So glad to be out of the travel industry

Every day that goes by, I am more relieved to be out of the travel industry.

Yes, it was fun for awhile, and aside of the fact that it left me broke (avoid this field unless you have a pension, spouse or are mortgage-free with cash reserves), I did learn a lot. I met a lot of interesting people, planned some great trips and stretched myself, but it is best that I have moved on. My initial relief came early-COVID, when the industry was desecrated, but I am so glad to not be part of what is happening today. 

I feel sick to the stomach every time I hear about someone off vacationing in the sun. Are you kidding me? What are you thinking? Even if you don’t care about yourself, how dare you risk others with your privilege? While others stay home and act responsibly, doing their part to put an end to the pandemic, what makes you think it is “ok” to satisfy your own self interests? I am less angry than confused. I am baffled and truly don’t get it.

So it is with this perspective that I am glad I am not being asked to help people book flights. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t live with myself. 

I have been feeling this for awhile, but it has been magnified in the last few days as I have been receiving targeted marketing for tour operators offering packages complete with COVID and quarantine insurance. Get away, feel safe with all these protections, there has never been a better time to go, blah blah blah... WTF???? 

It turns my stomach.

I get it that all businesses are doing their best to survive and rebuild, but this is despicable. 

I could have never sold travel in this environment and I know now that it would have been toxic to me to be around this all the time. 

So I am more than done with the travel biz. I’ll never go back to it.

Any travel in my future will simply be my own, when it is safe to do so. And it will probably be modest and close to the ground, organized by me, myself and I. 

What I miss most about travel is the simple stuff, hanging out like a local in cafes, staying for a month or so somewhere, soaking up the vibe, seeing a museum or two a week, living the experience. 

I am in no hurry to travel though. This is a time to lay low, and be patient. For now, I savour the many travel experiences I’ve had. There is still a lot of enjoyment to be had there.

COVID Diary 4

Just had a moment where the multiple traumas and tragedies of late began piling up. The Beirut explosion, the Red Deer doctor attack, so many crazy things happening in this world. For the most part, I have been compartmentalizing ok, but had a wave of emotion hit me when I saw two photos in my CBC Radio stream.

The one that pulled at my heartstrings was this classroom photo of little kids in school, sitting with masks on, at their social distanced desks, so much of their natural spirit controlled, like invisible walls. Not being able to move, to squirm beyond their invisible walls, I can almost see the regimented ways the must need to move about their school, how orderly they must need to be on their breaks. Sad eyes over masks. How tragic. Snuffing out the kid in kids. I am not a parent, so have been learning at an emotional distance about what they say will be the long term effect of COVID on children. But somehow this one picture got me, and I cried. It feels so SAD to see the natural life spirit of kids snuffed out in the very environment they go to be with their friends, to learn, where it used to be an hour or two where they would need to sit controlled before recess, but always still witin note-passing, ruler poking and spitball throwing distance. These kids will be changed by this in ways we cannot be imagined. 30 years from now adults will be struggling through therapy to untangle complex issues. I can't imagine being a parent and needing to navigate all this. And how hard this must be on teachers. They are just little kids.

The other picture was of the arrest of activist Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong. It is just so grim. It says resistance IS futile in any world where China has any influence. What struck me was the faces of the officers that surround him, eyes downcast, in resignation. I want to say in shame, as that's what I imagine I see.

There is more going on, and mostly I cope, but occasionally things pile up and it all hits me. I think the fact that I don't have TV, and don't stream it online, has protected me, by not searing iages of people in hazmat suits into my brain. I think its a wise choice, as I still get plenty of news and analysis and human stories through radio and podcasts. But it also lets images like these stand out, to not pass me by.

Quotes from the diary study 4

Be the change you want to see in the world. - Mahatma Gandhi

Life is what happens to us while we are busy making plans. - Allen Saunders (although often misattributed to John Lennon)

Quotes from the diary study 3

For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Students as historians

Came across this interesting piece directed at students and how they can contribute to the historical record by documenting their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Check it out...

While finishing up hectic finals schedules and trying to sort out summer plans, it can be tempting to only focus  on when this will be over –– when students can return to campus, see their friends again and resume “normal” activities. Given how all-consuming the news surrounding the pandemic has become, it’s no surprise that the focus remains how to get through it. Everyone wants this to be over soon. But, it is equally important to document the small ways the virus has impacted everyday life — to recognize and record its effects. By writing, journaling and creating, students can play a role in the collection of history... [continue reading in the Daily Trojan].

Students should make a record of their life during the coronavirus pandemic - Daily Trojan

What historians will see

There was a particularly good feature in the New York Times on how universities and institutions are encouraging people to document life during this pandemic. A few highlights...

StoryCorps, the story-sharing nonprofit, moved its platform online for the first time... 

Students at Neumann University in Pennsylvania set up a series called the Coronavirus Diaries on the school’s radio station, WNUW-FM... 

“A century ago, people told their stories in written journals,... Now, we are capturing people’s thoughts and experiences through social media posts, email, audio and photographs.”... [continue reading in the New York Times].

What Historians Will See When They Look Back on the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020 - New York Times

Journal of the plague

Discovered an incredible site in my search for interesting ways in which museums are documenting life during a pandemic. It's been going for awhile, so I am glad I found out about it. What I like about it are how accessible it is (anyone can contribute) and how collaborative it is (I've copied the list of the curators below).

A Journal of the Plague Year: An Archive of COVID19

Join us in documenting our uncertain moment. We are acting not just as historians, but as chroniclers, recorders, memoirists, as image collectors. We invite you to share your experience and impressions of how CoVid19 has affected our lives, from the mundane to the extraordinary, including the ways things haven't changed at all. Share your story in text, images, video, tweets, texts, Facebook posts, Instagram or Snapchat memes, and screenshots of the news and emails--anything that speaks to paradoxes of the moment. Imagine, as we are, what future historian might need to write about and understand this historical moment... [continue reading the site's About page].

Curators

The site title was inspired
by Daniel Defoe's novel of
that name. First published in
March 1722 the novel,
A Journal of the Plague Year,
tells story of one man's experiences
 of the year 1665, in which the
bubonic plague shook London.

• Mark Tebeau, Public History, ASU
• Catherine O'Donnell, Arizona State University (ASU)
• Mills Kelly, George Mason University
• Andrew May, Melbourne History Workshop, University of Melbourne, Australia
• Mitchell Harrop, Melbourne History Workshop, University of Melbourne, Australia
• Victoria Cain, History, Northeastern University
• Jason Kelly, IUPUI
• Rebecca Wingo, University of Cincinnati
• Casey Ruble, Fordham University
• Micki McGee, Fordham University
• Juilee Decker, Rochester Institute of Technology
• Connie Zeanah Atkinson, Midlo Center, University of New Orleans
• Mary Niall Mitchell, Midlo Center, University of New Orleans
• Kathryn O'Dwyer, University of New Orleans
• Jessica Dauterive, RRCHNM, George Mason
• Amy Tyson, Depaul University
• Sharon Musher, Stockton University
• Andrew Schocket Bowling Green State University
• Maureen Barry, Bowling Green State University
• Susannah Ottoway, Carleton College
• Cathy Gudis, UC-Riverside & LA Skid Row Archive
• Nicki Tarulevicz, Hobart University
• Ariel Beaujot, University of Wisconsin--LaCrosse
• Brendan Lindsay, California State University--Sacremento
• Cheryl Jimenez Frei, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
• Dave Ghamandi, University of Virginia
• Michelle Hamilton, University of Western Ontario
• Denise Bates, Arizona State University
• Terry Shoemaker, Arizona State University
• Susan Barrett, Arizona State University
• Katy Lasdow, Suffolk University
• Katy Kole de Peralta, Arizona State University
• Katie Clary, Coastal Carolina University
• Matt Casey, Arizona State University
• Michael Della Iacono, Suffolk University
• Nancy Berlage, Texas State University San Marcos
• Jaime Ding, Kennedy Library, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Brian Cwiek, Bates College
• Tom Beazley, ASU
• Erin Craft, ASU
• Christopher Bradley, ASU
• Marc Vance, ASU
• Lawson Miller, ASU
• Wendy Trakes, ASU
• Jordan Meyerl, UMASS Boston
• Ella Irmiter, Northeastern University
• Hanna Leatherman, Brown University
• Anjelica Oswald, Northeastern University
• Aaron Peterka, Northeastern University
• Abby Goldstein, Fordham University
• Alfie Paul, UMASS Boston
• Allinston Saulsberry, ASU
• Carmen Coury, Southern Connecticut State University
• Carolyn Goldstein, UMASS Boston
• Chris Parsons, Northeastern University
• David Duncan, UC-Santa Cruz
• Deborah Krieger, Brown University
• Doug Clouse, Fordham University
• Ellen Holt Werle, Macalester College
• Erin Hall, University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire
• Gregory Smoak, University of Utah
• Heather Monro Prescott, Central Connecticut State University
• Heather Perez, Stockton University
• Isabel Allen, ASU
• Jane Collins, UCLA
• Jennifer Long Morehart, Georgia State University
• Joey Dorion, ASU
• Julia Howington, Suffolk University
• Julie Paulesc, ASU
• Kate Levitt, Stony Brook University
• Ken Albers, George Mason University
• Kyle Minor, UIPUI
• Liza Black, Indiana University
• Marie-Louise Paulesc, ASU
• Molly Mitchell, University of New Orleans
• Nick Johnson, University of Munster
• Nicolette Paglioni, Georgia State University
• Oliver Ayers, New College of the Humanities
• Patricia Belen, Fordham University
• Rachel Reinhard, University of California Berkeley
• Rebecca Walker, Rochester Institute of Technology
• Rosanna Dent, New Jersey Institute of Technology
• Shane Carter, University of California Berkeley
• Tatiana Baxter, Vanderbilt University
• Taylor Griffith, Vanderbilt University
• Zoe Kahn, University of California Berkeley
• Tory L. Schendel Cox, Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science
• Thomas R. Lonnberg, Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science

