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Learn to coexist and thrive with Covid


By Assunta Ng
Northwest Asia Weekly

Last summer, I predicted that life will return to normal in September this year. I imagined myself traveling on a Nile cruise, fascinated by the pyramids, sipping a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, and celebrating the virus under control.

But I was wrong. Not only is Covid not defeated, but it is also full of variants. The number of deaths and infections has increased recently. Now, the hospital is crowded with Covid patients using ventilators and exhausted medical professionals. As the hospital was overcrowded, they begged people to wear masks and get vaccinated.

Being stuck at home with nowhere to go, I have every reason to be unhappy. I have every right to be angry with those who oppose wearing masks and spreading fake vaccine theories. I should, but I choose not to. The storm that used to be in my heart has subsided a few months ago. I will not succumb to the virus or be influenced by those lunatics. easy to say, hard to do. But I am used to seeing bad news from a distance and not letting it affect me. Taking advantage of the epidemic, pursue a better life.

I told my employee Nancy about this blog topic.

“But you wrote about this before,” she said, “how to make good use of the epidemic.”

“There is a difference,” I explained. “I wrote earlier, assuming that the virus will end soon. Now, it looks like Covid will be here for a while.” My new philosophy is that we must teach ourselves to live with uncertainty temporarily. How can we accept ambivalence without feeling lost? I don’t have all the answers. But I can share some of my coping mechanisms with you.

Accept the inevitable

Obviously, even after Covid is over, masks will exist for a while. Get used to it, even if you hate masks. Stay away from people who do not wear masks.

There are other undesirable trends, such as social distancing. If there is a crowd, you should wear a mask. At the beginning of Covid, I didn’t believe in wearing a mask. It is now recognized as a life-saving tool that can determine life and death. The mask is now my companion. To make it interesting, I even bought fashionable masks, some of which came with sparkling fake diamonds and custom masks that matched my costume.

Another issue is vaccines. We may need to be vaccinated every year. I don’t mind either. I am glad that my family did not oppose the vaccine. This is a controversial topic among family, friends and colleagues in the workplace.

For some companies, the office is outdated. The office of Northwest Asia Weekly, which represents our image, success and hard work, was visited by the governor and many elected officials, as well as Olympians Apollo Ohno and Michelle Kwan. Now it is closed and tourists are not welcome. Some people may feel sad that Covid has destroyed everything. However, I am satisfied because we have accomplished the impossible. Our office is just a symbol of our success, not our real work. I’m even more proud that my team was able to combine products without any mistakes every week without going into the office during the entire pandemic-the new one of Asia Weekly and Seattle Chinese Post Period, whether in print or online.

The good side of the epidemic

As I wrote last week, the pandemic has led to innovation in non-profit organizations. It trains us to be flexible and resourceful. What can we do to make the most of this Covid chaos?

At the beginning of the epidemic, I thought that Northwest Asia Weekly could not sustain it. But we continue to move forward and seize every opportunity from grants to loans. We produced more special questions than before the pandemic. We created opportunities when we didn’t have much to start. This is just an idea, we can create every problem as a beautiful thing from the ground up. These opportunities exist only because of the pandemic.

For us, we do not require employees to have office hours, as long as they can complete their work. What guides us to publish on time every week is our deadline.

Surprisingly, our employees and writers rarely miss their deadlines. Their resourcefulness and sense of responsibility to get the job done, no matter what obstacles they face, won us a considerable number of journalism awards at the height of the pandemic.

Hanbutu

Remote work allows our freelance writers to freely engage in other jobs. Flexibility allows my employees to realize their dreams. My editor Ruth has traveled more than ever. So far, she has completed 10 trips, including Hawaii, Mexico (twice), Jamaica, California (multiple times), Michigan and Las Vegas (twice). As long as you have a laptop and internet connection, you can work anywhere in the world. Once, she even reported on the local candidate’s Zoom press conference in Mexico.

The fact is that the pandemic has given us the benefits of choice and “time”. By working remotely, we save a lot of time so that we can deal with other important things in our daily lives. In the past, procrastination was my way of handling basic tasks, and I even pretended that these tasks did not exist. Compared to being in the office, there are fewer distractions at home, and my employees and I do more than before.

Redefine our view

Our country is facing many crises and my inconvenience is insignificant compared to people suffering from the virus and tragedies related to the new crown virus and people affected by recent disasters.

