#StayAtHomeIrregularDiaries
Day 39--Day 5 of week 6
This week is almost over and this is the first time I am writing my stay-at-home journal in the last eight days. The workdays seem to be zooming past and we the work-from-home warriors are all suffering from various degrees of "zoom fatigue"--a newly coined term to describe the effect on your psyche because of the constant focus on your facial expressions during the video calls. (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/…/coronavirus-zoom-fati…/). Still, today was a rewarding day because i got some unique first hand perspectives on the impact of the COVID crisis on the educational industry from two very different people--the first one is a graduating high school senior from an under-privileged East Bay school, Scarlett Chang (who became the youngest member of my LinkedIn network), and the second one is Dr. Robert Briber, the Dean of the Engineering School of the University of Maryland. Scarlett is a student participating in the Development School for Youth (DSY) program through a non-profit that I volunteer for (All Stars Project). I conducted a mock interview for Scarlett, so that she is better prepared for a real interview when she is ready to enter the workforce. While Scarlett is happy that her community college will still offer online classes in Fall, Dean Briber of University of Maryland was understandably cautious. He shared how challenging it is going to become to offer certain types of classes this Fall that require a lot of hands-on participation, for example physics/chemistry/materials science labs for the undergrads and the graduate students. Being at a law firm, serving tech clients, and volunteering for pro bono law clinics, I have had some exposure to the challenges faced by big and small businesses. I now feel humbled to realize what a challenge the educational leaders of the country are facing trying to make sure that the emerging workforce, who we will need to count on to revive the economic engine, gets the right training. Still, I remember Scarlett's optimism and spontaneity as the high point of my day, and my entire work week for that matter. That is the power of youth! It rubs off on you.
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Day 40--Day 6 of week 6
Feeling lazy to write today, but took some good photos and videos during today's 6-mile hike at the Stevens Creek Reservoir, capturing Biscuit swimming the longest distance ever in the reservoir, me wading in the clean water of the creek, Gogol leapfrogging across the creek, the rare planes creating contrails in the bluest of blue skies, and wildflowers regaling the masked hikers. Nature heals! April 22 was the 50th anniversary of the Earth Day. I believe this must be the most uniquely celebrated Earth Day since its inception!
#StayAtHomeIrregularDiaries
Day 41--Day 7 of week 6
Weekend afternoons (4 pm-5 pm) have become quite enjoyable listening to authors being interviewed about their latest books as part of San Francisco based book store Book Passage's "Conversations with Authors" series. (https://bookpassage.extendedsession.com/). Last weekend it was Khaled Hosseni talking about his book "Sea Prayer." Yesterday it was Iranian-American author Jason Rezaian being interviewed by his wife journalist Yeganeh Rezaian about Jason's book "Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison," published in January 2019, which details his experience in captivity in Iran.Today's interview was particularly enjoyable, where the Irish author Colum McCann was interviewed by another fantastic author Dave Eggers about Colum's book "Aperiogon," which apparently means a polygon with infinite number of sides! I loved how he explained that an Irish author writing about the Israel-Palestine conflict can either be seen as cultural appropriation, or as a cultural celebration, depending on your perspective.
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