Growing up, I remember Cadbury cream eggs at Easter. I used to love those things. A hollow shell of chocolate with a creamy yellow and white nougat center oozing all over my hands. Some kids may remember Paas fuzzy rabbits or jelly beans. Those are good too. I also relished the vinegar-smelling liquid we’d dip our boiled eggs into with a special tool to change their shells to a light tint of blue, yellow or green. Once dry, mom would hide these around the house and have us hunt for them the next day.
Those were great traditions. But, the only tradition that stuck with me my whole life across the world and over the decades was celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is a day of celebration, joy and new life. It’s a day to be happy and a day filled with hope. While the church we regularly attend was planning on a nice Easter lunch today, we’ve moved to an online format for over a month now due to Covid restrictions across the city.
Throughout my life, this is one of the strangest Easters I’ve celebrated, no question.
Covid Testing Bright and Early
I received a notice in WeChat from our building management at 7:52 this morning informing that a round of Covid tests would be performed starting at 8am this morning, and we’d be notified by a knock on the door as to when that would begin. This was accompanied by a detailed description of exactly how this would play out and the related rules. This knock came around 10am I think it was. Down we go, waiting in single file along with the other people who live in our building.
Last night, the group WeChat from our building sent a note with this update just prior to midnight. I immediately asked my wife not to set her alarm. Often these planned tests are delayed – and in one case was even cancelled as night fell.
Indeed, we were glad to not need waking too early on a Sunday. The highlight of the day though was the arrival of Shake Shack just before lunch time.
Placing Orders as a Big Group
We’ve been under strict lockdown for about three weeks, defined as staying inside our apartment unless going downstairs for Covid tests. Since this has been the norm for the entire city, logistics have shut down. An urban culture that is used to same-or-next-day delivery and fresh groceries and food stuffs delivered within 30 minutes of placing an order by smart phone app, the current lockdown has been ground-shaking to say the least. The mostly young men who deliver food and other supplies are also on lockdown. This has led to massive issues getting last-mile delivery.
An urgent response to this logistics nightmare has been group buying on a massive scale, where some stores keep themselves open and deliver large batches themselves to housing compounds. These stores will create a QR code with a set menu of items which one can scan and a brand promise of delivery to a compound meeting a certain minimum threshold. This leads to social media sharing on a grand scale as residents demand being a part of an individual order for everything from yogurt to hot pot.
To reach the minimum amount, an organizer in our residential compound issues the menu and a call to action, and a commitment to making the order, generating a list that is shared in the group. Interested parties join the list and pay the organizer. When the order arrives, it gets distributed building by building downstairs and tenants can go and get it. Up until the past couple days, packages were delivered by security personnel in hazmat suits.
Back to Shake Shack.
Someone in building six adjacent to us issued a big group buying order call to action for the compound yesterday, and my wife – nimble as usual – jumped on the chance to get us hamburgers delivered just in time for Easter lunch.
My wife is on top of all the group buying. She’s constantly checking a variety of chat groups and placing orders…all day long. I also notice much of what’s going on and make recommendations but it’s hard to stay so engaged. It’s absolutely exhausting to have this as a lifestyle and a cause of much anxiety to need to constantly look at the phone to make sure there’s an adequate variety of food in the fridge.
Once this stuff is behind us, it will be time to put the phone down and try to take a few deep breaths.
For now, we are grateful this year at Easter that after three weeks we could finally come downstairs in the compound, breathe the fresh air, feel the gentle spring breeze and run alongside the kids while they ride their bikes. While we have no visibility on when we can venture outside the compound, coming outside is still something to be grateful for.
And, we are grateful for hamburgers and fries. May you too experience the joy of Resurrection Sunday. A day of new life and new hope.
It’s easy to complain, but it’s more meaningful and motivating to find something to be grateful for today.
Stark Discussion 