“In the end, everything will be okay. If it isn’t okay, then it isn’t the end.”Unknown
The Bf bought me a beautiful necklace for Christmas. It’s not the kind of thing you can throw on in this pandemic casual world. I looked at it and wondered when I would get to wear it. For a moment I thought of how much protective gear I could get if I returned it. My presents to him were much more practical things that he could use now.
This made me think how much the pandemic has already shaped my life and how it will continue to shape it. Luckily, human beings have the ability to bounce back. Covid 19 highlighted the mess that the US is in. If we had been better about standing together and helping each other, we would be in a much different place now – mentally, physically, and economically.
I have lived in LA for many years and the landscape has changed greatly.It has become more gentrified, crowded, and expensive.Many of my favorite stores, restaurants and bars have closed.
But what if the change happens all at once? 2020 has been unprecedented.At the moment restaurants, gyms, bars, hair and nail salons, theaters, and dance clubs are all closed. Small businesses are open but people are not supposed to go to them.
There are many places in LA that have closed during the pandemic and many more will continue to close. I have tried to do takeout a couple of times a week throughout the pandemic to support local restaurants – even though in the beginning it was scary.There has been no reason to buy clothes or accessories. I do my own nails and have wash and wear hair. I don’t have much need for dry-cleaning. I exercise on Zoom.I order everything on Amazon. When I do go out, I drive by more and more for lease signs on small businesses and stores. I see more homeless camps on streets that did not have them before.
We need to make more of an effort to support our local businesses or they won’t be here when we come out of this.Here are some things we can do.
Delivery apps like Grubhub and Uber charge large fees to restaurants that are already losing money. Curbside pickup is usually available and safe. Try to pick up your own food directly from the restaurants.Don’t forget to tip. It’s not just restaurants – local farms are struggling as well. Sign up for a local farm box. It will mean less trips to the store, lesspeople handling your food and fresh healthy produce to help your immune system. Order from Gold Belly. Many closed restaurants are shipping all kinds of food products throughout the country.
Shop local.Depending on your risk factor, put on a mask and go into a store that follows safety rules, or call and do a curbside pickup. Buy gift cards to use later. Many small businesses have put their stuff online and you can do that as well. Give businesses a shout out on social media. It’s free and helpful.
Donate to a cause or help prepare food for those laid-off workers and their families during this time.
Above all stay home when you can. You will be protecting yourself and others. The pandemic won’t end when the clock strikes 12 on New Year’s Eve but help is on the way -Hang in there and Happy New Year.
“The virus is cleverer than us, the virus is running faster than us.”Dr. Li Ailan
The one thing that the countries that seem to be doing better at controlling the virus have in commonis that their governments, healthcare, and science are working together. Early action, testing, and contact tracing were key steps in controlling the virus. It is a very different approach than the countries with leaders who are using the crisis to accelerate their authoritarianism by blaming the “others”, demonizing journalists, and blanketing their countries in “I will never leave” darkness. Here are some countries in order from most to least cases with success stories. The numbers are from December 26.
Denmark 151,167 cases 1,153 deaths
Denmark’s response to the pandemic was “act fast and act with force.” Denmark is a peninsula and only shares one border with Germany. It was still one of the first country’s to close its border and have a national lockdown. Denmark immediately banned large public gatherings, closed down all unnecessary venues across its cities, heavily discouraged the use of public transportation and all manner of travel unless absolutely essential. Daycares, schools, and universities were very quickly shut down and air travel was severely restricted. Their entire free health care system was able to prioritize and reorganize medical departments, isolation wards, and hospital beds, as well as doctors and nurses, to be optimally prepared to isolate and treat admitted patients. The Danish people have complete trust in their government and politicians. There were no conspiracy theories or widespread panic surrounding the virus. They acted responsibly and followed the rules.
Singapore 58,519 cases 29 deaths
Timely preparation, aggressive testing, tracing of carriers helped limit the impact of Covid-19 in Singapore. The city-state’s comparatively small population of 5.7 million people and experience of SARS in 2003 gave it the upper hand against the encroaching virus. The government tightened border controls almost immediately after the disease first erupted in China – while also providing a clear public communication strategy.
South Korea 56,872 cases808 deaths
The government of South Korea has been able to keep the disease under control without paralyzing the national health and economic systems. The critical factors in South Korea’s public health administration and management that led to success include national infectious disease plans, collaboration with the private sector, stringent contact tracing, an adaptive health care system, and government-driven communication.
