Currently: Quarantine in Phoenix Edition

Where to begin?

The month of March… well, it was a long one, wasn’t it? I started the month off bidding adieu to my job and boarding a plane to Bogotá, expecting to spend the rest of the month seeking clarity and exploring Colombia, the San Blas Islands, and Panama. Then, I’d visit my family in Los Angeles for the first two weeks of April before heading off to the Republic of Georgia with my best friend a week from today. Clearly, a few plans shifted.

I want to acknowledge that I know how lucky I am with a roof over my head, plenty of food in the kitchen, a healthy family all around me, and the privilege to stay home. I could want nothing more, and I’d like to thank all those still out there making it possible for us to remain safe and healthy at home. Wherever you are reading this from, I hope you’re hanging onto the promise that this too shall pass, as well.

In this Quarantine edition of my monthly Currently series, I wanted to take stock on how I spent my days while self-isolating in Phoenix, Arizona during the last bit of March.

Phoenix, Arizona

After cutting our South America adventures short, my friend Leah and I self-isolated for two weeks at her dad’s house in Phoenix. As perhaps the truest testament to our friendship yet, we never even come close to murdering each other after being in each other’s company 24/7 for four weeks straight. Dare I say it… I think we even thrived in isolation?

Daily Routine

Well, routine is generous but more often than not, the structure of our (good) days was as follows:

Wake up sometime between 7:30 and 9. The first one out of bed would turn on the coffee machine. We’d linger over an easy breakfast and try to knock out a few items on our respective to-do lists. Leah would then head to her high school track to work-out, and I’d turn on a livestream class from my yoga studio back at home. For lunch, our days alternated between simpler fare and something a little more involved and satisfying. Our afternoons usually consisted of reading outside on the patio, going on a walk, playing with dogs, getting some more ‘work’ done, calling friends and family, and napping. We’d end our day with dinner and TV, and then head to bed around 10:30.

But then there were the not-so-good days. I distinctly remember Day 6 to be the first of these; the vacation high was wearing off and the monotony of our new normal was settling in. We woke up late and barely moved from the couch all day. Over and over again, we had to remind ourselves: it’s more than okay to have days like this too. We need what we need, one day at a time.

Highlights from Phoenix

What I Did, Watched, and Read

Possibly the greatest thing to have come out of this month was re-connecting with friends. I tried to FaceTime or Zoom with someone at least once a day, and made a personal rule to text anyone that came up in my mind regardless of how long it’s been since we last chatted. Because of this, I think I felt so much less isolated and alone. I was also so touched by how many friends reached out to me to see if I made it back Stateside… a former co-worker almost sent out a search party in Colombia because I had missed a Slack message!

With so much time on my hands, even I resorted to working out. My hot yoga studio back in San Francisco (Ritual Hot Yoga) live-streams classes throughout the day. It was lovely to sign in and have that familiarity so far away from home. I also signed up for a 60 day trial of Pure Barre, and would hop onto the elliptical for the duration of a TV episode every now and then.

When we weren’t working out, we were either reading on the patio or holed up on the couch watching TV. I downloaded a free trial of Scribd and blew through The Land of Sea Women, Commonwealth, and A Stolen Life (Jaycee Dugard’s harrowing account of her years spent in captivity). We watched way too much TV to recap everything, but our favorites were definitely I’m Sorry, Workin’ Moms, the new season of 90 Day Fiance, and some Jeopardy here and there.

Beyond that, our days were buoyed by little but mighty joys like long walks, cuddling with dogs, finally catching up on some favorite blogs, appreciating Arizona sunsets, and learning Spanish on Duolingo.

What I Ate and Drank

Confession: I’ve been nosier than ever about what everyone’s eating. I’d love nothing more than for Instagram to revert back to the OG “here’s a photo of my lunch” posts. But like, for every meal, every day.

For breakfast, we’d frequently split a grapefruit or enjoy some peanut butter on toast. Leah also introduced me to the magic of toasting a third of a Costco baguette until it’s crunchy, and then slathering it with enough butter so that it pools into the craggy edges. Bliss.

We worked through 6 pounds of spaghetti that we lugged back from a supermarket in Cartagena for our heartier meals. Our favorites: sesame noodles, a simple arrabbiata, and a zucchini and sausage affair. On our best days, we’d acquiesce to colorful salads for at least one meal… although we also succumbed to the call of delightfully less healthy sweet pork salads from Cafe Rio and Costa Vida as a treat.

Our absolute favorite meal was a rice and bean bowl, an inauthentic spin on a delicious Colombian breakfast dish. We’d make enough brown rice and black beans to last us for days, and then piled it up with red peppers, onions, sausage, and cheddar. It was topped with an olive-oil fried egg with plenty of paprika. I think I’ll love this dish forever.

And of course, treats! We all deserve some sinful treats right now. Without the freshly squeezed OJ, multiple batches of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and fruit licorice from Sprouts, I don’t think I would’ve emerged from self-isolation intact. Oh, and Dalgona coffee because I do what the Internet tells me to.

How I Felt

For the most part, positive and motivated. Surprisingly, I did find the stillness, space, and time to reflect that I’ve craved for awhile. I was definitely in the “bettering myself” category while in Phoenix: I made an effort to become more connected and to develop skills that I’ve long wanted to dedicate time to. I felt more in tune with the world around me. Don’t get me wrong, there were the dreary days, dreary hours too: the ones during which I was ridden with paranoia, intense anxiety, sluggishness, fear, lethargy. But I’m grateful that overall, it was a time to pause, connect, and just be.

I credit this headspace to the fact that I entered this surreal time fortified by the knowledge that I had been fully expecting and preparing for my life to be upended until early summer. Of course, the circumstances under which that happened diverged wildly from what I had planned for, but still… it helped mentally and financially.

After self-quarantining for two weeks in Phoenix, Leah drove me to the border of California where my dad welcomed me into the car with a mask, gloves, and a bottle of hand sanitizer. Since the first week of April, I’ve been isolating with my family at my sister’s house in Los Angeles. My routine, highlights, and mentality are completely different from what it all looked like in Phoenix, but I’ll be sharing all of that in next month’s edition. But it just goes to show – right now, we don’t know what the next day, week, or month holds.

Thanks for reading! I’m sending virtual love and good vibes over to you!