Friday Night Routine: A Vlog of Unplanned Adventures

As I sit here almost 6 o'clock on a Friday night, I realize that I've lost touch with my usual routine. For once, there's no plan in sight, and it feels strangely liberating. Or is it? My mind starts to wander, and I think back to the last time I had a fun social engagement. It was with friends, and while we had a great time, afterwards, I felt drained. Not because of the amount of time spent together, but because of the sudden lack of social interaction that followed.

It's as if my brain is still reeling from the experience, struggling to adjust back into its usual rhythms. I remember feeling like I'd just run a mental Spartan Race after our hangout session. Three hours of conversation and margaritas can be exhausting, especially when you're not used to it. It's like I've been forced to confront my own social anxiety, and it's left me feeling a bit off-kilter.

This realization hits me as I ponder the prospect of making summer plans. How am I going to manage that when even a short hangout session can leave me feeling drained? It's a daunting thought, knowing that I'll need to recharge for several days after each social event. And yet, here I am, considering whether it's okay to stay home during winter and fall. The thought of missing out on fun times with friends is unbearable, but the exhaustion that comes with socializing is too much to bear.

As I sit here, feeling a bit anxious about my ability to make memories throughout the year, I realize that I need some new coping mechanisms. Maybe it's time to find a way to reinvigorate myself after each social event, rather than letting the fatigue win out. Perhaps I can learn to appreciate the quiet moments, too – the stillness of an empty apartment, the peace of a good book, or the simple joy of watching a sunset.

The thought of creating a "summertime sadness" anthem is both humorous and relatable. Who hasn't felt that way at some point? As I consider the possibilities for my next video, I realize that it might just be a great opportunity to showcase my growth (or lack thereof) in the world of vlogging. I'll need to learn from my mistakes and figure out how to use my camera without too much frustration.

The camera's quality is looking decent today, but I'm not sure if I can continue using it as intended. Maybe it's time for some tutorials or a collaboration with someone who knows what they're doing. For now, though, I'll just have to take things one step at a time and see where this journey takes me.

As the vlog comes to an end, I want to thank my viewers for watching – new and old alike! If you're interested in staying up-to-date on future content, please consider subscribing below. Don't forget to turn on notifications, as I'm still learning about how to effectively communicate with my audience. And who knows? Maybe this vlog will be entertaining enough for you to watch me struggle with the technicalities of YouTube – after all, that's part of the fun, right?

