Still haven't gotten it. Still planning (hoping?) not to.

But. Yes. I'm tired.

Running from COVID

Maybe you’ve seen this meme:

All I have to say is: It me.

It seems like Omicron has been the straw that broke many camels’ backs…everyone from my average non-medical-expert friends to the CDC are out here acting like it’s inevitable that we will all get COVID.

Not me. COVID, I still rebuke you. And the narrative that it’s pointless to try to avoid getting COVID infuriates me.

Almost two years later my day-to-day life isn’t markedly different than it was in April 2020. Sure, I’ve eaten some outdoor restaurant meals. Just before Omicron and its surge I even traveled once..in planes, a train, and some automobiles. On Christmas Day I gathered inside a home with a handful of my family members, which we didn’t do last year.

All of these outside-my-door experiences followed being vaxxed, then boosted, were accompanied by vigilant mask-wearing, and in the case of gatherings of 8 people or so were preceded by everyone being vaxxed and often self-testing. I certainly do know of people who took similar precautions and got COVID anyway, but I know of many who haven’t gotten it too.

Most days, though, I’m working from my home office, going on a daily walk outdoors, ordering in regularly, and wearing a mask if I do quickly pop in to pick up anything.

It’s certainly helpful that I’m introverted. That much of my work was always online and virtual. That my entire circle of family and friends are vaxxed and boosted and willing to wear masks and self-test too. That I don’t have school-age kids. I am some combination of lucky, privileged, and naturally inclined to shelter-in-place behavior.

Despite that combination, I’m also tired of it. Masks? Not a fan. Travel? I do miss it (sometimes). Moving my IRL book club back online because of Omicron after several months of backyard in-person gathering? Big bummer. I’m also affected because you all are affected. I may have it relatively easy, but I know so many of you do not. I know so many parents whose kids of all ages have really struggled. I know so many people who have really suffered through the isolation of lockdown, not to mention those who have suffered from losing loved ones. Sick and tired of it all.

Nevertheless I persist. I reject the narrative. Why?

• For me: I don’t want to get it. My friends who have had symptomatic cases are pretty unanimous in saying that it’s terrible. That “mild” in the clinical sense is still severe in the personal experience sense. And my friends who have long COVID symptoms are even more adamant: You don’t want this. And you don’t want to take a chance on what your experience of it will be. I have no reason to think I’d have it easy if I got it. So, no thanks. I will continue to do everything to sit this one out.

• For loved ones: One of the most infuriating aspects of the public conversation about COVID has been just how much people have made clear that if one is old, sick, or disabled your quality of life is of little to no importance to them. I am angry that my gregarious, extroverted, cancer-battling stepfather spent the last 18 months of his life constrained. I am angry that everyone talks about “people with co-morbidities” as though that’s not them or anyone they love, and as though anyone who has one is on death’s door, when in fact two-thirds of American adults have at least one of the co-morbidities cited as a risk factor…and many of those folks have decades of life ahead of them. (BTW: It’s a great thought exercise about causation vs. correlation. Let’s take obesity for example…if two-thirds of American adults are overweight, and so are about that percentage of people who have died from COVID, how exactly do we know it’s one and not the the other?) I am angry on behalf of every person living with a disability, visible or not. We are sending a message to millions of people that they do not count.

• For people I don’t even know, you know, our SOCIETY. The people who have jobs that deal with the public. People with kids younger than 5. Healthcare workers. The medically vulnerable (like isn’t that ENOUGH burden for someone to deal with?). The unhoused. Our teachers. Because it just feels like the right thing to do, the only thing I can do if I want to walk my very frequently expressed talk.

I persist because all of the above.

Two links that I think were extremely useful and practical and actionable about continuing to stay safe and (knock on wood) COVID-free, both courtesy of Andy Slavitt’s In the Bubble podcast (my go-to-information resource for two years now);

All about testing: The different tests, and the concept of infected vs. infectious vs. symptomatic.

All about masks: The different masks, how to use them, and how effective they are.

So scale of one to ten, how vigilant am I remaining in the face of COVID. If April 2020 was a 10, I’d say I’m remaining at about an 8.

Scale of one to ten how tired am I of staying vigilant? About a 5. I can take more.

Where are you on that scale?

Last week-ish

Episode 72 of The Op-Ed Page podcast was my long-awaited (by me, if no one else) analysis of Season 2 of Ted Lasso, and in particular #NatetheSnake’s villain’s journey. Yes, there are spoilers. Obvs. Now, because there are spoilers I made it the second main segment of the podcast. I re-watched all of Season 2 so you don’t have to. (But you should want to, because I don’t care what the S2 Haters say…I loved it.)

The first main segment is about reminding myself the steps to being a more effective everyday activist…the process that was the whole point of my book, Road Map for Revolutionaries. I was definitely feeling less spirited as the year wound down. Less hopeful. Less fired up. As referenced above…I’ve been feeling tired of this turned-up-to-11 world. So this segment of the podcast was about re-motivating myself, but I have a feeling a non-trivial number of you might need some re-motivation too, yes?

Also last week: I had another Kinder Beauty byline published, this time introducing you to some climate evangelists who also happen to be vegans. I personally don’t understand how one can be the former, understand how factory farming impacts the environment, and not be the latter, but people seem to manage. But not these inspiring activists.

And The Rosie Report published a few more pieces I helped shepherd into existence:

How can play bring your team back together in this uncertain world? by Jeff Harry

Tax organization for freelancers: Make 2022 the year you get it right by Angele LaFond

Creating your own role: How to define a job at the intersection of what you want and what they need by Elke Govertsen

Coming this week-ish

Hmm, what’s coming this week-ish? Well, definitely TMI, but I’m scheduled to get my first-ever colonoscopy tomorrow, and I am, shall we say, apprehensive. I’ll be sure to fill you all in. As a public service.

My client, PBWC, has another webinar next week, all about personal branding. And one on February 8th about cultivating healthy boundaries to improve your mental health.

After nearly two years of a pretty light speaking schedule, I have three events coming up, so far, in the next three months. As soon as I have links so you can sign up, I’ll be sharing them.

Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on any or all of the above. This is basically my blog now! And as always I appreciate a share of this newsletter or my podcast.

And if I can help you break through the things that are keeping you stuck, or you just want to brainstorm new habits you can set, set up your first introductory 30-minute consult for free by booking it in my Calendly.