Australia 28,308 cases 908 deaths
Australia put their faith in science to get the pandemic under control. They formed a National Cabinet comprised of the leaders of each state and territory and the Prime Minister to resolve differences and put the necessary restrictions in place. National cooperation was further enhanced by working with the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee. In March they closed their borders and issued a two-week quarantine. Australians were quick to comply.
Uruguay 16,218 cases147 deaths
Less than two weeks into his new job as Uruguay’s president, Luis Lacalle Pou acted promptly when Uruguay’s first case of covid-19 was confirmed in the capital of Montevideo on March thirteenth. Unlike most Latin American presidents, Lacalle Pou shut down schools and businesses butasked rather than ordered people to stay at home to protect the population, the oldest in Latin America. Subsidies for small businesses were financed in part by a reduction of politician and executive-level public servants’ salaries, as well as by contributions made by business and social organizations. The swift action of the government slowed the spread of the virus and bought the country vital time to prepare its hospitals and testing system, says the team of scientists advising it. It also meant they could stop the virus’s spread before it became exponential as it did in the hardest-hit nations. The alignment of decision-makers, scientists, and national health authorities was perfect and clearly with great timing,” says Gonzalo Moratorio, a virologist directing Uruguay’s covid-19 testing unit. Early testing and contact tracing were key. The strategy of appealing to citizens’ sense of responsibility with measured restrictions has proven successful.
Iceland 5,683 cases28 deaths
Although it is a small country with a population of 360,000 people, Iceland emerged as one of the leaders in controlling the virus. They immediately had a regiment of testing. contact-tracing and isolation, as well as genetic sequencing of the virus. On a per-capita basis, no country has done more testing They started screening in January a month before the first case arrived for high-risk people and anyone else who wanted to test. They took samples of the virus from every person infected to check for mutations.The widespread screening helped them pick out asymptomatic people who might have been spreading the virus.
New Zealand 2,144 cases 25 deaths
New Zealand started in February 2020to identify cases and chains of transmission of the virus before it infected vulnerable populations. They did widespread testing, contact tracing, isolating infected cases, and quarantined their contacts. New Zealand has strict border control policies for produce and plants and immediately implemented them for people as well. They had a very stringent five-week lockdown in March. Rapid, science-based risk assessment linked to early, decisive government action was the difference between New Zealand and the countries where the virus spreads out of control.
Viet Nam 1,440 cases 35 deaths
Viet Nam shares a border with China and moved quickly. With the help of the World Health Organization, Viet Nam already had an emergency health plan in place. They had 16 cases in February and imposed a three-week quarantine in those places. There were no more cases. In March a case came in from the UK. They closed the borders. Both the military and local governments were mobilized to provide testing, meals, and amenity services to all and quarantine facilities which remained free during this period. There was never a nationwide lockdown, people were advised to stay home and some restrictive physical distancing measures were implemented throughout the country. Masks were mandatory.The Vietnamese public had been exceptionally compliant with government directives and advice, partly as a result of trust built up thanks to real-time, transparent communication from the Ministry of Health, supported by the WHO and other UN agencies. A COVID-19 song was released, with lyrics raising public awareness of the disease, which later went viral on social media with a dance challenge on Tik Tok initiated by Quang Dang, a local celebrity. (I love this)
Taiwan783 cases 7 deaths
Taiwan was hit badly with SARS in 2003 and so as soon as a few cases of Covid 19 were identified in January, they were wearing masks. They had a public health response mechanism already in place to respond to the next pandemic.Taiwan has a world-class health system with universal coverage which moved quickly to respond to the threat. They immediately implemented a travel ban to China. Medical officials held daily public briefings with instructions to prevent the spread of the virus. They were able to stop the spread of Covid 19 without a lockdown because they started in January when the Western World did not.
Cambodia 363 case 0 deaths
In the first few months, Cambodia detected and managed 122 cases and avoided widespread community-level transmission. With the support of WHO and partners, Cambodia has made important investments over the last ten years in its health security system that allowed it to successfully respond to the initial outbreak of COVID-19. A whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, along with vigilant surveillance, laboratory, rapid response teams, and good collaboration between the Ministry of Health and technical partners have all contributed to Cambodia’s successful response. They are better prepared for the second wave than they were ten months ago but like everywhere people have pandemic fatigue and need to work.
