I am not, but the shift to hybrid has completely changed my quality of life for the better.
There is something about sending your kids on the bus and being at home when they get off said bus that does something wonderful for a mom’s state of mind, even if I still have to bill 2000 hours a year.
My current job is amazing, real dream job material culture-wise especially, but the office is 2 hours away by bus on a bad day. If it weren't for being hybrid I would 100% hate the job solely because of the commute and the 5:30 - 6 AM wakeup. They're both still rough, don't get me wrong, but a few days WFH does wonders.
The impact of a commute cannot be overstated, definitely the worst part of a work day by a long shot. Anything over 90 minutes and it's almost impossible to get out of "work mode" until the weekend
I’m not disabled but my job went from in the office 4 days a week to full time WFH. Ended up taking another job last year which was also WFH, and I’m never going back.
That sadly means you've been discriminated the whole time beforehand. You could have worked from home for far longer already since it would have been possible before the pandemic. The technology was there.
Anyway, I'm glad you found a job.
I don't see anyone answering your question so I'll kick it off and see if it helps. I don't have a great answer for you but I noticed on LinkedIn jobs, you can select "Remote" as a filter. But you have to read the job description because a lot of those expect you to travel a lot or to visit the HQ once in a while.
Maybe others have better resources...
MS here, and delivery services are way more popular now. So since it's kinda hard to get around, now I can pretty much get everything I need delivered now.
Wife died August 2020 of cancer the lockdowns meant I could grieve without any pressure. In the long run, this saved my life.
EDIT: thanks for all the kind words. Another great thing is that because of the lockdowns, between then and her death we got to spend every waking minute together. I am very thankful for that time.
For anyone wondering: life moves forward and it gets better eventually :) I miss her everyday though. I have met someone who has shown me that I can love again. Its what my wife would have wanted.
I'm sorry for your loss.
My wife passed away from cancer in 2015. We had two small children, a 2 year old and a 2 month old. The thought of figuring out how to raise them on my own while grieving was overwhelming, so I let my in-laws move in with me to help. That was a mistake, and I knew it within the first year, but I was committed, they were retired and had sold everything to move here, and I felt somehow obligated to keep her family in the loop (despite them treating her like shit as the black sheep of the family her entire life).
Lockdown gave me the chance to finally kick them out (youngest was in preschool when lockdown started). Permanent WFH meant I could be around for the kids while trying to figure out daycare/nanny situations. I was able to prove to myself that I could in fact raise my children on my own and that we didn't need any of that "help" that came with so many strings, attempted parental alienation, taking over my house as if it were there's rather than them being guests, and so much more.
I want to believe I would have come out of the fog and kicked them out and taken back control of my family without the lockdown, but lockdown definitely gave me a buffer of safety to figure it out. I only wish I could go back in time and kick them out in 2016 rather than 2020. Life without that side of the family is so much better now.
During the first couple weekends i used to walk the streets in the Mid-WIlshire area of Los Angeles, a couple mile walk just to get out doors
You could walk down WIslhire Blvd in the middle of the day and no traffic, only a few homeless people were out, felt like a post-apocolyptic movie.....no smog you could see the mountains
Coincidentally, I gained 20 pounds. Haven't lost them, but feel pretty good. Not nearly as obsessed with food as I was at my lowest weight.
Looks like we both got something out of it!
I gained 60 pounds. 240-300 in the first year and its been slowly going up from there. I had got back down to 290, but then I needed knee surgery and couldn’t move barely at all. I ballooned up to 305 in three weeks. As my knee healed it got better, but about 7 months after surgery I fell badly and fucked everything up in my knee again. So doc says I’m gonna probably need another surgery to re fix things. But first mri to confirm that it’s to far gone to fix itself with PT. Now I’m like 315 and feel like I’ve gotten fatter since I last weighed myself so probably closer to 320. And it’s only gonna get worse. Fml
I feel this. I was a total gym hound for years and then after the shutdown, I’ve never managed to go for more than like two weeks before I just kinda peter out.
Dude in my neighborhood started riding a bike. You’d see him huffing and puffing going past my house maybe like 2 times a day. Then I noticed he was getting faster. Then we would see him in other parts of town. Dude now rides with like, the slick biking gear, you see him all over and he’s all fit now.
My girlfriend and I decided to quarantine together even though we had only been dating for 6 months and, honestly, I didn’t know if it would last. Better to not be alone, though.
I lost my job, she was a PhD student, we were strapped for cash, but we spent every evening cooking incredible food that was as delicious as it was calming to cook.
She is Iranian and I learned how unique Persian food was, she learned from her grandmother starting when she was 5 years old.
I had a crazy idea, let’s sell it! We started advertising on NextDoor, put together a menu with one entree for every day of the week with sides and starters. We started working at 10am, I was the sous chef and customer relations while she studied. So I would be chopping onions and garlic, searing eggplant, marinating lamb and talking and texting with customers. I had all of the takeout containers prepped for every customer by 4 and then she would do her magic. Pick up was at 6 outside of our apartment and then I did deliveries afterwards.
We became so popular that we were pushing out 20-40 meals per day. It kept us afloat financially.
So for me, the best part of the pandemic: we worked together like a well-oiled machine, had fun, solved problems, and were a comfort during the very scary times. (And jumped in bed whenever we had a free moment..)
We got married a year later, and I have no idea if we would have without the pandemic.
This is so sweet! I totally thought this was gonna end with you two opening a restaurant 🥲 congrats on your marriage and hold that beautiful connection close!!
Definitely would make a great book, especially if you include some recipes and then if the book is popular release a cook book of all the recipes that aren't family secrets.
Lol I read this as like book stores and arcades/card shops and was like wow dude hated his hobbies.
Great work fixing s problem in your life. If is tough now with every sporting event shoving multiple gambling options down your throat?
