#WeekendCoffeeShare: One Year Later

Published on by Yinglan

Good morning and welcome! Come in and join me for a cup of coffee and a chat.

We should be welcoming spring today except the temperature is 20-degrees cooler today than it was yesterday. It was in the 60-degree-Fahrenheit range yesterday and we are in 40-degree-Fahrenheit range today. It’s as if we’ve been demoted back to winter.

While you’re here, I would offer you a piece of my freshest sourdough bread.

  • Last Week
  • This week

The loaf from last week has long been devoured. I had a piece of the new loaf and the first thing that hit my palate was the distinctive tang that’s associated with sourdough. The loaf from last week tasted like saltine crackers. The only thing I tweaked this week was what I fed the starter.

Last week’s starter was made with 50/50 whole wheat and bread flour while this week’s starter was made with 50/50 dark rye and bread flour.

Interesting.

Oh, and let’s not forget to point out the beautiful scoring with a lame compared to last week’s loaf which was done with a knife.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you yesterday was my one-year anniversary of working from home. March 18 and 19 are probably two days that’ll live in my memory forever. March 18, 2020 was the 5.7-magnitude earthquake – first big earthquake I’ve ever experienced and I’ve chosen to experience it on the 9th floor. Then came the domino effect – earthquake, everyone stocking on flour, sanitizer, toilet paper, assigning supplies to work from home.

Everything came so absolutely fast that I didn’t know how to react other than to shut down and just focus on the one thing that’s consistent – work. I didn’t want to write or blog or read because I felt like those things would bring me anxiety. Finally, I returned in April with this post before I forced shut down again. Reflecting on that stuff then, I wasn’t ready.

Now, a year later, I have more or less accepted my reality and the current status of things. Things will get better. Nothing last forever. These words have somewhat became my mantra to get me through some of the rough days.

Then there were days when I’m filled with hope and optimism, that 2021 will be better, that everyone will be vaccinated and we can move on and put this pandemic in the dust.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I’ll be eligible to get the vaccine starting next week. It’s definitely earlier than I and probably many people expected.

My mom and her brother and sister got their first shot this week. She is a stickler when it comes to vaccine brand. “I must get the Moderna vaccine.” she said while I would prefer the Johnson vaccine.

Hey, one poke is better than two, despite the efficacy rate. Besides, I heard from my co-workers people tend to have a reaction after the second shot.

I can’t stand the suspense. Just poke me already.

Personally though, I’ve been having an internal battle of whether to get it at the first available appointment or wait a little longer. Maybe because I’m afraid of the side effects? But at the same time, I look at the vaccine as my shot to freedom, my shot to a new normal life or a version close to it.

If we were having coffee, I would thank you for joining me in this edition of #weekendcoffeeshare and hope we’ll both return next week.

25 thoughts on “#WeekendCoffeeShare: One Year Later”

  2. Glad to see you back. Hope you get your vaccine. I’m still waiting for Doc approval. I’ve reacted badly to various vaccines in the past, so he doesn’t advise it at this time. UGH. Without it, I can’t go back to work. Double UGH!

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  3. I look at it like this: would you rather have a few side effects or would you rather have the coronavirus? That narrows it down for me. March 13 marks my one-year working from home.

    Do you use a bread machine? I think that”s so cool, people who can make bread.

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  4. The sourdough looks wonderful and I’m sure tastes wonderful too. Yeah, one year ago for most of us was a turning point of sorts. I can’t wait for the vaccine although vaccinations here in South Africa are progressing at a snails pace, sad to say. As soon as it’s available here for the general population I’ll be first in line for the Johnsons one. Have a wonderful week.

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    1. I was just having an open-face grilled cheese sandwich and it was delicious. I hope the vaccination pace in your country picks up soon so we can all get back out into the world again. Thank you for visiting and have a great weekend.

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  5. Interestingly, March 18th 2020 was also the day I moved to WFH. It’s been a year now for me as well 🙂
    My parents got their first dose of the vaccine earlier this week. My turn is way down the line.
    The bread looks scrumptious and I may try a piece of both first to decide which one is better 😊

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    1. That’s interesting because I was reading a lot of posts two weeks ago about being their one year anniversary. I think we’re probably one of those late comers. 😀
      I’m working to master lean bread -the basis of all breads (bread made only of flour, water, salt) – before going on to mastering other breads. I think it’s the reasons why I’ve been failing at making breads in the past – shooting high before mastering the basics.
      I think once you’ve tried these breads, you’ll never go back to buying bread from grocery store, at least for me, it is.

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  9. Hi YingLan, Sigh – I too have to work out getting my vaccination. I’ve been so locked down and hardly ever leave the house or yard that some days I don’t see the point, but I’ve heard plenty of good reasons to get it: my age, my medical condition, blaaa — blaaa — blaaa.

    So, I’m going to try and track one down I guess. Hope it goes well for you whichever one you take.
    Blessings.

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