The awful reality of the Coronavirus
In January, my supervisor started sharing “Coronavirus Updates” at lunch. We joked about our supplies of toilet paper and salty snacks and the possibility of a “30-day shutdown” from work. The virus itself wasn’t a joke to us, but then, it was hard to imagine what we’re living now.
I’m fortunate to be healthy and employed, but this experience – working from home for months, sitting on a stoop to visit family members, and wearing a surgical mask to get groceries – is unreal. Last month, Electric Literature published an interview with a science fiction author that related the COVID-19 pandemic to disaster literature. If we were part of a novel, the end of this would bring about some kind of change. We’re either going to crumble from our broken status quo, or we’re going to come out stronger.
I honestly can’t tell which way we’re going, but I do know how the pandemic is changing me. I’m giving a lot more energy and attention to the things that are important – to me. And I’m making better use of time. Sure, I have days where I shower just to change into different pajamas, but I’ve stopped putting things off.
Knowing that people around you are unexpectedly dying at an abnormal rate puts your “eventually” time into perspective. If I’m not going to do it now, when am I going to do it? And what am I waiting for?
Here’s how I’ve been coping with COVID. While I’m still no pro at making the best of my time, I’ve been doing some things that are making my shelter in place life better than a series of naps, doom articles, and waiting to get sick.
Maybe some of these things will help to make your time a little better.
How I’m keeping sane during shelter in place
“Getting around to it”
You know exactly what things I’m talking about here – all those projects that get tabled, pushed off the table, and brushed somewhere under a rug you hope doesn’t move. For me, some ugly stuff was hiding under that rug, like moving around furniture, resorting collections, and saying good-bye to junk.
Heavy lifting made space for a better home environment. I put up new artwork, set up warm lighting and plants, and created distinct, dedicated spaces for the things I love – art and writing. Now that my home looks more like the home I want it to, I like being home. And that’s pretty important if I can’t really go anywhere.
I caved in and finally started using Instagram. I say I caved because I’m not a big fan of personal social media. Part of it is fake news. Another part is updates from people I don’t actually want updates from. And another is needing a fresh start with friends and family as I navigate divorced life.
It’s pictures and a little text, and it’s a way for me to share with some people, “Hey, I’m still alive.” It’s good to have a check-in with them, too.
Plus, I’m looking at lots of videos of cats and photos of plants, and I’m trying really hard not to buy into targeted ads. (One was a great buy, though. I highly recommend the cat cave.)
Trying to not turn into a cat lady
It’s fitting to follow with this. I have a cat, and I love him dearly. The cookies I leave around the internet know this, and I have to fight the urge to buy my cat everything that looks even remotely useful. (But seriously, the cat cave was the purrfect purchase.)
So, instead of going full-on cat lady, getting to the point that I’m taking socially distant, COVID-safe walks with my cat in a fully ventilated backpack while wearing a t-shirt that says “CAT MOM,” I’ve been refocusing my cat love into donations to local shelters and animal welfare organizations.
Here are some I supported (and you might want to look into if you’re in the New Jersey area):
Even if I’m not giving into all the ads for his pampering, my boy has been very happy being my telecommuting assistant. He was in on a call with some professionals from the midwest last week!
Walking games
Since walking is one of the only activities you can safely do while sheltering in place, my partner and I walk a lot. We’ve done The Epic Walk – 3 hours, crossing a highway, making it to a Destination (Shop Rite) – and even dedicated a walk to planting potato eyes. Recently, we started adding games to our walks.
We count trash – mini liquor bottles, mainly. One bottle is 1 point. Beer cans are still 1 point. Bigger liquor bottles can be up to 3 points, depending on how hard the liquor is.
There are lots of things people toss along the side of the road that you can make a point to notice: loose change, cigarette boxes, chewing tobacco tins, old cleaning supplies, clothes, sneakers, uneaten takeout meals, used PPE… You can come up with a pretty elaborate point system if you really wanted to.
What’s even better – I found out my best friend and her partner do a variation of the same thing. They assign points to frequently seen people and pets.
There’s one guy in my partner’s neighborhood who used to just – appear. We joke that he’s not actually real, that he’s our shared figment. We haven’t seen him since shelter in place started, but if we do see him on a walk, he should be worth 100 points.
Actually cooking meals
I used to go out to eat – a lot. It tamped down a bit this past fall, when I was sick for a month with an unidentified gastrointestinal illness. To avoid feeling awful, my partner and I started eating in more often, and we focused our cooking on healthier meats, like poultry and fish. I cut out pork almost entirely.
When Coronavirus necessitated change to food service, cooking for ourselves became the norm. My partner’s been making massive, amazing salads, and I’m trying out all the things I was too insecure to practice.
The verdict? I’m actually not that bad of a cook. I have enough sense and skill (and the guidance of Google) to make real, adult meals. I still hanker for chicken nuggets and Pop-Tarts, but I’m also making things like shrimp scampi. When restaurants reopen, I’ll be doing a lot more cooking at home than I was before Coronavirus. I eat better things and feel better for it.
Vicarious Craigslist pickups
It’s not like I’m actually going to drive to these places to pick any of these things up.
But, you know, that baby goat is $0.
Spotify
A company I freelance with started doing weekly collaborative playlists, which got me to sign up for Spotify and try out the Premium trial. The weekly playlists alone were a joy, but the easy access to better-than-Youtube-quality tracks and albums for everything I can think of listening to makes me wonder why I was such a curmudgeon and didn’t join the modern music-listening world sooner.
My recent Spotify find is The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon. I haven’t listened to a story-based podcast since Alice Isn’t Dead, and I’m hoping to use Spotify to find other new (to me) podcasts.
Not watching the last episode of BoJack Horseman
I have one episode of BoJack Horseman left, and I’m waiting to watch it because I don’t want the show to be over. Luckily, I found this list of shows to fulfill some of the BoJack-less needs. Some of these shows are ones I already like and have watched. Others are new or new-ish to me:
- Euphoria
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- After Life
- Sex Education
Not on the list, but yes, I did watch Tiger King.
Selling my personal information for chump change
Like social media, this was something I wasn’t that into. I have been using Google Opinion Rewards for years, but after wasting a little time on r/beermoney, I decided signing up for Swagbucks couldn’t be that bad. (Annoying plug here, but if you use my referral link, you get 150 SB to start, which equals $1.50 USD.) Is Swagbucks fun? Not really. But some of the surveys have been sort of interesting, and I hope my input is helping some marketing campaigns.
I don’t qualify for a lot of the surveys I attempt, but since March, I’ve accumulated $39.93, $22 of which I used to get a $25 Amazon gift card. The gift card was legitimate. I used it to buy a new bird feeder and bird food for my deck. I figure if there’s something kind of frivolous I want to buy, I’ll wait to buy it with Swagbucks (or Google Play) money. (I bought Aladdin movies with Google Play money.)
In a way, Coronavirus and shelter in place got me to breathe life into this website and this blog. I’ll be sharing more of my musings and discoveries (and celebrations!) with you here.
How are you using your time in new ways?