Well, That Escalated Quickly…
What all seemed to be fun and games last weekend as we stocked up on junk food and booze while busting out some old board games for our two day, self-imposed quarantine (or Coronacation 2020) has now turned into an unprecedented time in humanity’s history where everyone is encouraged to stay home and #stopthespread.
Restaurants, coffee shops and bars are closed or available for carry out only. Sporting events, concerts, and new movie releases will be non-existent for the foreseeable future. And traveling anywhere seems to be completely out of the question until at least the middle of summer.
So, what will we do? How will we spend all of this extra time stuck indoors?
Well, we adapt. We start doing virtual happy hours with friends. We take tours of museums from our couch. Live stream concerts. Join yoga and meditation groups via mobile apps. And perhaps my favorite idea comes from USA Today’s article “100 Things to do while stuck inside during a pandemic” in which people should watch a soap opera on mute and create their own dialogue.
However you decide to spend your time, we actually have an extraordinary opportunity to try and experience new things.
We may not be able to leave our homes, but we can access so much right now; to see and try things we’ve long considered to be out of our comfort zone (from the comforts of our home).
For us, we constantly talk about taking in more culture. Visiting museums, learning about art, going to plays, etc.
But actually doing these things can be a bit intimidating. It’s kind of like when you sign up for a gym; those first few times you actually go, you aren’t quite sure what to do. You feel like everyone is staring at you thinking “look at this meatball, he’s winded just walking in from the parking lot. He doesn’t belong here.”
It’s natural to feel like you don't belong when you try something new; you assume you are the least knowledgeable person in the room.
I mean, what if a stranger actually comes up to you and asks what you thought of the play, or of a particular piece of art? What kind of uneducated, uncultured response would spew out of our mouths?
So what do we do? We simply avoid those situations.
Well, now we don’t have to worry about looking out of place, we can access and participate virtually without judgement.
There are more and more live streams, virtual tours and isolated ideas announced every day; and here are three things we want to try over the coming weeks of isolation:
1. “Visit” New York - Playbill is giving access to 15 filmed Broadway shows, and the Guggenheim Museum as well as The Met are available for a virtual tours. Only thing missing is a New York slice.
2. Attempt Yoga - CorePower Yoga is providing free access to their classes on demand via their website and adding one new class a week. We have several Yogi’s in the family who have pushed us to try this for years, so we are finally caving. Wish us luck on this one!
3. Stream a concert - More and more artists are announcing every day that they will be hosting live stream concerts. From Garth Brooks to Jack White’s Third Man Records, there is no shortage of options. Billboard has a running list here with dates and times as artists announce their shows.
It’s no doubt been a wild ride over the last week and who knows when it will slow down, but we should, and do, find ways to stay connected, especially in the tough times. What is everyone else doing to keep their mind active and try new things? Let us know!
Cheers,
Spike, Bing, Skeeter and Jameson