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Reflections, one year on.

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Reaching out
It is now a year to the day since I last worked a shift in the office and I have been shielding ever since. Hopefully, everyone will be moving on very soon, so time to reflect. I remember finishing the shift at 7 AM and because of rumours, I went straight from work to a large supermarket and found the shelves nearly stripped bare. What little I got, I had to queue for 45 minutes to pay for. I then tried other supermarkets for bits and pieces. Moving on, I have spent the year at home, a small flat, with Mrs Tag 24/7, eating, sleeping, drinking and working. On reflection, it has been pretty good. Sadly, I know it has been disastrous for many people.
How's it generally been for people, good bad or ugly? Post highlights and lows.
 
Relationship collapse because it covid. My ex inability to socially distance or stay out of other people houses during lockdowns meant I simply couldn’t live with her as I’m in the ‘clinically vulnerable’ group due my health condition and medication.

we were in the process of buying a house together.

initially tried 2 months in airb&b. Went back but she’d got worse. I last 2 weeks!

had to move out again back to my mums (I’m 46!) and started looking for my own flat to buy.

3.5 months later. Flat purchase still dragging. Might fall through. So have come back to brighton in an air b&b as want to be back close to my daughter again and start having her again. The time away from her was much harder to take than the relationship breakup.

fingers crossed the flat goes through soon. I was vaccinated early doors too.Things could be worse.

Edit - Just a little edit to say that despite the hassles my ex has caused me in the last 6 months I've 100% forgiven her. God knows she deserves that for the shit she's forgiven me for over the years! She wants to remain friends. Maybe we will.
 
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It's been really good for me, personally - no more weekly flights to Amsterdam for work, no more commuting for hours, no more awkward smalltalk in the office or the canteen, just relaxing days at home with the family. Had to cancel a holiday to New York at Christmas, but got all our money back from that, and I really haven't missed taking holidays or visiting the family. So it's just been a year of staying indoors, watching TV, and following the rules until it's all over. Thankfully I haven't even had anyone close who has been badly affected by Covid either.

Edit: Painfully aware of how privileged I sound, with a cushy work-from-home-compatible job and no complicated commitments. This forum has been an incredible resource for keeping my empathy high.
 
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it once the April terror of those first night shifts in flimsy ppe passed 😱

There have been tough bits, like my lad doing fuck all school work during the first lockdown when I was on the wards. Not seeing as much of the fam, altho not hugely different tbh. One of my nursing colleagues in their 40s dying with two kids at home.And getting a hammering off covid myself over Christmas! 🖕🏻

But overall, I’ve liked the chillness, less consumerism, people out walking, back to basics feel.
 
Mixed bag to be honest.
Staying home cocooning was not as bad as I thought...but then I'm quite socially introverted, as in I don't miss going out much. Mostly because I've lived very carefully for 20 yrs due to immunosuppression.

Did not miss being onsite for work. Did not miss the staff room. Or chit chat.

I've enjoyed working from home. I've also enjoyed (mostly) minding my parents. And I've enjoyed cooking and baking a lot. And gardening.

I miss my own home though and am really anxious to go home and check everything out. My neighbours are very goid and kind and have kept an eye on things.

I miss my friends and meeting them for a coffee or a meal. I miss going for walks by the sea and sitting watching the world go by.

I lost an aunt, a cousin and a good friend and could not go to their funerals. Last time I saw them was before Covid.

I guess it all could have been a lot worse. We really cocooned and took no chances. I hope we will be able to get out and about soon once we are all vaccinated. And the incidence of the variants is much lower.
 
The bags under my eyes have deepened, as have the wrinkles round them. My chin is starting to go, and a turkey neck appears to be forming. I don't think I'm any balder, but what hair there is is definitely greyer, and the ears need shaving on a weekly basis.
 
Our experience of the last year has been pretty good - we've got space, and we live in the countryside - I've not missed the massive amount of commuting, and I've become much more involved, and very happily so, in the life of our village.

The kids have missed their friends, but they've really proved to be able to play together in way they hadn't before - they're happy, healthy, and they've shot up.

Mrs K has really gripped the remote/WFH thing. She's still putting the hours in, but doing in a way that's much easier for her to manage.

