Tag Archives: virtual

Having More Virtual Movie Nights (or Still Trying To Be Social)

Posted on December 16, 2021 | Comments Off on Having More Virtual Movie Nights (or Still Trying To Be Social)

The movie club group I started has been going for almost 2 years. It’s crazy to think we’ve been doing this for that long. But then again it’s crazy to think we are almost at 2 years of this pandemic. And this movie club group has been something that kept me sane during this entire time. The group started as just movies one day a week. Then it became tv shows one day and movies another day. And over these 2 years, I feel like I’ve gotten to know the group that joins in each week.

We have a pretty small group with only about 20 people, but there’s also a smaller group of us who seem to have really clicked. Even though none of us have met each other in real life, I feel like I know them. And we are always randomly texting each other and filling the others in on our lives. Honestly, they have become really close friends and I think that this would have only happened during a pandemic. All of us lost bits of our lives over the past 2 years, and that’s how we found each other and clicked.

Most of the time, we text about positive or silly things. But we also share things we struggle with. And a lot of us have been struggling lately with feeling a bit down. I think a lot of this has to do with the weather and how short the days are. When I’m done with work, it’s dark. I’m out in the mornings to go to my workout, but I don’t really see much daylight each day since I work all day long. I’m not the only one feeling like this, and so my text group decided that we would add in another movie night for our group.

We already had a 3rd night of watching together with a few of us watching The Bachelor/Bachelorette/Bachelor In Paradise together each week (since it’s so much more fun when you are doing commentary with friends during the episodes). But for the past few weeks, we also have been having one random night with cheesy holiday movies. They typically are the type of movies that are so bad they are good and watching them together makes it more entertaining.

I know that I’m still home alone and looking at a screen, but it’s still time for me to be social each week. I don’t really go out too much. I try to go out when I can, but unless I have something already planned, I find it hard to feel motivated. Once I’m done with work, I don’t really feel like leaving my house. I know this is also a bit of burnout, but I think it’s more about not wanting to go out in the dark and still being hesitant with Covid. So if my social life has to be a screen for a bit longer, I don’t think that’s the worst thing. It’s better to do this than to watch things alone and feel like I’m on my own little planet again. At least this way, I feel like I’m spending time with others and not isolated.

I don’t think this extra movie night will be something we keep up for too long. When the days start to get longer again, hopefully things will be easier for us all to plan outside of our homes. But for now, I’m just grateful that I have a group I can rely on to be there for me virtually as I still try to figure out how to have a life while staying safe during a pandemic.

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Default ThumbnailSo Many Virtual Movie Nights (or Thank Goodness For Technology) Default ThumbnailEnjoying Movie Nights (or Watching My Screeners) Default ThumbnailFinding A Social Life Where I Can (or Virtual Parties and Distance Hangouts) Default ThumbnailGetting Ready For A Fun Rewatch (or More Netflix Parties) Default ThumbnailCraving Social Interaction (or Staying Away And Staying Online) Default ThumbnailWorking In A Social Media Outage (or There Were Some Good Things That Happened)

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Posted in Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff

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Another Speaker Series Night (or Watching Obama)

Posted on October 12, 2021 | Comments Off on Another Speaker Series Night (or Watching Obama)

I’ve been lucky to get to watch the San Jose Speaker Series a few times because my parents had an extra ticket. Right now, the series is still virtual, so they can watch from wherever they are in the world and I’m able to watch from LA. I know that one day it will be in-person again and I won’t be able to enjoy these. But I’m grateful that I get to do so now. And when my parents were here about a month ago, they showed me the upcoming series and I immediately saw one that I was interested in getting their extra ticket if they had it.

I knew that I wouldn’t necessarily get the extra ticket since sometimes my parents give them to a friend, but I asked if I could have it if they had it available.  And when the lecture was coming up this past week, my dad let me know that it was mine if I wanted it! And of course, I said that I did!

I’ve learned from the few times I’ve watched these lectures about how to make it the best setup for me. It’s done over Zoom, and it’s best if I run it through my laptop and then use AirPlay to send it to my AppleTV. And I also learned from the past to double and triple check the start time so I don’t miss the beginning of it. I also set an alert on my calendar so I wouldn’t miss the start time. Thankfully, this time things went a lot smoother for me with setting everything up so I was ready to watch and sitting on my couch with a little bit of time to spare!

