For many years, long-distance cycling occupied a significant number of my recreational hours. As a participant in several week-long bike tours, I spent days pedaling from town to town, enjoying the landscape in a more intimate way than through the window of a car. Long hours perched on the seat of a bicycle--and, in particular, on those days of "century rides" (100 miles in one day)--my life condensed itself into fundamental actions. Without the responsibilities that daily life entailed, existence boiled down to one simple mantra: Pedal, eat, sleep, repeat.
Now, as "safer at home" continues to be the core of daily life for the time being, my biking mantra becomes particularly relevant, with one subtle difference.
Zoom, eat, sleep, repeat.
I'm sure you're finding, as you adjust your daily lives, a version of the same intonation. We are all trying to create a way to cope with an existence defined by boundaries that, to be honest, are foreign and uncomfortable. We're used to the irregularity of living, the spontaneity that comes with taking advantage of a beautiful day, the encounters with friends and family that often lead to a dinner together or an evening at a movie.
But, for our own personal safety and health, none of those activities are possible. For me, and possibly for many of you, days are instead packed with multiple Zoom sessions that provide the only way to maintain a semblance of personal contact. I've found, too, that the concept of a "work day" is is dissipating. The artificial boundaries of an "8 to 5" structure are slowly melting away into commitments and contacts that often begin in the early hours and extend through the evening. Weekends aren't off-limits, either. And I'm sure that if you have children or parents living with you, you've found the same to be true, as you juggle your work responsibilities with home care or home schooling.
I know that we're all trying to find a way to arrive at a new conception of "normalcy," at least for the time being. For me, I've attempted to maintain a regular schedule of sorts: waking up at the same time, getting in my outdoor exercise before my meetings begin, "dressing for work" (although, after five weeks at home without the requirement of a business suit, I may have to re-teach myself the art of tying a tie). But I've also rediscovered the opportunity, now that I'm not in the car maneuvering the streets of LA, to catch up on books that I've always meant to tackle but never set aside the time to do so (currently, I'm plowing my way through Stephen Hawkings' "A Brief History of Time").
Now, however, I need to move on to my day.
Zoom, eat, sleep, repeat.
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Thanks, Bing, for today's recounting of what else happened on this date.
1789: George Washington is inaugurated as the first U.S. president.
1803: The US completes the Louisiana Purchase for $15 million.
1945: Hitler commits suicide as the U.S. Army takes Berlin.
1975: Saigon falls to communist forces as South Vietnam surrenders.