Keys.
Wallet.
Phone.
Mask.
March 16th, 2020 was the last day that I was on campus for work and all of the staff were there to teach their classes and students were goofing around. It’s been five and a half months of social distancing, distance learning and telehealth, and working from home. Five and a half months - and we are nowhere close to seeing the end of this (sorry for being a pessimist).
During the early days of the pandemic, I stayed at home, worked from home, didn’t see my family or friends, and hardly went to any stores. While I wasn’t that person who disinfected all of my food products before bringing them in the house, I did wear gloves while shopping and regularly washed and/or sanitized my hands. Thanks to the pandemic, I’ve learned that singing “Happy Birthday” while washing your hands gets you through the recommended 20 seconds of hand-washing. I’ve also learned that washing my hands this often does no good for my skin and have now become obsessed with various hands creams and serums to keep my skin from getting dry from the harsh water running through the South Bay plumbing.
This way of living has now become routine. I recently visited my optometrist for my yearly check-up (NEAR-SIGHTEDNESS!) and in an exchange with one of the techs working that day, I was reminded of how much easier this time has been for me than others. She expressed her frustration in having to wear a mask for 8 hours of the day while working, where I may only wear a mask for a few hours while interacting with my co-workers (while staying 6 feet apart) and/or while taking care of errands. Wearing a mask is less of a burden to me than it is for others, I acknowledge that with great relief that my job does not require me to wear one for 8 hours of the day, but I primarily provide support for my students virtually.
During the summertime, I started to come to my office on campus a few days out of the week. We have special disinfectants that are used on high-touch areas in our offices, we have stickers instructing us which direction to go down a hallway or staircase, reminders to wear masks, social distance and maintain our health. While in my office, I can function and provide telehealth without having to wear a mask. When moving around campus, mask on! When driving around and running errands, I feel comfortable with being mask-free in my car, and definitely mask-free while I’m at home. When out on a walk with puglets, mask on.
The greatest change that has affected me has been the lack of social interactions. While I love living with my partner and spending time with the puglets, I miss my friends. I miss spontaneously agreeing to a dinner date on a random day of the week. I miss the ease of running to Costco and being able to purchase toilet paper without issue. I miss the camaraderie and chaos of students being on campus. Let’s all be honest - Zoom Happy Hour is NOT. THE. SAME! But this is our new normal, because there is no going back to how it was. And the future? We will see what happens next.