The only negative for me this time was that I was feeling pretty nauseous that day so I wasn’t as focused on watching as I could have been. I did try to time out my medications so I would be feeling my best while watching, but I was distracted by feeling sick and I know that I missed parts of what President Obama said.

But even with feeling sick and missing some parts of it, I really enjoyed this lecture! President Obama had some fun stories to share about his time as president and his life in politics. And I appreciated how he was honest about things that were tough for him during his presidency and where he might have been able to improve. I think admitting flaws or imperfections is a positive character trait because it shows you can grow from your past.

I do wish these lectures were recorded because I would love to watch them again and see what I missed. And I know that because of other distractions in my life that I had moments when I zoned out. Even though I really tried to focus, sometimes my mind wanders. And if I could rewatch this then I could see the parts that I missed the first time.

I’m still so grateful that my parents let me have their extra ticket for this. President Obama was the first speaker for this new series, so maybe I’ll get a chance to watch another one this season. And I’m guessing that after this season, as long as things are safer, the next season will be back to in-person so I won’t have this same opportunity. But I’ve been enjoying them, even when things aren’t always going my way, and I’m going to appreciate whatever lectures I can watch even if this was my last one.

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Default ThumbnailAnother Speaker Series Evening (or I Really Should Read Emails) Default ThumbnailA Night Of Learning (or Watching A Lecture Online) Default ThumbnailWatching History Happen (or Actually Enjoying A Political Morning) Default ThumbnailBig Musical Instead of Big Game (or Another Sunday Night Out) Default ThumbnailA Night Of SAG Awards (or Watching Union Unity) Default ThumbnailAnother Night Of Debate Watching (or Trying To Have Some Fun With This)

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Another Speaker Series Evening (or I Really Should Read Emails)

Posted on May 25, 2021 | Comments Off on Another Speaker Series Evening (or I Really Should Read Emails)

Earlier this year, I got to be on a Zoom for a speaker series that my parents subscribe to. The speaker was W. Kamau Bell and it was an incredible talk. I know my parents miss getting to go to those in person, but since they are online they can share one of their tickets with someone else. They have been enjoying other speakers this year and have invited friends of theirs to use the other ticket. But last week, my dad asked me if I wanted to be a part of another one.

I would have said yes without knowing who the speaker was since I knew it would be a great talk. But I was excited to find out that the speaker this time was going to be documentary filmmaker Ken Burns. I haven’t seen too many of his documentaries, but I love documentaries in general and thought this would be an amazing chat to learn about all the different movies he has done and he would be full of stories.

When my dad asked if I wanted to have the extra ticket, I was working so I took a note of the information from it. He told me the start time and let me know he’d be forwarding me an email with the link to the Zoom. I saw the email come in but didn’t worry about opening it since I had notes of when things would start.

That day, I went about my day like normal, planning for watching the Zoom later in the evening. I had a pretty relaxing evening before logging in and took my time making dinner and then doing some reading. Then, when I finally opened the email, I realized I wrote down the wrong start time! I had written down that it started at 8pm when it started at 7pm!

I was so mad at myself for this! If I had just opened the email earlier I would have seen this. But I was so sure since I wrote down a start time that I had it right. But I’m guessing I was distracted enough with work that I misheard my dad or wrote down the wrong thing. But instead of worrying about it too much, I tried to get logged in as quickly as possible. Since I was trying to log in early to have time before I thought it would start, I was about 45 minutes late and not a full hour late.

And even though I only got to hear the second half of the talk, it still was awesome. I haven’t seen a lot of his documentaries, but this talk made me want to check more of them out. And I loved hearing about the stories behind the filming and what inspires him to find new projects.

There is a chance that my parents will get a recording of the talk that they can forward to me so I can see what I missed. But even if I can’t, I’m still glad I was able to watch some of it. Even though I am starting to do more stuff outside of my house, I like having virtual events too. I can be a bit more relaxed at home for virtual events and that’s always nice.

The speaker series that my parents are a part of is done for this season and next season will be starting later this year. If they have more virtual events, maybe I’ll get to watch more of them. I hope I do because I do enjoy these deep dives into someone who is an expert or master of their field. And this particular series gets some of the most amazing speakers to be a part of it.

