout for the day trip, I wasn’t concerned with my capability to get us out of the rough situation. However, issues quickly compounded. She couldn’t ride patiently and enjoy the trip while I paddled for the two of us, even though I could easily match our speed to her family’s kayaks and steer the craft adequately on my own. I’d thoroughly communicated that assistance rowing was neither required or desired, but “K” persisted in telling me that I was working too hard and that the only way we could efficiently function was if she was steering the craft. She brought Luna up and out of her lap to stand near the center of the kayak, where she could inconveniently lean into my back. Keeping the animal in a standing position greatly added to our instability in the water and nearly caused us to capsize on several occasions. As she could not match my cadence, the attempts she made to assist in steering from the rear regularly caused overcompensation. With great disdain in my style of leadership, she emphasized that my inability to accept the assistance of others was duly noted. As I toiled for 8 hours of rowing, I couldn’t help but realize that I’d never heard 340 lbs. of dead weight complain so much and that the candle we held could quickly grow dim or extinguish with a sharp gust of wind.
Upon returning from our trip, I visited with my parents only to find that Spring Break ending would not mean returning to school. The nation’s Center for Disease Control was sounding the alarm for the imminent outbreak, and large social gatherings were canceled. “K” had returned to work in the Emergency Room of one of the hospitals nearby. Unfortunately, last year I had been diagnosed with Diabetes, I also had type A positive blood, and these were underlying conditions that the CDC warned could worsen the symptoms of the new virus. Her position in the hospital was a crucial part of the healthcare system, but one that would continuously expose her to the virus in the coming weeks and months. I could feel the tides of fate ripping out the foundations of the relationship we’d built over the last six months. Simple social distancing wouldn’t be enough to keep her safe from becoming a viral vector due to the inadequacies of the health care systems where she worked to provide personal protective equipment to their employees.
I returned to my room for rent in Apache Junction, Arizona, to commence the remainder of the Spring semester online. After my second day of classes, “K” wanted to come over and hang out after going to a birthday party held for one of her coworkers in the Emergency Room. She even invited me to come help celebrate the occasion; many of the Emergency Room nurses were also attending the event. I realized that I had now harbored fear she could contract the virus from work or sharing space with her coworkers after work, who are also constantly at high risk of exposure. After reflecting on the current situation and the derogatory things she’d said on our trip together, I decided to conclude our relationship.
My reaction to the virus had influenced me to initiate the breakup, and my doubt in our ability to function as a couple successfully was wholly dissolved by her position at work and risky behavior. Although this decision was made easier by the context of things, I wonder how many others were faced with similar challenges and forced to choose between protecting themselves and their family over maintaining a personal relationship.
The severity of the plague hit home immediately. News of the virus quickly spread through social media and news stations. New buzz words and statistics relating to the spread of the pandemic and the severity of the situation made headline news around the clock, day and night.
Before the start of talk considering widespread forms of quarantine, I had taken a short trip up to Glen Canyon for kayaking and hiking with my girlfriend and her family. The trip was beautiful, but the waters in the canyon never rose above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and the weather was still unusually cold for this time of year. We had planned the trip with the assumption her dog Luna would do well on our kayak. Without having tried such a feat, we were unpleasantly surprised by how awkward our craft would become with 75 lbs. of a timid soaking wet dog riding between us in the double kayak we’d rented. What would be 15 miles of serine natural delight became 15 miles of stress and discontent.
I fully understood the precarious situation after successfully launching the boat, Luna in tow. I was going to have to carry the trip. With the dog sitting anxiously in her lap as the boat rocked with the river current and my paddle strokes, “K” had no way to paddle. Between her, the dog, and their necessary gear, I was going to have to row with approximately 340 lbs. of dead weight. Still, because I’d packed a more than sufficient carb loadout for the day trip, I wasn’t concerned with my capability to get us out of the rough situation. However, issues quickly compounded. She couldn’t ride patiently and enjoy the trip while I paddled for the two of us, even though I could easily match our speed to her family’s kayaks and steer the craft adequately on my own. I’d thoroughly communicated that assistance rowing was neither required or desired, but “K” persisted in telling me that I was working too hard and that the only way we could efficiently function was if she was steering the craft. She brought Luna up and out of her lap to stand near the center of the kayak, where she could inconveniently lean into my back. Keeping the animal in a standing position greatly added to our instability in the water and nearly caused us to capsize on several occasions. As she could not match my cadence, the attempts she made to assist in steering from the rear regularly caused overcompensation. With great disdain in my style of leadership, she emphasized that my inability to accept the assistance of others was duly noted. As I toiled for 8 hours of rowing, I couldn’t help but realize that I’d never heard 340 lbs. of dead weight complain so much and that the candle we held could quickly grow dim or extinguish with a sharp gust of wind.
Upon returning from our trip, I visited with my parents only to find that Spring Break ending would not mean returning to school. The nation’s Center for Disease Control was sounding the alarm for the imminent outbreak, and large social gatherings were canceled. “K” had returned to work in the Emergency Room of one of the hospitals nearby. Unfortunately, last year I had been diagnosed with Diabetes, I also had type A positive blood, and these were underlying conditions that the CDC warned could worsen the symptoms of the new virus. Her position in the hospital was a crucial part of the healthcare system, but one that would continuously expose her to the virus in the coming weeks and months. I could feel the tides of fate ripping out the foundations of the relationship we’d built over the last six months. Simple social distancing wouldn’t be enough to keep her safe from becoming a viral vector due to the inadequacies of the health care systems where she worked to provide personal protective equipment to their employees.
I returned to my room for rent in Apache Junction, Arizona, to commence the remainder of the Spring semester online. After my second day of classes, “K” wanted to come over and hang out after going to a birthday party held for one of her coworkers in the Emergency Room. She even invited me to come help celebrate the occasion; many of the Emergency Room nurses were also attending the event. I realized that I had now harbored fear she could contract the virus from work or sharing space with her coworkers after work, who are also constantly at high risk of exposure. After reflecting on the current situation and the derogatory things she’d said on our trip together, I decided to conclude our relationship.
My reaction to the virus had influenced me to initiate the breakup, and my doubt in our ability to function as a couple successfully was wholly dissolved by her position at work and risky behavior. Although this decision was made easier by the context of things, I wonder how many others were faced with similar challenges and forced to choose between protecting themselves and their family over maintaining a personal relationship.
Accrual Method (Dublin Core)
1016