It's been almost a year since our lives collectively changed in a big way because of the virus.

Have to admit that for a while I didn't feel much impact but now am feeling like I'm dragging a bit. Maybe part of that is that it's winter, with its cold, snow, and short days. And the fact that the virus has dominated everything for such a long time.

And while the prospect of the vaccine takes away some of the immediate fear of getting dreadfully sick the light at the end of the tunnel seems pretty dim to me.

I also think we're soon going to be in a world of hurt economically.

I know, I know...I'm just Ms Sunshine.....

How are you dealing with the new normal? What's your outlook for the future?

Similar.

My situation is colored by the fact that I live by myself in a town that I am comparatively new to. As a result, I have not seen a friend or a family member in person for a year. introvert though I am, that’s starting to gang up on me.

Plus, none of the local Mexican places have been having taco Tuesday since the pandemic began...

So, no real complaints. But definitely getting bored and occasionally lonely.

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It's been almost a year since our lives collectively changed in a big way because of the virus.

Mr. SK and I were just talking about this at lunch today.

We are doing our best, and we both are the type to try to be upbeat and positive about things in general, and that has certainly helped us during the pandemic.

But we are really, really ready for this to be over. Because of the differences in our occupations, Mr. SK has far less interaction with the outside world than I do, and so not having our social activities has been hard for him, and it's starting to get a lot harder for both of us.

The fact that he can't visit his family in Japan is an added stressor for him, and his parents. And the fact that we have chosen not to go see my mother until it's safe is really starting to wear on me.

Also, now that I have a f2f class, we are both a little more worried about the possibility of me getting sick, or bringing something home to him. Although we both feel like that's pretty unlikely considering all the details.

The stress of teaching online and having different teaching modalities across different classes is a burden that has not lessened as much as I had hoped it would.

And I'm behind in my tenure prep (surprise!) My uni has offered a covid extension, which I have to decide on soon. It might seem like a no-brainer to take the extension, but being without tenure (pre-tenure) is a stressor of its own, and I am also not optimistic about the economy, so that whole thing is just a puddle of anxiety. Yay.

On the bright side, Mr. SK and I frequently remark how luck we are that we bought this house in 2019 rather than waiting, because had we waited, we would have been either house hunting or closing right as the covid restrictions started happening. And I am incredibly grateful that I bought my grand piano in summer 2019, because from what I can tell, now the used piano market is off the rails and I probably wouldn't have been so lucky!

So having our space here, having my piano... these are things that give us a great deal of comfort and we do realize how lucky we are....

It's just complicated, isn't it.

I think we are doing better than most and feel very fortunate. For a while I was bored but not any more.

Handling the real estate deals we're doing to prepare for retirement has kept me very busy. I was in Mesa, AZ, last week to inspect a 4 plex we are buying. One unit will be an Air BnB where we can stay when we are in town, two other units are leased to a company that operates Air BnBs and the fourth is leased to a nice family who has no intention of moving. Our Anaheim apartments are due to close in two weeks and we open escrow on the house in Vermilion next week. Exciting times! Thank God for Docusign.

The result of this turmoil, and finishing up with the hoarder house, is that I find myself having to deal with a mountain of "stuff" that has to be sorted, stored, disposed of, or otherwise messed with. I'm dedicating an hour or two a day to keep from being overwhelmed. It keeps me busy when things slow down. Moving this household (the last step in the chain) is going to be wrenching.

After being nearly dead for the first few months of the pandemic, my business has really taken off. People who put off work in April-May now want it all done right now. The crew is busy, and I find myself able to run 90% of it without leaving my house.

If I were 30 years younger I would be hiring. As it is I am gifting most of the business to my foreman; a guy I trained from scratch over the last 5 years. This will make the sixth Electrical Contracting business I have been at least partially responsible for starting over the course of my career. I am very proud of that.

Considering that in April it looked I would have to shut down and retire early, this is a welcome change in outlook. A lot of stuff will move from my garage to his. Again, I am grateful.

The kids are good, as are the grandkids. We probably "see" them more often now (via Zoom) than we did before. We text almost daily and have a weekly Zoom meeting on Saturdays. I've also reestablished a 50 year friendship with my friend in Tucson via text and FaceTime. Modern technology is making this a lot easier than it would have been even a few years back.

We miss dinner with friends, even as the County has opened up to where outdoor dining is permitted again. Several of them have gone off the deep end as far as Spanky-and-the-Anti-Vaxxers and aren't much fun to be around anymore. It's sad - some of these friendships stretch back 30 years.

And it looks like we will be getting a puppy. More on this later.

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it looks like we will be getting a puppy.

ohboyohboyohboy! That's exciting!! Be sure to start a thread just for that, when the time comes!!

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on the house in Vermilion next week

Tell us more....is it the house across the street from Lake Erie? The one *on* the lake?

Ooh....puppy.....

It's the one on the lake with the mighty seawall. I'll post the pictures again.

[edit] Looks like I never posted more than the aerial view. I've updated the thread.

I miss restaurants and I miss travel. I have a constant low level anxiety because things are constantly in flux with work. However, the anxiety is far less when I am teaching online than in the classroom. I’ve actually come to enjoy it and think I’m good at it. If my district were to continue our virtual school option in a post COVID world I would definitely apply to teach that way.