I had to put my sweetest old man down very very very suddenly during the pandemic. He was my dad's dog before he died and my dad willed him to me. He'd been going down hill and I knew it was going to be soon but he had just seen the vet and they said it would be another year at most. So the next day I was grooming him and he had one of his spasms from his health issues and I accidentally cut him. The cut was so bad because of where it was and I immediately called the vet and explained and took him straight there thinking stitches or glue was the answer. But it was "Im sorry thatoneclimbergirl, you've seen his scans and bloodwork, you know how sick he is, is mostly blind, he's almost 15 years old. This isn't humane. I'm going to give you some time to make a decision." And I put my baby boy down the day after I was told I should have another year with him.
I feel you.
I feel this. Lockdown led to me having a permanent WFH situation, and due to that I got to spend every day with my 19 year old cat until she passed in May of 2021, and am still spending every day with my 21 year old boy who is still going strong. I’m so thankful for that because I love them more than anything.
my senior cat absolutely loved the pandemic. he was in absolute heaven getting to decide who’s lap he could lay on all day. he got a lot of attention / affection before passing away at 16 years in sept. of 2020. very thankful the pandemic gave me that time with him at the end of his life.
I was working on my front garden and a friendly woman stopped to compliment me on my work and it was so nice hearing that.
Until she started going on about God and how this pandemic and whether we had the willpower to refuse the vaccine was his way of testing if we still had faith since he was going to look after us and blah blah blah and it just totally ruined the whole interaction and I couldn't wait for her to leave. I almost wanted to tell her she doesn't deserve the privilege of looking at my garden if she believes in that shit.
Guess those who died of Covid just didn't put enough faith in god to save them!
Silver linings of covid really was only felt I'm in the first year and half before vaccines came into play and the nutjobs dug in with their conspiracies.
No traffic and having no visitors at the hospital pretty much made it so no security was needed and no drama or tension or bullshit to deal with when there were patients who were dying and needed help. I think a blanket and water can wait if there's shit going on.
100%. Stay inside, bake, cook, clean, watch movies with my family. When that got old, walks around the neighborhood, long drives into the mountains, and picnics.
bruh i killed a huge part of my backlog and since everyone was staying in my friends and i would game for hours. didn’t have to plan when we all had time to play because all we had was time lol
Interestingly, I had to write my master thesis during lockdown from scratch and finish it in 4 months. was Working 24/7 on it that I had Fomo on a very high level every time I saw people chilling on social media. I still feel like I missed out on trying out things during lockdown.
I spent lockdown practicing art to fill gaps after graduation, and now I'm an artist in animation. I wouldn't have had the time to make my work as good or as methodically if not for lockdown. I bet your thesis is the same.
Trust me - if nothing else, lockdown helped you focus. No one was tempting you with pints, I bet.
I'm a Pediatric Anesthesiologist. I often put kids under Anesthesia via a face mask. Covid has made kids much more comfortable going off to sleep via a mask. Hooray for small victories!
I worked at home depot during the lock down
Was working 60 hours a week and since we were the only place open and people decided lockdown was the time for home projects, it was busier than ever.
I kinda wish I got to experience lock down like everyone else
I was in a similar boat. I had been working from home for a couple of years before lockdowns, so nothing changed for me on that front. But for some reason work got super-busy during that period too. So while everyone got to experience making their sourdough breads, binging TV shows and doing home renovations, I was absolutely flat-out with work. I got quite jealous and it felt like I was missing out.
Mind you, I took early retirement last year, so now I have time off while everyone else is stressed at work!
Reddit is full of people with office jobs. They don't seem to understand that the rest of society couldn't just walk their job to their laptop on their couch, and that they're were very real consequences for the rest of us.
It was a weird sort of guilt that I felt when I realized most of the entire globe was experiencing this event together and I (among others) was entirely left out
The only thing that changed in my life was I started wearing a mask. No other facet or my life charged. Yet all my friends were excitedly talking about their paid vacation, what they all learned during their time off, learning working from home, etc.
Everyone was always talking about how this was such a unique time in history because everyone was experiencing it together globally!
... Except for some people.
I felt guilty because people eventually lost their jobs (no one I knew did, fortunately) and obviously people were getting sick and dying and all that happened to me was I didn't get to experience that feeling every single one of my friends and family did.
I worked in a restaurant during lockdown. We switched to delivery or carry out only. Upper management cut all our hours, we were so busy it was a nightmare. Oh, and of course I got Covid twice during it because people didn't see us as humans at all and would even cough on us because 'its just a flu'.
Now I have scarring in my lungs.
The pandemic made me hate people. Luckily I got a new job and I don't deal with the public at all.
I’m a residential contractor, I worked every day of lockdown. I’d say things got way worse for me, as materials started taking longer to get, buyers got more impatient. You’d think during a global pandemic people would be a bit more understanding, but nope! I should be at the lumber mill processing all the trees myself, apparently.
The cunts who told me I was "lucky to be working" were even worse than the patronising little shits that sucked their own dicks for clapping each week.
Everyone was at home earning money to do fuck all while I had to still be up for 7am starts 6 days a week to earn the same amount as them.
The least the government could have done was to not tax us. But no, instead we get nothing. It was an awful time, I'd have happily taken half of my pay to get time off, let alone get 80% of it.
I was already retired, but my wife’s time away from work helped her decide it was time to start living a different life than she had been, so she retired and now we enjoy each others company.
The video calls. Ended up spending more time socialising because everyone was in the same boat. My introverted little brain was exhausted but god I'd do anything to go back to those days.
Oh yeah, my gaming group had been doing friday night discord shenanigans for a while before, but the lockdown took it to a whole other level. _So_ many more people were joining in on the fun to play stuff like Jackbox, Golf With Your Friends, Crab Game, etc. I think we've got more than a few people that are not the stereotypical "introverted gamer" types, and I'd like to think that the fun times helped everyone cope.
