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April 23, 2021 10:58 AM Subscribe
What are the most "pandemic" experiences worth having?
If you wanted to embrace the historicity of the era, and just do something that felt extremely pandemic-y, Long Now is having a drive-in screening of 12 Monkeys in San Francisco (i.e. an organization that is about trying to get humans to think beyond the moment and think long into the future, hosts a drive-in movie about a time-traveler sleuthing out a virus that wipes out most of humanity, that everyone will attend in their respective car-bubbles during a pandemic). 4-months ago (and hopefully not a few months from now) this might have been lived real world horror, but the experience has me thinking.
I'm all about experiencing reified moments that exemplify a thing. What small remembrances have people had/made during the pandemic? I'm leaning in the "experiences worth having" direction.
If you wanted to embrace the historicity of the era, and just do something that felt extremely pandemic-y, Long Now is having a drive-in screening of 12 Monkeys in San Francisco (i.e. an organization that is about trying to get humans to think beyond the moment and think long into the future, hosts a drive-in movie about a time-traveler sleuthing out a virus that wipes out most of humanity, that everyone will attend in their respective car-bubbles during a pandemic). 4-months ago (and hopefully not a few months from now) this might have been lived real world horror, but the experience has me thinking.
I'm all about experiencing reified moments that exemplify a thing. What small remembrances have people had/made during the pandemic? I'm leaning in the "experiences worth having" direction.
Response by poster: Personally, I think I'll remember all the time outdoors without having to justify my introversion, standing in line outside a grocery store with masks on, sitting in the car waiting to be vaccinated in a drive-up mass vaccination campaign, the time with and who was on the very short list of people I did quarantine/test to see, the overnight shift to NO traffic in the Bay Area, flying early in the pandemic (before most people knew about SARS2/COVID and being the crazy person (I work with viruses IRL/am connected in with the Bay Area/CDC epi community) in PPE to prepare my family what the months ahead would look like before flying back into California-lockdown and LAX being a ghost town (though I would still discourage flying now), the sensation of shifting cultural values (masking became ubiquitous & normal where I am), all the cooking done at home (giant batches of soon to spoil discount produce that could be experimented on without guilt), the general turn inwards with the most intimate people in my life (dominoes at home, dinner via zoom).
posted by rubatan at 11:08 AM on April 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by rubatan at 11:08 AM on April 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
Only seeing the people who really matter to me.
posted by bunderful at 11:27 AM on April 23, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by bunderful at 11:27 AM on April 23, 2021 [8 favorites]
Enormous group video calls among family or friends, where no one can hear anything or be understood and someone is yelling and someone can't get it to work (but actually it already works) and someone is logged in twice and one group is logged in separately even thought they're in the same room...and it dissolves into gales of helpless laughter.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:28 AM on April 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 11:28 AM on April 23, 2021 [6 favorites]
Fun:
Joining the local Buy Nothing group. The one local to me is on Facebook. There's a lot of chatter and fun, and every once in a while you'll wind up with a gift on your front stoop.
Working at the Community Garden loudly commiserating with other gardeners
Bizarro Universe:
Putting on my homemade PPE so that I can go stand in line outside the boarded-up grocery store to get my ration of TP and hand sanitizer before the nightly curfew goes into effect. (I guess that's specific to Minneapolis, May/June 2020)
posted by Gray Duck at 11:33 AM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
Joining the local Buy Nothing group. The one local to me is on Facebook. There's a lot of chatter and fun, and every once in a while you'll wind up with a gift on your front stoop.
Working at the Community Garden loudly commiserating with other gardeners
Bizarro Universe:
Putting on my homemade PPE so that I can go stand in line outside the boarded-up grocery store to get my ration of TP and hand sanitizer before the nightly curfew goes into effect. (I guess that's specific to Minneapolis, May/June 2020)
posted by Gray Duck at 11:33 AM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
Unique things:
Empty highways during rush hour
Masks with family photos/gatherings
Everyone walking around the block/on the street during the first weeks of lockdowns
Empty Airplane/being the only one on an airplane on normally packed flights
Seeing my first true "Dip" in the stock market, and buying it
Making a separate home office from my usual relaxation point to help focus on work
Judging people with worse masks than you (I mean, come on, N95's are cheap now!)
Playing dungeons and dragons over zoom, instead of in-person, but nobody had conflicts, so we actually played weekly for ~5 months straight
Earning more from unemployment than earning normally.
Changing a vacation to a stay-cation
Escape rooms never matching you with strangers
Playing Jackbox games with extended family, and long family zoom calls, with family I hadn't talked to in years, as a large reunion
Making close friends by playing video games with them, every night, for months, instead of making friends in-person.
Exploring grubhub and grocery delivery services for the first time
Home Gyms and online personal trainers, Online fitness classes in general
Dog parks being the one place in the world that stayed open, and nobody wore masks, because they were outdoors with tons of distance.
