Rebecca Floren Photography

Week 7

I love watching squirrels – they have such curious and playful personalities. I saw this little guy on one of my brief walks around the block. He saw me coming and scurried up the tree and then peeked around to see what I was up to. When I look at the picture I imagine that he’s beckoning me over to have a secret conversation.

Week 7 was uneventful and the whole shelter-in-place situation feels normal now. Saturday night I got together with some neighbors in our building’s parking lot for a happy hour. We all sat 6+ feet apart and chatted for a couple of hours. It was good for my soul.

Cheers,
Bec

PSA: Dorothea Lange Exhibit

MoMA is putting on a virtual Dorothea Lange exhibit tomorrow night (April 30) at 7 pm Central. I think it’s free, but I’m not entirely sure.

I’ll definitely be logging on to check it out.

Week 6

Week 6 was a vast improvement over weeks 4 and 5 despite learning that our shelter-in-place order is being extended to May 30.

I had high hopes that I’d be sharing photos from my friend’s 40th birthday (virtual) celebration this week, but I didn’t format my SD card properly so I was only able to take a few pictures. Instead, I’ll share some pictures I took on my walks around the neighborhood this week.

There’s a house a few blocks from me that has a front yard full of junk. A few of the statues stood out to me as I peeked through the fence.

Cheers,
Bec

PSA

No picture(s) to share today, just an amazing opportunity I wanted to pass along . Ugh, that sounds like a sales pitch. But it’s not, I’m just really excited.

MoMA is offering a photography class for free! Below is the link if you want to check it out and sign up.

https://www.coursera.org/learn/photography

I signed up and started it this morning.

Cheers,
Bec

Week 5

Week 5 at home wasn’t much better than the week before. I took a tumble down the stairs thanks to the face mask we’re supposed to be wearing when we’re out in public. The mask obstructs my vision when I look down so I missed a step. So now I have a new rule – no face masks on the stairs!

I spent about 36 hours hemming and hawing about whether or not I should try and see a doctor. I consulted WebMD, a couple of friends and the woman who delivered my groceries before I decided I needed the peace of mind that only seeing a doctor could bring.

I had to call a couple of urgent care facilities before I found one that would see me. I felt a bit apprehensive about calling a Lyft to take me to the urgent care facility. What if they thought I was sick and refused to take me? What if they were sick and got me sick? I’m not proud of it, but I admit to exaggerating my limp so they knew I was going to urgent care due to an injury and not because I have covid-19.

Upon arriving, I was surprised to see the waiting room empty. A woman greeted me from 6 feet away by asking me a battery of questions – do I have a cough? Have I been sneezing? Do I have a fever? Have I traveled in the last 14 days? Satisfied that I appeared to be safe enough, she proceeded to register me and informed me that I had to wear my face mask at all times.

I was then escorted to an exam room and told to keep my phone handy. They were going to call me and walk through my history, complaints and the “do you have covid-19” questions again before a human would come in to take my temperature and examine my ankle.

I had some x-rays taken and I’m happy to report that I didn’t break anything. The doc diagnosed a nasty sprain and sent me home in a brace. I’m currently rocking a pretty impressive cankle!

Stay safe and don’t wear your face mask on the stairs.

Cheers,
Bec

Week 4

Last week was week 4 of staying home and it sucked.

A friend texted me one evening last week. She was upset because she’d learned that day that her firm was reducing her pay by 20% AND reducing her hours to 4 days a week. The very next morning, my firm announced that we were all taking a 15% pay cut. Since then, I’ve had friends texting daily lamenting pay cuts, lost hours and reduced benefits.

Both of my cats got sick which necessitated two separate visits to the vet. Under normal circumstances vet visits are unnerving for me. In this environment, it’s nearly panic inducing. I still haven’t been able to find disinfectant (wipes or otherwise), rubbing alcohol, or hand sanitizer so I can’t wipe down the rented car or sanitize my hands. No one is allowed inside the clinic so someone meets you at the door to pick up your pet. It hurt my heart to watch them walk away with them. I sat in the car and listened to the exam and talked to the the doc on the phone. They took payment over the phone and then met me at the door to return my cat. A weird experience compounded by the fact that all of the other people sitting the in full parking lot were doing the same thing.

A friend lost a family member to COVID last week, but he can’t mourn with those left behind. He mourns in isolation and my heart aches for him.

On the petty side, the face masks are causing acne around my mouth. I’m gaining weight and my hair is ragged. And now EVERYBODY wants to have video calls. I’m having a hard enough time facing myself in the mirror, I don’t really want to be seen by others.

