God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
The courage to change the things I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make things right
If I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.
Amen.
This month was about looking at the reality of the COVID-19 world and dealing with the things that cannot be changed. While there is much that is outside of our control, there is actually quite a lot that we can control. In January, as a part of the new year process, I decided to take things into my own hands and fully accept what can and cannot be changed. While we are still subject to this virus, there are actually things that we can do about our situation and how we live our lives within the confines of shelter in place orders and various pandemic restrictions.
The first thing I did was to look at the fact that we will not be going back to the office anytime soon. The reality of the office environment, the overall spread of the virus and the slow roll out of the vaccine means that 2021 is likely to be quite similar to 2020. My company finally sent out the message that 2021 would be a ‘fully flexible’ year. This effectively means we are not expecting anyone who is currently working from home back in the office. On top of that, even though there is great reluctance to have people living outside of California, the company has agreed that during 2021, we can actually work outside the state. Now, we can’t give up our California residency, so it’s not like I can move away. However, it does mean that there isn’t an expectation that everyone is staying put this year. So, there are two realities to deal with: 1) it is highly unlikely that I’ll be working in my office this year and 2) the company is actually open to people working remotely (albeit from a prescribed list of states where we have the ability to pay income taxes appropriately).
Given both of these, I made two decisions. The first is that my original apartment was not acceptable. When I took it, I had some operating assumptions that are no longer valid in the COVID world. First, I wanted a crash-pad – somewhere that I’d spend a limited amount of time as I worked full time in an office and spent my free time traveling or exploring Northern California. Second, that I would only ever work from home on Fridays since the practice in the Oakland office was that no one came in on Fridays. Third, that my place would be convenient to shopping, restaurants and the hustle and bustle of a city. Fourth, I would be just around the corner from my church home. In the COVID world, none of these actually apply.
When I received my notice that it was time to renew my apartment lease for another year, I thought about the fact that I’d effectively be spending 24×7 in my apartment for an additional year. Based on necessity, my home office set-up was in the corner of my living room. My convenient downtown location meant nothing when shops and restaurants were closed. The riots and looting of the frequent political and social protests of 2020 were often within two or three blocks of where I lived. My first-floor apartment with its shaded windows and large bamboo forest effectively blocked the sun (great when you consider the air-con bills in the summer, but hugely depressing when realizing that you couldn’t actually see the sun). All in all, this apartment was not acceptable based on the new realities of 2020 and 2021. Therefore, I needed to consider other options.
As I began to look around, I considered renting a house. Reality then hit me that I am not a homeowner and/or a home renter. I am too accustomed to calling a management company when things go wrong. The idea of having to maintain a garden or outdoor area was not attractive to me, much less dealing with the usual home maintenance issues. Renting a house generally involves an owner landlord and my experience is that this category of landlord tends to let things go and not respond immediately – or to shift the home maintenance issues back onto the renter. Overall, not at all what I wanted. So, I shifted my search back to apartment complexes that were managed by a real company that had maintenance staff and the infrastructure to take care of things that I have no interest in taking care of in the long term.
During 2020, as I ran my usual routes, I had watched a new complex being built along the pedestrian trail that cuts through my city. While I thought about expanding my search to south of Oakland, I realized early on that I actually like my city and want to stay here. Even though nothing has been open over the past year, I have explored it quite a bit and am comfortable here. So, I took a chance and booked a viewing of the new development off the Iron Horse Trail. I explained to the woman in the leasing office that I needed a separate space for my office. I wasn’t necessarily looking for a 3-bedroom, but I wanted a master bedroom, guest bedroom and space for my home office that were separate and distinct spaces. They had a lovely 3-bedroom that was about the same cost as my original place, but one major problem – the kitchen was outfitted with an electric stove. I took a breath and told her that was a deal breaker – I had already decided that I am going to demand a gas stove. Sacrificing the ability to cook with gas was not something I would consider. Fortunately, there was a compromise – they had two-bedroom, two-story apartments that had both a gas stove and a separate ‘nook’ where I could set up an office.
