With my new monoclonal anti-covid antibodies, I went for a walk unmasked, with a mask in my pocket in case I wanted to go into a building or otherwise needed it. It was sunny and unseasonably warm this afternoon, and I also did a bit of exercise on the back stairs.
I called the hair salon I last visited in February 2020, to ask if I could get my hair cut while wearing a face mask. The receptionist said yes, "whatever you're comfortable with." I also asked if, after two years, I should book a new client appointment. She checked with Taylor, the stylist who cut my hair in the past, and came back to say I didn't count as a new client, but should make a longer appointment; I will be getting my hair cut on March 30th.
After that phone call, I went to the Bona Fide Masks website, and ordered some Powecom KN95 masks with ear loops, because behind-the-head straps would interfere with a haircut. My plan is to wear an N95 or KN95 mask with behind-the-head straps on my way to the hair salon, and swap for the one with ear loops when I get there. (If these masks don't arrive in time, I will switch to a medical mask to get my hair cut.)
I also decided I was comfortable with![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cattitude going to the grocery store this afternoon, properly masked, so he could select his own produce. I suspect there's going to be some back-and-forth of what I, and cattitude and adrian_turtle, are comfortable with, a combination of having some time to think about it, warmer weather, any changes in the local case rate, and at some point declining protection from those store-bought antibodies.
I called the hair salon I last visited in February 2020, to ask if I could get my hair cut while wearing a face mask. The receptionist said yes, "whatever you're comfortable with." I also asked if, after two years, I should book a new client appointment. She checked with Taylor, the stylist who cut my hair in the past, and came back to say I didn't count as a new client, but should make a longer appointment; I will be getting my hair cut on March 30th.
After that phone call, I went to the Bona Fide Masks website, and ordered some Powecom KN95 masks with ear loops, because behind-the-head straps would interfere with a haircut. My plan is to wear an N95 or KN95 mask with behind-the-head straps on my way to the hair salon, and swap for the one with ear loops when I get there. (If these masks don't arrive in time, I will switch to a medical mask to get my hair cut.)
I also decided I was comfortable with
cattitude going to the grocery store this afternoon, properly masked, so he could select his own produce. I suspect there's going to be some back-and-forth of what I, and cattitude and adrian_turtle, are comfortable with, a combination of having some time to think about it, warmer weather, any changes in the local case rate, and at some point declining protection from those store-bought antibodies.
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I assume there's a reason I didn't go during the bit of last year when we felt safe going to Somerville for the farmers market (outdoors) and even ate indoors in a sushi restaurant, but I don't remember what it was. Possibly that the farmers market and sushi both felt like better uses of the (shared, notional) risk points.
At this point, I need to keep in mind that my risk for almost anything is lower than it was a week ago, but not as low as if I was benefiting from being fully vaccinated and boosted. Hence, the three of us are still not eating in restaurants, no matter how many other people feel comfortable doing that.
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I wear the powecom kn95's basically all indoor-places I go, and I find them a lot more comfortable than medical/surgical masks since they don't sit flat against my face, offer more breathing room, and don't get like condensation inside them so much - plus better filtration. We've been handing them out at some of the food pantries near here too.
At the beginning of the year I started an indoors-job for the first time since pre-pandemic - all my work had been outside for quite a wile. Now there are only me and a few coworkers of mine left wearing masks in the building, out of dozens of workers, which is pretty bad, like I'm not immunocompromised but *everyone* knows *someone* who can't medically get vaccinated or who hasn't responded to the vaccine, or is diabetic, or elderly, or is a child with anti-vaxx parents, why the hell not do a very easy thing to not infect them? I heard a disabled comrade describe it as "people being more afraid of grief than they are of death," like desperately trying to pretend everything is okay and not wanting to do anything that *would actually address or reduce* the damage because that would mean *looking at* what's happening. IDK.
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