The big, horrible thing that happened in the last year was the death of Mrs K's mum to cancer - the spoken truth is that CV got in the way of her treatment, and so caused her death - but the grim, unspoken truth is that given the amount/locations of the cancers in her body upon diagnosis, the lack of treatment simply hastened her death, not caused it.

We're getting a campervan of some description - the lack of holidays/travel has been something of a negative for us, so we're determined to take advantage of our recovered freedoms.
 
kebabking said:
We're getting a campervan of some description - the lack of holidays/travel has been something of a negative for us, so we're determined to take advantage of our recovered freedoms.
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Ooh, please post about it when you do - we're thinking about whether we could just eventually sell the house and pootle around Europe in an RV while 'working from home'. :D
 
kebabking said:
Our experience of the last year has been pretty good - we've got space, and we live in the countryside - I've not missed the massive amount of commuting, and I've become much more involved, and very happily so, in the life of our village.

The kids have missed their friends, but they've really proved to be able to play together in way they hadn't before - they're happy, healthy, and they've shot up.

Mrs K has really gripped the remote/WFH thing. She's still putting the hours in, but doing in a way that's much easier for her to manage.

The big, horrible thing that happened in the last year was the death of Mrs K's mum to cancer - the spoken truth is that CV got in the way of her treatment, and so caused her death - but the grim, unspoken truth is that given the amount/locations of the cancers in her body upon diagnosis, the lack of treatment simply hastened her death, not caused it.

We're getting a campervan of some description - the lack of holidays/travel has been something of a negative for us, so we're determined to take advantage of our recovered freedoms.
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I think there might be a bit of a run on campers as the weather improves, so I’d get looking sooner rather than later.

I'll e2a this since it's probably best not to turn this into the KKamper thread :D... But that comes partly from people round my workshop who work on them. I could probably badger them for tips too.
 
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kebabking said:
Our experience of the last year has been pretty good - we've got space, and we live in the countryside - I've not missed the massive amount of commuting, and I've become much more involved, and very happily so, in the life of our village.

The kids have missed their friends, but they've really proved to be able to play together in way they hadn't before - they're happy, healthy, and they've shot up.

Mrs K has really gripped the remote/WFH thing. She's still putting the hours in, but doing in a way that's much easier for her to manage.

The big, horrible thing that happened in the last year was the death of Mrs K's mum to cancer - the spoken truth is that CV got in the way of her treatment, and so caused her death - but the grim, unspoken truth is that given the amount/locations of the cancers in her body upon diagnosis, the lack of treatment simply hastened her death, not caused it.

We're getting a campervan of some description - the lack of holidays/travel has been something of a negative for us, so we're determined to take advantage of our recovered freedoms.
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Do your research on the camper van front. Advice (and not-so-bitter experience) available. ;)
 
OK, so the start was, for me -

Our crowning glory gig at the Mariners in Laugharne was scheduled for 21st March. By about this time last year, we were starting to wonder if a gig in a crowded pub on a Saturday night was really such a great idea. Fortunately, so did the promoter, and we swerved it.

The early part of Lockdown 1 was an intense period of moving various activities, with varying degrees of resistance, online. I jury-rigged video conferencing stuff, borrowed paid Zoom accounts here and thither, and essentially threw myself into making it work. That got me through to summer.

Which was fairly good. General local irritation about the influx of various stripe of holidaymakers, but we mostly stayed moderately safe and slightly complacent through a pretty good summer. It's been a bit of a drag since then, with 10 days' quarantine over Christmas being the low point.
 
Ive been ill with covid and lasting 'post covid syndrome' long covid after effects for all of the past year. Royally crap and by far the worst year of my life, as I spent 3 months ill by myself stuck in a flat not getting better not doing well mentally not even sure if I'd had covid. Then had a big relapase and breakdown in July/August.

But... even shit times have good moments - Ive seen my family a lot the past 9 months and been very lucky to be supported and helped a lot. I've made semi-peace with my sister after several gigantic awful rows last year (she was pretty damn horrible).

Despite the challenges, Ive done my best to stay in touch with friends. Ive messaged a long-covid penfriend to keep them positive and check in on them. I have learned to be a more patient, more positive, kinder person... towards myself anyway! Gave away my car to a friend who's skint, which was good for both of us.
 