First, due to Hurricane Ida, nearly 1 million people in Louisiana have no electricity, water or gas. Countless people watched in horror as their homes disappeared overnight and are now trapped in shelters. It was a mess afterwards. Adding to their tragedy is the sultry heat of close to 100º in Louisiana. We are located in the greater Seattle area because we have survived natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires in Nevada and California.

Our temperature was very good in the 70s, pleasant, warm and sunny. Last week, when I looked out the window, the sky was blue with heavenly wavy clouds. This is a very good sight. Compared with the Louisiana people who are forced to deal with severe hurricanes year after year and consider moving, we Seattle people have been very lucky.

The weather has been dry recently, and I hope we can rain. Then I watched Internet news and saw the heavy rain on the east coast last week. It flooded many cities and killed many people. I called my cousin who lives in New Jersey.

“Cousin, are you okay?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. “It rained for six consecutive days and my office had to be closed. It had no power. We didn’t go anywhere because of the new crown virus, not just because of the rain.”

Wow, it’s great that I can walk in the park every day and enjoy the late summer weather. My cousin didn’t even complain. What is important to him is that his family is safe at home, everyone is vaccinated, and they all have jobs. After hanging up, I just told myself, “Life is still good…I’m very lucky.”

Stop blaming

It’s okay to vomit occasionally. But don’t waste too much time on hateful and useless thoughts, because they will frustrate you. Spending time on constructive thinking and action is a good treatment.

What is constructive action? Thinking about what you can do for others is the beginning of constructive thinking and action. It doesn’t take much to brighten someone’s day. A few days ago, I saw someone cleaning the streets in the Chinatown International District (CID). It’s too dirty, I pity those cleaners. So my husband and I gave them 2 dollars. They are very happy and their smiles are also very bright. So far, we have donated five cleaners. If you don’t want to give them money,

Just say: “Thank you for your work.” This shows that you recognize their contribution.

Try to understand other people and their motivations. You don’t have to win every argument. I usually don’t argue or criticize friends who have made up their minds. I listen to and respect their opinions, but I stick to my beliefs. When talking to people who are against vaccines, you might share Dr. Jill Biden’s words in an article in Time magazine.

“We must remember that our enemies are viruses, not each other.”

I learned that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. As long as I learn from their advantages, I will be the ultimate winner.

You don’t have to win every battle. In addition, you have options, you don’t have to be friends with everyone.

Improve your quality of life

I have written articles about self-care before. It is useful to remind everyone to use your time wisely for better health. Through remote work, we get the “gift of time” for exercise, rest, regular eating and good sleep. When working in the office, I never remember to keep myself hydrated. But at home, every half an hour I work, I get up and drink a sip of water, stretch my body, eat some snacks, or listen to music. My body pressure is much less these days.

Before Covid, I shopped once or twice a week. What I eat is usually not fresh. My goal is convenience, not health. Now, I buy fresh produce, seafood and meat every day. My energy is better than before the pandemic. This is one of my new healthy habits and I intend to keep it.

Challenge my brain

Studies have found that when you do something new every day, your brain will improve. It is called neuroplasticity.

Some people suggest learning a new word every day. This is not enough for me. You can challenge yourself to do more. Instead of learning a word every day, how about memorizing a brand new song? This may take longer, but it is a good training for your memory. Recently, I have been challenging myself to use my left hand.

If you are right-handed like me and stop using your left hand, one side of your brain will sleep.

Recently, I challenged my left hand to do more things, including cutting, folding and cooking. Every day, it becomes easier. It is difficult to eat with chopsticks or cut toenails with the left hand. It is also beneficial to explore your own abilities or limitations when trying new things.

creative life

Inspired by the creative life article, I changed the way I shop and the products I buy. Nordstrom’s skin care products are my choice before Covid because I like the samples given to me by the salesperson. Now, I have changed to counter cosmetics and use various brands. Experimenting is more interesting.

Do one interesting thing every day. My friend just shared the fun of jumping in a bar with me. She and her relatives tried three bars in one night. This is not my pleasure. But you can create your own excitement outside your home every day, especially if you are vaccinated.

For fun, I volunteered to organize a CID trip for the Rotary Club, which included visiting a Boba tea shop and then having dinner. This will support businesses in our community. You can organize your own excursions, karaoke times, movie nights, lunches and chess nights with friends or nearby. You can even go shopping with friends and find the healthiest food in the supermarket or farmer’s market.

If you have a beautiful garden like my Rotary Club partner, an amazing dahlia garden, you can invite your friends to cut flowers. You can develop your own fun list.

Assunta can be reached assunta@nwasianweekly.com.



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