Day two of self-isolation, and it’s already showing me the little things we take for granted.
The start of today was a bit of a shock. To hear the latest restrictions put in place to battle the COVID-19 outbreak, will, without a doubt, hit the entertainment and hospitality industry the most.
The new rules see non-essential indoor gatherings restricted to 100 or below, while those taking place outside will be limited to 500 or below. There was a moment where the ever scary reality hit me that after my fourteen days are up, I might not have a job to go back to.
It’s devastating to see so many venues closing their doors indefinitely. I was starting to freak out a little. That was until I had a phone call with my boss. He’s pretty old school if that makes sense. So he can be pretty blunt. However, it was exactly what I needed.
For now, the venues that I work at will continue to work with licensing utilising their different spaces to deliver service, live music, and entertainment. So for now, it feels like I’m one of the lucky ones. But with the unknown state of things, that could all change tomorrow. I’ve come to accept what will be will be.
So most of my day was spent doing what I could do for work from home. Pretty sure this gif sums up the majority of my day sitting in front of my computer.
I’ll be lying if I said I wasn’t suffering a little cabin fever. I’ve been greatly thankful for those that have dropped me messages to check in on me. However, it wasn’t until this evening that I realised precisely what I’ve been missing.
I ran out of cigarettes, and my vape just wasn’t cutting it. Words cannot express how great my housemate is. We’ve been renting this apartment for like three weeks. However, we’ve only lived under the roof together for a total of 12 hours since. And that was before I flew to Japan.
She went on a mission to grab me ciggies. But it was seeing her for the first time looking down at her from the balcony it actually hit me. Something I didn’t realise I had been taking for granted. The presence of another human being. I actually found myself with tears in my eyes.
With more than enough distance between the two of us, we were able to have a brief catch up. While it may not be the same as having someone directly in front of me, it was the next best thing. It also reminded me of Romeo and Juliet. They were forbidden to be in love. We were forbidden at least for fourteen days to be directly in each other’s presence.
I know now, this is probably going to be my biggest struggle with self-isolation. The simple act of sharing the presence of another human being is something we take for granted. It now makes sense why solitary confinement is seen as such a punishment in prisons.
While I know today’s little social interaction will be far and in between in the coming days, it’s proved just enough to snap me out of falling into a bottomless pit of overthinking.
My advice to fellow self-isolators? Facetime a friend! Honestly, seeing the smiling face of another human makes so much more of a difference than reading words on a screen. For those that have friends in self-isolation, reach out to them. You don’t realise how much more of a difference you will be making in their lives.
Now here are two cute snow monkeys I took a photo of back when I was in Japan.
Facebook Comments