Stephinitely | Open for my special talent

Plus, all the books I read in 2021.

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View on the web Go to our home page Subscribe to the Times Sunday, January 2, 2022 Forward this to a friend Subscribe to more newsletters Me winning the talent portion of life. [New Line Cinema] Miss Queen of Disaster Travel I am writing this from a cloud of cold medicine, wearing a “dress” that is literally a floor-length T-shirt. I look like the baby from Popeye. My hair is a style I like to call “Give Up Why Bother Don’t Try.” I am dazzling, reader. Just strutting into 2022 like a peacock who has been plucked to death.   No, it’s not COVID-19! I know this because I got that swab in my nose after symptoms set in. And then several days later, I did it again. Two negative tests, and it seems I was just destined to ring in the new year with a run-of-the-mill cold. How glam.   I am sure I picked it up while traveling. As mentioned, we popped up to North Carolina for the holidays, spending a few days in Asheville and visiting friends in the Charlotte area. We had a lovely time, and my food recommendations are Chai Pani and Hole Doughnuts. But, of course, the whole journey was marred by fear of OMICRON.   This brings me to my special talent: booking vacations that coincide with disasters.   I guess it started when I honeymooned in Greece as Hurricane Irma bore down on our property. I have written about that in this newsletter before, but the brief version for newcomers is, we spent a lot of time in Santorini itemizing belongings for insurance purposes. This is very romantic! Mercifully, it turned out mostly fine.   Then came a long-saved-for bucket list trip to Spain in March 2020. Lol. No, we didn't go.   Then, remember summer 2021? When everything was looking up and vaccines were flowing and we were supposed to boldly RECLAIM LIFE? That's when we went to Chicago on all the flier miles I amassed during our time at home. The tickets were literally $12! We arrived just in time to cling to daily news updates of the rapidly spreading delta variant.   Now, finally, a Very Omicron Holiday. And look, I am thankful that we emerged from these journeys safe and have not, to my knowledge, contracted COVID-19. And we are privileged to be able to travel at all. All I'm telling you is, I have unlocked the Da Vinci Code here. The next time I say I'm going on vacation somewhere, hunker down because some bad stuff is about to happen.   Yes, we are thinking of rebooking Spain in March 2022. Upsilon, here we come? Me thinking about going back to bed. [ABC] But really, I don't feel good Seriously, I am really just getting by here! I feel like a hairball in a drain, like my jokes are bad, and like I should just close this down and go back to bed. I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter experience!   My constant COVID testing this week made me reflect on the fact that it's impossible to get sick anymore without fearing the absolute worst, without mentally going over a list of people you came in contact with and rehearsing all the difficult phone calls you're going to have while the rapid test results develop. It's so demented and I hate it.   Read it: Is it a cold or COVID-19, and will I ever escape this mental prison?    I hope the rest of you were happy and healthy and and enjoyed the dark, amorphous space between the December holidays and New Year's. I hope everyone got a little time away from the grind and had trouble finding where the couch ended and your bottom began.   Last week, I wrote a petition to cancel all societal activities in the week between Christmas and New Year's, which was mostly met with vigorous agreement. Except, one reader pointed out that SOME PEOPLE have birthdays in this time and would like to celebrate. I apologize, and hereby amend my petition to include all birthday celebrations. And happy birthday to Paulette!   Read it: Petition to cancel the week between Christmas and New Year's   By the way, if you're local and confused on where to go to get a COVID test, here's a handy and thorough list from the Tampa Bay Times. Bookmark it, share it, spread the good word, not the bad germs.  And another thing! I'll give the pandemic one point. Being home more and commuting less made me fall back in love with reading physical books. Pre-panny, I did most of my reading via Audible on the road. But this year, I devoured 25 books while curled up on the couch with coffee, with a supplement of a mere five audiobooks.   Check out my IG for the whole stack and some attempts at ranking in the comments. I would love to know the best thing you read this year so I can add it to my list for 2022. Contact Stephanie Hayes at shayes@tampabay.com. Follow @stephhayes on Twitter, @stephhayeswrites on Facebook and @stephrhayes on Instagram. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can sign up to get Stephinitely in your own inbox next time. Subscribe for free here. Contact us Privacy policy Terms, Conditions & Copyright Standard of accuracy © 2021 • All Rights Reserved Tampa Bay Times • 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 To ensure this email is delivered to your inbox, add custserv@elist.tampabay.com to your address book. You are receiving this email because you signed up for the "Stephinitely" newsletter from the Tampa Bay Times. If you’d prefer not to receive updates, you can unsubscribe from this email.