Life (lockdown) diaries #5: Going out (even for groceries!) seems like so much trouble

I have completed two weeks of being confined to my home (unless you count the occasional grocery run, and when I have to go out to hand over the garbage). Life has taken a completely different direction. I went from having a completely packed schedule to being suddenly free with all the time in the world.

So what did I do?

Week 1 of the lockdown:

I had to teach myself how to properly scrub my hands for 20 seconds, all the while singing “Happy Birthday” twice. Have you seen this btw?

The sudden sense of freedom that the lockdown brought with it had gone to my head and I made the most of my days by sleeping in late. Then I deep cleaned each and every corner of my house. The accumulated dust did make me sneeze but it was worth it. My house was spotlessly clean and my maid had nothing to do with it. A proud moment indeed. *sigh* The things a lockdown can do to us!

I also used the opportunity to call my friends and family. I’ve never been more grateful for video calls. While the lockdown has brought about social distancing, it has also blessed us with the time to be more social. Also, nobody could give the excuse of being “too busy”. 😛

I started binge-watching some of my favourite shows and watched more movies in a week than I had done in the entirety of last year! (Okay, fine. I’ll admit it – moderate exaggeration alert. But still! Thank God for Prime videos and unlimited Wi-Fi. The two of you are my heroes.)

Once the cleaning was done and the perfectionist in me was satisfied (which is a big deal!) I moved on to cooking. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a big fan of cooking. Food, eating – yes! love it. But cooking – not really. That doesn’t mean that I suck at either even though this is how I choose to define confused. But rather than experiment and risk wastage, I stuck to the basic recipes I knew. I used caution and rationing and thanks to that, I didn’t leave my home for a grocery run until the 10th run. Don’t be so surprised. A single human cannot eat that much food, so obviously, I didn’t have to make a grocery run until the 10th day.

The days and nights passed in a blur of cooking, eating, cleaning, binge-watching, blogging, laundry, more cooking & eating, sleeping, connecting with friends and family and so on.

Week 2 of the lockdown:

They say necessity is the mother of invention. I would like to go the extra mile and add desperation can be a cure to laziness/procrastination. The lockdown did make me do all the chores that I had been putting off for quite a while. And it definitely made me much more familiar with my kitchen. I also knew exactly how many lightbulbs, fans, and switches were there in my place, but that’s a story for another blog post.

Week 2 brought with it a new problem. I had not stepped out for so many days and there was only so much of the street I could see from my balcony. I had no idea how many shops were open and wondered how long I would have to walk until I found a grocery shop with all the stuff that I required.

Armed with hand sanitizer and mask, I stepped out into the outside world after a long while. Luckily I didn’t have to wander out further than my alleyway to get all the vegetables and fruits I needed. I was grateful that the street was empty because there was nobody to see how I struggled to carry the groceries! Though my hands were literally screaming for rest, I kept walking. There were a few moments when I had to keep my bag down and catch my breath. Huffing and panting, I reached my apartment. Finally!

Once I got home, I kept the grocery bags aside. I cleansed myself from tip to toe. I washed the door handles and everything else that I had come into contact with after my grocery run. My cleaning spree made me wonder if Corona had made me develop OCD as far as cleaning was concerned.

As soon as my cleansing ritual was complete, I got a call from my supermarket. They had chosen that precise moment to let me know my order was ready. I had placed the order the day before, but they hadn’t responded till then. So I had to go out AGAIN to pick up the order. I waiting in the queue maintaining social distancing, awaiting my turn. But I’m not complaining – at least I got all the items I needed. But that meant that I had to repeat my cleansing routine all over again. Rinse, wash, repeat.

The sheer thought of having to wash and clean everything is enough to put me off when it comes to going out. Luckily, a few outlets are delivering essentials. So I’m making the best use of that. Also, I’m sticking to essential cooking. Nothing too fancy. Just tasty enough to get me through the day. So here I am, abiding by all the government regulations and staying at home. We have got to be the luckiest of all generations – we get to save the day by just staying home. My prayers are with the frontliners who don’t have the luxury of staying at home.

We are well into week 3 of the lockdown. There is still no confirmation on whether the lockdown will be extended. So as of now, I am all set to go to my office from 15th onwards.

Stay safe. Take care.

The A to Z Blogging Challenge is the one thing that’s keeping me sane. Here are the links to my #AtoZChallenge one-liners. Click on any letter to read the corresponding post.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Image courtesy: Pixabay

Follow me on Instagram | Twitter 

© 2020 Shweta Suresh. All rights reserved.