Rice and beans, day 121

If we were sticking to the literal definition of "quarantine"--40 days--today would be the start of our fourth quarantine.* A good time to give a status update.

* I can't remember if I started counting when the official shelter-in-place order started or when our family retreated into our apartment, which was a few days before the SIP. 

What is life like for us in San Francisco right now?

Transportation

The Metro portion of Muni is still closed, and many bus lines are not currently running. Although the Metro is supposed to start again mid-August, it will be years, if ever, before all the bus lines return. Although we personally can complete all essential tasks without the Muni, the reduction in public transportation will affect our family's return to a more open new-normal, when the time comes.

In general, we try to stay off the bus to leave room for riders on essential trips, but Youngest Kid did go to Golden Gate Park two days last week to help with an Eagle Scout project, and has plans to go again this week.

I haven't been on a bus since February 27, although I did fly in early March.

Food shopping

We've become more comfortable going into grocery stores. Our pre-pandemic routine had Writer Man and I each going to the store once a week, due to limitations in how much food we can fit into our rolling cart. He preferred Trader Joe's. I split between Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. We augmented that with sending Youngest Kid across the street to the small convenience store or down the block to the CVS for emergency items and ice cream. Or emergency ice cream. 

When the shelter-in-place order came, all of that stopped, except for rare trips to the store across the street for milk and eggs. We lived on food we had stored during February, staples ordered from Amazon, and occasional Instacart orders. 

Since the end of May, Writer Man and I have each shopped at Trader Joe's once. We've become wary of Instacart for a couple of reasons, and it's easier to get delivery directly through Safeway, so we've done that once or twice. We still make use of the small market across the street as well as the CVS (now that it's reopened after the looting in early June) for milk, eggs, and yogurt. We order bulk items like oats, dried apricots, and flour online. We have plenty of beans and rice, and most dinners involve one or the other, or both. 

We rented a car for a week, and I used that opportunity to shop at a large, suburban Safeway. Wide aisles, few shoppers, well-stocked shelves. It was the most relaxing in-store shopping experience I've had in months. 

I've also added in a weekly stop to our local farmer's market. The combination of masks, lots of space and clear social-distancing markers, and open air makes this my favorite way to shop for food. And getting access to seasonal, locally grown fruits and vegetables is an appreciated bit of normal in the midst of the pandemic. 

I have heard that as of Monday, we can use reusable grocery bags again, which will be nice. I'll have to get back in the habit of carrying one in my purse when I got on my walks.

Restaurants

All along, restaurants have been open for take-out and delivery. Our use has been minimal. We got hamburgers on Writer Man's birthday. We've purchased ice cream from food trucks or ice cream shops a handful or two of times. Writer Man and I once split a Mission-style burrito from a food truck. And every 10 weeks or so we order 10 curries from a local Indian-Pakistani restaurant and then freeze them. Outdoor dining is allowed now, but it's not something I'm comfortable with yet. 

Hardware and drug stores

We're lucky to have these within walking distance. We are definitely more thoughtful about our trips. We tend to consolidate, and honestly, we tend to buy more online, because even with masks and fewer clients allowed in at a time, I find the shopping experience stressful. I like to deliberate over purchases, and I feel pressure to decide quickly and move on.

Non-essential stores

Indoor retail is allowed now, but I haven't taken advantage of it. I am considering stopping by a local bookstore that also sells games and puzzles to get a new 750- or 1000-piece puzzle in anticipation of things closing down again here soon, if we can't get a handle on the surge.

I live in the triangle formed by three shopping districts, and I am saddened when I read about stores closing for good. The latest is a high-end kitchen good store that offers cooking classes. I learned about the classes in January, and had put that on my list of fun things to do once Writer Man returned from his winter travel. I recognize that it's somewhat hypocritical to feel sad about the closures of stores I haven't actually shopped at. And I realize that the loss of a high-end kitchen goods store is ridiculously minor in the face of all the losses of this pandemic. And yet, I'm sad.

Recreation

Playgrounds and outdoor exercise equipment are still closed, although bring-your-own-equipment outdoor exercise classes are popping up all over the place. Tennis courts are open, as are golf courses, although the walking trails on the golf course near Lake Merced were closed when we went there on the 4th of July. The San Francisco-themed mini-golf place is open, with some COVID-19 policies in place, and we enjoyed our time there. Bike rentals are also open. 

Theaters of all kinds are still closed, as are indoor museums and our libraries. 

The zoo is opening the outdoor exhibits this coming week. I'm considering risking an Uber trip to get there, but I'm hesitant because of the rise in cases.

Masks

The policy is that masks are required indoors and are required outside unless you are more than 30 feet away from anyone you don't live with. Unless you are eating. People in the Bay Area are pretty good about wearing masks outdoors, although I see exceptions every time I leave the house. 

Schools

What will school look like in the fall? Or, you know, on August 17, which is the start of our school year here. Believe it or not, we still don't know, and won't until the end of July. I am thanking my lucky stars we are in a position to roll logistically with whatever, and I send empathy out to all the families who aren't in that situation and are being given three weeks to figure out their new family routine. 

Right now, regardless of what the public school system decides, the public health department will not allow in-person school, which makes complete sense. We have significantly more new cases each day now than we did when they closed schools in March. 

We know that we have approximately a third of janitorial staff we need to clean all the schools daily, measured in how many square feet our current staff can clean compared to the total number of square feet that would need to be cleaned daily. 

I attended the school district town hall last week. I completed the survey. I provided some comments and questions. And now we wait. Wait to see if school will be virtual or in-person. Wait to see if Youngest Kid makes it into the school he can walk to, or if his original placement sticks. Wait to see how long the commute to that school will take him with the bus service that is running when in-person school does start. 

What does the future hold?

My sense is that restrictions will be tightening back up again. Cases are rising, as are hospitalizations. And although the Bay Area in general and SF in particular are doing much better than LA and points south, numerically there is more risk of getting the virus now than there was in March. 

I was hoping I could get my hair cut this summer, but I'm doubtful that salons will open up in July or August. 

Long term, I know that this pandemic is going to change San Francisco in ways I don't fully understand. Certainly, having less money right at the time people need more services from their government is going to be a challenge for several years. Will people continue to leave San Francisco for cheaper locales now that tech companies are going virtual for the foreseeable future? Will that lead to a reduction in rents? Property values?

I take a lot of comfort in thinking about 1918. The U. S. was coming out of a world war and dealing with a pandemic. And yet, the world returned to something good and normal. Here's hoping.