A Week in My Life

My life in Los Angeles as the city slowly reopens amid the coronavirus pandemic. Inspired by The Cut’s “Sex Diaries” series.

Day 1

9:00am Wake up & try to do laundry before meeting friends for brunch. It’s a fail—all the machines are in use. This is what I get for waking up an hour later than planned. I take a shower & get dressed.

11:09am Late for brunch, I hop on a motorized scooter

11:20am Arrive at restaurant. My friends have already ordered champagne and pomegranate juice. We eat outside at a crowded cafe. It’s weird eating in public again with servers wearing masks. I don’t post pics of my outing on social media to avoid being judged for (lawfully) breaking quarantine 🙄

1:00pm We’re tipsy and go to another restaurant ten minutes away to keep drinking

5:30pm Back home after walking an hour and a half from the restaurant (it’s great exercise and I have all the time in the world. Also, the weather is perfect). I do laundry completely drunk, work out, take a shower, watch Ramy

9:30pm Pass out in my clean sheets

Day 2

8:30am Wake up to “June Gloom” gray skies. Go thru my overnight Hinge matches. There’s one really hot match I’m interested in at the moment. Fingers crossed we make it to exchanging numbers.

10:15am Feel anxiety about the day ahead. I need to mail my best friend’s birthday gift but I don’t want to get out of bed

12:00pm Wake up for real, get out of bed & start my day

1:45pm Walk to post office to mail BFF’s bday gift. One thing that makes me feel like I’m successfully adulting is getting birthday gifts out in a timely manner

7:30pm Hinge match (not the hot one) calls for a preliminary phone call. He does most of the talking & we make plans to hike tomorrow

Day 3

12:00pm Run errands

1:30pm Cook brunch & watch a movie on Hulu. Hot Hinge guy texts me but I’m disappointed after I find out he’s quarantined in New Zealand. WTF

3:00pm Text my date to make sure hiking is still on. It is. I masturbate* with my newest vibrator & then start getting ready

6:15pm Meet date for a hike. He brings his pet pit & it attracts a lot of attention, which I don’t understand. I guess I’m not an “animal person.” The hike is much more strenuous than I expected. I can’t believe I put on makeup to sweat

8:00pm We get açaí bowls, eat them in his car, he drives me home. I don’t feel anything toward him at the moment but we plan to hang out again over the weekend

Day 4

11:00am FaceTime my aunt & cousin while I eat a bowl of cereal

12:00pm I have no motivation so I take a nap. In the beginning of lockdown I had a consistent regimen but now everything feels useless

4:17pm I wake up from an erotic dream, watch porn, & masturbate*. My routine is quick and simple. I know what I like— I love to see a bouncing ass or close-up penetration

7:00pm My friend comes over and we make dinner. Hinge date texts me and asks if I’m sore from our hike yesterday. Surprisingly I’m not. “Hike & hang Sunday?” he asks. I tell him I’m down and immediately start to feel nervous. I don’t see us working long-term, or even short-term, but I really want to sharpen my social/dating skills

Day 5

9:00am Wake up and get ready to meet my college friend for a hike at Runyon. These hikes are amazing for my butt and I want to be in shape whenever my physically demanding job reopens

12:10pm Nail salons in LA are finally open! I sign a liability waiver before getting a gel mani and pedi with plexiglass between me and the nail tech. French on my toes & OPI’s “Put It in Neutral” on my hands. I’m on my classy shit.

2:00pm Get home & loaf the day away

Day 6

1:15pm Sleep in super late & finally get out of bed

2:00pm Find a PDF of The Bell Jar & start reading it. I’m trying to keep my mind stimulated with all this free time I have

9:00pm Heat up leftovers & watch Athlete A...fuck L*rry N*ssar

Day 7

9:15am Wake up, make a bowl of oatmeal, continue reading TBJ

10:30am I haven’t been actively looking for a sugar daddy but a couple of men from Seeking Arrangement have reached out so I message back. I accidentally give one my real name. I’m rusty AF

11:00am FaceTime with my friend in New Orleans

12:30pm FaceTime my local friend & she asks to do dinner tonight. I’m down

2:00pm Meet a friend for another challenging hike

4:45pm Solidify dinner plans, make a snack, then shower and start getting ready

10:00pm Finally out for dinner but most places are reservation only or have a long wait list. An older woman compliments my two friends and me on how nice we look (we’re each wearing masks), then scolds another young woman for not wearing a mask shortly after. I’ve seen these confrontations on the internet but witnessing it in person makes the tension palpable

10:30pm We find a subpar restaurant with a server who is clearly (& understandably) peeved by the pandemic. She’s wearing a mask + face shield but hesitates to get close or stay at the table a second longer than absolutely necessary

12:00am Back home feeling grateful for my friends & our health. It’s not lost on me that it’s a privilege to be living comfortably during a worldwide health crisis. I count my blessings and go to sleep