Category: COVID-19

Am I the only one who feels like the last two weeks—and this week in particular—have been the longest year in memory? I think I've finally figured out why, and it's not just the stress.

Our daily routines, our "loops" or "narratives" in Westworld parlance, have been disrupted. We are so used to going through life primarily on autopilot, that these past couple weeks have forced us to adopt new routines. This causes our perception of the passage of time to slow since we now have to examine and process pretty much every. single. thing that we come across.

It will be interesting to see if our perception returns to "normal" the longer we're all forced into these new routines.

We were both suffering a bit of cabin fever yesterday, so I suggested to Ben that after dinner we take a drive. Not actually go anywhere, but just take Rabbit out for a run (since the most I've done with the car has been a week's worth of seven mile round trip commutes, a few trips to Target,  and my daily runs to Starbucks, which is about five minutes from the house).

Neither Ben or I had been on the new 202 freeway, so we decided to check it out.

Traffic was light. I'd compare it to a Sunday night on a -day holiday weekend when everyone's out of town. We ended up doing a loop through the southeast valley and then headed home.

It was a much needed escape.

From Jason Kottke:

Some people feel helpless & anxious.
Some people are bored.
Some people are self-quarantined alone and are lonely.
Some people are realizing that After will be very different from Before.
Some people are really enjoying this extra time with their kids and will miss it when it's over.
Some people just got off their 12th double shift in a row at the hospital and can't hug their family.
Some people visited their favorite restaurant for the last time and didn't realize it.
Some people have died from COVID-19.
Some people can't stop reading the news.
Some people cannot afford soap.
Some people are learning how to bake bread.
Some people are working from home while simultaneously trying to homeschool their kids.
Some people are single parents trying to work from home while simultaneously trying to homeschool their kids.
Some people are living paycheck to paycheck and the next one will not arrive.
Some people are unfit to be President.
Some people left the city for their home in the country.
Some people can't go to the grocery store because they're at risk.
Some people lost their jobs.
Some people can't sleep.
Some people are watching free opera online.
Some people have been quarantined for weeks.
Some people can't work remotely.
Some people have contracted COVID-19 and don't know it yet.
Some people can't concentrate on their work because of anxiety.
Some people can't afford their rent next month.
Some people are still gathering in large groups.
Some people are keeping the rest of us alive at significant personal risk.
Some people didn't buy enough hand sanitizer.
Some people bought too much hand sanitizer.
Some people are missing their therapist.
Some people can't go to work but are still being paid by their employers. For now.
Some people are mainly concerned about what to watch next on Netflix.
Some people are volunteering.
Some people are going to lose their business.
Some people are realizing that teachers are amazing.
Some people are ordering takeout from local restaurants.
Some people would really just like a hug.
Some people can't convince their elderly parents to take this seriously.
Some people are worried about their 401K.
Some people have never had a 401K.
Some people will face increased abuse at home.
Some people are going to get sick or injured and will have a harder time getting medical care.
Some people can't buy the food they need because the WIC-eligible stuff is sold out.
Some people won't stop partying.
Some people lost their childcare.
Some people are doing everything they can to remain calm and hopeful and it's not working.
Some people are watching Outbreak & Contagion and playing Pandemic.
Some people don't know what they're going to do.
Some people are overwhelmed with advice on how to work from home.
Some people are drinking or eating too much.
Some people are thinking about after.
Some people are upset because they can't travel.
Some people are horny.
Some people are planning for a larger garden this year.
Some people won't see their families for months.
Some people are logging off to stay grounded.
Some people can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Some people will realize they need to split with their partner.
Some people are singing Imagine.
Some people aren't on this list.

These are all based on the experiences of real people drawn from news stories, social media, and friends. Take heart: you are not the only person experiencing what you are going through. But be mindful: not everyone is having the same experience you are. Ultimately though, we are all in this together.

simhealing:

Everything is terrifying, but humans are so strong.

