Axel Valdez

Design Engineer

Lockdown check-in

Hi

After six and a half weeks in lockdown, I’m not anxious anymore. I don’t crave going out, and video calls have replaced face-to-face meetings very well: they no longer feel fake. I don’t perceive the screen anymore, but the person on the other side.

Habits are changing. I can’t go out to the supermarket when I’m bored (yes, I do that, or used to, anyways) or call a friend to meet at the neighborhood bar, but I took on Animal Crossing New Horizons, and as a distraction it’s a lifesaver. I’m making more music, I’m drawing more, and I play with my kids a lot more than before the pandemic.

I’m lucky enough to still have a job, with a couple sacrifices, and my work-at-home setup is better than ever. I feel I could do without an office for a while.

I really miss my parents, though. I miss my mom’s visits or being able to travel there for a weekend.

How’s the world going to be after the lockdown? Will we hug each other? Will it be weird to be physically close to other people? Will the menace of a new pandemic be with us all the time? Will we all become preppers and hoard non-perishables, Lysol and beer?

I’m not going anywhere with all this. I just wanted to type some words and try to restart the habit of writing. This seems like a good moment to do it.

Stay safe.

Axel Valdez w