May 10
In the first weirdly wonderful week of May, my daily routine changed to absorb new activities that are now available to me as a fully vaccinated person in a place where Covid is on the wane. Having access to my gym pool again is such a big deal that I made it my first destination every morning after my caffeine fix. A jacuzzi soak before and after a swim never felt so luxurious, especially with the thick fog that ushered in the month. As week 2 begins I must be more disciplined and include cardio exercise. My stamina on the exercise bike and cross trainer the first time after a 14 month pause amazed me. The outside setting works better than indoors at the moment with the weather as cool as it is. We call it May Gray. Almost everyday in the last 2 weeks the sky has been the color of slate and the air crisp, bordering on chilly. Nobody complains. Fire season is upon us and foggy days lower the risk. I gulp in fresh air, listen to a podcast or audiobook, and pump the pedals as hard as I can manage. An unbeatable way to start the day.
A podcast favorite is "Pod Save the World" hosted by Ben Rhodes and Tommy Vietor. This pair of Obama administration alumni deliver informative current news focused on foreign policy. Rhodes impressed me with his political astuteness in his masterful memoir "The World As It Is" in which he describes his 8 years working with President Obama. In fact I found his rendition of key moments far more absorbing than Obama's in his memoir "The Promised Land". On the podcast Ben and Tommy have enthused about Biden appointees and go behind the scenes on issues regarding the Middle East, China, etc. So I exercise both body and mind simultaneously!
Change is definitely the operative word these days. This week we cancelled our CSA farm box. Farmer's market shopping is back on our weekly agenda. Getting out in public means paying more attention to my clothes and appearance. I now have to wriggle back into skinny jeans and dig up favorite tops that have been hibernating in my closet. I'm hoping to have my hair cut later this week - after 14 months!
The house has to be clean and tidy all the time. Two days last week friends (vaccinated, of course) dropped in unexpectedly. Then, on the weekend we had friends over for dinner. Conversations these days are funny. Inevitably, everyone asks whether you had Pfizer or Moderna followed by a sharing of side effects after the 2nd dose. Giddy times. Until you check the news.
Today's Covid live updates on CNN and the New York Times were refreshingly positive for the US. Daily infections continue to decline and the numbers are now as low as they were in September 2020. No state is experiencing an increase in daily cases. Roughly 50% of American adults have had at least one dose of the vaccine. Health experts are saying that when we get to 60% the Covid scene will dramatically change. Exponential decay, one guessed. Wow! The FDA is evaluating the Pfizer vaccine for 12 - 15 year olds and could green light it by Thursday. Most welcome news here in Santa Barbara where outbreaks among high school kids have become frequent.
But it's hard to feel excited. The developing world is struggling with vaccination efforts. India's crisis hasn't abated. Brazil's numbers are still explosive. The variant driving India's numbers has spread around the globe. WHO deems it a VOC. That's something to make us nervous. South Africa is bracing for a winter surge and their infectious disease experts are expressing worry about the India variant. The country has received Pfizer shipments and they're about to begin vaccinating their senior population.
Much of Europe is making excellent progress with vaccinating their population. New Covid infections are finally on a decline in France, Germany and Turkey. Deaths in the UK are nearing 0. On May 17, Covid restrictions will end. Since much of the population is still waiting for their second dose, we're keeping our fingers crossed. If things continue to improve we are likely to spend the month of August in England.
Covid isn't the only topic on our minds these days. There's plenty of other interesting stuff competing for attention. At the moment everyone is talking about a unique species of cicadas found in the Southeast USA. They are periodic cicadas and areabout to emerge from underground 17 years after the eggs were laid. They will trill loudly, mate, lay eggs and die. Then 17 years from now ... Side note: There's also a 13 year periodic species of cicadas.
I'm so looking forward to the sounds of a summer that promises to be bright out here.
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