Where were you two years ago at start of pandemic?

[Demovictory9]

And how did it change your life?

I worked at a big city college. Events had been cancelled because people didnt want to gather in large events. We were at work following news.

Were told to stay home indefinitely. I thought it would last a few weeks. Never really returned to campus full time.

Two years later, staff is accustomed to working at home. Fighting for that option to continue. Are working in person 2 or 3 days.

[Mr.Bill]

1. It didn't change our lives much,

because my wife and I are retired. We live in a mobile home park, so we never felt isolated. We still had the same neighbors walking by and stopping to talk as we sat in front of our home. The way our sitting space is configured these conversations were already had at a good social distance. Likewise the dog park. The biggest thing that has changed for me is there is a bar and grill within walking distance where I went two or three times a week for happy hour and had a few beers. They went to carry-out only, and even after indoor dining opened back up I never returned for the beers. We have eaten there a few times when they did outdoor dining.

[Demovictory9]

7. Definitely different experience for retired vs working

Some of my regular restaurants never reopened 😔

[Mr.Bill]

15. I often think about what it would have been like when I was working.

I've never had jobs that would allow working from home. Most of my working life I ran printing presses. That wouldn't have been too bad, because it mostly took place in large buildings with high ceilings with good ventilation and very few people near me.

The other job was selling cars which would have been a nightmare because you have to get close to the customers, go on test drives and sit across from them at a desk. My son-in-law sells cars and the assholes that he worked for/with refused to wear masks and he was told if the customer is not wearing a mask, don't approach them with one on. He caught Covid twice. The first time the symptoms were so bad for a few weeks the only thing that kept him out of the hospital was that his wife was an RN and was able to care for him at home. She also caught it twice at work in the hospital.

I forgot to mention I used to volunteer at the hospital one day a week in the surgery waiting room. I did it for six years and really liked it. When the virus hit, the hospital shut down the volunteer program for our safety, because we were all elderly people. They have since gone back to work, but I haven't and probably never will.

[Tree Lady]

16. We are retired also

How it changed is we stopped all air travel and only drive to airbnb or use rv but even that is less than before.

We don't go out to eat as much as before. We went to movies once since this started and I didn't enjoy wearing mask for 2 hrs, made me feel bad for workers all day.

I want to go back out but keep hearing more covid coming. I refuse to totally stay home but being careful. Like tonight I am Irish we normally go to Irish pub but mask ban just came off here and not going into busy crowded places yet. Going out to eat at Italian place instead, lol. I know I am Irish don't need green, or songs to remind me but miss the fun.

I am just very grateful I had 3 months in Ireland the summer 2019 before this mess.

[Demovictory9]

82. I havent traveled by air yet either. also had a vacation in 2019... several...

[lpbk2713]

2. I watched the news a lot more than usual.

After I first heard what was going on in Wuhan. It
soon became apparent it was going to snowball.

[Demovictory9]

4. I remember talk radio and tv news focusing on behavior on planes..people syarting to mask. Getting s

That was in jan 2020 i think

[Chainfire]

3. I had been retired for two years when it broke.

My wife spent the last two months of her employment working from home before she retired in April two years ago. So not much has changed except for the fact that I go out a lot less. I have eaten at a sit-down restaurant only once since it began, and that last summer after being vaccinated and when thing seemed to be improving. I have not desired to repeat that experience.

My daughter works for the Federal Government and she has been working from home the whole time and loves it. My son owns a small business and has to face customers every day, so he has been somewhat on edge the whole time, even though he was vaccinated as soon as it was available to his age group. He closed the business for some months when the disease was gaining steam, but either had to reopen or lose the business.

My wife and I have discussed many times, how we have been fortunate to not have to be involved in the rat-race while contending with a deadly virus. For home bodies like us, it has not been near as hard as it is on many young families.

[Demovictory9]

9. Restaurant going habits are one of the biggest changes for many

I recall how you could only.get.food to go for awhile
.. And no sitting while waiting..chairs roped off.

[FalloutShelter]

5. I was living in the Lower Hudson Valley of NYS and

was serving as Chair of the BOD of a local Arts council, scrambling to cancel the Annual Members Exhibit by over ninety artists.
We were caught flat footed, as many not for profits were, and our website was not configured to host an online event featuring artworks.

