Tuesday, September 29th, 2020

We don’t do the afternoon prayers today. We try to gather for them, but there are too few of us. A third programmer now has the virus. He’s already been off in isolation for a while. His cube is in the same row as the others, across the aisle from mine, but much farther away, behind a glass wall. The boss is now allowing anyone who wants to work from home to do so, as long as they fill out timesheets. Several more workers are now staying home. The boss gathers those who are in the office to an informal meeting. Each of us sits or stands in a different cube. He tells us what is going on. I understand most of it. We have a meeting online later for everyone to say what they’re doing. I understand almost none of it. The usual guest appears at ten minutes to two and comes around to gather us for the afternoon prayers. Several of us wait at the receptionist’s desk. People call the other usual guests. None are available. Of the needed ten men, we only have seven or eight. We disperse. The rhythm of my afternoon is thrown off. Late in the day, I get a message from the post office that a package for me from Amazon has arrived in this country and will reach me soon. Moments later, I get a message from Amazon that the shipment has failed and that they will reimburse me for it. I don’t know if it is or isn’t on its way anymore. Both may continue to be true, at least until someone opens the box.