Is It Over Or Not?

Diary, Food, Health 2 Minutes

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Is the Pandemic Over?

I wonder if the pandemic is over. Most people don’t wear masks anymore around here. I am one of the few people who still wear it as much as we can, just to be on the cautious side. But I guess the effect is rather negligible. Masks are only effective when everybody wears it–that’s at least my understanding of the situation.

Whether it is over or not, the pandemic has changed our life in many ways. The inflation is the biggest change. Just when we think the worst health crisis is about to be over, the inflation comes so quickly and so forcefully. I guess none of us is entirely surprised, but I thought there would be a mild upward trend. How could I know it would come down on us with a vengeance?

Yesterday, I saw a gas station with $4.55 price posted conspicuously on northbound Route 1 and there was a long queue that blocked at least one lane of traffic. All the other gas stations posted $4.80 or higher. And the strange thing was with such a price hike on gas, several gas stations went out of business around here. How come? I thought gas stations had been making a lot of money right now, but obviously I was wrong.

Still, we have to cheer ourselves up in these trying times. So I will think of some good things that happened in the past two years:

Reorganized My Home

Following Marie Kondo’s Netflix Videos, I reorganized everything according to her suggestion. In particularly, I started to fold laundry using her method. It’s not a difficult way. I think the essence is that each item, after being folded up, can stand up on its own. And items don’t pile on top of each other. This will make the drawers and wardrobes look more organized and each item is easy to be retrieved.

Set Up A Step Platform

I set up a step platform at a corner and do step exercise regularly, although consistency or persistence is still an issue. I only regret that I didn’t buy a bigger one when the price was low. Now with the inflation and everything, I don’t think I will buy a bigger one. The one I have is a little small in my opinion.

Revisited Books I Didn’t Like Before

I read “Foreign Affairs” by Alison Lurie and “Potnoy’s Complaint” by Phillip Roth about ten years ago, but I liked neither and had to give up reading halfway through. However I recently I revisited the books I didn’t finish, and felt that I really like the two authors. Something must have changed in the past ten years, but I don’t know what that is. Probably it is age related. Anyway, I feel very happy to read other books by these two authors.

Closer To Be A Vegan

I know. I know. I can never be a true vegan since I can’t give up Campbell’s chicken soup and Trader Joe’s frozen chicken wonton. I’ve tried to be a vegan for years and years. Recently I’ve finally achieved the “feat” of eating very little chicken and eggs each week. I guess for most of us, it is impossible to be a strict vegan even though we want to be. Our meat eating habit has been ingrained in us and it is very hard to get rid of.

Also during holidays, I may even eat seafood once or twice.

Published by haoyando

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21 thoughts on “Is It Over Or Not?”

  1. The majority of people here have stopped wearing a mask as well but I still wear one just in case. It makes me feel better I guess.
    Don’t be too hard on yourself about not being able to go fully vegan. You are trying your best. Like you said, for those of us that have grown up non-vegan it is difficult to give up meat and dairy. Giving up cheese was the hardest thing I’ve ever done lol.

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    1. Me too. I just heard about Omicron B5, which is said to be more infectious and more capable of evading the immunity system. This pandemic is not going away. I can’t believe there’s another omicron and I wonder if we should all wear mask again.

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      1. It’s like there is a worse mutation of the virus every week and I don’t like taking any chances. The pandemic is definitely not over and won’t be any time soon. I try to wear masks whenever I go out because I live with older people and those that are immunity compromised and I can’t afford to give them anything.

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        1. I just talked with a friend about this new variant. It’s terrifying to think that we might be in this pandemic forever. I mean with five variants or more coming our way each year…

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        6. Unfortunately it seems things just keep getting worse whether we like it or not. The news is something I avoid sometimes just because I can’t deal with it.

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        9. It is so true. Not only the news. i mean often literary books are depressing too. Sigh. Really need something uplifting but the strange thing is I don’t like self help books or romance books. I mean they can be uplifting but I don’t like them…

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        11. So true. So true. Even the positive things have the tinge of cliche and conformity in it. So it is really a fight to read the real positive things. The real ones. I mean the real ones.

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  2. It’s interesting how you’re revisiting books you didn’t like. Maybe I should try doing the same thing, because ‘no man walks through the same river twice’ or whatnot. And over here in Malaysia, masks are pretty much mandatory, but everybody’s back to doing pre-pandemic activities in throngs, so I’m glad to see that.

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    1. Thank you for the comment. Yes, I find that after a while, one’s taste changes a little bit. LOL. I don’t know why. Yes, I sort of feel that the pandemic is somewhat gone already. Now people talk more about the inflation or other issues. I mean without wearing the mask.

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  3. The pandemic unsettled me in a number of ways. First, I realised how much my mental health depended on things being normal, which meant that I was impatient for restrictions to end as soon as possible. This further unsettled me because it put me in the same camp as people who I would normally disagree with politically – so I began to question my political stances generally. Now that the pandemic is over, other issues have come to the fore and I’m reminded why I disagreed with those people!

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  4. The pandemic is not over. However, vaccinations are allowing us to normalise. Of course, is this approach sustainable? Will we really build a resistance to it and the variations?

    Inflation is a factor – but is it due to COVID or other influences? Or, is it both? Fuel still has a huge bearing on what defines the rate of inflation. Do we need to get back to produce on a seasonal basis rather than ensuring we have the same foodstuffs all year round and the cost that comes with that? Building materials are skyrocketing here. Only 30% of new homes approved in the last two years have been completed. The delay is now 2-3 years instead of a normal waiting period of 3-6 months.

    Full marks for what you have done and are doing at home. Small steps as the others above have said will suddenly lead to very noticeable outcomes 😊

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  5. In terms of the actual pandemic virus, it’s not as mainstream anymore but the long lasting effects of the pandemic whether they’re personal or nationwide are still present. A great post breaking this down! 😆

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  6. Agreed, small steps are the best way to change. Everything we do comes from habit and they are hard to change if done in a drastic manner. Doing little bit at a time helps in making those gradual changes become more permanent.

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  7. You are moving in a positive direction. Any type of progress should be a step towards accomplishing more goals. Tiny steps are the key to success. And the pandemic has opened a door to a new dimension…

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