What a weird dream ...

Recently, I have been having a weird nightmare that the entire world has turned upside down.

The Eiffel tower, once crowded with tourists trying to take just another selfies and locals enjoying their brunch on the lawn nearby, is now completely empty. Not a single person or a single car on streets, but pigeons remain packed surrounding the area. Some even notice that these birds start to chirp a little bit louder than usual.

A tree

Across the pond, New York City is not that much different. Instead of thousands of people trying to cram into a tiny space in front of glowingly bright billboard signs of various broadway shows, a lone pedestrian crosses a nearly empty street.

Not everything is bad news. With no car on streets in every major global city, the sky slowly begins to clear. Residents from New Delhi, frequently credited as one of the most polluted cities in the world, start to see a clear blue sky, unlike anything they are accustomed to before. The air, many experts used to say is impossible to improve in this developed, technologically advanced society, has been clear without any intervention.

Not that I am protected from this weird situation. Instead of walking through feet of snow to my office to start my works every morning and leaving the office at 5pm when it was completely dark outside, I just hop off the bed and I am already at work. Never once have I imagine myself get any work done in my tiny 146-sqaure-foot apartment. Now, this is the only place I can do work.

Instead of planning for my quick weekend-getaway trip in the spring once the weather improves, I simply plan my video-conference hang out with those who are in the same situation. But since the entire world has turned upside down, "everyone" is in the same situation from colleagues whom I usually meet everyday in the office to friends whom I hang out with over weekends to friends who live on the other coast of the country to old friends whom I normally meet once every two year. Now everyone is the same distance apart, just one Zoom away. In my dream, I often try to tell myself that I start to get used to the new situation and once I feel totally comfortable with this weird circumstance I will feel much better that I feel now. I wish this is true. ...

Now, I simply feel alone and anxious at the same time.

And then, I wake up and I remember that it is just reality now.