We ended up cancelling entirely and bumping the event to November. We also had to cancel all of our in-person classes and workshops until we were sure of what the protocols were going to be. Our gallery ended up being dark for the rest of the year with only zoom and online exhibits. The good news is that we really upped our IT game, the bad news was that we lost lots of revenue.

We have been back to in-person since September 2021, but are still wrangling the fallout over mask compliance. I had a one woman show in the gallery space in November of 2021
https://susanzoonretrospectacle.artcall.org (click on web gallery to see the work.)

We were fortunate to receive a pretty hefty bequest that made up out budget shortfall. Things are coming back slowly.

[Demovictory9]

11. IT people ruled during those days. My college too had to ramp up the online

Courses quickly.
It was a time of crisis for orgs that held classes

[BlueTsunami2018]

6. Working night shift.

They shut the job down right around March 20th. After a couple weeks they reopened but the crew was cut in half and I wasn’t able to return. I enjoyed lockdown very much for a couple months and went back to work on a different site with a different contractor. Haven’t missed a beat since. I’ve been out in it the whole time, never had even a sniffle.

Hasn’t changed my life at all outside of observing protocols.

[misanthrope]

8. It gave the publishers of the newspaper I worked for

The cover to take resources from my beat and redirect it to more sports coverage.

[Demovictory9]

26. Thats too bad 😔

[Torchlight]

10. Furloughed for three and half months.

Happened to me a week after it happened to my g/f. And we were both in shock for a couple of days. Between stimulus and savings though, we weren't sweating it too much.

As the world went quiet, we did the same and just kinda hunkered down for 100 days, eating, cleaning, napping, reading, watching, etc.

All things considered, it was a really positive thing for us as we got to know each other all over again.

Then called back to work in late June, and our lives went on as though nothing at all had happened.

[Demovictory9]

36. Many people got to experience retirement life pre_retirement age

[underpants]

12. My boss told me we were going home. She didn't like it

Florida Repub.

A week later we were told - get in and get whatever you need we’re shutting down

Out until July. Worked at home.

[Demovictory9]

60. Im glad you moved to wfh despite maga.boss

[MissB]

13. Working

My office continued to try to hold meetings in our small conference room while I insisted on phoning it in from my cube.

I’m now permanently remote.

[eissa]

14. At a work conference in Florida

My university in California cancelled all travel just one week prior to the conference. As one of the organizers, I had no choice but to go, meaning all my expenses were out of pocket. As has been the case in Florida, everyone was going about as if everything were normal, which was a strange dichotomy from CA. Usually at the end of the conference my husband and I would stay a couple of days to enjoy the beach, but we instead returned immediately after. I was gone five days and by the time I retuned to CA the state was in lockdown. I didn't return to campus until this past January.

We are now in a hybrid situation; working remotely and on campus. I actually really like this set-up. I've worked continuously since I was 16 (aside for 3 months off with two pregnancies) and being home for a change was a welcome respite. I found myself to be far more productive. Any down time was spent catching up on domestic chores, or tending to other necessities. I know for those who have young children, this has been a blessing. I sure wish it was in place when my kids were little - would have saved us a lot of money and headaches.

[Demovictory9]

27. First months of working remote..breaka could.be used to water plants. Empty dishwasher. Clean

Run to store..remote work certainly was life changing.

And commute time was 2 minutes..lol

Bit zoom meetings got a bit old 😏

[eissa]

46. The gas savings were phenomenal!

My commute is 30 minutes each way, so I definitely saved a bunch working remotely. My husband was an essential worker so he continued going in during the lockdown, and he loved the empty streets, a rarity here.

[SheltieLover]

17. I was already locked down at home because I read Dr. Ding's Twitter.

All stocked up on tp, food, & 3M, N-95 masks.

Dr. Ding is a brilliant Harvard epidemioligist who has been way out in front of public health officials, consistently. A lifesaver to me!

[Demovictory9]

61. Nice! I recently ordered n95 masks from amazon. The order was cancelled

Not sure why

[SheltieLover]

64. Sorry to hear this!

Maybe counterfeits? Dunno.

I always go with the 3M N-95 9010s. I'm sure there are others that are similar.

Weird they canceled order. Dud you call Amazon & ask why?

[Demovictory9]

83. no, didn't ask why

[Mr.Bill]

18. I should also mention that since we live in 800 square feet

it's a good thing that along with still being in love, my wife and I really, really like each other.

[Hortensis]

54. :) Nice. Similar here. Plus "your away space" out front and my husband's bass boat.