Summer plans and social anxiety may not be a winning combination just yet, but I'm determined to find a way to make it work. After all, as they say, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Or in this case, when life gives you social fatigue, maybe take some time for yourself – or create an anthem about the struggles of summertime sadness.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi guys welcome back to my vlog if you are new here welcome my name is Brooke so for this vlog I'm going to be filming it entirely on my iPhone I got this fancy iPhone when it first came out and I use it for pictures and such but nothing really beyond that I always film with my vlog camera it's a G X whatever number follows it was voted like the number one vlog camera of 2017-2018 they come out with new versions and such so I got the version that came out last year and I do love it however I don't really know how to use the settings so if you see some of my earliest earliest earliest vlogs like my first 4 or 5 everything has like a bluish tint and I just thought that's how the camera was and then when I was in Disneyland over Thanksgiving I chain oh sorry we have our lights on Auto thing so it just like turns on cuz it's 5:30 on the dot so it's on timer so lights are on anyways so when I was in Disneyland I thought I broke my camera because everything looks like it was like a cloud over it it was super foggy and like this like thick white like foggy appearance over the lens so any time you took any video it was it was that and I thought I broke it but then I was just pressing a bunch of random buttons and all of a sudden it had full range of color and it turned out that I was on some weird setting that had a bluish tint but other than that I've never really played around with the settings honestly I don't really know what I'm doing as far as like setting it up and making it the optimal I don't know appearance or video quality so part of it's probably that I'm just not getting those other cameras I don't really know how to get fancy with it but I want to see what this phone quality is about I mean everything looks great and dandy on this little screen but I mean both will find out when I have to put it on the computer but yeah I want to see the quality and compare things but if this ends up being better than the camera then I'm gonna have to watch some tutorials and figure out how to actually adjust things because maybe it's time also this is super weird I'm used to looking at the lens which is right in the middle and instead it's like all the way over here in the corner so if I keep breaking eye contact it's because it feels really weird to be like talking at the left corner you know what I mean it's odd and this iPhone is uh I don't know it's the one with the three cameras which one has three cameras does that know the ten the ten was not this I don't is this eleven is there an eleven ten X no X would be ten I don't know I don't know which ever one has the three cameras but yeah okay I've talked you long about that um so I don't know about you guys but this has been really odd for me because I don't know where we stand like society wise are we allowed to go out are we not so instructions are to stay home still but then businesses are opening so are we allowed to go out or do we have to stay home it's weird if we're supposed to stay home then why're businesses opening you know I don't know it's all very confusing I don't know what's going on but honestly even when we are officially they're like okay roam free everyone um mmm I don't think I want to go out I mean part of me is just like oh my gosh a breath of fresh air I want to go everywhere I want to do everything but then the other part of me is like mmm as soon as everyone's released that's when the virus is just gonna go rogue you know and I feel like there's just gonna be a second wave and then everyone's gonna get infected and people don't start dying again and I just don't want to be a part of that so I don't know what I'm supposed to do but I also don't want to spend all summer inside stay at home and be healthy get sick and end up in the hospital yeah you know at first it was like absolutely I would rather be home and say healthy but you know now the getting sick and staying in the hospital I mean it doesn't look so bad you know it's starting to look less and less threatening which is probably a problem on the home front though things that are getting really obnoxious is because we've not been able to take the dogs to the dog park is often they have started to take out all of their excess energy on our backyard so we have like a pillar and it's painted like white they have started to bite off the paint eat the paint which is toxic so first starters that's a problem but then they're also chewing at the wood so now we're going to have to like peel off the paint we're gonna have to sand it fix it try to make it look more attractive I don't know because it has all the bite marks like they've actually taken out chunks of the wood which is really upsetting we have a wooden deck they've decided to take it out on all the corners the edges of the deck and then they start taking it out on the beams of the deck which I really don't appreciate then our outside couches one of our throw pillows they decided to completely shred that take out all of the fluff and spread it throughout the yard and you know even just a dog toy that's like this big once you get all the fluff out oh my god it looks like they ripped up a couch so you can imagine this was a big like lumbar pillow it was like this like this thick and like this long of nose what I think was a little longer like when it cost our entire long couch and we had two of them and just everywhere it looked like someone broke in to build-a-bear and just stroll all the fuzz and distribute it throughout my yard it was awful also really frustrating and then hmm and then that's not it they weren't done our welcome mat we had a cute little welcome mat outside like by the back door and they completely shredded it first off doesn't that hurt like that's rough material that you are wiping off the bottom of your feet and ya know they bet it apart shredded it of course they had to disperse it around the yard because that's what they enjoy doing and then we have astroturf in our backyard originally we had grass it wasn't very well-maintained