pedestal / march thoughts
It’s hard to believe we’re a full 2 months into 2020 already, but here we are. Lots of crazy things happening in the world and I have lots of thoughts about them.
coronavirus
When I read The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett in 2018, I realized it was only a matter of time before the next global pandemic. Honestly, reading that book made it seem like it was an absolute miracle that these disease outbreaks didn’t happen more often. But now, coronavirus is here. It’s caused global panic, economic downturn, and continues to reveal the incompetencies of the current U.S. government. Mike Pence has essentially muzzled the CDC, Trump blames Democrats for ‘politicizing’ coronavirus after calling it a hoax, and the CDC has stopped disclosing the number of Americans being tested for the virus.
Misinformation is everywhere— I’m fact checking every WhatsApp link in my family group chat and refreshing the news pages every fifteen minutes just to follow what’s happening. I understand the panic due to lack of trust in government, the capacity this virus has had to travel undetected for weeks on end, and the uncontainable connectedness of our modern world. It’s really scary. I recognize and acknowledge that calmness is easy for me to encourage—I work from home in a place of relatively low population density with health insurance and financial stability—but I think the context of fear is worth considering.
This virus has proved difficult to fight for elderly patients. Concern for our older loved ones is reasonable and I think it’s important to prepare for the worst—stocking up on canned foods, medicine, and whatever necessities are required for brief quarantine. Preparedness is different than outright panic—hoarding food, toilet paper, masks, and other supplies can become detrimental for people who might actually really need those supplies. Death from any cause is scary, and the immediacy and unexpected nature of coronavirus plays into humankind’s fear (and obsession?) of dramatic apocalypses. I get that, but would also urge people to consider all the various other facets of their lives and personal decisions that affect safety and long-term health. The average American has a 1 in 5 chance of dying from cancer. In the US, 36,560 people died from car accidents in 2018. 67,367 died from opioid overdose and 48,344 from suicide that same year. From 1999 to 2010, 8,081 heat-related deaths were reported in the US. Lightning kills an average of 49 Americans a year.
I’m not trying to trivialize coronavirus. If you’re reading this and you haven’t stocked up on food and basic medical supplies for a potential quarantine, I would encourage you to do so. The risks are real and the fears are valid. I just wish that people would direct as much time and attention as they have to coronavirus in recent weeks in thinking through our healthcare systems, firearm regulation, safer driving behavior, and the less dramatic but significantly more deadly effects of our chemically-laden food and water systems, toxic airs, rising global temperatures, or any of the many ways people die every day, with no news reports dedicated to their passing.
democratic primaries
Super Tuesday was surprising, to say the least. I’m still working out how I feel about it all, although I’ve been generally uncertain about how I felt about it all since the first Democratic debate in June. I will say that regardless of the result of the primaries, I will show up in November for the future of our planet, our public health, our communities. Regardless of who the nominee is, I vote to fight for the validity of science, the power of compassion, and for the state of democracy in this country.
goals breakdown
I’ve been reconsidering and reorganizing the goals I have for the year. I’m not sure I gave that enough thought the first time around—it’s pretty easy to create a laundry list of New Years Resolutions just to have something to stick to, but I feel a little quarter life crisis coming and will try to be even more intentional about my time and efforts.
intellectual
I’m still aiming to read 44 books this year, but want to feel more okay about jumping around and cherry-picking for information that is relevant to me. The goal of reading this year is to bolster and encourage action in the categories listed below. I want to spend significantly more time engaging, building, and pushing myself out of my comfort zone.
action (engagement and policy)
I have still yet to go to a Citizens Climate Lobby meeting, but am still banking on that being my primary form of community engagement in policy. The goal here is to learn more about how political decisions are made, how to influence them, and what compromise realistically look like. How much effort does it take to change peoples minds, and what are effective mechanisms for encouraging change?
action (software + design)
I work at a startup now and am learning new things about software and UI/UX design on a daily basis. Progress in this aspect will happen regardless of what I do outside of work, but I want to do more independent design projects and learn more about implementation. I want to have confident understanding of how basic applications are designed, built, and tested from beginning to end. As a measurable goal, I want to help design and implement at least one side software project this year.
action (hardware + making)
This is probably the center pillar of my impending quarter-life crisis. I’ve loved building and making things my whole life, and while a mechanical engineering degree required a fair bit of shop time, I have yet to tackle major personal projects since graduating. I want to make this a priority for extra-career time (is this the adult analogue to “extracurricular”? It should be, just saying). This past weekend, I started on a little camper bed for the back of my Honda Fit, but I want to tackle more complex softgoods and woodworking projects. A little list of projects I’ve compiled that I’m very excited about:
softgoods
woodworking
camper bed for my car (in progress)
a basic table (plywood with legs)
bookshelf
media console
sofa
there’s a lot more but i want to be reasonable here
action (physical activity)
Since moving back to Orange County, I’ve been forcing myself to run and (very occasionally) swim, both of which are activities I’ve generally disliked. Running is moderately tolerable now, and I run 2-3 times a week. I have to exercise at least a little every day or else my sleep quality sucks, so I mix it up with TRX, yoga, core circuits, or biking on the other days. I’m realizing more how much I’ve missed basketball, even the simple shooting aspect of it and how it can be great exercise. I haven’t played or shot regularly since my sophomore year of college, when my last pair of basketball shoes became unwearable. Finding basketball shoes that work for my feet has been painfully difficult (due to their stiff soles and inflexible uppers) in the past so I haven’t purchased a pair since then, but I think I finally found a pair that works. Looking forward to more morning / sunset shooting sessions and neighborhood pickup games.
Backpacking is another thing that’s crawling into my quarter-life crisis. As a nature-loving city kid, I went on many hikes and motel-crashing national park trips growing up, but never slept outside. I went on a real camping for the first time as a college student (unless you count camp tenting for Coachella), and probably not for real, for real, until after college. I love sleeping under the stars and the smoky warmth of campfires, but there is still a strong feeling of security and comfort in being able to carry a carload of things with you. Backpacking scares me because the idea of carrying everything you need for a few days sounds tiring and also potentially dangerous if under-prepared. Still, it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do and integrate into my weekend activities, and definitely makes for a good comfort zone challenge. I’ve “one-bagged” all my travels for about four years now so I think I’m up for it, just need to compile the right gear. Appropriate hiking shoes are a big issue.
Attempting to surf one more time is still on my list because it is a good challenge for my fear of water.
Getting toeside carves down is still on my list because of sheer desire to be a gnarly SoCal snowboarder.
reflection question
What is a reflection question you want to ask yourself?