[Maeve]

19. Planning to work the election

Ohio set its primary for March 17th but cancelled it on the 16th (we were supposed to set up on the 16th, but DeWine was so late announcing the cancellation, I was on the phone to the BOE an hour before the set-up time). It had already ruined my storytelling life.

I basically had no income for the next two years (fortunately, Hubby did!!) and am just now starting to see some recovery possible. I don't work if you can't meet in person. Again, it is good that we don't depend on me for income.

I have become much more a part of my 91-yr old mother's life, but that has more to do with her decline than my extra spare time.

[WiVoter]

20. I Went From Teaching In Person To

teaching virtually within three days. I welcomed the challenge, but it wore me down eventually.

[LudwigPastorius]

21. I was on my way to a measure of financial security in retirement.

Work was plentiful, and I was thinking of buying a new car since my old beater was about done. (glad I didn't)

Then my industry disappeared overnight. I ran through a good chunk of my savings.

A year and a half later, we got the vaccine. Things were starting to look up, then my mom had a stroke. So, I moved in with her to take care of her.

Now, I'm barely working at all because I just can't leave her alone. Consequently, there are very little social security and pension contributions being made.

Now I'm thinking that I'm going to have to learn how to like the taste of catfood in my looming golden years.

[Demovictory9]

28. I am sorry...hope your financial situation will improve

[LudwigPastorius]

66. Thanks!

[Random Boomer]

22. I was already on the verge of WFH

For at least a year before the lockdown I'd been feeling guilty for commuting in to work -- squandering all that gasoline -- when I could just as easily have worked from home. I was mulling over making that change when emerging news of Covid-19 increased my sense of urgency. I was literally packing up my office equipment to take it home when our corporation executives issued a "go-home" order for all offices across the globe. Over the course of the weekend, we went completely virtual.

My wife and I are both socially recluses by nature, so the following two years didn't have much impact on us otherwise. I'm keeping my WFH arrangement (with full company support) until my retirement next year, so not much change up ahead either.

[Kaleva]

23. Didn't change our lives hardly at all.

Other then wearing a mask when out and about and getting to the stores right when they opened in the morning.

If someone had been observing my wife and I, they probably wouldn't know there was a global pandemic.

[Demovictory9]

41. I began grocery deliveries during this time..learned to love it

Havent let go of having groceries delivered once a month combined with store.visits

[Kaleva]

51. I live in the boonies where there's no grocery delivery

But I know several who started doing curbside pickup when the pandemic hit and are sticking with it.

The local store where I do much of my shopping doesn't offer curbside pickup so I tried to get there at 8 a.m. when it opened.

[ProfessorGAC]

24. Illinois Closed Schools On Friday, 3/13

I was in a town north of here subbing 6-8 math.
I knew something was up as they were making sure kids had chargers for their Chromebooks & I was hearing about a faculty meeting after school. (Rare on a Friday in March)
Got home & 20 minutes or so later, Pritzker was on a press conference announcing the shutdown.
Since, we're both retired, it didn't really change our life much, other than missing a couple of anniversary nights out.
When schools resumed, I went back to subbing, and with golf season starting I wasn't going to sub much in May, anyway.
Other than the same inconveniences everybody experienced, nothing life changing.

[electric_blue68]

25. As someone who's always loved walking around the streets, parks, and gardens of Mahattan...

parts of The Bronx, and Brooklyn. plus visiting museums, going to events; it's been sometimes sad, frustrating, even infuriating at times to be forced for my own health & safetyto have limited my out and aboutness by 95% to later 85%. Thank goodness I did the the park 2xs last summer, but that's really not enough for me. (also retired)

Yes, I have serious Creative Pursuits at home, but at times even those were dampened by the self enforcement of stay-at-home. 😔

Th only silver lining for me has been (very luckily) getting a nice smartphone (vs basic cellphone that I couldn't find a reply battery for anymore) just in time as we locked down with a really good deal unlimited talk, text, data plan so I could/can be 💖 on line.

I can keep up with family, friends & acquaintances outside of NYC. Follow fun, silly, educational, interesting, and serious stuff on line. And bc my old TV's digital converter box can't seem to locate the signals any more I have 3 streaming services. I also got take to a 10 day seminar in all kinds of jewelry making including a bit of metalsmithing - something I'm extra interested in.

