No seriously, what did we do to deserve this? As you all know, everyone and their mama has been dealing with COVID-19, PTSD from COVID, or worse, family and friends dying from COVID. It’s been A LOT; mentally and physically. I truly miss my family, friends and damn it, my therapist. I feel like I need a really good, strong hug. You know the kind that are almost too long to be comfortable but tight enough to lighten the load, yeah, that kind of hug!
Being in the middle of a pandemic in 2020 isn’t ideal at all but I guess we can find solace in technology. Between the Tik Tok vids, Megan thee Stallion or Drake dance challenge, or Tory Lanez Quarantine Radio, what else can we do with our time but indulge in our mobile devices. I can’t be the only one, a bit over it. By the time 9pm comes around, I am tired! Tired of staring at my computer and phone screens. I can’t imagine what that little icon on my phone that keeps track of my “screen time” weekly is going to SCREAM at me and say. It’s probably going to flash warning signs, “OVERLOAD, OVERLOAD, you’ve been on me too much, GET OFF NOW!” I’m grateful to have technology in these hard times, but I know I’m not the only one having difficulty adjusting to this new normal. Working from home is really just work with no end; no boundaries, space, and compartmentalization. I can deal with a bit of mess but this…this is unprecedented MESS. Our grandparents, grandparents are rolling their graves like… “What is this shit?”
To ease my mind through the MESS, I have been trying to stay connected to my close friends and family. This weekend we did a thing. A childhood girl friend in our circle got engaged. We decided to throw her an engagement party via an app “HouseParty”. At first I was like, cute, we can do this. Everyone was told to bring a drank (I’m not indulging, so I brought water). And surprisingly, it was a good ass effing TIME. I mean GOOD TIME! I haven’t seen my core unit of friends in a LONG time because of life. We all have kids, and significant others, and like everyone else in the Universe, we just don’t have the time. But, this weekend, we made the time. I literally felt like we were in each other’s living room CUTTING UP!
HouseParty is a platform that allows you to host private video calls and alerts you when your friends are online ‘in the house’ and ready to mingle. You can also play games with members of your chat and I must say they’ve done a great job at simulating the high vibe energy of an actual party. While in Quarantineville, social happy hours are also now a thing.
I used this valuable time to reconnect with my NYC homies and damn it, I feel fulfilled without having to drive 3-½ hours from Baltimore to Brooklyn. I guess this is now the time we are living in. You can enjoy the intimacy of friendship and family through this mobile device you’re spending too much time on. I guess if you use it for good, it’s not so bad after all. My virtual social life includes parties on instagram live with popular DJ’s, online birthday parties and unfortunately, I’ve even attended virtual funerals. It’s weird, I won’t lie, but we can’t resist the laws of the Universe.
While I ease into my new normal and try to unravel this BIG MESS, I’ve had to accept that my own dreams and aspirations for MESS in a Bottle may be deferred or altered, or even finding a new way to adapt to everything happening around me. But just like Kanye said to us all, “I don’t have the answers SWAY”.