The life in the time of the coronavirus continues… 

This is my fourth status report since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic (the other three were in March, mid-April and the end of April). We have now been in confinement for eight weeks (or fifty-six days).

I have not read or written much in the last couple of weeks. Maybe because I was getting tired of my routine. Also, since I keep myself busy during the day, I read mostly at night. And for now I am still stuck reading the epistolary travelog of Isabella Bird in Japan which is a little laborious to read (lots of descriptions). As I keep falling asleep, I read barely a dozen pages every night, therefore it is a long enterprise. I want to start reading something else during the day (some manga or comics because it is “May, the comics’ month”) but there’s so much work around the house (gardening, painting, doing laundry, shopping for groceries, etc.) and other distractions (shopping online for a new TV, ordering gardening supplies, watching or reading news) that I never get to it. I also undertook tasks that were rather time consuming: editing a video interview with an author, updating the blog indexes and finally putting together the 2019 “notable news”.

Unfortunately, this joyous preview of retirement is coming to an end and I will soon have much less time to read or write. I have been recalled to work… at the community gardens! I chose to work in a library to stay involved with culture and, obviously, there nothing more cultural than to oversee the operations in one of the borough’s community gardens. Considering that we are in one of the boroughs with the worse coronavirus infection rate, within the worse city and the country’s worse province, I was quite reticent to expose myself to possible contamination by going back to work, particularly for a job that I didn’t choose. However, I didn’t have much choice (apparently they don’t give a damn if I bring the virus home and cause the death of my immunosuppressed sibling). To minimize the risk, I opted to work in the closest community garden, avoiding public transportation. And I’ll be very careful in protecting myself. Working outdoor, at walking distance, cannot be so bad (unless the weather doesn’t cooperate)…

I conclude with a list of posts where you will find links and suggestions to fill your confinement and entertain yourselves:

• List of activities (where to find digital books, movie streaming and virtual museum visits)
• 2019 “Notable news” (news stories that I enjoyed, so you might as well)
• Winter to Spring 2020 “Notable news” (idem)
• Video interview with Yves Meynard (in French)
• A bunch of anime, books and movies reviews
• My contributions to the Club des Irrésistibles (in French)
• COVID-related information
• Keep exploring this blog, there is plenty of interesting stuff to read !

Take care of yourselves and stay safe !

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