A bit of stream of consciousness about the
past six+ months. As I imagine is the case for most people, the Covid “lock down” has
been more inconvenience than permanent life altering event. A few years from
now it may be looked back on with nostalgia – like the last six miles of a
marathon once the pain is forgotten.
Since we began the “viral journey” or should
I say “viral avoidance journey” I have had many more good days than frustrating
ones. On the other hand, telling myself regularly that I am blessed because
many people “have it tougher than I do” seems like a hallow rationalization on
those inevitable bad days.
I try to stay positive about “Covid life”; but
this particular week has caused my wanderlust to kick in. A year ago, I was in
Spain with my wife and some family members for the Camino de Santiago (for more
on that subject read the blog post before this one).
 |
| A Few of the People I Met Along the Way |
Looking at the dozens of pictures I took in Spain have me in a bit of a funk. My time on the Camino was an unusual two weeks for me – no work, no computer, just walking the trail, meeting people, drinking cortados and water by day and the “pilgrim meal” with local wine (or the occasional “upgrade”) at night. It has been almost a year since I wrote a post in this blog and it was about my experience in Spain. I guess I am surprised that with all the time I have had at home, my personal blog didn’t get any attention.
A couple of years ago I promised myself I
would do more “fun” travel with Connie (my wife). The walk in Spain was my
second “fun only” trip in 2019. In January of last year, we spent a couple days
in London and then ten days in Sweden, Finland, and Norway chasing the
“Northern Lights”, snowmobiling, dog sledding, spending a night in the
famous “Ice Hotel”, etc. I thought I was just getting the hang of “non work”
trips again which as a family we pretty well mastered during eleven years of
“ex-pat” life. We hoped to do a river cruise in Europe and some other travel in
2020 – oops, I may be whining at this point. Sorry.
 |
| The Ice Hotel was Literally and Figuratively "Cool" |
For some perspective, I have accumulated
about 6 million frequent flyer miles on business trips over the years. I have
crossed the Pacific Ocean by air more than 350 times and the Atlantic, perhaps
200. I traveled out of the country every month last year except December and
even then, I spent several days on the west coast but although enjoyable,
business trips are just that – work. Of course, work that I enjoy but work, nonetheless.
I began 2020 with a west coast trip in
January and then a quick three-day trip to Argentina. February saw me in
Japan. And then.......
On March 1, I boarded a flight from Tokyo to
the US. I have been “grounded” ever since I arrived home that night due to the “hopefully
temporary” Covid 19 reality we are all dealing with. After spending the last
week of February in Tokyo at a conference with thousands of people, a good
percentage of whom were from the Covid epicenters at the time - China and Korea.
I expected when I landed at Los Angeles International Airport to at least have
a temperature check and health questionnaire but I breezed through the Global
Entry Kiosk and out of the secured area without having a word spoken to me
except “welcome home”. It seemed a little odd that I wasn’t asked if I had been
in contact with potential Covid carriers while in Asia. The lack of concern
about the virus in the US gave me pause. Having lived in Asia during SARs and the
Avian Flu outbreaks, people wearing masks and getting your temperature taken
before boarding a flight and when you deplaned were just normal baseline
preventative measures.
From March 2nd I self-quarantined for 14
days only to have the county I live in go on ‘lock down’ on my final day. I
thought to myself “ok, this will be three months of no travel, no big deal”. As
I write this in mid-September the county where I live in North Carolina is
still not fully off lock down. It took some time but mask wearing in public
places here is now the rule rather than the exception it was in March, April
and May.
 |
| There are Worse Places to Lock Down than a House on a Golf Course in North Carolina |
I had not spent 30 straight days at home
since my younger daughter was one. She turned twenty-eight in June. As I write
this, I have spent six straight months in and around my house. I have only been
out of my immediate area once and that only to have lunch with my niece and her
husband two hours away and immediately return home. So, my life has become very
similar to that of most people in the US. Hopefully a vaccine that works is
available as an early Christmas present. Travel is so ingrained in me that the
question people have asked me most often on business calls is, “how are you dealing with no
travel?”