Today alone Los Angeles recorded 30,000 new cases and 150 new deaths. I am so angry right now. Nations as poor as Cambodia and Viet Nam moved quickly and listened to the science and health care professionals and the greatest country in the world did not. All this death could have been avoided.
“Only if we end the pandemic everywhere, can we end the pandemic anywhere.”Unknown
The world has the same goal – to end this pandemic and go back to whatever normal is. Viruses don’t respect borders. These countries share the fact that at the start of the outbreak, they tested little relative to their size. Our healthcare systems are not equipped to handle thousands of people getting sick at the same time, so more people are dying in these countries. The governments in all these countries downplayed the severity of the virus, fumbled lockdowns, and instead of science used magical thinking in the hopes of ending the outbreak.The numbers change rapidlybut at the moment,here are the countries with the worst outbreaks in order. The numbers are from December 21.They will be higher by the time you read this.
10. Iran 1,164,535 cases 53,816 deaths
The difference between Iran and other countries experiencing a surge in the virus is the “maximum pressure” sanctions put on them by Donald Trump.The Iranian government and doctors insist they don’t have enough medicines to fight the virus. Though the sanctions technically exempt food and medical supplies, human rights reports from Iran have repeatedly emphasized the impact of sectoral sanctions on gaining access to essential medicines and medical equipment, including respirators and protective equipment for health-care workers. Experts say US sanctions on Iran are indeed hurting ”foreign reserves, foreign currency abroad to purchase the necessary medical equipment — masks, anything that it might need to take care of its population,” Sanam Vakil.
9. Mexico 1,320,545 cases 118,202 deaths
One quarter of Mexico’s population has been exposed to Covid 19. The government thinks the real number is even higher than the reported numbers. The blame is on the country’s under funded health care system, lack of adequate testing,and complicated effort to track the disease and coordinate the response. There was a voluntary lockdown from March to June but because of Mexico’s high poverty level many had to work and so the numbers went up. There has been no mask mandate. Some say it is to downplay the pandemic and some Mexican States have imposed their own mask mandate.
8. Spain 1,817,448 cases 48,926 deaths
Spain has been in a state of emergency since the end of October.The prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has asked people to drastically curtail their social lives and limit their movements for the common good. Silvia Calzón, Spain’s secretary of state for health, urged people to act wisely and avoid large crowds. Spain is reluctant to blame its citizens for early on having the most cases in Europe, but they feel the increase is do to young people partying and socializing. Spain has a similar problem to the US where the Covid safety regulations have been left to the different regions.
7. Italy 1,964,054 cases 68,099 deaths
At the moment Italy holds a record that no-one wants –the most corona deaths in Europe. Italy was the first country in Europe to be slammed with Covidand had the benefit of time and experience to be better prepared for the second wave. Italy waited too long to reimpose restrictionsand reinforce its medical community. Nearly 80,000 Italian health care workers have been infected and 255 doctors have died. Instead, on Nov. 3 the government divided the country into three risk zones with varying restrictions. But by then infections had been doubling each week for nearly a month and hospitals were already overwhelmed in Milan and Naples.
6. Turkey 2,043,704 cases 18,351 deaths
As with all the countries where the virus is highest, Turkey waited too long to impose Covid 19 restrictions.Now children under the age of 20 can go outside for three hours a day and have school on Zoom. People over the age of 65 can go out fora different three hours. The elderly and the young are banned from public transportation.There is a curfew. Many are angry about how the government mismanaged the crisis. The government played down the virus and sugar coated the numbers not counting the asymptomatic ones which were high.
5. UK 2,073,511 cases 67,616 deaths
The four countries of the UK are trying to avoid a spike over the Christmas holidays. They want to ease things up between Dec 23-27 with rules like only a single person household can visit another home. People living in the UK will be allowed to form a Christmas bubble of up to three households. Households can only be in one bubble and may not switch. London has moved from High Alert to Very High Alert and bars and restaurants will remain closed. Outdoor groupings must be limited to six people. The virus is accelerating and the hope is not to lose more and more people as the vaccine is being rolled out.
4. Russia 2,877,727 cases 51,351 deaths
As Russia struggles to get the virus under control, videos released of morgues piled high with bodies and hospitals that look like war zones, suggest the numbers are much higher than released. The way they count the Covid deaths, are different than the World Health organization guidelines which states that all deaths related to Covid-19 should be counted. Though the government portrays a country in full control of the pandemic, the strain on the medical facilities is becoming obvious to the Russian people.