I just know that next time, I’ll look at the email to confirm the time instead of thinking I wrote it down correctly so I don’t end up missing half of the talk.

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Default ThumbnailA Night Of Learning (or Watching A Lecture Online) Default ThumbnailThe World Series (or I Try Not To Be The Dumb Girl Asking Questions About Sports) Default ThumbnailTrying To Find More Fun (or Being More Ok With Spending Some Money) Default ThumbnailAnd Another Virtual Party (or A Secret Santa Hangout) Default ThumbnailInside The Box (or Enjoying Some Virtual Theater) Default ThumbnailSaturday Evening With My Parents (or I’m Posting A Little Out Of Order About My Weekend)

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Trying A New Type Of Virtual Date (or Having A Trivia Night)

Posted on May 11, 2021 | Comments Off on Trying A New Type Of Virtual Date (or Having A Trivia Night)

For most of last year, it was very difficult to try to date. There were so many concerns about the pandemic and needing to trust someone who you don’t necessarily know to make sure you were being safe. I rarely met anyone in person, and the few time I did, it was usually outside while wearing masks. It’s not easy to date that way and get to know someone. There is a weird disconnect when you can’t see someone’s full face.

So I tried a few different virtual dating options. I did virtual movie nights using Netflix Party (now called Teleparty). I did phone calls and video dates and was grateful that so many of the apps incorporated these features into the apps so I didn’t have to give out my phone number to someone I haven’t met. And at least with video dating, I could see what someone looks like outside of just the photos they post. Seeing someone move around on the screen shows a better idea of their look.

And recently, I’ve been venturing into in-person dating again. It’s still something that makes me a little nervous as far as pandemic safety goes, but as things are getting better I feel better about going out to date. And as more places start to open up, it at least gives me some options for where I can go for a date. It’s still not easy, but I’m glad it’s an option now when I didn’t have it before.

But there are still plenty of reasons to do a virtual date before an in-person date. I do look forward to when I can quickly and easily suggest to someone that we should meet up for a drink or coffee since in-person chemistry is so important to me. But there are still people who are high risk for getting sick or haven’t gotten the vaccine yet. And there are other guys that I’m matching with that aren’t super close to where I live. I don’t mind having to go to the valley for a date, but it’s not something I always want to do if I’m unsure about a person. So I continue to do virtual dates.

And it seems like some of the apps are trying to make virtual dates more than just a phone or video call. Having something to do on a virtual date makes it a little less awkward (which is part of the reason why I like doing virtual movie nights). A little while ago, I noticed that Bumble added a new virtual date option for a trivia game called Night In. I hadn’t had a chance to use it when it was released, but I did finally have a virtual date with it over this past weekend.

Night In is a trivia game that has 3 rounds and each round has 5 questions. You are in a video call with the other person and you work together to answer each question. You both have to press on the answer to see if you are right or not. You aren’t competing against anyone else, it’s just a way to have an icebreaker for a virtual date.

And I have to say that it was a really fun way to move beyond just texting with someone and getting to know them a bit. You learn about what random things they know about or how they try to solve a question they don’t know the answer to. We didn’t do that great with the trivia. We usually got either 2 out of 5 or 3 out of 5 right. There were a few that we disagreed on, but the answer the other person wanted was right. But again, it wasn’t a competition with anyone else, so it was ok that we didn’t get that many correct.

The only downside to using this for a virtual date was that there was a time limit to answer each question. I think it was about a minute for each one. So there wasn’t a ton of time to chat while we were playing or to discuss why we thought an answer was right. But after we completed all 3 rounds, we did continue our video call and got to know each other a bit more. I’m not sure there will be an in-person date or not, but I did get to know him better than I had over text. And there wasn’t a long time waiting for an answer to a question like there is with text.

I know that eventually, I might not do any form of virtual dating. I do see the benefit of a phone or video call before meeting in person because I have decided I didn’t want to meet someone from a call. But at the same time, I usually just prefer to meet in person. I know it has the potential to be a waste of time, but I don’t have such a crazy schedule that wasting an afternoon messes too much up for me.

