COVID-19
Two words that will forever change the paradigm, of how people, organizations and businesses interact on a global scale. How? As I sit and begin this online journal on March 24, 2020, I cannot reliably predict, but one certainty exists. Never before has the world been so connected by technology, yet so separated from one another physically.
What follows below are dated logs of my experiences, thoughts and reactions to the world around me as I navigate COVID-19, coronavirus, social distancing and any other terminology that is developed.
June 3, 2021: Met with clients and colleagues for a dinner and it felt great just to get out and sit down in a nice restaurant for dinner.
April 19, 2021: Yosemite is one of my favorite places on Earth and I was so grateful to have booked this back in June of 2020 before even knowing how the dust on COVID-19 would settle. Fortunately, the National Parks have been operating for the most part and the outdoor mask order has stayed lifted. Despite all of the concerns, you would not know we were in the middle of a global pandemic as the Yosemite Valley Lodge was at full capacity. It was nice just to be able to sit in the hotel lounge having a cold beer and wings after a long hike.
March 13, 2021: A silver lining of COVID-19 is it has given me the drive to really explore my home town like I never have before. The best way to know a city is to walk it and the absence of people have provided quite a blank palette particularly in the early morning hours. Of course, like any downtown, one has to keep wits about and head on a swivel, particularly with the latest trend of Asian hate crimes. It’s a shame that crime sometimes seemingly comes a fad and this is the latest one.
February 25, 2021: While I am not a homebody by any stretch, I usually do not feel the itch or the need to have to get out. However, even someone like me has a tipping point and the past 9 months have begun to take their toll. Luckily, I was able to get out for a little alone time at Joshua Tree and just clear my mind, focus on nature, and photography.
January 7, 2021: Just when you thought it was safe to turn the page on 2020, the new year reminds us that time has memory and actions have consequences. The highly charged political environment of 2020 carried over with a riot that resulted in death, injuries, and the US Capitol being stormed. Another first for me in this lifetime. With inauguration day a couple weeks out, hopefully people keep their minds and wits about them.
Dec 25, 2020: Christmas came and went this year with little fan-fare. I usually host and have a few families over, but this year, it was a nice simple time with the immediate family and interestingly, I did not miss the party vibe as much as I thought I would. I have been hearing from a lot of people that COVID-19 has made them re-evaluate their lives, the aspects and people that matter most, and the “noise” such as social media. While I haven’t really undergone any sort of epiphany, I tend to be self-reflective and can certainly understand how these folks feel.
September 2020: My first real getaway since COVID-19 was a short trip to Coronado Island. Surprisingly, aside from some “hygiene theater,” the hotel is pretty lax with their mask policy. There are signs requiring it but no one is actually enforcing the signs. All staff is required to be masked up though and so there’s that.
August 2020: The world is starting to reopen, but very slowly and cautiously. There is a lack of uniformity in how the pandemic is being handled at the federal, state, and local levels. A clear example is the highly variable severity that different locales are using to community severity. Red communicates a threat level in LA that might be entirely different in Miami. No one seems to really have a strong handle on things and the folks that people usually look-up for guidance don’t seem to know what they are doing.
July 2020: There is an age old adage that says, “give me enough numbers and I can make them say anything you want.” The same seems to hold true for COVID-19 as the pandemic has become fully politicized. Right wing and left wing folks can’t seem to agree on simple guidelines and argue incessantly about the survival rate, contraction rate, and efficacy of face masks or personal protection equipment (PPEs). I guess it doesn’t help that we are in the middle of an election year.
June 2020: I ventured out to DTLA in the wake of the looting and riots and the city is eerily quiet. A lot is often made about cities “healing” when something so life changing to so many people occurs and for the first time in my lifetime, I finally understood what this meant. The city streets were quietly recovering while a small gathering in front of City Hall had a reverent mood in the early AM. One the COVID-19 front, many pundits and “experts” had been predicting that June would mark the beginning of normalcy. Personally, I am looking at September / October at the earliest.
May 28, 2020: An already tough year takes another turn as the world’s eyes are on the United States in the wake of the George Floyd situation. Riots in major cities across the US and World about civil injustice has reached a breaking point. Tensions are high and all the while a global pandemic is still ongoing.
April 1, 2020: Definitely anything, but a joke. Working from home for me was an easier transition to make because I had operated a home-based business for the five years leading into 2019. Suddenly, everyone you talk to is an expert virologist or epidemiologist who has an opinion about the trajectory of the virus.
March 19, 2020: Only a week after the voluntary work from home was introduced, a mandatory work from home “Stay at Home," has been implemented by many companies in Los Angeles County. My work followed suit in response an employee showing up with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19.
March 13, 2020: Many companies enacted a voluntary work from home option. The first case within the area in which my is located was reported. 2020 was already off to a tumultuous start with wildfires, Kobe Bryant’s unexpected death, and now this.