Has COVID brought the dating market to its knees?  Not quite, although, as one would suspect, people are trying to balance staying healthy and safe with keeping their love lives from going full-on rusty. But there's no question that, with many businesses ground to a halt and crowd-attracting events nixed indefinitely, it limits opportunities to meet and connect with people.  Social distancing and reduced capacity limits in restaurants, movie theaters, and other venues where you might ordinarily strike up a conversation with someone doesn't exactly lend itself to romance.  Thankfully, with the rollout of vaccines, we may finally be turning the corner, as deaths and cases have been dropping sharply in recent weeks.  Just because we are still in the middle of a pandemic doesn't mean you can't go on dates, but you should insist that whoever you meet get tested, as he or she may ask you as well. It isn't as if meeting in a quiet restaurant, mall, or park is all bad. Thin...

Sometimes you need to stand alone to prove -- not only to others, but to yourself -- that you can still stand. I believe strongly in turning to friends and family for support amid tough times. But oftentimes the answers lie in us, even if we may not realize it at first, and all we need to do is follow our gut. For instance, maybe you've been dating someone whom you know deep down isn't the right match for you, or working in a career that you've known for a long time doesn't make full use of your skills. Perhaps others prod you to continue dating this individual because they're certain the future looks bright for the two of you. (They may have been the ones to fix you up as well.) Or they implore you to remain in that job because, well, things are bad out there and surely you can't find a position that better suits you, right? While many of these people mean well, who better to know who or what is right for you than yourself? Indeed, arriving at c...

If you ask most women, they would say they're always up for wearing a nice necklace. If you ask most men, they'd assert that they're happy to gift one to the woman they love. But chances are you wouldn't be as inclined to wear or give a vibrating social distancing necklace. You're probably wondering what on God's earth that is (as I was when I first read about it on the Smithsonian's website). You may remember that Italy was one of the first countries to get buffeted by the coronavirus. As of this writing, it has led to nearly 33,000 deaths in the European country. Even though the lockdown measures there have largely been eased, businesses big and small are taking steps to curb the virus's spread, and museums are no exception. At Florence Cathedral, electronic devices worn on lanyards will notify visitors if they’re standing too close to their neighbors. How? By vibrating and lighting up, much like a noisy cell phone or a pager you'd ge...

Can you guess something, according to recent studies, that most of us have been doing quite more than usual in this era of social distancing? Eating? That's probably true, but it isn't what I'm alluding to. The same goes for using Facebook and binge-watching shows on Netflix. While these may certainly apply, I'm talking about something we hardly report doing, at least in normal times. Give up? I speak of dreaming,  whereby a series of ideas, emotions, images, and sensations occur involuntarily in the mind during the REM phase of sleep. Sometimes the dreams are positive, sometimes they're negative, and sometimes they make absolutely no sense -- and that's if we can remember them vividly enough to make such a characterization once we wake up! As it turns out, the stress and anxiety precipitated by the pandemic are behind this high incidence of dreaming, not to mention an increased prevalence of insomnia. We use dreams to cope with intense emotions,...

What do you absolutely love to do? You know, the kinds of things into which you'd happily plunge yourself 60 hours a week -- for FREE -- if you could. Most of us find ourselves with more time to spare as we work from home during this coronavirus pandemic. In my case, I'm happily pouring myself into my writing and allocating time for reading my history and psychology books -- many of which have been collecting dust on my shelf for years. An avid history and architecture buff, I've also been catching episodes of Museum Secrets, You Live In What?, and Travel Thru History -- all outstanding shows I highly recommend. Because my employer isn't all that gung-ho about letting people work from home, I am poised to capitalize on this rare opportunity to enjoy these activities in the comfort of home. Think about your deepest passions and how you can incorporate them into your work-from-home routine. Maybe you can squeeze in a morning walk with your dog, a painting ...

Today is most certainly a gift. That's why they call it the present.  Yesterday is in the past and cannot be changed. Tomorrow has yet to arrive. While we can plan for the future in certain ways, we'll never be in control of it entirely. All we have is the present moment to shape our lives in whatever ways we see fit. Right now, the present seems a little bleak because of the coronavirus pandemic we're all grappling with. But as I advised in my last posts, there are myriad things we can do with the additional downtime -- from enjoying existing hobbies or cultivating new ones to striving toward goals like learning a new language or how to play a musical instrument. American composer Irving Berlin said that life is 10 percent what you make it, and 90 percent how you take it. In other words, we spend the bulk of our lives responding to events over which we have little control. And the rest of it really depends on us. We're responding to this health crisi...

Those who have been on a lengthy quest to find Mr. or Ms. Right without success probably thought it was hard enough already. But now that they're being forced indoors due to the coronavirus, they find their possibilities even more limited. So what are they to do? If you're already dating someone, talking on the phone and exchanging texts can certainly get old after a while. But no one says you can't have ANY in-person contact. You could arrange to have dinner at either person's house. Maybe the host can cook, and next time you meet at the other's place. Or, you could just spring for delivery and cap off the night with a good movie. There's also the option of taking a walk around the neighborhood (so long as you practice social distancing from others). So, that works for those who've recently begun dating, but what about people whose little black book is, well, empty? That's easy: They can take to online dating sites. Even if they've...

. Introverts like me feel like we've been prepared for an event like the coronavirus virtually our entire lives. Under normal circumstances, we consciously seek out solitude in order to clear our minds and recharge our batteries -- especially after dealing with people for hours on end. Now, alone time has been thrust upon us. It's as if social distancing were tailor-made for introverts the world over. While extroverts, who thrive on social interaction, might regard having to stay at home for weeks or months as an unwelcome disruption in their lives, introverts are receiving it with open arms. We thrive on written communication. We relish alone time. We thrill at the opportunity to enjoy solitary pursuits. That's not to suggest we're misanthropes who loathe people and would gladly barricade ourselves in our homes if given the opportunity. We enjoy social interaction -- just in smaller doses, and with fewer people. In fact, introverts are known to become q...

The last few weeks have felt surreal, haven't they? I've never experienced anything like this Coronavirus pandemic in my life, and I'm sure many of you second that sentiment. While the most important thing we can do right now is keep ourselves and our families safe and healthy, many are already starting to chafe of cabin fever. They complain of feeling isolated and disconnected from the world in a way they never have before. Chances are, you've already worked from home for a few days. Such an arrangement has its share of pros and cons. Sure, you can work in your undees, spend more time with family, and not have to grapple with traffic. But some people just aren't as self-motivated as others, and without a boss a few feet away to keep them focused on their work, they become easily distracted -- whether by their kids clamoring to play, the cat meowing for food, or the temptation to watch The Price is Right. And while we can still do takeout and deliver...