Courtenay Hameister Tells How She’s Spending Her Quarantine

Occupation: Writer, former host of Live Wire

Age: 52

City: Portland

How many people do you live with? One partner.

What have you been eating? Everything? Like, literally everything that crosses my path. I've struggled with anxiety and food issues my whole adult life, so this shelter in place experience is like the perfect storm for a flare-up of What Can I Put in My Mouth Now? To be more specific: rosemary crackers every 30 minutes or so when I have to get up from my desk to avoid work; Mexican-esque bowls because they're easy; and a metric fuckton of caffeine-free Diet Coke.

What have you been watching, listening to or playing during quarantine? Like seemingly everyone in America, I’ve started watching Tiger King, but it’s difficult because it makes me so angry. I’ve been angry since November 2016, so I’d rather watch something more escapist like Better Call Saul, Project Runway or the charmingly pudgy squirrels in my backyard.

Have you picked up a new hobby or resumed an old one? I am trying new recipes and tending to plants for the first time in my life, and I re-alphabetized my spices.

What's the weirdest thing you've done so far? Please see above.

What's the last time you were closer than 6 feet to someone outside your household? When I went to Fred Meyer for toilet paper early in the morning on Friday and thought, "Is this actually happening? Am I actually risking my life for a nine-pack of mega rolls? This is 100 percent not how I thought I'd go out."

What’s your secret to staying sane? The biggest thing I struggle with as a person with anxiety is differentiating between the things that I should be worried about and the things that my hyperactive lizard brain is prodding me to be worried about. This is why access to Twitter is so dangerous for someone like me. So I did a Twitter moratorium, and it was miraculous in its effectiveness. If you want to stay informed, subscribe to the daily update from a trusted national and local resource, and choose one time of day to read them. Then, live your life. It’s really OK if you’re not the first person to know something.

What's the first thing you're doing when this is all over? Hugging everyone I've ever known and loved. And I'm not a hugger. Second, eating all the sushi.

What has quarantine taught you about yourself? My whole life, I've said that I am not a "people person." My whole life, I've been very, very wrong.

Courtenay Hameister Tells How She’s Spending Her Quarantine

“My whole life, I’ve said that I am not a ‘people person.’ My whole life, I’ve been very, very wrong.”