EVERYONE playing animal crossing on the switch
Catching up on old movie and TV shows, because your favorites stopped production
Taskmaster with socially distanced contestants... and it's just as funny
The awkward moment when you're not sure if you should hug people, because of covid, but you are both vaccinated and about to spend a week with each other and just got negative tested
posted by bbqturtle at 11:34 AM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
Empty highways during rush hour
Masks with family photos/gatherings
Everyone walking around the block/on the street during the first weeks of lockdowns
Empty Airplane/being the only one on an airplane on normally packed flights
Seeing my first true "Dip" in the stock market, and buying it
Making a separate home office from my usual relaxation point to help focus on work
Judging people with worse masks than you (I mean, come on, N95's are cheap now!)
Playing dungeons and dragons over zoom, instead of in-person, but nobody had conflicts, so we actually played weekly for ~5 months straight
Earning more from unemployment than earning normally.
Changing a vacation to a stay-cation
Escape rooms never matching you with strangers
Playing Jackbox games with extended family, and long family zoom calls, with family I hadn't talked to in years, as a large reunion
Making close friends by playing video games with them, every night, for months, instead of making friends in-person.
Exploring grubhub and grocery delivery services for the first time
Home Gyms and online personal trainers, Online fitness classes in general
Dog parks being the one place in the world that stayed open, and nobody wore masks, because they were outdoors with tons of distance.
EVERYONE playing animal crossing on the switch
Catching up on old movie and TV shows, because your favorites stopped production
Taskmaster with socially distanced contestants... and it's just as funny
The awkward moment when you're not sure if you should hug people, because of covid, but you are both vaccinated and about to spend a week with each other and just got negative tested
posted by bbqturtle at 11:34 AM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
Starting a serious conversation with a total stranger by bumping elbows.
posted by dr. boludo at 11:39 AM on April 23, 2021
posted by dr. boludo at 11:39 AM on April 23, 2021
the overnight shift to NO traffic in the Bay Area
Yes: the spooky silence of the neighborhood in those first few days of shelter-in-place.
Kerbside dropoff at the vet; pacing anxiously around their parking lot while your pet's being examined.
A lot of my most vivid remembrances are combinations of pandemic + other stuff making it feel even more post-apocalyptic. Walking downtown to find it all empty and boarded up at the peak of the BLM protests; the wildfire smoke doubling down on the "going outside will kill you" feelings; the day of looming orange skies.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:42 AM on April 23, 2021 [7 favorites]
Yes: the spooky silence of the neighborhood in those first few days of shelter-in-place.
Kerbside dropoff at the vet; pacing anxiously around their parking lot while your pet's being examined.
A lot of my most vivid remembrances are combinations of pandemic + other stuff making it feel even more post-apocalyptic. Walking downtown to find it all empty and boarded up at the peak of the BLM protests; the wildfire smoke doubling down on the "going outside will kill you" feelings; the day of looming orange skies.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:42 AM on April 23, 2021 [7 favorites]
Baking a lot of stuff, and being able to stay home and eat it, was a good early refuge.
Waving hello & thanks to the UPS/Amazon/Post Office delivery person through the window was a nice, limited-contact way to contact a person we didn't live with, without actually touching anyone.
Finally changing something in the house that'd been bugging us for years (e.g., paint the living room, re-paint the office and build a decent desk, etc.) felt like a way to start asserting control over our lives again.
And then the first time we saw my mother-in-law to have an in-person conversation was a big deal: she was worried terribly about COVID, but really starved for company. We opened the garage door on a winter day and let the thin New England sun come in; we each had chairs as far as possible from the others, and wore masks. There was nothing weighty to discuss, but it felt quietly wild to be together again.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:52 AM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
Waving hello & thanks to the UPS/Amazon/Post Office delivery person through the window was a nice, limited-contact way to contact a person we didn't live with, without actually touching anyone.
Finally changing something in the house that'd been bugging us for years (e.g., paint the living room, re-paint the office and build a decent desk, etc.) felt like a way to start asserting control over our lives again.
And then the first time we saw my mother-in-law to have an in-person conversation was a big deal: she was worried terribly about COVID, but really starved for company. We opened the garage door on a winter day and let the thin New England sun come in; we each had chairs as far as possible from the others, and wore masks. There was nothing weighty to discuss, but it felt quietly wild to be together again.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:52 AM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
So, leaning into the "worth having" criteria, some pandemic experiences that lean positive:
Drive-by birthday party parade (usually for a kid's birthday)
Video call therapist visits
Volunteering over Zoom (in my case I coached students on my old high school speech team, something I would not have been able to do if it was in person, since I live too far away from the school).
