olivermoss | Coronaversary

For me Escapade 2020 was the start of my life changing due to Corona. The con happened days before confirmed community transmission in the US. One week later and the vibe of the con would have been very different.

Even though it hadn't hit yet, there was hand sanitizer and mild precautions everywhere. I have to say Escapade did an A+ job of taking steps that were appropriate to a storm on the horizon.

Community transmission happened in the US while I was still traveling because I took the train home. When I got home, I'd been in an international airport recently and had been in confirmed transmission areas. Also, in a typical week I spent time in small, overcrowded rooms with people who are at higher risk. I didn't go into full lockdown after Escapade, but I did stock up on toilet paper, egg noodles and stopped going to social events. I asked me therapist what the plans for transitioning to online were going to be and they thought I was being paranoid and kept trying to talk to me about my internet habits. The next week they had a plan for transitioning online.

A lot of people are coming up on One Year In Our New Reality, but for me the milestone just passed. And I am likely still looking at half a year of this, or rather half a year of seeing other people celebrate turn to living their lives while I am at the back of the line.

Time is so weird right now, it feels like more than a year when I was carrying home a giant pack of Charmin or trying macro photography or walking by Emerald City Comic Con posters stapled to the electrical poles and watching them get more faded. The potential my life had before this started also feels unreal. I'm not upset thinking about it, because at this point it all feels so abstract.