Hello my fellow Enterprisers and all! I’m excited bring you April’s Café Sessions as there’s A LOT to talk about (which is weird because there’s nothing really big going on in the world right now, am I right?).
In all seriousness, these are tough times. Hell, even my own Rise Café is closed down until this mess is over with. We have most members working from home, people out of jobs, and a lingering fear of our fellow humans spreading and contracting the dreaded COVID-19. There’s misinformation running rampant, leading to people disregarding the measures put in place to knock out this pandemic.
Its chaotic, sure, but we’re still trucking along! Enterprise is clean as a whistle and open to essential member businesses. We’re practicing social distancing to a tee to ensure the workspace is safe.
But don’t fret my friends, your friendly community barista is here to ease your suffering. After all, that’s what I do as a barista. I’m a soother, a calmer of nerves. I talk through your issues as I brew the caffeinated concoctions to tranquilize your every fear. I’m no doctor. I can’t help you physically, but I can at least try and get your head right.
Instead of letting the fear and uncertainty consume us, I’m going to focus this post on helpful ways to weather this storm. We’ll go into ways to make life at home a little more bearable, ways to best work from home, and I’ll talk a bit about supporting our local restaurants and the best places to order from!
Here it is!
LIFE AT HOME
Ugh it’s just the worst isn’t it? Like being a prisoner in your own home. How will you ever get through two weeks of binge-watching Netflix or daily happy hours starting at 3PM (or earlier)?
Relax.
This wont last forever. And if you have such a narrow view of time that you can’t see your life passed these 30 days of quarantine, how about you just focus on the fact that you are in the same boat as everyone else, doing what you must to SAVE LIVES. We all know, it sucks. But when was the last time you sacrificed for the greater good? When was the last time you made something not about you? Stay home. Quit crying on Facebook about your rights being stripped away because that one article you read said everyone is overreacting, and just weather the storm like everyone else. No one cares about your Facebook post anyway.
I’m not meaning to belittle the fact that it sucks to be stuck at home. All I’m saying is that sometimes in life, you need to make sacrifices for something bigger than yourself. It’s not even all bad! You now have a legitimate reason to act like a lazy P.O.S.! So Binge that tv series, play video games until the early hours of the morning, show your dog the attention your pup deserves!
Health
Of course, we can’t just sit on the couch eating potato chips all month. We need to take care of ourselves as well. We can still grocery shop for healthy foods. Make sure you’re eating your vegetables, take that multivitamin, and just watch your portions. Chances are you’re burning less calories throughout the day, so just be smart about how much you’re taking in. Nutrition is key at a time like this and we need our immune systems running at full speed. Getting a sickness of any kind right now that requires you to go into the hospital means using up resources that could be used to fight the pandemic. So stay healthy.
We can still walk too! I’ve taken my roommate’s dog on so many walks this week he’s started hiding in the closet when I grab the leash. I’ve gotten more fresh air than I normally would while practicing safe social distancing. Again, just be smart.
Change things up: Turn your drinking game into an exercise game! Instead of taking shots or drinks for losing, do burpees, pushups, or squats. It’s more fun than you think! (And then turn it back to a drinking game in the evening).
Dating
Get swiping people! I’ve talked to some members and friends who are telling me that engagement on the dating apps is way up! In fact, a member I was chatting with yesterday told me he had an intimate “virtual dinner date” where the two cooked the same meal from their respected homes and sat down to eat over Zoom! Sure, he said it was weird…but also really fun! Dating doesn’t have to completely stop. It just needs to be modified. We’re humans. We adapt! It’s your chance to find love in a seemingly hopeless place.
Leisure
This is where us human’s get creative. What to do with all this extra time and limited resources? I personally have dusted off the old Xbox and logged a few hours of killing Nazi zombies and owning fourteen-year-old kids from Slovenia in FIFA online.
Similarly but not surprising for me, I fell to nostalgia and downloaded Sims 4 (only $5 right now!) and Rollercoaster Tycoon. Let me tell ya, the hours have never flown by so fast.
Try a virtual drinking game. A few nights ago, a few buddies and I played beer pong over Zoom. Surprisingly, it was a blast! Just set up your opponent’s rack of cups as you normally would and aim the camera at them. Then they’ll know the cups you hit!
WORK AT HOME
Most of us, me excluded, have the luxury of being able to work from home amid this pandemic. We’re fortunate enough to live in a time in which all business doesn’t have to come to a halt because of a quarantine. There’s a bunch of technologies that enable us to do this such as Zoom Video for virtual meetings, and Slack for streamlined communication.
You all know these tools better than I do, so I wont focus on that. What I know is people. I know the importance of a team psyche and what can happen if it falls apart. It’s more important than ever to ensure the mental health of our work teams. Which is why I think it’s awesome that teams are throwing virtual happy hours (on quite a regular basis!). Get the team together and talk. Talk about anything. Talk to return to a sense of normalcy for just a little bit. Everyone will benefit.
I think its also important for team or company leaders to be checking in with their employees regularly. I know its probably a crazy time for you, but its never been more important to have one-on-ones with your teammates to see how they are doing both professionally and personally. Many families are experiencing hardships. Understand and accept your employee’s situation. This is the time to be human.
Best Options for Denver Take-Out
If you’ve talked to me for more than a few minutes, you would know that I love my Denver bars and restaurants. Most of my friends work within this suffering industry. Now, most of them are out of jobs and their places of employment are going under. Uncertainty is an understatement for them. They are scared for their lives. That’s why, as long as I’m receiving a paycheck, I’ll support the industry the best I can.
Explore and try new eats while supporting our local restaurants that are still open. Many restaurants who never have done delivery are now doing it. And if you can, order from the businesses directly instead of using an app to make sure they get all the profits.
Here’s a few of my go-to options:
Denver Ted’s: the best Philly Cheesesteaks in town! If you haven’t tried yet, Denver Ted’s should be your lunch for today. I get the Peyton in all it’s pepperoni glory.
Barcelona Wine Bar, right around the corner from Enterprise Coworking in RiNo is another restaurant still doing take out. And right now they are doing 50% off all bottles of wine. Get on that!
Another one close Enterprise’s heart, Ratio Beerworks. They don’t serve food but get stocked up on some of the best beer in town. Best of all, they are doing free delivery for orders over $30! Their current delivery hours are Mon.-Fri. 3-6PM, Sat-Sun. 12-6pm, and you must live within a 3 milre radius.
Another free delivery option is Walnut Room. The live band venue and pizza place in RiNo is currently offering grocery products for delivery as well, products such as eggs, milk, butter, meats and much more! If you’re ordering off their menu, their wings are some of the best in town.
For more options, here’s a list of every Denver restaurant delivering right now!
I would like to leave you all with this: I believe we have the power to choose happiness in any situation, no matter how bleak. Our mood is a choice that we must make at any given moment. If you’re afraid, you’re allowing fear into your mind. Choose to focus on the good. Choose to focus on things within your control. You won’t create the vaccine but someone else will. You can’t treat the infected but we have professionals, heroes, working tirelessly to treat the sick. What we can control is spreading this disease to others. Just stay home.
We can control how to look at this situation. We are desperate for human connection. Find the beauty in this desperation. Never before have we longed for togetherness. Though physically apart, the word is closer than I can ever remember it. And when this ends, we will appreciate one another on a scale we could not imagine before all this started.
If you have a topic or question you’d like Steve to tackle for next month, don’t hesitate to ask! Submit an anonymous question or problem here. No name or email is required.