But at least for now, I’m grateful for the options I have. Dating is hard to begin with, but it’s been so much harder since last year. So anything that gives me options and the ability to feel safe while dating is appreciated and something I’m glad I have to use if I feel like it’s the right first step.

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Default ThumbnailStill Figuring Out Dating During COVID (or Phone Calls, Video Chats, And Social Distances Meetups) Default ThumbnailMore Thoughts On Pandemic Dating (or I Wish I Didn’t Miss Dating As Much) Default ThumbnailStill Trying To Figure Out Pandemic Dating (or Sometimes You Can’t Plan For Things) Default ThumbnailDating In Isolation (or Another Thing I’m Trying To Keep Normal) Default ThumbnailLots Of Virtual Meetings (or Virtual Union Meetings) Default ThumbnailSo Many Virtual Movie Nights (or Thank Goodness For Technology)

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Doing More OTF Live (or Easing Back Into More Hard Workouts)

Posted on March 22, 2021 | Comments Off on Doing More OTF Live (or Easing Back Into More Hard Workouts)

Last week, I wrote about how I tried my first OTF Live workout. It was a bit of a shock to my system because it was so much harder than most of the workouts I’ve been doing. But I also know that it probably is easier doing one of the OTF Live workouts than it is to do a regular studio workout. That made me a bit nervous but also motivated me to start working harder. I know I won’t be back in the studio right now, but it’s getting closer and closer to being an option.

So when my Orangetheory studio said they were going to continue doing community classes through this past week, I knew I was going to do more. Community classes allow us to take classes even if we aren’t technically current members. My membership has been on hold since the studios shut down just over a year ago. If I want to do some of the OTF Outdoor classes, they have a different membership level I can join at since I won’t necessarily need my full membership. And that outdoor workout level will also include the OTF Live classes. But since I didn’t want to start up my membership just yet, having community classes was perfect!

Because of my schedule and the times the OTF Live classes were available, I was able to do 2 OTF Live classes last week and then did 2 weightlifting workouts on my own. The weightlifting workouts were good. I think it’s getting hard to be super enthusiastic about them when I am comparing them to the OTF Live workouts. But like I always say, something is better than nothing. And I think doing those workouts is less frustrating for me than trying to find another video workout. But if I could have done all 4 workouts with OTF Live, I probably would have done so.

But I also think it was for the best that I only did half my workouts with OTF Live. Because they are harder than what I’ve been doing for a while, I need to ease back into them. Even though I haven’t worked out in the studio in a year, I still remember what I was able to do there. And it’s hard not to try to go that hard at home. But I can’t do that just yet. My body needs to work back up to where I was. And I forget that while in the workout a lot. But after the workout is done and the soreness sets in, it hits me.

But I really enjoyed the Live workouts. The coaching makes it so much better than doing a video. Feeling like I’m working out with a group and not alone makes me happier. And even though I can’t push myself as much as I used to, it is still pushing me to do better and work harder. I don’t slack off when I’m doing the Live workouts. Part of it is to not let others see me slack off but I also feel pushed to do and try more in that environment.

This week, the community classes are done and if I want to do more Live workouts I need to restart my membership. And I might do that since I know soon I’ll be doing the outdoor workouts. As I’m writing this post, I haven’t gotten my second vaccine yet. But as you are reading it, I have gotten the second one. But because I’m writing this before the vaccine, I have no idea how I will feel this week. I want to hope that I will be able to do 4 workouts this week, but I might be taking Monday (today) off. It just depends on how hard the side effects hit me.

But once I’m feeling better after the vaccine, I’m going to look more into starting an OTF membership for the Live and Outdoor classes. I still don’t plan on trying an outdoor one until I’m fully vaccinated in 2 more weeks, but doing the Live ones will be worth it as long as I’m feeling ok. But if I feel off all week this week, I’m not going to push myself to do them. I have workouts I can do at home and be ok with them. And if that’s what I do this week, that’s still good.

Each week, I’m closer and closer to being back in the studio at the workouts that I have missed so much over the past year. But I’m glad I’m finding steps to bridge the difference between my home workouts and the studio ones. Hopefully, by the time I am back in the studio, I will be ready and it won’t be as much of a shock to my system.

