May 25, 2020

Covid Contemplations: Adjusted To The New Normal?

An Update To My Covid Nightmares

Remember how I was having silly covid nightmares back in April? Well, a few nights ago, I had two dreams where covid wasn’t taken into account.

In one dream, I was in a high school marching band rehearsal. It didn’t bother me that I was in a room full of people, and it didn’t cross my mind that I needed to wear a mask.

In another dream, I was in the house I grew up in, chatting to a friend about plans to attend a wedding. (Geez, weddings seem to be a recurring theme…) Again, the threat of the virus was non-existent.

I find this interesting. Does it mean that I’ve successfully adjusted to quarantine life? Or was the omission of the virus simply because the dreams were set in the past, allowing my brain to associate with life pre-pandemic?

TikTok – Yea Or Nay

To join or not – that is the question.

I recently did a poll on Instagram stories asking if it was worth joining TikTok. I’m not interested in being a content creator; rather, I’m looking to stay current on pop culture and understand what appeals to Gen Z.

I was surprised at the amount of direct messages I received; clearly, everyone has an opinion on this!

To quickly summarize my hesitation to join:

My age: TikTok is more of a Gen Z / Gen Alpha platform, making me unsure if older millennials like myself should get involved.
Privacy concerns: The US government seems to be pretty wary about this app, so much that they want to ban it on government-issued phones.
Addictiveness: A decent number of responses mentioned how much of a time suck the app is, and how easy it is to spend one hour scrolling through videos. This concerned me the most, as I’m already addicted to Instagram – I don’t need to make my phone addiction worse!

At this point, I’ve decided to hold off for now. While the privacy issues are worrisome, I’m more concerned about spending more time on my phone than I should.

The Strangest Memorial Day Weekend To Date

MDW is the unofficial beginning of summer in the US. Thanks to the pandemic, it’s the weirdest one for me to date.

If I had a choice, I’d be barbecuing with neighbors, heading out to the coast, visiting a family-friendly brewery in town, or somehow going to the movies to watch the first summer blockbusters.

But sadly, none of those things seem safe or practical for me at the moment, making MDW an anti-climactic, regular day.

Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time I’ve felt this way.

When my husband and I lived in Singapore, we would talk about how we would struggle with time because the weather was the same every day (hot, humid, and rainy).

Because there were no seasons, it was difficult to remember when we saw someone last, or how long ago an event was. Our experience with Singapore living is somewhat similar to quarantine life; since I’m staying home on most days and have a set routine, it’s hard to remember what day it is.