I was happy to have a dose of normalcy with
the return of college and pro football this month but the odd fake crowd noise
in empty stadiums is a bit bizarre. Hopefully they appoint a “fake crowd noise
Czar” to manage the process in the coming weeks.
I have learned a few lessons during this odd
time and expect to learn more before life returns to a more “normal state”.
I guess the first one is that not traveling
hasn’t been that bad – at least until this week’s “mini funk”. Perhaps knowing
nobody else is doing international business travel (with the odd exception) has
limited my FOMO (fear of missing out) but this extended period of being home
has made me appreciate how lucky I am to live where I do. I have quick access to
everything I need which includes a good supermarket, hiking trails and a golf
course (yes, I am “needy”). We were fortunate to have installed a sauna in the
house just as lockdown was starting. I have used the sauna almost every day the
last six months. Having a big house enabled us to have our younger daughter
stay for two months and our elder daughter and son in law stay twice for about
two weeks each time. Remote work does have advantages. There were a few days
when we had four Zoom calls going at the same time. Fortunately, our internet
service rose to the challenge.
 |
| Having the Kids and "Granddog" Home was Great Fun |
In April, I was still foolishly hoping that June speaking gigs in Germany and Argentina would happen or just be delayed a month or two. Of course, neither happened nor will happen this year. Zoom business calls are great but Zoom “Conferences” much less so. The biggest benefit of a conference is the face to face interactions that happen outside the conference hall.
Overall, my business has held up much better than expected. Another surprise.
The second lesson learned is that you can
learn just about anything via “YouTube University”. I started a podcast in late
2017. It was recorded in studios from Buenos Aires to London to Shanghai to LA
to Perth and professionally edited. Not being able to travel forced me to
rethink the podcast model. After a few hours on google and YouTube, I had the
answer - recording via Zoom converting the sound file to something I could edit
in an off the shelf program that was simple enough to use after watching a few YouTube
tutorials. When Covid started my podcast had been downloaded in about 70
countries, now that number is over 100. Shocking, given that I talk with people
about the arcane topic of lithium and battery related technology. I doubt I
will go back to using studios post Covid.
As I was typing the last paragraph, I got an
email to confirm the Berlin event I referenced earlier is now scheduled for December
2021. I guess you can’t be too careful.
While my younger daughter, Cailin, was home
I decided to avail myself of her computer savvy and have her show me how to get
a website for my business up and running. I had built up a consulting business
with clients on five continents just on connections and word of mouth but after
seven years I had grown tired of being asked for my website URL. Certain people
seemed to think you aren’t serious if you don’t have a website. My podcast was
on a hosted platform and all my business writing was posted online via Linked
In. Since I had a strong online presence, I saw a website as unnecessary but in
just two months of being live, I have had people from over fifty countries
visit the site www.globallithium.net.
During her time at home, Cailin also
introduced me to yoga – she was doing online classes most days via the studio
she goes to in LA. I said I would try it and haven’t gone more than two days
without yoga since June. With Cailin back in LA, I have relied on the Peloton app
for my almost daily yoga fix. After 40 years of running without stretching, yoga
has proven more effective than physical therapy for dealing with my physical
imbalances that started causing me pain a few years ago. Had Covid not happened
it is doubtful I would have ever tried yoga. The fact that I embraced it was a
shock to both my daughters and to me as well. The old dog is learning new tricks.
 |
| Seems Like A Long Time Since I Got a Global Services Tarmac Ride to Change Planes |
This week I saw several pictures of friends
and relatives on vacations in the mountains and at the beach. I haven’t been
anxious to fly with the “new rules” and may wait until 2021 to get back on a
plane but I do feel a fall “road trip” coming on.
The duration of the pandemic certainly surprised
me. I am extremely interested to see if there are any long-term impacts on how we interact
in public and how we travel. I am guessing no. I think by 2022 the world will look pretty much
like it did pre-Covid with no fake crowd noise needed at football games. At least I hope so.
