Online shopping as a time-waster is the norm during the pandemic

I’ve gotten into a habit of asking random questions on my Facebook page. No real rhyme or reason to them, and no expectation of any revelations in the responses. This has all come about since COVID-19 has made a majority of us housebound and bored out of our minds. I guarantee that social media usage has increased considerably since March, 2020.

Anyway, on a recent day, the question was about online shopping. With all of us being at home day in and day out, and many of our shopping locales closed, boredom is to be expected. Those of us who…

A ‘Scarlett Letter’ was just the beginning

If you grew up in another era, you’d be well aware of the “canceled” folks of yore. Hester Prynne. Galileo. Heck, even Caesar was ultimately cancelled by his once-close friend. For more recent discussion topics, just look no further than the hysteria of the McCarthy era when being labeled a communist would have given you a mark that would impress even the likes of Ms. Prynne.

Et Tu, Brute?

A quick check in with most folks would reveal that every one of them could easily name their favourite canceled anti-hero. All you have to do is ask. Whether this anti-hero…

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide

You’re in your sweats and haven’t hit the shower yet.

Makeup? Not this morning.

And yet, there it is — ringing constantly. Your iPhone. FaceTime. Your presence is requested.

Back in the day, it was the unexpected drop-in that was unwelcome and feared. In today’s digital world, it’s the unsolicited video call.

Choose your poison: FaceTime, Zoom, Skype — they’re all the same. These virtual intrusions into the most intimate of spaces — our homes — are now the norm, not the exception. …

“Take two Tylenols and call me in the morning…”

For most of my life, I used to look sideways at the casualness of over-the-counter drug use by society. You know: pop a couple of Tylenols here; a few Advils for a headache there. Popping pills was par for the course for most people in modern times and continues to be to this day. We hear daily about people’s various ailments; the more mundane, the more common the experience. And why wouldn’t drug makers get on the bandwagon? We know acetaminophen by its more commonly-used name: Tylenol, and ibuprofen by the more easily stated Advil. …

Another day, another takeout menu

Once again I made the call.

Or, depending on the day, went to the website and ordered.

I’m talking about takeout.

Ordering in, delivery, whatever you want to call it. It all amounts to the same thing: no cooking for me.

The fact of the matter is that it’s just too easy to do, and with ease comes action.

For years, I prided myself on cooking the most nutritious, interesting and healthy meals for my family. It wasn’t really a breakfast/lunch/dinner if it wasn’t balanced per the latest nutritional directives the experts cited.

That’s what a parent’s to do, right…

“Turn off your mike! We can hear you!”

“Can you mute your mike, please?”

“Someone’s got their mike on. Whoever it is, can you turn it off? It’s the little icon that looks like a microphone. Just click on it and you’ll be muted. Thanks.”

Do any of these comments sound familiar?

If the answer is “yes,” you’re not alone.

Since videoconferencing became the norm, and “Zooming” became a verb, “work” as we once knew it has changed forever. COVID-19 made sure that we were working from home, staying safe and connecting with our friends, family members and colleagues as…

“Did you get the vaccine yet?”

Tentatively moving towards each other, they have a singular though in both of their minds.

I hope they got their vaccine, the internal voice in their head says, simultaneously.

You see, this is the new normal. This is real life. This is the way it’s going to to be from here on out, now that COVID-19 has entrenched itself in our collective psyches.

The fear of the unknown and the devastation that this microscopic virus has wrought upon an unwilling world is difficult to explain. Fear is irrational; death is final.

Fear is irrational; death is final.

For so many…