What A Year!

What a year, indeed!

This was going to be my year.

My break-out year.

Finally.

2020 had started off right. I:

• Paid off my car and was setting myself up to get back on track of reaching those financial goals that I have had hiccups with all my adult life,
• Completed Yoga Teacher Training and had signed up for a certification course in Guided Meditation,
• Applied for and was awarded an LLC status with my state on a new business adventure I had planned to start, and
• I was arranging talks and venues regarding an idea I had to host retreats featuring yoga, meditation and Reiki.

Why was I doing all this? I was trying to heed the warnings of a crystal ball -- several long-time regular clients had indicated a few years ago that their life paths were going to take them in different directions. I also was undertaking these changes as a way to take better care of myself. For me, the adage is true that caregivers suck at taking care of themselves and I was about to take my stand on the matter -- I’m 47-years-old, and I am tired of having pudge, damnit.

Pandemic

I was making all those changes with the goal of a soft launch in April or May to get my feet wet and weigh the pros and cons before going all in for the summer and seeing what I could muster for the fall and winter.

However, my crystal ball didn’t tell me that I was going to be needing to implement my plan much, much sooner.

I think it was in late January or early February that we started hearing about Covid-19, or Coronavirus Disease 2019. As the story goes, someone in a Chinese province ate a bat and contracted the virus from the winged-rodent. The disease spread like a cold or flu through spit. We were told to wash our hands, use hand sanitizer when we couldn’t use soap and water and to sneeze into our sleeve or elbow. AND DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE!

OK. No problem. That’s the usual protocol for every day. Albeit, I am TERRIBLE at NOT touching my face.

Anyhoo, on Feb. 16, I graduated from Yoga Teacher Training and on Feb. 18, we were on a plane to Hawaii. Great way to celebrate all my hard work. Two days into our tropical vacation, I caught a cold. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. But really, it was mild, I was still able to function but I definitely allowed plenty of down time to rest. Vacations are for rest, anyway, right? Well, my vacations are usually a good mix of adventure and chillaxing.

So, we arrived on a Tuesday and got in 10,000 steps walking around sightseeing and shopping, particularly buying jugs of water and snacks so we had plenty to gnosh on when we were in the hotel room. Wednesday was much of the same, except we took our wallets to the North Shore to help their economy out some. Thursday, we did a submarine tour that dipped us down 100 feet off the southern tip of Waikiki to see man-made reefs erected -- er -- sunken out of former airplanes and decommissioned military vessels. A. Maze. Ing.

The Tickle

It was that night that I started to have THE TICKLE. You know, the one you get when a cold is coming on. So let me get this straight, I'm on vacation in Waikiki and I’m catching a cold? OH HELL NO! I headed back to the corner market for ginger-lemon drinks, ginger beer and any cold medicine I could find. And thankfully we were staying near plenty of restaurants. I gave the Korean eateries most of my business because of the spicy nature of their food. I was HELL bent on NOT being sick off my ASS on THIS trip. (In fact, it had been ages since I had been sick on vacation. I was in my 20s, some friends and I went to Reno for a friend’s birthday celebration. It sucked serious ass to be sick when I was supposed to be helping her feel better about getting older. LOL!)

In Waikiki, my goal was to not get sicker than I was feeling that Thursday evening. I pounded fluids -- the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant teas I brought with me (rooibos, green and hibiscus teas just because I like them) as well as water and the ginger drinks. Ginger helps keep the nose open and the cough at bay. Save for a morning walk to find breakfast, I laid around all day Friday, saving my energy for fighting off the cold, and so we could go on the excursion I had planned for Saturday -- a jeep tour of movie sights, including Jumanji and Kong: Skull Island. Thankfully, I made it through the day. Save for a morning walk each day and treks seeking food and sick person supplies, the rest of the trip was spent laying low in the hotel room, preparing for the plane ride home.

Panic Shopping

The flight home was a breeze, except for the landing. Now I know why you shouldn’t fly while congested -- the descent fucked my ears up so bad I felt like I was in a Charlie Brown cartoon for about a day and a half. In case you’ve never seen them, the adults make a muffled, “wah, wah, wah, wah, wah,” sound when they talk.

Feeling more like myself, I went back to work the next day. Now, while in Hawaii, I didn’t pay much attention to the news. I napped off and on the whole time we were hunkered down in the hotel. I do recall the media there hyping the state’s concern with Covid-19’s impact on tourism, more so than actual cases occurring in the island state.

Back at home to California, tourism wasn’t the concern. It was the fact that it was here and spreading.

Just to back up a little bit. When I go on vacation, I allow the refrigerator and cupboards at home to get a little bare. I don't want to have to throw out a ton of food we didn't eat before we left. Once we were settled in back at home, I headed to the store to restock. Holy mackerel, people were on a feeding frenzy like birds circling a fishing vessel. They were snapping up all the toilet paper, cleaning wipes, hand soap, hand sanitizer, and rubbing alcohol. Entire aisles were cleaned out by freaked out shoppers. It was funny, amazing and sad all at once. What the fuck was happening? Not gonna lie, I bought more food items than I normally would have -- just in case.

Shut It Down

For the next few weeks, Toilet Paper Gate, et al, continued as the news grew darker and darker with each passing day -- the confirmed Covid-19 cases were mounting and the death toll was growing. Then, on March 13, Santa Clara County and several of its sister counties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, instituted a shelter-in-place order -- massage and other businesses were deemed “non-essential” were told to shut down. Schools were, too.

Suddenly, I was out of work.

But my family-life while growing up as a child rooted in me the first belief that: When one door closes, another one opens.

That.

Is.

Why.

We.

Are.

Here.

To witness the birth of my new business. To witness how I transform -- to metamorphosize -- to continue on my life-long mission to do a “job” that is a form of community service.