July 14, 2020

 

What the hell?  It’s 9:30!  I slept until 9:30!  I know, I know, I am making a big deal about sleeping until 9:30, but that is a big deal in my life, until I realize that is really only 6:30 Arizona time.  But I am on my third day of this trip, and the rule is you only get to use one hour per day against the jet lag excuse.  At least that is what I tell everyone, and myself.  Still, I will take 9:30 any day.

Apparently my breakfast was dropped off at 8:00 am.  Meal times are 8:00am, noon, and 6:00pm. Each meal is dropped off at your door.  They knock when it is dropped, but I must have slept through it.  I am starved, let’s see what I have.

Cage free egg, tomato, and cheese burrito, spicy sausage and potato hash, cinnamon sugar bites, two cage free hard boiled eggs, grape cup, Greek yogurt, naked juice, 2% milk, and assorted condiments.  Are you kidding me?  This is enough food to last me throughout the day.

Lunch, which came at noon, was pasta with tomato, white beans, and artichokes, grilled chicken and olive pesto on focaccia (huh?), warm cinnamon apples with spice cake crumble, kale salad, broccoli and carrots, grilled mushrooms and spinach on focaccia (there it is again!), chocolate brownies, Doritos, and assorted condiments.  Burp!

Dinner was dropped promptly at 6:00pm.  Braised beef with mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, tomato and red beans, wild rice blend, maple glazed carrots, French rolls with butter, romaine salad, cucumber with hummus dip, cheese tray with nuts and dried fruit, angel food cake, strawberries with chocolate sauce, and assorted condiments. 

Doesn’t that sound wonderful?  It’s not.  I don’t want to be ungrateful, but if this was all served to you on a plate while dining in a restaurant, I am sure it would be splendid.  But all of this, ALL OF THIS, is served in two paper bags each meal.  Way too much food and the items that are meant to be hot are tepid at most when they arrive.  Sure, it’s all free but the portions are massive and usually cold by the time they arrive.  Feeding this many people all at once is a great challenge, but I would suggest fewer items and smaller portions, but that’s just me.  I am sure there is some guy out there that looks at the food each day and says, “That’s it?”  Keep in mind, this quarantine thing is a first for an event like this.  I applaud every effort that has been made and I will not ridicule anything that is being attempted.  I am sure there will be a lot of trial and error, and we will need to be patient.  Perhaps there is a ton of food because Disney is not taking orders for each meal, and they are trying to satisfy everyone.  I get that.  But I feel like such a wasteful dude when I throw out half my meal. I always eat the desserts though.

Let me tell you about this quarantine bubble that I am in.  For the next seven days I am only allowed to leave my room to get tested…and that’s it.  Out my window is a beautiful lagoon, tropical plants everywhere, large patches of grass, a wooden walkway that crosses the aforementioned lagoon, it’s your typical Disney property.  Everything is perfect.  But I am only allowed to walk about 100 yards to another set of rooms where daily testing takes place at various times each day.  Once my test is complete, I must return directly to my room. And my path must be direct.  No wandering over by the lagoon, or loitering on the grass, just to the testing room and back.  I have learned to walk very slowly each way, as this is the only time I am allowed outside of the four walls that make up my room. I liken my pace to that of Tim Conway when he played the old man on the Carol Burnett show.  I want to be outside as long as possible, without drawing suspicion or attention.

See, the NBA has spent millions of dollars, and I mean millions, to put this season restart in place.  These security protocols are meant to be taken seriously.  One infected person inside this bubble can stop everything and then the television revenue is gone.  Their investment in this restart would be gone.  All the workers that gave up 3 months of their life in the outside world would be back in that world sans the paychecks they would have received.  There are security guards around every corner.  NBA personnel wander the grounds, keeping a sharp eye out for anyone that may be doing what they are not supposed to do.  There is even a telephone hotline to call if anyone sees anything suspicious that may be considered a violation of protocol.  Everyone in this bubble has a lot at stake, and it only takes one person to bring the entire operation to a halt.  I don’t want to be “that” guy, and I won’t.

I did receive several emails today that directed me to various websites to download NBA specific safety protocol, guidelines, and health reporting apps.  Like a good soldier, I downloaded them all promptly then strolled over for my daily COVID test.  It was a long, slow walk there, but a fast walk back, perhaps a run.  The clouds let loose and it was raining like hell.  The rain was going sideways so there was really no good cover from it.  The test only took a minute or so, but that is all the time Mother Nature needed to let loose.  I love the rain, but don’t want to be in it without the right gear.

Once back in my room, I watched the 8 required videos the NBA requires.  They are all common sense messages, and each only 47 seconds long.  After each video is a short quiz.  Wow, lots of information in a 47 second video.  If you missed any of the questions, you are certifiably, an idiot.

After my test today I was given a bag that contained a thermometer, and another sensor that verifies your oxygen level in your bloodstream, your pulse rate, and another temperature reading.  One of the apps I had to download referred to these two items in the bag.  Each morning I needed to answer a questionnaire about my current health (basically if I felt I had any COVID symptoms) record my temperature, and my oxygen level.  This must be submitted each day, along with our daily COVID test.  I went on the BioReference site to check my latest COVID results and it looks like I am good to go, so far.  Only 6 more days to go!

I spent most of my day reading Katy Tur’s book about the 2016 Trump campaign.  Yes, I am a liberal, and her book leans heavily in that direction, but it is a fast easy read, and she has an interesting past more so, her dad.  He was the guy that really pioneered the helicopter for news coverage.  His coverage of the OJ chase, and the Rodney King/LA riots went worldwide.  As a result, news stations got their own helicopters and the rest is history. But her book about the unpredictable roller coaster Trump campaign kept my attention all the way through.  I just wish there were more pictures of her.  I find her rather attractive, but it is her personality that I admire most.

I made a personal commitment to improve my Spanish while here as well.  I downloaded the Duolingo app and told myself I will spend a half hour each day improving my second language of choice.  My Spanish is okay, I can get by, but I want to be better.  But I get lost when the conversation get muy rapido.  I need the guy to hablas mas dispacio,  por favor.  Not bad, huh?

Well, one of the double beds is calling my name.  Today wasn’t as bad as I thought it could have been.  I can take 6 more days of this.  Just keep busy, follow the rules, and try not to gain 10 pounds in a week with all the food being delivered.  Discipline is all that matters, that and a clean room.