Items
Contributor is exactly
Shira Gusfield
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2020-05-10
Watching Netflix Together but Apart
In the months before social distancing due to COVID-19 started in California, my friend and I had been watching our way together through the series Call the Midwife on Netflix. She'd usually come over to my apartment once or twice a week and we'd watch a couple of episodes together. Once COVID-19 became an issue, this was no longer an option, but we still wanted to continue watching Call the Midwife together. Fortunately, we discovered that we could use Netflix Party to watch the show simultaneously on our laptops in our separate homes. Netflix Party also provided a chat box so that we could easily maintain a conversation about the show as we watched. So now, when we want to watch Call the Midwife, I get on my Netflix account, create a link through Netflix Party, text my friend the link, and there we go! As much as I miss being able to watch with my friend in the room with me, it's nice to be able to watch from wherever I want. Like from my bed with my cat rolling around! -
2020-04-05
My First Homemade Mask
Back at the beginning of April, when the CDC had just finally recommended that the general public wear masks when going out, I was eager to follow this guideline to the best of my abilities. Unfortunately, I didn't have any masks nor any good way of purchasing masks. (Online orders of anything were taking very long at that point in time, and masks weren't readily available in most stores not that I could get to one anyway.) So, I decided to try to make myself a mask. I wanted to make a really good mask. I did lots of research to find out what the best mask materials were for blocking the virus and everything. I searched my home, looking through my clothing, my towels, my reusable bags, trying to find the "right" material. I wasn't satisfied by anything I found. Given that, I decided that my best option was a relatively thick hand towel. I found a template online and proceeded to spend a couple hours hand sewing the mask that you see on my face in the picture. (I have very little experience hand sewing, so I didn't do a very neat job at all.) The final product was this huge mask that covered the entire lower half of my face. I mean, it worked, but it looked pretty hilarious. I did wear this mask out a number of times. It was basically my only option until I was able to order some better masks off the internet. I'm glad I don't have to wear that ridiculous homemade mask anymore, but I'm actually pretty impressed that I managed to make one at all. -
2020-07-12
Laughing with my Family from Over Six Feet Apart
On a Sunday this past July, my cousin texted me out of the blue saying that she was about to start driving from her home in Oakland, CA to Los Angeles and that she would love to stop in Santa Barbara, CA to have lunch with me. I was really excited to get her text, because I had been feeling extremely lonely that weekend. I hadn't seen any family members in-person since March, since I don't live very near any of them. My cousin had been following social distancing guidelines extremely carefully since March, and I had also been following them while allowing myself a little more freedom. Given that, we didn't even consider having a not socially distant lunch. I picked up food from a restaurant for us and set chairs far apart for us to eat in my front yard. When my cousin arrived, she even volunteered to go the bathroom in yard so that she didn't have to enter my house. I thought that was a little over-the-top, and we ultimately decided it was okay for her to come in wearing a mask to use my bathroom. We had a great lunch, just eating and laughing. It was so uplifting to be in the same vicinity as a loved one. Then my sister FaceTimed us from her home in Chicago with her baby. This is where things got pretty hilarious. We tried to set up my computer in a way that allowed my cousin and me to both see and be seen while also staying more than six feet apart. It was nearly impossible, but our attempts made us laugh so hard. It just felt like such silly thing to be doing. I had such a great time with my cousin for those couple of hours. Her presence and all of the laughter definitely lightened my mood. -
2020-07-25
In Search of a Bathroom
In this recording, I talk about an experience I had a couple of weeks ago when I was looking for a bathroom on a road trip. The manager of a closed IHOP allowed me to use their restroom when no other places would let me because of COVID-19 concerns. I was so grateful that I returned the next day so I could give the restaurant some business. This experience was very meaningful to me; it was a moment of shared gratitude during a challenging time.