Pandemic Chronicles
My blog posts while being in self-quarantine/isolation during the time of COVID-19 Pandemic
21 weeks
This morning was the 142nd day of pandemic-related isolation. 21 weeks later, I look back and see how everything that was strange in March, feels almost normal in July. Whether it is going to restaurants, getting in an Uber, or meeting with acquaintances—- somehow it has become a distant memory. I don’t miss any of it.
These weeks have been a great A/B test in relationships and friendships. Social distancing might have given us space to revaluate what and who is important. For me, there is a little pod of friends that I see on a weekly basis. There are about a dozen of us. Most of them are hardcore isolators like me — they all at some point have been tested and retested. We meet outside for a coffee and a chat. Even the most mundane aspect of our week seems interesting as if reinforcing the value of real-life
A quick (and good) update on parents
After two weeks in the hospital, both my parents have returned home after being cleared by the doctors. They are free of the virus, though we have to watch out for the after-effects. This has been an arduous few days — the distance only exacerbated the anxiety and unease.
The limitations of travel and international quarantines only added to the complexity of the situation. My siblings, a handful of friends, and some family members rallied together to get us to today. I will be remiss if I don’t thank all of you for sending your prayers and wishes.
Oh hello, it is July 4 already
Nobody on the road Nobody on the beach I feel it in the air The summer's out of reach The Boys of Summer, Don Henley.
Summer officially starts for me in the last week of June — together with my True Ventures colleagues, we head to the beach just across the bridge for our annual retreat of self-reflection, assessment, and planning for a better tomorrow. And then comes the July 4th weekend. We follow that up with work from home — wherever you make a home. These days at home all we do is work. And not so strangely it doesn’t feel like there is a summer. Another win for what is clearly a crazy 2020.
And for that reason, I am hoping to tune out for the next 72 hours. My plan is to finish at least two books that are sitting on
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The Pain of Distance
I have made a career out of extolling the virtues of networks — how they make the very notion of time, location, and geography less relevant. The power of optics has flexed its muscles during the time of the pandemic. The wireless networks have kept us engaged, amused, and even productive during a scary time. You can see the world finally growing up to the irrelevance of distance — even big banks, accounting firms and not just technology companies are embracing the idea of remote work. It should give great satisfaction that this future which I have written about is finally here.
And yet I don’t feel any of that satisfaction. Instead, all I feel the distance.
The distance between two humans. I feel the distance between us as a society. And more selfishly, I feel that distance when it comes to those I love—my family. The tyranny of distance
Social distancing takes many tolls.
Can we try and be silent?
We have become too chatty on social media. We don’t think much before sharing our opinions. Maybe it is because we are isolated and are continually trying to fill hours in a day with a hot take? Or some random Instagram post? Or another TikTok. Or we are liking or arguing about something on Facebook. Why does everyone think they have to have an opinion about everything on social media? I have raised this question in the past, and I was reminded of that conundrum when reading Abby Gardner’s weekend newsletter, who argues for social media restraint.
I say this as a person some might call an oversharer, or perhaps a reformed oversharer. And I’m certainly not arguing everyone should sit back and stay silent about important matters, but, like, maybe think for two seconds about the situation before you shoot your hot take into
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[PODCAST] Is the stock market making you nervous? Listen to Ophir Gottlieb, on how to think about the future & investing.
In this episode of Stuck@Om, I chat with my friend Ophir Gottlieb, the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Capital Market Laboratories. We talk about the importance of proper perspective. Ophir likens perspective to a superpower — with it, we are the best investors in the world. Yet the increase of access to and influx of information has only served to create more confusion. Ophir emphasizes that we are totally overwhelmed with data and underwhelmed with information.
With that proliferation comes the competition to be profitable. The news media doesn’t just provide news — it’s become sensationalized. There is this disconnect between a story existing, and the need to just get something printed. News has probably hurt more people’s wealth than helped it. It’s very difficult to lose wealth in the stock market. Yet it continues to happen. It isn’t because people are stupid. So how can it be? Because money is
Today, Someday, Any Day
"Going nowhere...isn't about turning your back on the world; it's about stepping away now and then so that you can see the world more clearly and love it more deeply." Leonard Cohen
There are days I wake up hoping to find an easy way to avoid being assaulted by fake news, half-truths, and life-endangering. Unfortunately, it consistently proves to be wishful thinking — and getting through the information torrent on a daily basis is a high-intensity intellectual workout. The good news is that most kids who are growing up with this kind of information duress will have a natural ability to distinguish between real and unreal things.
That said, it is hard to stay positive and in the moment. I often get pulled into negative territory. My parents are in Delhi, and their whole neighborhood is under a complete shutdown. Contact with outsiders is forbidden as COVID-19 cases explode