Journal of Self-Isolation: Days 13 – 15

August 4, 2020

I decided to be different today by getting out of bed at 9am.  I guess my body got tired of sleeping in until 10am.  I’m glad I used the extra hour getting ready because the nurse called at 10:15am.  I just let her know that I was feeling fine.

The breakfast meal consisted of an egg omelette patty between two pieces of white bread, a hash brown patty, three ketchup packets, and a juice box.  What I found strange was the egg sandwich was sitting on a folded piece of newspaper.  I guess it was placed there to soak up the grease?  I only took a few bites out of the sandwich.  I didn’t put ketchup on the omelette because only crazy people do that.  (I’ll never understand that one.  Ketchup and eggs do not go together).

My parents called at 11am, informing me they were preparing a food box.  The box would be small and contain perishable items.  I normally bring back two boxes of food so that I have something to eat when I arrive home.  My fridge is empty during the summer months.  Unfortunately, the whole have-to-be-in-isolation-for-two-weeks-before-returning-to-Nunavut situation forced us to do things differently.  My parents ended the phone call saying the box would be delivered in the afternoon.

Lunch arrived at noon.  The meal was a chicken burger and vegetable soup.  I removed the pickle and ate the burger.  The chicken was okay.  The soup tasted good.

The food box arrived some time after 3:30pm.  My father dropped it off at the front desk.  The hotel staff called me at 3:45pm to tell me I had a package waiting for me and to come down and pick it up.  I guess they didn’t have anyone to bring the box to my room like the last time.  I put on a mask and stepped out of my room for the first time.  It felt strange walking down the hallway towards the elevator.  My body felt like it was doing this for the first time.  I took the elevator down to the ground floor and found the staff member who had my food package.  I thanked them and then took the elevator back to my floor.  I opened the box inside my room to see what was inside.  The box was small enough to fit inside my large suitcase.  I placed it in the fridge so that the food wouldn’t spoil.

My father called me 10 minutes later to ask if I got the package.  I replied that I did.

There’s not much else for me to write.  I didn’t order any dinner and all I did for the rest of the day was play some games on my laptop. 

August 5, 2020

My body reverted to its old habit of sleeping in.  My last day of isolation began at 10:30am.  I couldn’t believe the last day had finally arrived.  I’m glad I got dressed at 10:30 because there was a knock on my door at 10:35am.  Breakfast usually arrived much earlier so this had to be for something else.  I answered the door and was greeted by staff member checking that I was in fact leaving tomorrow morning.  I nodded and said I was.  He told me I would receive more information in the afternoon. 

I looked down at the coffee table when he left and noticed no breakfast.  That’s okay.  Eating three meals a day is too much for me.  That and I have a figure to maintain.

At 11am, I set the alarm clock on my phone to 5:15am.  I assumed we would be leaving the hotel at around 6am.  I needed to be at the airport by 7:15am to catch my flight to Iqaluit. 

There was a loud knock on my door at 12:10pm.  Lunch had arrived.  The staff member on the other side either thought I was deaf, upset, or didn’t realize that they had a hard knocking hand.  I waited a minute before opening the door.  The meal consisted of chicken, French fries, and a small sealed cup of gravy.  The chicken & French fries made me think of KFC.  Maybe it was?  I took the meal inside and placed my order form on the coffee table.  I decided to order one last meal: a steak sandwich.  I ate the entire lunch meal.  It wasn’t bad.

I did some exercises and surfed the internet after lunch.

My parents called me at 4:30pm, wanting to know how I felt after spending two weeks in isolation.  I answered that I was fine and wasn’t exhibiting any symptoms.  They also wished me a safe trip home.

There was another knock on my door at 4:40pm.  It was a hired security guard who handed me Departure Procedures documents for me to read.  I began skimming the document after I closed the door.  The most important piece of information out of the entire document was that I had to be awake and ready to go at 4am!  I picked up my cell phone and reset the alarm clock to 3am.  I would need at least an hour to get dressed, do my final checks, and place used towels and garbage bags in the hallway.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon packing my suitcases.  I did take a small break to photograph the construction crane outside bringing down discarded building materials from the roof of the West Memorial Building next door.  One of the large red metal dumpsters was almost full.

