The COVID-19 pandemic has now lasted for quite a while and, for the most part, people have adapted to it. You in particular have coped very well. Since you already stay indoors anyway, the restrictions that have been so hard for most people to adapt to don’t bother you. While watching the news, you see people complain about not being able to go out as much and do the things they love. The solution seems obvious to you: just have fun at home. This is a time to discover a whole new side of yourself by learning new things.
For the first few weeks of the pandemic you watched your outgoing roommate freak out and go a little crazy due to the new restrictions. While they complained about not being able to go to the beach, you were reading your book in a nice leather chair. You finally decided to help them out when they started to constantly talk to you throughout the entire day. Sitting down with them at the table, you begin to set up the Monopoly board which you found buried in your closet. Your roommate, when they first see the game, start to complain, but you ignore them and finish setting it up. After a couple hours of playing the game, your roommate begins to have some fun.
Before the pandemic arrived, your roommate always ate out every night. You’re not sure where they were getting the money to do this, but you didn’t care too much. At least the house was quiet for a couple hours in the evening. Of course, when everything changed and the restaurants around you closed down, your roommate was forced to eat what was in the house. After eating all the microwaveable foods, they decide to learn how to cook. The nice and relaxing nights which you previously enjoyed are now replaced by the sound of the fire alarm.
After these repeated cooking disasters, most of the food in the house is depleted and, since Jan, your roommate, is to blame for this, you make them buy the groceries. The only problem with this is that Jan is afraid to go to the store because she thinks they’re going to get the virus. She suggests that you go get the groceries. In response to this, you firmly refuse and tell her they can just order them from the app. You assure Jan that the process is very simple and that the store will send someone out to deliver the groceries.
Once the pandemic hit, many people started to lose their jobs since the companies they worked for could no longer afford to pay them. In your case, you’re an indispensable member of a small, but wealthy, company, so there’s no risk to you. With Jan, however, her job is not so important. Quite recently, there have been cuts in the department she works in, and she’s afraid that her job is going to disappear. Since she knows that you’re smart, she asks you for some advice on how to keep her position. You tell her that the answer is very simple: all she has to do is appear confident and businesslike in front of the boss.
Jan received an email from her boss recently stating that their meetings, which were previously held in-person, would now be conducted via Skype or Zoom (they hadn’t decided which yet). This doesn’t seem like much of a problem to you since you’re used to using programs like them, but Jan has had no experience with them because she has never had a reason to use Skype or Zoom before. That’s one of the downsides to always meeting your friends or co-workers in person. Jan begs you to help her out since, in her words, “all you do is read that book all day.” She’s not wrong, but it is a good book.
One of the worst things about the pandemic is that everyone has to wear a mask when they leave the house. Since you haven’t left the house in a couple months, you’ve never needed to wear a mask. You don’t think you’d mind, though, since it doesn’t seem like such a bad thing. Jan is the exact opposite of you. She has to leave the house every day for night-school, and she’s required to wear a mask throughout the entire class. Jan’s had a lot of trouble with this since she tends to panic and hyperventilate often. If she can just calm down a little, she’d be fine.
Back in the early days of the pandemic, everyone was trying to buy as much toilet paper and hand sanitizer as possible. This was before the stores had worked out a delivery system, so they were always packed. Jan used to leave the house early in the morning, thinking that the store wouldn’t be as crowded. She turned out to be right, and she returned home with her car stuffed full of toilet paper and sanitizer. Keep in mind, these were the beginning days of the pandemic when lots of people still didn’t wear masks, so Jan was more than willing to pick up the groceries.
One day, while you’re in the sitting room, Jan walks in and, throwing herself down in the available armchair, starts a conversation with you. She tells you how much she hates wearing the masks and how she feels she cannot wear them anymore. You take a few moments to think about her problem, and then offer her a solution. You propose that she bend the rules a little for her own well-being. If there is a secluded spot where she can safely remove her mask to breathe normally, then she should definitely utilize it. If no one sees her remove the mask, then no one will know she did it in the first place.
Money’s been a bit tight recently in your house. It’s not because you’ve had a dock in your pay or anything; you actually just got a promotion! No, Jan is the one who doesn’t have as much money anymore. Her boss is still trying to adapt to the pandemic, so they’ve made the work schedule temporarily shorter. Fewer hours means less money, and no one likes that, especially Jan. No longer able to spend money as quickly as before, she has had to learn how to save up for the things she wants.
Of course, the most important thing everybody is learning during this pandemic is patience. No one knows how long this thing will last, so it’s best to make the most of it. It can be hard to wait sometimes, though, especially when you don’t know when the end will come. For the most part, Jan has been patient, but there are moments when she becomes frustrated and refuses to wear her mask anymore. She always calms down, though, thanks to you. You’re always there for her when she needs to get something off her chest. With your help, she’ll get through this pandemic and finally be able to go back to living her social life.
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