Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

So close yet so far

Hey, remember the COVID pandemic is over? We don’t think about it anymore, right? No news of frightening new variants, no daily death counts. There’s people working in hospitals that no longer wear masks! That last one is kind of stunning when I went in a few months ago for my annual checkup. Things are truly back to what it was at the end of 2019. If we don’t counting the millions dead…

Just when I thought we would end the year at work with no one getting truly sick from COVID, a coworker caught the disease last week. (So close.) Unfortunately for him, COVID absolutely knocked him out. Every single flu-like and cold-like symptom you can come up with, he got it. The coworker was out for the entire week. Compounding the misery is that he can’t pinpoint where and how he contracted COVID! He would’ve felt slightly better if he were able to offload the blame somewhere.

I am fine, by the way. Very unlikely the coworker contracted COVID at work as the rest of us were business as usual. I still have not knowingly contracted the thing, though I maintain it’s because I don’t show any symptoms (thank god if that is indeed the truth). No symptoms, no tests, less chance of positives. Didn’t the smart people say that it is statistically likely that all of us will get COVID at some point?

Nothing will make you appreciate good health like coming out of a serious bout of sickness. The recovered coworker is filled with gratitude today in his return to work. He definitely do not want to experience that again. I bet if his COVID vaccine schedule isn’t up to date, it will be shortly!

Sugar how you get so high

Yesterday was the first time in my life I got the flu vaccine. And let me tell you, I am feeling like crap today. Make sense, right? The vaccine is effectively introducing a small strain of the influenza into my body. Of course it is going to react as if I actually got flu. At least the symptoms aren’t truly on the levels of a real one. The last time I got it - more than a decade ago - I was bed-ridden for two days.

It was a smart decision to not get the latest COVID vaccine at the same time. Despite what the Travis Kelce commercial says, asking your body to fight two invading viruses concurrently might not be the best idea. My coworker got both the flu and COVID vaccine at the same time, and he was down in the energy dumps for two days. I’ve a history of symptomatic reaction to the COVID vaccine (the second Pfizer shot was killer), so I am delaying what would be the fifth shot to a later date.

I also got the annual blood test yesterday: the usual cholesterol and glucose measurements. Turns out I am pre-diabetic? My HbA1c is 5.7, which is barely into the pre-diabetic range. I am kind of dumbfounded at this. I’m rather religious with proper diet, sleep, and exercise - and have been since my early 20s. I don’t drink or smoke, and I avoid added sugar whenever possible. My weight is completely normal for my height. How the French am I pre-diabetic?

Since I already get eight hours of sleep per night consistently, and exercise multiple times per week, any adjustments to be made will not be in those two areas. It will have to be diet. Moving forward I will cut back on carbs as much as possible, and eat more vegetables and fibrous foods. Let’s check back in six months when I get the next blood test.

The green tree of Ethnic Studies and Psychology building.

It's over over

At work, the first batch of Dell laptops we purchased in response to the pandemic, in support of fully remote teaching, is about to expire on its basic warranty. Can you believe that? It’s been a whole three years since the start of COVID. Sometimes it takes a laptop warranty expiring to remind me just how long ago that is. Obviously, plenty have changed, both in the external world and my own personal life. And yet sometimes it can still feel like we’re in a bit of stasis since March 2020. A long continuation of (hopefully) the worse global pandemic in our lifetimes.

Of course, we don’t hear or talk about COVID-19 anymore. No more daily hospitalization numbers, no more masking guidelines. Even the vaccination campaigns have gone radio silence. It’s down to personal decisions now, on how careful you want to be. And we should respect each other’s rights to do so.

The pandemic is over. Life is back to normal. This past weekend I attended a lovely baby shower, in a recreation center room with about 50 people. Think back to two years ago: you wouldn’t dream to do such a reckless thing. Not without masking, lots of open windows, and minimal hugging. COVID is something we no longer think about. And while it’s taken longer than we’d all like, three years is not so bad in the grand scheme of things. We can, and have, finally move on.

Even the ultra-restrictive China have opened back up to complete normalcy. Foreigners can finally get into the country, on previously issued visas (or you can get a new one). I am not doing any traveling this summer. (Have you seen the prices of everything travel related?) The only flying I’m planning on is at the end of the year: to China. To visit relatives I’ve not seen in person in three years. In sha'Allah that will come to fruition.

Go back to where I came from

If things continue to go well, I reckon I can go back to China later this year. My home country seems to have finally given up the COVID zero dream. Citizens are allowed to move about the country freely, travelers from abroad need only a negative test, no more quarantining. All of this just in time for the massive Lunar New Year festivities (it’s this weekend).

