Items

• 
  2021-07-11

  Wild Ride at the Safari Park

  Over the past few years, the COVID pandemic has become a pretty lonely time for me living in Missouri, where I am originally from. I moved out to Arizona over five years ago and have not left. When the pandemic hit, my job moved to be online for a while, and therefore I made the trip to go back home and be with my family. We realized that we became increasingly stir-crazy through the pandemic by staying in the house all of the time. There was no more travel to the restaurants, shopping, and entertainment places. The past summer, with the pandemic on a decline, my family and extended members traveled to the Wild Animal Safari park. There was my Aunt Pat, my Niece, Morgan, my mother Robyn, and myself in the car as we traveled an hour away to enjoy the safari animals. The great thing about the excursion is that we did not have to get out of the car to remain safe during the pandemic. We received our animal food at the entrance and then proceeded through the park. It was one of the best times of the year because I am not sure I have laughed so hard in my life. I had no idea animals had that long tongues that they would stick in the car windows to get the food pellets. It was delightful seeing my niece squirm around in the car as she tried to get away from the animals. It was one of the best times during the pandemic, and I cannot recommend this excursion or something similar.
• 
  2020-03-22

  Apocalyptic Wear during Pandemic-A Funny Meme

  In the early days of the pandemic, life was very scary. There was a lot of uncertainty as to how long things would last, who would get sick, and how to adjust to all of the rapid changes taking place. It often felt a lot like a looming apocalypse. This meme just struck a cord with me. In a moment of stress it caused laughter. I only wish we did end up wearing some form of apocalyptic wear. I am disappointed that didn't happen.
• 
  2021-05-04

  Dreams Six Room Poem

  This is from an assignment in Paula Flynn's 5th grade class at Franklin Elementary School, in Santa Monica, CA. Hugs, relief, and happiness. Sunlight shining through trees at all angles. Laughter and chatter, both mushed together to create a beautiful moment. The wonderful aroma of food, once more able to be shared. Hope, joy, and love. Was the coronavirus caused for a reason?
• 
  2021-01-21

  The Clock App

  In a time where life went from full speed to a sudden pause, I felt like I was just standing in the middle of chaos and confusion. Prior to Covid, TikTok was seen as just an app for adolescence. However, to me it was bigger than that it was a communicate freely your comments, concerns, escape from reality. In a world full of darkness, this brought laughter to many faces. It is an outlet that felt like you were hanging out with your best friends. TikTok was the light in my life, being able to connect with so many people when that was stripped from us.
• 2020-11-04

  A Silver Lining

  I’m so glad to have supportive friends that share my interests. As a huge Star Wars nerd, I’ve been eagerly awaiting Season 2 of The Mandalorian. On November 4, my friend and I sat down together to watch the first episode of Season 2 that was released. It was FANTASTIC. It was a nice reprieve from the monotony of everyday life and our discussion post-watching was a great distraction from what is to come for the nation. I just about died from laughter when my friend, quite poignantly, asked me: “do you think that we should just say ‘fuck it’ and move to Tatooine and fight giant Alaskan Bull Worms in the sand for a living?” That’s a friend for life right there.
• 2020-04-13

  Neighbours washing their car

  In the middle of the lockdown in Italy, things were looking pretty grim. Other than the obvious fear for the outcome of the pandemic people were feeling pretty on edge about police who were (rightfully) being very strict about abiding the laws about quarantine. People weren't aloud to see anyone other than the people they shared a home with and were supposed to stay inside at all times they weren't providing to their basic needs. One day I was looking through my window and I witnessed probably one of the funniest but surreal scenes of my life. A group of my neighbours were in the process of washing their car,there were maybe 8 people there between friends and family and they were very close, getting on top of the car and having fun. All of sudden they hear an helicopter approaching (police used them to spot "fugitives") and straight up jumped off the car and ran home all panicked. I couldn't stop laughing for an hour, it truly was a moment of release in the midst of worry and depression.
• 
  2020-08-24

  A Pandemic that got Old Quick

  In my opinion, teens and students around the United States were excited to take a one-two week break from school, and experience what it's like learning at home. Many memes and jokes were posted, and at the beginning, they were interpreted as funny. However, as the situation got worse and when we went into full quarantine, the constant jokes and excitement of having a longer spring break started to not be funny anymore. What we thought was ok to laugh about soon became upsetting, especially for people like the class of 2020 who was missing out on Senior year activities and proms, and when people around the world were dying.
• 
  2020-04-21

