Our world is changing rapidly. Just when we thought we hit bottom, we observe in disbelief how life imitates art while we run in our heads the script of every post-apocalypse movie we’ve seen and search for parallels to our bizarre situation.
People watching
We like people watching, but in times of social distancing we can only people-watch online or from a safe distance in places such as the supermarket, which is pretty much the only outing we get.
The spectrum of reactions and behaviour patterns is fascinating; some are scared, some recklessly careless. Some are kind and thoughtful and some selfish and cruel.
Some are sharing posts and links to help others get through the isolation. Some are in their element—isolation is their middle name—while others still post negative stuff about, well, everything.
Yet others are digging their heels even deeper into conspiracy theories, denial, and rumor spreading. Is this how the ignorant masses self-medicate, or are the ones who follow new instructions are the ignorant ones? Is it easier for some people to deny and come up with alternative realities, or is it something more sinister?
Who will survive?
Other are being quiet. Maybe too quiet? Vulnerabilities can intensify during times like these and some of us may need extra help. How do you provide help and encouragement while keeping your distance and protecting both yourself and your loved ones?
Some are coming back from trips cut short, and others still leaving for new ones until the borders were shut for non-essential travel. and they no longer could.
Some were returning from Europe and other hot spots and going about their business as usual while freaking out everyone around them. Why are you not self-isolating?
The new heroes are supermarket clerks.
Our perspectives are slowly changing.
Some people are buying toilet paper yet others are buying ammunition. There is shortage of both for the time being.
Interesting. There are already reports of break-ins into cars to steal toilet paper and groceries.
A recent trip to the supermarket was like walking in zombieland. No one was making eye contact and except for a few forced smiles there was no interaction. Everyone was focusing on finding their goods before they are gone while trying to keep a good distance from potential infectors.
The broad spectrum of the human condition…the reality that across continents, religion, race, age, and gender some of us are kind, compassionate and are open minded, while some of us are selfish, cynical and prefer to bend the facts to suit their needs. Yet, some of us are somewhere in the middle—swaying in the wind.
Some people step up to the occasion and some stoop low.
Our reaction to the possibility of toilet paper shortage highlights the excess in our life. The overly stocked shelves and endless variety…dozens of kinds of everything for every possible occasion. Will this change once we go back to normal?
We are such a strange species.
So What we’ve been doing
We finished building the new bathroom in the basement and arranged the basement as our new travel destination. It’s pretty much as far as we travel nowadays. We may follow this blueprint and create an elaborate wine tour. Thanks for the inspiration, Linda!
Making good use of Duolingo and learning a new language. We have Chinese and French on the go and there are some strange sounds emitted every now and then in this house. We are not just grunting, we are practicing.
This is a great time to start a free university course on one of the many online platforms. I would recommend the Science of Wellbeing, which may be even more poignant, and perhaps even helpful during these times of uncertainty.
We are reading.
Instead of planning our next trip, we started planning a spring vegetable garden. Hey, you never know…remember those dystopian scenarios mentioned earlier?
Movies! We are so grateful for movies. We are currently binging on Jackie Chan and Jim Jarmusch movies. Interesting combination you say? We agree, but it works
We cook a lot.
And we walk in the forest.
Our language is changing. We started using words that were not in our vocabulary; words like hunker down, shelter in place, social distancing, self-isolation, and wash your hands are the new buzz words. Our favourite word though is caremongering.
We are trying to guess what will be the word/phrase of the year. Right now we put our bets on social distancing. We are also trying to come up with Man of the Year. Up until the COVID-19 pandemic, we would have put our money on Nancy Polusi, but now? Maybe Dr. Li Wenliang?
We are overindulging with pictures of cute animals and watching Arnold Schwarzenegger’s hilarious videos with his menagerie. We will not apologize for it.
Tony’s visits to Home Depot are restricted to the absolute necessary ones and he has to make do with what he already has.
With an official State of Emergency, we may have several months of somewhat organized chaos ahead of us, so we’ll definitely get more creative and perhaps more practical. We’ll try to write about it since writing about our travels seems a bit irrelevant and trivial at the moment.
Maybe we’ll adjust our behaviour just a bit onceall of this is over. Maybe not.
