My advice for the week: If you’re feeling down in lockdown, put on a (fake) happy face.
I haven’t blogged about the lockdown for a couple of weeks, and I feel like I’ve built up all these lockdown thoughts and ideas but haven’t been able to share them. So here they are, in no particular order.
The lockdown has been going on for so long that I no longer feel nostalgia for the pre-lockdown days. Instead I feel nostalgia for the days right after the lockdown began, when the whole idea felt exotic and justified, and we thought it was only going to last for 21 days, and I didn’t have any decisions to make about anything.
Last weekend I found myself walking laps around my house – my old exercise routine during Level 5, when leaving home was prohibited – rather than going for a walk on the street. Walking in circles, which seemed ludicrous four months ago, now feels oddly comforting and safe.
For the first 100 days of lockdown, I kept track of what day we were on. I now feel nostalgic for that too. Counting days gave a shape and a frame of reference to this strange experience. Now it’s just another day, another week, another month of nothingness. I wake up every morning disoriented, struggling to separate dreams from reality.
While I was walking circles around the house on Sunday, I listened to an NPR podcast called Hidden Brain. Hidden Brain is one of my favorite recent discoveries, and the most recent episode about creativity and diversity was an epiphany for me. I don’t think I could survive this lockdown without podcasts.
One of you recently asked me for podcast recommendations; I’ve peppered them into various posts before but here’s a comprehensive list of my top ten favorites, covering a variety of genres, from the past year or so:
There are so many more podcasts I love and can recommend. If you have questions about a specific genre, please ask.
Disclaimer: My podcast preferences are extremely America-centric. I’ve been trying to find South African podcasts I like, and while there are a few good ones I have yet to find a local podcast that cracks my top ten list. I’m eager for recommendations.
Thank god I learned to knit before this lockdown started. It’s one of the few activities I look forward to every day, and my second scarf is shaping up to be way better than the first. Knitting has become my evening meditation.
This is not a totally new observation on my part, as I’ve always enjoyed Taylor Swift’s music. But if you’ve previously dismissed Taylor as a vapid millennial mega pop star – or if you are part of an older generation and don’t really know who Taylor Swift is – I implore you to check out her surprise new album, Folklore.
I downloaded the album on Saturday morning and listened to it on repeat for basically the entire weekend, while crying. It’s so good, and isolation has clearly provided Taylor with an unexpected creative spark (a feeling I can also relate to).
Folklore, along with Fiona Apple’s new album, which I blogged about recently, are my feminist pandemic anthems. I feel like these women get me, and I get them. Their music makes me feel like we know each other, and that is a rare and special feeling.
Incidentally there is also a very good documentary about Taylor Swift on Netflix – highly recommended.
I’m still toiling away, slowly, on my memoir. It’s a crazy time to be thinking back over everything that’s happened in my life over the past decade, and especially to my relationship with Jon.
I’m rereading things I wrote many years ago, and feeling surprised and dismayed by how many events and feelings I have completely forgotten. It makes me realize how subjective memories – and the lack thereof – really are.
Thank you to everyone who recently signed up to support my memoir project, and to those who increased their monthly pledges:
And for anyone who still doesn’t know, I’m creating premium content every week for those who support me on Patreon. Every week I make a short voice memo and one premium blog post, with stories from my memoir that haven’t been previously told in the blog.
My Patreon income has become a small but reliable financial lifeline for me during these lean COVID-19 times. Thank you again. Find more details at patreon.com/2summers.
Is it weird I can’t stop taking these creepy fake-happy-face selfies?
I don’t think so. Not only are these masks funny, they are a perfect metaphor for these super weird times. We’re all moving about in the world, trying to appear normal, when in fact we’re all completely losing it under our masks. We’re all faking it ’til we make it. What else can we do?
That’s all for now, folks. See you next week.
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve been dreadfully uninspired lately, struggling to think of anything I want to blog about despite having a long list of great ideas (many of which you, my readers, provided in September). I’m finding it hard to feel positive about life at the moment. But on Saturday Thorsten and I got the chance to visit Indwe Park, an indigenous garden and sculpture park in Braamfontein, and I knew I had my topic for today.
In 2020, I published a blog post with tips for Americans living in South Africa who wanted to vote in the U.S. presidential election. I thought about simply resharing that post this year. But then I realized: 1) I want to write a U.S. election post that will be fun and informative for everyone, not just other Americans; and 2) Believe it or not, the U.S. presidential election stakes are even higher in 2024 than they were in 2020. So I’m introducing you to some really cool Americans in Joburg – one who I’ve known forever and two who I just met – and tell you a bit about who they are, why they live here, and why they vote.
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It makes me smile, when I see it.