  Quarantine Haircut

  Coiffure homespun trimming Razor sheers off ragged mop Laugh at how the carrots are cooked Haircut https://vhosking.wordpress.com/2020/04/22/napowrimo-idioms/
• 
  2020-04-19

  My First TikTok Dance

  It had been exactly 39 days since the last time I saw my partner. At the beginning of March, I made the decision to move in with my Mother in Tucson, where I had resolved to stay with her until the crisis was over. I needed to move out of my Tempe home by April 30th, so I made the trek from my parents’ house in Tucson back up to Tempe and enlisted my partner’s help in moving the last of my possessions. It felt dangerous, and even though it was essential travel and we’ve both been strict with social distancing since March, I must have asked at least ten times if she was sure it was safe. She assured me it was. I told her I was not sure if I could hug her. She told me it was okay. Before this whole crisis began, we had just started a conversation about moving in together. The 39 days apart provided some clarity: We wanted to take that leap as soon as it was safe to do so. As we looked at the stacks of boxes on my kitchen floor, we decided that some could be stored in her apartment. It was strange, because when 2020 began I had this vision of us packing up my stuff and moving in together. Here it was happening, but it wasn’t this joyous event, it just felt solemn. She cleared out space in her guestroom and we hauled boxes up three flights of stairs before we sat, winded, in her living room. It was so bittersweet—the hope of imagining this future together and the reality of our current separation. My favorite thing about our relationship is that it’s been defined by laughter. We’re always on some type of adventure, working on some new inside joke, and always pranking the other. But in isolation, it’s been hard for us to keep up the playful parts of our relationship. We can’t go on adventures, we can’t prank one another, and sometimes everything feels too serious to joke at all. Somedays, we’re too tired and sad to even talk much. As we moved things from my apartment to hers, she tried her best to cheer me up. She checked in with frequent are-you-okays and trotted out her best comedic material to elicit laughs. She’s become quite the TikTok aficionado in quarantine, and many of our jokes right now are shaped by the absurdist videos on the internet. Sure enough, each time we placed a new box in the car, she loudly yelled “CAROLE BASKIN”, a reference to the TikTok Tiger King inspired dance. Soon, throughout the afternoon, we’d both break out in the TikTok Song. CAROLE BASKIN! Killed her husband, WHACKED HIM. Can’t convince me that it didn’t HAPPEN Fed him to tigers THEY SNACKIN CAROLE BASKIN! As we sat in her apartment on Sunday evening, I got an idea. I walked to the front of the couch like I was presenting at a conference. “Play the music!” “What music?” “Play the Carole Basking song!” It took me a few times before I began to freestyle some moves. “You have to use your hips more!” she directed. “What? No, I don’t!” She pulled up another video for reference. “All the good TikTok dancers use their hips!” I tried again, this time bouncing my hips in ridiculous fashion. CAROLE BASKIN! (I shook my hands above my head) Killed her (I drew my thumb across my throat) husband (I pointed to my ring finger) WHACKED HIM (I mimicked an axe movement) Can’t convince me that it didn’t (I wagged my fingers and made an X across my chest with my arms) HAPPEN (I tapped my arms by my side) Fed him to tigers (I gestured from my chest out) THEY SNACKIN (My outward arms made the alligator chomp twice on beat, before I drew my arms up to claws) CAROLE BASKIN! (I bounced on my hip and flared my tiger claws outward with a rawr expression) By the time the dance was over, my partner was howling with laughter and I was too. It was the hardest we had laughed together in weeks. Before this pandemic started, I thought TikTok was silly. I still have no plans to join TikTok and I sincerely hope my TikTok dances never end up on the internet. I’ve also never seen Tiger King and I have no plans to and I keep hearing about Joe Exotic with no idea who that is. But honestly it doesn’t matter what I think about TikTok or Tiger King, because I know they make my partner laugh. They bring her joy during this terrible time. I know that a lot of other people feel that way right now too. So here I am, documenting my first TikTok dance; Or, as I like to think of it, a strange act of love in the midst of this pandemic.
• 
  2020-04-17

  El buen humor ante el COVID - 19

  Una ciudadana de Puno ingreso bailando a una cabina de desinfección de COVID - 19, probablemente entro a hacer compras o trabajar ya que se dirige hacia el interior del mercado. Al momento de ingresar decidió hacer un pequeño baile que fue causa de risas para las personas que estaban a su alrededor. Ademas se muestro contenta y de buen humor a pesar de la situación critica que acarrea el mundo con el corona virus.