One thing for sure, we will never be as funny as they can be in Wales!
So with this in mind, our last word of advice is step away from the bin!
We hope you are all coping. Let us know what you’re doing!
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I have many more Jackie Chan movies I can force on you!
Bring it!
I did, I brought them all back from England!
Haha, you did do that 🙂
Let’s take that wine tour! 😂
Good idea! You bring the wine 🙂
I was interested in your comment about people in supermarkets not making eye-contact. When I was up there yesterday everyone was talking because we all had the same subject to talk about. And people were talking about what they still needed to get and what they were cooking to put in the freezer. And nobody was even thinking about guns and ammunition it’s not a subject most Australians worry about.
Thats’ amazing! To be honest I was shocked since this is what I expected to find too. It’s a small supermarket in the country – not sure if it has anything to do with it or not…just to be clear this is the Canada and the ammunition shortage is in the US. At the moment we are only worried about toilet paper and sanitizers 🙂
Yes, knowing you were Canada it did strike me as a bit interesting.
Maybe a fluke…should try a different supermarket next time!
To find a bad one again. No. I’ll stick with this one.
True…
On a positive note, we have received many personal phone calls from friends near and far which never seems to happen much any more. Old friends and distant relatives have reached out on social media. With that support we find it much easier to cope.
I thought about this today…if this could even happen pre social media things could be a lot bleaker. I am so grateful for the ability to connect on so many levels. I know you had a recent health scare so stay safe, George!
You don’t have a reblog button, Margie. If you can add one, let me know.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks so much, Pete! I don’t think I can add a Reblog button in WordPress.org…are you able to share through Reader?
I don’t think so. Never done that before.
I’ll see if I can figure this out…I see that you have a press this button on yours, I’ll see if I can add that.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like I can add it on WordPress.org. I can send you the post and bio, or if you are willing to post the link or contents here is the link: https://wp.me/pb5HyM-1mG. Thanks again for the offer!
There are lots of ads and images that make it hard to post by copying. Feel free to send it to me by email, with the bio. 🙂
Did you get my reply? Can’t see it.
Got it! Thanks for being so patient with me! I will send shortly <3
Hi guys, you can add a reblog button in a wordpress.org site, as I have one and have done it!
I have made a short video to show you how to do it, it’s very easy, but if you get stuck give me a shout.
https://youtu.be/0oUVFedtmjE
(I messed up switching it off at the end so ignore that bit 🙂 )
Oops comment disappeared.
It’s here – when there is a link it’s waiting for approval! Thanks so much for your help, I’ll give it a try for sure. I couldn’t find anywhere anything for .org, only for .com. I’ll let you know if it works 🙂
When you go into admin of your site WordPress.org becomes WordPress.com.org so it works for both 😊 hope it works!
That is a good try, but unfortunately it doesn’t give me the option of reblog, only the like button. Thanks so much for taking tohe time to try and help though! I really appreciate it!
Hmmmm. Well that is strange as mine has it. No worries if you’re not bothered, but if you are try the chat help, they’re really good. Sorry it didn’t work out.
I’ve obsessed over this for 2 days now 🙂 I will try the chat help tomorrow! Thanks again <3
As we watch the news sporadically. We feel concerned about human lives being effected. Yet we don’t live a mainstream lifestyle. We live 30 minutes from Huntsville, a major town, therefore we’re not adversely affected by the reality that many people are experiencing at the moment. I’m finishing our trailer for travel within Canada, and as I’m working on it, I can’t help thinking that there are two sides to a problem, first being SARS-CoV-2, and the other; our fragile planet will now have time to recover it’s life support system.
Be safe, be healthy, be happy.
Being isolated and in the country is a pretty good gig right now. I can’t help feeling that this will change us a species. Not the pandemic itself and the toll on human lives, but the changes in behaviour. Yeah, the planet will have a small break from our harmful ways…Stay well my friend!
I believe, lessons will be learnt until another smart mutating virus comes along. History does change—mostly it repeats itself. Humans evolve slowly, due to its inherent complex physiology. The masses will continue to follow itself in the carrousel of life—seeking creature comforts and normality, some will take control, a few will blaze the way to a better way to live and mother the earth. I try to live the latter.
P.S. reply to a previous reply. Canadian Tire is out of ammunition.