Missing walks to happy hour destinations in the city - as well as theater and concerts!

We are lucky that our two sons live in the city and we are able to get together outside still. Lots more online video calls.

Business has been really steady for me. I have gotten a bunch of new clients. Some just through a web search as they've decided to reconnect with the piano, but many because this year was the first time their teachers heard how bad the piano at home sounded!

There is a 'sameness' to the routines of our days that sometimes has us guessing 'what day is it'?...

I feel like I have been hiding in my studio, and that is starting to get to me. Our gallery building is being sold and we are having to renovate a new space to move into, which is not really what I want to be doing with my time, but it’s too late to back out now. Though it may get more traffic, it’s not as nice a space as the old space. We did go downhill skiing today, and that was fun, but you can’t hang out in the lodge, so the weather has to be good to make it be worth going. (Last time we went was the day before STeve came down with COVID symptoms!) I am looking forward to the warmer weather of spring, that is for sure. Have no idea when my turn for the vaccination will come.

I'm feeling like a lot of others here. On the one hand, I'm incredibly grateful that we are all healthy, employed and feeling no significant financial crunch. There are others who have it far, far worse than we do, and I'm aware of that and incredibly grateful. We even have a kid who's on the last stages of receiving Canadian permanent residency!

That said, this has gone on for sooooo long. We had a family vacation scheduled for late July, and I seriously doubt we will be able to go, or even want to, since I don't see the COVID stuff going away any time soon. I'm waiting for the vaccine, but I'm only just slightly too young to get into the first phase. I'm getting pretty tired of the monotony of my current work, and truly sick of all the extra work that has landed on my plate as a result of CARES and FFCRA aid. I'm glad we can take advantage of these programs, but the reporting is enough to choke a horse. I have literally had no time off (weekends as well) since June 1. That is also contributing to my general sense of depression. But the days are getting noticeably longer and we have not had much wintery weather.

I'm looking forward to travel, seeing family, having my entire immediate family together in the same place, grabbing a burger and a beer on a summer day. It will come, but not a minute too soon.

I've been very fortunate that I've been working, and working quite a lot (well, quite too much). I miss restaurants, I miss my kids, I miss a sense of freedom. But, I have a charming and gorgeous and totally undemanding wife who is excellent company at all times, and who caters to me and to my whims in ways in which I do not deserve. All said, I count myself quite lucky.

Coincidentally, my situation is the same as Quirt's. I've been very fortunate that I've been working, and working quite a lot (well, quite too much). I miss restaurants, I miss my kids, I miss a sense of freedom. But, I have a charming and gorgeous and totally undemanding husband who is excellent company at all times, and who caters to me and to my whims in ways in which I do not deserve. All said, I count myself quite lucky.

I've been fretting a bit lately (now, at 4:42 am, actually) about long-term career ramifications of my good fortune in being able to teach remotely. Many--most? I don't know--of my twenty or thirty closest colleagues haven't been so lucky. These are the people who voted yes on my tenure in October, and I truly don't think the people at the university level who will be casting the final votes this semester know or care whether I'm putting in face time at work, so I think/hope that it's not an immediate problem. I'll find out soon enough. It's more likely that it will come back to bite me in a few years when I go up for full professor. I went in a few times to see and be seen and...I didn't see anybody, or at least it was not enough of a see-and-be-seen situation to keep risking my life. I asked a colleague what she thought I should do early on and she said, "Honestly? I wouldn't come in just to be seen. I think everybody's scared."

All that aside, I'm "seeing" a lot of my kids and grandkids via various technologies, but I really miss seeing them in person. I'll get my shot in Phase 3, so I have no idea when that will be or whether even that will make me confident enough to travel.

Pertinent to the thing that brought us all together, I've been working too much and feeling too blah to play much piano. When I do, it sounds terrible because I haven't been willing to let somebody in the house to tune it. This is a small thing, because I truly am not playing much, but it's just one of a million things that are set aside until...whenever. Sigh.

I feel like life has hit the pause button. It's worse now that winter weather is prevailing. Until then, I could go for a solitary walk in the nearby park and commune with nature/clear my head.

I haven't seen my out-of-town children since June and haven't seen my sister in Ohio since mid-March. I really didn't know how much I would miss human contact until this pandemic arrived.

I play the piano (in my usual poor fashion) more often that I did previously and I read a good bit. I live-stream an occasional concert or play, but it's no match for the live experience.

I'm eligible now in my state for the vaccine, but a few hours spent on the internet has not, so far, turned up an appointment to receive it. My wife is reluctant because of previous allergic reactions and wants to talk to her doctor before deciding to receive it.

My part time work still continues occasionally, but with less and less frequency.

I'm somewhat anxious about the variants of the virus as it relates to the immunity that the vaccine might provide. I don't expect that to prevent my taking the vaccine when I get an appointment, but it very well might reduce any sense of security that the vaccine provides.

I feel the meaning of the old curse, "May you live in interesting times."

Big Al

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I'm somewhat anxious about the variants of the virus as it relates to the immunity that the vaccine might provide. I don't expect that to prevent my taking the vaccine when I get an appointment, but it very well might reduce any sense of security that the vaccine provides.

+1