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Default ThumbnailOne Step Closer To My Regular Workouts (or Trying OTF Live) Default ThumbnailTrying Other Types Of OTF At Home Workouts (or Adding More Variety) Default ThumbnailReally Getting Ready To Get Back To My Workouts (or I’m Not Sure I’m Ready To Work That Hard Yet) Default ThumbnailStill Figuring Out My Workouts (or I’m Just Missing OTF More And More) Default Thumbnail6 Months Of Home Workouts (or I Still Miss OTF All The Time) Default ThumbnailSome Of My Best And Worst Workouts (or A New Type Of Home Workouts)

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Posted in Fitness, Fun Stuff

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More Virtual Union Meetings (or Hopefully We Will Be Back To In-Person Meetings Soon)

Posted on March 18, 2021 | Comments Off on More Virtual Union Meetings (or Hopefully We Will Be Back To In-Person Meetings Soon)

Over the past year, I’ve done a lot of virtual meetings regarding SAG-AFTRA. Some of them are more official and some of them are unofficial but still related to union service. I’m not sure if I’ve been a part of more meetings than normal since virtual ones are easier to attend, but I know that it hasn’t been as big of a decrease as I feared at first. There are different virtual meetings and events to attend each week and I only have been a part of a small portion of those. But whenever there is a bigger official meeting, I do my best to be a part of it.

There haven’t been a lot of big meetings lately, but there have been a few. There was one last year regarding the health plan that I made sure to be a part of. Even though I’m not eligible for union healthcare, I wanted to understand what was going on so I could try to help other members who had questions. I also like to understand what is going on because then when I’m eligible in the future I will already have some knowledge about the system. I did that before I joined the union. I attended several meetings that were open to non-union members so I didn’t join without understanding a lot of the union benefits and the important people I should know about.

I do miss attending the Local Board meetings. I was doing really great with attending those each month. And while they are doing those meetings over Zoom these days, they are not open to observers like the in-person meetings are. But as soon as those are able to have observers again, I plan on being back there and being as active and involved in the union as I can.

But last week, there was another big official meeting. The LA Local Membership meeting is an open meeting to all members of the LA Local. Normally, it’s held in a big room and there is an expo before the meeting so members can learn about different committees and services that the LA Local has. And during the meeting, there is a lot of information given, like how things have been going for the union and the progress of things coming up. And for the second half of the meeting, it’s a Q&A where you can ask the local leaders questions about anything union-related. Some people have questions about contracts, some ask about the health and pension plans, and some are more general questions.

Something I love about the LA Local Membership meeting is getting to see so many of my friends. I usually am socializing before and after the meeting. Sometimes a little socializing during the meeting too. But I usually am trying to pay attention and see what new things are happening that I need to be aware of. It’s a long meeting and full of information, but it’s always something I am glad I attended.

This year, obviously they couldn’t have the meeting the way they usually do. So it was done on Zoom with only the leaders being seen. There were presentations about a few things, but not as many as they have done during the in-person meetings. I don’t know if they were trying to keep more time open for the Q&A or if there wasn’t as much to present. But I’m glad they did keep the Q&A time because I know I had a lot of friends that had questions. I had some questions I wanted to ask too, but I couldn’t stay on Zoom the entire time and I didn’t want my turn to come up when I wasn’t on there. So I just listened to what other members asked.

And most of the questions were things that I expected to hear about. Some of the same questions that we are used to hearing at these meetings and some that are specific to this time. Being safe on sets and at auditions is a big concern for everyone, but the union has been doing a great job and creating guidelines for how to accomplish that.

While I didn’t get to meet anyone new in person like I normally do, I did connect to someone through social media after they asked a question that I was able to help with. I’m glad I was still able to help a member, but it was weird having to find them on social media and hope they were ok with a random person messaging them. Fortunately, they were ok with me doing that and I was able to get them connected to others who I thought they should know.

While this was still a really great and productive meeting, I was a bit sad that it was done virtually. So much of what I love about union service is meeting new people in person and connecting with them. You can’t really do that over Zoom. And I think most of us are ready to be done with virtual meetings and seeing people face to face again. But we can’t do that just yet. Things are getting safer, but they aren’t safe just yet. And I don’t know what it will take for meetings to be in person again, but I do trust that whatever the union decides to do, there will be a lot of thought behind it. So I am ok with them not rushing back, but at the same time, I can’t wait for it to happen.

