Covid Crazies, Caves, & Kettlebells

So, seeing 2020 dragged us all down in so many ways, blinding us to the beauties of life and our need to stop waiting for the damn Covid Crazies to end. Nine months is long enough to wait to start to Live again. Wait we must for certain things--for the bars and the gyms to reopen, for the chance to travel freely--but we mustn't wait any longer to live as fully as we can. Instead of New Year resolutions, here are my immediate action plans, combining all three fronts into one list: 1) Start masking up in a more comfortable way. My job requires that I wear one. But all of the masks that I've worn--from disposable surgical masks to KN95s to reusable masks from several different vendors have had me on edge for three reasons: they muffle my voice...they slip down or, if tightened, get up against my mouth...they cause my glasses to fog. Action: I've ordered premium reusable work masks that should take care of all three. They'll arrive by Wednesday and I'll post my review

Just weeks before the November post was due, I received some shocking news: due to emergency reconstruction work, all tenants on the west side of our apartment building had to move out by November 15. The news came with an upside: management would pay our moving expenses, relocate us to a lovely building a few blocks away, and compensate us for our grief. The blow remained a bitter one: I'd just moved in April and had succeeded in building a comfortable cave. Still, I had a choice of a half-dozen apartments--one of which rang all my bells. It was a top floor unit with a view and gorgeous hardwood floors. And the promised compensation would help pave the way to the knee replacement surgery I hope to have early next year. So, despite a raging virus and election madness everywhere and a surge in Covid Craziness, I set out to prove the basics I've preached in this blog.  While working, writing, and working out, I planned my move, packed my stuff into 29 green Frog Boxes, found a mo

  The COVID Crazies are raising their voices within: --Half a year in quarantine! --Small pleasures we once took for granted are gone: gym workouts, movies, haircuts. --We're sick of wearing masks--and mad as hell at those who don't. --We're tired of being terrified of everything we touch. --Everywhere we look we see more businesses gone under. --Our passports are totally useless and we wouldn't' dare fly anyway. --We can't see our doctors in person--telehealth calls only unless we're at death's door. The list goes on and on and on with no end in sight. Will the madness end in 2021, go on till 2022--or, God forbid, go on forever in one form or another? Will living hell be the new Normal? Scary questions. But one thing's scarier still: the thought of putting life on hold till we're able to take off our masks and breathe freely as we did before. Who can afford to take a year or two or three or more to live as richly as they're able? That can be

  In Seattle, there's no end in sight to the Covid Crazies, which are inextricably linked to: --the legions of homeless with nowhere to go now that their old haunts have been closed for months... --the increasing demand for defunding the police... --the resulting disappearance of cops from the streets and growing inability to do much of anything to make the city safe... --the ruin of local businesses: a hundred in Seattle have permanently closed, unable to pay for security guards to protect their staff and customers or keep thieves from brazenly looting the shelves... --delays in relief benefits--and the fear that some of those may disappear completely. --the terror of losing our jobs and our homes...   We're all mad as hell about this. And we have every right to be. But more than ever now we need the sense of peace and comfort we're most certain to find in our caves.  The greater the stress on the outside, the more resourceful we all need to be in making sure our caves ref

A 3-step plan for activists 1) Accept this or catch COVID Crazies : it may take years--not weeks or months--for some things to get back to normal. That is, if they ever can. Our once-favorite haunts, whether gyms or cafes, may not seem worth the risk. Or they may no longer please us with all the new restrictions. Meantime, we must survive. To do that, we need some essential supplies: gloves, masks, sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, and/or antibacterial wipes.                                                          Shopping savvy   A few things, such as hand sanitizer, have gotten easier to find. But at one time or another, nearly everywhere seems out of something and, when they are back in stock, they're gone before you know it. Furthermore, there may be restrictions: 1 per customer, for example. Some stores sell masks in boxes of 50 for close to 50 bucks. But many convenience stores sell cheap cloth, reusable masks. For gloves and wipes, try to find a wholesale restaurant supply store

 By now the idea of retiring to a hippie cave in Crete to escape the Covid Crazies is looking better and better. The pandemic seems to be readying for a roaring second chapter with a lot of help from everyone who will not wear a mask. And still more help from mobs of shoplifters and looters. Go to work? That's dangerous. Stay at home? There's rent to pay and landlords are tired of waiting. Worse, you may be laid off any day. And if you're 'lucky' enough to have a low-paying position in an essential industry, you may have your face caved in by someone who won't wear a mask. What are you to do?  For starters, come back here at least once a month, on the first. I'll always go to elaborate lengths to keep my posts both short and useful. The structure will be consistent. We'll always begin with the Covid Crazies--not just the maskless Karens and wackos the plague's turned loose on all of us, but the not so little things that leave our sanity in tatters: