I forgot to disable my Amazon store when the isolating began and, yes, of course now I made a sale. Had brought a few books to sell back from my parents' place before they moved last year. Now I have send one to the Midwest.
Box it up and tape the address to the front. Sending this off doesn't really seem like an essential activity but work has been pretty spotty this whole year, honestly, even before this new crisis, and every little bit will help.
My latest strategy is scraps of paper as makeshift "gloves." Open the hallway door with the piece of paper between my hand and the doorknob. Open the back door likewise. And the side gate. Hold onto the paper until reaching the post office.
It's a nice spring day outside. Birds chirping, in what seems like abundance. Few cars. But there are people walking. Not a lot but more than usual. And people biking. Again, more than usual. A distant sound of some construction equipment, but mostly birds and a couple chatting as they leisurely cycle past.
At the post office, I use the piece of paper to pull open the door and then throw it in the trash inside. I have another at the ready in my pocket. I have a few rubber gloves stashed away, but not many, not enough to use every time I go out. Look, I'll wash my hands plenty when I return home.
There are a couple people at windows, a couple more working on packages at the counter. There is no line. The stanchions have been moved to change the queue from its typical U-shape into a straight line. Red tape marks off every six feet. I am now the line. A guy joins behind me, passing the next red tape mark, realizes his mistake, and takes a step back.
I get called to a window. Media Mail ends up being about four dollars.
Amazon's fee is five.
And I will net about ten.
On my way out, I push the door open with my foot. More birds, more pedestrians and cyclists. Still very few cars. Some kind of eerie, idyllic calm before the storm.