Wow, it’s been a minute. Well, it’s literally been over a month. I’m in New York (where the pandemic is very, very bad) and for the past month I’ve been in a lockdown, self-isolating and working from home.
Video calls aside, I haven’t seen or interacted with anyone besides my parents and cats for the past month. It’s tough, but I know it’s for the best and I’m lucky to be able to work from home and have a home!
Anyway, while being home for weeks and weeks I’ve started to learn a lot of things about myself and whatnot. Here are some things I’ve learned during the pandemic … without getting political. I can’t even begin to discuss what’s going on in terms of healthcare, laws, and legislature!
1. No, this hasn’t made me want to “embrace my natural beauty” and throw away all of my makeup.
The first two weeks of self-isolation were the longest I’d gone without wearing makeup in a DECADE. It didn’t make my skin “better” (at points, it was actually worse) and although I’m now comfortable taking video calls for work sans makeup and on most days I don’t bother putting any on, I miss it.
There are still some days when I do a full face of makeup just because, and it makes me feel so much better.
2. Metal straws are incredible.
I finally started using one and I get the hype! It’s made me drink so much more water and it stays cold and it’s just great. Fully recommend.
3. I struggle to just sit and read now that I’m not commuting.
I used to spend the entirety of my commute to work (about an hour and 15 minutes each way) reading books. And although the New York Public Library is (sadly and understandably) closed for the next few weeks or months, I still have TONS of books to read. A shortage of material isn’t the problem.
I’m struggling to just sit and read. I’ve only read about two books since I’ve been home and normally I’d be finishing at least two per week. When I’m home reading I just find myself constantly thinking of what else I could be doing, even though that “something else” is often playing a video game or watching YouTube.
4. Animal Crossing is incredible, and I don’t regret purchasing my Nintendo Switch Lite.
I was on the fence about buying the Switch Lite for about two weeks before all of this happened since I knew I’d only use it to play one game, Animal Crossing New Horizons, and it’s pretty expensive.
But, after watching so many ACNH preview videos and having been a longtime Animal Crossing fan, I splurged and dropped over $250. And I am so glad I did, especially now that I have lots of extra time to play it and the console is sold out almost everywhere.
The game is wonderful and the Switch’s screen quality is great. My brother and I played Animal Crossing games together often growing up, and right before the pandemic he moved a few hours away with his fiancee, so I’m glad we both have this game! It gives us a bonus reason to keep in touch and I love that the game lets you send gifts back and forth, it’s like getting mail (but safely! and for free!).
5. I don’t enjoy ordering clothes online without knowing if/when I can return them.
I know a lot of stores are tweaking and extending their return policies, but I’m so picky about clothing and how it fits so I really haven’t been ordering many clothing items online. Sadly, I don’t have a ton of brand-specific loyalty so I often don’t know what size I am either (and those measurements in size guides aren’t always super accurate).
Because of this, I find myself scrolling through online stores for just about everything else. Fortunately, I am still fairly cheap and I’ve only purchased a few sale items.
6. I talk to my friends more than ever.
Knowing that most people aren’t too busy and are happy to have human interaction makes it a lot easier to just pick up your phone and FaceTime a friend. I feel like I’ve seen my friends’ faces more than I did when we all worked in the same city, just because of how much easier it is to make plans without even leaving home.
These plans are limited (Netflix Party, select games, straight-up conversation…), but it’s nice to be able to talk to everyone so often.
7. Loungewear is incredible and I’m learning which clothing items I really don’t wear often.
Most days, especially during the work-week, I get dressed. Sometimes getting dressed consists of leggings or sweatpants and a hoodie and other days it’s jeggings and a sweater.
I feel better and more productive when I wear clothes instead of pajamas, but I’ve quickly noticed that I reach for the same pieces over and over. It’s made it easy to figure out which clothing items I really don’t enjoy wearing much!
8. I’m saving a lot of money, but I’ve found a number of shopping weaknesses.
By not commuting or dining out, I’ve saved so much money. That said, I’ve found myself so tempted by a range of sales as many brands lower prices to get more customers.
I’ve ordered a bunch of things, including a giant cat tower for my cats, blue-light blocking glasses, some activewear from Old Navy for 50% off, a pair of nude Vans sneakers, and gifts for friends. I’m trying to reign it in, but I miss stores!! I miss shopping in them so much and trying on massive piles of clothes.
9. Sifting ingredients is so important, especially when you’re making bread.
As many others have, I made bread during this lockdown. My bread of choice is beer bread, especially since the recipe I have doesn’t require yeast, has few ingredients, and is so easy to make.