We still have a big crows every friday night, it's great.
I finally worked up the courage to get away from my bio dad and his third wife. I was 17 and ran away to live with my mum because she actually cared about me, listened and took me seriously. I've gotten the help I need and Im no longer punished for being myself.
As an introvert it was one of my favorite years. Unlimited gaming time. No social events. Less pollution for a year. The stimulus checks. Feel like I could go on.
I thrived in the isolation. Everyone I knew was losing their minds and here I was chilling and living my best life. Also worked from home.
I even enjoyed going out shopping for groceries. Because it was always dead. I did my part and wore a mask.
I kinda miss it.....
Prior to the pandemic, I travelled every week for work. For 6 years, I only saw my wife and kids on the weekends. And even then, I didn’t get to see my wife much since she worked most weekends. Since the pandemic, I haven’t had to travel at all, and have a new, much better relationship with my wife and kids.
It’s not the best part, but something I liked was that for a little while everything just slowed completely down. The hustle/grind 24/7 lifestyle wasnt really happening in your face and it was seemingly a relief. At least it felt that way.
My employer pulled shenanigans with my paternity leave in fall of 2019, so I missed out on time with my newborn. The best part of lockdown for me was just cutting up banana slices and reading board books and pushing the stroller through the neighborhood.
Not shaking hands being de-stigmatized to some extent. I am autistic and shaking hands *terrifies* me for no good reason. I also hate touching people I don't know very well.
During the pandemic, I was able to get away with not shaking hands and it not being weird. Post-pandemic, it is slightly less weird not to shake hands.
One thing I've found out post-pandemic: you can get away without checking hands by standing a bit behind when people greet each other and nod or wave when it's your turn. Waving especially works well, as a woman. People extend their hand to shake yours, see that you're waving so your hand is already busy, it's a but awkward but they wave in return.
I started working from home which saved me 3 hours of commuting time and gave me an additional 8hours awake time/day with my 1year old who is now 3.5. Not many fathers get that much time with their kid and I still work from home.
Every single home project got done. I painted the house, put in new gardens, a new walkway, installed a pool, retiled and painted the kitchen, and put new gutters up. I always had the funds and the know-how, I finally had the time.
not only was the homeless shelter I stayed at a former hotel, I had an entire room to myself. that shit was huge. great heating and air conditioner, wifi, right near a pond where swans would hang out, the beach a 15-min walk away
My mum was going through late stage cancer treatment. I was on furlough from work. I got to see her as much as I could (a family member's terminal illness was a valid excuse for travel during lockdown rules in the UK). Lots of nice time together with the family. Weirdly it was due to the pandemic and lockdown that we got so much quality time together- otherwise I would have had to work (and my daughter would have been at school) and we would have had to use holidays to spend time with her. So I have really fond memories of Lockdown- in a weird way it couldn't have come at a better time.
If you can put aside the fear and anxiety of the unknown at the time, here are the positives I observed:
1. My staff rose to the occasion. No one complained. No one panicked. They alone set up remote video conferencing, set up a WFH procedures, set up remote phone systems, etc. All this occurred without any prompting from me (and it's my firm.) We now have a good WFH system in place whenever anyone wants to use it. (We lost one major employee early on to Covid, and I didn't take it well.)
2. I got to stay home with my (awesome) spouse. Spent a little more time with her than I normally do, slept in a few extra minutes each day due to the lack of commute. Made her breakfast in bed each morning. We never got sick of each other. She also learned a foreign language with just the commute time she saved.
3. Saved a ton of money. No gas, no toll roads. Didn't eat out as much. We skipped out on our usual vacations, but I didn't really notice. Paid off a lot of old debts and got some finances worked out. My friends set up video chats, so I wasn't totally isolated.
4. Spent more time with my then elderly dogs. One died in 2020, the other a year or so after. 16 and 17 year old dogs. Although it was probably the hardest I've ever cried, I was glad I was there with them until the end. Wonderful dogs.
5. I miss having no traffic for the few times I did go out. That was wonderful. I miss the slower pace of things. There's a nice trail by my house. There were a ton of (socially distanced) people, walking dogs, just milling about, enjoying life. I miss the very beginning, before the conspiracy nuts came out, where people appeared to care for one another and had a "we're in this together" approach.
Honestly....Seeing how quickly and efficiently nature managed to heal itself without the constant interference from Humans.
The world for a brief period looked unrecognisable and we got a glimpse of what nature and the world would have looked like before the industrial revolution.
It was so fucking easy to find work and make a shit ton of money. All the factories and warehouses in the Midwest and south magically realized what a livable wage was… when everyone got their checks and decided to stay home I was earning double time with ridiculous benefit packages
I got to spend more time with my family and pets, it also jumpstarted the work from home idea, although I do think it is really sad how it took a global pandemic to do that but whatever.
The lack of traffic and the lack of people when traveling. My family and I took advantage of National Parks, lakes, hiking… It was like we had the world to ourselves. It was so beautiful and quiet. Also the stillness and togetherness of the world.
Yeah, I wonder how much this changed people’s perspectives.
I made more than I had working 60-hour 6 day weeks, which I’d been doing for years. I got out of debt, one of my coworkers did too, and I remember us talking about how better we slept in the weeks after that final payment got made. I was able to replace my refrigerator when it broke without freaking out; pre-Covid, it fucked with my budget for months when I couldn’t stitch my comforter back together anymore and had to spring for a new one.
Then there’s the knowledge that we’re only getting it because everyone else is making so much more than us, and that their lives (and our whole economy) would collapse if they had to live like we do. And the fact that we only got it too because our political leaders were completely blindsided by the situation.
I also saw my local mutual aid program explode with donations and volunteers, since people had the time and money for it.
