April 13, 2020
PART 1 – My PhD Thesis Defence
Four weeks ago was the first day I began working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also the same day as my mock thesis defence. I was supposed to have taken a 4 hour train ride the weekend prior so that I could do my mock defence in person, with my supervisor and lab mates. However, a few days before, my train ticket was cancelled due to restrictions on travel that were being put in place all across the province. So I did my mock defence on Zoom. That was okay with me, because I had just found out my thesis defence was also going to happen via a video call. Never before had my university allowed virtual defences, and all of a sudden it was the accepted norm (thankfully!).
In the week between my mock defence and the real thing, I had some moments of extreme disappointment about the changes that had so quickly occurred. My friends and family wouldn’t get to see me defend, I wouldn’t be able to celebrate with my lab afterward, and I wouldn’t get to have the celebratory party I had planned a month in advance (yes, I am a planner). I felt sad when thinking that there would be nothing to look forward to or get excited about while I was in self-isolation and couldn’t get together with friends and family for important events. However, after a while I realized that I could still work to make things feel special while in self-isolation. So I promptly organized 6 back-to-back video calls for the afternoon after my defence.
And in the end, even though it wasn’t what I planned, the day felt really special. I feel very lucky to be living with my boyfriend during this time of self-isolation. His excitement really made the day feel special. To celebrate we went on a walk around our neighbourhood and bought “defence flowers”, which were to be the first of a number of plant purchases for our balcony garden (more on that in the future).
Once he “went back to work” (i.e., the desk in the corner of our living room), I cracked open a bottle of bubbly and spent 5 consecutive hours of video calls with my supervisor and lab mates, parents, and close friends. And it did feel REALLY special. A number of people joined me in the drinking of bubbly, which was fun.
Then, we wrapped up the day with my favourite dinner, using my mum’s mac ‘n cheese recipe.
PART 2 – My Dad’s 70th Birthday
A few weeks later, my dad turned 70! His siblings were planning on hosting a big birthday bash for him, but that was no longer possible. My dad isn’t a major party guy, but this was his 70th and I strongly felt it was important to do something special! So, through brainstorming with him and my step-mum, we decided we’d have a birthday video call with his extended family and friends from all walks of life.
For the big event, my dad and step-mum dressed up in excellent costumes (as they are wont to do), we all sang happy birthday while he blew out candles, and then 14 of the 31 guests on the call gave speeches. And a bonus of doing it over a video call is we could easily record the whole thing, and now my dad has that as a memory of his 70th birthday during COVID-19.
These video calls definitely don’t replace the real deal, and I certainly plan on celebrating my thesis defence and my dad’s 70th in person when we are finally allowed to be together in-person, but for now, I’m really happy we did something to commemorate these momentous occasions.
It can feel like life is monotonous or boring, and nothing special can happen while in self-isolation. I’m coming to realize that this isn’t always true. It definitely requires a fair amount of effort and planning, but I strongly believe we can still make these important occasions feel special while self-isolating. However, it can be hard to motivate oneself, or it may seem impossible to come up with creative ideas to adapt to the current context.
- Roo
Hopefully, as a community we can brainstorm ideas to keep things exciting in the Time of COVID. So readers, I’m curious to know if there are any events you have celebrated during this time and what types of ideas you may have come up with to mark those occasions? Please respond in the comments section below!