The first time I made it, I didn’t sift the flour (even though the recipe said it was very important). It was tasty, but very dense.
Then, I made it again a week later and sifted the flour twice. The bread was AWESOME. I love it. I love bread. Sifting flour is important and maybe I’ll start doing it when I make muffins, too. I’m aware this is probably common sense to most bakers, but I am learning!
10. YouTube has some really great workouts.
I’ve had phases where I followed YouTube workouts from the blogilates channel religiously, but I have been on and off about it for the past few years. Fortunately, by working from home, I have an extra four hours (from not commuting or doing my makeup to get ready) or so, and I’ve been trying to use at least one of those every other day or so to get moving.
I’ve been loving 305Fitness’ dance workouts, blogilates’ Pop Pilates workouts (especially the Call Me Maybe Mighty Squat Challenge, a classic), and even some random videos I find my searching terms like “pilates, strength, stretch, floor routine.”
The other day I did a workout meant specifically for dancers (I am not a dancer), but I loved it! I felt it stretching and strengthening my body and I’m still sore two days later. It feels good to be a little bit active, especially because most days I only take about 100 steps.
11. I’m grateful to not have travel plans (and I have no idea when I will next), but I miss the act of planning trips.
My friends and I had been talking about going to Portugal and Barcelona this summer, but that’s now on hold indefinitely. I love making spreadsheets and planning trips, so I miss that element (and frankly, I’m too sad to plan a trip without any actual plan or glimmer of a plan to go there) a lot.
12. My room isn’t quite as messy as I thought.
I’ve used this time to try to organize and declutter the crap out of EVERYTHING in my room. I feel like I’ve run out of things to sort and declutter at this point, and I’m a bit bummed.
13. Sending and receiving mail is delightful.
I sent some of my friends personalized doodles and letters already. Plus, one of my friends mailed me coloring pages and a letter and it really made my day. It’s so nice to take time and put effort into crafting beautiful letters to send and it’s also nice to receive them.
14. I’m very glad to still live at home.
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I’m not ready to move out just yet. All of this has made me realize how lucky I am to be home and how, even if I’d moved out, I’d probably have ended up right back home to safely wait out this pandemic and lockdown.
Obviously nothing in life is certain, but until the pandemic is under control I am in seriously no rush to move out of my home. Until then, I will continue saving my money, working hard, and enjoying spending time with my parents.
15. I really can’t listen to podcasts unless I’m commuting or walking.
I just don’t have the attention span. I also find that I don’t do many activities or tasks where I’m able to listen to podcasts. For example, I exercise to videos, which have sound. When I am doing work for my job, I can’t focus if I’m listening to a podcast.
And if I’m cleaning my room or baking, I prefer to have a YouTube video on because of the visual element. I’m going to have such a huge backlog of podcasts after all of this is (hopefully) over.
16. I get really overwhelmed when I have a plan or commitment (even a tiny one) most days of the week.
Last week or so I had a virtual happy hour, virtual game night, and video call planned for five out of seven evenings. It was so stressful and although it was really fun and energizing, I also found myself overwhelmed.
I’ve found that too many plans, even low-stakes, virtual ones make me feel overwhelmed and maybe I’m not as extroverted as I think I am. Verdict is still out.
17. I’m really enjoying comfort food and repeating dishes.
Beer bread? Amazing! I’ve eaten it almost every single day this week. I’ve also been loving eating chicken salad on pita breads, making pesto and mozzarella and balsamic glaze flatbreads, and eating pancakes with turkey bacon for dinner.
In terms of snacks, I’ve loved having Kozy Shack chocolate pudding, microwave popcorn, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and even just Cheerios as snacks. From a food standpoint, I’ve not missed dining out as much as I thought, though I’d love some boneless wings, spicy shrimp crunch rolls, or empanadas right now.
All in all, I don’t know how life will go back to normal after this.
I can’t imagine myself going into an office or commuting without being afraid. I don’t know when I’ll be inside a restaurant again, either. Will the library reopen? Will I ever go clothes shopping or even be able to (or feel comfortable) using a dressing room to try on clothes?
Will I remember my old routine, or will it even be the same? Will wearing a face mask become the new norm for every single day? Even when this is “over,” will I be able to see my friends and other family members?
This all feels so surreal and I feel very lucky, but it’s so hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel especially when I’m not quite sure what it’ll even look like.
So, yeah, those are the things I’ve learned about myself and my life during the pandemic. What’ve you learned?
