The Year of Covid.
The Year of the Rat.
The Year of the Introvert.
The Year of the Conspiracy Theory.
The Year of Distrust and Division.
No doubt 2020 felt much longer than it actually was to all of us. For myself, it has been a year of exaggerations of the highs and the lows. Where the lows really have the ability to drag you down - I have had 3 deaths and 2 cases of terminal illness in the family this year so far. But on the other side, it makes the highs so much better - 2 new grandchildren due early next year, my son has earned a substantial promotion at his work and my wife and I took up camping (when we were not in lockdown) and have found a wonderful site just outside Bedale in North Yorkshire, UK. We have sited our caravan there permanently due to the beautiful surroundings and the benefits that being out in the countryside brings. My dog loves it - a rather large Lurcher. And last but not least the ability to work from home. I get to spend more time with my family and friends (when we are able to meet) and lose all those hours a week commuting.
Whatever is around the corner in 2021, this year has prepared us for it. Best of Luck to you all
Personally speaking, then other than some minor inconveniences, this year has felt no longer than any other.
Most of that probably stems from the fact that halfway through the year we were accepted as foster carers and then for the last 4 months we have had a pair of brothers - now 2yrs and 7mths old. They have kept us on our toes and not given us time to worry about missing out on anything.
But one thing I have missed, and I can't even blame this on C19, is my photography hobby. As we now know the boys are being put up for adoption, 2021 will likely bring us many changes and perhaps one of them will include a return to my photo forays.
Nadolig llawen a blwyddyn newydd dda i bawb
Just another rotation of the sun
The year started OK but from March everything went downhill. I was in lockdown in a different country from March till August but able to work. In August, I was back home and thought that I could take a well deserved break but ended up going to work after only a week. Myself and other colleagues and friends all had major birthdays, 50, and 60 and did not celebrate, I have had 4 deaths in the family in 2020, my cousin and uncles and not been able to attend funerals, due to the lockdown. Holidays have been cancelled. We are currently in a worldwide recession. The list goes on.
There have been a few positives this year. My mortgage on my house is paid off, There is now a vaccine for Covid, Air quality has improved, My football team is near the top of the league and doing well. I am looking at buying a new car.
The nightmare that 2020 is, sadly will continue into 2021 for at least the first 6 months or so. There is hope, Hopefully Covid will start to slow down, The recession will be over as Pubs and Restaurants can re-open, we can then start planning holidays. We can meet friends and family who I have not seen since November 2019. Euro 2021, Olympics 2021 as well as other sporting events can be held.
Whatever 2020 has bought us, It has made us stronger. All the very best for 2021
This year started well, then the greatly over hyped event. So 2 weeks to flatten the curve and here it is December.
I personally haven't been greatly affected, yet. I kept my job and just worked from home instead of going to the office - actually better for me and the company gets more time. But the long term effects are still to be felt by everyone. Nothing is free, so the stimulus will have to be paid by someone and everyone knows that the government runs on taxpayer money - so . . .
Work wise we actually got more work over the last few months so we will be in better shape going into 2021.
I now count the days of the week like so;
First Monday of the week..
Second Monday of the week..
Third Monday of the week..
And so fourth until we reach the Fifth Monday of the week, which means that in two days, we get to do it all over again!
Things I learned about myself this year:
- I will never be capable of being a school teacher for young children
- Keeping a house heated/cooled while working from home costs just as much as driving 50 miles round trip to work each day of the week
- Locking cabinets with snack foods and putting the key in another room reduces how much weight I put on
- I have a deep disgust for video conferences in general
- Who needs a Ring Doorbell when I am home everyday
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutesssssssss.
it's feeling like 500 years...unlike Americans, we Canadians are following all the social distancing and mask wearing protocols...(just a note, I don't consider people from Southern Ontario Canadians as they think they're the centre of the universe and think rules apply to everyone but them).
I've been working from home since March and just started going into the office 1 day a week...haven't stepped foot into a store or restaurant since March...my hands are red and chapped from washing and hand sanitizer...
This year has been one of the best and worst in a long time.
Yes, COVID-19 went from "two weeks to flatten the curve" to "we don't know when we are opening the offices again". Millions of people are entering the holiday season trying to provide for their families with a large reduction in pay. It's not a typical Christmas for many. Families had to celebrate things over Zoom while others weren't able to say goodbye to a loved one who passed away.
From an IT standpoint, this year has forced us to be more flexible than ever before. Our systems pushed to the max with the increase of users suddenly finding themselves using tools like WebEx, MS Teams, Slack, VPN, and others that they never used before. We had to help them get comfortable with the idea of using these tools. Our patience with that "one trouble user" was tested on a much greater skill. Yet, here we are, standing tall and looking good; ought to be in Hollywood (if you get the reference hopefully you laugh). And while I feel for these people, I also try to focus on the good that has happened this year.
So for the good, I finally had the time to sit down and build out a great performing desktop computer. My wife was able to purchase a car which makes things easier because now she doesn't have to wait on me to get home from work. She also moved job locations from the Texas Roadhouse she helped open to one on the other side of the rivers. She enjoys the new location a lot better. She feels more appreciated and more respected which has made me happy. That move has also led to a goal I made at the start of 2019 and that was to buy a house. We found this great little cape cod house that is just minutes from her work, minutes from my kids, and minutes from her dad. I never thought I would move back to the South Hills area of Pittsburgh but it was and still remains the best choice. And then on top of all that, in August, my wife and I found out that we are expecting our first child in April 2021.
