When my children were young, we didn’t use the word “hate” in my house. Instead, when a particularly strong emotion moved us, we said “disliked with a hot burning passion”. I really disliked my blog last week with a hot burning passion. I had hesitated to write about what was really on my mind and so I wrote a silly piece about my change in shopping habits.

  Prior to the pandemic, I rarely, if ever, gave out my cell phone number professionally. I only gave it to clients  in limited cases. I never felt it necessary as my voicemail at my office is automatically sent to me via email. And I am constantly checking my email.  

The week just past I got to enjoy my outside office a bit more. Interestingly an important component failed midweek. My external monitor just went kaput. Fortunately, I had a temporary backup at hand. The week before Marisa asked me if I had an extra external monitor. I did but not on site. I was able to retrieve it before last weekend; I kept it deployed elsewhere (the photo upper left suggests it location) for when set up shop at client’s office nearby.

I have noticed that many a Covid Conversation ends up with the question-What are you watching to help pass the time?   The availability of streamed movies, TV shows, plays, and lectures is great, but I have found that for me, the most consistent form of comforting entertainment has been listening to Music.   Since JFK’s assassination, music has played a major role in helping Americans heal, hope, vent, and escape. The Beatles music brought joy in the winter of 1964 after the Kennedy Killing.  

FDR famously said in his 1933 inaugural address: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. To me his meaning was that no matter how dire the situation may appear fear can only make things worse.     With all that is swirling around us in these scary times, 2020 will surely rank amongst the worst years of the 21st century.  I fear, you fear, we all fear. 

What’s your background? As Zoom, Webex and other virtual meeting platforms become the new norm — they are here to stay— your background is bound to make a difference. Soon, if not here already,  there will be sophisticated analyses of how your background impacts your presentation and message.

"What the world needs now, is love, sweet love." I would be remiss, if I chose not to mention the anger filling our cities and streets, manifesting itself in the form of destruction, stealing, killing, fighting and then proudly posting it across the world, on social media.

I do not wait on line anymore to shop, unless of course it is the supermarket or Costco last weekend. Instead, I shop online more and more. I kind of like it.