I'm very lucky that I've been employed throughout . Haven't enjoyed working from home , maybe it's because I've been working in offices for over 30 years , I have found it difficult. Mrs21 on the other hand has loved wfh .

We've got on really well , not that we didn't get on before, but I was worried that 24/7 had the potential to be stress-y, thankfully it hasn't been.

I've walked a lot , last summer I was heading out early morning , at lunch-time and the evening , doing regular 10 mile days . Still regularly going out , feel a lot healthier as a result.

Haven't had it, had to self isolate after meeting up with my sister in November, she had it , my bro-in-law too, and my niece, we had lunch together, and remarkably, I was the only one who didn't get it (they all got through it ok) . 10 days of staying in was torture after getting used to walking a lot.

Thought with all this down time, I'd read a lot more , that hasn't been the case , haven't been able to concentrate on reading as much.

Have missed social interaction, and my family. Saw Mum in August when things relaxed a bit , won't be able to see her til May 😢 but have spoken just about every day , sometimes just a quick 2 minute call, others 20-30 minutes. Haven't spoken to her everyday since I left Bath in 1989.
 
I was going to whine how much I have hated the last 3 months of enforced wfh and the highlight of my working day being the walk upstairs to go for a piss. I've just watched a news report about 10 years of schools and hospitals being bombed to fuck in Syria. So I won't do that.

I have been lucky enough not to lose anybody close but I know many who have. I shit myself when my mum had a fall and had to spend 6 weeks in hospital/rehab/care settings, thankfully between the covid waves, she came out without catching the plague.

I have been lucky so far and I will keep telling myself that. Jab #1 booked for the 27th.
 
I think 13th was final day in the office - I was not all that well the week before that with what I think in retrospect may have been COVID (weird fatigue bug that came and went for a fortnight - sore throat, slight temp, though no cough).

I never saw totally denuded shops, just some things missing, but my early low point was almost exactly a year ago, I was having what seemed to be a final hurrah of feeling super tired and wonky, and I was queing in a local non-chain supermarket pretty much grabbing anything that seemed like it might be useful including things for my parents as I was on the phone to my mum who told me various things they hadn't been able to get.

On the whole we've been very lucky. We have space, equipment, home schooling was not too hard, though I admit I had some wobbles the first time round - recent lot was significantly easier. As a couple we've done OK and avoided any excess stress and argument. Everyone's mental health seems to be all right really.

Summer was pretty nice, helped with great weather and we had two UK breaks that were fantastic. Did some house redecoration as well when we could.

We have fortunately not lost anyone close thus far - one neighbour is recovering in hospital after being very seriously ill last month and will need a long period of recovery and rehabilitation, and another neighbour has long COVID.

My work has been OK - we did go through a restructure, although it seemed fairly clear from outset my team would be OK and we were, but it has left things unsettled. Other half has done surprisingly well - just coming out of a contract in the beginning, someone asked him to join them on another straight off. Then he had enough money not to work for a bit (July-November) and work on his own project which looks like it could have legs, now working p/t on great day rate, but may now jump ship to another p/t role.
 
Taught my last in person class on 16 March, and was sent to wfh for 3 weeks on the 26th. I'd only been in my permanent role for 3 months, having previously been a cover teacher. There was not time to set things up or work out how it would be.

Work has since been a total chaos of bad decisions. My direct employer's attitude has mirrored the government's combination of haste and deadly priorities, in terms of how many staff they force to come on site at once, and under what conditions.

Having that stress - not being able to trust these fraudulent, lying fuckers to keep me or anyone in any way safe, and them not giving one shit about the learners; only money money money - has turned a job that made me soar into a festering pile that I struggle every day not to abandon.

The union is being really active. Now. But, like Derek Smalls emerging from his pod as the song ends, I fear we will only reach industrial action once it's all under control.

I miss my dad. We speak most days, but I used to see him every week, and we'd have a Five Guys burger or a lush kebab, and laugh ourselves silly.

I miss my friends. I'm pretty self-contained and am happy spending lots of time on my own, but I do also love my friends, and company, and talking about something other than the virus. (I am guilty of mostly talking about the virus.)

On the plus side, I've started cycling, due to a horror of the dicknoses on public transport. I adore it and am getting fitter. It curbs my drinking, too.