I’m telling myself every day “Everything thing will be okay.”

Cheers,
Bec

Alleys

You can see this water tower just about anywhere you go in Andersonville.

In a city of nearly 3 million people its difficult to get out for walks and not encounter another person. Last week I left for my morning walk at 6:30 am and I saw four people on the street the second I stepped foot out my door. Unwilling to give up my morning walks, I started walking in the alleys. Granted, it’s not nearly as nice walking amongst the trash bins and dumpsters as it is along the tree-lined streets but I have the alleys to myself.

The alleys are interesting – its almost as if there’s a whole other city that never gets seen. I see the remnants of what people have been doing since being quarantined at home. Spoiler alert – its a lot of drinking and cleaning.

These bags were filled mostly with Bud Light cans and some takeout.

The sign reads “Thanks streets & san for picking up our trash during this difficult time.” I thought that was a nice gesture for probably one of the most thankless jobs there is.

There are some pictures that I really wish I would have taken but didn’t because I’m a coward. I tend to shy away from taking photos if another person is around, particularly if I’m photographing their trash. Anyway, one woman had laid out several pairs of beautiful evening shoes next to the trash bins. She had clearly cleaned out her closet and was hoping that someone would take them. Salvation Army is closed and who knows when they’ll start taking donations again. I’m sure there was some guilt about throwing them away.

Another person had just put out their Christmas tree. In March!

How are you getting your exercise in? Walking outside? Exercising at home?

Cheers,
Your friendly trash photographer

Grounded

Foster Beach. FYI – this was taken several weeks ago before all this coronavirus chaos hit.

The weather in Chicago has been exceedingly dreary. Chilly, rainy, sometimes snowy, and cloudy. So when we had a beautiful, sunny, warm day on Wednesday everyone went out. During a quarantine. Where did they go, you ask? The lakefront. (For the record, I did not go outside. I have been stuck for 12 hours a day in front of my computer working).

Mama Lightfoot was not having it. She shut down the lakefront and the parks the day after since we can’t be trusted to practice social distancing on our own. She grounded us.

For those of us in Chicago, we’re finishing our second week of quarantine though the statewide shelter-in-place order didn’t go into effect until last week. Nerves are starting fray. Yesterday one the kids below me was having a meltdown and I could hear his dad yelling and cursing at him.

I suspect I’m faring better than most because (a) I live alone so there’s no getting on my nerves and (b) I’m keeping myself entertained. Here’s a brief list of what I’ve been watching for the past couple of weeks.

Schitts Creek on Netflix. It’s hilarious and I love all of the characters. (But, if I HAD to pick a favorite, it would be David.)
Eugene and Berenice – Pioneers of Urban Photography. A documentary about Eugene Atget and Berenice Abbott. I will have probably seen all of the photography documentaries by the end of this.
The video of the guy who had his own cocktail party in the bathroom. It’s cute and clever and I can’t stop watching it.

Chin chin!

This hilarious video that my friend Anthony sends me every couple of days. Because you never want to forget this….

Let’s goooooooo!

You’re welcome.

What are you doing to stay sane through all of this?

Cheers,
Bec

Quieter

Things seemed a bit quieter yesterday. I popped out in the afternoon to pick up some skin care supplies and checkout the grocery store situation.

Thankfully not a lot of people were out so it seems that they are taking the shelter-in-place order seriously. The grocery store was eerily quiet for a Sunday. The shelves were still pretty bare, but a few staples had been “stocked”. And by stocked, I mean there were two or three of certain items on the shelf. I was able to pick up a carton of eggs, 2% milk (there was no skim or 1%), off brand mac & cheese, crackers, pasta sauce and a frozen pizza. It took me 4 days to get the basics. Patience is the name of the game these days!

I did notice an increased police presence while I was out. That’s unusual for this neighborhood. There were squad cars parked a few blocks a part and one in the grocery store parking lot.

Cheers,
Bec

Shelter-in-Place

Gov. Pritzker issued a shelter in place order that went into effect Saturday at 5:00 pm and goes through April 7th. This means that all non-essential business must shut down and residents should stay home. It sounds a lot scarier than it is. The list of businesses that can still operate is broad and people are allowed to leave their homes to get supplies, take care of family, friends or pets, engage in outdoor activities like walking, running, hiking, etc. (no playgrounds though!), and going to the doctor.

Bike shops are considered essential businesses.

Front doors to the Neo-Futurist Theatre.

I hope you’re staying safe and healthy and 6 feet away from people. This won’t last forever.

Cheers,
Bec