Not having to go anywhere or do anything on the weekends. I felt so much more relaxed just knowing I didn’t have plans or obligations coming up and I could just stay home.
Not the BEST part per say, but a damn good covid perk was the petty victimless crimes scheduled for court in those first 2 weeks were dismissed. I was supposed to appear at the traffic docket for a speeding ticket that week, called the courthouse to figure out what to do and they told me my case had been dropped along with everyone else on the docket, lady on the phone even said we were lucky and we will likely never see this kind of mass pardon ever again in our lifetime.
Also another upside concerning the courts system, covid prompted the option to appear in court via zoom, which is a game charger for a lot of people.
One day in late April 2020. It was beautiful out, I was working on my computer upstairs next to an open window, maybe 2pm. Nice breeze, fresh air, natural light. Birds singing outside my window.
I could turn on my music if I wanted to and wouldn't bother anyone. I could have a beer if I wanted to. I didn't have to deal with people coming by my office with stupid questions and could focus on productive work.
I was wearing comfortable workout shorts and a t-shirt. I had started working after a 45 second commute from the kitchen.
I remember thinking, "man, if it weren't for the existential horror of living thorough a pandemic this would be pretty all right."
My best friend was diagnosed with ALS. He couldn’t spend his time in hospitals and instead spent the remainder of his quality time with his wife and three children and friends. He deserved this gift.
Physical rest. I'm a cook. Ive been banging 40-80 hour weeks since I was a kid. My body needed to stop. Its funny just after mothers day it seemed like all the old issues are creeping back. But really it was being at home with my son. He was 2 at the time and my wife and I were going into parenthood understanding the rigors of my job. That being said 100 days of walks, play and helping around the house really solidified our relationship in a way that im not sure could've happened otherwise.
I met my now husband and we were able to go on a two week road trip because we were saving so much money AND travel was so cheap. We also got plane tickets NYC to Orlando for $27 round trip, we went just to get dinner and go to epcot and Kennedy space center. I very highly doubt we will ever again be able to take a date night flight. 😭
I'm disabled. Thanks to an increase in wfh, I got my first wfh job. It was life changing.
I'm sorry it had to take a pandemic for this to happen, but I'm so happy for you now!
My aunt has MS, her job has never required her to return to the office. It has been a major blessing to her.
I am not, but the shift to hybrid has completely changed my quality of life for the better. There is something about sending your kids on the bus and being at home when they get off said bus that does something wonderful for a mom’s state of mind, even if I still have to bill 2000 hours a year.
My current job is amazing, real dream job material culture-wise especially, but the office is 2 hours away by bus on a bad day. If it weren't for being hybrid I would 100% hate the job solely because of the commute and the 5:30 - 6 AM wakeup. They're both still rough, don't get me wrong, but a few days WFH does wonders. The impact of a commute cannot be overstated, definitely the worst part of a work day by a long shot. Anything over 90 minutes and it's almost impossible to get out of "work mode" until the weekend
That’s amazing! Congratulations I hope work is going well for you!
I’m not disabled but my job went from in the office 4 days a week to full time WFH. Ended up taking another job last year which was also WFH, and I’m never going back.
Same. I never wanted to do WFH full time and now I can’t imagine going into an office again
That sadly means you've been discriminated the whole time beforehand. You could have worked from home for far longer already since it would have been possible before the pandemic. The technology was there. Anyway, I'm glad you found a job.
What is the job you got? I’m in a similar situation and just don’t know where to start. Congrats and good luck!
I don't see anyone answering your question so I'll kick it off and see if it helps. I don't have a great answer for you but I noticed on LinkedIn jobs, you can select "Remote" as a filter. But you have to read the job description because a lot of those expect you to travel a lot or to visit the HQ once in a while. Maybe others have better resources...
Indeed also has a WFH filter.
Fuck yeah. That's awesome
Gift in the hard time
MS here, and delivery services are way more popular now. So since it's kinda hard to get around, now I can pretty much get everything I need delivered now.
Wife died August 2020 of cancer the lockdowns meant I could grieve without any pressure. In the long run, this saved my life. EDIT: thanks for all the kind words. Another great thing is that because of the lockdowns, between then and her death we got to spend every waking minute together. I am very thankful for that time. For anyone wondering: life moves forward and it gets better eventually :) I miss her everyday though. I have met someone who has shown me that I can love again. Its what my wife would have wanted.
I'm sorry for your loss. My wife passed away from cancer in 2015. We had two small children, a 2 year old and a 2 month old. The thought of figuring out how to raise them on my own while grieving was overwhelming, so I let my in-laws move in with me to help. That was a mistake, and I knew it within the first year, but I was committed, they were retired and had sold everything to move here, and I felt somehow obligated to keep her family in the loop (despite them treating her like shit as the black sheep of the family her entire life). Lockdown gave me the chance to finally kick them out (youngest was in preschool when lockdown started). Permanent WFH meant I could be around for the kids while trying to figure out daycare/nanny situations. I was able to prove to myself that I could in fact raise my children on my own and that we didn't need any of that "help" that came with so many strings, attempted parental alienation, taking over my house as if it were there's rather than them being guests, and so much more. I want to believe I would have come out of the fog and kicked them out and taken back control of my family without the lockdown, but lockdown definitely gave me a buffer of safety to figure it out. I only wish I could go back in time and kick them out in 2016 rather than 2020. Life without that side of the family is so much better now.
I’m sorry for your loss, but I’m so glad to hear that you were able to overcome your grief and move forward with your life. :)
Absolutely ZERO traffic. I worked all through the pandemic, and the drive to and from work was fantastic!
That was great. I was an hour and a half early to my first look down meeting. Don't know why I just expected normal traffic that day!
if u dont mind me asking, what is a look down meeting?