Ordering fancy catering to have a small holiday celebration at home, instead of going to a family member's house. For Christmas Eve I leaned in too hard and got way too much fried chicken from a local fried chicken place but NO REGRETS IT WAS WORTH IT
Halloween candy scavenger hunt instead of trick-or-treating (with kids)
Becoming extremely familiar with nearby hiking trails and outdoor playgrounds in a 15 mile radius of my home. Hiking even in deepest coldest Minnesota winter just to get out of the house. Slowly trudging through silent frozen woods with my eyes watering from cold. I came across a tree out in the woods that someone had decorated for Christmas, full of ornaments and even a tool box tucked under the tree containing batteries to power the lights. It was surreal and joyful.
Chalked messages on the sidewalks of our neighborhood. Someone drew out an entire chalk obstacle course for you to run or hop through.
Watching over Zoom as my brother-in-law got married in a courthouse ceremony. They stood on big circular stickers on the floor. This one is bittersweet since we would've been there in person otherwise, but it was still a happy event.
Lots and lots and lots of picnics. Front porch! Dining room floor! Backyard! The park! The yard at my mom's house!
Building a swing in the backyard for our kids for when the city closed playgrounds (sigh).
The kids playing in the backyard with sprinklers and water guns every summer evening instead of a public pool or splash pad.
Massive cross-stitch projects to keep me occupied in winter like some kind of 1850s pioneer woman.
posted by castlebravo at 11:52 AM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
Drive-by birthday party parade (usually for a kid's birthday)
Video call therapist visits
Volunteering over Zoom (in my case I coached students on my old high school speech team, something I would not have been able to do if it was in person, since I live too far away from the school).
Ordering fancy catering to have a small holiday celebration at home, instead of going to a family member's house. For Christmas Eve I leaned in too hard and got way too much fried chicken from a local fried chicken place but NO REGRETS IT WAS WORTH IT
Halloween candy scavenger hunt instead of trick-or-treating (with kids)
Becoming extremely familiar with nearby hiking trails and outdoor playgrounds in a 15 mile radius of my home. Hiking even in deepest coldest Minnesota winter just to get out of the house. Slowly trudging through silent frozen woods with my eyes watering from cold. I came across a tree out in the woods that someone had decorated for Christmas, full of ornaments and even a tool box tucked under the tree containing batteries to power the lights. It was surreal and joyful.
Chalked messages on the sidewalks of our neighborhood. Someone drew out an entire chalk obstacle course for you to run or hop through.
Watching over Zoom as my brother-in-law got married in a courthouse ceremony. They stood on big circular stickers on the floor. This one is bittersweet since we would've been there in person otherwise, but it was still a happy event.
Lots and lots and lots of picnics. Front porch! Dining room floor! Backyard! The park! The yard at my mom's house!
Building a swing in the backyard for our kids for when the city closed playgrounds (sigh).
The kids playing in the backyard with sprinklers and water guns every summer evening instead of a public pool or splash pad.
Massive cross-stitch projects to keep me occupied in winter like some kind of 1850s pioneer woman.
posted by castlebravo at 11:52 AM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
All the kindnesses done by friends, family, and strangers to make sure food and medicine were delivered to people unable to go out. NextDoor really came into its own as a way for strangers in the neighborhood to volunteer to deliver necessities and help schedule vaccines for people without internet.
The city closed off a few neighborhood streets for folks to walk and bike for exercise.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 11:54 AM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
The city closed off a few neighborhood streets for folks to walk and bike for exercise.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 11:54 AM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
Getting that first package of homemade masks from my mom felt pretty momentous. This was back when stores were sold out, and so if I had to go out I was tying a handkerchief around my face like an Old West saloon bandit. For us in particular, she had made them out of fabric left over from a project she had done for our son's nursery, so it had even more resonance for us.
I bought a new desk and chair for my home office a couple of weeks ago, and three days after I got it set up (i.e., yesterday), my company notified us that our department is now permanently remote. So now I'm going into full redecorating.
Delivery services in general seem to have really been a big thing for us over the past year. I used Doordash before, but there was a time when I was using it quite frequently. We also started Hellofresh and Misfits Market, and my wife has become obsessed with various grocery deliveries. (Whole Foods and Target are probably her favorite, but there's a local farm that delivers milk and some meat that's also really nice.) In particular, I think delivery services got better at replicating the serendipity factor of shopping: the joy of browsing and finding something you didn't actually go to the store looking for. Misfits was good for this, maybe a little too good - we had to cancel because they were sending us so many new things that I couldn't figure out how to use. I'm not only talking algorithms here, either. We spent a lot of time on the phone with an indie bookstore where they would give us recommendations for ourselves and the kids, and then mail us the ones we thought sounded good. Paradoxically, I might have discovered more new foods/recipes/books/etc. this year than I would have in a normal retail browsing environment.