I'm so looking forward to being out more in the warmer sunshiney weather even if I continue to double mask most of the time until cv stays even lower around here. Idk how long it will take me to get fully back to how I was before. But I guess about 50% more would feel like a godsend right now! 💖

[Demovictory9]

67. Where i live, parks dont have the crowds like nyc.

So never stopped outdoor outings. I was in a nyc museum 3 years ago..it was packed!!!! Glad i got to experience nyc before the pandemic because i doubt that i will fly as much

[electric_blue68]

74. Glad you got to visit NYC ... As for our parks...

they're usually not real crowded unless some special event was going on.

I have to travel to my parks on public transit so the masks. Once in there they were the only place besides
being home in my own place that I took my masks off. So I look forward to that! 🌳💖🌳

[yowzayowzayowza]

29. Girlfriend prolly brought COVID back from a European trip in the beginning of Feb 20.

She ended up in the ER twice in Feb. I had a mildish case right at 2yrs ago. No tests at the time to verify what we had was COVID, but the symptoms certainly match.

[Demovictory9]

68. Covid survivor plus vax.. Your are super immune

Or thats what they said last week

[woodsprite]

30. Hubby and I were both working at the University, and were sent to work from home on 3/13.

We had a dry run of WFH which allowed us all to set up our systems and make sure connections/security worked properly on 3/11. On 3/13 we were told to take anything home we thought we would need to work from home for a few weeks and that we would not be allowed back into the building without VP approval. Two years later, and there are no plans for us to go back.

Actually being home has worked out to our benefit. One kid works full time and the other is in college working part time. More than not, their schedules overlap so one uses our vehicle and the other uses their own vehicle. Being at home all day meant that we were here for our elderly dog when her health took a turn for the worse over a period of months before she passed. It has also meant that I was able to work full time yet navigate through an entire year of drs appts, surgery, and cancer treatment. It also meant that my husband was able to be there for me, attend appts, be my chauffeur, etc. without messing with his packed meeting schedule most days.

I'm perfectly happy working from home. I see my colleagues and bosses on Zoom daily and we start chatting on MSTeams even before 8am most mornings. I feel closer to some of them than I did when we were actually in our office where our groups were physically separated by the layout. My hubby on the other hand really misses working with his people and would like to go back to the office at least part time. I understand that they are actually kicking around ideas for other uses for our office space.

I am getting a little stir crazy with never having transportation, so we're encouraging our son to fix that soon.

What we miss the most is going out to eat dinner in a restaurant, going to concerts, etc. We *just* started singing with our choral group again, but everyone is masked (n95), vaxed, and boosted, and for Valentine's day, we went as a family to see Hadestown at the Academy of Music in Philly. Again, everyone was masked and had to show proof of vax. Rather than eating out at a restaurant in Philly, we called for a pick-up order at Cheesecake Factory and brought it home to eat.

[Demovictory9]

43. Have you saved on work clothes?..i slide from wfh into early retirement

Bagged up the "work clothes" and hauled them to goodwill...felt good. ☺

[woodsprite]

50. Hubby has (he still wears a dress shirt and tie on Zoom but pairs them with sweats or jeans).

Mainly downsizing our wardrobes

By doing more cooking at home, making lighter meals, walking 1 to 2x a day, I've lost over 20 lbs. over the 2 yrs. I think I actually snack less working from home because I feel less stressed. My usual "uniform" was jeans/khakis and sweaters/polos, but I've gone down a size or two in each of those so I have had to replace some, mainly bought online since I had been staying out of stores.

[Runningdawg]

31. Not much changed

My COPD and lack of a car with AC keeps me inside for most of the year in OK. During the height of the pandemic I had added motivation, knowing with my pre existing conditions, I was as good as dead if I caught it. Hubby who was furloughed for 4 months and wasn't very sympathetic to my exile before the pandemic changed his views in a couple of weeks.
We don't have a lot of friends nearby and because most of my family works medical, we didn't see them for 2 years. I finally learned how to use Facetime and Zoom, so I guess there is that.
After the furlough, hubby's department was closed, he lost his management position and 1/3 of his salary but he still works for the same company. We both have medical issues and can't afford to take ANY chances with insurance coverage.

[Demovictory9]

69. We are all zoom experts now.

Sorry your hubby lost rank

[BumRushDaShow]

32. Retired and posting about it on DU including what became an updated 6-month mega-thread on Philly/PA

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142446993

The roughest thing about it initially was trying to source masks and even the recommended improvised face-covering option of bandanas, which were also difficult to find (regardless of the early ridiculous arguments about whether masking "worked" or not). I remember going to a supermarket during the first weeks that shutdowns were happening and seeing one guy in there with a mask who was avoiding everyone else while moving through aisles. That got my attention to redouble the effort to find some (I had a few Home Depot-bought 3M N95s just in case).

