Today\u2019s expression is to be \u201cstuck with\u201d something. When you\u2019re \u201cstuck with\u201d something, you have to live with it. You don\u2019t have any choice, and it\u2019s usually something unpleasant. The world broadly has two choices when it comes to recovering from coronavirus: either we develop a vaccine, or we develop herd immunity, where we let the virus pass through the population and eventually sixty to eighty percent of us have gotten it.<\/p>\n
Scientists are working around the clock to develop a vaccine. But there just isn\u2019t one available yet, and we don\u2019t know when it will be. Maybe it will be available in a year. Maybe it will be longer. For now, though, we\u2019re stuck with the other option: developing herd immunity. That\u2019s not a good option. For one thing, it means a lot of people are going to get sick and die from this disease. For another, it means social distancing is going to continue for a long time, in one form or another. It\u2019s not a good option, but we\u2019re stuck with it. We don\u2019t have any other choice: at least, not while a vaccine is still under development.<\/p>\n
In my business, I conduct a lot of face-to-face meetings. But as you might expect, that\u2019s not very possible these days. So I\u2019m stuck with Zoom and Skype. I don\u2019t really have a choice. I have to use those tools instead of meeting face to face. I\u2019m stuck with Zoom and Skype for now.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s another good one. I\u2019m spending a lot more time at home lately and I\u2019m starting to realize that my apartment gets really cold during the day, especially my living room, which has a lot of windows. It\u2019s because there\u2019s cold air coming in the windows. These are older, lower-quality windows that unfortunately let the cold air in. The problem is, replacing the windows is a big project. That is what\u2019s needed, but it\u2019s going to cost a lot of money. I need to save up for this for a while\u2014it\u2019s going to be another year or two before I\u2019ll be able to replace them. For now, I\u2019m stuck with these old windows. I tried putting this clear plastic over them to keep out the cold. That\u2019s not really working. But I\u2019m stuck with these windows for the next couple of years.<\/p>\n
Have you ever paid for something in advance, only to find that you don\u2019t quite like it as much after a little while, but you can\u2019t really change? I bought a printer that worked with my computer at the time. But then I got a new computer, and the printer doesn\u2019t work with the new one\u2014don\u2019t ask me why. But now I\u2019m stuck with this printer that doesn\u2019t work on my new computer. I have to live with a printer that I can only use from my iPad. So if I want to print something, I save it to Dropbox, open it on my iPad, and then print it from there. It\u2019s not ideal. I\u2019m stuck with a printer that doesn\u2019t work with my new computer.<\/p>\n
This is a case where, yes, I do have a choice. I could buy another printer. That is an option. But it\u2019s an unappealing option because the printer is pretty new. I don\u2019t want to be buying yet another brand new printer. When I say I\u2019m stuck with the one I have, I meant that I\u2019m going to suffer through this situation because replacing it isn\u2019t a good option either. <\/p>\n
The song of the week, selected by JR, is \u201cJuly\u201d by Noah Cyrus. She is the younger sister of Miley Cyrus, but has a much different style. She has much more of a singer-songwriter style, just her and her guitar in this song. She\u2019s just 20 years old, too, and sounds great in this song. JR\u2019s song of the week is \u201cJuly\u201d by Noah Cyrus.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s all for today\u2019s lesson. Thanks for joining us. Again, I do sincerely hope you are staying safe. Take care of your kids, look after the older people in your life. These are unsettling times indeed. And if you can\u2019t be face-to-face with the people in your life, make sure to pick up the phone\u2014and not just to text\u2014pick up the phone or schedule a video call.<\/p>\n