You don’t need me to tell you how weird life is right now. Bars, gyms, and dine-in restaurants are shuttered until at least the end of the month here in LA. Grocery store shelves have been laid bare. There are household limits on cleaning supplies and diapers and formula. Suddenly everyone is self-quarantining and standing six feet apart – I can’t count how many times I’ve heard “social distancing” in the past week. Seeing people in masks at Starbucks, LA freeways empty, talks of temporary hospitals and the National Guard being deployed – it’s surreal and scary and suddenly everything is uncertain and things that mattered before just don’t anymore. It feels like a one minute the clouds were in the distance, and suddenly we’re in the eye of this storm – and I think everyone’s a little spun out.
I’m working from home for the foreseeable future, trying to stay sane with reading and obsessive cleaning and what little yoga my bum elbow can take. And, of course, lots and lots of bunny snuggles.
I’m an introvert and being a homebody comes naturally to me – particularly during an unseasonably rainy period in LA. Give me a cozy blanket and candles and some snacks and I’m set to stay indoors, away for other people, for an impressive length of time. The difference here, I guess, is that there’s really no escaping this. There’s really no work life balance anymore when I’m refreshing Twitter every five seconds, when I’ve lugged my work monitor home, when bosses are texting about shifts but also about taking care of ourselves. This is all unprecedented and mind boggling and it’s bled into every news story, every aspect of life; retail and dining and dating and exercising and entertainment and travel. It’s all we’re talking about, thinking about, reading about, being kept awake by at night.
On a personal level, I’ve cancelled an upcoming international trip I’d very much been looking forward to, a decision we’d been leaning towards anyway that became inescapable after our tour company suspended operations until at least the end of April and Delta suspended the route we were flying. It’s the right decision, of course, but I can’t help feeling as if, overnight, the future just contracted and imploded and disappeared entirely. No concerts or brunches or St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, no vacations or work trips or dates or happy hours. No superfluous runs to Target, no socialization, no fun, just … nothingness, stretching on without end.
Of course, this is all superficial and minor and selfish and I think, if there’s any point at all to this waking nightmare, it’s something like this: love thy neighbor. Call your grandparents. Be kind to the cashiers, the cleaning staff, the people being laid off from their jobs at bars and restaurants and production companies and all sorts of gigs impacted by this landslide of awfulness. I’m worried about my parents and my grandparents, about everyone facing financial insecurity, about the homeless population and people who are uninsured and undocumented. It’s scary as fuck out there. Please be kind to each other. Stay inside, wash your hands, call your people, be good to yourself. We’ll get through this, one way or another.
If you’re looking for some levity, here are a few recommendations:
TikTok (just, the entire app) // Better Things is so funny and lovely and such a perfect distraction from this 24/7 terror // 9-1-1 is returning and 9-1-1: Lone Star is currently airing and they are both truly the most glorious, batshit insane Ryan Murphy brain children and have also been the only things to make me cry in the past couple of weeks, specifically this scene (holy fuck) and this one (Jesus fucking Christ.) I promise, though, it’s mostly a very fun, campy show!! //
And now a few more nice/funny tweets for good measure:
Well, I’ve gotta give the people what they want!!
Here’s a song just made for our TikTok-loving, self-isolating times:
God, I love BENEE’s voice (and feel very hip for recommending her in a newsletter a few months ago. Am I certifiably cool yet??)
Anyway. Stay inside, stay sane, move your body, tip generously, be gentle with others and with yourself. We’re all in this together.
-Olivia