• Menu
  • Skip to left header navigation
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • Explore Chicago
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

The Local Tourist

Experience the fascination of a tourist; Feel the comfort of the local

  • Travel the U.S.A.
    • The Midwest
      • Illinois
      • Indiana
      • Iowa
      • Kansas
      • Michigan
      • Minnesota
      • Missouri
      • Nebraska
      • South Dakota
      • Wisconsin
    • The South
      • Arkansas
      • Mississippi
      • North Carolina
      • Oklahoma
      • Texas
    • The West
      • Arizona
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Montana
      • Nevada
      • New Mexico
      • Utah
      • Wyoming
  • Travel Tips
    • Travel Now
  • Road Trips
    • Two Lane Gems
  • Cultural Travel
    • Arts and Culture
    • Attractions
    • Food and Drink
    • History
    • People
    • Roadside Attractions
  • Great Outdoors
    • Camping
    • Hiking and Active Travel
    • U.S. National Parks
  • Shop TLT
    • Travel Two Lane Gems
  • Travel the U.S.A.
    • The Midwest
      • Illinois
      • Indiana
      • Iowa
      • Kansas
      • Michigan
      • Minnesota
      • Missouri
      • Nebraska
      • South Dakota
      • Wisconsin
    • The South
      • Arkansas
      • Mississippi
      • North Carolina
      • Oklahoma
      • Texas
    • The West
      • Arizona
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Montana
      • Nevada
      • New Mexico
      • Utah
      • Wyoming
  • Travel Tips
    • Travel Now
  • Road Trips
    • Two Lane Gems
  • Cultural Travel
    • Arts and Culture
    • Attractions
    • Food and Drink
    • History
    • People
    • Roadside Attractions
  • Great Outdoors
    • Camping
    • Hiking and Active Travel
    • U.S. National Parks
  • Shop TLT
    • Travel Two Lane Gems
  • Contact
  • Work with TLT
  • Travel Writing
Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Days 151 through 247

November 21, 2020 //  by Tommy Hensel//  Leave a Comment

4shares

I’m still here.

At the beginning of the pandemic, I don’t think most of us thought it would last this long – at least the quarantine part. Alas, here we are nine months in and things look like they are just going to keep on keeping on. I started by creating a daily post, then I briefly moved to weekly. Finally, I just gave up since all I was writing was a repetition of “this is Groundhog Day” and “what day is it now?” and “I am on a coronacoaster.”

I decided it was time to brush off my writing skills and start sharing my journeys again. So, today this post marks Sparkling Isolation Days 151 – 247.

247? How in the hell did that happen? That’s over 35 weeks which accounts for 2/3 of a year. Back at the beginning of this situation, I recall feeling very sad for people who had to celebrate quarantine birthdays. My birthday in December seemed like a safe bet for an actual party, maybe at a restaurant.

“Ha ha all over me!” Looks like we may have a year where everyone on the planet gets to have a quarantine birthday, unless something shifts significantly before March 2021. A friend recently joked that the Coronavirus just wants to make sure everyone has the same experience – so we all get to have a quarantine birthday this year.

My last post was on August 18 and so much has happened since then (understatement, right?). For the longest time, I felt like I had nothing new to say here. After all, working from home had become relatively common for most of us by then. Zoom wasn’t a new thing and the endless repetition of “you’re muted” or “please mute yourself” had become all-too-familiar. Days were blurring together and you were either obsessing on the news (particularly the election news) or were doing what I did – totally ignoring headlines and trying to avoid reading anything remotely political.

I can bet most of us have binge watched every season of the “The Great British Baking Show” along with nearly every available title on Netflix, probably on Amazon Prime as well. All of those grand plans to become a great baker, to master a new language, to do daily yoga, to finally learn to play the guitar . . . most of those things have long since fallen by the wayside.

I don’t think I am alone in feeling alternating energies of despair with intense focus on achieving something. I have moved in spurts for the past few months – a few days of staring listlessly at the ceiling and drinking far too much alcohol – followed by periods of intense creativity and focus. All of that, of course, with no clear pattern. I don’t know from moment to moment whether I am going to want to curl up into a fetal position in a dark closet or whether I am going to suddenly feel intensely motivated and creative.

The one constant for me, luckily, has been my focus on my wine certification. Back in March, I finished up my Level 1 in the WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust). I passed Level 2 in August and I am now at the end of my Level 3 training with an exam coming up on December 19. This has become my lifeline – something that stimulates me intellectually and spiritually at the same time. The massive amount of wine I have to taste doesn’t hurt, either.

So, as we move into this holiday season, I just wanted to reactivate my writing energy and reach back out to the world. I am still here. All of you are still here. We are all struggling, but I have to have faith that we will pull through – together.

I think it’s time for another taste of wine. If you are so inclined, please share your favorite quarantine cocktail recipes with me here. I would love to branch out from wine into something more festive!

It’s only Quarantine if it comes from the Quarante province of France. Otherwise, it’s just Sparkling Isolation.

4shares

Category: Thoughts, UncategorizedTag: Sparkling Isolation

About Tommy Hensel

Tommy Hensel is the Director of the Fine and Performing Arts Center at Moraine Valley Community College (www.morainevalley.edu/fpac), a position he has held since January 2008. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, he has worked for more than 35 years as a professional actor, singer, stage manager, director, and arts presenter. He holds a B.A. in music and a B.A. in communication from Florida State University and an M.A. in theater from the University of South Carolina. He currently serves as Chair of the Illinois Presenters Network and is a board member of NAPAMA. He served as co-chair of the 2018 Arts Midwest Conference and currently sits on the professional development committees of both NAPAMA and Arts Midwest.

Prior to his move to Chicago, Tommy was an 11-year resident of the Seacoast region of New Hampshire where he served as Executive Director of the Rochester Opera House and sat on several non-profit arts boards. He has served on grant review panels for the New England Foundation for the Arts, New Hampshire Arts Council, Vermont Arts Council, and Illinois Arts Council. During his years as an arts presenter, he has also served on the juried showcase panels for the Arts Midwest Conference and Performing Arts Exchange.

Among his many theater credits, Hensel was the founding artistic director of the Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival (now part of the Gamut Theatre Group in PA). He has over 50 professional directing credits to his name and an extensive resumé as a theatrical performer and cabaret singer. In Chicago, he has a side "gig" as a restaurant reviewer for The Local Tourist website (http://chicago.thelocaltourist.com) and blogs about travel and food at https://www.tableforoneplease.com.

Related Stories

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 248

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Days 144 through 150

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Days 136 through 143

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 135

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 134

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 133

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 132

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 131

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 130

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 129

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 128

Hummingbird stopped in flight

Diary of a Cockeyed Optimist: I’m not fine. But I will be.

Previous Post: «Driving along the Mississippi River on the Great River Road, one of the many scenic drives featured in Midwest Road Trip Adventures, an upcoming anthology from members of the Midwest Travel Network A Dozen States, Dozens of Scenic Drives: Announcing Midwest Road Trip Adventures
Next Post: Sparkling Isolation – Day 248 Tommy Hensel»

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Your Cart

  • Contact
  • Work with TLT
  • Travel Writing

Site Footer

Disclosure

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Privacy Policy

© 2021 · The Local Tourist · Experience the fascination of a tourist; feel the comfort of the local