A Journal of the Plague Year: An Archive of COVID19 - main website

Quotes from the diary study 2

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever has. - attributed to Margaret Mead with some degree of uncertainty.

Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday. - A.A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh)

COVID Diary 3

I've been reflecting on what I do and don't like about keeping a diary through this.

I have mixed feelings.

I thought at first that it might be interesting to record the experience of a solo who is pretty content overall. I wasn't having trouble isolating.

By recording my experiences, it's both helped and made things harder.

Helped in that it has made me more aware of what I am feeling, I am noticing nuances that might have slipped by me before. And I'm definitely being present.

Made things harder in that by being more present, I am not distancing from my feelings. It is pretty easy for me to get into a zone, and not really examine what is going on all around me, to let it wash over me, and just be. This is forcing me to notice, and by doing so, stuff is coming up more. I am more aware, but I'm also having to process more. That's not a bad thing, but it's a harder thing.

In the end, it is better to be present and process as I go, but I miss the 'luxury' of being able to get into a zone for days at a a time, largely untouched by outside factors. I've also had something personal open up my heart a bit, and that is naturally making my emotions closer to the surface.

Yesterday this manifested in me feeling terribly sad... hardly surprising considering the number of crisis and trauma floating in the ether (pandemic, Nova Scotia shootings, the downed Forces helicopter), coupled with my awareness of friends who are experiencing loss. What got me was hearing the emotions of a journalist after speaking to the mother of one of those lost in the helicopter crash. Not that I am stoic, but I usually like to know the stories; it feels like a way to honour those who have been scarred or who have left us. But I hit a limit yesterday, and it stuck right there in my throat. As I was feeling this, and doodling, I found a tragic face making itself visible on the page, a crying eye, and bringing it out brought everything to the surface.

I am fortunate in that I have skills learned from many years in therapy that I can turn to when I get emotional or stuck. I wasn't yet at the stage of being overwhelmed, let alone panicked, but I have a deep knowledge that even if it gets that bad, I can cope with it. I can process it, I can work it out. This gives me a lot of strength when the chips are down.

The time I learned this was upon my arrival in Athens in 2009, and I had a big dose of culture shock. I felt traumatized and it went very deep. It wasn't so much Athens itself, but I was vulnerable, and something tilted, and I was not doing well. It took me a couple of days to work through it, I think, but I was able to figure out what was going on, and dug deep to find myself, rescue me, and get grounded again. I write about that a bit in my blog (Arrival in Athens and Chocolate, worry beads and a Greek rainstorm), and although I did not reveal a lot, I remember what a mess I was. That experience has taught me how resilient I really am. And the knowledge of that has helped me a few times in recent years, when I hit a wall. In the present, I wasn't there (yet), was just feeling emotional, but I was reminded of this, and it gave me comfort.

