Today the governor of Wisconsin has announced the "Safer At Home" order. Basically everyone needs to stay home and all non-essential businesses need to shut down for a month starting tomorrow. This is good for helping to stop the spread, of course, but it's upsetting that there's nothing similarly intelligent happening at the national level. I'm getting sick of being embarrassed about my country. We have more resources than others could dream to have and yet our leaders repeatedly ignore them. That's absolutely unforgivable in times like this.
I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about the pandemic right now that I don't quite know how to express. I don't even really know how to feel about it. Should I be thankful that everything in my bubble is relatively alright for the time being or terrified that the WHO says the USA is on track to become the epicenter of the pandemic? Are the people I care about going to be okay or is that a dumb question to even ask? What will the world look like whenever this is over and why can't this slow-burning nightmare just end already?
*deep breath, pause, and exhale*
In other news, the viral outbreak video game Plague Inc. is getting an update where you'll be able to fight a global pandemic rather than trying to create one. Even with all of the real-world context aside, that sounds fun, and the world could definitely do with more fun these days.
I've heard of a lot of people turning to video games to help them cope, and it's a good time to do that. Doom Eternal, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Black Mesa, and Half-Life: Alyx have all coincidentally released this month—right when people needed them most. I actually insisted that my partner buy Animal Crossing New Horizons and play it at least once a day. It's a relaxing game where she gets to build up a small island into a thriving community of cute animal people. It's the ultimate virtual escapism during quarantine.
As for myself, I felt I needed a different kind of escapism; one with thrills, action, and an end goal to focus on. As such, I decided to finally play through and beat the original Half-Life after trying and stopping many times in my youth. I actually just finished it today, and I've got to say it was exactly what I needed.
My plan is to move on to playing Black Mesa (the fan-made remake of Half-Life) next so I can directly compare the 22-year-old original with its modern remake. I can't play Half-Life: Alyx because it's a fully virtual reality game and I don't have a VR rig, but I'm excited to watch someone else play it on YouTube when I get a chance. Even thinking about these plans helps to keep my mind off of the scary world around me.
It's not all video games for me, though. I'm excited to be listening to the last Harry Potter audiobook and reading the fourth Expanse novel. I've also got a small pile of movies from the library that aren't due for over a month now, and of course there's so much more to stream.
I'm very fortunate that so many of my hobbies don't require other people. My heart goes out to those of you whose hobbies are mostly group activities. Remember, "social distancing" isn't the same as "social isolation." Call up your friends and have an old-fashioned phone chat. Check in with someone you've not spoken to in a while. Let's grow tighter as a community than when we were physically next to each other.
What's your escapism during the pandemic? Leave a comment below.
Stay healthy and sane.
-Ryan
I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about the pandemic right now that I don't quite know how to express. I don't even really know how to feel about it. Should I be thankful that everything in my bubble is relatively alright for the time being or terrified that the WHO says the USA is on track to become the epicenter of the pandemic? Are the people I care about going to be okay or is that a dumb question to even ask? What will the world look like whenever this is over and why can't this slow-burning nightmare just end already?
*deep breath, pause, and exhale*
In other news, the viral outbreak video game Plague Inc. is getting an update where you'll be able to fight a global pandemic rather than trying to create one. Even with all of the real-world context aside, that sounds fun, and the world could definitely do with more fun these days.
I've heard of a lot of people turning to video games to help them cope, and it's a good time to do that. Doom Eternal, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Black Mesa, and Half-Life: Alyx have all coincidentally released this month—right when people needed them most. I actually insisted that my partner buy Animal Crossing New Horizons and play it at least once a day. It's a relaxing game where she gets to build up a small island into a thriving community of cute animal people. It's the ultimate virtual escapism during quarantine.
As for myself, I felt I needed a different kind of escapism; one with thrills, action, and an end goal to focus on. As such, I decided to finally play through and beat the original Half-Life after trying and stopping many times in my youth. I actually just finished it today, and I've got to say it was exactly what I needed.
My plan is to move on to playing Black Mesa (the fan-made remake of Half-Life) next so I can directly compare the 22-year-old original with its modern remake. I can't play Half-Life: Alyx because it's a fully virtual reality game and I don't have a VR rig, but I'm excited to watch someone else play it on YouTube when I get a chance. Even thinking about these plans helps to keep my mind off of the scary world around me.
It's not all video games for me, though. I'm excited to be listening to the last Harry Potter audiobook and reading the fourth Expanse novel. I've also got a small pile of movies from the library that aren't due for over a month now, and of course there's so much more to stream.
I'm very fortunate that so many of my hobbies don't require other people. My heart goes out to those of you whose hobbies are mostly group activities. Remember, "social distancing" isn't the same as "social isolation." Call up your friends and have an old-fashioned phone chat. Check in with someone you've not spoken to in a while. Let's grow tighter as a community than when we were physically next to each other.
What's your escapism during the pandemic? Leave a comment below.
Stay healthy and sane.
-Ryan
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Thanks for sharing!