A few days ago a friend was in town. He had a day off from a tour with Buckcherry and wanted to meet up.
I said “you’re welcome to come over but I won’t be going anywhere”. In response he sent me this text:
“Out of curiosity are you quarantining / being careful or are you paranoid and crazy now? (Both are completely acceptable ) lol”
I had to laugh because at this point it’s pretty hard to tell.
Before the pandemic hit and the lockdown started I was already fairly reclusive. But I always had at least one or two things a week that put me around other people.
When the lockdowns started it was very easy for me to stay home and isolate. But over time I came to realize how important those one or two meetups a week were. Without them I felt like a ship lost at sea.
Now things are opening up again. I’ve had a double jab of one of the Trump administration’s experimental therapeutics. But I still find myself spending most of my time at home.
Am I being careful?
I’m not sure. But I’d like to think so. I’d like to think that a part of me is mature enough not to take unnecessary risk‘s with my health. But is the risk great enough at this point to justify never leaving home? I’m not sure.
Have I gone crazy?
I’m not sure about this one either. Part of me feels like I’ve always been crazy. And I’ve definitely always been weird in social situations. Has isolating during the pandemic made that part of me worse? It’s possible.
So am I being careful or crazy? I guess my best answer is a little bit of both.
The good news is that right now I’m writing this post at a cafe where I’ve just eaten my first meal outside of my house since March 2020.
So I guess things are looking up.
What about you? Did the pandemic put you in isolation? If so let me ask you the same question.
Are you quarantining / being careful or are you paranoid and crazy now? (Both are completely acceptable ) lol
I’ve been crazy all my life, and in 2020 I decided to move from the Midwest to East Africa. I now live over here, mostly normal, go out and about when I can. I still have a day job I work remotely, so I work during the night. Wishing you all, all the health and peace during this time!
wow – that’s one helluva move. Remote work cheers! What are the covid restrictions like in East Africa?
The pandemic has put me in insolation, and in my current quarantine shelter I’m mostly alone; my friends live in the other part of the house and we see each other once a week, sometimes less. I don’t mind the lack of human interaction at all, and I’ve found comfort and peace in being by myself. If the internet wasn’t around I would probably be singing a different tune though. I’m still cautious and I haven’t been out of the house much besides basic needs shopping. Tomorrow however I’m going to a friend’s house, wish me luck! It might be great or I might be emitting a high pitched scream at all times.
In conclusion. I’ve always been crazy, but now I am also being cautious.
The little visits like a friend coming over have been amazing after so much time on my own. I hope your trip to your friends house felt good.
It was so wonderful I stayed for an extra day. 😀
if we’re all unsettled that means it’s normal right?
working alone, especially in a zero sum field like AM doesn’t help.
it seems like we optimize to not need people but when things go sideways, it’s the only thing we really need.
i think starting a brand, investing with new partners or taking a board seat/consulting gig could keep that connection to people in a way that energizes instead of drains.
✌
lol yeah that’s how “normal” is usually created. If everyone’s doing it, it’s normal (even if the thing they’re doing is absolutely nuts)
I’ve always been a mostly solo traveler on this journey, but work provided me with enough social interaction to keep me solidly content in my aloneness. After switching departments and permanently moving to working from home, my old work friends and I have grown apart. They have their families and/or significant others… I have my albums and rich inner life. Complete isolation has not been great for my mental health, though. Even got a part time job at Chipotle a few months ago to have more human interaction and to (I’d hoped) appreciate my full time non-customer service job more. Lol That only lasted a month after my carpal tunnel flared up. Here in Oklahoma, pretty much everything’s gone back to business as usual, so I get to keep busy with events. I never feared for my own health and safety; just worried about bringing something back home when I visited. That really doesn’t concern me much anymore since everyone who wants one has had the jab, including myself. I crave deep conversations about this collective experience, but lack the outlet or audience. I don’t think I’m crazy enough to fit in around here anymore tho. Not that I really ever have. Madness might be my salvation after all!
“Madness might be my salvation after all!”… I may have thought that a few times as well… 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Rachael. Coffee cheers.
Rewake’s live version of, “Crazy,” came over my playlist as I was making dinner tonight! Made sure everyone on my block could hear it, too! 😀
Haha I love it… how appropriate. Crazy cheers!