Hopefully, this was one of my last big union events that will be done virtually. I know there is some chance of things coming up that will be virtual, like the National Convention, but that’s also half a year away. Nothing has been decided yet and so much can change between now and then. All I can do is continue attending the things that I can and try to find ways to still be involved and make connections. And I’m sure it won’t be long before I am back to attending things in person and maybe I’ll even start missing the time that I attended things virtually.

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Default ThumbnailMore Virtual Union Meetings (or It’s Funny I Wrote About This Not Long Ago) Default ThumbnailLots Of Virtual Meetings (or Virtual Union Meetings) Default ThumbnailA Virtual Holiday Party (or Missing My Union So Much) Default ThumbnailAnother Union Meeting (or Getting Into The Routine Of Things) Default ThumbnailFinal Union Working Meeting For 2017 (or A Commercial Roundtable) Default ThumbnailYou Are The Union (or Finding More Ways To Educate Other Union Members)

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So Many Virtual Movie Nights (or Thank Goodness For Technology)

Posted on July 9, 2020 | Comments Off on So Many Virtual Movie Nights (or Thank Goodness For Technology)

I’ve been doing movie nights with Netflix Party with friends for a while now. Honestly, this is what is keeping me sane a lot of the time. I have scheduled NP nights with a FB group every Wednesday and Saturday. Knowing I have those in my schedule gives me something to look forward to.

There are so many things I miss while in quarantine. But one big one is having a communal experience with others. There is something about seeing a movie or a play in a theater and knowing everyone else in that room is seeing the same thing that you are. Watching movies alone at home isn’t the same. So when quarantine started and I was watching a lot of movies on streaming programs, that communal experience feeling was what I was lacking. Thank goodness for NP because it has allowed me to feel like I’m experiencing that just a little bit.

Some of the other streaming services have been setting up their versions of Netflix Party, but so far I haven’t been able to use them. Some of them are only available to subscribers at a specific level and some of them are dealing with too many glitches. We had issues with the glitch problem this past Friday. My regular NP group decided to do a bonus night and watch “Hamilton” together. We wanted to test out the Disney+ Party app, but it was down because so many people were watching at the same time.

So what we decided to do was all get our TVs set and ready to go, and I did a group FB call to everyone to count down when we would start. And we had a specific FB chat group to talk to each other while watching. In some ways, it was nicer because I could watch on my TV instead of my computer. But it’s also nice watching on my computer with NP because the chat is right next to the movie and I don’t have to keep looking down at my phone. But I’m so glad that we decided to watch it together because it made the night so much more fun!

The group was almost equally split between those of us who had seen the show in person and those who had not. I should have seen it a second time by now, but then again if quarantine hadn’t happened I doubt the movie would have been available since it was supposed to come out in theaters next year. But I think I would have enjoyed it just as much if not more if I hadn’t seen it.

It’s rare to see a good movie version of a stage musical. But this does it almost perfectly. I loved seeing the closeups that I never could experience seeing the show live. I love how they do show the full stage and it doesn’t feel like they turned the show into a movie. It just feels like a wonderful and special experience of seeing the stage show.

This was something special to get to watch with friends virtually and I’m glad we could set it up. We probably won’t be doing movie nights with streaming services besides Netflix for now because of the simplicity of the app, but I do hope the other apps fix their glitches and open up to all subscribers so we can expand what we watch.

And besides expanding what we what, I have been expanding who I have been watching movies with. For the most part, it has been the same group that I watch together on Wednesday and Saturday (I call the group the Movie Club). And I do love watching movies with them. Occasionally, I have set up a Netflix Party night with other groups of friends for a one-off movie night. Nothing that is a regular schedule like the Movie Club, but it is nice to get to watch with others.

But this week, I also had my first virtual date using Netflix Party. It was with a guy that I matched with almost a month ago. We have been texting every day and having phone calls a few times a week. We haven’t been able to meet yet (which is so weird to me), but hopefully, we can find a way to safely do it soon. But we wanted to do something different than just talking on the phone so I suggested a movie night on NP. We ended up watching 2 movies (we each picked one) and it was really fun. It was very different from when I have a big group watching, but it was nice and again made it feel like we were having a communal experience. I have a feeling I will have another virtual movie night with him soon.

