Quarantine Tuesday Reading Kaffeeklatsch: 3/31/2020

[Theresa]

Amy wrote: "I loved that too a Joanne! Theresa, I think too for those of us who are working from home, and many of my patients are, there is serious FOMO about all of the puzzles, games, movies, and baking. I ..."

Oh yes, the free streamings! One of my favorite operas is streaming tonight. Another streamed last night but that one I missed. I am determined to settle on the sofa and enjoy the Pearl Fishers.

I did discover though that they stream (opera at least) for a 23 hour period. You can start watching it whenever you want during that 23 hours. I might catch just a bit of Don Carlo this afternoon...at least my favorite duet.

[Johanne]

Those are so funny Joanne! I'm also struggling with getting life to hang together to start any major (or minor) projects. Luckily we're off work and school for the next 10 days (easter holiday) so I won't have to juggle homeschool, work from home and what not and only handle the 'stay
home excpets for walks and grocery shopping' part. Maybe I'll get read some more. And MAYBE I'll get to these windows that need cleaning (but I'm not making any kind of commitment). Living, keeping the family together and staying sane is more than enough these days.

[Joi]

There is always of a sense of "grass is always greener". Too much time with nothing to do vs jealousy of having all this extra time. I'm hoping to find a happy medium, still working- but definitely have extra time/days. I'm not gonna lie, I started a puzzle... but then only did the edges and left it on the table abandoned, lol.

@Amy, did you watch the BroadwayHD Oklahoma with Hugh Jackman last week? ALW is starting a series of musicals that will be free on youtube soon too-- first up is Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat.

[LibraryCin]

Theresa wrote: "Meanwhile I have been nursing a bit of resentment of all those who have time for baking, puzzles, needlework, cleaning out the closets......"

Agreed! I do have a tiny bit of extra time without my 1 hr, 15 min(ish), each way, commute. I am using a bit of that to sleep in (though not much), but my lunch break is watching the news, cooking a lunch (nice!), maybe doing something small/quick around the house that I need to do.

Finish work early (even though I slept in, without the commute, I start earlier), and without a commute home, I have "extra" time, but I'm mostly using that time to do additional housework/baking/cooking... which is stuff I do, anyway, just managing to do more of it. (ETA: And more baking and cooking automatically results in more housework (dishes) to do!)

I'd love to have extra time to do more reading (less is happening due to no commute, and doing mostly housework with my extra time at home), other hobbies, movies (which I rarely take time for), etc!

ETA: At the same time, I have to remind myself that I'm very lucky to be able to work from home and still have a job.

[Theresa]

Well I wanted to close my 'office' early. There was opera to wallow in tonight streaming from the Met. Of course several matters came in after 4....I was able to troubleshoot them to get to Monday. Then wouldn't you know it..something else came up that client insists is urgent. It isn't. At all. It could wait a week easily. By claiming something had come up that I had to attend immediately, I left it to the other attorney involved who claimed he can't do anything remotely. (I emailed him a copy of the document in question..not able to work remotely my ass!). Then shut down and went to what had indeed come up needing my immediate attention: the start of the opera Don Carlo followed by Les Pêcheurs des Perles.

So there! I didn't close early...but since I spent part of my afternoon on laundry, it works out.. i am happy to have work, thrilled to have work, repeat.

I have had a wonderful wallow watching and listening to 2 of my favorite operas. Highly emotional, stunning productions, gorgeous singing and music....sublime.

*sigh* 😏

[Idit]

So glad you enjoyed the operas!
You deserve some time to unwind from this whirlwind that caught us all but New Yorkers amongst the worst.
I don’t know Don Carlos at all. Is it Verdi’s? I love Rigoleto but never gone beyond it (well beside the requiem)
I know the famous bits of the Pearl Fishers but not much more.
Maybe I should follow Met Opera as well

Is anyone subscribed to either Broadway HD or Marquee TV or something like that?

[Hannah]

The National Theatre is streaming a play for free every Thursday at 7pm (UK time). These are then available on their Youtube channel for a week. This week's play was One Man, Two Guvnors, and is available here if anyone is interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzqcR...

[Amy]

Oh Joi! I want nothing more than to see a Broadway show online! I have major Quasi Quarantine FOMO! Cannot believe how busy I’ve been! Between work zoom calls and the 3 children, I’ve not even done the taxes or cleaned a closet!

But.... I am almost done with Harry Potter 2 and 7! With my 9 and 14 year old - wizards to be! Plus taking the Yale Course with my 17 year old! Alas, I do hope I get to enjoy that feature. But grateful to be healthy. I miss Singing and love all the art and artistry that is coming out of this time.

