-
Breaking the cycle of boredom
Today, I brought a colleague a chair. It was the highlight of my day. I haven’t set foot into another retail establishment since mid-March although I have done a couple of curbside pickups. It’s not quite the same as browsing through the racks. Coronavirus lockdown is wearing on my nerves. Like everyone else, I’m keeping my distance, I’m limiting the number of interactions I have and I’m staying home. Grocery shopping trips are quick and infrequent. I had to pick up several tubs of margarine during my last to check if they were vegan, and when they weren’t I put… Read more…
-
Breaking bread
I finally broke. After weeks of self-isolation and alternately mocking and cursing the people hoarding baking supplies (I really did run out of baking powder), I finally joined the ranks of those baking bread from scratch. A few of weeks ago, a dear friend sent me a care parcel (courtesy of porch drop-off by her husband) of lentil soup, Turkish delight and – wait for it – sour dough starter. The starter sat in the back of my fridge in hibernation until last weekend, when I realized that I’d better bring it out, warm it up and start feeding it, so hibernation didn’t… Read more…
-
Silver linings
Forty-something days into self-isolation and the hair jokes are running rampant. Beards, mustaches, hair needing a cut, bad haircuts that have been undertaken and roots – the dreaded roots that have bottled blondes worried about becoming brunettes and brunettes worried about lighter colours growing in. My own locks are long enough that a month or two without a trim isn’t noticeable – and I was fortunate enough to have gone to my trusty hairdresser just before the world changed. So the most noticeable change for me is the silver halo I’m now beginning to sport. In my case though, the… Read more…
-
Moving Day!
Today is moving day. After carefully nurturing my public musings through their babyhood and toddler years, my blog has outgrown its original home and is ready for more. When my kids were six, they all left the safety of their kindergarten classes and headed off to a new school to begin Grade 1. It feels rather fitting that my blog (my fourth baby?) is making a move at the same age. So today, I unveil the new Act2 Scene1 in its new home. You’ll find new features, including a graphic identity, a more robust commenting feature (I do hope you’ll use it and… Read more…
-
Coronavirus conundrum
So. We’re three weeks into self-isolation and home working due to COVID-19. Everyone’s lives – all around the world – have been turned absolutely upside down as we do our best to ensure we stay healthy and don’t transmit this illness to those we know. I’m fortunate to be fully employed, and even if there has been a pay reduction, work keeps me busy during the days, and money in my bank account. For that I am very fortunate. But it’s still hard. I’m missing my coworkers. I’m missing the jokes in the hallways, the coffee room chatter and the… Read more…
-
Forging new plans
My view – the planned version Today I was supposed to be boarding a plane to my picturesque Bosphorus-view flat to spend three months of a four month sabbatical soaking in the inspiration that only the magic of Istanbul can offer. Instead, I spent Day 1 of Ontario’s shutdown of essential services working from my dining room table, writing communications about a global pandemic. The world has changed so much in the past little while. Two weeks ago today, I was starting to get concerned, but still thought I’d be going. By the Friday, I was sure that even if… Read more…
-
Slipping through my fingers
Remember that dream? The one I’ve spent the past year planning? I’m beginning to think it was just a hallucination. I’m on the countdown to a four-month sabbatical from work to try and write something worth reading. I’ve got five days left at work and another five until I’m supposed to fly to that view I’ve dreamed about for years. The one that was supposed to inspire me to great things. But with every day – even every hour – that passed last week that view slipped slowly further and further from my grasp. And now, like a mirage in the desert… Read more…
-
In a blinding moment of clarity
Have you ever had one of those blinding moments of clarity? You know, the ones that make you see everything in a completely new light? I was invited to dinner a few days ago. As I broke bread with this wonderful family, I sat beside their eldest son. I’ve watched him grow up for the past few years, starting as a shy boy starting grade 9 in a new country. Now in grade 12, he’s a polite and handsome young man with a shock of black hair, bright sparkling eyes and olive skin. He was confidently telling me about his… Read more…
