The COVID (Christmas) Chronicles #53: Channeling My Inner Latchkey Kid Mentality

Yesterday was a pretty boring day. Wife and I stayed home again. I did venture out to the post office to purchase stamps to mail out about 8 Christmas & New Year's letters to friends and family who had sent us one. The post office was pretty low key. There was only one other person in front of me who wanted to cancel her PO box and have her mail redirected to a residential address. While I was out, I stopped by Safeway to get some more kimchi for Wife as well as bananas & salad mix. I also got a breakfast burrito and ate that before coming home. 

Wife and I talk often about the pandemic and Americans' response to it. She feels, and rightfully so, that some Americans are fools for traveling during the holidays, for continuing to attend family gatherings, and for refusing to wear a mask. Wife had to cancel her trip back to her home country this year due to the pandemic and she has already stated she does not plan to go back in 2021. Her country has barred entry to the country to all foreign nationals, but citizens and foreign nationals who have legal permanent residence can enter the country, but they have to quarantine for 2 weeks. 

If Wife were to go back to her home country, she would need to stay in a hotel for 2 weeks before leaving and there is no guarantee she would not get sick and if she did get sick in the hotel, the question is who would care for her, because she can be a bit of a helpless baby when she's sick. She couldn't spend it at a family's house because they are either older and more vulnerable or have young children in the house. Add in the expense of staying a hotel in Tokyo for 2 weeks and it becomes cost-prohibitive. 

I have been spending these last couple of days reflecting on the difference between this winter break versus past winter breaks. The days now are filled with laziness and sitting on the couch watching streamed TV shows or movies on Samsung TV's Movie Hub channel. I watched "The Silence of the Lambs" again yesterday. Wife came out of our room while I watching and asked if I liked the movie. I told her I had never been able to watch it all the way through before, which I think surprised her. After watching twice, I must agree that it is one of the best movies ever made and I agree that Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster deserved their Academy Awards. If you have never seen the movie, I strongly recommend you see it because it is a great thriller. I will not give any reviews of the movie, lest I spoil it for you. 

I'm also working out on my spin bike. I did not work out yesterday, but I will do it this morning, in probably 1 hour or as soon as I finish this blog post. I need to charge up the iPad, so it's plugged into our computer at the moment. I use playlists I have created on YouTube for motivation. One of my favorite playlists is a Rock and Roll playlist with music from Metallica, AC/DC, & ZZ Top. 

Wife asked if I missed seeing my parents during the holiday. I said it's not a matter of missing them (she gave me permission to go and see them), it's more that I'm missing being around people. I am an extroverted person and being shut in the house all day does affect me in a negative way. I am doing my best to channel my inner 13 year old and remember when I was 13 and would come home from school and be home alone for a couple of hours after junior high school. I admit, I was what they are now calling a "latchkey kid"...

I will be putting together my New Year Resolutions this week. I already have one and I have a new blog up to document my efforts. When it's up and running a bit more smoothly, I'll share with you all what that resolution is. For now, I hope you're working on your yearly goals. 

I guess these are my thoughts for today. Have a great day!