How You Doing?

By Raymond Nakamura

I hope you are as well as can be expected under the circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed us into a new world. Dealing with the pandemic has spread beyond an issue of science communication to sharing an historic experience.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the threat and the many impacts of self-isolating, other posts on this blog have already shared some helpful information. Increasingly, the importance of finding common ground with your audience is being recognized as an important part of science communication. This post is more about sharing my experiences with some little comics I have been posting online, as my way to stay connected with friends and perhaps offer some encouragement.

Many people seem to be working from home for the first time. As a freelancer, intermingling work work and house work is normal, other than having to avoid people who usually aren’t there while I’m walking my dog.

What has changed for me has been the act of buying groceries. Deliveries of groceries have skyrocketed, but to leave that service to those more desperately in need, I have gone in person, only to realize how things have changed.

Even before this situation, I did not get out much, but have been meeting with my writing group every Monday for the past twenty years. Recently, we did our first videoconference. It worked out quite smoothly, but of course we missed the snacks and hugs.

We are still learning about the effects of this novel coronavirus, but in my case, just the possibility of it seems to have affected my senses.

It does seem that the reduced traffic and general mayhem makes it easier to hear the birds when I go out to walk my dog.

If you can, get outside a little without your devices and maybe it will help your frame of mind. Take care.

For those of you interested, I drew these cartoons on an iPad with an Apple pencil, using an app called Tayasui Sketches.