I’m not going to sugar coat it, life is pretty grim around here in Orange County, California. People are being “furlough” left to right, hiring freeze is abundant, grocery stores rarely has any food in stock and the list goes on and on. When will it stop? Nobody knows, at least until we start seeing the number of people infected start dropping then things will hopefully ease up.
For now, I’m at home working on my laptop. Work, on the contrary, is the consistent thing in my life that’s “normal”. I’m focused, busy and on track with my usual routine prior to COVID-19 crisis. I’d say I’m pretty lucky in a sense that there’s nothing out of the ordinary with my day to day routine. I’ve adapted quite well working remotely from home as I’ve been doing that on and off in the last year. The only thing different for me is keeping my distance from strangers and going to the grocery stores to find most things out of stock.
The other day I went for a run around my neighborhood and I’ve never come across people dodging each other as far away as crossing the street the minute they’re about to cross paths. It felt weird because nobody ever did that prior to the crisis. On one hand, it’s good that people are respecting the rules but, there’s also the feeling like this could become the new reality indefinitely. For me, the thought of never talking to strangers at all is weird. Let’s say I’m lost and didn’t have access to any phones. How would I get help if, nobody will want to talk to me? I know, I’m talking nonsense and don’t get me wrong, I’d rather be safe keeping my distance than be sorry; but, admitting this is our current reality of facing the unknown is an adjustment to say the least.
Despite the changes that has happened after the crisis started, I do like seeing a lot more people going out for a walk or running outside (while keeping social distancing in mind). Personally, I’m happy that I’m given this time to FaceTime with friends and family from all over the world, re-connecting through social media, taking online courses, blog, binge watch movies or shows, reading articles, organizing, purging old files and preparing to donate a few items. In retrospect, I try to keep it positive by doing the things I like to do on a daily basis, get a good sleep, eat as healthy as possible and survive.
How are you coping lately?
Read my post on helping you stay occupied: https://astintabroad.com/2020/03/19/good-reads-links-to-help-you-stay-occupied/
A Stint Abroad 