That said, the fact that retail still exists. I'll probably always remember the feeling of relief when some of the local mom-and-pop stores reopened after the first shutdown. Not all of them did.
I'm not sure if this counts as an experience worth having, but here in New England, one of my most vivid memories of the early lockdown was seeing some seemingly-unrelated neighborhood kids playing in the street, and one was wearing a Mookie Betts Red Sox jersey. (The Red Sox traded Betts, arguably the best player in baseball, for exceedingly stupid reasons in January.) I posted about it on Facebook and said "this is some 2019-ass shit". It was an interesting reminder that not all the sense of loss this year was due to Covid, you know?
posted by kevinbelt at 11:56 AM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
I bought a new desk and chair for my home office a couple of weeks ago, and three days after I got it set up (i.e., yesterday), my company notified us that our department is now permanently remote. So now I'm going into full redecorating.
Delivery services in general seem to have really been a big thing for us over the past year. I used Doordash before, but there was a time when I was using it quite frequently. We also started Hellofresh and Misfits Market, and my wife has become obsessed with various grocery deliveries. (Whole Foods and Target are probably her favorite, but there's a local farm that delivers milk and some meat that's also really nice.) In particular, I think delivery services got better at replicating the serendipity factor of shopping: the joy of browsing and finding something you didn't actually go to the store looking for. Misfits was good for this, maybe a little too good - we had to cancel because they were sending us so many new things that I couldn't figure out how to use. I'm not only talking algorithms here, either. We spent a lot of time on the phone with an indie bookstore where they would give us recommendations for ourselves and the kids, and then mail us the ones we thought sounded good. Paradoxically, I might have discovered more new foods/recipes/books/etc. this year than I would have in a normal retail browsing environment.
That said, the fact that retail still exists. I'll probably always remember the feeling of relief when some of the local mom-and-pop stores reopened after the first shutdown. Not all of them did.
I'm not sure if this counts as an experience worth having, but here in New England, one of my most vivid memories of the early lockdown was seeing some seemingly-unrelated neighborhood kids playing in the street, and one was wearing a Mookie Betts Red Sox jersey. (The Red Sox traded Betts, arguably the best player in baseball, for exceedingly stupid reasons in January.) I posted about it on Facebook and said "this is some 2019-ass shit". It was an interesting reminder that not all the sense of loss this year was due to Covid, you know?
posted by kevinbelt at 11:56 AM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
Everyone's pets attending every meeting (via Zoom). One of my cats actually makes a point of hanging out in the background of my weekly all-hands meeting. It's like he knows he's getting fawned-on from afar.
Working out at home. For some reason, in the Before-Times, I thought I had to be in a gym to "really" exercise.
Late-night talk show hosts working from their spare rooms, without a studio audience. It was like when all the (respectable) TV comedies did away with laugh tracks around the Turn of the Millennium: at first, the silence was awkward; now it seems like it would be weird to have even live laughter/cheering added back in.
Marking time not by month, holiday, or season, but by which local businesses are still around, which pets are still alive, and which colleagues/relatives we've restricted on Facebook.
posted by armeowda at 12:13 PM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
Working out at home. For some reason, in the Before-Times, I thought I had to be in a gym to "really" exercise.
Late-night talk show hosts working from their spare rooms, without a studio audience. It was like when all the (respectable) TV comedies did away with laugh tracks around the Turn of the Millennium: at first, the silence was awkward; now it seems like it would be weird to have even live laughter/cheering added back in.
Marking time not by month, holiday, or season, but by which local businesses are still around, which pets are still alive, and which colleagues/relatives we've restricted on Facebook.
posted by armeowda at 12:13 PM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
I ended up playing an MMO with a couple good friends for a few dozen hours total, which was a nice bonding experience. Same with a few video call games like Jackbox Party.
I hope to continue this, but a good friend in another city who I rarely see I've been talking to a lot as we play relatively mindless games together. It's the most in touch we've been in years. Probably wouldn't have happened without COVID.
My mom has spent a lot of time sequestered in a relatively rural area she had previously only spent a weekend to a week at time at. She says it's been amazing seeing the seasons change, getting to know the animals and nature, and just enjoying her own company.
A friend of mine, free from pretty much all social engagements, has been writing like mad. I'm picturing a "Shining" type banging away at the typewriter but normally I think he has a lot of FOMO and the pandemic really let him truly not care about the more casual social connections that while pleasant took up a lot of time.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 12:19 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
I hope to continue this, but a good friend in another city who I rarely see I've been talking to a lot as we play relatively mindless games together. It's the most in touch we've been in years. Probably wouldn't have happened without COVID.
My mom has spent a lot of time sequestered in a relatively rural area she had previously only spent a weekend to a week at time at. She says it's been amazing seeing the seasons change, getting to know the animals and nature, and just enjoying her own company.
