LDC
On est tous des pangolins
Survived the last year without getting ill, and not having had someone close die, that's a good baseline.
Beginning of last year I was working in an acute department at a hospital when covid started off. (Wrote a longer bit here on that but have deleted it. Short version is that was a stressful 2-3 months as felt like the pandemic wasn't being taken at all seriously at first, and in some ways it was a relief when it did get bad here and things started changing re: lockdown.) I then moved jobs at the end of April (was planned already rather than being a pandemic related choice) to a very different area of medicine which has proved to low risk and relatively easy compared to some, so feel very thankful for that. Partner has been working from home (NHS clinical in another area) which has been nice; it's meant we have lunches together, more time to chat, later morning starts, etc. She goes into the office 2 days a week now which feels like a good mix, and she's hoping it can stay like that.
Home has been great tbh, even though it's a tiny terraced house with no real outside space which could have easily been a nightmare. The other 2 here (partner and a foster teenager) have been very good with following restrictions, and I feel grateful for them both being easy to live with and it's been really enjoyable in many ways (aside the general mess of it all outside in the world). I'm not an extrovert or super-social so haven't missed much really, although I am now really looking forward to some of the stuff like visiting other cities to see friends and even parties and going out for dinner. Exercise is my main way of relaxing/de-stressing and that's been possible all the last year, I ran lots for a few months and managed to buy some kettlebells that have been using in the kitchen or small yard when the weather is good, and actually have probably trained more consistently than I have for a very long time.
Bad things have been the area. First lockdown was quite out of control here. Racing cars and gangs of lads causing issues, which while a problem normally, escalated significantly to the point where the police were here every few days going into a house or trying to stop it. It's a few houses in a small area that drugs get dealt from and it attracts other lads who all seem to think they're in The Wire or something. Plenty of families have moved recently, and we'll be joining them later this year as we're out of here - for a few reasons, but that's given us the main impetus.
Both my parents died before all this started, one about 6 years ago and one in mid-2019, which weirdly I feel relieved about during the pandemic. Both would have been vulnerable, and both lived a long way away (separately) which would have been really hard to manage. My brother is extremely clinically vulnerable, but he's been (mostly) careful and has now had his vaccine and hopefully will be OK, so family has been not a stress for me. Have been doing family Zooms with all my cousins and surviving aunts and uncles (all from one side of the wider family) which has been lovely tbh, I hope to be closer and more in touch to that bit of my family from this.
Other less serious things are I have read a lot, watched copious amounts of mostly shit TV, attended too many Zoom meeting and discussions, been on here a fuck tonne. Not been out for walks or into the country enough. Started a Capital reading group in January last year that moved to Zoom pretty much straight away and has somehow kept going. Only now just started learning French after it being on my to-do list when this all started. Maybe drunk slightly too much alcohol, although did dry January, so maybe there's some ying/yang balance in there or something.
Very early on I enjoyed some of the changes tbh, and had hopes that good bits might remain post-pandemic. I feel less optimistic now, and sometimes feel a bit misanthropic about it all, especially when I come across covid-deniers or people that seem to be selfish about things like the restrictions etc.
Oh, and feel grateful to be on here, cheers everyone! OK, that's enough gushing.
Beginning of last year I was working in an acute department at a hospital when covid started off. (Wrote a longer bit here on that but have deleted it. Short version is that was a stressful 2-3 months as felt like the pandemic wasn't being taken at all seriously at first, and in some ways it was a relief when it did get bad here and things started changing re: lockdown.) I then moved jobs at the end of April (was planned already rather than being a pandemic related choice) to a very different area of medicine which has proved to low risk and relatively easy compared to some, so feel very thankful for that. Partner has been working from home (NHS clinical in another area) which has been nice; it's meant we have lunches together, more time to chat, later morning starts, etc. She goes into the office 2 days a week now which feels like a good mix, and she's hoping it can stay like that.
Home has been great tbh, even though it's a tiny terraced house with no real outside space which could have easily been a nightmare. The other 2 here (partner and a foster teenager) have been very good with following restrictions, and I feel grateful for them both being easy to live with and it's been really enjoyable in many ways (aside the general mess of it all outside in the world). I'm not an extrovert or super-social so haven't missed much really, although I am now really looking forward to some of the stuff like visiting other cities to see friends and even parties and going out for dinner. Exercise is my main way of relaxing/de-stressing and that's been possible all the last year, I ran lots for a few months and managed to buy some kettlebells that have been using in the kitchen or small yard when the weather is good, and actually have probably trained more consistently than I have for a very long time.
Bad things have been the area. First lockdown was quite out of control here. Racing cars and gangs of lads causing issues, which while a problem normally, escalated significantly to the point where the police were here every few days going into a house or trying to stop it. It's a few houses in a small area that drugs get dealt from and it attracts other lads who all seem to think they're in The Wire or something. Plenty of families have moved recently, and we'll be joining them later this year as we're out of here - for a few reasons, but that's given us the main impetus.
Both my parents died before all this started, one about 6 years ago and one in mid-2019, which weirdly I feel relieved about during the pandemic. Both would have been vulnerable, and both lived a long way away (separately) which would have been really hard to manage. My brother is extremely clinically vulnerable, but he's been (mostly) careful and has now had his vaccine and hopefully will be OK, so family has been not a stress for me. Have been doing family Zooms with all my cousins and surviving aunts and uncles (all from one side of the wider family) which has been lovely tbh, I hope to be closer and more in touch to that bit of my family from this.
Other less serious things are I have read a lot, watched copious amounts of mostly shit TV, attended too many Zoom meeting and discussions, been on here a fuck tonne. Not been out for walks or into the country enough. Started a Capital reading group in January last year that moved to Zoom pretty much straight away and has somehow kept going. Only now just started learning French after it being on my to-do list when this all started. Maybe drunk slightly too much alcohol, although did dry January, so maybe there's some ying/yang balance in there or something.
Very early on I enjoyed some of the changes tbh, and had hopes that good bits might remain post-pandemic. I feel less optimistic now, and sometimes feel a bit misanthropic about it all, especially when I come across covid-deniers or people that seem to be selfish about things like the restrictions etc.
Oh, and feel grateful to be on here, cheers everyone! OK, that's enough gushing.
Last edited:
) She may get some normality in her final year 
, which has got to be a major positive -- festivaldeb didn't catch it either 
x 10,000 + 
)
