Stories From Accidental Tourist

Stories from Accidental Tourist

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN – DAY 8

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN – DAY 8

(Falling behind! Seriously starting to lose track of time. I feel like I am in an eternal Sunday: a sort of non-punishing version of the Groundhog Day). I wake up in a great reset mood, and look back at the Day-7 picture of that table I spent my low day at:– uninteresting papers everywhere,– my laptop leashed to power like a dog that isn’t going anywhere;– reading glasses that never left the bridge of my nose;– traces of too many shots of espresso (of which I only truly needed the first, and only enjoyed the second). I see myself in…

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN, 4 Dozenth Day:

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN, 4 Dozenth Day:

This morning I wake up with Calico, our lady cat, peacefully laying on me. I keep still for a while so as not to disturb her, but then I have to give in to the irresistible urge to roll to my side. I am sure she is going to jump off the bed in disdain as she always has; instead she turns into a seagull on a driftwood: she just stays on top. I roll to the other side.She stays on top… Nothing major, really. It’s just that we have had Calico for 15 years, and it’s the first time…

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN, One Day short of proper “quarantena” (mid 17th century: quarantina ‘forty days’, Italian for lockdown)

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN, One Day short of proper “quarantena” (mid 17th century: quarantina ‘forty days’, Italian for lockdown)

Waking up without an alarm allows me to slide into awakeness slowly. The first thing I do is visually explore the room. Which is not always the same room (I have been sleeping around a lot since lockdown…Just always with the same husband).Then I focus on an object, I try to imagine what the guests of that room did and will think of it and see what thoughts come out. Unfortunately this morning my eye stumbles upon a little pile of change.So my first waking thought is about how insignificant coins will be, in the likelyhood of inflation as one…

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN, Easter Saturday

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN, Easter Saturday

In my domestic archeology, I have dug up 2 valuable fossils:A ceramic chamber pot from a French flea market (which I clearly remember paying in Francs), and a bunch of silk tulips, bought in Bangkok in March 1990.The long lasting quality of Thai silk and the immaculate durability of ceramic – still pleasant to the eye after 30 years – make me change perspective on my shopping future: I no longer see spending less, as I had intended just until a few days ago: I will spend MORE.I will just BUY less.One expensive (…) instead of 3 cheap ones.I will…

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN, Day 30 something (and for those 50+, this should bring back a tv show from the 80’s something)

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN, Day 30 something (and for those 50+, this should bring back a tv show from the 80’s something)

After “celebrating” 30 days of deprivation of a few staples, – like work, social relations, driving – interesting effects present themselves: 1) As the present is on stall, I a) indulge in the past:I reminisce driving to Ikea all alone, as a form of meditation, to get away from busy days of work.Getting a bag full of shamelessly artificial candy, and a complimentary cup of loose, watery coffee, sitting on a chair with a Viking name…Aaahhhh.To my Swedish genes, that’s homecoming. b) project to the future:I have this recurrent fantasy of hugging the first post- COVID guests as if they…

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN, DAY 30 something (I haven’t left home in one full month)

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN, DAY 30 something (I haven’t left home in one full month)

I am reminded that money is like food: – it is impossible to not think about it, when you are hungry;– when you do have enough, you should be thinking about something else;– in excess, it can actually distract from happiness;– it is natural to need it, is it human to grow a passion for it; it is dangerous for one’s own health to obsess with it. Apparently, the evolution of the Human species was inversely proportional to how much time and energy had to be spent getting a full stomach.So agriculture/livestock versus gathering/hunting have granted human efforts more time…

NOTES FROM A SERIOUSLY UNDERPRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN:

NOTES FROM A SERIOUSLY UNDERPRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN:

This short story is not about us and our beautiful and safe homes, and the food on our tables. You and we are the upper case “Accidental Tourists”: the lucky ones who can choose the destination and duration of their wandering, and can set the date of their return home. This post is about the “lower case accidental tourists”, those less fortunate, who travel without luggage, itinerary, a return ticket, or a home to return to. Having a home to safely lockdown in, and wondering how we are going to loose the extra pounds we will inevitably put on, is…

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN, The Emergency Room (not the kind you’re thinking):

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN, The Emergency Room (not the kind you’re thinking):

The history of this room is a few years short of nine centuries. (That’s the long story).The story we account for is only a few months, and hopefully it has just started. Few months ago, I was doing one of my favorite things: being an “accidental tourist” in my own home.And don’t most great discoveries happen by accident? (ask Cristoforo Colombo, he’ll tell you).This one is no exception. I was looking for something, maybe a basket..(?) My cousin (who owns all the ground floor of the villa and from whom I rent all of the Accidental Tourist headquarters) told me…

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN, Day 23 (in Bingo numbers)

NOTES FROM A PRIVILEGED LOCKDOWN, Day 23 (in Bingo numbers)

This morning I woke up thinking of Gloria, Eva’s elementary teacher.She used to take a few hours every week to “practice feelings”.She would vividly describe different scenes to the children and ask them to imagine being there.Then, they would write down few words on how they felt.At the end of this series, children would choose their favorite scene.In fact, they were identifying their “comfort feeling”. I learned then that for Eva, COMPASSION is just another name for love; for others, it is a p.c. word for contempt. Some feel constrained by rules and group ethics. Giotto instead enjoys the sense…

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