And it was horrible trying to get access to the vaccine here in Philly as the eligibility lists for the different Phases were continually changing, and kept pushing me further and further down in priority as if I were some healthy 25 year old millennial and not a (at the time) near-60 year old who was in an "at risk" demographic with qualifying underlying conditions. So I was pretty much ready to give up. I was not "working" (retired), was not over 65 (just turned 60 this year), and lived in the "wrong zip code".

Today is actually the first anniversary of my first dose of Moderna. I was able to luck out searching on the internet for any local places that might have finally received approval to give these vaccines since my own pharmacy had a "glitch" that rejected Philadelphia residents in favor of suburbanites (despite Philly having their own vaccine supply received directly from the federal government and thus not using the state's allotment). I finally stumbled on one recently-approved to do them just a few miles from me that offered sign-ups. I immediately put my name on the list and a week later I got an email that offered appointments and I jumped on it.

These past 2 years have been a nightmare. I am still keeping outings (supermarket, post office, pharmacy, etc) to no more than every every 7 - 10 days (with occasional exceptions as needed). I think seeing empty shelves at the supermarket during the early months was enough of a shock to prompt me to make sure I could stock up on non-perishables. And since I did have a small deep-freezer, I also tried to make it a point to get that stocked when I could even find stuff to put in it.

[Demovictory9]

40. The vax rollout! Waiting our turn..hearing that the young wete jumping the line. The first dose

Convincing family to ger vaxxed and stop with internet conspiracy crap

The vax period was an interesting time.

[BumRushDaShow]

45. I was excited as all get-out

to have been able to finally make an appointment and attributed it to St. Patty!

The city finally sent me a notice of availability of appointments for their mass-vaccination site, literally a week after I got that first dose March 17, 2021 (I had signed up on their list back in January 2021). Being able to go to a local pharmacy, which allowed me to sit in the car in the little shopping strip parking lot and use an app to let them know I had arrived and then they could call my cell to give me the okay to come inside for the shot, was a bonus. No standing for hours outside in a long line at the PA Convention Center downtown that was used for the mass vaccinations.

I'm double-vaxxed and boosted, where my booster was done this past November 15, so if there is a recommendation for under 65/non-immuno-compromised for 5-6 months for 2nd boost, then that would throw me to about the April/May time frame. I had Moderna all 3 times and that one seemed to do better than Pfizer in keeping some efficacy over time (probably due to the higher amount of mRNA used per dose). So even with all of them showing some kind of a decline over time, I don't think it is as major an issue with Moderna as far as I have been able to find (just found this from Moderna about their sentiment regarding another booster). I do think this will need to be annual (or maybe semi-annual) at this point.

[Demovictory9]

84. first vax appointment felt like winning the lottery, didn't it. I set multiple alarms, got there

super early. lOL

Mass vax event at a university.

By the time I got a booster, no competition. I was the only one at the site.

[BumRushDaShow]

85. Getting the booster was thankfully a snap for me

My own pharmacy chain (that had earlier rejected city residents ) finally got its act together and by the time I got the booster in November, despite my noticing that the appointments were all booked past Thanksgiving, offered a daily, 1 hour period (2:30 pm - 3:30 pm) where they took "walk-ins" (no appointment necessary) for vaccinations. Since I'm retired and at home during the day, I took advantage of that to not only get my Moderna booster (and I did confirm that they offered all of the types since not all do - many only have Pfizer), I was also able to get my flu shot too at the same time (in the other arm). So made me doubly happy!

[WarGamer]

33. I was still working... went to the DC area for a project.

While I was there, the project dried up and I spent more than a year living in Georgetown watching COVID-19 come and go.

Had fun, did a lot of sight seeing (what wasn't closed) and hanging out with friends.

Decided that I was close enough to retirement to just stop working.

Now I'm back in SoCal and trying to figure out my schedule each day.

The entire time I was working... I said "When I'm retired I want to be able to sit down and watch EVERY TEXAS RANGERS baseball game on TV, live... 162 of them. No skipping through commercials or fast forwarding to the next inning.

Just sitting there... for 2.5-3 hrs.