3. Brazil 7,241,612 cases 186,818 deaths
Fueled by the untimely political disputes, Covid 19 spread like wildfire in Brazil. Amid the controversy, Brazilian research disproved the theory that hydrochloroquine was helpful in treating the virus. Brazil was unprepared for the second wave of the virus and the hospitals are full with queues of patients lined up outside for beds. Bolsonaro has consistently downplayed the novel coronavirus as a “little flu” and said recently was at the “tail end of the pandemic.” Sound familiar? Brazil has the second largest death toll in the world from Covid 19.
2. India 10,075,036 cases 146,134 deaths
Tens of millions of migrant workers were stranded without work or food after Prime Minister Narendra Modiimposed a lockdown in March. By spring and summer, these workers were so desperate that the government provided emergency trains to carry them back to their home villages. They became virus trains and due to lack of testing and social distancing these trains brought the virus all over India to places where it had not appeared before. The government never adequately contemplated howshutting down the economy and quarantining 1.3 billion people would cause desperation,panic andchaos for millions of migrant workers at the heart of Indian industry. Experts agree that the spread in rural areas, home to more than half of the population, is a challenge to both fight and monitor. The health infrastructure in these areas is weaker, making it harder to treat patients and testing isn’t easily available in many small towns and villages.
1. US 18,312,007 cases 325,187 deaths
We are number one – in both deaths and number of cases. Few countries have been as severely hit asAmerica has. The world watched as the US – once a model for government competence and health care, fumbled the response to the Corona Virus. Despite ample warning, immense resources, medical and scientific expertise, it floundered. The world listened in shock as our President talked about drinking disinfectant. When people in third world countries emerged from lockdown and began partying, they saw that Americans in certain states did the same.Almost everything that went wrong with America’s response was predictable and preventable.
To Mask Or Not To Mask – That Is The Political Question
“Nothing is more real than the masks we make to show each other who we are.” Christopher Barzak
i was unprepared for the quarantine. I was still packing the weekend before for a trip to Arizona. Yes, we were in the empty market and getting help from more prepared friends and family.
But what I did have were masks. I am allergic to smoke and pollution. I have always been told that masks won’t save me around a fire because the particles of smoke are too small and get through the masks.
The only thing paper masks are protection for, the doctors would tell me, are germs. That is why doctors wear them. I still have them because they are a line of defense against smokers and pollution. I have different kinds, including N95, in the hopes that someone invents something besides a gas mask that will work for me. It looks like, I have been preparing my whole life for this virus.
If you have a cold or allergies in Japan, you wear a mask so you don’t pass it on to other people. I was there during the bird flu scare and everyone wore masks. There were no laws or fines, you just put on a mask out of of respect for yourself and others
. I didn’t get the bird flu nor did a lot of people because everyone was taking precautions. (They did kill a lot of birds.) I’ve seen first hand that masks work.
Trump doesn’t wear a mask. He gets tested every day for the virus and it is a test where he gets the results quickly. We had to wait several days for results when we needed testing. I’m sure there is a ventilator and a doctor on call at the White House should something happen. He does not have to worry, as most people do, if there is room in a hospital for him should he need that.
Now he is taking hydroquinine preventively. My chemical and smoke sensitivities are autoimmune related. My doctor recommended hydroquinine. He said it had a 10 or 20 per cent chance of working on what I have and I had to be on it for a year to see if it worked. I got some more medical opinions. I decided the odds were too low and the side effects too many to be on it for a year. Hydroquinine is also a malaria drug. The fact that the president would take a strong immune illness drug with side effects, that might work in case he gets the virus, instead of suggesting masks is crazy to me.
The beach near where I live opened last week. Three quarters of the people who come here are not wearing masks. It feels unsafe to me now on the weekends so I don’t go out.
It is frustrating because most of the people don’t live here and may behave differently in their own neighborhoods. I’m sure they put on masks if they visit their parents. They are biking and jogging, not wearing shirts and sweating. The bikers are not social distancing.
On the beach they run in and out of the water unaware of people walking by. It certainly does not appear to be as mandatory here as other parts of LA..
The mask is being seen as a symbol of blindly submitting to government authority or taking a political stance to some, and a sign of safety and compassion to others. It seems to be about people’s age and individual tolerance of risk. Since we don’t know if we are carrying the virus and we don’t know what immune deficiencies other people have, why is it so difficult for Americans in this unprecedented time, to behave with politeness and kindness towards others and wear a mask? We all want this to be over.
