Before we talk about this morning, let's talk about how I landed a free hotel stay at the expense of the government. Not to get too political, but perhaps part of me blames the government for letting covid get so out of control while keeping my workplace open. It seemed like only a matter of time before there'd be a case, and once one, many. Well, the news came as I was at work yesterday, just one case, so far. My nose suddenly felt a little stuffy, and my anxiety rose. I didn't want to go home, I didn't want to get my wife sick. I sat in the car, outside our house and called her. We weren't sure what to do. We made the short term plan that I would hang out in the laundry room. She left me some food, and also some seeds which I planted outside. I looked up the hotel stay program, and decided I'd go with that option, if they'd have me. I worried I wasn't sick enough, and I hadn't actually been considered a close contact to the case at work, not yet. I called 211, they asked my if I had my own bedroom and bathroom. I don't. They told me I'd receive a call from Alberta Health. A couple hours later I received the call and was asked even more questions about my health, my location and my diet. I was told they would submit the referral to the Alberta government for approval, and to see if there were spaces. Again I had to wait. I was told the wait could be up to 24 hours. At that point, my wife and I started talking about what we'd do for the night. It was decided that I could take the bedroom, and she'd take the living room. Not too long after that, I got the call from "the government," saying they had a hotel for me to stay in. Then I had to begin packing. What do you take when you are going to live in a hotel for 7-14 days with no chance of escape?
Now I'm here, floor nine, and it's morning, the sun shining in the window, over the balcony. It is a hotel room like any other, a bed with white sheets, a bunch of lamps, a large TV, a little desk and a mini fridge. Of course the bathroom is filled with little bottles of mouthwash and hand sanitizer and the like. I don't think I'll need the hand sanitizer here, so I guess I get to take it home, like a little souvenir.
Every day I get to order my food for the next day. I circle my choices on a menu, and leave in outside my door. This morning I watched through the peephole as the food was delivered in large brown paper bags to each of the rooms. There were a lot of bags of food, I guess I am not the only one staying in this hotel.
For now I'd better enjoy the novelty of staying here, before I realised just how small this room is, and how utterly trapped I am.
Today's Breakfast: The menu promised chia seeds on the granola. I don't see any chia seeds! I want my money back... oh wait, I didn't pay for it.
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