It May End by the End of May

This week has been interesting. On the very first day of the week, the Governor of California announced that the shelter-in-place (SIP---I have finally started using the acronym) is extended at least till May 31, though businesses and facilities will be opened in phases throughout the month of May. That announcement was kind of depressing, as we were looking forward to resuming normalcy mid-May. And to make the week worse, some universally beloved acting and sports legends (Irrfan Khan, Rishi Kapoor, Chuni Goswami) in India passed away within a span of 48 hours in the middle of the week. But on the other hand, my father-in-law has been steadily improving in the hospital slowly remembering things from his past. So I guess the emotions balanced out. The last part of the week has been productive and cheerful (as cheerful as it can be given the current situation). Each passing day in May brings us closer to the end of the SIP. So it cannot be all negative.

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Day 43--Day 2 of week 7

Ordered masks quite a while back. The Amazon shipment for N95 grade mask was expectedly delayed in view of the high demand. (There's even a trademark lawsuit involving N95 masks!) So went to Etsy (online), thinking local artists will be able to ship quickly and make some money in the process while expressing their creativity. Ironically, both masks got delivered on the same day! Finally! Until yesterday I was thinking it is too late for the masks to arrive, but now that the California shelter-in-place order has been extended till May 31, I guess we will have enough opportunities to utilize the masks.
PS. I just realized during the evening walk with the mask and earbuds (for music) on that having all the facial orifices (ear, nose, mouth) blocked is a pretty weird feeling!

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Day 46--Day 5 of week 7

This morning I had the chance to attend a webinar organized by the Utah State Bar (we have an office there) on the topic of "Reducing the Gender Bias in the Legal Field." One of the main focuses of the webinar was effective communication for women lawyers, and for that matter, for any lawyer. Our profession demands us to be "communication ninjas," as we have to constantly thoroughly assimilate a lot of information and distill it in a form that is easy to communicate. And we need to do a proper "code switching" depending on the target audience that we are communicating the information to (https://tinyurl.com/y7muaa4d). For example, you will not talk to a layman pro bono client in the same way as you would talk to a sophisticated business client. That "code switching" becomes so much more difficult in the absence of face to face interaction, as we are all forced to deal with in this time of mandatory virtual meetings. On top of that, people's attention span now is 6-8 seconds in the digital age. I myself can see how difficult it has become to concentrate on a long article, when there is a constant deluge of new content coming in, especially during these lockdown days where people's urge to share content as a form of experiencing human interaction is understandably heightened. So effective communication has become even more important in the present situation. To make the long story short, the presenter Natalie Bradshaw was a very effective communicator herself, if I am blogging about her presentation at 11:30 pm on a Friday night after wrapping up a busy work week. Have a restful weekend, everyone!

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Day 47--Day 6 of week 7

It is May already. The whole month of April just disappeared into the shelter---forever. In his poem 'The Waste Land,' T.S. Eliot famously wrote: “April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.” Let's hope we have buried the dead in April and may this month of May bring rejuvenation to all of us.
During today's hike, we spotted a tree which literally symbolized rejuvenation. New branches emerged from the old chopped-off stump and flourished with emerald leaves bursting with life.
May is national mental health awareness month. As more and more outdoor exercises are being permitted by the Governor, I hope Californians enjoy the privilege responsibly while making nature part of their mental health maintenance routine.