Recalled to life (252/365)

[white_hart]

In the last 24 hours, I have:

- been out for a meal in a restaurant (or actually, outside a restaurant, as we went to the Cherwell Boathouse and had a table overlooking the river)

- been on a bus (actually two buses, one into town and one out again)

- been to the barber's (while my hair is still shorter than I'd like on top, it's definitely a step in the right direction. I found myself getting weirdly emotional at the thought of having hair that might actually feel like *me* again soon)

- been to a bookshop, and bought several books.

This is the first time since February/March 2020 I've done any of those things. It felt rather miraculous to be doing such normal things again, and also rather strange and daring, possibly even foolish. But if I'm going to be working in a building full of students, and getting the bus to work, I think that it's most likely that I will end up getting covid at some point between now and Christmas, and I just have to hope that my vaccination is enough to keep it from being that bad; and given that, I'm not sure it makes sense to keep avoiding the things I'd really like to do, just so I can do the things I have to.

Comments

[white_hart]

I haven't been in the office since masks went from being mandatory to strongly encouraged, but I hope people will continue to wear them in corridors. (I have my own office, and didn't wear a mask there, and our guidance always said that people could take masks off when seated in shared offices.) I have quite a few in-person meetings booked in now, and have no idea whether people will be masked for them or not...

[nineveh_uk]

I'm taking the viewpoint that unless I am in a very large and well-ventilated room with only person, I'll be wearing a mask for any in-person meetings, and I will be wearing one in the shared office and expecting it to be well ventilated. I'm prepared to go back to the office again, and actually quite looking forward to a bit more contact, but I'm not willing to risk catching Covid again when I'm still not over the first time! (Nor fresher's flu, which is realistically probably the bigger risk.)

[white_hart]

I'm definitely expecting everywhere to be well-ventilated. Which, as a sufferer of hot flushes, will be wonderful, though I feel sorry for the chillier folk...

[nineveh_uk]

I am the chillier folk! But fortunately because of that I have a lot of wool work clothing.

[fencesitting]

If I'm in a situation where there are lots of students indoors I will probably wear one, but having worked in person at the school for everything except the winter lockdown, and having worn a mask the entire time, I 'm just tired.

And I guess if I'm going to catch it at some point, I'm going to catch it. :/