A friend of mine, free from pretty much all social engagements, has been writing like mad. I'm picturing a "Shining" type banging away at the typewriter but normally I think he has a lot of FOMO and the pandemic really let him truly not care about the more casual social connections that while pleasant took up a lot of time.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 12:19 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
I remember making masks at the beginning before they were readily available, and having a Zoom sewing party with other people making masks, and sending them to a Mefite I consider a friend who I've never met in person because his wife is an essential worker.
posted by an octopus IRL at 12:22 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by an octopus IRL at 12:22 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
This may be hyper-regional, but during the first few months of the quarantine last year, my neighbors (I live in a urban, but walkable neighborhood in a big city, with lots of kids) would put up something in their window (a construction paper four leaf clover around Saint Patrick's Day, a drawing of a rainbow, a certain colored stuffed toy) and parents would walk through the neighborhood with their kids and count them. This ate up many an hour for me and my two kids last year.
And in general--this kind of return to hyper-regionalism. I remember facebook friends who live in the same city as I do complaining that OF COURSE people in this city don't do the 8:00 cheer to essential workers, but my neighborhood definitely did.
posted by Ideal Impulse at 12:23 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
And in general--this kind of return to hyper-regionalism. I remember facebook friends who live in the same city as I do complaining that OF COURSE people in this city don't do the 8:00 cheer to essential workers, but my neighborhood definitely did.
posted by Ideal Impulse at 12:23 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
Job interviews over video chat. I'm just saying, it is so much better being able to sit in a place and chair I'm comfortable, and not having to walk around in the DC heat in a full suit because of course I arrived way too early.
posted by General Malaise at 12:28 PM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by General Malaise at 12:28 PM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
Last summer, the kids in my suburban neighborhood would paint rocks and leave them out for others to find. There were pictures or stripes or faces or whatever.
On the FB group, parents would post when a new rock was out, or when they had moved one. It tapered off during the winter (snow, you see), but with the warming weather I have been seeing new painted rocks on my morning walks!
posted by wenestvedt at 12:33 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
On the FB group, parents would post when a new rock was out, or when they had moved one. It tapered off during the winter (snow, you see), but with the warming weather I have been seeing new painted rocks on my morning walks!
posted by wenestvedt at 12:33 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
A lot of my neighbors also had their kids make signs to put in the window with messages of hope and support.
They weren't fancy, but it was a nice reminder that each of those houses had a person or family in it who was also doing their best to get by.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:34 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
They weren't fancy, but it was a nice reminder that each of those houses had a person or family in it who was also doing their best to get by.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:34 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
Spouse dates in the living room where we dress up and watch Zoom events like nerdy burlesque shows.
Birthday movie watching parties on Discord.
Dungeons & Dragons on Discord - going strong for a year now.
Really, really getting to know the birds and plants in my own yard.
Telling my teenager to "go back to class" when she gets bored during the school day and wanders down to my room to hang out.
posted by missrachael at 12:35 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
Birthday movie watching parties on Discord.
Dungeons & Dragons on Discord - going strong for a year now.
Really, really getting to know the birds and plants in my own yard.
Telling my teenager to "go back to class" when she gets bored during the school day and wanders down to my room to hang out.
posted by missrachael at 12:35 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
In the Bay Area the hustle by the laid off cooks. People cooking food they've always wanted to that has meaning for them. Popups working out of communal kitchens. A few new brick and mortars showing up because people found success doing what they believed in.
Several friends making their craft side business their full time gigs.
Long time friends moving away to less populous places.
posted by mikesch at 12:40 PM on April 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
Several friends making their craft side business their full time gigs.
Long time friends moving away to less populous places.
posted by mikesch at 12:40 PM on April 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
Takeout of food that we normally wouldn't take out. We've sort of settled back into our usual takeout preferences, but early on we were trying to support some local places we normally went to in person and ended up getting things like braised oxtail and grilled salmon.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:44 PM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by Lyn Never at 12:44 PM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
When quarantine hit, our neighborhood started getting visits by food trucks. No walk-up business. You text in your order, and they’d text you back with a pick-up time. No cash accepted. They’d have a Square card reader outside the truck and you’d run your card yourself.
We’ve also been playing euchre online pretty regularly with various friends. One “interesting” bit about that is my wife gets confused if I’m sitting in our room to one side of her, but I’m on the other side of her on-screen.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:59 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
We’ve also been playing euchre online pretty regularly with various friends. One “interesting” bit about that is my wife gets confused if I’m sitting in our room to one side of her, but I’m on the other side of her on-screen.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:59 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
Times Square, completely empty.
posted by wesleyac at 1:08 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by wesleyac at 1:08 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
This is kind of dumb, but I ended up on tiktok a lot so seeing some with a geometric painter’s tape wall/some internet inspired home renovation project really brings me to a certain place.
posted by raccoon409 at 1:12 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by raccoon409 at 1:12 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
Visiting famous museums (if you have one in your city), without the usual crowd of tourists in front of every painting.
posted by rhythm and booze at 1:19 PM on April 23, 2021
posted by rhythm and booze at 1:19 PM on April 23, 2021
Hanging out night after night on the deck last summer, drinking and playing cards, listening to the sounds of all the neighbors doing the same or similar in their yards.
