Category: It’s the little things…

My Current Situation Part IX

It’s the season of what we like to call “Fall” in New England.  The days are short, the air is brisk and the leaves are “falling” from the trees.   I happen to like this season because the temperatures in Connecticut tend not to be too extreme plus it’s a great time to enjoy backyard bonfires.

 

 

It’s also cold and flu season so I scheduled my flu shot this coming week at my place of employment.  I was advised by my Primary Care Physician to get the Shingles shot this year which by the way comes in two separate doses.  I’m well over 50 but for some reason was advised to take care of it this year.  Our local pharmacy (Walgreens) made it real simple for me.

 

 

The drawn-out Covid pandemic (which could easily turn into a “Twindemic” with the upcoming Flu season upon us) is still causing me to pause as to what activities I should or should not participate in.  For instance, I went to see Erykah Badu a few weeks ago at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, CT because the people in charge were asking all attendees to be fully vaccinated and wear their masks.  However, I skipped going to an outdoor festival in Hamden, CT because there would be children there under the age of 12 who, at this time, cannot be vaccinated.   Decisions, decisions…

 

 

And as far as work goes I am currently in month 15 of working hybrid for the News 8 local sales department and I’m not mad about it (smile).  You see I enjoy working from home every other day because it keeps me in the practice of dressing up to go into work in the first place (smile).  I am forced to put on a nice dress or blouse and skirt every other day.  Otherwise I would just live in yoga pants and baseball caps (double smile).

 

 

I also get to touch base with my fav co-workers and experience a change of scenery from the home decor.  But working from home also has its perks:  those aforementioned yoga pants and baseball caps, no commute, noontime walks and healthy lunches.  Truth be told I actually work harder when I’m working from home as I still get up at the same time every day but on those days can begin at least an hour earlier, multi-task at lunchtime and end whenever I feel like it (after quitting time) since I’m already home.

 

 

Being a true fan of  Social Media, I am noticing more and more posts of people in general spending quality time with their families and their friends.  In my opinion the notion of Family is back in a Big Way and it is very apparent.  If nothing else comes from this pandemic, it will have shown us that Family and Relationships are truly what we all have been missing.

 

 

TVFL readers, have a Great Week.

 

 

My Current Situation Part VII

I am writing this blog post on a semi-wet and blustery Sunday afternoon in the month of May.  We are having a true Spring this year and it’s not easy getting used to.  Also it’s been 14 months since the pandemic officially started in Connecticut and although some things have changed, others have not…

 

 

This is the 7th installment of a (hopefully) limited series of blog posts related to my Covid 19 experience – but 7 is my lucky number so I’m going to go with that (smile).

 

 

But first things first, I am still working hybrid — one day operating from home, the next day from my News 8 local sales office — which I absolutely love doing but I fear the end is near…

 

 

…the state of Connecticut is fully opening back up on May 19th which is a pretty good sign that things are moving towards what is being deemed, the “new normal.”

 

 

I can’t lie, I want the “old normal” back and I promise not to complain about anything anymore (double smile).

 

 

I’m also still attending my church home, Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church, via Facebook live.  There’s something to be said about hearing “The Word” virtually and from the safety and comfort of your own home…

 

 

And I still work out 5 days a week at I Love Kickboxing in North Haven, CT.  What has recently changed at ILKB is this:  there are no more mask optional classes (just mask-mandatory) nor are there any more limits to class sizes.  So with the arrival of earlier sunrises in Connecticut, these early bird class sizes will sometimes swell to capacity.

 

 

I’m also super excited to announce that I am now fully vaccinated so a simple mask is my new entry point to getting some of my life back, Yay!

 

 

I’m not going crazy though.  I am slowly easing myself back into my new life.  Pre-Pandemic I was Go-Go-Go, trying to cram everything in all at one time without once stopping to take a break.

 

 

Nowadays I’m learning to appreciate the simple things in life.  Things that bring me love, peace and joy.  I’m also planning for my retirement over the next 4 or 5 years where I will look forward to enjoying a much slower and leisurely pace.

 

 

 

My Current Situation – Part III

We are now entering the 6th month of living in a pandemic and needless to say, things have changed for me in Connecticut… here’s what I’m noticing:

Masks are still required when you walk into any workplace/school/retail store/restaurant/bank etc. (which, by the way, is not a problem to me…)

 

 

Gyms continue to operate at 50% capacity which forces me to work out from home on an online app 3 days out of the 5…and go to my gym I Love Kickboxing (at 5am) the other 2 days..

 

 

We Local Account Executives at News 8 continue to work from home every other day in a team hybrid fashion and to be honest, I’m not mad about it (smile).

 

 

Zoom calls (the way we now converse with each other and with our clients) are beginning to feel “natural” and “the norm.”

 

 

And I just returned from an actual vacay in Delaware where we drove to visit family and because I brought my latop with me, I did not miss a beat on my work load…

 

 

Virtual church is becoming “a thing” now, I can hear ‘The Word” from Pastor King at Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church right from the safety of my living room…

 

 

As far as golf goes, social distancing was already in place so other than having an electric cart all to myself, not much has changed there…

 

 

Self Care is becoming extremely important during this anxiety-ridden time…I am not feeling guilt at all about taking out quality time for myself as often as I need it…

 

 

And finally, my father and sibs mean the world to me so catching up with them via consistent family Facetime chats has become the best part of my week (smile).

