France Lockdown — Day deux
18 Mar 2020 — my daily ramblings from Paris
My eyelids were heavy. The time was 9.45am. A far cry from my usual waking up time of 8am. Ah but we’re on a lockdown. I don’t have to run out to catch a train for work or out and about to meet friends and sit outside at a nice cafe while the sun is high and warm and sip down a mediocre €3.50 cup of café au lait.
In many ways I am lucky as we have a large balcony. So when its warm I venture onto the balcony and stay there to soak it all up. While peeping other balconies and the surrounding streets. Trying to guess who’s carrying the mandatory ATTESTATION DE DÉPLACEMENT DÉROGATOIRE document is light-heartedly entertaining. Did you know? — failing to produce the document during a check will hurt your pocket by €135 (that’s about 38 cups of café au lait)
#RestezChezVous the most hip hashtag now to encourage people to stay and contain the spread of the virus. So stay home and follow the directives from a reliable resource like the Prefecture de Police.
After eating the leftovers from yesterday I slowly moved to my bedroom. The time was 1pm. It was too early for my power nap. The idea of bundling up inside a warm duvet was inviting. One of the housemate knocked on my door. He blurted out that one of his friend that he met two weeks ago has been tested positive for the Covid-19. I felt a surge of fear rustling from my sole up to my head. A small tinge of headache appeared on my third eye and quickly spread throughout my head. I waited for this new sensation to settle and got out of the bed. This shit is getting real.
The only thing me and my housemate can think of is to clean and disinfect every possible surface where we’ve touched. We filled a small bucket with hot water, bleach and dishwashing liquid and got to work. After about 90 mins we manage to wipe down everything (including the garbage lid), vacummed and mopped all the floor. In the end everything was sparkly. We were happy, satisfied.
Later that evening my friend got a bio disinfectant spray that’ll be used on all door knobs in the house. Even fridge handle, electric kettle handle and rice cooker lid were all wiped down and will do so more frequently. Anyone returning home after being outside will have to wash their hands before touching anything at home. These rules are working for us.
Anything else I should look out for? Let me know in the comment section at the end of this article.
Dinner time was fast approaching and I wanted to make something quick. What can ward off the evil swiftly? Sage is the obvious candidate but I only had some. But garlic I have plenty.
The menu: Linguine aglio e olio and Endive and cherry tomatoes salad with sesame dressings.
Thinly sliced garlic (lots of it) tossed in a generous amount of bio extra virgin olive oil. Followed by a sprinkle of chili flakes that instantly dyed the oil into several hues of orange mimicking sunrises in my pot. Cooked al dente linguine (if the pack said 8 mins cooking, al dente will be 7 mins) tossed together with all the sunshine goodness.
Bitter endives thinly sliced and halved multi-colored cherry tomatoes lightly dressed with balsamic vinegar and Korean sesame sauce. A bit of fusion there for you.
Dinner served and eaten quickly. Definitely more chatter than yesterday.
While eating we heard one of our neighbours standing on the balcony at 7am and clapping her hearts out to all medical professionals working tirelessly on the frontline fighting the virus. We joined in briefly.
Later I found out that this impromptu soirée will take place at 8pm every day all over France. Bless those on the frontlines and thank you for your service. :-)
I noticed that I’ve completely stopped taking any photos using my phone. Usually even a walk to the supermarket demands some photographs. The fresh bloom of tulips or something weird on the supermarket shelves to share with friends back home in Asia.
I guess not much happenings from the window or the balcony. Maybe I need to get creative. I will in the next few days.
There’s been lots of chatter around the extension of the lockdown so we might hear something over the weekend. Expected and necessary.
Despite this massive interruption to our daily routine life… I’m happy that mother earth is finally getting her break… detoxing… healing…. seeing a therapist (don’t judge)… and she will be back, stronger, greener and ready to embrace us again… very soon.
Stay safe. Keep the distance. Stop traveling.
“Deux” is two in French.
