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Happy November! I hope you all had a spectacular Halloween full of treats and no tricks!!Since it is flu season, I want to ensure that you all have access to the necessary resources to stay healthy during this time. In case you didn’t know, flu shots are covered by all of our health insurance plans, and One Medical offers walk-in flu shots, as do most doctor offices, pharmacies, and urgent care facilities. If you need assistance with finding a provider who can administer the flu shot, please call the phone number on the back of your Aetna ID card.

Stay healthy and flu-free this season!– Danielle Alavian 

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Employee Profile/GP Success Stories

Let's welcome her on Slack and email today — thank you!Coming Up

Birthdays 

Fast Five with Caitlyn Shaw

Where do you live now and where are you originally from?

I live in Brooklyn, New York. I’m originally from Long Island, about an hour east of where I live now. My family and I are very close — I speak to my siblings daily — so I love being able to hang with them on a regular basis without much hassle.What's your favorite thing to do on Saturday morning?

I was never an early riser, but that changed during the pandemic. I found that spending some time each morning doing whatever I wanted made me feel more settled and fulfilled for the rest of the day. It’s sort of the opposite of revenge bedtime procrastination. The habit has stuck. My favorite kind of Saturday usually starts early, with a homemade oat milk cappuccino. I recently got off the waitlist for a refurbished Breville Barista Express, and I use it every single day. Cappuccino in-hand, I’ll take my dog, Lola, on a long walk. Here she is getting into some mischief in the neighborhood: 

After a walk, my husband, Brandon and I will usually make our go-to bacon, egg, and kale breakfast tacos with the best store-bought flour tortillas, full stop. We buy them in bulk so we never run out. Is there something you've been obsessed with lately?

Besides Lola? Over the past few years, Brandon and I have been working on building a small cabin in upstate New York. He’s an architect, which gives us a bit of a leg up on the process, but even so, it’s one of the most stressful projects we’ve ever taken on. Lately, we’ve been nerding out on the local vegetation and wildlife and trying to learn how to be good stewards of our little micro-ecosystem. There is so much to learn and consider. I know a lot more about local plants (we have rhubarb, mint, and apples!) and animals (so many frogs, deer, foxes!) and how to reduce harm and habitat displacement than I ever thought I would. Everything should be done by this spring, and we can’t wait!

How do you stay motivated or energized for work?

Two things come to mind. Physically, learning how different foods make me feel has hugely impacted my WFH energy. I used to start every day with bacon and eggs. The [heartbreaking] decision to make a fruit and peanut butter bowl instead on weekdays has changed the game. 

When it comes to work itself, I have always felt most energized when solving problems and learning new things. That “aha” moment after digging into a seemingly impossible problem and finding a solution is priceless to me.Do you have any secret skills or talents we should know about?

The only thing I can think of is that despite having a severely deviated septum, I have a pretty wild sense of smell. In particular, I am weirdly good at identifying gas leaks. I once smelled gas from a neighbor’s apartment and banged on his door until he answered — turns out, he had left a stove burner on and had fallen asleep. I have a few random stories like that. 

Where are you currently working from?

Recently snagged a standing desk attachment and walking pad. Big fan. Also, while not pictured, Lola is a big fan of hanging on that little window ledge while I work. She loves to nap and people-watch.

Me and Johnny Brayson (in the middle of the street) on our lunch break in NYC on October 30, 2023.

Inspiration: The Belonging Barometer

"The Belonging Barometer: Assessing Belonging in America" is a relevant piece of published work with sponsorship from Over Zero and the American Immigration Council's Center for Inclusion and Belonging. The report's authors aimed to develop a measure of belonging as a civic instrument, with the objective of broadening the range of individuals who perceive themselves as belonging in the United States due to their meaningful experiences of inclusion.

Any Inspiration requests? P&C is on it. Ping Danielle.