TheBest And Worst Thing About Quarantine With A Little Help From My Friends
“The best way out is always through.” Robert Frost
BEST: I’m doing qi gong, yoga and meditation and a beach walk every day. It is helping my anxiety and I sleep great. WORST:I cancelled two trips and I’m not traveling.JZ
BEST is cleaning my desk, watching great tv and finally finishing a series.WORST is not being able to hug & kiss my kids, missing my friends and working out in a gym! EH
BEST is being with my dog 24/7. WORST is cooking three meals a day for my husband. SR
BEST is that I don’t have to get dressed up and put on makeup to go to work.WORST is not going out to eat, to the movies, a play or concert with friends and not having home cooked Sunday dinners with my kids.Oh and not having my housekeeper!JL
BEST is pretty easy.My immediate family and girlfriend are here all day. WORST is my fears for people who are facing huge problemsand also some personal health fears.Just thinking about the worst list makes me sense my blood pressure increasing.LA
BEST is catching up with friends and relatives virtually. Also more time for reading,Spring cleaning and watching Netflix.WORST is not going to movies, the Grove, shopping, church, and hugging friends. EM
BEST:As an extrovert, I was delightfully surprised to find that I no longer suffer from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), because there’s not much to Miss Out on.Instead, I can be fully present and do one thing at a time.WORST: My husband has “underlying health conditions” that make true isolation necessary for him, which means I have to be extremely careful, too.So my time outside is limited. LM
BEST is getting a lot of sleep, having the time to try new recipes and beauty products and catching up on movies.WORST is being alone, stuck at home and not seeing, hugging or kissing friends and family. It is worrying about losing jobs, money and the future. NC
BEST is remembering what I am thankful for. WORST is thinking that I will never travel again.TN
BEST is eating good food and watching good movies and TV shows.WORST is not seeing my friends and getting fat. DB
BEST is the confirmation that I definitely married the person in the world I would most like to be quarantined with. WORST is the constant low-level non-specific anxiety.LO
BESTis that I am finally getting rid of shit in my house.WORST is that I can’t spend time with my mom.This Sunday is her 95th Birthday. SF
BESTis spending all this time with my boyfriend, just the two of us.WORST(aside from missing personal grooming – Brazilian wax, fillers etc) is not getting together with friends for a meal. CL
BEST is getting to sleep later in the morningand reading the whole NY Times. I’m even doing the Friday and Saturday crossword puzzles.Also, having the time to reconnect with people in my life that I haven’t seen or heard from in a long time.WORST is that I miss seeing the people in my life. Zoom just doesn’t cut it after a while. HM
BEST is slowing down and having time to do a new project.WORST is isolation. MU
BEST is that life is way simpler and more meaningful. Time is slower and faster and I am more aware of how precious life is and that what really matters most doesn’t need a new pair of shoes, dress or anything else to make it special.WORST is not being able to touch, hug and kiss family and friends. My daughter is pregnant and I worry about her. DG
BEST Being with my family all the time.WORST Being with my family all the time MA
BEST is learning to cook.WORST is having the Corona Virus. AA
“She refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn’t boring.”Zelda Fitzgerald
It is twenty something days in. I often lose track of what day of the week it is as every day is the same. I’ve developed a bit of a corona schedule for my day. They are not always in this order and sometimes I mix it up – nor do I always get up at 8.
8:00 Breakfast and internet time. I try to work on my blog for a bit but not traveling makes it more difficult. Play some scrabble.
9:30 ZOOM Yoga every Friday with Michelle Azar Aron or her face book yoga on other days. I haven’t done yoga in a year and a half and I can feel it. I try to switch off every other day with Pilates so it doesn’t hurt so much.
11:30 if I can get it to work, I do another twenty minutes of QI Gong breathingwith Samuel Barnes on his face book page .
12:00Spend time brushing my dogs hair because he is starting to get matted and dreadlocks are forming. After, we go out on the deck and run around. Today i spoke to a nice man at Mobile Groomers who told me what tools and shampoo to buy to detangle my dog and taught me what to do. This should be interesting. He felt that cutting the nails and expressing the anal glands was above my skill level. He was right. Soon I will learn how to color my own hair.
