Quarantine Day 8: Dancing in Empty Rooms

I keep looking up from what I'm doing, searching for Jacques for a split instant before remembering he's back in Durham with my parents. Each time we video chat, he comes into the room and I see his tail going tik-tok-tik-tok, before he starts to 'talk' - a whimpery-moany-singsong - and sometimes, he'll put his paws on the computer desk and start into the camera at me. At night, sometimes I reach over to pat him, or leave my hand hanging off the edge of the bed for him to sniff. 

Pulls at all my heart strings. I miss my buddy. 

Meanwhile, quarantining in a huge, two-floor, five-bedroom house gets old, fast. I creep outside now and then to soak in some sun, or sit in the screened-in upstairs patio to watch tuk-tuks and people go by. 

During the past week, I've followed a daily routine of wake up, a quick workout or stretch, shower, dress for work, WhatsApp the folks, eat breakfast while FaceTime-ing, then log on for work. 

I spend the day on two computers, learning as much as I can about my office and the employees, the issues big and small. Setting up all my accounts takes time, too. 

At noon, I take an hour for lunch and usually read a book or watch Netflix. At 5pm, I log off and either make or order dinner. 

Jet lag is rough this time around. On Thursday the worst seemed past; on Friday it was as though I'd only just arrived. A couple of folks have told me it took them two weeks. Half-way there!

Keeping my eye on this coming Thursday, when I'll get another nostril-swab for COVID, and hopefully get my negative results back quickly enough to move to my permanent apartment, though that may happen Friday instead. 

When I get really bored and antsy, I challenge myself to sing and dance my way through every room of the house. Not only does it get me moving, but the echoes sound pretty good sometimes. I try to go up and down the stairs several times a day, a curved, wide staircase that makes me feel like waving each time I reach the bottom. 

It's an anti-climactic beginning to a new adventure, darkened a little by the absence of my furry friend, lightened a little by daily chats with my family and various friends. Next weekend I'll be out and about, hopefully busy meeting new friends and exploring the neighborhood. 

For today, though, my weekend excitement is cooking, doing laundry, watching movies, and listening to the street sounds: the clang of the construction site across the way, the beep-beep-beep of tuk tuks, the shouts of guys hauling carts and selling their wares, car alarms, dog barks, and once, a really noisy cat yowl.