in times of pandemic, still we blog

oof. I mean, big oof. now is a rough time to be working in communications, but it's a rough time for all of us. hopefully, you're holding out okay during the current COVID-19 outbreak. here in BC, more and more things are being shut down, and the situation is evolving rapidly. I'm going to try to update this page with some of the stuff that's helped me. you can always reach me if you need to talk.

if you're interested, I wrote a reflective piece for my writers group—a snapshot of how I was feeling during this situation. I'm still trying to navigate those feelings of grief, gratitude, and fear.

let's be scared together,
a.

• practice social distancing: avoid non-essential gatherings, keep a distance of 2 arms-length from others, stay home if you can! try not to interact with people outside your household. go grocery shopping once per week.
• maintain proper hygiene: wash your hands w/soap and water for 20 seconds (often!), cough or sneeze into your elbow, avoid touching your face, regularly clean high-touch surfaces (including door handles, remotes, and your phone!)
• stock up on essentials like non-perishable foods and essential supplies, but don't panic buy and don't hoard.

news & stories to lift you up

visit public health sites for information. for good news, read on:

• Some Good News – John Krasinski hosts this positive news show Sundays on YouTube. tweet at the show @SomeGoodNews with your positive news stories.
• "Coronavirus: Kind Canadians start 'caremongering' trend" – BBC
• "5 uplifting stories of people showing up for each other during the coronavirus pandemic" – Motherly
• "Pitching in During the Pandemic: Stories of San Diegans Doing Good During Coronavirus Outbreak" – NBC
• this twitter thread of high school performers – started by Laura Benanti
• "Coronavirus: Nightly applause for health-care workers comes to Vancouver" – Global News
• Murals of Gratitude [virtual gallery] – Gastown
• Humans of New York's #quarantinestories
• #ReadALetter – letters of hope, education, love, appreciation, respect, thanks, solace and support read by people around the world.

entertainment in the time of social distancing

• the social distancing festival – "an online artist’s community made to celebrate and showcase the work of the many artists around the world who have been affected by the need for social distancing that has come about due to the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19)"
• #CanadaPerforms – the national arts centre presents online performances by canadian artists, from theatre and dance to music and storytelling. artists interested in posting an online performance can apply here for a grant (applications accepted until April 20, 2020).
• the kennedy center at home – enjoy free videos of extraordinary live and on-demand performances and educational activities to do at home, with new releases daily.
• stars in the house – watch daily online mini-shows featuring stars of stage and screen singing and performing live (from home!). 2 pm and 8 pm ET! hosted by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley. guests so far have included Kelli O'Hara, Judy Kuhn, and Lindsay Mendez. if you can, donate to support The Actors Fund’s services for those most vulnerable to the effects of coronavirus (COVID-19). (for those of us outside the US, donate to your country's equivalent, or a local arts organization!)
• so much stuff on the internet archive – resources for parents & educators looking for learning tools, for fact-checkers (and archivists!) who want to track data about the coronavirus, and many fun things to experience if you can't leave the house. (the internet archive is awesome.)
• amanda palmer's crowdcast from new zealand – honestly, amanda and neil helped my heart so much this weekend. music. stories. humans.
• sarah millican's stand up – IF YOU NEED A LAUGH, check out sarah millican. happily, though unrelated to the current pandemic, you can watch two full shows for free on her youtube channel, plus many hilarious clips.
• free musicals and plays you can stream during the coronavirus outbreak – what it says on the tin. updating daily. some of my favourites below:
  • nightly met opera streams – while the met is closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, they're streaming a different encore presentation from the Live in HD series every night. each performance is available for a period of 20 hours, from 7:30 p.m. EDT until 3:30 p.m. the following day. watch on their website, or stream for free through the Met Opera on Demand apps for apple, amazon, and roku devices.
  • national theatre live – free full-length plays every thursday, each available for one week.
  • the shows must go on! – full-length performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber shows every friday 7pm BST (11am PST) for 48 hours.
  • plays from Shakespeare's Globe Theatre – classics like Romeo and Juliet, The Winter's Tale, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, available for 14 days after their premiere on the Globe's YouTube channel.

  if you watch these free streams, please consider donating to the arts organizations hosting them! they need your support now more than ever.

free stuff!

