Girl with a pearl necklace

Johannes Vermeer, Woman With a Pearl Necklace, ca. 1662-1665, oil on canvas 

So far the highlight of my week has been jumping rope, just once, really well — two minutes at top speed without once catching myself flat-footed. I had claimed one corner of a deserted outdoor basketball court that in the midday sun looked like over-baked fondant and started jumping rope in a seething rage. Somehow, thrillingly, it worked, and much better than the different soundtracks, surfaces, and times of day I had previously tried in the hope of improvement. I couldn’t even see the plastic-coated red wire as it whipped through the air, just heard it whistling as it passed overhead.

I had spent the prior couple of days frustrated by texts of all sorts, and I had been pushed past frustration into anger that morning when a friend with benefits asked me, in the course of otherwise fun sexting, whether I would like to have lots of men come on my face. I like this friend, and trust him and know his tone and comment were meant in the specific context of our play. Had he asked me a few days earlier, I might have rolled my eyes rather than abruptly telling him that I wasn’t feeling it and going to jump rope in a rage.

Scheduling a Date During a Global Pandemic

Don't do this.

I've been home a lot this week (because of the global pandemic), which meant I had plenty of excess anxiety and spare brain cycles. I spent those excess cycles tapping the little heart icon on Hinge profiles while vaguely paying attention to a Netflix show. Apparently I was not alone.

I was anxious. So I broke the rules to break up the monotony. I went on a date Friday night with a new person. 

Scheduling was complicated because both our plans were in constant flux. We, and everyone else, were in the middle of rearranging our lives for this new pandemic reality. Cocktails in “East Williamsburg” were hastily arranged.

In retrospect, it hadn't sunk it how serious the situation was. If scheduling a date involves the phrase: “haha, I’d be down for a quarantine drink tonight actually!” maybe just don’t. The date itself started with an elbow bump hello and ended with an awkward don’t-get-close-enough-to-breathe-your-viruses-on-me hug goodbye. It was nice, but I wouldn’t do it again (because of the global pandemic). Learn from my example. 

Other would-be daters seem to be rapidly coming to the same conclusion. By Saturday, my online flirting had done a 180. A woman I was supposed to get drinks with messaged me: “How are you coping? Maybe we should have a drink over FaceTime? Haha” Maybe not the most exciting, but at least we'd be seeing a new face instead of just replying to group texts in our apartments. We can date like we work, in endless Zoom meetings.

I think we might be stuck in this kind of dating world for a while. (Because of the global pandemic.) If that is the case, I think I find this potential date invite I recently received the most romantic. “We could go for a walk and I don’t know stay 6 feet apart," she wrote, "just to be sure.”