[Joanne]

@ Amy, My daughter is taking the Yale Course on Happiness-which one are you doing?

[Amy]

That’s the one! Maybe she and I will be peer reviewers!

[Theresa]

Idit wrote: "So glad you enjoyed the operas!
You deserve some time to unwind from this whirlwind that caught us all but New Yorkers amongst the worst.
I don’t know Don Carlos at all. Is it Verdi’s? I love Rigo..."

Idit - Don Carlo is Verdi and like Pearl Fishers has a gorgeous tenor/baritone duet in the first act. Story is rich and filled with historical drama. Calls for a strong cast too. Met On Demand is a streaming service you subscribe to. It has a free preview period before you sign on for a monthly fee, BUT right now you can stream an opera free everyday from either Met On Demand or the Met website: https://www.metopera.org/user-informa... . It is a feast for opera lovers, and a great way for others to try opera for the first time.

Work demands kept me from attending much opera this past season. I feel I am making up for that now!

[Theresa]

Amy wrote: "Oh Joi! I want nothing more than to see a Broadway show online! I have major Quasi Quarantine FOMO! Cannot believe how busy I’ve been! Between work zoom calls and the 3 children, I’ve not even done..."

Amy - have you heard about the special HP website Rowling launched for the pandemic? https://nypost.com/2020/04/01/j-k-row...

[Joi]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6XjX...

Here's the link to watch Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Only available this weekend.

I haven't subscribed to BroadwayHD but you can see all of it's content on it's website, so you can take a gander before committing, plus they always give a free 7 day trial.

[Robin P]

Thanks for all the tips! I haven't even caught up on all the things I've recorded off public TV over the years. I did see a link to the reproduced "art masterpieces" which are very funny.

My husband and I are both retired so we don't need to go out much. I did go to the grocery store a couple times during the "senior hours". But I have finally been able to get pickup by scheduling about 4 days ahead. We have way more food in the house than we ever did before.

I have concerns for my brother who is 69, has several health issues and lives alone in NYC. Also my daughter, who is 40 and lives in St. Louis (6 hours from me), recently finished chemo. For now her cancer is in remission but of course she has no immunity. She had already been working at home and basically self-isolating during the treatments. She has some great friends nearby and we have all been doing FaceTime calls, Zoom calls, etc.

We have many nice places to walk near us so I've been able to get outside while avoiding people. Also when my Jazzercise (dance exercise) location closed, they gave us free access to online classes so I have been doing that about every other day. But I am also baking goodies which I wouldn't have before.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) I have so many unread books in my house that I could be quarantined for several years and not get through them. Plus I have something like 100 audiobooks on my computer. Like a lot of you, I haven't been doing the amount of reading that I would have expected. My husband and I love to play Scrabble and are now competing in an ongoing tournament with each other we are calling The Corona Cup.

[Holly R W]

Robin, I love playing Scrabble too. I have been playing daily Scrabble online for several years now with my very good friend. We enjoy it!

[Theresa]

I took Proust for a walk along Central Park today. I even sat on a bench in the Park and read for a bit. It was lovely and I only have 100 pages or so finish Sodom & Gomorrah and thus Remembrance of Things Past: Volume II - The Guermantes Way & Cities of the Plain.

Now naptime.

[Robin P]

Theresa wrote: "I took Proust for a walk along Central Park today. I even sat on a bench in the Park and read for a bit. It was lovely and I only have 100 pages or so finish Sodom & Gomorrah and thus [book:Remembr..."

So are you reading it in French? I had a senior French Lit seminar in college where we read and discussed the whole thing and the professor was so impressed (or exhausted) that he didn't require us to do a paper or an exam and gave us all A's!

[Theresa]

Robin wrote: "Theresa wrote: "I took Proust for a walk along Central Park today. I even sat on a bench in the Park and read for a bit. It was lovely and I only have 100 pages or so finish Sodom & Gomorrah and th..."

Lord no! English. I have read some of it in French way back in college in the 70s. I am not up to that much reading in French anymore. I have always wanted to read the entire work, but knew I would not manage it without some group discipline. The Center For Fiction in Brooklyn offered a 9 month discussion group. Meets once a month, averaging 400 pages a month. As March in person was cancelled of course, we are meeting via zoom (who isn't?) With a couple of makeup sessions since we all struggled to complete the reading in March...that distraction factor which sidelined all of us.

In another 67 pages, I will be 2/3rds through and still on track to finish in June.

[Amy]

Theresa! I clicked on the link! Thank you! And Joi! Just maybe!