So while this year has plenty to be upset about, I think some really good things have come out of it. I appreciate the care and support everyone here has given me; especially the MVP community. Everyone here has been great. And hopefully, maybe, just maybe, 2021 will be a little kinder to us all. Until then, remember we are all in this together so be nice; smile under your mask and say Thank you to everyone that helps.
Started great. Completed all the repairs required by the global company that I had joined 13 months before. Their existing IT people didn't even know that their AD wasn't even replicating between domain controllers and nothing was being patched (amongst so many other issues). They had even finally agreed to replace an unmaintained Nagios system with Solarwinds. Servers eventually arrived and I fitted them into a server rack. OK, I'm off on Monday so I will network them and install the O/S on Tuesday ready for Orion. Monday afternoon I got the call that they were closing the office and we were to work from home. Bugger. Two weeks later I was furloughed then three months later I was made redundant.
Never did get to do the whole Solarwinds install / config from scratch. Bah Humbug.
Pros: Child two was welcomed into the world in February; so what with one thing and another I had plenty of time with them this year that I wouldn't have otherwise had. I also got to can my gym membership since it was right next to work, and I wasn't. Six months of "P.E. with Joe" and trying to corral a 4 year old into at least attempting star jumps. Turning the back garden into a beach for a "day out at home". Being thankful for being in a job that has let me work from home and not had any adverse impact on productivity despite setting foot in the office maybe 3 times since March.
Cons: Child one missing nearly two terms of school friends and all the funtimes with their teachers. Spending all my money that I'd have saved from gym membership on a new turbo trainer and endless spare for my bike. Only being able to see either set of the kids' Grandparents twice this year. Work deciding that working from home is totally the future for everyone and rearranging the office so I've lost my plum window seat. Feeling rather lonely when everything starts breaking and there's no one about (like there would be in the office) to bounce ideas off in order to try and start fixing things.
Its all lies!!!!!!!!!! That is all
I always look forward to new year, new beginnings. But 2020 has taught me to look and hope for good things, and be grateful for what I have. I started a new job.
Moved 450 miles in December of 2019, so 2020 started with wrapping our heads about the new reality of where we lived. (We lived in the same house for 20 years, so yeah, a bit of a change)March 2020, we all know how that went.April. Furloughed from my job of 18 years. Looked like 90 days.July. Laid off from my position, time for a new job.November. Started a new job as an Orion managed services engineer.December. Yeah, we know about that.It's been a year for sure. Let's hope 2021 is a bit more... oh, I dunno...normal?
A Bad Poem About Twenty---
At the start of the year
I raised up a beer
And cheersed to the bright days ahead.
---
But some Chinese got sick
it expanded right quick
and soon we were quarantined instead.
We turned to our Zooms
and Teams and Skype rooms
and worked with our kids home from school.
Trump sat on his hands
while states built up plans
to beat the virus and not lose their cool.
We complained about closure
and masks and exposure
never stopping the virus's spread.
A second wave it did rise
and dampened our eyes
as the numbers filled us with dread.
Election went by
and Trump he did cry
when Biden claimed victory too soon.
Now Christmas is here
a vaccine is near
and Bitcoin has shot to the moon.
But under our desks
our pants are still sweats
our shoes still wear animal ears.
--
So let's raise up a glass
and flip off the past
because twenty was a horrible year!
It would be more accurate to state everyday felt like a Monday.
At the end of a long week, I have nothing smart or funny to say that you all haven't already. Still, I'm thankful for many things. I wish you all the best for 2021, with special thoughts for those who are still working on mitigations for the attack against SolarWinds and their customers.
It took a long time to get to the end of 2020. We all know the challenges, the lost opportunities. The sickness and death. The isolation.
But 2020 also brought new opportunities and positive new futures. Rather than dwelling on what we lost, what did we gain? Here are some things I recognize as positive improvements that have come as a result of 2020:
All these positive things helped make the year go by more quickly than one would think possible. It's the new things in life that spark our interest, and if we can focus on the good ones and not dwell on the hard changes, we're a better set of people. More optimistic, more open to new ideas, and more capable to handle new situations through the new tools we've adopted.
Keep on keeping on, Friends. Grab life with both hands and don't look down! It's going to be an unbelievable ride from here on out.
Heck, if you're a follower of The Mandalorian, today (Friday, 12/18) the final episode of the season dropped, and here's some cool (non-specific general) things to be thankful for:
It was actually not too bad, working from home since March, until this week. I installed HF2, and now nobody can log in. I opened a ticket two days ago, and nobody has even started working on it.
The WFH was quite nice... emotional support dogs FTW! I'm looking forward to more of that in 2021, if not to be in a permanent WFH position.
2020 was super long, job changes, moving. It's all been a headache. Here's to 2021!
Don't know anybody not affected by the pandemic
Each month was roughly a year long, except when we managed to purchase and get to our holiday home in the sun in beautiful Fuerteventura Then each week lasted about a day so a month was less than a week!
The best thing is we managed to get back here in December for a couple of weeks and then decided to stay over for Christmas and the New Year but I have to work. Ah well
Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone!
Since March, everyday has been Groundhog Day!!!
I don't think this year is ever going to end. It will just keep going, and going, and going, and going, ............
March lasted something like 50 days and every day since then has felt like a MONDAY to me, so close to the selections but not quite. I am most looking forward to getting a surgery out of the way and hopefully having full use of my body again