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Current Situation – Part II

About 3 1/2 months ago (mid-March 2020) CO19 happened and turned my world inside out and upside down.

 

 

To try and sort everything out, I blogged about the unfolding of these unusual events in My Current Situation: My current situation…

 

 

Here’s where I’m at today:  during the first 10 weeks of Covid 19 me and my fellow Account Executives in the News 8 local sales department were asked to work 100% of the time from home on our laptop computers.   Daily zoom sales meetings and zoom  calls with our clients and prospective clients became the the new norm.  To make it work at home, my dining room quickly became my new office, the table now completely covered with client files and client notebooks.  Lucky for me I already owned a computer desk and office chair and now it was finally getting full use.  At the office I was used to working  off of dual monitors so to simulate this I connected my Dell home computer monitor to my HP work computer and as luck would have it, they were compatible (smile).

 

 

When Week 11arrived we Account Executives were told we were heading back to work but in a checkerboard fashion.  Meaning that we were to be split into two teams.  Team  A would go into work the first week back  on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and work from home on Tuesday and Thursday and Team B would do the complete opposite.  In this way only half the staff would be in the office on any given day.   We still were not sure how long this new arrangement would go on but as it turned out for me it worked out just fine (smile).   I’m happy because I get the best of both worlds: a break from the monotony of working from home 100 percent of the time and the chance to get out of the house, work in my familiar cubicle and connect face to face with my co-workers (smile).

 

 

I’m not gonna lie:  Being back in my cubicle was strange that first week back because in this new Covid world we now had to wear face masks and practice social distancing.  No more water cooler chit chat (smile).  Plus we did not have access to certain areas or departments in the TV station as they were now considered off limits…

 

 

And sanitizer seemed to be everywhere so my hands felt like they were in a perpetual state of dryness.

 

 

But the best part of week 11 was that we entered phase II of back to normalcy in the state of Connecticut.  In this phase Hair and Nail Salons were now allowed to open back up.  Yay!  Finally some relief for my neglected head of hair and bitten down nails.

 

 

Also my gym I love kickboxing opened back up – so I had to quickly get used to working out real hard again (smile).

 

 

During phase II I was also able to go back to my favorite dentist in North Haven to get my teeth cleaned.

 

 

But phase II did not include vacations (at least not in our world).  Vacations for now were a distant memory…we are not looking to fly anywhere for a long while nor were we even remotely interested in taking super long car trips so Staycations in Connecticut were going to become our new option.

 

 

Here’s what I think:  suddenly in this CO19 world the little things that we used to take for granted have become big things…spending quality time with family members, heading to a performance at a live theater or concert hall, meeting up with my girlfriends for dinner, etc.

 

 

But despite everything I still commit to remaining positive, optimistic and focused as we are truly all in this together.  And because of that, I choose to wear my mask in public.

 

 

 

 

 

My current situation…

I don’t even know where to begin.  All I know is I woke up one day 2 weeks ago and my life as I knew it had changed.

First, after many closed door meetings between our sales managers at work, we Account Executives were all told to pack up our important files and such as we would now be working remotely.

How long?!?

For an “indefinite” period of time…

Granted, working from home was not foreign to any of us as we had all been networked several years ago and had even recently received brand new laptops.   What I was I having a hard time wrapping my head around was the idea that I would be working from home every day, as opposed to from time to time or on occasion.

I’m not gonna lie, at first being at home every day was exciting because I no longer had to get myself up at 430am to kick box at the gym, figure out what I was going to wear to work, apply my make-up, style my hair, deal with crazy distracted drivers on the road, etc.

All I had to do now was roll out of bed at 6am, wash my face, put on my workout gear, find a good 30 minute cardio workout video on YouTube, shower, eat breakfast, put my lounge-wear on and start my work day.

Oh the irony, being home every day but not having the luxury of going out to dinner, visiting family or friends to socialize after hours, going to the matinee on the weekends, and so on.   It seemed like everything, for the most part, was now closed.

It’s no surprise that things started to get real old after about a week and a half.  Being home all day long working on my laptop took away that feeling of joy I used to get when I walked into the house after a long tough day at work.  I felt my home life and work life were now starting to collide.  To compensate, I started taking long walks at lunchtime to break up my day and to change the scenery.

And going to the supermarket or Target on the weekends was starting to get more and more complicated.  Trying to shop without getting too close to the other shoppers, trying to find certain items like toilet paper or Lysol or thermometers, remembering to wipe down and sanitize all of my purchases after I took them out of the plastic bags…

And I really cannot forget to wash my hands (for at least 20 seconds) for what seems like a million times a day…

Or forget to keep my hands off my face…

But the kicker, not being able to kiss, embrace or spend quality time with my family members and/or loved ones.

Hey, I guess there’s always air hugs…

As you TVFL readers know, I always try to find the silver lining.  So after today, 2 weeks in, I would say one of the positives that has come out of this Covid 19 madness for me is that all of the things I said I didn’t have the time to do, I now do.  For me that’s reading.  I used to devour books (especially in the Summertime) and now all I do is scan the daily newspapers for sales leads or read an occasional magazine article(s).   Guess it’s time for me to hit the books once again (smile).

Yes, life as I once knew it is changing day by day and week by week.  It can be dizzying.  All I can do to stay sane is pray without ceasing, count my blessings daily Count Your Blessings… and leave it all in God’s hands.  Without forgetting to stay healthy, helpful and calm.