[Demovictory9]

70. As newly retired..i schedule outings several times a week

During weekdays..benefit of retirement is going out when streets are empty

Ive.been sightseeing locally

[WarGamer]

71. awesome!

[Tomconroy]

34. I'm retired and my wife is an independent writer. Not too many

changes. No theater or symphony. Restaurants were closed for about 8 months in CT from the spring of 2000. We started going again when they opened
My wife wanted to support the local businesses. No one else was going so maybe not too risky. Maybe. We wore masks when required. Only one vacation. A little trip to Cape Cod last fall.
Vaxxed and boosted, we're done with Covid.

[AngryOldDem]

37. Yeah...I had symphony and theater tickets too.

They cancelled pretty early on.

[AngryOldDem]

35. Figuring out how to work remotely.

The Friday before, my office asked everybody about their home Internet connections “just in case.” On the 16th, in the morning, they abruptly said everyone was working from home. We were issued laptops and monitors and given a crash course in how to set them up. The 17th was our first full day out of the office. We didn’t come back until early 2021.

After getting over my fear of technology, I enjoyed working from home. I really did. Did not miss the commute, among other things. We now have the option of working one or two days a week remotely. I’m doing that tomorrow, and quite frankly, it feels like a three-day weekend.

[Demovictory9]

38. The.big laptop rollout!! Id forgotten about that..yes..my org did a huge rollout

IT was so very important during pandemic

[Dial H For Hero]

39. On vacation in Thailand.

Trump cancelled flights to Europe just as I got back.

As for my life, I was already retired, so the impact wasn't very large.

[Demovictory9]

72. Just under the wire! I recall Americans getting stuck overseas

[Dial H For Hero]

75. I recall being in the lounge in LAX just prior to my flight to Denver

When 3/4 of those there started yelling in their phones, “What do you mean I need to cancel my flight right now?!”

[frogmarch]

42. I was at the DMV, renewing my

drivers license. I remember thinking about the news report I'd heard that morning about the virus and saying to the woman next to me in line that life might be a little inconvenient for the next couple of weeks.

[Initech]

57. Like the week before the outbreak, I was planning to go to Vancouver.

I had gone to the post office to get my passport renewed, and I was excited because I had paid the $80 to have my passport renewal expedited. Then COVID comes... bye bye Canada trip!

[Samrob]

44. Crying at home because I had been put out of the care facility where my spouse was dying

of COVID. All the care facilities had closed in this area on March 13. March 13 noon was the last I saw of the love of my life.

[Demovictory9]

49. I am so sorry. Yes..pandemic raged through care homes

[iemanja]

47. I've moved to work at home

and it looks like that is going to be permanent.

[Demovictory9]

76. yes it will for many

[jcgoldie]

48. My wife and I were headed to Joe Russo's Almost Dead...

Grateful Dead cover band was playing in St.Louis on Saturday the 14th of March. The 13th was our 20th anniversary. Show was cancelled last minute then rescheduled and cancelled twice more over the past 2 years. We are finally going to use those tickets that I bought in the fall of 2019 this weekend to see JRAD.

[Mr.Bill]

56. When you go see the Almost Dead

do you drop some almost LSD?

[jcgoldie]

63. Almost!

[Initech]

58. I saw 311 on March 13th.

Still can't believe that show happened. Even people who were there that day that I was talking to last week still can't believe that show happened.

[Nittersing]

52. On March 23rd at 3pm, Denver Mayor announced that pot and liquor stores were not essential and would

have to close.

On March 23rd at 5pm he revised that proclamation.

[Demovictory9]

77. lol

[GoneOffShore]

53. We had moved to France in September 2018. Living in Aix-en-Provence. Still there.

Life changed as to shopping, restaurants, going out. One kilometer radius and one hour a day outside for exercise and we had to carry an 'attestation' stating the purpose of our journey otherwise. Masks, hand gel everywhere.
Brief shortages of pasta, flour, tomato sauce. Home schooling and working from home nationwide.

[Demovictory9]

78. shortages! reminds me of the desperate hunt for toilet paper

seems like a dream

[GoneOffShore]

79. We didn't encounter TP shortages, nor wine shortages.

Friends in the UK had TP shortages, briefly.

