This blog was meant to reflect on situations past and thoughts & lessons from them. But with the current COVID-19 outbreak and crisis, it is hard for me to divest my thoughts from it.
During the last two weeks of mainstream concern (here in LA), its psychological and physiological effects on me are too varied to assess. At first, a cancelled trip to New York with one day's notice was stressful enough to cause a common cold. I couldn't solidify a decision, mainly because I loved visiting the city so much. But I am now glad that I made the decision that I did. As the slow days of cancelled plans and public uncertainty developed, I was in a weightless-like state of good and bad all around me. I had the lounging freedom of a mellow work-from-home week, but it was raining. Which made it all the more eerie and alarming. During the week I was supposed to be gone, it rained 6 of 7 days, and that normally would be enough to have me feeling anxious to get outdoors.
People were beginning to panic. Toilet paper and purified water (idiotically enough) were disappearing from the shelves. The gravity of the coronavirus spread situation hadn't fully set in yet, but concern and misinformation were setting people off. I'm lucky and happy to have the home that I do. I'm confident that I can stay at home constantly and comfortably. But even I began to hold concern. The stress disappeared less and less often.
During the last two weeks of mainstream concern (here in LA), its psychological and physiological effects on me are too varied to assess. At first, a cancelled trip to New York with one day's notice was stressful enough to cause a common cold. I couldn't solidify a decision, mainly because I loved visiting the city so much. But I am now glad that I made the decision that I did. As the slow days of cancelled plans and public uncertainty developed, I was in a weightless-like state of good and bad all around me. I had the lounging freedom of a mellow work-from-home week, but it was raining. Which made it all the more eerie and alarming. During the week I was supposed to be gone, it rained 6 of 7 days, and that normally would be enough to have me feeling anxious to get outdoors.
People were beginning to panic. Toilet paper and purified water (idiotically enough) were disappearing from the shelves. The gravity of the coronavirus spread situation hadn't fully set in yet, but concern and misinformation were setting people off. I'm lucky and happy to have the home that I do. I'm confident that I can stay at home constantly and comfortably. But even I began to hold concern. The stress disappeared less and less often.
Northeast Los Angeles
Social situations was clearly more difficult, and this would continue to happen for quite sometime. By default, dating was less likely to be fun or rewarding. And this weighed on me much more than I had foreseen. Isolation, in one way or another, causes loneliness (at least I haven't mastered the art of defeating that). And these are lonely times. We hope to return to our "normal lives" very soon. But I think things will get far worse before they improve. And it is clear now that we are living through a significant year in modern world history.
I. Settle In. Settle the fuck in and enjoy breathing. This first week has been tough, but this was Chapter One. Keep a positive mind - one that you think might hold up for 8 months.
II. Take Care of one another. Watch foot traffic in the grocery stores and make room. Smile at strangers (we all need it!). Be nice. If you'd been meaning to get around to doing that, this is your big shot! This, though it might seem backwards, means staying away from others. If you don't already know why this is true, do a little online research and you'll quickly see. Fighting the infection is the the priority, but preventing its spread is the part we can all play.
Keep Those Heads Up. I say that as much for myself as for others.
Mar 2020
- 7Ply Epic
I. Settle In. Settle the fuck in and enjoy breathing. This first week has been tough, but this was Chapter One. Keep a positive mind - one that you think might hold up for 8 months.
II. Take Care of one another. Watch foot traffic in the grocery stores and make room. Smile at strangers (we all need it!). Be nice. If you'd been meaning to get around to doing that, this is your big shot! This, though it might seem backwards, means staying away from others. If you don't already know why this is true, do a little online research and you'll quickly see. Fighting the infection is the the priority, but preventing its spread is the part we can all play.
Keep Those Heads Up. I say that as much for myself as for others.
Mar 2020
- 7Ply Epic
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