Learning to Live With the Pandemic in 2020
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2020 was a really tough year. Sometimes I felt depressed during the Covid19 pandemic and felt shocked by the changes that were too fast and the feeling that nothing I had planned was going my way.
Remote working
I was hired by a Singaporean company, but since it was hard to get visa support due to Covid-19, I started working remotely in Korea from March. This was how I felt working remotely for 10 months…
Loneliness
I didn’t feel it at the beginning of remote working, but I began to feel lonely as the pandemic prolonged the need to work from home alone. I wanted to meet my colleagues and friends in person.
English
When I communicate online, it requires a lot of writing skills. So when I started as a remote worker for the first time, I took lessons for English writing, used Google Translate or Papago, and I kept checking my messages on Grammarly before sending them.
Even though remote working is convenient, in my view, my preferred working style is working two or three times in the office and working the rest of the time from home. And I hope I’ve got better at English compared to before.
Finding Happiness in the Little Things
Because of the pandemic, I spent most of my time at home and did various solitary activities, and I found sparks of joy in it.
Enjoying Cycling and Running Next to the River or Park
Since the smog has alleviated since the covid-19 outbreak in Korea, I have been able to enjoy fresh and clear weather. So, I enjoyed cycling 🚴♀️ and running. It was awesome to see the changes in the park as the season passed, and I also made a kitty friend. When I call her, she runs to me 🥰
Cooking
Around April, there was a popular YouTube trend of making different dishes by stirring the batter 1,000 times`. I was curious about it, so I made souffle pancakes by stirring 1,000 times. It was a fun experience (and, of course, I burned a few things). I’m a big fan of One Meal a Day or Paik’s Cuisine YouTube channel. The more I stay at home, the more my cooking skills have improved. Yet, the taste is still not always consistent. 😅
Music
As I stay at home more, the amount of time I spend watching YouTube increases. I mainly listen to music. My favorite musicians perform on YouTube live for their fans, so I am happy to watch or listen to their music.
Open-source
Since March, when I’ve had time, I’ve contributed a bit to the Yorkie project, and it was very enjoyable to solve issues. Since there were very few in-person developer meetups, it was a great experience to learn something new while talking with maintainers and co-contributors online.
For 2021,
Recently, I have read hopeful news about a vaccine. In 2021, I hope to meet friends and have time for lunch or dinner with them. I miss everyone so much.