So many people have said how much harder being isolated would be without technology. And I completely agree. And it’s not just the normal technology like social media and texting keeping me ok. It’s all the new technology things like Netflix Party that helps to bring a sense of normalcy to this very abnormal life. I bet that there will be more apps like this that will help bring people together coming since there is a huge demand for them right now. But I hope they continue because I have enjoyed finding ways to stay connected with friends and family that don’t live near me. I’ve been able to get closer to people while staying away from so many. It’s such a wonderfully weird time we live in.

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Default ThumbnailGetting Ready For A Fun Rewatch (or More Netflix Parties) Default Thumbnail“A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood” (or Doing A Rare Movie Review) Default ThumbnailA Virtual Musical Night (or Trying To Replicate My Routine) Default ThumbnailEnjoying Movie Nights (or Watching My Screeners) Default ThumbnailVirtual Memorial Day (or Doing The Best We Can For Now) Default ThumbnailFinding A Social Life Where I Can (or Virtual Parties and Distance Hangouts)

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Virtual Memorial Day (or Doing The Best We Can For Now)

Posted on May 27, 2020 | Comments Off on Virtual Memorial Day (or Doing The Best We Can For Now)

Usually for Memorial Day weekend, I spend time with my friends at a BBQ. It’s usually a pretty low-key hangout, but it’s a great opportunity to see my friends and spend some time having fun. Typically, I haven’t seen that group of friends since the Oscar party, so I am excited to see them. The same group gets together and we all get along so well. And we all have the same type of friendship with each other that we can just pick up wherever we left off and it doesn’t matter how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other.

But this year, of course, things are different. I don’t know if I realized that this BBQ wouldn’t be happening until recently. Time is a weird thing during this pandemic and I didn’t realize Memorial Day was almost here. But once I did notice it on the calendar, I started to get a bit sad. When this all started. I doubt anyone thought it would last until Memorial Day. Now, they are hoping for reopening around the 4th of July, but I also know that can be changed and maybe it will last longer than that. But I also know that this is necessary to keep us all as healthy as possible.

I messaged my friend Marie to see if they were going to do anything virtual for Memorial Day, and I think I messaged her just as they were starting to see what they could do. I was so glad that they were going to plan something so I could have a bit of my regular life on Memorial Day. They planned a big group Zoom hangout that was supposed to start at 1 pm. While I am usually one of the first people to their parties, I have never been the very first person. But I was the first guest that arrived at the virtual party.

It was so good to see Marie and Chris! I have missed all of my friends so much, and I haven’t gotten to see many of them virtually since this all started. I was so happy that I was tearing up at seeing familiar faces. And we had a few moments to chat before lots of other people were joining in! People were popping in and out, so there was never a time that I could have gotten a photo with everyone in the virtual party at one time but this shows a lot of people who were there.

There was a good-sized group the entire time I was in the Zoom party. I was able to stay for about 2 or 3 hours before I needed to leave and get some things done around my house. And yes, we did have some issues with people talking over each other since we had so many people there at once, but we also joked that the parties are like that in real life too.

And some people really did have some fun with the idea of a virtual party. Marie and Chris used a video for a virtual background and the video was a 30-minute loop that mainly was just their empty entryway but occasionally had them walking through the frame and opening doors. So it was like they had evil twins appearing from time to time. That made all of us laugh so much. Other people used other still images for virtual backgrounds. And one person made Chris and Marie’s house their background and that made us all smile. Some people even did outfit/costume changes from time to time, which was something special and unique with doing a virtual party. And of course, everyone who had a dog showed them off at some point. That was one of my favorite things.

There were a few moments when I felt sad because I really wanted to be with my friends in real life and not just seeing them on a screen. I was a little frustrated by seeing so many people around the country not keeping a distance from others and wishing that I could do the same. I don’t know if the people doing that don’t worry about this virus or where they live there are no cases. But in LA, there is no way I can believe that being around others would be ok right now. And I know that eventually, I will be with my friends again and the only way to keep us all healthy is to stay apart for now.

