Hello to you, here we are, week ten, and I am still sitting here in the Epicenter of the Coronavirus, New York City. I am now one of 38 million of the unemployed. I am still interviewing for jobs; the latest interview, on Zoom of course, was one I had to chase, that is, a number of follow up emails, before it happened, and when it did, it was clear that this was a courtesy, a check off the karma list for the person on the other side, not anything more. And so, as F. Scott Fitzgerald says, we beat on.

This is my first week without Rocky at my side. On Saturday, The Teenager picked him up, she came with The Boyfriend and his Mom, and took Rocky back to Jerz, where he poops on trees and barks at the kids when they don’t share food. He does have food aggression, something my friend Val told me to watch out for when I first got him, and I did, for a long time, teach him to eat out of my hand, trying to encourage friendly feeding. I failed. He is not a share-ing of food canine. In fact, he insists on hoarding his food. He will stare at a human, hoping to be fed. I tended to, for a very long time, share my food with him, which in retrospect, is how I managed my own portion control, but not so much with him. For the last two years, I’ve helped him lose weight by not sharing AS MUCH, but I do still share. And now, the kids bear the burden of my bad habits.

I have eased into resting as a result of Rocky being on his staycation, where he goes to the beach with the kids, and keeps the adults in the house company and in general, seems to be enjoying himself. I am sleeping solidly through the night, waking up intermittently in the morning, finally getting out of bed by ten. I putter around the apartment, missing his patter behind me. I don’t leave the apartment for days. I am getting a glimpse at what life will be like without him; not my favorite view. Life for me is more fulfilling when I have someone at my side, whether it be The Teenager or my friends or Rocky. I have never doubted that, not one bit. Rocky being away is that terrible reminder though.

Here’s the latest episode of Ruby Reviews Dogs, featuring Rocky.

Finally, Governor Cuomo is encouraging us to vote on the campaign for New York. Check out the finalists here and vote by May 25.

I hope you are holding on, to your loved ones, to your pets, to the people you speak to and text with. Those people? They’re lifesavers.