Life in a Time of COVID19

[papa]

Hello, Zoli and all Polarhomers!

I'm sorry I haven't been active on Polarhome recently. I hope none of you have suffered from the Wuhan Flu or its economic and social effects too much.

Here in Japan, although back in March and April everyone feared the worst, we have not been as hard-hit as other places. Government restrictions were relatively mild and basically voluntary (Japanese are good at cooperating with authorities). Although there have unfortunately been some deaths as well as losses of jobs and businesses, things have remained fairly calm and have returned to near-normal. (Japanese loved wearing surgical masks even before the Wuflu.)

The one exception to normalcy is that my company, whose conservative managers never thought anyone could actually work without the Eyes of Management peering over their shoulders, started to allow tele-commuting in March for fear of the spreading plague, and I have only been back to the office four times since then. Personally, I really enjoy working at home, and the two hours per day recovered from commuting time are a big bonus. I know I am lucky to have the kind of job where this is possible, but I would not mind this arrangement permanently, or at least until I retire in a few more years.

[sjaz]

Hello from the UK where we continue to ‘hope for the best’.

I’ve worked from home for years and fortunately this has not been impacted.

We brought a child into the world a few months ago which was very odd as I couldn’t attend medical appointments with my wife.

Things hopefully will improve in the coming months.

My best wishes to you all.

[zoli]

Congratulations for the baby

Although Sweden was more open than the rest of the Europe - we have been working from home since February.
You would think that's fine - you save hours commuting to the office... but it turned out that we all ended up working 10-14 hours a day - as there is not beginning or end of the working day (when working in 16h span timezones)

I wish you all a marry Christmas and happy New Year !!!

[papa]

Congratulations, sjaz! "You've just taken your first step into a larger world."

Merry Christmas!

Glad the Web site is back up.