What’s most important to you right now? Not going crazy! Not feeling like I’m isolated. Weirdly trying to balance work with personal time. Because I’m in my own space I feel like I’m working and I think because it’s in my space it’s easier to lose track of time and then I’m like “oh crap, I didn’t read a book today!” or “I didn’t knit today!”
What was most important to you before you had to social distance/quarantine? I guess also doing things for myself! But I was doing things for myself, I wasn’t worried about it. I wasn’t thinking about it because it was like “you go to work for these hours and then you go home or go out for dinner or whatever” so while time for myself and seeing my friends was the important thing then, I wasn’t having to worry about it.
What’s the first thing you’ll do when this is over? Go see people. Touch people. Go to a bookstore. I really wish I could go to a bookstore now. I don’t even need to buy more books, I just want to go to a bookstore.
What are you doing to pass the time? I’m working. I have been watching tv at nighttime, and I’m making sure to knit while I watch TV because I think my default recently has been to look at my phone while I watch TV. Since I look at my computer for work, I don’t want to be in front of [another] screen. I don’t need to be looking at my phone while I’m looking at the TV. I’m making sure to also be knitting so that I can engage my brain in a more productive way. I’ve also been trying to read or do a crossword puzzle or something else good for my brain once I’m in bed.
What makes you happy right now? I’ve been reading to kids! At 5 o’clock every day I’ve been posting a Zoom link. We’ve been reading Charlotte's Web. We’re gonna read chapter 4 tonight. Every day kids have been joining me and then I post it on Facebook for anyone who hasn’t been able to join. I’ve really been excited about that. It’s nice to do something with other people even though I’m not physically with other people.
What would you tell yourself a month ago with the knowledge you have now? Don’t be a fucking dummy. I keep thinking how [when i went to New Orleans with friends]we were like “oh it’s not a big deal people need to chill out” and on the one hand I’m really embarrassed that we had that mentality and on the other hand I was speaking using the tools that I had. I was coming from a place of being as knowledgable as I think I could have been. I don’t know what I would tell myself because I wasn’t being an idiot. I didn’t know better.