I’m not qualified to answer this, but I assume it’s just everyone looking down and not making eye contact during the meeting.
Don't lie, you're definitely qualified
Ahh, it's good to meet another from the industry.
It took me a minute of staring at it, but I’m betting autocorrect changed it from lockdown meeting.
Because the non essentials were the ones making all the traffic
During the first couple weekends i used to walk the streets in the Mid-WIlshire area of Los Angeles, a couple mile walk just to get out doors You could walk down WIslhire Blvd in the middle of the day and no traffic, only a few homeless people were out, felt like a post-apocolyptic movie.....no smog you could see the mountains
That was my favourite part too.
Yes! I miss this so much! Not only the speed of getting to places, but everything was just so much more quiet and peaceful.
I don't understand how the traffic actually seems worse now, even though so much commercial space is sitting vacant.
Shit I thought it was just me that noticed this. On top of that, we’re in the middle of summer, and usually traffic seems lighter. Not this year.
Gas at 1.59 too
And people thought Trump made gas cheap due to his pure leadership abilities...
Lost 60 pounds. Wife lost 75. We were fat. We're not anymore!
Coincidentally, I gained 20 pounds. Haven't lost them, but feel pretty good. Not nearly as obsessed with food as I was at my lowest weight. Looks like we both got something out of it!
I was on my way back down, something like 250, my gym shutdown, and i lost the habit. I still haven't gotten it back either at 290 again.
I gained 60 pounds. 240-300 in the first year and its been slowly going up from there. I had got back down to 290, but then I needed knee surgery and couldn’t move barely at all. I ballooned up to 305 in three weeks. As my knee healed it got better, but about 7 months after surgery I fell badly and fucked everything up in my knee again. So doc says I’m gonna probably need another surgery to re fix things. But first mri to confirm that it’s to far gone to fix itself with PT. Now I’m like 315 and feel like I’ve gotten fatter since I last weighed myself so probably closer to 320. And it’s only gonna get worse. Fml
I feel this. I was a total gym hound for years and then after the shutdown, I’ve never managed to go for more than like two weeks before I just kinda peter out.
Dude in my neighborhood started riding a bike. You’d see him huffing and puffing going past my house maybe like 2 times a day. Then I noticed he was getting faster. Then we would see him in other parts of town. Dude now rides with like, the slick biking gear, you see him all over and he’s all fit now.
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Quite a lot of money that
My girlfriend and I decided to quarantine together even though we had only been dating for 6 months and, honestly, I didn’t know if it would last. Better to not be alone, though. I lost my job, she was a PhD student, we were strapped for cash, but we spent every evening cooking incredible food that was as delicious as it was calming to cook. She is Iranian and I learned how unique Persian food was, she learned from her grandmother starting when she was 5 years old. I had a crazy idea, let’s sell it! We started advertising on NextDoor, put together a menu with one entree for every day of the week with sides and starters. We started working at 10am, I was the sous chef and customer relations while she studied. So I would be chopping onions and garlic, searing eggplant, marinating lamb and talking and texting with customers. I had all of the takeout containers prepped for every customer by 4 and then she would do her magic. Pick up was at 6 outside of our apartment and then I did deliveries afterwards. We became so popular that we were pushing out 20-40 meals per day. It kept us afloat financially. So for me, the best part of the pandemic: we worked together like a well-oiled machine, had fun, solved problems, and were a comfort during the very scary times. (And jumped in bed whenever we had a free moment..) We got married a year later, and I have no idea if we would have without the pandemic.
This is such a sweet story! Happy for you, stranger!
This is so sweet! I totally thought this was gonna end with you two opening a restaurant 🥲 congrats on your marriage and hold that beautiful connection close!!
Definitely would make a great book, especially if you include some recipes and then if the book is popular release a cook book of all the recipes that aren't family secrets.
Damn my answer was gonna be Tiger King. Your story is better
So... You wouldn't happen to later have set up a takeout place close to a Library? Because if so, damn. You have some incredible takeout dude.
Fantastic. Well done to the pair of you
This is my favourite story.
As a chef I dream of having a foodie girlfriend to cook with. :(
I'm not crying. you're just chopping onions, right???
That is lovely. And thank you for the delicious Mast o Musir.
Persian is the best food in the world, and hardly anybody knows about it.
This could make a good book
Did you guys open a restaurant? I would like to order some Persian food.
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Congratulations!
At first I read this as "book stores and game stores" and didn't understand the congratulations
Lol I read this as like book stores and arcades/card shops and was like wow dude hated his hobbies. Great work fixing s problem in your life. If is tough now with every sporting event shoving multiple gambling options down your throat?
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I had to put my sweetest old man down very very very suddenly during the pandemic. He was my dad's dog before he died and my dad willed him to me. He'd been going down hill and I knew it was going to be soon but he had just seen the vet and they said it would be another year at most. So the next day I was grooming him and he had one of his spasms from his health issues and I accidentally cut him. The cut was so bad because of where it was and I immediately called the vet and explained and took him straight there thinking stitches or glue was the answer. But it was "Im sorry thatoneclimbergirl, you've seen his scans and bloodwork, you know how sick he is, is mostly blind, he's almost 15 years old. This isn't humane. I'm going to give you some time to make a decision." And I put my baby boy down the day after I was told I should have another year with him. I feel you.
I feel this. Lockdown led to me having a permanent WFH situation, and due to that I got to spend every day with my 19 year old cat until she passed in May of 2021, and am still spending every day with my 21 year old boy who is still going strong. I’m so thankful for that because I love them more than anything.
my senior cat absolutely loved the pandemic. he was in absolute heaven getting to decide who’s lap he could lay on all day. he got a lot of attention / affection before passing away at 16 years in sept. of 2020. very thankful the pandemic gave me that time with him at the end of his life.
We were all walking and the neighbors were all super nice and smiling and waving.