12:30 Lunch is whatever we have in the house. It usually involves peanut butter.
1:00 I am taking this Yaleclass online.. It is an interesting time to be taking it but when do you have this kind of time? It is called The Science Of Well Being and I’m really enjoying it. I spend one to two hours a day on it.
2:00 Thisis a good time to getdressed or at least change into a different pair of sweat pants,clean up the house and make the bed.
3:00 We go for a walk with the dog on the beach or the Speedway. The Speedway is less windy but more crowded with bikers and skateboarders. It is easier to navigate the six feet thing there than on our less crowded but very narrow streets. Everyday we have moreand more quarantine gear. Almost everyone is wearing masks now. The bikers freak me out because they come so close. It feels good to get out of the house.
4:30 Meditate for half an hour.
5:30 Treadmill and some TV for half an hour. We don’t walk so fast because I have a little dog who likes to stop a lot.I’m binge watching the Gilmore Girls- anything lightand mindless to avoid the constant corona virus news coverage.
6:00 Check in on family and friends – some I haven’t seen in a long time but I find myself thinking about people and wondering how they are doing.
7:00 Dinner.The BF has taken on the quarantine cooking challenge and our dinners are always creative and delicious. We have made it more interesting by comparing dinners with a couple of friends. It is not supposed to be a competition but…… We are also trying to support our favorite restaurants that are still open by doing some take out.
9:00 TV and Reading. Three seasons of Silicon Valley and Unorthodox. Now we are watching Top Chef. I have read Angle Of Repose and currently Americanah.
We have started Corona Catering for our respective kids. It is nice to do something for someone else during this time. Thereis a lot of me time. But instead of hair, skin and nails it is more about calming my brain, being grateful and being in the present. I wonder what changes I will make in my life and what new habits I willtake with me when this is over.
“Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you from getting me sick” unknown
Eventually all those people stocking up on supplies at Costco are going to have to leave their houses and the Corona Virus will still be here. It will lighten up in the spring and summer as viruses do, and come back in the winter. It is something we will learn to live with like Aids and Airport Security.If you have not been addicted before, hand sanitizer is the new normal. Someone you know or maybe you will get it and next year there will be a vaccine and things will calm down.
The decision to travel or not is a tough one. I just had to cancel my month long trip to Germany and France in mid April.The first part was a tour with the Jewish Heritage Museum though the Alsace region. I was particularly excited to go tothe baths in Baden Baden – a bucket list thing for me. Afterward, I was meeting the BF In Lyon and we were traveling to Marseille, Cassis, Aix and laterstaying in a beautiful winery in the region. We would have ended up in Paris for a few days. It was a lot of planning and involved planes, trains and cars. I have not cancelled part two yet.
I know it is the right thing to do at this time but when it comes to travel-all reasoning disappears. I haveterrible travel envy and the cure for me is planning a trip. I always have something to look forward to and now I don’t – other than maybe not getting sick and dying – which is big.
At the moment it feels like I am sitting at home thinking about traveling a lot more than I am actually traveling.
I’ve always had anxiety and lived my life in fear so this collective fear doesn’t feel strange to me. The best we can do is to wash our hands and avoid people who are coughing. I’m germaphobic so I do this anyway. I was way ahead of my time with social distancing. I am no longer weird and can proudly touch things with my elbow and not hug hello.
Life is tough and unpredictable .No matter how well-thought-out your plans might be, they’re bound to be disrupted at some point. Don’ttake it personally, it’s just life and like everything else this will pass.
And by the way, thanks for freaking out and buying all the toilet paper.
“Wash your hands like you just got done slicing jalapeños for a batch of nachos and you need to take your contacts out.”Unknown
As the Corona Virus spreads around the world, health officials are saying washing your hands a minimum of twenty seconds with soap is helpful to prevent infection.
Here are some things you can do in your head for twenty seconds while washing your hands.
Sing Happy Birthday twice.
Sing the chorus of Jolene. Dolly Parton.
Recite as much of the Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll as you can remember or any other poem you had to memorize in school.
Sing the first verse of God Save the Queen, the British National Anthem.
Hum Grieg’s In The Hall Of Mountain King.
Sing the chorus of Africa. ToTo.
Recite the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence or any speech you had to memorize in High School.
Hum Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.
Sing Mambo Number Five. Lou Bega.
Sing the chorus of Raspberry Beret. Prince.
Hum Ravel’s Bolero.