when we had purchased the house we had relayed grass seed and fertilizer things were kind of growing those patchy so then we decided to just invest in sod and it looked amazing and then a couple months later we ended up getting the puppies and they completely destroyed it so we're like okay well you know what that was expensive and we're not going to just keep redoing this and then they were getting super muddy and bringing it inside and was just awful so eventually we just decided to like bite the bullet and just make the investment to get sod or I'm sorry to get astroturf so we got like animal great astroturf so it's not just like the standard stuff it has multiple layers for draining and um like odor neutralizing so I think the come on see there's like three or four layers under the astroturf for that and then it's a special like um I don't know dog or pet grade astroturf so it's like heavier duty but it's super soft as well but now they are trying to chew it and pull it up okay we have had this astroturf for over six months they've never tried to do this they've never destroyed anything anything they haven't even chewed on shoes nothing and because they haven't been able to go run in the dog park socialize with other dogs they are just destroying everything so last week I ended up calling the city and calling the county and finding out that there was like one dog park open within like a half-hour radius of us so it's like 25 minute drive but we are going there every single day and taking them there for an hour so it's been it's been difficult to say the least because that's two hours of your day half an hour there you're there an hour and half an hour back so it's it's been challenging but we definitely have to do it for their sanity and then also it's come to a point also for our sanity because if they keep shredding and destroying things first off it's irritating and annoying to clean up but it's also going to start adding up I mean luckily the outside mat was like 15 bucks the pillow was only like 20 but it was a set so we have to buy a whole new set so we're missing one but as soon as they started messing with the astroturf and the deck that's was like okay alright these daily walks are not cutting it they want to be off leash they need to run they need to see other dogs socialize see something new other than the inside of our house the backyard and the park that we always walk around you know they just need some sort of stimulation in their life so hopefully that will work I mean since we've been taking them every day to that dog park they have not touched a single thing they've been sleeping better which means we sleep better because when they don't sleep well oh you don't sleep well you know what I mean they are upon you in the face they're getting up moving constantly they will randomly just start barking because they're awake and alert and it's just it's a mess so although it's difficult to carve out those extra two hours a day to take them to the dog park it has it's been worth it so it's felt like my days are a lot shorter because that's quite a big chunk to just like gone you know but I don't know it's still worth it but I can't wait til all of the dog parks reopen because we have one that's I don't I think it's like nine minutes from the house so it's not super close but it is far more doable than 25 minutes each way you know what I mean so waiting for that to happen waiting for everything to just be safe I don't know what they're gonna do about this vaccine business because also they said they aren't opening everything until there's a vaccine but it keeps mutating so even when they come up with the vaccine it's only gonna be for one strain of it so I'm curious to see how that's gonna play as well it's starting to feel like I need to just round up some people buy a private island you got to get tested make sure you don't have Corona before you're allowed on the island it could be Corona Island a although that might actually already exist I don't know I'll need to look up to it I'll have to look and do it and such but figure out the specifics but I'm feeling like that's what's gonna need to happen we ran to buy an island and we're gonna have to buy a boat and we're gonna have to get a private chef that is not allowed leave but also somehow sources all the food and brings it in so we're gonna have to figure out all those details because that's gonna be pretty tricky but yeah I need to find some investment partners so we can make this happen because I'm not trying to miss out on summer I'm not trying to miss out on my tan I want to go boating I want to be on a beach I don't know what else you know I had a whole lot of grand ideas of how great this summer was gonna be and then I just realized I have no ideas for what I want to do so there's that also they canceled the State Fair I mean not that I hmm I haven't gone to State Fair in years but because I've been trapped at home all of a sudden I'm like hey thanks there can't wait and ya know there there will be no State Fair no stay there at all I'm also really excited just for restaurants to be safe to go into and open up for like full seating and everything you know because I just I miss happy hour I miss appetizer specifically VJs there are avocados rolls and potato skins oh oh I'm craving those like crazy and yeah I just I really need to be there because we've also been cooking at home every single day and don't get me wrong I absolutely love cooking it is one of my top hobbies absolutely however when you have to cook every single me and okay you have to cook every single meal day after day week after week now becoming month a month um it's losing its sparkle to say the least so I it's a struggle earlier this week we ended up ordering Chipotle oh my gosh I mean Chipotle is good but like it's too polite you know and when I took that first fight I was just like oh my god what are they mixing gold in here some jesus water what is in this because I want to bathe in it I want to live in it like just cover my body let me absorb it you know that's how wonderful it was and I ate the entire thing I got a burrito bowl I ate the entire thing I felt sick to my stomach about halfway through but it was so good that I didn't want to stop so I just kept going I ate myself sick but it was okay because it was so worth it and you know what I went to bed that night