In the end yesterday, I worked it through a bit, then mostly distracted myself for the day (with all news off), and gave myself time.

Today, I feel much better.... but it's also what inspired me to think about how documenting at this time is helping me, and not helping.

Not helping? No, it's not that. It can never be a bad thing to be present and to deal with one's stuff, but it IS harder.

Harder isn't a bad thing.

I think I'd rather have it be harder, and have to work it through, than not feel anything at all, or feel oblivious.

It's all good, it's all good....

Museums engage rapid response teams

A few more museum initiatives on documenting life during a pandemic:

London's Victoria and Albert Museum has
put its Rapid Response Collecting team to work

Museums Scramble to Document the Pandemic, Even as It Unfolds - New York Times

Around the world, the coronavirus outbreak has sent legions of emergency medical and health care workers into overdrive. But it has also meant work for a handful of curators and museum researchers in Europe, charged with tracking the events and implications of the crisis, even as it happens. Most of them do not know exactly how or when their findings will be used, but they are confident that future generations of museum workers — and visitors — will want the information... [continue reading the New York Times article].

The International Center of Photography
is collecting on Instagram (#ICPConcerned)

Museums Are Urgently Collecting Homemade Masks and Other Ephemera From the Coronavirus Pandemic to Document History as It Unfolds - ArtNet

Curators call the practice "urgent response collecting"... As many of our minds are focused on how to fight the spread of disease, museums are thinking about how to best document this unique period in history and to preserve elements of the crisis as it unfolds... As a starting point for the current crisis, the Museum of the City of New York and the International Center of Photography are both utilizing Instagram (under the respective hashtags #CovidStoriesNYC and #ICPConcerned)... [continue reading on ArtNet for more initiatives].

Quotes from the diary study

On the screen after submitting each COVID-19 Daily Diary Study entry, there is a quote, and I've decided to collect them (I might even ask them for the first ones). 

Here's today's:

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says 'I'll try again tomorrow.'

- Mary Anne Radmacher

COVID Diary 2

I've been poking at another entry in my COVID-19 Diary without making much progress, but it's not for a lack of focus. It's just that a couple other related activities have been taking my time.

One is the blogposts I have been writing on how museums are documenting life during a pandemic. Theses were interesting initially, but I don't think it will be long until I just say "all museums are doing something".

The other, and most importantly, is the is the COVID-19 Diary Study that I am participating in (and wrote about it here). It's very interesting, but is taking me 20-30 minutes each evening (I will get an output of my responses after 4 weeks, so I might post that, or part of it, at that time).

I feel that I am benefiting from the structure these activities have provided me, especially the daily diary study. It has made me aware of my state of mind, how much I am (or am not) listening to news, my health, and so on. For at least part of my day, I am absolutely present.

I have been listening to music while I do these, and have periodically paused to record what I have been grooving to.

Background music: Ain't Too Proud to Beg (Rolling Stones), Maggie May (Rod Stewart), Innagadadavida (Iron Butterfly), Straight On (Heart), Hush (Deep Purple), Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas), Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits), Won't Get Fooled Again (The Who), Touch Me (The Doors), Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple), Radar Love (Golden Earring)

Canadian Museum of Human Rights: Acts of Kindness

The Canadian Museum of Human Rights is asking,
"What acts of kindness have lifted your spirits
during the Covid-19 pandemic?” 

The UK based Museums Association has created guidelines for how museums should go about collecting pandemic-related content, as well as a toolkit.

In How are museums collecting during coronovirus shutdown? the association profiles 10 museums and their COVID-19 collection efforts, nine in the United Kingdom, and one in Canada(!).

Canadian Museum of Human Rights, Winnipeg 

The Canadian Museum of Human Rights is asking people to create and share videos responding to the question: “What acts of kindness have lifted your spirits during the Covid-19 pandemic?” Selected videos will then appear on the museum’s website (there are 16 videos so far).

To read what the nine UK museums are doing, continue reading on the association's website.

Royal BC Museum: Collecting For Our Time

I posted a few days ago about two interesting initiatives around diarizing life during COVID-19: Documenting life during a pandemic. Since then, I've heard a few more such stories, so will continue this as a little series, as I find them. 