The steak sandwich arrived at 7:00pm.  The meal also came with French fries & a juice box.  Overall, the sandwich was okay, but fries tasted really good.

I stayed up until 11:30pm.  Tomorrow was going to be a very long day.

August 6, 2020

The alarm clock on my cell phone rang at 3am.  I sighed and sat up.  The day to return home had finally arrived.  My isolation stay was at an end.  Well, I suppose it was officially over once I was on the plane and in the air.  I showered, got dressed, and checked all the drawers, shelves, and fridge to make sure I packed everything.

Today was also a special day because I could finally wear the t-shirt I specifically bought for this moment.  When my eyes spotted it on display at a local Wal-Mart my mind immediately shouted to buy it.  The shirt was actually the right size!  It’s great when things work out.  The t-shirt is black and has the words “Straight Outta Quarantine” written across the front in large white text.  The title is a parody of the name of N.W.A.’s famous 1988 album Straight Outta Compton.  Looking at the shirt on me with the help of a large mirror, I wondered if people at the airport would say anything.  I would find out soon enough.

There was a knock on my door at 4am.  Hotel staff had arrived to take my two large suitcases downstairs.  A few minutes later, I was instructed to head downstairs with my carry-on luggage.  I rode the elevator alone to the ground floor and walked to the front desk.  I handed over my room cards and was given a plastic bag that contained a piece of paper that said I had completed my two-week isolation and was cleared to travel.  I was offered a brown paper bag containing a breakfast meal.  I declined.  I boarded the first Greyhound bus parked in front of the hotel.

The two buses left at 5am.  We drove to the other hotel where returning Nunavut residents were staying.  Several of them boarded the buses.  We drove on and arrived at the airport at 6am.

Now here is where things got a little strange, confusing, and I suppose, counterproductive.  The people on the bus & I had just spent two weeks isolating from the public so that we wouldn’t catch COVID-19.  I’m sure we all assumed that we would be taken to an isolated area within the terminal to check in, go through a separate security checkpoint, and board the plane through a secluded gate.  Well, that’s not what happened.

We all got off the buses, collected our luggage, and then were escorted into the terminal to the Canadian North check in counters.  We had to wear face masks but there were still regular travellers walking by.  Once we were checked in, our “guides” you could say, escorted us down to the security area where we waited for some time, and then went through, along with everyone else. 

I removed my large sweater and placed it in a bin.  The CATSA officer pushing the bins towards the x-ray machine noticed the shirt I was wearing.  I could tell from the look on his face he wanted to say something, but chose to keep his mouth shut.  Even the officer who motioned me to walk through the metal detector didn’t saying anything.  Doesn’t matter.  I still felt proud.

Our guides escorted us to the proper gate once everyone in our group was through security.  We had to stay close to the departure gate but could sit anywhere . . . while other regular travellers walked by.  I wondered if this made the two-week isolation a waste of time.

We boarded the Canadian North plane at 8am.  Everyone was spaced out; there were empty seats around you.  The only exceptions were families travelling with small children.  Speaking of small children,  there was one child in the back who really didn’t want to wear a face mask.  Let’s just say the first few minutes of the flight were hellish until we got to cruising altitude.  I was glad I had earplugs, headphones, and an MP3 player to blast loud music.

Aside from the rocky start, the remainder of the flight was uneventful.  There was no food service.  The flight crew only handed out bottled water.  The plane touched down in Iqaluit at 11:25am.  Once everyone was inside the terminal, we got a quick welcome back/be safe/keep-COVID-19-out-of-Nunavut speech from a gentleman who I think was a government representative.  My only complaint was that the speech was not translated into Inuktitut & French.  I picked up my luggage, said hello to several people I recognized, and hailed a cab to my brother’s place.  I was at inside his apartment by 12:30pm.  My flight to Arctic Bay would be on August 8.  I was fine with that.  The toughest part of my journey was behind me.

I was glad to be back in Nunavut.

                                                                        To Be Continued . . .