I hope that your “shelter in place” has been productive for your life’s pursuit (and for work if that is part of your agenda), and that you and your loved ones have been staying safe and close, at least in spirit!

It has been almost two months since my office, DiDi Labs, implemented the “Work from Home” policy, which was about a week before our Governor Gavin Newsom issued the state-wide order for California. The DiDi Labs team has worked very creatively to keep our staffs safe while striving to be productive with business goals, and to keep everyone in good spirit. For example, our staffs organized virtual “Welcome New Comers” and “Happy Hours”, and online games such as “Who’s That Cute Baby” and “Identify That Song”. I enjoyed all events I could find myself to be part of! In between work affairs, I also managed to follow quite a few of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s daily Coronavirus Briefings – all with my greatest appreciation. Full disclosure, two of my daughters are in Manhattan with productive schooling and working, which made me quickly realized that we need means of “social closeness” to reinforce “physical distancing” behavior on them :-). Kudos to New York Governor Cuomo and his “New York Tough But Loving” citizens!

Governor Cuomo shared some stories of his grandparents, reminding us that hard times tend to bring both the best and the worst out of people, which made deep impression on me! To witness, I have heard and seen bad examples, such as people hoarding PPE supplies and price-gouging the society, and people pushing their own political agenda showing little respect to science, news professionals, or even life. However, we have seen that the best side far outshines the worst during our fight against the Coronavirus! The letter and one single pair of N95 mask sent to Mr. Cuomo by the old couple from Kansas, Dennis and Sharon Ruhnke, moved many of us in the nation! To be frank, to most of us, the life still goes on, owing tremendously to all those frontline workers, from food to energy production, from health care to sanitation, and from police to transportation, and so on!

Moreover, everyone of us, by being caring, kind, thoughtful, and rational, we can show more of our “good side” of humanity through continuing our vigilance against the virus spread. I am proud to report that I have felt great positive energy in my town of Los Alto Hills, as seen by all the beautiful “positivity” rocks sprung up by the side of the pathways since around the Easter. I have captured many of them during my walks, with credits to the folks who took their time to create and distribute them. By sharing them here, I hope the creators and the readers alike can share and amplify the positive energy!

Finally, I believe that there is no question as to IF we should reopen our life, business, and economy. It is the HOW, that will determine if we will get to achieve our desire to reopen, how soon we can get there, and at what cost in the end. Let’s act together with reason, and guide our actions with passion for humanity and best science!

Stay safe, be kind, be rational, and we shall overcome!