Life in the time of Coronavirus 3.0

Life in the time of Coronavirus 3.0

Adapting to the new normal

This past March, COVID-19 changed the world as we know it. Some are finding difficulty adjusting to the new normal of closed schools and businesses and the banning of social gatherings. The new normal is staying home and finding new ways to interact with friends and loved ones without putting anyone at risk of catching the virus.

The first days of “sheltering in place” to protect our most vulnerable members of society by staying home were a weird time for everyone. Introverts rejoiced and kept doing what they always do without a second thought. Parents found themselves home with their kids and no playdates or trampoline parks for a distraction. On top of that, they were now tasked with educating their brood from home. Nobody was really sure how this was going to work out.

The first adjustments to the new normal were the answer to work gatherings-AKA the staff meeting. People were working from home and it was finally ok to tell people you can’t be in the same room with them without HR getting involved. Zoom, an online platform that allowed everyone to meet together through their computers saved the day. There were some misfires for some. One woman accidentally turned herself into a talking potato and just went with it for her staff. The internet quickly filled with videos of other hilarious mishaps.

Social Media has done a great job of creating community and allowing people to connect with people outside of the allowed 6 feet. People shared memes, moms were learning to homeschool online with teachers and classmates. Instagram, Snapchat, and a lot of people (that shouldn’t) started discovering TikTok. The community moved online. Facebook was ready for the new normal, as most adults were already there and knew how to use it. Teens fled to Instagram, Snapchat, FaceTime, and private group texts because “OMG, everyone on Facebook is so old and cringey”.

In Asheville, a laid-off bartender started the Asheville Quarantine 2020 group on Facebook. The fast-growing group started as a place to get away from COVID-19, politics, and the serious issues everyone is facing. They have a daily happy hour that starts at 4:30. Everyone posts what they are drinking and has a good time from the safety of their homes. As the weeks went by Fancy Friday sprang up where folks had a reason to get dressed up, do their hair, and put on some makeup for a selfie to post. They also provide each other with much-needed community information about unemployment, which stores take care of their cashiers and have paper products, and to connect volunteers directly with people in the community who need help. They even kick in through PayPal to buy pizza for the local hospital’s nurses on the overnight shift.

Meanwhile, out of work DJ’s found a new outlet with the Quarantine Music Festival-Live Bedroom DJs group on Facebook. It is exactly what it sounds like, live DJs doing their thing from their bedrooms, garages, anywhere at home. People tuned in to watch parties and enjoyed a music festival from their home that has stretched into weeks at this point. Celebrities got into the mix posting their own home performances, but there is something special about real people like us performing in their own bedrooms. The performances of artists facing the same dilemmas of unemployment, procuring food and supplies, and the same uncertainties like the average working person that really made the performances of locals more appealing than celebrities in their secure mansions.

The world is changing fast as we enter spring in the days of April. We’ve all been through a lot already and adjusted as well as our coping methods could help us. In our common experiences and emotions, we still have weeks if not months of the new normal to navigate. However, as long as we still have the internet and good friends (with wifi)-we will continue to grow and evolve through this experience and find our community in new venues and different platforms.

Vow Renewals
We Specialize in All-Inclusive

At first, we thought all-inclusive meant just having all the infrastructure ready to go for the couple, so what looks like such a simply beautiful, largely outdoor wedding could be as clean and simple as the lines of the tent.  There should be no hassles about getting in all the infrastructure and having it ready for your wedding. We did not want to witness a rental truck showing up at the last minute and a mom or bridesmaid, or the couple themselves, setting up chairs and tables–even mowing the yard–on the morning of the wedding.  These were all things Jeanne witnessed repeatedly over the years. No wonder people were exhausted before their wedding even began…

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