Of course, a complete reversal of the previously harsh restrictions means COVID is running rampant in China. So much so the country is not even bothering with releasing numbers. They are essentially going through the waves we already saw here in the States and the rest of the world. The sad part is, the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) that we received are banned in China. They’ve only got the far least effective (effectively ineffective) home-grown Sinovac vaccine. Needless amount of the citizenry will be severely sick (or die) because of this.

This is why I have no short-term plans to visit China (after three long years away) to see family. I think it’s better let COVID run its course and reach a sort of equilibrium. Besides, my mother tells me those of us on the old 10-year tourist visa are still not yet allowed into the country. With the requirement that Chinese tourists coming into the United States must test negative (a logical move, honestly), China will certainly reciprocate in kind, if not even more restrictive, to U.S. travelers.

My father is scheduled to retire in July. The hope is that he will be able to return to China to live for a few months starting in autumn. I will then join him towards the end of December, my usual timeframe to go back home, back before the pandemic started.

Imagine that - I’m now old enough to have both parents retire completely. The seasons of our lives can seemingly change so suddenly.

Booster round two

I read on the news an update to the Pfizer COVID vaccine that targets the latest omicron variant is now approved and available. I never did get my second booster shot: the first booster was way back in November of last year. Seems like a good time now to get what would be my fourth shot. And because it’s flu season, might as well get the flu vaccine at the same time.

Sadly, the local CVS pharmacy at Target is not offering the COVID vaccine any longer? It’s where I got my booster last time, but I wasn’t able to book any appointments. That’s a shame because I now have to get in a car. A friend informed me that Walgreens pharmacy is offering the updated booster - plus the flu vaccine. So I mimetically went to the Walgreens website to make an appointment. There were plenty to be had at locations around my zip code.

Next Friday evening will be the day. It should offer enough leeway over the weekend should I experience heavy symptoms. The two primary Pfizer shots only resulted in a sore arm, but the booster shot absolutely wrecked me hard. I’m definitely tempting fate here by getting the COVID and flu vaccine concurrently. Perhaps I can bro-science my way out of this: if I expect symptoms to be mild, then my body will react accordingly.

This is going to be the yearly dance, isn’t it? COVID vaccine boosters every fall. It’s truly become just like the flu. Hopefully as the years go by, as herd immunity grows ever stronger, further COVID boosters would only be something necessary for the immune compromised and the elderly.

Wedding bell blues

This past Sunday was the wedding day of my very good friend. For reasons I’ve detailed in a previous post, I was not able to attend the festivities. And honestly I was quite down about it, because the whole situation was kind of arbitrary. Superficial reasons prevented me from going. The fears of missing out was completely real.

I felt slightly better once I found out another groomsmen also could not make it to the wedding. Misery loves company, you know. It was also due to something beyond his control, but somewhat more tangible than my situation: he caught COVID. There wasn’t enough elapsed days to not be contagious. So unfortunately for my good friend, he was down two out of the original three groomsmen.

A mad scramble ensued to find replacements. And then there was the matter of getting suits remeasured and altered with a week’s notice. Thankfully the suit rental shop accommodated the sudden changes with zero issues. As for the replacements, another friend of ours stepped up - in my place - super clutch. The duties of a groomsman were considerable, so to pinch-hit like that in such short timeframe was hugely commendable. Paradoxically, I babysat for that friend on wedding day, freeing him to actually perform those duties.

I guess in that way I got to participate and help out after all.

That that I like that

“Pandemic's over, uh”, sings Psy on his latest hit single “That, That.”

Honestly, he’s probably right. Life have largely returned to the pre-pandemic normal. We can even look at international travel plans again, without any quarantine restrictions. General indoor mask usage have decreased dramatically, though that largely depends on where you go. Costco is about half masked. Whole Foods I would put at 80% masked. H Mart is about 99%. Us Asians don’t mess around when it comes to masks! We’ve had a masking culture long before the world met COVID 19.

Of course, my readings are of the Bay Area. I suspect if I leave this enclave, the amount of people masking falls closer to zero. I’ve certainly seen this when heading up north. My friend just returned south from Monterey, and she was practically the only person with a mask on.

Since summer is the best time to take vacation for those of us who works in education, my supervisor asked me about any potential PTO plans. As much as I desire to go to Asia -South Korean and Japan is and will be open, respectively - it’s probably best to avoid the crowd of people who also have similar thoughts of finally escaping on a holiday. All these Koreaboos who got into Kpop during the pandemic will be dying to go to Seoul.

Glad I already made that pilgrimage back in 2017.

I think I’ll stay put during this summer. Enjoy that San Francisco lifestyle for a bit, free of any COVID restrictions. I have everything I need and want right here.