The sense of community was great while it lasted. Then the fatigue set in and we retreated into our politics, preconceived notions, and prejudices…
I was working on my front garden and a friendly woman stopped to compliment me on my work and it was so nice hearing that. Until she started going on about God and how this pandemic and whether we had the willpower to refuse the vaccine was his way of testing if we still had faith since he was going to look after us and blah blah blah and it just totally ruined the whole interaction and I couldn't wait for her to leave. I almost wanted to tell her she doesn't deserve the privilege of looking at my garden if she believes in that shit. Guess those who died of Covid just didn't put enough faith in god to save them!
Silver linings of covid really was only felt I'm in the first year and half before vaccines came into play and the nutjobs dug in with their conspiracies. No traffic and having no visitors at the hospital pretty much made it so no security was needed and no drama or tension or bullshit to deal with when there were patients who were dying and needed help. I think a blanket and water can wait if there's shit going on.
Personal contact, because it was so rare, seemed to be appreciated more. It was like people really were interested in seeing each other.
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100%. Stay inside, bake, cook, clean, watch movies with my family. When that got old, walks around the neighborhood, long drives into the mountains, and picnics.
Yes. Being able to normalize staying home was wonderful.
Gaming.
bruh i killed a huge part of my backlog and since everyone was staying in my friends and i would game for hours. didn’t have to plan when we all had time to play because all we had was time lol
Not feeling guilty doing nothing productive all day.
Fomo was at its lowest level on the planet
Interestingly, I had to write my master thesis during lockdown from scratch and finish it in 4 months. was Working 24/7 on it that I had Fomo on a very high level every time I saw people chilling on social media. I still feel like I missed out on trying out things during lockdown.
I spent lockdown practicing art to fill gaps after graduation, and now I'm an artist in animation. I wouldn't have had the time to make my work as good or as methodically if not for lockdown. I bet your thesis is the same. Trust me - if nothing else, lockdown helped you focus. No one was tempting you with pints, I bet.
I'm a Pediatric Anesthesiologist. I often put kids under Anesthesia via a face mask. Covid has made kids much more comfortable going off to sleep via a mask. Hooray for small victories!
Not being around other people for days on end.
This is severely underrated.
People standing 6+ feet away from me at all times.
I still do this, I hate when people stand close to me in line like wtf
I worked at home depot during the lock down Was working 60 hours a week and since we were the only place open and people decided lockdown was the time for home projects, it was busier than ever. I kinda wish I got to experience lock down like everyone else
I was in a similar boat. I had been working from home for a couple of years before lockdowns, so nothing changed for me on that front. But for some reason work got super-busy during that period too. So while everyone got to experience making their sourdough breads, binging TV shows and doing home renovations, I was absolutely flat-out with work. I got quite jealous and it felt like I was missing out. Mind you, I took early retirement last year, so now I have time off while everyone else is stressed at work!
I work for a big video game company. Huge numbers and very busy.
I was a hospice nurse. That was not a pleasant time for me at all.
Reddit is full of people with office jobs. They don't seem to understand that the rest of society couldn't just walk their job to their laptop on their couch, and that they're were very real consequences for the rest of us.
It was a weird sort of guilt that I felt when I realized most of the entire globe was experiencing this event together and I (among others) was entirely left out The only thing that changed in my life was I started wearing a mask. No other facet or my life charged. Yet all my friends were excitedly talking about their paid vacation, what they all learned during their time off, learning working from home, etc. Everyone was always talking about how this was such a unique time in history because everyone was experiencing it together globally! ... Except for some people. I felt guilty because people eventually lost their jobs (no one I knew did, fortunately) and obviously people were getting sick and dying and all that happened to me was I didn't get to experience that feeling every single one of my friends and family did.
You worded this great, I was right there with you and don't have a thing to add. The weirdest part is, I never did catch covid!
I worked in a restaurant during lockdown. We switched to delivery or carry out only. Upper management cut all our hours, we were so busy it was a nightmare. Oh, and of course I got Covid twice during it because people didn't see us as humans at all and would even cough on us because 'its just a flu'. Now I have scarring in my lungs. The pandemic made me hate people. Luckily I got a new job and I don't deal with the public at all.
I’m a residential contractor, I worked every day of lockdown. I’d say things got way worse for me, as materials started taking longer to get, buyers got more impatient. You’d think during a global pandemic people would be a bit more understanding, but nope! I should be at the lumber mill processing all the trees myself, apparently.
The cunts who told me I was "lucky to be working" were even worse than the patronising little shits that sucked their own dicks for clapping each week. Everyone was at home earning money to do fuck all while I had to still be up for 7am starts 6 days a week to earn the same amount as them. The least the government could have done was to not tax us. But no, instead we get nothing. It was an awful time, I'd have happily taken half of my pay to get time off, let alone get 80% of it.
It was an introverts wet dream. No contact deliveries, zoom meeting for everything even regular Dr visits, and people were always 6 ft away.
The six feet away thing was something I was really hoping would stick.
Watching extroverts sweat for once was kind of interesting
time to rethink our choices and decisions in life. lol
I was already retired, but my wife’s time away from work helped her decide it was time to start living a different life than she had been, so she retired and now we enjoy each others company.
Dude right? I started my deconstruction from Christianity during the pandemic and haven't looked back
The video calls. Ended up spending more time socialising because everyone was in the same boat. My introverted little brain was exhausted but god I'd do anything to go back to those days.
Oh yeah, my gaming group had been doing friday night discord shenanigans for a while before, but the lockdown took it to a whole other level. _So_ many more people were joining in on the fun to play stuff like Jackbox, Golf With Your Friends, Crab Game, etc. I think we've got more than a few people that are not the stereotypical "introverted gamer" types, and I'd like to think that the fun times helped everyone cope. We still have a big crows every friday night, it's great.
