The time I voluntarily went to prison for 3 days
Hi. Hello.
I honestly feel like a new woman since November. It has been a journey, but it was a journey for the better!
So I visited my family for Thanksgiving this year. We had it in California at my sister's place. It was so nice and lovely. The California sun really is all it's cracked up to be. New York has travel restrictions that currently require you to get tested within 72 hrs of departing from your place of travel, a 3 day quarantine upon arrival in NY, and a 2nd test after the quarantine. If both tests are negative, you can return to the world. I followed the rules like a pro. I payed freakin' $75 to get tested in California (it's free in NY) and got tested again in NY. Both tests came back negative, so I returned to work the Tuesday after getting back.
I was having a particularly rough week; I think I thought a lot would have changed by this point in the year, and a lot was still very much the same and some things were getting worse. I wrote in my journal on Sunday about all of my concerns and frustrations. Just because it's entertaining now, here are a few excerpts from this journal entry:
"I am not at my finest"
"I've been crying consistently for my waking hours over the last 18 hr period."
"This city is so damn expensive"
"I can't have much hope for the immediate future, because there is too much that would have to change."
"I got negative results on both of my covid tests."
I know, I should be a motivational speaker. The positivity is overwhelming.
Anyway, I decided to rest and relax through doing candle-lit yoga. As I was completing my practice, I noticed that I still couldn't smell the candle. I got right next to it and breathed in super deeply and nothing. Nada. Zilch. So then the concern that I had covid really rose in my mind. However, I'd been crying so much, I thought it was possible my nose was just done for the day.
It was not.
After another full day of not smelling (and isolating from roommates just in case), I got tested the following Tuesday morning. I did a PCR test which takes 3-5 days to get back, but is more effective.
I had to isolate in my room while waiting for the results and wear a mask whenever I left my room. I will say, my NY bedroom is bigger than most and my roommate had fortunately already gone home for the holidays, but it was super hard to not be able to go outside. Also, I started smelling again on Wednesday and felt completely healthy.
Friday morning, I felt so healthy. Like the image of health. I thought "There's no way that I tested positive." I had a brief distanced conversation with a roommate and she was like "Yeah, I bet it's negative."
Literally, one hour later they call to let me know that I tested positive.
I would not say I took it well. I was incredibly frustrated and sad. It just felt like things were already going so poorly, and then we had to add this.
The next day, the health department explained that I could stay at a hotel to isolate from my roommates (this is where the story gets good). It was honestly very stressful to be living with so many people–always avoiding them and constantly praying they wouldn't catch it from me. I said I was interested in the isolation program. This is all on NY's dime by the way. So on Sunday (this is now 7 days into my quarantine), I left for the hotel for the grand finale of my isolation.
I had been envisioning a hotel. Like not super nice, but one that is decent. The place was in fact a nice hotel, but it had be hospitalized. So all of the covers were removed and replaced with thin blankets, there was no soap, etc. When I got checked in, security went through my bag and removed my razor and tweezers??? He said I couldn't have them with me. Then he left, and the nurse promptly gave them back to me. I love places that don't have a clear leader. The nurse said to me, "this place isn't that bad," which really boosted my enthusiasm.
The pros to the situation were that I didn't have to wear a mask to go to the bathroom, the shower had amazing water pressure, my meals were delivered to my door, and I got 15 minutes of outside time a day (this may sound small, but that's actually what sold me on going). Here are the cons:
- They checked on you at 9am, 9pm, 1am, and 4am and your meals came at 7am, 1pm, and 5pm. So basically every 3-4 hours (INCLUDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT) someone is knocking on your door. The middle of the night ones were horrible. Just imagine trying your hardest to sleep on a hard bed with few blankets (but if the heat is on too high it's hard to breathe) and then someone opens the door wide enough for plenty of hallway light to come in and either walks into the room far enough to look at you or yells "are you okay?" I hated it. I have never slept that poorly in my life.
- The meals got progressively worse. Fortunately, I bought a large pizza to carry me through.
- The fridge was not big enough to fit my large pizza. I had to fold the box in an elaborate and creative way and push the fridge against the desk to keep it closed.
- The outside time never took place at a time in which sunlight was shining in the limited area we could stand in.
- There's a difference between isolating because you're being responsible and isolating because you're locked in.
- actually lol, the doors didn't lock, but you get the idea
- The internet worked great for streaming Community, but was terrible for work stuff. Honestly, maybe that should be a pro, but I was trying to get some work done.
This is what the place looked like:
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