Tell me if you think I'm wrong: COVID wariness.

[oak]

Hi friends.

I am having a gut impression, and I want you to be frank with me: is either of the following too fussy?

(btw, I am fully vaccinated with Pfizer, and wear masks when asked to.)

1. Nowadays: with Delta everywhere I am increasingly wary of getting back into society.

In practice: I will avoid martials arts and maybe dancing for the next six weeks. (Happily I got a taste of both since getting vaccinated, which should last me for awhile: a year, perhaps, or more.)

Is this going too far?

I ask because my gut is telling me to much more wary.

2. In the future: if, heaven forbid, COVID mutates to something worse I will be all the more ready to re-lockdown.

Dancing and martial arts will be the first to go, and I'll be like 2020, but all the more. No coffeeshop, and rare groceries. I'll get outside regularly to get sunshine and fresh air, but that's it. I would think very hard about any job that isn't WFH.

I am afraid some worse variant will come down, something that makes OG Covid, evil as it is, look tame.

Am I being fussy or crazy?

I just have a very uneasy feeling about viruses and society going forward. I wonder if we'll ever go back to like things were in The Before Times. I'm not sure I want to go back to society.

Please feel free to be frank as to if you think I am too wary. Thanks!

[manuel_moe_g]

Hello Oak,

I worry that if you isolate yourself from people physically, you are essentially giving up on your greatest goals and dreams, as I understand them to be. Hiding your light under a bushel basket, so to speak.

[troebia]

I'd say probably depends on your own physical health. Having had the two jabs makes it very unlikely to catch and spread Covid while wearing a mask, and if you don't have any chronic health issues it's extremely unlikely to die even if you do catch it. Dancing with a mask isn't optimal of course but it seems to be the only responsible way for now.
In Europe they're talking about a third booster shot for the more vulnerable towards the end of the year, and if they later offer it to the rest of us I'd take it. Maybe by then the vaccines will also have been tweaked to the new variants.
We'll just have to hang in there, what else can we do? I'm personally not worried about it all the time, but I avoid crowds and keep minimum distance.

[Beany Boo]

Not wrong.

But what type of isolation will it be?

How will you cut out the work required to fill that 6 week period?

Who is in your community during and beyond then?

How do you frame your health self-care against that new normal?

When is risking your life, avoiding infection and when is it missing out on vital enjoyment?

No you’re not wrong. You’re far from alone in facing that dilemma too. Real social solutions may start forming.

“In anything, the hard part is to just keep going.”

[rivergirl]

Hi Oak,

I think the pandemic and shutdowns are enough to make us all a bit crazy.

I don't think anyone could argue that there's no risk in going to indoor martial arts or dancing right now, it's just a question of health risk vs. mental health risk of isolation.

It seems like it's going to have to be an ongoing balancing act, taking into account the Covid situation in your area, revisions in public health recommendations, and the effect of social isolation on your mental health.

Not to get too political, but my worry is less about the virus itself and more about the low vaccination rates and difficulty of getting businesses & the public to take basic precautions, particularly in certain parts of the U.S.

rg

[oak]

Thanks friends!

You've given me a lot to think about, and will take your insights to my counseling session on Friday. I'll see if I can come up with a plan with her later this week.

For now:

Short-term: I am okay with the risk posed by Delta. I'll continue to live my post-lockdown life (ie since May) the same.

Medium-term: I'll be cognizant of new variants, and if things get dire or threatening then I'll immediately effect what I've listed above (though what exactly will depend on what I decide with my counselor).

Long-term: I will have to accept that Covid will never go away, and more importantly decide what my role will be in society. This is a fraught question, one that I'll leave for another time.

Thanks again friends! I feel better.

[oak]

1. Update
2. Happy little unrelated report: eyelashes, and Gatorade powder

Update

Thank you, dear friends, for your thoughtful replies. I've considered them carefully, and continue to listen to my conscience.

Overall I have an gnawing unease. There is something I really don't like about this situation, society-wide. My dread/upset is up there with automation/AI and climate change, neither of which is a barrel of laughs.

I know I've done everything asked of me to be a good citizen and responsible man, a grown up. I just don't want it on my conscience to, heaven forbid, caught/spread it, simply because I wanted to see some cuties at salsa dance.

Two Happy Vignettes

1. Speaking of beauties: eyelashes were batted at salsa dance lesson tonight. If any one young lady consistently gives signals, then I may invite such a young lady out. I'm not quite there yet, but I want to continue to practice my bachata (I even got an online tutorial. Wish me luck, because I need it!)

2. I like Gatorade, but I like adjusting my Gatorade power by using the powder.

Mixed with water straight from the pitcher in the fridge (it is only "really cold" if in there overnight), it is absolutely transcendent after a dance lesson.

I cannot describe how satisfying it is.