Unprecedented times? Duh.
It would be an understatement to say that the past few months have been a wild ride. It would, in fact, be a vast and incredible understatement, which I find myself struggling to describe despite being in possession of what I’d like to consider a fairly extensive vocabulary (according to my secondary school English teacher).
Anyway, this post was supposed to be a meaningful reflection on my internship, which will end in 2 weeks’ time. However, I’d also like to note that this was supposed to be a 20-week-long internship- I spent all of 5 weeks at the office, and haven’t seen most of my colleagues since the beginning of February. Like most of my plans for 2020, this post took on a different direction in the process of writing, much like a bull-headed sentient Maserati.
If you get this, ur a real one
As a 22 year old undergraduate student just trying to make it through her internship, these are some unprecedented times indeed. Here at Bloomr, we started working from home since Feb 7, so that makes it 3.5 months (and counting) since I began a routine where my days and nights just…blur together. I can’t count the number of work emails which I’ve sent and received that include the phrase “unprecedented times”.
So- I thought it’d be fun to list some of the “unprecedented” things I’ve been doing the past few months. I put the air quotes because, well, technicalities. Also, exaggerating things makes this post more fun to read, I have a deadline to meet, and I’m trying to jump on the COVID-19 Relatable Content™ Bandwagon.
1. Unprecedented weeb hours
Like most Singaporean millennials my age, I consume a (I think) healthy amount of content from a variety of countries. Despite my obsession with kpop back in my tweenage years (plugging my previous article), ever since I grew out of that phase, I haven’t really exclusively consumed a singular type of content. (If you didn’t know: weeb is the short form for weeaboo. Here, I’m using it as a self-mocking term, in case you get the wrong idea)
This circuit breaker, however, I have been strangely drawn into the world of anime and manga of all different genres. My top 2, however, are the action fantasy anime Kimetsu no Yaiba (aka Demon Slayer), and the sports anime Haikyuu!! Both are available on Netflix.
I also read 392 chapters of Haikyuu!! in 4 days- it is worth noting that the Haikyuu!! manga began its run in 2012, so I effectively caught up on 8 years’ worth of material in 4 days. In for a penny, in for a pound, or something like that. I highly recommend this if you’re bored- oh, who am I kidding, we’re all bored and stuck at home. You might as well.
2. Unprecedented improvement in Chinese language skills
It all started when I began watching the incredibly popular Chinese xianxia drama The Untamed back in December. I’ve always enjoyed Chinese period dramas, but I enjoyed The Untamed so much that I read its source novel, Mo Dao Zu Shi as well. From there, I proceeded on a non-stop streak of Chinese romance novels, which I understand (from my friends’ reactions when they found out) is something of a novelty. I guess those 4 years of Chinese lessons in secondary school and JC paid off.
And then the coronavirus hit, and I found myself actively signing up for a Weibo account (China’s version of Twitter, if you can call it that) to track the updates on the situation. The foreign press picks up on the most newsworthy bits, but I was able to read the very real reactions of the Chinese people to the explosion of the virus in its most heavy-hitting days, when the rest of the world hadn’t caught up yet. I saw frustration, sadness, anger, and despair. I saw the Weibo real-time trends, of which 95% out of 50 were dominated by news of the virus’ spread across counties and provinces at any given time.
I know that the title of this is mostly a joke, but I really was grateful to be able to read Chinese in those times. As someone who works in this industry, I consider it vital to be able to read a variety of news sources. Perhaps more importantly, I wanted to see the unfiltered responses of the people. We talk about the importance of content and the influence of the media- in these unprecedented times (hah), it is more important than ever to consider the impact of our words on others, and others’ on us.
This got a bit more serious than I expected, huh.
3. Unprecedented online shopping
In an effort to justify the depletion of my bank account via Taobao to my parents, I frantically googled to make sure I wasn’t the only one who’d suddenly developed a “treat urself queen u deserve it” mindset.
Anyway, it’s true. Since retail stores are pretty much closed for the foreseeable future (or whenever Phase 1 ends), people are turning to online shopping to get their necessities, as well as…idk, fulfill the need for spending money? I sound like I’m joking, but it’s a well-known fact that retail therapy exists because people shop to make themselves feel happy. It’s the thrill of receiving a spanking new Zalora/Lazada/Shopee/Taobao package in these days when we pretty much have nothing to look forward to.
As I speak (or type I guess), 10 out of 11 items from my latest Taobao order have been shipped out, and I can’t wait!!!! This isn’t a sponsored post, but I wish it was. My DMs are always open, Jack Ma.
4. Unprecedented TikTok viewing
I have a feeling that I’m younger than the majority of people who may or may not be reading this post, but I’m still gonna say this. I am…considered old for TikTok. Alas, my status as a ’98 baby puts me in that awkward gap between millennials and Gen Z, where I can sort-of relate to having ‘that 90s childhood’, but am still a bit too young for the early 2000s references.
TikTok is the playground of the T0x-liners (if you didn’t know, this refers to people born in 2000 onwards, because their IC numbers start with T0xxxxxxx), and I am but a mere S98xxxxxxx. I feel this all the more keenly when I’m scrolling through my FYP (for you page), and see great content from people whose bios read 17/18/19. I will admit that before this CB period, I thought that TikTok was kinda cringey. I was under the impression that it was all about the dances- Renegade, Say So, Cannibal, etcetc. But then I actually got on the app, and found a bunch of content I thought was witty and hilarious and sometimes just plain dumb. But still funny.
It would take way too long for me to link funny TikToks here, so I’m not gonna attempt to do so. I will leave this one though (yes it’s a Youtube video of a TikTok lol, linking TikToks here screws up the format)- it’s a remake of the Casey Frey meme that went viral.
5. Unprecedented Gordon Ramsay/Martha Stewart delusions
As a privileged and sheltered member of the strawberry generation, the first time I peeled a carrot was at the ripe old age of 21, while I was on exchange in Switzerland. Despite the sad realities of my culinary abilities (or lack thereof), I have been labouring under delusions brought about by the stifling reality of being confined to the 4 walls of my home. Said delusions fall in the realm of “I-can-cook-as-long-as-I-follow-this-BonAppetit/Tasty/Tastemade-Recipe”.
As my favourite Rice Media writer Pan Jie so eloquently put in this article, “ People who were previously incapable of boiling eggs have suddenly donned aprons and conjured rolling pins out of thin air.” As the Twitter stans would say, I feel attacked.
In the past 2 months, I have succeeded in some things (bolognese), and failed in some (getting my dad to like zucchini). Nevertheless, I am in the process of convincing my mother to purchase an oven (yes, I am like Sumiko Tan except I didn’t write an article about it) so that I can fulfill my fantasies of baking the perfect chocolate chip cookie.
A conclusion, I guess
I suppose if anything, the past few months under /lockdown/ have taught me a lot about keeping myself entertained. In pragmatic Singapore- in a country where I was told at my grandmother’s funeral that I didn’t have much of a future career-wise as a communications major, we often overlook the careers that aren’t as commercially viable as, say, doctors and lawyers.
However, I do hope that we all remember that in times of boredom and frustration, we turned to content creators to keep ourselves entertained. Those of us privileged enough that our biggest concern was boredom looked for things that could keep us happy- a form of escapism, found in the encouraging dulcet tones of Chloe Ting, the banana-y smells of…banana bread, and the “hello-ur-package-is-here” sounds of capitalism.
Alternatively, pretentious conclusions aside, this post can be summarised by the tweet below.
