Covid Diaries: Love in the time of Covid

Day 19 - Photos

Ellen relied on her photography business to make additional money during the summer. Normally, she'd be booking weddings and engagements but unfortunately no one was getting engaged or married this summer. Covid-19 restricted prevented people from large gatherings and anyone going ahead with plans were ticketed by police if notified.

She had second job as a receptionist. Unfortunately, with her office closed due to a work from home policy, her job became redundant. She was laid off soon after the office closed. With no income, she was forced to apply for government funding. It was just a temporary solution she needed a long-term plan. Covid wasn't going away soon, a vaccine could take up to a year to discover.

Turning on her laptop, she searched for administrative job openings. She rented a studio apartment downtown and rent was due at the end of the month. She would have liked to move in with her boyfriend, Tom but he'd left to visit his family in California. With the border closed, he couldn't make it back to Toronto.

Ellen got up from her desk and poured herself a glass of Riesling. She stepped out on her balcony. There were a few folks walking, carefully distanced from each other on the street. Shops had been boarded up and closed. A restaurant across from her was still operating delivery only. She thought about getting a job at a grocery store. There must be increased demand for food deliveries. She needed something her job to be close by, she didn't have a car. The public transport system was a risk she didn't want to take.

Going into her bedroom, she grabbed her camera and put on her jacket. She walked outside and started taking photos of the empty street ahead. She thought about the jobs she was interested in when she graduated from university with a journalism degree. After applying for many article jobs with local papers and having no luck, she started taking photos of her friends' weddings for extra cash. Soon, her skills were noticed and she became a popular contact for event photography.

No job ideas coming to mind, she focused her lens on a graffiti wall and snapped a photo.