Looking at these nifty two-story apartments, I felt comfortable that they ticked all the boxes. The catch was that I had to sign a lease within a week of looking at it in order to get all the discounts on offer for new tenants. I struggled with that since there was a 2 month overlap in the lease with my existing apartment. However, my younger sister told me I was silly to be worried about an overlap when the new place fit exactly what I wanted. It also turned out that the discount was 2-months free rent when signing a 16-month lease, so the overlap was effectively free. I went with my gut and signed the lease. I had dealt with the first thing that I can control, virus or not – I can control where I live.
The second issue is travel and vacations. In 2020, my company did a mandatory vacation week over the 4th of July. For 2021, they have come out and said that it is not mandatory, but that the week of the 4th is highly encouraged. In fact, they are looking at ways of shutting off our email server and preventing us from booking meetings. So, if anyone wants to work that week, it will be extremely difficult. I thought about what I should do during that week. Last year, I booked several days at an inn and hiked Yosemite. When I returned to the States in the summer of 2018, I had thought about making a deliberate effort to visit all of the National Parks. Some of this was driven by the previous President and his seemingly deliberate attempts to dismantle the park system, while the rest of it was recognizing that seeing the parks was something I always wanted to do, but never got around to it. I had actually downloaded a list of parks and was considering how best to approach going to them during various vacations. In 2019, I hiked the Georgia end of the Appalachians and made a trip to hike in the Great Smoky Mountains. In 2020, I took advantage of living relatively close to Yosemite to check that off my list. Given the restrictions on travel and dangers of flying in a pandemic, I had let this list go to the wayside.
In January, I pulled up Google Maps and started looking at which National Parks were within a reasonable drive of my city. I discovered that Sequoia and King’s Canyon are relatively close. I checked out Air BnB and found a lovey rental in Three Rivers (a ‘city’ near the entrance to both parks) and decided to go ahead and book it. The National Parks are limiting entries, but it turned out that I could book a week-long pass for these parks, so I went ahead and picked one up. As Ava is a ‘tender, sweet young thing’ and hates driving long distances, I even booked an ICE rental car to get me to my destination. The COVID part of this is that I have a place where I can realistically cook all meals for myself. However, if restaurants are open, I’m in a city area where I can eat out when I wish. For me, hiking is a solitary pursuit, so whether we are allowed to gather in groups or not, it doesn’t matter. I can go off and hike two national parks without worrying about the rates of infection, the spread of the virus or whether I’ve received my vaccination by early July. And, unless something terrible happens, the National Parks will remain open regardless what the virus is doing at the time.
The next part of my plan was to consider this strange California phenomena called ‘fire season.’ I still don’t understand the attitude here, where Californians rave about how wonderful it is to live here, but we have 3 or 4 months when you need a bag packed so that you can evacuate with short notice due to wildfires, and you are prevented going outdoors at all due to the toxic air caused by these fires. In 2020, I found myself in 10 days of solitary confinement before I cried ‘Uncle!’ and departed for Minnesota to get away from the fires. I decided not to do this again in 2021. This year, I declared that I will proactively plan to be away during the height of this strange season. I booked a trip to Minnesota for mid-August to early September and am considering extending it so that I’m away for at least 2 or 3 months. Fortunately, my company allows employees to work from Minnesota, so it’s absolutely perfect for me. I can go home, breathe clean air and work from the Central Time Zone (where I have my mornings free and work from about 11:00 to 19:00). The next controllable item was checked off my list – a week at a resort on Lake Superior and two, plus weeks at the Air BnB I stayed in last year during fire season.
I realize that we have not returned to the pre-COVID world and are unlikely to do so for a long time. However, assuming that means that we cannot do anything at all is both unhealthy and not in line with reality. I can’t re-open the gyms so that I can work out indoors when fire or pollution prevent me running outside, but I can purchase a Peloton bike and build my own gym in my apartment. I can’t travel to Europe to see my friends, but I can drive to National Parks to explore nature and enjoy hiking. Destination races are off for now, but there are virtual options (like the Conqueror Challenges) where I can imagine running along Hadrian’s Wall or El Camino de Santiago in Spain. It is too easy to fall into the pit of agony and despair where all the ‘cant’s’ are overwhelming and feelings of depravation allow for a downward spiral. Looking at what can be controlled and how life can go on, regardless of a pandemic lead to creativity and the creation of new and different ways of living our lives in spite of a nasty virus.
Here’s to 2021 and the one-year anniversary of this strange new world!
