On Thursday afternoons, I answer my company’s COVID-19 Hotline phone number. Basically you can call the Hotline with pretty much any question from where can you get a COVID-19 test to how can you access your office if you’re currently remote, and the answering staff member will walk you through your situation and try to help answer your questions. Like any job, some days are better than others — there are some shifts where the phone just doesn’t stop ringing and then others when I pretty much cheer when the phone finally rings.
The one good thing about having this shift every Thursday is that it forces me to take an early “lunch” break and get out of my home office. I’ve been going out for a run every Thursday around 11 a.m. And it feels so good to get outside and get some exercise in what would normally be before the middle of my work day. Typically I shove food in my mouth while sitting in front of my computer checking work e-mails, so Thursday is just a nice change of pace.
And the weather has been pretty nice every Thursday. Until today.
When I woke up, the forecast called for rain right smack in the middle of my normal Thursday run. And I just hate running in the rain — it’s absolutely miserable. I kept checking the weather while I was working and the rain was still there for 11 a.m. And it was really dark and cloudy out already, it totally looked like it could pour at any minute.
So I decided to skip my run for the first time in months. One day of shitty weather on a Thursday isn’t too bad, right? And I could do a workout inside at home just as easily, so instead I did a cardio workout on my iPad in the spare room.
I was only 10 minutes into the workout when all the damn clouds disappeared and the sun came out. And it was bright and beautiful for the rest of the afternoon while I was stuck inside answering the phone.
I should have just gone for a run.
Notes from a Self Quarantine 