The Day that We Get Out

I really tried to write a blog post completely unrelated to coronavirus. The ongoing pandemic is so overwhelming that I thought it would be nice to just write about something with no ties to COVID-19. Unfortunately, I usually get my inspiration for my blog posts from the things that are going on in my life, and right now that’s pretty much… nothing.

So, although the blog post is still influenced by the virus, I’ve decided to focus on the opposite of the virus: namely “the day that we get out”. I hope this will be uplifting for all of us to think of going back to a “normal” life, and that it will be helpful in reminding everyone that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that things will go back to normal. Quarantining for (potentially) a few months seems like a daunting prospect, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s a short blip in the span of our lifetime.

The return to normal life is probably not going to be “all systems go” on a single day – it’ll probably be a gradual return. But in my head, I still tend to daydream about all the things that I would do on day 1 if there was a hypothetical day when the quarantine was officially over. I made a list of activities that I miss and that I’ll definitely want to do on the day that I get out:

Go to Kaze: Kaze is my favorite restaurant on the planet. It’s located in Chinatown, and it’s “hot-pot” style. Hot-pot is a style of dining found throughout many countries in East Asia, where they bring you a boiling broth on a self-heating plate and a bunch of raw ingredients, and you cook them in the broth and then eat them. I highly recommend it.

Play soccer: Growing up, soccer was my main hobby and I played it year-round – summer leagues, club teams, indoor futsal, and so on. Recently, I’d been playing soccer every Wednesday in my old high school gym with a group of friends (before the pandemic). I love playing soccer and I can’t wait until I can get back to it.

Get a haircut: I was already overdue for one before the quarantine. Now my hair is far longer than I prefer. I’ve seen some videos of people learning to cut their own hair for the quarantine, but there’s no way I’m doing that. I can barely shave my beard in a straight line – I’m not messing with my hair.

Hug my friends and family: I haven’t had any physical contact with a human in weeks. My family and friends and I are trying to social distance to be safe, and my girlfriend works at Children’s, so we are also staying six feet apart since she is constantly exposed. My dog is the only living creature that I get to hug these days!

Those are the things that come to mind when I think about what I miss the most. What about you? What will you all do on the day that we get out?