[Initech]

55. I was in Las Vegas. At a concert.

When I left for Vegas everything seemed normal. By the time I got from Long Beach to Vegas, a 45 minute flight, it was like all hell had broken loose. I remember being at the Park MGM (where the show was) and seeing news of literally everything getting canceled. When MGM shut down the buffets and March Madness was canceled, I kept trying to call my brother (who is in public health) and I was like "Dude, what the fuck is going on????" and he was like "even we don't know!".

Being at that same show two years later felt like everything had come full circle (the band was 311, BTW). And talking to 311 fans who were there that day, we all felt like everything had come full circle. I think of my trip like the movie the World's End. It was literally the end of the world and I was out having fun. Even more like the movie, in the middle of my trip, I made an attempt to come home, but the Wifi in my entire building was out, which rendered any attempt to come home early useless. So I just decided to solder on like Gary King and act like nothing abnormal was happening, even though it was.

[Demovictory9]

80. I has some work conferences coming up... I was a little glad in person conferences

stopped for a bit... was tired of the so. cal to SF / so cal to Sacramento trips.

I've never heard of 311 until this thread

[Initech]

86. 311 is an awesome band!

And it's funny that when I was there for 311 Day this year, things felt way more normal than they did in the last two years. When I talked to my brother last week, he said that things were much better than they've ever been and his hospital system is at the point where they can transfer people now, something they haven't been able to do in a long time.

[smirkymonkey]

59. Same place I am now - same job, same apartment.

Right around this time, my brother was in town for work or something and we met up and were debating whether to go out to eat or just get take out, so we walked down the street to my favorite neighborhood Thai restaurant and there was maybe 1 other couple in there so we decided to eat in (this was before the whole mask thing - very early into the whole thing).

It was quite nice, but little did I know it would be a very long time before I would eat out at a restaurant again. That was back when we were starting to order our groceries to be delivered and stores were out of everything! The great toilet paper wars!

At first, maybe the first year or longer, I was in heaven (as an introvert). I was fine just keeping in touch with people via phone, Zoom/Teams/WebEx, email, text, IM, etc. And I LOVED not having to go into the office! Especially not being a morning person!

Not having to get up, get ready, commute (even though I have a very short, easy commute - you can hardly call it a commute), but it allowed me to sleep an extra hour and a half since I could just wake up and turn on my computer 5 minutes before I had to "be at work".

I kind of got weary of it after a while though, and although i never want to return to the office full time (I wfh on Fridays already anyway), I don't mind going in 2 or 3 days a week, especially since the time thing seems to be a little more flexible. I usually spend the early morning working from home and head in around 10:30 - 11am when traffic has died down (I usually take an Uber or Lyft since I am still not really keen on taking the subway).

[Tink41]

62. Awaiting a call for labor

To install the Housewares show. NEVER happened. Received an email 530pm that the show was cancelled. It is the largest convention in North America. I did not return to the convention center til this past October. How many years was that? I'm not sure, it's been a blur! Welcomed my first Grandchild, lost 60 lbs, discovered who I am! I am not the same person as I was that March.

[meadowlander]

65. Quit my job to do full-time WFH.

Much happier and healthier now.

[Hekate]

73. Among the last set of "elective surgeries" at the hospital, getting a TKR (total knee replacement)...

That surgery is not recommended as a form of entertainment, as my late mother used to say — but I am eternally grateful I did it when I did.

How did it change my life? Well, like everything else Trump had a hand in doing, the following year caused me to lose faith in much of what I believed about my country.

When I laid off my cleaning ladies, I swear I thought the “duration” would be 3 months. That was not an estimation of the length of a worldwide pandemic, but an estimation of how long I thought it would be before the United States of America would be able to get a grip on the mechanics of a public health crisis. After all, we defeated smallpox and polio, didn’t we? … Instead, it was a year-plus before I brought the cleaning ladies or just about anyone else back into my house

How else has it changed my life? All the stuff I planned to join and do after recovery from surgery remains undone. I was retired when it started, but not exactly a hermit. This is not good.

My husband was already working from home, and he still is. He’s 75 and has no plans to retire. He is social — talks to his work-unit daily, talks to the neighbors as he walks the dog.

We are lucky in very many ways. Having kids at home would have been a terrible trial. My heart goes out to parents and young people and those who could not avoid being exposed.

[Norbert]

81. A week before, buying toilet paper and paper towels at Sam's Club

I was hearing that some Sams and Costcos were starting to run out of these products so I stopped at Sams and bought one of each of these super packs. Thats when the Great TP shortage hit for the entire spring. Our replentished supply lasted through about all of Summer.