The sudden increase in free range kids—it was a joy to see them roaming in little packs, cooking up little kid schemes, all their crap strewn everywhere.
The sudden increase in dogs being walked. They’re back in their yards now, I guess. There were three or four times as many for a while there.
Venturing downtown in the wildfire smoke, the sun blotted out, everyone in masks, lots of shops shuttered, all the bulletin boards empty.
The sudden increase in people hiking on “my” trails.
The earthquake in the middle of a Zoom meeting and seeing everyone looking up, down, left, right trying to understand what was happening.
posted by HotToddy at 1:25 PM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
The sudden increase in free range kids—it was a joy to see them roaming in little packs, cooking up little kid schemes, all their crap strewn everywhere.
The sudden increase in dogs being walked. They’re back in their yards now, I guess. There were three or four times as many for a while there.
Venturing downtown in the wildfire smoke, the sun blotted out, everyone in masks, lots of shops shuttered, all the bulletin boards empty.
The sudden increase in people hiking on “my” trails.
The earthquake in the middle of a Zoom meeting and seeing everyone looking up, down, left, right trying to understand what was happening.
posted by HotToddy at 1:25 PM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
Both Thanksgiving and Christmas that did not involve a fight, drama, or awkward conversation. The mister and I cooked what we wanted, at the pace we wanted, and ate when it was ready. No one had to dress up, or smile for pictures. We got to dance around our new house, just the two of us and really enjoy the beauty of life without our families making things more complex. I know this probably just proves I'm not a good person, but Christmas 2020 was the best Christmas I've had since I hit adulthood.
posted by teleri025 at 1:31 PM on April 23, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by teleri025 at 1:31 PM on April 23, 2021 [7 favorites]
Oh god and how blessedly QUIET everything was in the first few weeks of lockdown. No traffic noise. The birdsong seemed strangely loud. It was heaven.
posted by HotToddy at 1:35 PM on April 23, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by HotToddy at 1:35 PM on April 23, 2021 [8 favorites]
The highways were SO empty. Sailing down 90 in Chicago without a single other car in sight at 5pm on a Friday is not something I'll soon forget. It's not like driving on an empty highway late at night, with its peaceful sensation of a sleeping world around you. It's like driving through the end of the world.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 2:28 PM on April 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 2:28 PM on April 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
Sudden access to extremely fancy takeout food. Chicago also changed a law to allow cocktail bars to sell bottled take-out cocktails and that's been incredible, too.
Celebrating Mother's Day on Zoom with all my sibs together and connecting with faraway friends for video hang-outs (and wondering why didn't we do this before! We already had the tech!). I got to take voice and movement classes remotely with Meredith Monk and some of the teaching artists who work with her! Friends gathered virtually to MST3K the terrible Phantom of the Opera sequel that was streaming on Youtube!
Christmas at home with just me and my husband. Regularly eating dinner outside in our backyard with the fire pit going, just for a change of scenery (again, why didn't we do more of this before?). Lots of home improvement momentum, just because we were home so much more.
posted by merriment at 3:14 PM on April 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
Celebrating Mother's Day on Zoom with all my sibs together and connecting with faraway friends for video hang-outs (and wondering why didn't we do this before! We already had the tech!). I got to take voice and movement classes remotely with Meredith Monk and some of the teaching artists who work with her! Friends gathered virtually to MST3K the terrible Phantom of the Opera sequel that was streaming on Youtube!
Christmas at home with just me and my husband. Regularly eating dinner outside in our backyard with the fire pit going, just for a change of scenery (again, why didn't we do more of this before?). Lots of home improvement momentum, just because we were home so much more.
posted by merriment at 3:14 PM on April 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
Do the Menstrual experiences with COVID-19 vaccines research study
posted by aniola at 4:40 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by aniola at 4:40 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
SO MANY DOGS
Our dumb Open-Box Dog, a rescue from down South, is reactive to other dogs so now we can't walk him during the day any more and we have plastic on the bottom of the windows to block his view, or else all those Other Dogs set him off.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:15 PM on April 23, 2021
Our dumb Open-Box Dog, a rescue from down South, is reactive to other dogs so now we can't walk him during the day any more and we have plastic on the bottom of the windows to block his view, or else all those Other Dogs set him off.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:15 PM on April 23, 2021
Food Boxes... So many food boxes.
