Items

• 2022-05-01

  First Trip After Lockdown: A Journey Through Cheese, COVID, and Care

  In May 2022, fully vaccinated and cautiously optimistic, I boarded my first flight since the lockdowns to attend a cheesemonger conference near St. Louis, Missouri. I was masked, wary, and meticulously followed all the precautions—barely even touching a beverage on the plane. Traveling again felt strange and exhilarating, though the pandemic was still very much on my mind. The conference was a whirlwind of cheese-related knowledge and networking, and everything seemed to be going smoothly until an unexpected situation arose. A young woman attending the conference broke a tooth but had no rental car or easy way to get to a dentist. Since I was the closest to forty among the group and happened to have a rental, I drove her to an emergency dentist. Stepping into the medical office, I was struck by the fact that no one was wearing a mask—something I was not yet accustomed to seeing in a medical setting. In California, most medical establishments still mask up. But I brushed it off, thinking it was just part of returning to the “new normal.” After the conference, I flew to Texas to visit family. Ever cautious, I took a COVID-19 test in the rental car before returning it to the airport. NEGATIVE! Safe to fly. Everything seemed fine until I began feeling unusually warm mid-air, but I was double-masked and very anxious. Maybe I was just panicking. When I reached my Texas hotel, my nerves were on high alert. I called my wife, who teasingly dismissed my worry as paranoia. But as soon as I took a test in my hotel room, I got a positive result. I called her back on FaceTime to show her the results, and reality hit only then. The following day, my stepmom picked me up from the hotel. I sat in the backseat, masked, windows rolled down, and tried to distance myself as best I could. We went straight to urgent care, where they confirmed my positive test with a PCR. Given my pre-diabetes and higher BMI at the time, the medical team recommended monoclonal antibodies. In my dad’s small town of Lake Hills, Texas, the local fire department and medical staff came directly to his house to administer the treatment. They hooked me up to an IV and provided fluids and antibodies, returning two days later for another round of fluids. In a town where only a few people took COVID-19 seriously, I was quite the Dramatic Californian Gal. Luckily, my parents did not get sick, and I was incredibly grateful for their care and the support of my family. A week later, I tested negative—just in time for a long-awaited cruise to Belize, Honduras, and other parts of the Caribbean. Testing on Cruise Ships was super strict then, and you even had to do a rapid text live on a Zoom-like platform 24 hours before boarding the vessel. Boarding the cruise ship in Miami felt surreal, a return to something like freedom. At that point, there was no risk that I was going to be infected with COVID-19. However, after my recent infection, the fresh sea air was a balm, and the sense of safety I felt, knowing I’d just recovered, made it a unique experience. But the trip left its mark; I am still vigilant about masking on planes, keeping up with vaccinations, and taking COVID seriously. While the fear has subsided over time, that first experience with travel after the lockdown taught me the importance of caution, the medical community, and gratitude.
• 2024-07-23

  Why don't I remember most of Covid?

  I remember working remotely from my kitchen for my job. I remember watching movies. I remember being locked down and taking trips to the supermarket wearing masks. I remember avoiding touching things and copious amounts of hand sanitizer. I remember my parents getting older and using facetime to be able to see them. I remember them dying and not being able to take a flight across the country to be there. I remember that birthdays happened without parties. I remember having Covid after being vaccinated, being careful and giving up so much of life. I remember finding out that friends had passed away and not knowing they passed. I remember starting to make changes in the way I do things like open a door without touching the handle. I remember being concerned for the safety of others and wearing a mask for their protection. I remember being chastised for wearing a mask and people trying to shame me for it. I remember holding my breath when a person passed me on the street to reduce risk. I remember standing farther away from people in line and not talking to people. I remember not seeing a smile and not remembering to smile. I smile now. It takes effort but I smile now.
• 
  2021-05

  Financial vs. Public Health In Planning for Art Fairs

  When Art Basel, Hong Kong did happen I remember the internal debate within the art advisory where I worked at the time of whether or not clients and members of the team could or would attend. 
 New considerations arose for the businesses and people like me who worked in administration and logistics. There were major complications that none of us had previously faced in planning for art fair events, client dinners and logistics. For example, booking flights was complicated. In the case of Hong Kong, some people had no choice but to reroute in strange places due to restrictions of certain passport holders or location of origin. Another consideration, were the fancy client and networking dinners that are staples of the art fair culture and booked months in advance. Due to closure or half-capacity seating, many of the premier restaurants were no longer feasible to solidify reservations.
• 
  2020-03-15

  COVID-19 And Pet Birds

  As a parrot owner, I was initially concerned at the start of the pandemic that the virus could be transferred to my avian companions. While I know that viruses are often species-specific, mutations can allow them to jump species. Birds have incredibly delicate respiratory systems, so a respiratory illness in a bird is often deadly. This article from bird food producer Lafaeber explains why caution is warranted by not panic. It is now more than a year since this article has been written, and I am no longer concerned about my parrots catching COVID-19. I belong to many bird groups on social media and have yet to hear of a pet bird who caught the disease.
• 
  2021-03-10