Societies at my university are doing food bank drives. Italians are singing on their balconies and cheering health workers that go by. My university originally wasn't going to close so lecturers took matters into their own hands and cancelled their classes, and now the university IS closing. When the government response isn't strong enough, people are cancelling mass gatherings themselves and isolating to limit the spread. One of my friends is streaming to her self-isolating friends. My mum is going back to work tomorrow in an NHS reception. The Australian Grand Prix got cancelled and now 10,000+ people are watching an esports game version of the race on Twitch and making memes about it. All over the world, people are trying to cheer each other up.

My biggest problem with apocalypse movies, with zombie tv shows, has always been the way it portrays a world post-disaster. When humans were living in caves and hunting for survival, they drew art on the walls and told stories that were passed down in oral tradition. When London closed for the plagues, theater troupes would go around the country performing for the smaller villages instead. The human drive to create, to entertain, to adventure, to see and do new things, has always been and will always be unmoved by a crisis.

So yes people are panic buying, yes employers and governments are being selfish and cruel. But more than ever this has highlighted that, that is not what humans are. It's something we're pushed to be by this society, actual cruelty is an outlier.

I've been clinically depressed for a long time, so it feels bizarre to say: I love humans. I am overflowing with how much I really, truly, love us. Humans are silly, tender, hopeful, and social creatures. Even something as small as a long train journey, delayed and late at night, is enough for humans to take up solidarity. No matter what happens, what state the world is in, what alterations we have to make to our lives, we will never escape being recognizably, inherently human. Thank god.

Cruelty is an outlier.

Welcome to a Brave New World.

I've been meaning to write this for the past few days, but I—we—have been…distracted…from our normal routines.

Repeat after me: We're going to make it through this.

Like everyone else, I too went into panic mode when COVID-19 hit our shores. I'm in a vulnerable (i.e. I'm old) population group and I have certain health issues that put me at risk, but it's not that. I'm not scared of the virus itself. It's the fucking human herd-mentality hoarding going on, and the absolutely appalling response from our so-called "administration."

You wanted history to remember you, Donald? You wanted a legacy? Well, you've got one. Congratulations, daughterfucker.

And then I stepped back and took an assessment amid the swirling chaos that was building. How could I ground myself and make sense of it? Somehow—and to this day I still think amazingly—I made it through the AIDS crisis. I made it through cancer, forchrissake! And that journey in particular is what surprisingly gave me the focus and solace I needed to approach this crisis as well.

More than AIDS, I liken what the country (and the world) is facing with COVID-19 to my personal cancer journey.

Let me explain.

Initial diagnosis was a shock. Treatment was a trip through hell. And when I came out the other side, I was a totally different person than I was going in. And that was a good thing. A very good thing. To this day I look back at the Mark who existed prior to 2003—his dreams, his philosophy, his motivations—and I scarcely recognize him. I am a better person now than I was before cancer walked up to my door and said hello.

It seems that our country, our world—our society— is about to go through the same thing. We've all been joking that "this planet needs an enema" for years. Well, it appears the enema has arrived and pretty soon there's going to be a flood of shit coming out. We'll come through this okay, but everything will be different afterward. This is the paradigm shift we've all sensed coming—and perhaps silently prayed for—for the last few decades. We instinctively knew this capitalist-consumption-fuck-the-planet view of the world was unsustainable. We knew changes had to be made, yet as a people, we lacked the courage to do what needed to be done.

I had a friend years ago who often recognized when changes needed to be made in his life, yet resisted making those changes happen. Ultimately the Universe would step in and make those changes for him—perhaps not as smoothly or as painlessly as would've been the case had he made them himself on his schedule, but the changes were made nevertheless. The same thing is happening to our society as a whole right now.

There's no going back to the way things were even a few weeks ago. The system was broken, and while this transition is going to be painful, ultimately we will all be better for it.

Maybe I'm delusional. Maybe I'm just manufacturing bullshit to calm my own jittery nerves, but there's no denying that viewing what's happening through this lens has certainly helped me to find some peace.