A friend of mine had filled his car with 17 boxes that a church was unable to distribute. I took two, my neighbor took one. Then I realized there was no way I could go through all that food, so I was able to give one of the boxes to the neighbor across the street who had generously helped us out earlier in the year.
Other food box treasures: A 4 pound cafeteria sized bag of "chicken taco meat" (makes great white bean chili). A 5 lb bag of gummy bears in a food box for seniors. Some cheese that pretty much tasted like plastic (that got thrown out).
posted by skunk pig at 5:58 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
A friend of mine had filled his car with 17 boxes that a church was unable to distribute. I took two, my neighbor took one. Then I realized there was no way I could go through all that food, so I was able to give one of the boxes to the neighbor across the street who had generously helped us out earlier in the year.
Other food box treasures: A 4 pound cafeteria sized bag of "chicken taco meat" (makes great white bean chili). A 5 lb bag of gummy bears in a food box for seniors. Some cheese that pretty much tasted like plastic (that got thrown out).
posted by skunk pig at 5:58 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
Post-vaccine I've been having some experiences that are kind of from the other side of the pandemic.
Sitting on a (deserted) balcony, indoors and observing 3 college kids sharing a couch, two working on laptops while one slept stretched behind them, hidden from others view. Kind of cosy pandemic wtf?
Walking down a street, unmasked, and passing 2 people in masks give me the eye, the only time I've felt like an antimasker. (Sorry guys, the science seems safe enough to me, but you probably didn't agree.)
In a cafe and a person just won't stop talking in the background and I can't concentrate on work, and I can't avoid listening, and they mention two different kids they know who have covid (including one of theirs, "but he's out of quarantine by now"), and how much a mask destroys them by the end of the day at work, and they heard you can get a medical exemption, you just have to say you can't breath in those things.
Also McDonalds is still takeout only in a lot of places, even places with otherwise hopping restaurant scenes, and it's like a disaster movie in there and eerily still, until a cook comes out from the back, steps into line, and takes *off* his mask to indicate he's off shift.
posted by joeyh at 8:50 PM on April 23, 2021
Sitting on a (deserted) balcony, indoors and observing 3 college kids sharing a couch, two working on laptops while one slept stretched behind them, hidden from others view. Kind of cosy pandemic wtf?
Walking down a street, unmasked, and passing 2 people in masks give me the eye, the only time I've felt like an antimasker. (Sorry guys, the science seems safe enough to me, but you probably didn't agree.)
In a cafe and a person just won't stop talking in the background and I can't concentrate on work, and I can't avoid listening, and they mention two different kids they know who have covid (including one of theirs, "but he's out of quarantine by now"), and how much a mask destroys them by the end of the day at work, and they heard you can get a medical exemption, you just have to say you can't breath in those things.
Also McDonalds is still takeout only in a lot of places, even places with otherwise hopping restaurant scenes, and it's like a disaster movie in there and eerily still, until a cook comes out from the back, steps into line, and takes *off* his mask to indicate he's off shift.
posted by joeyh at 8:50 PM on April 23, 2021
Seeing, and walking, the main highway, and seeing NO traffic at all, nothing - like in Survivors (1975). Yeah, I enjoyed that, very much.
posted by unearthed at 1:28 AM on April 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by unearthed at 1:28 AM on April 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
Having a college student sent home on days’ notice and then staying home for many months. Pre-pandemic I hadn’t expected to ever have her home again for more than a short break.
Driving through the completely empty parking lot of LL Bean, which until the pandemic had closed only three times in history.
posted by Sukey Says at 1:57 AM on April 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
Driving through the completely empty parking lot of LL Bean, which until the pandemic had closed only three times in history.
posted by Sukey Says at 1:57 AM on April 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
Online church and then outdoor church.
posted by eleslie at 3:16 AM on April 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by eleslie at 3:16 AM on April 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
I was walking our dog one morning and walked by the kids waiting for the bus stop. One kid totally called me out for not wearing a mask. (Disclaimer: the dog's leash is 6 feet long.)
posted by Ms Vegetable at 5:37 AM on April 24, 2021
posted by Ms Vegetable at 5:37 AM on April 24, 2021
@wenestvedt, what is an "open box dog"?
posted by Ms Vegetable at 5:50 AM on April 24, 2021
posted by Ms Vegetable at 5:50 AM on April 24, 2021
- vaccine selfies
- everybody's "pandemic project" - mine was sewing lots of teddy bears for dolls of hope, and now sewing lots of kits for days for girls
- puzzles
- going for a drive just because you need to get out of the house
posted by Ms Vegetable at 6:15 AM on April 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
- everybody's "pandemic project" - mine was sewing lots of teddy bears for dolls of hope, and now sewing lots of kits for days for girls
- puzzles
- going for a drive just because you need to get out of the house
posted by Ms Vegetable at 6:15 AM on April 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
Trying to coax along a sourdough starter. Or trying to get yeast somehow and resorting to culturing it off raisins.
