This whole situation had me looking for a silver lining. Well, I found it. I was inspired by Poe’s Masque of the Red Death and Joris-Karl Huysman’s A Rebours (it’s been my favorite book since I was 20). Prospero and Des Esseintes, when faced with troubles, sealed themselves away with decadent pleasures to wait out their storms, if they ever ended. Me, I’m doing the same thing, but instead of fancy-colored rooms and jewel-encrusted tortoises and botanical vaginery, I’m ordering like 6 cases of cheapass ramen and like 20 pounds of cashews.