Let's Get it On...Now That We're '21

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 next month. For now, here's where I ordered:

https://www.happymasks.com/


2) One way or another, have knee replacement surgery--with or without claim coverage for an accident suffered at work. I'm within weeks of learning the results of an Independent Medical Exam on 12/31. 




Action: Be prepared for claim rejection and have the orthopedic surgeon submit another request for surgery to my own insurance company. Be prepared for no salary during the 2-3 months needed to recover. Be prepared, in other words, to do whatever it takes to stand and walk again like a man and not a crippled geezer.

3) Begin now to get out and about aside from work and shopping, even with my hobbled knee. Don't wait three more months to live!

4) Prepare the cave for video job interviews when I'm mobile after surgery. Goal: find a better-paying, less stressful job, closer to home. Step 1: order a Lume Cube laptop attachment to provide the most flattering lighting. Step 2: experiment with backdrops to disguise my small studio setting. Step 3: Since I'm not a natural phone schmoozer, practice video calls with friends and family until I'm comfortable on the phone and satisfied with my phone presence.




5) Premium job search tools: Redo resume and my list of references.

6) Start training now to ace phone author interviews. Begin by studying well-masters of the game and play daily with catchy, memorable 10-20 sound bytes.

7) Begin now to make one necessary dream come true: a reward for a year in quarantine and a prize I need to nail the finale of my WIP. What is this missing link? A cross-country train trip through the Southwest, where my finale is set. My big plan begins with a letter. If that fails, I'll man up and over on to Plan B. Either way, I begin my visualizing myself on that train. 




 8) Physical presence. Ramp up my kettlebell training and study of professional poses before having a new author photo taken in late spring. My guru will be Brett Maverick--and no, that's not James Garner.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NDEFHTJHEk


9) Complete the blanks in my new cave, the missing links to greater physical, mental, and professional ease. I need: a good-quality collapsible bookcase to get my remaining books and DVDS out of boxes. And: new towels and bathroom accessories.




I'll go on in months to come. But 9's divine for now to get it on with '21!


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