Working while kneeling on the ground, or in some other anti-ergonomic setup, because you didn’t have a proper desk.
Taking business calls in the bathroom because it has the only door that closes.
Online therapy (also in the bathroom).
posted by en forme de poire at 7:07 AM on April 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
Working while kneeling on the ground, or in some other anti-ergonomic setup, because you didn’t have a proper desk.
Taking business calls in the bathroom because it has the only door that closes.
Online therapy (also in the bathroom).
posted by en forme de poire at 7:07 AM on April 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
The pandemic has been very good for me for having another kind of tangible opportunity to practice recognizing that everyone is doing their best, and that their best may look very different from what I think is appropriate.
After all, the messages are mixed. We're simultaneously told to wear masks any time we're in public spaces, and at the same time, restaurants are reopening and people are eating at restaurants en masse.
So for example, I interpret the requirement "wear a mask any time you're in public" to mean "wear a mask any time you go outdoors" But most people think they wear a mask when they're supposed to, and many people are not wearing their masks when they're outside. Instead of looking at them as though they don't care about the lives of others (which is what it would have to mean for me to be not wearing a mask in public spaces right now), I have been working on accepting that most people who aren't wearing masks in public spaces still probably think they're doing their best.
This probably also has the benefit of self-acceptance.
posted by aniola at 9:46 AM on April 24, 2021
After all, the messages are mixed. We're simultaneously told to wear masks any time we're in public spaces, and at the same time, restaurants are reopening and people are eating at restaurants en masse.
So for example, I interpret the requirement "wear a mask any time you're in public" to mean "wear a mask any time you go outdoors" But most people think they wear a mask when they're supposed to, and many people are not wearing their masks when they're outside. Instead of looking at them as though they don't care about the lives of others (which is what it would have to mean for me to be not wearing a mask in public spaces right now), I have been working on accepting that most people who aren't wearing masks in public spaces still probably think they're doing their best.
This probably also has the benefit of self-acceptance.
posted by aniola at 9:46 AM on April 24, 2021
Being able to attend events online at home that if they had been in person I might not have been able to attend due to higher ticket cost/not being able to find a friend who was interested in the event and able to attend/anxiety about going.
Doing a huge grocery shop and having it delivered instead of multiple grocery trips on the bus.
Smaller local businesses being online more and therefore easier to find out about, trying to support small and local rather than big chains.
Accepting the challenge to celebrate holidays and occasions safely but still be able to make them special.
posted by Lay Off The Books at 5:09 PM on April 24, 2021
Doing a huge grocery shop and having it delivered instead of multiple grocery trips on the bus.
Smaller local businesses being online more and therefore easier to find out about, trying to support small and local rather than big chains.
Accepting the challenge to celebrate holidays and occasions safely but still be able to make them special.
posted by Lay Off The Books at 5:09 PM on April 24, 2021
Ms Vegetable: @wenestvedt, what is an "open box dog"?
He is a rescue from Texas. His papers even have his arrest photo, where he looks a bit like Nick Nolte. (He needed a bath and a total shave the day after we got him!)
He has poor dog-social skills, hates trucks (which has made lockdown difficult, since every single day there is the USPS (twice), Amazon, UPS, and FedEx driving past our house, and Friday means four passes by the garbage & recycling), is small but barks like Napoleon, is clever, only has one functional eye, but stole our hearts.
I called him a "used dog" once upon a time -- which I think I heard from one of my brothers -- but my younger son replied that he is in fact an "open-box dog," and I had to admit it was a better description. The dog was already potty-trained when we got him, and knew some commands: clearly someone had owned him for a while (the vet estimated his age at "at least two") but he got away or was dumped and...now he's ours.
Dog tax.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:39 AM on April 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
He is a rescue from Texas. His papers even have his arrest photo, where he looks a bit like Nick Nolte. (He needed a bath and a total shave the day after we got him!)
He has poor dog-social skills, hates trucks (which has made lockdown difficult, since every single day there is the USPS (twice), Amazon, UPS, and FedEx driving past our house, and Friday means four passes by the garbage & recycling), is small but barks like Napoleon, is clever, only has one functional eye, but stole our hearts.
I called him a "used dog" once upon a time -- which I think I heard from one of my brothers -- but my younger son replied that he is in fact an "open-box dog," and I had to admit it was a better description. The dog was already potty-trained when we got him, and knew some commands: clearly someone had owned him for a while (the vet estimated his age at "at least two") but he got away or was dumped and...now he's ours.
Dog tax.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:39 AM on April 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
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Outdoor distanced group workout in a park
Live Zoom class by someone who lives far away
Volunteer in a vaccination facility
posted by rogerroger at 11:07 AM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]