Not Sharing....

 As I mentioned at the end of my previous blog, on Sunday I came down with a cold.  Nothing earth shattering, just the usual miserableness of a runny nose, sore throat, headache etc.  As a result, I've been working remotely for the past two days.  (Depending on how I feel I may work remotely for the whole week...we'll see how it goes.)

Pre-Covid I wouldn't have done this.  With runny nose and cough I would have trudged into the office, bottle of Day-Quil in hand.  Why?  For at least the past 7 years, I had the ability/technology to work from home or any other place where I had decent internet access.  When I was away on vacation, I would often bring my laptop and check in.  So why did I feel compelled to go into the office and share my germs?  Why did anyone?

I think before we got slammed with the pandemic, we felt the need to be in an office no matter what. I can remember one woman who came in to our office and was really sick.  I went out and bought some Lysol on my lunch break and sprayed it around my cubicle.   She was really coughing (and she sat 3 cubicles behind me) and I definitely didn't want to catch whatever she had.  Yet, when I was sick, I did the exact same thing.

Back then I had a large cubicle and there was a good distance between cubicles.  Today I am in a different office space with "work stations" that are very close to one another.  Sharing germs would be much easier.  I would have to wear a mask all day to keep my coworkers "safe" and the question remains, how do I blow my nose (which I do A LOT) while keeping a mask in place.  I'm pretty sure the answer is you don't.

Prior to getting sick, I have been wearing a mask when I travel on the bus and city light rail.  I've seen an uptick in the number of people using public transportation.  I will say that when I get on the bus, I'm usually the one who is wearing a mask, but by the time I get to my stop, I am not.  While the majority of people on the city light rail are not masked, I have noticed an increase in wearers there too. I keep my mask on when I am in Penn Station, removing it when I get to the less crowded elevated enclosed walkways that lead to my office building.   So far, doing this has kept me healthy.  (So how did I get this cold?  I suspect my son, who was home from college over the extended holiday weekend, was a carrier.)

I suspect that I will stay home from my office this week.  If I do have to go out (I don't plan on it), I will wear a mask.  Because I'm NOT sharing. And if you don't feel well, I'd ask you not to share either!