Editor’s note: “The new normal” is a continuing series that looks into how members of the Los Medanos College community are coping with a shelter-in-place order amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the weeks of quarantine drag on for everyone in Contra Costa County, many have had to adapt to the drastic changes the COVID-19 virus has created. 

One such person is author, comedian and Los Medanos College’s counselor Nina Ghiselli.

During this crisis that’s ravishing the nation’s economy and robbing so many people of their lives, Ghiselli has managed to stay structured in her home. 

“I have been deliberate to pull up the shades, get dressed, and establish a routine,” said Ghiselli. 

Her husband is a fourth grade teacher which means the couple has similar work hours, causing them to be “a little bit on top of each other in our small apartment.”

To combat that overlap in the workspace, Ghiselli says they have worked to make separate work spaces by using different rooms in their home which has been “helpful in focusing in on our day.”

Despite the structure she’s given herself, Ghiselli still yearns for the freedom that she had before the stay at home order. 

“I miss going out and doing stuff! Anything from going to a nightclub show to visiting with my parents,” said Ghiselli. “I also miss going to the store and not thinking about all the things I have to do from gloves, to wipes, to all kinds of extras I have to do now.”

One thing that Ghiselli can rely on to lift her mood though these hard times is “engaging in some of the things I like and trying to connect with people.”