Sing the chorus of Truth Hurts. Lizzo.
Hum the March Of The Toreadors from Bizet’s Carmen.
Sing the chorus of Owner Of A Lonely Heart. Yes.
Say the famous Star Trek speech. “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before.”
‘Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”Anne Lamott
If you haven’t done a spa vacation, (especially if you are a guy), you need to drop those prejudices. It is not just rose scented facials, Swedish massage and regimented activities.
These days the optionsfor activities are so varied. There are so many different kinds of destination spas. The focus can be on life style, de-stressing, trying new forms of exercise, and there is nothing wrong with having a great massage every day.
The minute I walk into a spa, my body and brain relaxes. When your skin looks better in a mirror after a facial,you do feel better. It’s all about pampering and unwinding.
It is best to plan as much as you can in advance so when you get there, you don’t have to think. If you are a person who wants a lot of relaxation time, schedule less activities. If you are a person like me, who wants to try everything, your day will be full. Go with the flow of the spa you are at and try those signature activities that you can’t do anywhere else. Remember to leave your cell phone in the room and stay in the present moment.
I don’t always have to be lost in an airport or navigating a foreign city to have a good time. I’m privileged to be able to travel any way that I can. Luxury travel to one place involves the choiceof a cheaper trip next time. Curative travel is good too. It helps to incorporate wellness travel into your world.
I’m about to educate/brainwash the BF as to why he needs to do this for his birthday. He is skeptical and pretending that it sounds great.Self care is incredibly important. He will come back rejuvenated and ready to take on the world again – but he does not know that yet.
“I don’t like vegans, either. Bunch of whiny zealots. A cow or a pig wouldn’t give a damn if a person died… animals tear apart other animals while they’re still alive, but we aren’t so cruel, so vegans should learn to shut up. Vegans use palm oil and never think about the forests and endangered species at risk from that… and they all exploit the world in other ways, buying their computers and their sweatshop clothes and their Starbucks coffees.” Rebecca McNutt.
I returned from my last trip with a stomach bacteria. I did not get the bacteria there but have probably had it for a while. The cure is an antibiotic that will kill everything good and bad in your body and a weird strict diet that will not feed the bacteria for at least six months. The bacteria caused several food allergies as well. The easiest way for me to eat these days is to be a Megan.- a meat-eating vegan. (albeit not in the same restaurant)
It turns out that thepeople who live a plant-based life style understand weird diets.I notice that manypeople eat alone in vegan restaurants. I amnot talking about thehipster or Hollywood vegans that eat at the trendy vegan restaurants or have their vegan chefs prepare something.I’m talking about small local restaurants.
Most social gatherings revolve around food and the isolation of having a strict diet when your friends do not, can make it easier to eat alone. Dietary restrictions are annoying in social situations. I hate the constant deliberating and discussionthat i have to do with waiters in restaurants. I’m not normally that person.
All vegans are not just focused on not eating dead animals. Some of themprobably have eating issues or do it for health reasons. I sit alone in the restaurant and watch the other diners. I play my airport game of trying to figure out who everyone is. Classic vegans.
I lookat a man focused on his non dairy fettuccine alfredo and think that he is definitely a Bikram yoga instructor slash dog walker. The two woman who gush over their buffalo tofu sliders are life coach feminists with instagram accounts dedicated to their differentacai bowls. The womansitting over there in the corner is probablya two years sober tarot card reader who runs 12 step meetings. The anorexic reiki healer cutting her food in many small pieces is pushing it around her plate while she talks to her friend, the mantra chanting, meditation specialist. The man next to her heads the communityvegetable garden and makes his own candles.
Clearly thesepeoplehave no idea how much I am missing cheese, coffee, sushi, fish, bread andgood dessert. I make fun of vegans because I will never be cool enough to give up the occasional hot dog, hamburger and dairy products. I will never stretch regularly or be a healthyvessel of joy and peace.I make fun of them because I am not disciplined or good enough to be one of them.
Then, I look at myself in my flannel shirt and baggy jeans. I am drinking the now trendy celery juice(yes i know you are supposed to drink it when you wake you up to cleanse your system but i just can’t)) and eating kale, brown rice and tempeh.I see a man looking at me. He is thinking that I just biked over herefrom a winter solstice ceremony and have a formally abused dog named Chakra. I am probably on my way to my alternative medicine doctor for acupuncture.
Travel Well, Fly Safe 
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