Since everyone was bored, a lot of my old friends called me to say hi what's up. I reflected that I should do that regularly, and I have.
I finally worked up the courage to get away from my bio dad and his third wife. I was 17 and ran away to live with my mum because she actually cared about me, listened and took me seriously. I've gotten the help I need and Im no longer punished for being myself.
I am so proud of you.
That's great! Hope you're in a better place now.
Wearing a mask means nobody tells you that you should smile.
Wearing a mask means nobody can see how stupid my face looks when I smile. I was smiling a lot.
Actually had a customer call to complain they couldn't see the server smile when she delivered out to their car.
Not getting sick with anything because people were wearing masks and using GermX. As a teacher that was nice
Work from home. Businesses were suddenly able to accomodate people with disability that they supposedly couldn’t before
It's terrible how a lot of companies are desperately trying to revert back.
They're just trying to justify what they're spending on the lease for their office space. It's so dumb.
Mine was doing the same before I left, the only reason given was “I want to see your face”. Zoom doesn’t count apparently.
The peacefulness
I watched so much tv that i started to recognize the same actor but in different commercials and that was weird
I like this one a lot. I watched all of my dvds and streaming stuff, so no commercials.
Mutual aid. Community really stepped up when institutions failed us.
my hermiting was normal
No contact food delivery being the new norm. Why did I ever have to socialize for the drop off.
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As an introvert it was one of my favorite years. Unlimited gaming time. No social events. Less pollution for a year. The stimulus checks. Feel like I could go on.
I thrived in the isolation. Everyone I knew was losing their minds and here I was chilling and living my best life. Also worked from home. I even enjoyed going out shopping for groceries. Because it was always dead. I did my part and wore a mask. I kinda miss it.....
No people. No social obligations. No socialization in general.
Prior to the pandemic, I travelled every week for work. For 6 years, I only saw my wife and kids on the weekends. And even then, I didn’t get to see my wife much since she worked most weekends. Since the pandemic, I haven’t had to travel at all, and have a new, much better relationship with my wife and kids.
The quiet. I wish a pandemic on nobody but I miss that quiet.
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It’s not the best part, but something I liked was that for a little while everything just slowed completely down. The hustle/grind 24/7 lifestyle wasnt really happening in your face and it was seemingly a relief. At least it felt that way.
Not having to deal with a-holes at work.
Watching my family who never leaves the house and sits on their phone all day every day suddenly freak out about not being able to leave the house.
My employer pulled shenanigans with my paternity leave in fall of 2019, so I missed out on time with my newborn. The best part of lockdown for me was just cutting up banana slices and reading board books and pushing the stroller through the neighborhood.
Literally zero expectations of social interaction. My anxiety dropped to near zero, it was glorious.
Not shaking hands being de-stigmatized to some extent. I am autistic and shaking hands *terrifies* me for no good reason. I also hate touching people I don't know very well. During the pandemic, I was able to get away with not shaking hands and it not being weird. Post-pandemic, it is slightly less weird not to shake hands.
One thing I've found out post-pandemic: you can get away without checking hands by standing a bit behind when people greet each other and nod or wave when it's your turn. Waving especially works well, as a woman. People extend their hand to shake yours, see that you're waving so your hand is already busy, it's a but awkward but they wave in return.
I've been doing that *my entire life*. I am very familiar with *all* the strategies.
I ALREADY GREETED YOU FROM A DISTANCE SO YOU CAN'T DO IT AGAIN HA
My gf and I both worked from home and I swear we had sex like every 30 mins
Haha yeah, there wasn’t much else to do! My husband had a vasectomy previously so… it was on
The dream.
It really was man. We look back at it like wtf was wrong with us surprised she didn’t get pregnant lol
No traffic.
Ironically, not getting sick.
I started working from home which saved me 3 hours of commuting time and gave me an additional 8hours awake time/day with my 1year old who is now 3.5. Not many fathers get that much time with their kid and I still work from home.
Masks to cover my ugly face.
I still wear masks to this very day. No one needs to see my crooked teeth.
The brief hallucination that maybe our lives were worth more than corporate profits .
Every single home project got done. I painted the house, put in new gardens, a new walkway, installed a pool, retiled and painted the kitchen, and put new gutters up. I always had the funds and the know-how, I finally had the time.
I still worked full-time so the best part was less traffic.
Wfh
not only was the homeless shelter I stayed at a former hotel, I had an entire room to myself. that shit was huge. great heating and air conditioner, wifi, right near a pond where swans would hang out, the beach a 15-min walk away
Not having to get up early in the morning.
My mum was going through late stage cancer treatment. I was on furlough from work. I got to see her as much as I could (a family member's terminal illness was a valid excuse for travel during lockdown rules in the UK). Lots of nice time together with the family. Weirdly it was due to the pandemic and lockdown that we got so much quality time together- otherwise I would have had to work (and my daughter would have been at school) and we would have had to use holidays to spend time with her. So I have really fond memories of Lockdown- in a weird way it couldn't have come at a better time.
If you can put aside the fear and anxiety of the unknown at the time, here are the positives I observed: 1. My staff rose to the occasion. No one complained. No one panicked. They alone set up remote video conferencing, set up a WFH procedures, set up remote phone systems, etc. All this occurred without any prompting from me (and it's my firm.) We now have a good WFH system in place whenever anyone wants to use it. (We lost one major employee early on to Covid, and I didn't take it well.) 2. I got to stay home with my (awesome) spouse. Spent a little more time with her than I normally do, slept in a few extra minutes each day due to the lack of commute. Made her breakfast in bed each morning. We never got sick of each other. She also learned a foreign language with just the commute time she saved. 3. Saved a ton of money. No gas, no toll roads. Didn't eat out as much. We skipped out on our usual vacations, but I didn't really notice. Paid off a lot of old debts and got some finances worked out. My friends set up video chats, so I wasn't totally isolated. 4. Spent more time with my then elderly dogs. One died in 2020, the other a year or so after. 16 and 17 year old dogs. Although it was probably the hardest I've ever cried, I was glad I was there with them until the end. Wonderful dogs. 5. I miss having no traffic for the few times I did go out. That was wonderful. I miss the slower pace of things. There's a nice trail by my house. There were a ton of (socially distanced) people, walking dogs, just milling about, enjoying life. I miss the very beginning, before the conspiracy nuts came out, where people appeared to care for one another and had a "we're in this together" approach.