But even with the rare moments of sadness, for the most part this was an amazing way to try to spend time with some of the people I love. I would have been more upset if I hadn’t seen them at all. And we were all talking about how amazing it will be when we have our epic in-person reunion (we are all hoping we can do that for Halloween, but it will depend on a lot). Seeing friends virtually isn’t as great as being together in person, but it is so much better than not seeing them at all. And we all know how lucky we are that we were able to do this at all. To go through this pandemic without the internet would have been so much worse. But we can do virtual things like this and stay connected while having to be apart.

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Default ThumbnailA Game Filled Party (or Being Competitive With My Friends) Default ThumbnailPre-Memorial Day BBQ (or Making Drunk Fruit) Default ThumbnailAnother Virtual Friend Hangout (or Trying Not To Miss A Summer Tradition Too Much) Default ThumbnailSo Many Virtual Movie Nights (or Thank Goodness For Technology) Default ThumbnailFinding A Social Life Where I Can (or Virtual Parties and Distance Hangouts) Default ThumbnailHaving A Lot Of Repeat Days (or More Organizing and More Virtual Hangouts)

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Craving Social Interaction (or Staying Away And Staying Online)

Posted on March 20, 2020 | Comments Off on Craving Social Interaction (or Staying Away And Staying Online)

Even though I’m not someone who goes out every single day or spends a ton of time surrounded by others, I’m already feeling extra isolated and lonely right now. The few regular things that I do that are social (such as my workouts) are gone from my schedule. And the events that were coming up that I was excited about were canceled. My calendar is empty with the exception of work right now. And even though I can chat with my co-workers while I work, it’s still a solo thing.

I know that being isolated is the best thing for my health and the health of others. I might be at a slightly higher risk of getting sick, but I’m still low risk. But I have many people in my life who are very high risk and it’s not worth it for me to potentially pass something to them. So I’m staying away from people and I know it is for the best. I have no clue how long we will have to do this, but I don’t see it ending in the next week or two like some others were thinking. I hope it’s not more than a few months, but I know I have to work on not feeling more isolated already. It hasn’t even been a full week and I’m already feeling it and notice changes in my mental health.

But on Wednesday, I did get a nice dose of some socializing. In the morning, one of my friends came over because she needed to borrow an iPhone cable. It turned out I had the wrong cable, but it did allow us time to talk. She stayed in her car and I was by my front door, so we were easily more than 6 feet apart (what the current recommendation is for keeping distance from others). We were talking about a few random things and it was probably under 10 minutes, but it was the most in-person socializing I had gotten this week. It really did improve my mood and outlook and I’m so grateful I got that little boost.

And that evening, I had my first movie night in with friends. I think I’ll be doing a lot of these, but we used an extension for our web browsers so we were all watching the same thing at the same time and we had a text chat on the side so we could talk to each other. This was with one of the dating Facebook groups I’m in and we decided to watch “Always Be My Maybe” because we wanted something light and upbeat.

Even though we weren’t seeing each other or talking out loud, having something where we were seeing the same thing at the same time and could talk about it really did help make it seem like we weren’t apart. Texting randomly is good, but having some sort of community event was so much better. We have already planned to do more of these and I am planning movie nights in with several other groups I’m a part of.

And I’m also working on scheduling virtual happy hours with friends over Skype. The good thing is that it’s not as hard to schedule now as it usually is since nobody really has anything planned. The only thing we have to work around is any other virtual hangouts that people have with other friends. And it seems like everyone is doing these types of things now, so at least it seems like a normal suggestion.

Because there are so many people doing virtual events, there is a chance that my calendar can be more full than it was before. And I think I will need that because nothing replaces in-person time with a friend. But that’s not an option right now and we have to accept that. We need to find ways to not feel alone and being together online (or in-person but far enough apart) is all that we can do right now. At least I know that I’m not the only person who feels this way and that there are so many people who understand how I feel and we can help each other try to feel a bit better about this temporary situation we are all in.

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Default ThumbnailFinding A Social Life Where I Can (or Virtual Parties and Distance Hangouts) Default ThumbnailJust Taking Things One Day At A Time (or Handling What Is Right Now) Default ThumbnailTrying To Avoid Holiday Burnout (or Staying Home For Self-Care) Default ThumbnailAnother Santa Barbara Day (or A Little Bit Of Social Interaction) Default ThumbnailAnother Union Holiday Celebration (or Being Social And Working Social Media) Default ThumbnailFinding A Community (or Online Motivation)

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