Virtual Neighborhood
b"Episode 1: Virtual Neighborhood\\nWelcome to \\u201c Love in the time of COVID-19 \\u201d -\\nyou\\u2019ll join host, Sissy Siero- a distracted creative who is finally getting it together- and a chorus friends, family, neighbors, strangers, and colleagues; sharing poignant, honest, humorous, and sometimes, harrowing accounts of life, loss, love and restoration during the pandemic.\\nThe podcast series\\u2019 mission is to create a welcoming space for a new community - one we never knew we needed. So pull up a lawn chair - at a safe distance of course - and listen to stories about ourselves, and each other.\\nWelcome - all of you \\u2026to my virtual neighborhood\\u2026I\\u2019m Sissy Siero your host, but really, I\\u2019m more of curator for the stories of your lives. This show is about all of us - it\\u2019s for you, for me - anyone who needs to speak, scream, rant, joke, cry or whatever - we here together and NEED to hear you- to know a slice of how your doing right now\\u2026today. We\\u2019re all gyrating to the heights and depths of our personal unknowns; the hidden moments of our lives.\\nSince I use my voice in business, I got the idea to offer to read other peoples\\u2019 stories; some don\\u2019t have the means, or just don\\u2019t want to hear the sound of their own voices! The process of collecting stories from around the neighborhood, and from around the world, is cheering me, and I\\u2019m very grateful to all of the contributors. As we get into the next episodes I\\u2019ll be enlisting some talented Voiceover colleagues to read your stories also, and to hopefully share some of their own. Speaking of which I want to thank, a long-time pal, music composer, engineer and producer extraordinaire and talented vo artist Simon Tassano for his spirited introduction! You Rock as always, handsome man!\\nSome tech notes - You\\u2019ll hear different audio quality and sound, throughout - and that\\u2019s intentional -stories are coming both in written form, and as audio shares.\\nI\\u2019ll let you know how to get your stories to me later in the show.\\nSo here we go: \\u201c Love in the time of COVID -19\\u201d\\nStories: \\u201cLetter from Austin\\u201d [ 1.5 minutes]: I posted a selfie on IG wearing a homemade mask heading into Costco- the look in my eyes, says it all\\u2026it simply disturbs me a little deeper with every major shift; like when another daily habit, or ritual flies off the board. I keep remembering my Mom regaling me with stories of her childhood during the great depression and during WWII - hiding next to the stove reading, the kitchen dimly lit; a warm glow from streetlights through the newspaper covered windows; how they finally got use to air raid sirens going off at night. I think I kind of get it now since we're living with a constant undercurrent of unknowing and fear; don\\u2019t think I've ever had this level of stress before.\\nAustin is still mostly fine - if in general unsure where we all are , and where will be when and if the full force of the roiling wave hits us; there\\u2019s a palpable tilting back and forth between anxiety and laissez-faire.\\nGetting Home: Our airline had cancelled our flights so we had to shop new flights, and many of the routes looked dismal with three stops, all in airports i didn't want to be in. Meanwhile, the panic appeared to set in for a lot of folks who are scared, we are all scared, and I felt it well-up inside me everyday, a debilitating fear. We had many conversations about which decisions we are making in fear, and in our discomfort with uncertainty. Nobody is comfortable with uncertainty, and then with life or death circumstances, it is almost impossible to sort out the fearful responses from the beneficial ones.\\n\\u201cTrip to the Market \\u2013\\n\\u201cZOOM\\u201d [ 1 minute] How many other people are stumbling through zoom meetings right at this very moment i wonder. Shit - I hate this! I hate the way my voice sounds - so like squeaky and pinched, like a teenager or some awkward geek; I\\u2019m an engineer - I\\u2019ve got a masters - what the hell is wrong with me! Look at them - I hate their smug faces - like they are all cool with this shit and I..."