Day three of lockdown! Yesterday the supermarket was oddly full and I got the last bag of kindling. Success.
I was on-edge for the entire trip to the local. My anxiety – which has been crammed away neatly since I got here – sprung back up with a vengeance. It wasn’t so much the fact there were people (I’m ambivalent on the subject of people, in the literal definition of the word) but the way people were behaving. This is small-town NZ. The least likely place for anyone to be getting worried about a virus. And yet people stood in line outside wearing masks and gloves. That short-circuited my tiny brain.
In the height of the measles outbreak last year, I rode the bus every day with kids from Auckland Girls Grammar and St Paul’s College. For those who don’t know, those two schools have a lot of Pasifika students – the group with the lowest immunisation rates thanks to various failures of our public health system. Sure, I worried on the bus.
But it wasn’t the intense panic I felt at the supermarket. Which would, given the relative infectiousness of covid-19 vs measles (3 vs 14 on an actual scale they have for this sort of thing) suggest this panic entirely irrational.
But then, we didn’t have daily press conferences from the Prime Minister about measles. The country didn’t go into lockdown over measles. It wasn’t constantly present, making me wonder if every itch was impending illness.
So I did my shopping and ran back to my bubble.
In the past 24 hours I’ve had three video calls with some far-flung pals, I have an online ballet class this afternoon, and a virtual pub quiz tonight.
I think I have more of a social life in my bubble of one than I do normally.
Usually I can manage to update three social media accounts at one time. Unfortunately I have four social media sites which I try to use on a regular basis – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. All have their various different strengths, but I notice that I can never regularly check up on more than three.
Right now I am Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Usually I don’t do Instagram since my phone camera is rubbish and I was the only one to fail the photography module at journalism school.
Plus, I don’t go for nice brunches, I don’t do picturesque walks, and I’m often unsure if I have any friends.
But since the whole world is isolating, and I am lucky enough to do so at a very nice spot, I’m posting to Instagram. I even sang (introducing a number of folks to the concept of a countertenor in the process) and people watched it. I mean, they might not have enjoyed it, but I got a couple of compliments amongst the “has your voice broken mate” comments.
We’re all oversharing from the comfort of our own homes. And since even the fanciest house won’t stay tidy when there are two kiddies and no cleaner to pick up after them, everyone has kind of ended up on a more even footing. My lonely runs and shakey camera skills can’t hide the fact I am spending a month in a place that is intensely picturesque. In the social media world of lockdown, suddenly I am the one who can offer some envious updates. Though most of the people in my Insta circle are showing their home gym setups.
In the meantime, Tumblr has completely dropped off my radar. I wonder if they miss me…
Image Credit:
Markus Spiske