I am fortunate not to have lost anyone close. I've had my first jab. The nanosecond I can teach a class again, I will probably love my job again, despite the clowns. But we shouldn't do it quite yet.
 
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Lot has happened this year so I won't go on about it. I'll pick out a couple of positives though. Firstly me and Mrs Frank are still going strong despite a sequence of tribulations that would have broken a lot of relationships. Secondly my relationship with my dad has improved more than I would have thought was possible this late in the game. Neither me nor Mrs Frank would have got this far without his help and support.
 
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I had lockdown as easy as could be. I had a home, I worked from it, my children went to key worker school and I started a new relationship just after lockdown one so wasn't lonely.
Yet I find it impossible to look back on it with anything other than anger and sadness and felt those emotions throughout. So many people suffered, so many died, the government took every opportunity to show their contempt for people and erode whatever protections they could, sometimes under the guise of covid and sometimes not.
Still struggling to follow any narrative of joy from any of this just cause the traffic died and the birds sang cause that was all temporary anyway and not enough to balance the bad.
 
I have been into the office maybe 6 times in the past year to pick up or drop off stuff, quite enjoy going there , it is a ghost town there though, maybe 10 or so people per floor , apparently there are 2000 desk spaces with maybe 100 working there .
 
killer b said:
The bags under my eyes have deepened, as have the wrinkles round them. My chin is starting to go, and a turkey neck appears to be forming. I don't think I'm any balder, but what hair there is is definitely greyer, and the ears need shaving on a weekly basis.
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Pls could you explain about how a person goes about shaving their ears? Do you mean the actual lobes ?

I'm not ready to reflect yet, I think there's a fear that i've to some extent wasted the opportunity that the lockdown year offered, but then I haven't really, because instead of whatever deep spiritual or intellectual things i could have / "should have" done, i've discovered that i love plants, and growing things from seed, and that's good too (for me.)

One thing i think of a fair bit is me sitting at a table in india in late february last year (last time I've been anywhere obvs) saying to someone to please stop banging on about that virus in China, why are you making such a big deal out of it I'm not worried.
 
Kanda said:
Lost my job, home, life in Thailand. Moved back to the UK to start again in September.

Finally moved into a flat, still throwing Amazon parcels at houses, need to fix that. I'm healthy and have a roof over my head. Can't complain.
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Weren't you on Koh Tao? Believe it or not I sometimes think of you (when I see your name and 'diving wanker') - I've been to Koh Tao and that must be one hell of a blow to you. Glad you're managing to be stoical about it all. But sorry you lost your job.
 
planetgeli said:
Weren't you on Koh Tao? Believe it or not I sometimes think of you (when I see your name and 'diving wanker') - I've been to Koh Tao and that must be one hell of a blow to you. Glad you're managing to be stoical about it all. But sorry you lost your job.
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Yeah, Koh Tao. Shit happens, my Amazon route takes me along the SE coast which helps, seeing the sea every day :) . I don't think I'd be coping as well if I was stuck indoors all the time. It's going to take a while for the dive industry to recover, all I can do is carry on and hope for the best.
 
I resigned my job in Surrey and had a new one lined up in Merseyside, plus buying a house. A week later, lockdown began. Everything stopped.

We just dossed around in London and waited, haemmoraging money. Managed to complete on house in June and moved to North Wales as first lockdown ended.

I've been working at new job since the end of June. I have not stepped into an office once and it's great. We are lucky as fuck.
 
The first six months of the Covid year I was completing a Masters degree, which was stressful by itself, and the pandemic on top of it meant I was trapped in a crazy world of anxiety and panic. Since that was completed things have been a lot easier, and I've adapted to this different way of life much better than many people I know. Have enjoyed the lack of pressure to be doing stuff, going out, seeing people (though I would quite like to see some people now). The pubs being shut has been blissful, as means I haven't had to deal with my tendency-to-binge-drink partner turning up at home paralytic or falling asleep on the bus or falling down and hurting himself.

Also pre-Covid I was really stressing about my life / career / what to do with the rest of it and the crisis has taken all the pressure off really. Just getting through it has seemed good enough, and has stopped me overthinking it all.

Really miss having variety in my life - but also learned that you can be fine without it
 
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