  Op/Ed: How to get officers back up to speed in a post-COVID world

  In this article, retired California Highway Patrol Lieutenant, attorney, and professional risk manager Gordon Graham discusses the factors police agencies should be considering and planning for as we hope to soon begin transitioning to a post-COVID/post-pandemic world. Among these are traditional and analogous considerations agencies have long dealt with, such as the return of employees from extended military assignments or recovery from injuries. Many of the finely honed skills that helped keep officers and the public safe prior to February 2020 will have eroded from a lack of use, and it will be incumbent upon agencies and officers alike to undertake these returns to normalcy with serious and deliberate caution.
• 2021-01-23

  Statistics and Final thoughts

  There have been about 1.07 million Covid cases in LA County, the place where my school, Oaks Christian, is located. In the world, there have been 100 million Covid cases, and 2.3 million deaths. Due to the fact Covid is on the rise in LA County, my school was not able to open until January 6th. I have still been home, because I contain underlying health conditions Type 1 Diabetes and half of a right lung due to birth complications. I think this will get better once a vaccine is globally distributed and heard immunity is established. Until then, we will have to stay inside and be extra cautious.
• 2021-01-20

  Covid Procedures

  Covid-19 brought all sorts of new safety precautions and guidelines. The biggest one being masks. Everywhere you go masks are completely mandatory. Stores, restaurants and businesses. It is not ideal because the masks are uncomfortable and sometimes makes it hard to breath. Although they have made face shields and breathable masks to help. Keeping your hands clean is super important for keeping you safe during this time. Social distancing was the most difficult rule of all. Quarantine was difficult because people missed friends and extended family. Months and months of online school and work was hard for everyone but now we are slowly going back to that way things were. Overall, Covid has brought new perspectives on how to keep everyone healthy and safe during times like these.
• 2020-03-23

  Corona-cation

  We started hearing about the coronavirus in March 2020 so my family started stalking up on canned foods, toilet paper, and all of the essentials. We stocked up just in time too because as the week went on, everything we had bought started having a limit on the amount you can buy and they were going out of stock in almost every store. We had to stay in our house for about 4.5 months and i couldn't see any friends in person, only through a screen. When i finally saw only one of my friends months later after quarantine started, it didn't feel real. It was almost as if she was a ghost or something. I was happy to see her though and since then my family and I has been very careful about getting the virus.
• 2020-11-26

  Thanksgiving in 2020

  It was Thursday, November 26, 2020. Thanksgiving day. It was unlike any other Thanksgiving I had ever had. My usual Thanksgiving day would be me going to each of my grandparent's houses for dinner. But this year was different. We decided to go to only one grandparent's house this year. So we went to their house and instead of walking inside and having dinner, we had to stay in our car. My grandma came out with a little tray of food and handed it to us. It had turkey, gravy, salt, pepper, and pie. It was very hard for me to do this because I couldn't hug my grandparents (or anyone for that matter) and I couldn't go inside the house. This Thanksgiving was much different than any other.
• 
  2020-06

  Jewish Melbourne: Caulfield Shule letter regarding opening up

  Letter from the president of Caulfield Shule to the congregation, sent just after Shavuot, discussing the possibilities of opening up and people being able to attend services, but the need for caution in case there is a second wave of infections
• 
  2020-08-07

  Back to School Stickers Cartoon

  A cartoon produced for the Toronto Star newspaper which shows two sqaure "stickers" surrounded by lines suggesting perforations for seperating them. Above them it reads "BACK-TO-SCHOOL STICKERS!" The top left square mimics a School Zone street sign in it's yellow background an black lettering and boarders and reads "CAUTION SCHOOL ZONE" with a drawing of a virus cell underneath it. The Top right square mimics a School Drop-Off Zone street sign with its white background and red boarder and lettering. It reads "STUDENT DROP-OFF, PICK-UP & DISINFECT" with a red arrow underneath. The bottom left square mimics a school crossing street sign with its blue background and white figures. It shows two figures hunched over, one in a skirt and the other in pants, carrying a book each, with a double ended arrow between them which reads "6 FEET." The bottom right square mimics a bumper sticker announcing a child's accomplishments (such as "my child is an honours students). I thas a red background and black and yellow lettering which reads. "MY CHILD TESTED NEGATIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS!" in a smaller font underneath it reads "TODAY, ANYWAY"
• 
  2020-07-10

  AG Oral History, 2020/07/10

  This is an oral history interview by AG, a 39 year old mother of three young children living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She discusses the stresses and worries about the Coronavirus time.
• 
  2020-06-26

  Marketplace, SF

  The Maketplace lights were on and it still looked lively, and yet the doors were locked up and there were distancing and COVID-19 caution signs on the doors. I liked the contrast in that.
• 
  05/18/2020

  Make sure you have your phone, keys, wallet, and all of this stuff too

  This is the new normal. During this time of uncertainty, it can't hurt to go a little overboard with the caution.
• 
  2020-05-07

  French Quarter Festival and Satchmo SummerFest 2020 Cancelled, New Orleans, LA

  French Quarter Festivals, Inc. (FQFI) announces that plans to host French Quarter Festival in October are no longer moving forward. At the City’s direction and out of caution for the safety of fans, musicians, staff and partners, French Quarter Festival and Satchmo SummerFest 2020 have been canceled due to COVID-19. These events had previously been postponed to the fall of 2020.