I dreamed about Chipotle the next day all I could think about was Chipotle it was just like daydreaming about Chipotle oh it was amazing I miss not having to cook for myself you know when you just choose to or there's like a recipe that you really want to make it super exciting but I mean oh my gosh we've tried dozens of recipes all of them were really good because I check reviews you know star ratings all of that I find good ones but nonetheless even though we're mixing things up it's just I don't want to put in the effort I don't want to clean I don't want to have to wait for it I kind of just want to sit here do my own thing and then oh hey food arrives it was that yeah you know what the prices at restaurants when you're like okay this is like you made this for like five dollars why are you charging me like $25 you know I'm starting to feel like I paid 40 I'd pay 40 just make it for me okay just make it for me that's what I want I have a running list of all the restaurants that I'm going to go to as soon as I feel like it is safe to do so so yeah I'm excited right now my list is I think it's at 12 so um we've got a pretty expensive food budget ahead of us but no shame in my game no shame I'm stoked about it I just really want to go out eat I mean charge me $20 for a beer I want to pay it I want to pay it you know just like pour it for me could I go to my fridge and pop open a beer myself for like I don't know a dollar 50 yes but you know what I'd rather pay $20 dab you pour it and set it in front of me cuz I feel classy you know what I mean you know so what me and Darrin have been doing at home sorry I just get the table is oh well we want a beverage the other person goes and gets it so I'm like oh I want to be or need another beer he'll go the fridge and then we have those like pint glasses and he'll pour it there for me and he'll like come serve it to me and like when he needs more wine I do the same thing and I'll like come like bring him like bottle options you know do you want a petit Sirah or do not Agron ah Sh then just let him pick and then you know two can sit for and pour it and stuff and yeah it's it's helping but I want I want the real deal you know I want to come with appetizers this is this is the new new guys Friday or actually no it's not even the new new it's the old new or the new old it's the new old it's the new standard the new anyways what we've been doing this is now the routine Friday night here we are almost 6 o'clock and no plan none zero none although I forget what it's like to have plans I'm gonna go with friends once and it was so much fun but afterwards for like two days I was just like I don't know it kind of drained not because there a lot not not because like that just I'm not used to social interactions and it felt like like afterwards like I had endured some sort of like brain workout or something like it was weird it was weird like one hang out was like kind of exhausting I had such a good time there absolutely loved it it wasn't like hanging out with them was exhausting it was just like after the fact it was like whoa that was like a lot of energy why was that so much energy literally we hung out talked and had a margarita like we didn't do anything buckwild and I'm over here like I just ran a like mental Spartan Race and it's it's concerning because when where everything is unlocked opened whatever and where it will like go into the world I mean I was excited for all of my summer plans but how am I gonna have a summer plan when I hang out with people for three hours and then I need like a several day breaks like recuperate this is gonna be a problem this is gonna be a big problem so we're going to see how things go with that because I need to collect myself because there's no way I'm going to be able to make sufficient summer memories to get me through winter and fall you know I feel like I will use spring and summer my little highlight reel of all the fun I had and then in those cold months when you can't go out and stuff just like you know what I did make a lot of really good memories this year it's okay to stay home it's okay to not hang out with people but if I can't do that what am I gonna do in winter it's just gonna be sad it's gonna be so sad like summertime sadness oh this is the first summertime sadness will ever experience oh my god I think that needs to be my new anthem okay that's my new go-to song guys that is it summertime sadness as we are here stuck and can't do anything and when we can do something it's so draining that we can't do anything else for several more days this is it oh my gosh wow wow wow that song just it just saw into the future you know it just knew this was gonna happen and that we need it and here it is here it is okay well I'm gonna go listen to summertime sadness and maybe open a beer pretend it's happy hour maybe pour it in a pint glass and pretend someone else served it for me maybe I'll like put on the counter walk out and walk back in and be like oh is that for me thanks you know anything you gotta do anything to just make you feel like life is normal still and I think I might make chocolate chip cookies if I have enough flour because I've been able to find flour at the pass I don't know any times I went to the grocery store a minute we'll find flour sense what was that February or beginning of March I don't even know when this started but whenever this started I haven't had flour since then anyways alright guys well that is all I have for this vlog I am super interested to see what the quality looks like and based on what I'm seeing on the screen right now I think I am really gonna have to watch several tutorials about my camera and figure out how to use it if I do maybe I will record part of it on my phone so you guys can see because I am so not tech savvy and it's probably gonna be extremely entertaining to watch me suffer and get really frustrated so it'll be great it'll be some quality content for you a quality the highest quality alright guys thank you so much for watching this vlog and if you are new here or you haven't already please don't forget subscribe below and if you don't get notifications when I post videos you can click that little bell so at least tell you because I know that YouTube has kind of been slacking on informing people about things so yeah alright guys thank you again so much I will see you my next video\n"