Down the rabbit hole. One of the most pervasive phrases I have heard – and used during my time of “sparkling isolation” – is the one that opens this post, all about ‘going down the rabbit hole.’ That is, of course, a reference to Lewis Carroll’s novel “Alice in Wonderland.” In the first chapter, Alice …
Members of the TLTeam let us into their worlds during this time of social distancing.
Sparkling Isolation – Days 151 through 247
I’m still here. At the beginning of the pandemic, I don’t think most of us thought it would last this long – at least the quarantine part. Alas, here we are nine months in and things look like they are just going to keep on keeping on. I started by creating a daily post, then …
Sparkling Isolation – Days 144 through 150
What day is it? Last week, I posted my first ‘weekly’ version of this series. I realized that I was repeating myself too often and felt that it was time to move to a less frequent approach to the chronicle of my quarantine experiences. Today focuses on Sparkling Isolation Days 144 – 150. This week …
Sparkling Isolation – Days 136 through 143
Slowing down. After a solid 135 days of posting every day about my quarantine experiences, I finally hit a wall. I realized that the “Groundhog Day” nature of this experience was making me repeat myself in my daily posts. I also began to feel a strange obligation to post – and that made me anxious. …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 135
To be or not to be. I had a strange emotional day yesterday – so strange in fact, that I was utterly exhausted by it and went to bed at 8:30 p.m. This morning, I woke up at 8:30 a.m. almost precisely. Rarely do I sleep for twelve full hours, but last night my sleep …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 134
Power failure. This morning I had a unique quarantine experience – a power failure in my neighborhood. About 8 a.m. I heard a loud pop and the electricity abruptly went out. I recognized the sound of an exploding transformer – something that you always know when you hear it. It only took me about five …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 133
The need to know. I have always had an obsession with definitions – the ability to know what something means and by extension the ability to put a label on things. That also includes labeling how I feel. My therapist – and countless self-help books over the years – have reminded me (and keep reminding …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 132
A musical interlude. Some days, I run across a song that says what I’m thinking far more eloquently than I could. One of my new favorite bands is an amazing group called The Arcadian Wild. If you haven’t discovered their music, I highly recommend looking them up. This time in quarantine has given me a …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 131
I don’t have a thing to wear. The struggle is real. I have plenty of clothes, but every day I struggle with the thought, “Why bother?” The only thing that seems to keep me wearing decent clothes is the fact that I have seemingly-endless online meetings. Of course, that means that most of the time …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 130
Inside looking out. Today I spent another entire today inside my apartment without once stepping outside. The weather was sunny, a bit hot and humid but not unbearable. There was no specific excuse for my hibernation today. It just never occurred to me to leave the house. That bothers me. Before the pandemic, I would …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 129
Decluttering. I have long been a fan of decluttering. Back in the 90s I trained to become a Feng Shui consultant and worked professionally as one for a number of years. In the past decade I have read and implemented many ideas related to minimalism, the joy of “less” and most recently the KonMari method …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 128
Pong. Anyone of a certain age will remember the original Atari video game – Pong. It was released in 1972, but I think my first copy of it was a Christmas gift in 1975. That was a big deal back then! I mean, the whole concept of an interactive video game was new and exciting. …