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  2021-08-05

  Wetzel's Pretzel doing their part

  I snapped this picture at the mall today. Most of the signs that I've seen around the valley just say that masks are no longer required if people are vaccinated but of course, no one is allowed to ask for a vaccination card so no one can ever be sure. This sign however states that by approaching the register without a mask you are attesting that you have been vaccinated. I really liked the wording of this sign because it makes the customer think about the responsibility they alone hold on being careful regardless of their vaccination status.
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  2021-04-14

  Can You Ever Tell If A Decision Is Right?

  My daughter has left our neighborhood less than five times in the past 13 months. I am not exaggerating. Now that the positivity rate in our area is 1.5%, we cautiously allowed my daughter to accompany me on a one mile run. You would have thought I’d taken her to Disney World. She was happier and more relaxed than she’s been in months. But she’s not a runner. She’s a competitive gymnast who hasn’t set foot in a gym in 13 months. She’s trained virtually with a gym in Northern CA and has worked out every single day. But we know it’s not the same. We also know that it’s time to create the team for the next season. It was time to contact her gym. We can keep promising she’s coming back but at what point is it just empty words? After a lot of prayer and internal debate, we texted her coach and said it’s time for her to come back. As you can see, she was initially scared at the idea, but that was quickly replaced by excitement when she found out she is really going back. But I have a pit in my stomach. Is it safe? Her coach isn’t vaccinated. Will my daughter be one of the children who contract it and have dire consequences? Or will her brother if she brings it home? How long can you keep a kid in a bubble? She already missed an entire season. Her mental health is so important, we know going back is going to be so amazing for that. But I am still so worried about the physical. One thing that this year has shown me is that I am an adult. I mean, obviously, I’ve been an adult for 22 years. But this year - protecting not only the safety of my children but my over 65 mom and in-laws. Advocating for the health of my students over politics. It’s like the pandemic has forced me to see that I can’t look to anyone to make adult decisions, it’s me. I’m the decision maker and these decisions can be life and death. I’m the adult. COVID has stripped that security we all had (probably foolishly). I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe again the way I did before this all began. So fingers crossed that my daughter’s journey back into competitive gymnastics is one that we can make safely.
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  2020-10-16

  Table showing media bias

  Experiencing coronavirus in the age of 24/7 news coverage, I imagine most people have become far more conscious of where they choose to get their news. I've been brought up an ABC @ 7 operator, and I count myself lucky. Throughout the storm of rating battles, exclusive reports and breaking news I have been confident that I could trust the ABC and my paper choice The Age. Trust might be naive but it seems like the only option. Every now and again I'll flick onto a commercial channel and find myself wondering, is this news? My mates have also become more conscious of their sources too, one of them got me onto 'Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty' on iView, making me even more skeptical about anything I read. I feel like the media almost have an almost more important responsibility to people than politicians. I wonder a lot, at the moment especially, whether news outlets are fulfilling their responsibility or is shock and clickbait bringing in the money that really talks.