• The Stanley Parable is available for free until March 26^th
• the entire back catalogue of Unwinnable is available to download for free until the end of the pandemic. Unwinnable is a website and digital magazine bringing you the best in pop-culture criticism and creative non-fiction. (If you can, consider tossing them a few bucks. They're good people.)
• use the promo code SHUTIN to try Shudder for 30 days for free. it's a subscription service for the horror, thriller, and suspense genres, if you crave that fear and catharsis.
• Don Hertzfeldt's It's Such a Beautiful Day is available to stream for free on Vimeo with the code IAMSTUCKINSIDE. this animated film is guaranteed to make you feel things. ("it might be shattering, but rewatching it made me feel more alive and hopeful than I have in weeks.")
• need a funky Zoom background? how about:
  • Pam Wishbow's mid-century modern illustrations
  • your favourites scenes from Studio Ghibli movies

education in the time of social distancing

• Complexly's educational videos – from literature to biochemistry, their entire catalogue of over 2000 videos is (as always) available for free. start with SciShow for science and CrashCourse for a wide variety of courses!
• Curio.ca – during the pandemic, enjoy complimentary access to this educational streaming platform. it's got educational video and audio from CBC and Radio-Canada, plus programs and resource guides. a great resource for families with kids at home.

what to do while you're in isolation

do work. read books. play games. bake bread.

say anything – in case you need a place to put your thoughts, I've created a world called in times of pandemic on your world of text. it's just an infinite field where you can type things anonymously.

help a stranger – Kindness of Strangers is looking for people to give 30 minutes of their time to remotely help someone who needs it. lend your expertise (tax help, homeschooling, resume writing, anything!) or just help people be a little less lonely. or, if you need help, connect with a Kind Stranger in the network!

tackle a writing project – the NaNoWriMo team has launched #StayHomeWriMo, seven weekdays worth of activities to support your physical, mental, creative, and social well-being. Plus, Camp NaNoWriMo coming up, and they've already got this online community thing down. join a writing group, watch youtube livestreams for real-time prompts, post on the forums and stay connected while you write.

take care of your mental health – this outbreak is likely causing some extra stress. take care of you. *hugs*

• the CDC on managing anxiety and stress
• the Guardian on silver linings and staying positive
• Healthline on taking care of your mental health
• the Harvard Business Review: that discomfort you're feeling is grief
• TED talks on emotional strength & resilience – includes talks from Elizabeth Gilbert, Esther Perel, Jack Kornfield, and more.

read to your friends – some friends from a forum and I are responding to the self-isolation that COVID-19 has imposed on the world by returning to an age-old tradition: oral storytelling. we're reading stuff for each other. both the reading and the listening has been a major comfort. you can listen to me reading here.

read (or write!) zines – check out the quarantine zine club to browse their online zine library or submit your own!

cook or bake – restaurants are closed and grocery shopping during a pandemic can be tricky. my tip: check out myfridgefood.com. you can quickly select ingredients you already have at home and it will suggest recipes. these ain't gourmet recipes, but it's a perfect way to quickly generate ideas for your next meal with what you have on hand.

go for a walk – please be responsible and continue to practice social distancing while outdoors, but get outdoors if you can! I know that getting out of the house for a walk can be a mood booster for me. going for a jog early in the morning has also helped me start the day off feeling energized. and of course, if you can't get out in nature at the moment, you can always enjoy a calming virtual walk («shameless self-promotion).

stay active – I struggle with fitness at the best of times, and this isn't the best of times. but I know staying active is important for my body and mind. there are a million tips out there. here is some of the stuff that helps me:

• motivation: check out this video from the start of 100 Days. it was a project that followed two best friends, John Green and Chris Waters, on a quest to improve their fitness and health over a one hundred day period. this video of them talking to experts (dietitian, therapist, trainer) was so relatable and encouraging. it feels weird to recommend the series at this moment, when most of us can't go the gym or local park, and groceries stores feel like potential disease hotspots. but if you think you're "just not fit" and that's how it is, maybe this will change your perspective.
• beginners yoga: everyone's recommending Yoga with Adriene, and for good reason. But where do you start? Yoga For Complete Beginners. what I love about Adriene is that, no matter your skill level, she wants to help you build a practice that works for you. someone in the comments called her "the Bob Ross of yoga" and...yeah. if you need a gentle and mindful teacher, she is that.
• free, all-levels workouts: Fitness Blender. search their workout videos by difficulty level, duration, body focus, training type, and equipment. perfect if you're motivated and in need of a workout.
• scientific 7 minute workout video with songs: put together by the incomparable Jonathan "Song-a-Day" Mann. 12 exercises, 30 seconds each, 10 seconds in between. very fun, casual. I like that the internals are based on time rather than number of reps, so you can start a little slower and push yourself to do more reps in the same time as you get better!

practice self-keeping – this pandemic has caused major disruption to our daily routines. you may be struggling a bit to do the basics. I like to think of "self-keeping" as something separate from self-care. to me, it's the practice of being responsible for ourselves and tending to our everyday needs. my self keeping page lists a few of the small things that help me. at a time like this, the little things matter.

journal – I write to make sense of things. in times of crisis (and this pandemic is unlike anything in living memory), making time for reflection can help us process our feelings and care for our mental health. the student counseling services at Connecticut College have put together a list of journal prompts to facilitate coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.

learn to draw – draw along with Disney Animator Michael Woodside as he teaches you to draw characters like Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Olaf, and all your favourites from Disney's classic and recent animated films. see also: lunch doodles with Mo Willems

support artists – Matthew Burrows has started the #ArtistSupportPledge. here's how it works: if you're an artist, post images of your work you are willing to sell for no more than 200 dollars each (not including shipping.) every time you reach 1000 dollars of sales, you pledge to buy another artist's work for 200 dollars. hop on the hashtag and make a pledge or discover new artists who could use your support.

remember to take care of the little things – here are some general things to keep in mind (especially for folks working at home):

• if you usually drive for work: you can change your car insurance rate class from "commuting" to "pleasure" to save some money. if you aren't driving at all, or just making brief trips to the grocery store, remember to do a longer drive every couple weeks to keep the battery charged.
• if you're working from home: set up your desk space properly. here's a 3-min video on creating an ergonomic desk setup. your setup still may not be ideal, and that's okay. try to stand up and move around at least once every hour, and be sure to periodically look away from the screen and focus on something far away to combat eye strain.
• Hank Green's 11 Little Tips for Better Video chat (lighting is everything).

share your story – the Canadian Museum for Human Rights is collecting and sharing stories about community, compassion and care during the COVID-19 pandemic. join this public conversation by creating a short video to share your experience in your own words.

for more thoughts on how to make lockdown a little better, check out this twitter thread from @PeterMartin_PCM

stay connected

images courtesy of Drawing Change

how to do good during the COVID-19 outbreak

raise money for the Emergency Response Fund

on saturday, may 16th, join the BC stay-at-home campout to raise funds for the BC Centre for Disease Control foundation. donate, plan your campout, share some pictures, spread the word!

donate to the food bank

capitalism makes us vulnerable in these situations. there are a lot of people who've lost jobs, had their hours cut back, have to stay home to take care of kids pulled out of school, etc. consider donating to your local food bank. donating money is better than food because food banks are able to buy in bulk and get deals that you as a consumer could never.

• Greater Vancouver Food Bank
• Food Banks Canada

support your local arts organizations

I'll be honest—things started to hit home for me when the show I was meant to see on march 13^th was cancelled. my local arts club stages, civic theatres, art galleries and other organizations are all closed. it's a tough time to be an artist. now's the time to buy a gift certificate for your arts club. use it later, when we can safely gather again. if you bought a ticket for a show that's been cancelled, consider donating your refund.

• Donate to the Arts Club Theatre Company (Vancouver)
• Donate to the AFC (the lifeline for Canada's entertainment industry; formerly The Actors' Fund of Canada)

save the aquarium

in vancouver, the loss of ticket revenue threatens the future of the aquarium, which is home to more than 70,000 animals. you can help save the aquarium by buying an aquarium/whitecaps facemask, donating, fundraising, or writing your MP.

give blood

the need for blood doesn't stop just because we're self-isolating. if you feel healthy and are comfortable doing so, make an appointment to donate blood. take the usual precautions to keep yourself healthy (wash your hands, don't touch your face, etc.) and you shouldn't be at any extra risk. *note: COVID-19 is not a blood-borne virus and there is no evidence to suggest it can be carried by blood.

• Canadian Blood Services

order takeout

every wednesday is canada takeout day. take a break from home cooking and support your local restaurants, if you can!

help your friends, family & neighbours

go on a supply run for those who can't do it themselves. check in on loved ones who might be struggling with stress or anxiety due to the pandemic and all the panic it's causing. offer to watch other people's kids if they're struggling with childcare. be a helper. and look for the helpers.

• printable door hanger you can use to offer your help to neighbours

show your gratitude & support for frontline workers

in Vancouver, and cities around the world, you'll hear folks cheering and making a racket for healthcare professionals each night a 7pm. it may not feel like much, but it reminds us we're all in this together. there are plenty of ways to show your gratitude. put hearts up in your window or thank the cashiers when you go to the grocery store. and if you see that frontline workers are in vulnerable working conditions—write to your local representatives and urge them to take action.
provincial level: contact your MLA (BC); federal level: contact your MP

and more

"What You Can Actually Do to Help Right Now – Kate Morgan

remembering the lives behind the numbers

CBC's Lives Remembered aims to tell the stories of the people who have died during this pandemic. To remember them, honour them, and help us all understand the experience of the many Canadians who have lost loved ones and are now struggling to grief at a time when we cannot be together.