Pan-de-mo-ni-um

“noun
wild and noisy disorder or confusion; uproar.
”pandemonium broke out””

That title is honestly one of the best words to describe all of 2020. Wow, COVID-19 hit us like a brick wall and we are still trying to get a handle on it presently - almost one full year later. It has been a time of loss, sacrifice, change, and emotional/political turmoil. Yet, there were a few beautiful things that emerged from it. I am grateful to still have my job, health, and wellness as I know others have not been so fortunate.

The rest of this blog piece is simply going to focus on the positives. So, if you’re not interested in me celebrating the happy little moments I was able to experience then this is not for you and I will politely ask for you to carry on and not troll me. Links to suggestions along with some of my photos will be at the bottom :)

Right before the pandemic went into full effect and a lockdown was enforced, I attended the Okeechobee Music Festival. I went all on my own and camped out for 3 days in Okeechobee, Florida. It was a lot of fun. I got to dress up, put glitter on my face, and enjoyed some of my favorite EDM DJs outside under the stars and laser lights amongst a sea of people. I met all kinds of different individuals while I was there but, instantly found a group to hang with after the Crooked Colours set within my first night. The festival itself can be somewhat intimidating. It’s on a large piece of land in a remote, rural area. There were 8 different stages and your campsite can be as far as up to 1-2 miles away. You better be in the mindset to navigate. Especially if you’re by yourself. Ultimately, I felt very safe and it was a “good vibes” environment for the most part. I don’t think I’d personally go to this fest again but, I am open to trying other festivals held across the US like Electric Forest or Outside Lands. I am also proud of myself for taking the leap and accepting the vulnerability that went with it going alone. However, I think it would have been more fun to have had an established group of people to experience it with.

After the festival, I ended up in the hospital for an infection that had to be surgically removed. Going to the hospital during a pandemic - now that’s kind of scary. Temperature checks, hand sanitizer, face masks, used pens, clean pens, no visitors (not even family members), and plenty of hand washing. I was lucky to have been admitted without needing to go to the ER. I spent the next few weeks healing from my procedure. I logged back on to work remotely once I no longer needed to take painkillers. From that point forward, things slowly got back to “normal”. Well, as normal as things could be under lockdown.

Fast forward to the month of May. My Oma (that’s “grandmother” in German) turned 90 years old! It was a BIG moment and my family wanted to make it as special of an occasion as we possibly could. We all took the necessary safety precautions to celebrate her birthday, in a responsible way, by staying in a cabin in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Just the 6 of us - my Oma, aunt, mom, dad, brother, and I. We surprised her with balloons, streamers, champagne, and decorations. She loved all of it. I’m really glad we were able to make that happen for her and be together to celebrate.

I spent a lot of time at the beach with my family and some time was spent with my brother’s girlfriend and her family too. We even threw an at-home bar crawl, which was a ton of fun. There’s also a few small trips or things I saw but, won’t go into detail on (linked at the bottom). Social distance has been super important to me throughout the course of the pandemic and I really haven’t gone beyond this small circle of people. It’s been tough at times but, like I said before - I know how lucky I am. I was, however, unlucky when I found out that my infection had returned in August. I had to go back to the hospital again, have a new specialist take a look at everything, and undergo yet another procedure. One night, I found myself lying in a warm bathtub soaking in epsom salts at 2:00am seeking comfort and sobbing uncontrollably. This second time around was very painful and difficult to have dealt with. I felt an instant wave of relief once the infection was removed. Fingers crossed that it was for good this time.

With all of the health battles and dealing with phases of quarantine depression, I asked my brother if he would be interested in taking a sibling road trip together. He agreed and we set off in November to visit North Carolina - Charlotte, Swannanoa, and Hendersonville. We both worked remotely and then took a week off at the cabin in Hendersonville with my parents to hike around and enjoy the outdoors together. It was an awesome trip! Again, still abiding by CDC guidelines and being safe, we were able to enjoy hiking, visiting art museums, grabbing beers, eating at some different places, and enjoying every minute of bliss. We got to see my aunt and Oma for an afternoon too. It was what we all had needed.

We stayed home for the holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas came and went. Super low key and fun. My mom makes some of the BEST meals and my brother’s green bean casserole was very MEAN (as in totally delicious - I liked the rhyme there). Anyway, I’ll save my 2021 New Year’s adventure for the next blog. I keep telling myself I’ll do these more and then time flies by. Hope you enjoyed a little insight into my 2020 world. Thanks for reading this far and stay stoked!

Things to Check Out for Yourself: