Spring Is Near! And, Fresh News For Your Monday

 

 

praire nearby, photo by C. S. Sherin

The above photo is to remind you (and myself) of all the latent beauty waiting to spring up and flourish again this year. I took the photo at a lookout in La Crescent, MN last summer. The same lookout at the top of the bluffs, where Jeff and I were able to see Neowise the comet... remember that? I saw so many shooting stars then too! The end of winter is in sight, even though March can be so topsy-turvey. I can't wait to see the prairie flowers again, and all that goes with them! But, for now, baby steps to those days. 

A lot is moving, changing, and growing with this site and my new site at the moment. I want to give you a heads up on everything, so here you go: 

I have deleted my old Wordpress (WP) blogs (cssherin and recipeforagreenlife) and my Medium account. But, all is not lost! I have migrated much of what was there to this blog! So be sure to browse the archives on this blog to see all the articles that have migrated here, safe and sound. 

The reasons for doing this are many, but here are a couple: while I love WP and have blogged and worked on WP sites since 2008, the time has come to move on in a way that is more streamlined with my new business. As for Medium, I used it as a portfolio while I was freelancing, and found it to be nice for that. However, their payments, policies, and methods are not really at all supportive of writers; and as they have continued to make it harder and harder, I felt happy to leave. Plus, having my writing in one place feels great! 

So, yep, most of my articles and essays are here now. I'm really happy with how things are working out. 

And, I have created my new website, cssherin.com. 

One more update that I'm delighted to announce: the eBook version of Recipe For A Green Life survived the dissolution of Wild Clover in 2020! This means that soon it will be available in my shop at cssherin.com! I am truly so happy that the eBook can continue. Charish and I poured countless hours of our hearts and pure passion into that project, and I am proud of what we accomplished! So, it is a joy to share that with you. I will let you know when it becomes available. 

Well, that's it for now. I hope you have a great week. 

Until next time, take good care of you!

all my best, 

Chandra

Some Great Small Businesses To Support!

 Hi dear reader! 

 

17 Feb. 2022
C.S. Sherin

The era of the global pandemic has given us all a lot to deal with and adapt to. For my part, I am getting ready to launch a new chapter of my life! I still have a lot of prep work to do, but want to give you a heads up on a few things now, in the drab part of winter. The pandemic and other life changes caused me to dissolve my former business at the end of 2020. In this interim, I have used this unplanned sabbatical as fertile ground for finding a new and better approach to life, as it is now.

Deep in the processes of finalizing my business plan, I can feel the beauty of this new adventure coming to be. I don't want to reveal too much yet, but suffice it to say, I am very excited and very ready for my new and lovingly cultivated (further) adventure(s) in self employment. 

Before I sign off and get back to work, I have some wonderful family businesses (and products), and a friend's business to recommend to you. I have zero compensation or obligation to any of these, by the way. I simply want to share some quality work that small family businesses, and one lovely Fair Trade business are providing. 

During this time especially, I have doubled my efforts to invest in and support small businesses like this, through being as regular a customer as I can be. Having had my own small business before, and heading into that venture again, I am mindful of all the risk, courage, and hard work involved. Please consider supporting these great businesses with your patronage: 

Haipazaza Phezuta is an Indigenous owned business, located in Washington state. This business was recommended by ethnobotonist Linda Black Elk, on her FB and IG accounts. Linda is someone who I greatly admire, and so I took her recommendation seriously. I wasn't disappointed! Haipazaza Phezuta shampoo bars, conditioner, and body butter are all handmade, with incredible quality, beauty and effectiveness. Not only do they ship right away, they also snuck in a free shampoo bar as thank you! When I opened up our order, it literally smelled like the sweetest, best prayers in all the world. And, my hair has never been so happy! I'm so thankful to be able to buy from a business that is an Indigenous owned family, with truly, such amazing products! Win-win! Site: https://www.haipazazaphezuta.com/ 

Dana's Kitchen is a local business, in the area where I live, La Crosse, WI. Dana's products are made from her own garden and her partner's, Adam's, barn of gorgeous, wonderful mushrooms. I have been lucky to be able to be buying eggs from Dana for some years now, and have found her to be a wonderful person, mother, and business owner. She works so hard, and is incredibly thoughtful and kind too. She creates the most wonderful hot sauces, mushroom based seasonings for veggies, pizza, and meat; and tomato sauces and dog treats too. These are really tasty, quality products! The hot sauces are so amazing, and can be added into just about anything with great results. There is so much joy in just opening a bottle and smelling it! Our harvest of tomatoes went into the freezer last fall, with some olive oil and Dana's seasoning. Heating those up and using them for sauces this winter has been an absolute delight! While Dana isn't shipping at this time, it would be worth your while to follow her page on FB and seek her out at events, if you are able. Site: Dana's Kitchen

Heart Of The Sky Fair Trade is a traveling and online Fair Trade business, located in Spring Green, WI. It is the great work of an old, dear friend of mine, Melinda Van Slyke. She has spent much of her life now, supporting solidarity work for genocide survivors in Guatemala; traveling back and forth, and supporting Guatemala women-owned textile businesses through her Fair Trade purchases. Her website is an absolute treasure trove of delightful beauty and joy. I am certainly biased about this one, but I can say with full transparency that Melinda is a wonderful friend with a big heart, and undying passion for justice and adorable and gorgeous handmade textiles. Her relationship with women business owners in Guatemala is one of mutual respect and joy, and it shows! Site: https://www.heartoftheskyfairtrade.com/ 

She just got some extraordinary new products in as well! And, her updates on FB and IG are always a treat. 

Until next time, take good care of you! 

all my best, 

Chandra

(C.S. Sherin)

Long-Term COVID (Part Two): The Real Issues Around Unemployment And Jobs In The Era Of The Global Pandemic

 

Photo by: Lisanto

08 November 2021 (updated October 2022)
C.S. Sherin

(Note: This article and Part One contain many links to the CDC and other official, respected sites in order to provide the most accurate information from experts, related to the ongoing global Coronavirus pandemic. The author isn't a healthcare professional or expert, and doesn't claim to be one. The author's story and opinions are only that, and aren't meant to replace common sense or the facts and advice given by health and science experts in real time.)

There are so many things about the global pandemic, and its effects upon individuals and our society at large that have yet to be fully understood by us. There are also many ways that a narrative can go, depending on who is telling it, and why. Let's explore that important nuance.

For example, according to some, the millions of jobs left open this year (2021), while millions of US (United States) workers quit their jobs or remain unemployed, seems to automatically imply that people are being lazy, spoiled, or dependent on the government. (We'll unpack all of that later.) 

Yet others say that what is happening is a Workers' Revolution (or Workers' Evolution), and it is a most positive and needed change. The basic reality is that people in the US who are unemployed and/or have quit their jobs, are a part of a broader traumatized population who were desperate for help and change before the pandemic ever began. 

The gift within the pandemic was how it showed so many business owners and workers that remote work can often be the better choice. Remote work eliminates many costs and wasted time and energy. It may not be for everyone, but for millions, it has become the best choice. Along with the option for a hybrid workplace (mostly remote with some instances of commuting to work, to collaborate in person). Why? Because:

• Commuting is expensive for workers. Some of those costs include: time and stress, cars/transportation, and the ever-fluctuating cost of gas.
• Going in to work is expensive too. The costs for workers include: work clothes and appropriate shoes, makeup, lunch/food, processes and systems that waste time; childcare, care-giving services for loved ones who are ill; someone to walk the dog, and mental health care to deal with a dysfunctional and stressful workplace.
• Leasing a space is incredibly expensive for business owners, as are the taxes and other costs that go with a physical space. Many small business owners cannot afford it, along with additional costs made necessary to accommodate changing needs.
  

It's true that many businesses can't work remotely because they provide services in person. In those cases, other changes have happened. But, we can't actually narrow down, in this way, one reason why we are seeing unprecedented situations in our country and workforce.

In Part One of this article I shared my experience of discovering that I had gotten COVID-19 in December of 2019 in Los Angeles, CA. And, how I came to realize that I have been experiencing "Long-COVID" symptoms, which gradually emerged from that time to now. Based on my experience and other evidence, I pondered how it seems the virus may take advantage of latent weaknesses in each person. 

It is interesting to see some of the studies going on related to COVID-19 and Long-COVID:

Some studies are finding that people who have had COVID-19 are more likely to develop either psychiatric or neurological problems. In fact, there is some evidence that the virus could be similar to how the encephalitis virus affects the brain: 

• COVID-19 and psychosis risk: Real or delusional concern? (Science Direct, 28 May 2021)

• 1 in 3 COVID-19 patients are diagnosed with a neuropsychiatric condition in the next six months, large study finds (StatNews, 06 April 2021)

• COVID-19 and Psychotic Symptoms: the View from Psychiatric Immunology (SpringerLink, 04 October 2021)
  
   
  • Remission of Subacute Psychosis in a COVID-19 Patient With an Antineuronal Autoantibody after Treatment with Intravenous Immunoglobulin (Science Open, 12 April 2021)
  • New article as of October 2022: Medium COVID Could Be the Most Dangerous COVID (The Atlantic, Benjamin Mazer, October 11, 2022.)
    

In continuing this Part Two of "Long-COVID, A Personal Story And The Bigger Picture," we now turn our attention to the issues of jobs and joblessness as related to current events and the pandemic.

My experience during the first year of the pandemic wasn't out of the ordinary for a self-employed person, or for a woman. By the end of 2020 I had to dissolve my five-year-old small business. (I have been a small business owner and freelancer for the last 18 and 25 years, in some shape or form.) The first part of 2020, I had spent building up a new project for that business, but it unexpectedly fell through by spring. I was also in a major transition in my work. By the end of the year, I was forced to contemplate/re-evaluate different paths to take with work and career. In the meantime, I didn't qualify for unemployment benefits. It was unfortunate that I had been in transition, and with set-backs as the pandemic began. It was an informed risk that I took at the wrong time in history.

With the required isolation, distancing, and loss of opportunities in that first year of the pandemic, I found myself on a virtual, small desert island, stranded--as so many of us did. Luckily, I did have the support of my spouse and family members, so I was not overboard without a life jacket, in the open ocean, like many US residents were. Yet, there were countless hardships I faced in the year before the pandemic, and then through the pandemic lockdown. Despite these challenges I never stopped working to build my self-employment back up, in new ways. 

As any small business person can tell you, there are 1,000s of hours of unpaid work that go into planning, building, administrating, and maintaining a business--especially in the beginning and during major transitions. During this time, I also kept up my photography (for my own sanity as much as anything), wrote a book (and have submitted it to potential publishers); and I still have a business plan I'm following. I haven't given up. But, as I will say later, in looking at all that we face collectively... the state of our country and the old, outmoded systems are making many things impossible, beyond impossible, for so many of us.

Here in the US, unemployment rates soared the highest in April of 2020 (to around 15%). Unemployment rates in 2020 became especially high for women. 

Yet, right now, in the most general of viewpoints, things are improving. Recent official statistics are showing that the unemployment rate in September of 2021 was 4.6%, that's 7.4 million people. That is still higher than pre-pandemic numbers, but still a great improvement. 

But, how accurate is the official unemployment statistic? And, what hidden numbers are left unsaid?