Royal BC Museum - COVID-19: Collecting For Our Time

The Royal BC Museum recently launched a project that invites British Columbians to share stories of their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Collecting For Our Time demontrates how museums are evolving as spaces for reflection and dialog. By seeking contributions from the community, the project is also educating the public how and why museums collect. This involvement will help all of us treasure the long-term value of the collection.

"Right now we’re collecting information. So write to us at forourtime@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca. Tell us what you think should be captured for the future. What do you think will best tell generations to come who we were and what we lived through? You can send us a few lines, a link to a tweet, a photo or a poem... [continue reading on the RBCM website]."

CVD = COVID Diary

I've thought off-and-on about journalling throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but let it go, choosing instead to stick to my usual un-routine of journalling when I need it (none of this is public anyways).

Earlier, I shared highlights from two radio interviews about COVID-19 diaries: Documenting life during a pandemic.

Interesting, I thought, as I listened.... so am playing with the idea of blogging throughout this.

My perspective is that of a single female introvert, living alone, working at home, and feeling very grateful for everything: Canada, BC, our healthcare system, my health, my job, my apartment and all the time I have on my hands.

The pandemic aside, I am perfectly content to spend days alone. It's as natural as breathing for me. And considering I just spent 10 years living with family, after 30 years of living alone, I am especially grateful to have my own space. Physical space, but mental, emotional and spiritual space as well. I had largely lost touch with those aspects of myself after I began co-habitating, so this is more time along the path I have been on since December.

Background music: Under My Thumb (Rolling Stones), Heart of Gold (Neil Young), Down on Mainstreet (Bob Seger), White Lightening and Wine (Heart), Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin)

Documenting life during a pandemic

Today I listened to TWO interesting CBC Radio shows about pandemic diaries: who's keeping them, and why, and how they have value beyond the personal. It turns out there are a few initiatives to encourage recording this period for their historical value. A few highlights from each:

'We want it all': Keeping a COVID-19 diary? It could help future historians — and your mental health - The Current

Dr. Karen Blair, an assistant professor of psychology at St. Francis Xavier University... is part of a team that's collecting diary entries from those in the thick of isolation. They hope to shed light on how the pandemic is affecting mental health. Each day, participants check in with a short survey. Some even share details about their experiences that day."

It's so interesting that I have joined the COVID-19 Diary Study project.

The Current story resources
Keeping a COVID-19 diary? It could help future historians - podcast episode and transcript
COVID-19 Diary Study - join Dr. Karen Blair's project

National Museum of Denmark's
Christian Sune Pedersen is leading the journal project

Danes are sending their quarantine journals to the national museum - Day 6

"Lots of people are turning to social media to chronicle the monotony of quarantine, peppered with the brief excitement of sourdough starters and family kitchen parties. But folks in Denmark are taking it a step further, by sending pages of their lockdown journals to the national museum to preserve them for posterity. Conveniently, Denmark already has a blueprint for the journal experiment..."

They've done it before, in 1992 (when they received 51,000 entries) and again in 2017. An interesting listen.

Day 6 story resources
Danes are sending their quarantine journals to the national museum - podcast episode and transcript
National Museum of Denmark - official website (19 museums/sites)

Museums in the age of COVID-19

Time just published a timely piece: 5 Ways to Bring Art Into Your Home While Museums Are Closed. A few highlights:

As part of widespread efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, many of the world’s major cultural institutions have closed their doors... these institutions’ closure brings a reminder of the importance of the museum’s place in society during times of need. Research has shown that viewing art can reduce stress and anxiety, increase motivation and serve as a mood booster... And museums also play a crucial role in creating a more empathic world. They preserve the past, remind us of our place in the present and give us hope for the future. But the inability to set foot in a museum for the foreseeable future need not be synonymous with the absence of art from people’s lives. Under the Instagram hashtag #MuseumFromHome, cultural institutions have shared several informative posts about their collections and other artworks in an effort to continue to share knowledge and culture with the public, despite the closings. And there are many other ways to get your arts and culture fix from home via the internet, exploring museums that would otherwise require a plane ride to visit..." [continue reading on Time].

5 Ways to Bring Art Into Your Home While Museums Are Closed - Time