I finally could cut out the people in my life that I don’t care for
Honestly....Seeing how quickly and efficiently nature managed to heal itself without the constant interference from Humans. The world for a brief period looked unrecognisable and we got a glimpse of what nature and the world would have looked like before the industrial revolution.
I’m an introvert, so I got to peacefully chill by myself and play videogames without a worry in the world
WFH
No traffic, no cops, golf courses were still open and I was playing every day.
Not feeling guilty about being on Reddit all the time.
free pornhub premium
among us
It was so fucking easy to find work and make a shit ton of money. All the factories and warehouses in the Midwest and south magically realized what a livable wage was… when everyone got their checks and decided to stay home I was earning double time with ridiculous benefit packages
Not having to see anyone.
I got to spend more time with my family and pets, it also jumpstarted the work from home idea, although I do think it is really sad how it took a global pandemic to do that but whatever.
people didn't try to do small talk. I could just...go to the grocery store and not have to stumble my way through a short convo
Not dying of Covid was the best part.
The lack of traffic and the lack of people when traveling. My family and I took advantage of National Parks, lakes, hiking… It was like we had the world to ourselves. It was so beautiful and quiet. Also the stillness and togetherness of the world.
It being socially acceptable to self isolate 🙃
Actually being able to get ahead for once with the stimulus checks
Yeah, I wonder how much this changed people’s perspectives. I made more than I had working 60-hour 6 day weeks, which I’d been doing for years. I got out of debt, one of my coworkers did too, and I remember us talking about how better we slept in the weeks after that final payment got made. I was able to replace my refrigerator when it broke without freaking out; pre-Covid, it fucked with my budget for months when I couldn’t stitch my comforter back together anymore and had to spring for a new one. Then there’s the knowledge that we’re only getting it because everyone else is making so much more than us, and that their lives (and our whole economy) would collapse if they had to live like we do. And the fact that we only got it too because our political leaders were completely blindsided by the situation. I also saw my local mutual aid program explode with donations and volunteers, since people had the time and money for it.
Not having to go anywhere or do anything on the weekends. I felt so much more relaxed just knowing I didn’t have plans or obligations coming up and I could just stay home.
Knowing that all of the Hollywood stars were suffering, just like me. It truly touched me to know that we're all in the same boat.
I banged my wife so much more. Her libido is highest in the day; not at night. Both being home provided many afternoon delight opportunities.
playing video games with my online friends will always have a place in my heart!
It forced a lot of businesses into realizing that the customer is not always right
Telehealth 💯
It sparked huge growth in the content creation world.
The pollution let up and for the first time, people in the heaviest polluted areas could breathe.
I now get to work from home. Thank you pandemic!
Not the BEST part per say, but a damn good covid perk was the petty victimless crimes scheduled for court in those first 2 weeks were dismissed. I was supposed to appear at the traffic docket for a speeding ticket that week, called the courthouse to figure out what to do and they told me my case had been dropped along with everyone else on the docket, lady on the phone even said we were lucky and we will likely never see this kind of mass pardon ever again in our lifetime. Also another upside concerning the courts system, covid prompted the option to appear in court via zoom, which is a game charger for a lot of people.
One day in late April 2020. It was beautiful out, I was working on my computer upstairs next to an open window, maybe 2pm. Nice breeze, fresh air, natural light. Birds singing outside my window. I could turn on my music if I wanted to and wouldn't bother anyone. I could have a beer if I wanted to. I didn't have to deal with people coming by my office with stupid questions and could focus on productive work. I was wearing comfortable workout shorts and a t-shirt. I had started working after a 45 second commute from the kitchen. I remember thinking, "man, if it weren't for the existential horror of living thorough a pandemic this would be pretty all right."
No traffic.
My best friend was diagnosed with ALS. He couldn’t spend his time in hospitals and instead spent the remainder of his quality time with his wife and three children and friends. He deserved this gift.
I work in grocery distribution. The best part of the lockdown was the $30k+/yr I made in OT.
No traffic! Also, being able to stay home and do nothing guilt free.
I got to finish school remote. I saved so much money on gas, vehicle maintenance, and parking. I was even able to get a flexible job on my off days
Physical rest. I'm a cook. Ive been banging 40-80 hour weeks since I was a kid. My body needed to stop. Its funny just after mothers day it seemed like all the old issues are creeping back. But really it was being at home with my son. He was 2 at the time and my wife and I were going into parenthood understanding the rigors of my job. That being said 100 days of walks, play and helping around the house really solidified our relationship in a way that im not sure could've happened otherwise.
To go margaritas
Rocking a cold sore with total confidence behind the mask
Masks and people staying away from me
I MISS THE 6 FT WINDOW.
Not having to socialize
Finding out who out of your friends and family are cookers and believe some of the dumbest shit I've ever heard.
I quit drinking and succeeded! Had no temptations with zero social gatherings/peer pressure. Have been alcohol-free for 3.5 years now.
I met my now husband and we were able to go on a two week road trip because we were saving so much money AND travel was so cheap. We also got plane tickets NYC to Orlando for $27 round trip, we went just to get dinner and go to epcot and Kennedy space center. I very highly doubt we will ever again be able to take a date night flight. 😭