We love Jackie Chan!
I guess time will tell but we will probably no longer be here. So the trend continued north of the border, eh?
Time heals.
Ya, we’re keeping our stick on home ice. Lots to see, do and explore at home . . . Canada eh!
Moving out or heading out?
I meant we will be long gone and dead by then 🙂
Nice to see your post. We have not been out since this past Monday. We finished our shopping and can grocery shop online with pickup or delivery. We are also working from home and plan to #stayhome as much as possible. My tai chi classes have stopped. I gave the students a series of youtube videos to support their practice. I may do some live online sessions. Becky is working from home setting up virtual classrooms for courses that were instructor led in the past. Van camping seems like something from another world.
Good to hear from you, Chris! I am regretting now not stopping by for a visit with you…all four of us mostly work from home to begin with so there isn’t much of a change for us. I am glad to see that you are able to adapt. I would love to follow your Tai Chi class on line if you are able to share more widely! Yeah, vanning seems like a far dream now, but you never know – perhaps a future escape pod? Keep it ready 🙂
Came over here after reading this on Pete’s blog. I like your attitude and sense of humour! And I am very happy to come over and join your wine tour 🙂 We have 18 bottles of wine (and yes I have just counted them), so on the basis that we only drink at the weekend, that should last us 6 weeks. Of course our drinking habits might change 😲 And let’s hope this catastrophe will lead to future changes that will make our world a better place – I’m thinking of less unnecessary flights (company conferences that
canshould be done over video conferencing) and giant cruise ships that disgorge thousands of people at a time onto vulnerable cities (thinking Venice). We’ve just had to cancel some electrical works that I had been looking forward to having done, but having a tradesman in the house at the moment is not wise.Stay safe – and keep that van ready. You never know when you might need it!
Jude xx
I most certainly will stop by, even if it is for a virtual drink! I hope that you are right. I hope we will make some changes, lose the excess, and make this world a better place. It’s too early for wine so I’ll go over and enjoy your gorgeous photos instead!
If we don’t make changes our planet is doomed, so maybe this is a wake-up call. Too early for wine here too – but I can offer coffee?
I have a fresh pot on. COme on over!
It’s me again, couldn’t resist, such a great posting!
“Bonding” not “toilet paper” although strange and funny, is what I can associate with for this SARS-CoV-2 outbreak.
My wife has been working from home for a couple of years now. Her work colleagues around the globe are starting to work from home. Skype is the preferred choice to communicate with each other on a daily bases. I’m seeing an interaction of parents and kids in the background, dogs barking—including ours in response, other family members asking simple questions. Opinions and feeling are shared about the outbreak. There is a lot of distractions going on, yet at the same time, it brings a smile to my face.
WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger’s video features are our choice to reach out to family in Brasil, the USA, and with friends around the globe.
Maybe this catastrophe as some have mentioned is not that bad after all. And globally, some are doing pretty good at containing the spread—people are beginning to bond with the idea that what is working for China, India, and South Korea will help with their country fight as well.
You are so right! There are some aspects of this that I love for the same reasons you had mentioned.
If you enjoy Real-time Data concerning the outbreak, here is a very interesting website: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ It also gives you ongoing stats on other things: Global Health Expenditures, Populations, Solar Harvesting to How many bicycles are made in a year. I’m already addicted!
Yeah, we’ve been following this site regularly 🙂
Ha Ha, I love your wine tour planning – made easy. Looks familiar. As to people watching, it is still there but during Covid, it might be best described as watching out for people. In a store, if everyone except that one person is following the directional arrows, we all watch out for him and either turn around back away or just glare above our masks. If we are walking on the sidewalk and see people coming, it is a game of chicken to see who gives way and walks on the street or in the snowbank or crosses over. We fine, as older people, it is usually us. If we are near joggers and cyclists, we watch for them coming and going, huffing and puffing their maskless stream of droplets in a wide spread pattern and we head for the bushes. Yup, people watching these days is akin to paranoia as everyone has cooties. Hope all is well with you. Allan
Haha, you are so right about watching out for people and their droplets! It’s strange looking at earlier covid posts and seeing what has changed since then. We seem so much jaded, and I think I kind of lost my sense of humour along the way!