Finding A New Normal

There was an article about four weeks ago that said during these times of crisis and intense social change it is important to not change at all routines and to find a normal within the new restrictions. I’ve been thinking on this article since coming back to the coast and how I could adapt my life up in Silverstar to the self-isolation down here.

The first step in that is analyzing what I was doing in my normal routine at Silver star and of the normal routine what do I want to continue doing. A typical day started for me around 9 AM. I would roll over in bed and I would just lie in bed reading emails and browsing the Internet. Around 10 AM, sometimes later and a few times too late, I would get up and shower and shave. After a short walk to the village I will go to my favourite lunch spot; Long Johns Pub. Long Johns was ran by two of my favourite people, both named John. Every day I would work I would be here, for the most part; sitting at the bar, having a coffee, doing my reports and prep lists, eating and generally shooting the shit with the ‘Johns.’ As a small side I think this is the thing I miss most in the quarantine. Post lunch meant it was work time, so a short walk from the Village to the end of the parking lot for my transportation was kept. If you never saw any pictures my transportation was a 1998 ski Doo touring LE with a broken speedometer stuck at 21,000 miles. Once you got the old gal started up it was a short one kilometre ride down the trail to The Wildhorseman’s Cabin. Once I got the fire started it is straight to work. In a typical day we would serve anywhere from 50 to 100 people, in which it was just me cooking, a server and three Teamsters, from here on out known as crazy horse ladies. Each day consisted of three tours; a hot chocolate and cookies tour and two dinner tours. Work would usually wrap up around 10 PM. At this point the decision lied in what kind of lovely patrons we had for dinner service. Did they imagine our restaurant also as a daycare service for the demon spawn they, with a facade of innocence, called children? Or was it a group of friends that had made the magical decision to leave their kids out of this night? Unfortunately for my liver it was more often in the prior. Lights out in the village or a lovely event. Most of the time it started right where I had lunch nine or so hours ago, Long Johns. Monday through Thursday you could catch the last 30 minutes of a live set by a local musician, easily egged on by our chants of ‘encore!’ For the most part it was just the regulars, maybe a few tables, people who have been coming on vacation for many years, and we would drink and converse at the bar top; just ourselves and the staff, it was basically Cheers! If it was a Friday or Saturday we might venture over to the Red Antler for a theme night or some DJ or band. Play it meant a snowy walk back to bed. Now some people will ask about snowboarding. Depending on weather and how busy of a day I had in front of me I would usually only ride on work days if it was a bluebird or something people I knew were going out that morning, otherwise it was on days off. As for non-work nights; my roommates and I had a Wednesday night tradition of drinks and “Life Below Zero.” We are big fans of Glenn and Sue. So that was my normal, how do I apply it to the life in self isolation I live now.

I think the best start to a new normal is illuminating the stuff we didn’t like, it’s important to keep a positive environment in these times. Doing this case I’m illuminating being a daycare for devil children, I’m not seeing your kids are Satan’s spawn but these peoples were, and horses, screw that animal. So the start of my day will essentially be the same except I’m not rolling over and looking at a ski hill but instead I am looking outdoors at Mount Baker, both beautiful. As far as walking to the Village pub and having lunch with some fantastic people, we are going to have to get creative. The walk is easy…. Down my stairs and into the kitchen. Lunch will have to be cooked by me, as well as the coffee. The company is where I need your help! If people are working from home and want to Skype/video chat, however it happens, and talk, cook lunch, and eat. I would be super stoked! Honestly PM me or comment or just call! Let’s start a virtual diner! Anyways moving on from quarantine altering great ideas. As you’ve guessed I am not working at this time. So creating a normal of work every day has been interesting. I’ve mostly been spending at writing recipes and ideas that I have scribbled throughout notebooks for the last for five years. I try and spend a minimum two hours a day doing this. When I am done at ’work’ I try and get a little exercise and leave the house; whether it be walking to the grocery store or just around in our new neighborhood. When I get home I get back to ‘work,’ by cooking dinner. I’ve been trying to make something new every time or at the least writing down an actual recipe I like to make. From here we arrive at the end of the ‘work day.’ Considering I’ve decided to eliminate the restaurant daycare hell spawn from my life we can safely assume I don’t go to the bar… Wrong! Social isolation is difficult for a person that loves the social interaction in life. So thoughts are we open up the virtual diner for drinks after dinner. I’ll even hold a towel and wipe down the surface in front of me. Not sure if this is a great idea or if it’s the slow insanity creeping in. The rest is fairly easy, I can put myself to bed.

The goal of this post was to find a new normal with in this crazy world we are living in. But I hope it also provide a little escape. This is an incredibly mentally taxing time for a lot of people, myself included. So if you ever just want to talk, make some food together, or just share a drink(alcoholic or not). I promise you I will be there. As much as this is a time when we need to be physically apart it is also the time we need to be together in community and support. I wish you all the best in this crazy time. Stay safe and healthy. Let’s go to bar! A virtual bar.