666 Days

[≈Vanuckle 2,199]

I've never been superstitious -- maybe a little stitious, but never truly believing in haunted dates (Friday the 13th), the 'devil' number (666), the Calvinist doctrine of predestination, or any other forms of belief in things to come based on otherwise trivial information such as dates, numbers, or words.

 

666 days ago, on March 13, 2020, most of the world went into lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially this was billed globally as two weeks to slow the spread and yet it has turned into far mor than that. Exactly 666 days later and the pandemic (through the omicron variant) is raging on as hard as it ever has. I myself have had COVID this week and can say it definitely smoked me even with 2x vaccination. 

 

Outside of COVID itself, life has changed dramatically for me and I'm sure for you as well. I could only sit with a wry smile as Friday the 13th turned from an urban myth to genuinely consolidate its status as an unlucky date. It's a day in which I am sure most of you can at least remember where you were, if not, what you were doing in life, what your thoughts were at the time compared to now, and how life has gone since.

 

I smile again as 666 days later, I experience one of the most physically and mentally strenuous days I've had since March 13, 2020. SpOoKy.

 

As I reflect on what the last 666 days has brought to me, I'm curious what has changed in your life? Is it better? Is it worse? Do you have different priorities? Have you come to the realization that there are some aspects of life that are more important than others? Or has life largely remained the same for you? And most importantly, are you superstitious? If so, what are your superstitions? 

[Pietru 1,268]

If there's one thing that covid changed for me, it would be maybe I've become more social I guess

 

Only superstition I really have is more of a personal one, the kind of thing where if I have a giga bad feeling about something it's most likely to happen

[Gravety Bomb 79]

It's definitely been going around again.

 

I've been more sick before than from this strain of COVID. 

For me, it's another damn virus that will continue making its rounds like the flu, rhinovirus, common cold virus, etc.

[Ace 632]

Quote

what has changed in your life? Is it better? Is it worse? Do you have different priorities? Have you come to the realization that there are some aspects of life that are more important than others? Or has life largely remained the same for you? And most importantly, are you superstitious? If so, what are your superstitions? 

 

It's about the same. Covid shook up the best job I've ever had. People in my state are mostly stubborn with a lot of businesses even to this current day trying to bypass any restrictions or mandates(for example, large companies in my state would create smaller shell companies with less than 100 employees within each in order to avoid the vaccination mandate, even at their own cost). There's been a lot of back and forth when it comes to stuff like wfh. In fact, the combination of covid + hurricane ida(it's more complicated than just damages, hurricanes shift the population around, including the crime) was what eventually forced my last company to move their office out of the state. 

 

Outside of working conditions though, nothing has changed. I tested positive for this shit for the first time and despite being 2x pzifer vaxxed it's ripped me apart. I've had surgery on my lungs years ago, which obviously isn't helping. 

 

My priorities have shifted but probably not in the most positive way. The first time covid forced everyone into quarantine a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time reached out to me. People were generally just desperate for social interactions at the time. Cut a lot of people off and broke up with the person I was seeing at the time(bitch got pissy with me over how I wasn't exactly full of energy after work one day despite her not having worked for months and that was it). Despite all the virtue signaling about being nice to the people that were still employed and still working(even if it was more specific towards health care workers), a lot of people didn't really practice that. Covid made the ugly side of people more obvious. You could see who didn't care for human life. I'm pretty jaded towards people at this point, don't want to tolerate much from anyone anymore. Don't know if that's priorities shifting, but I realize at this point that it's not worth sticking my neck out for anyone outside my small circle of friends.

 

Not really superstitious. Most of it's just jokes to me.

Edited January 8, 2022 by Ace

[Venenatis 863]

I remember I first found out about this new virus in December of 2019. I heard something about a new virus circulating in China, and out of curiosity I looked up some Chinese social media sites. It wouldn't be long that I would see through twitter and other raw footage coming from China how terrible this virus was and also how hard the CCP was trying to cover it up as well as contain it. I knew it was inevitable that it would reach the West and that the entire world would all be in for some trouble. I was taken aback by the absolutely absent media coverage which would continue until it was literally at our doorstep. Surely if I, a very slow RS player could find out about this virus in early December the world governments had to have known? During this time I took a chance and warned the Vanguard server and advised that people perhaps get ready and stock up on essentials. I would end up being mocked and told it was just a flu and a political distraction to get peoples attention away from the impeachment hearings. They were mostly democrat. Pretty ironic because after covid finally hit the same people were saying the opposite and blaming republicans for regarding it as nothing more than a flu. It goes to show how political everything can become when it shouldn't be. I don't consider myself left or right. My philosophy is up and down. I look at what's right and what's wrong. I don't care what party you're from and neither does this virus.

 

I would say this virus reminded me that no one is promised tomorrow and that we should love and cherish those around us as well as our time on earth. It reminded me to let go of old grudges and be more open to forgiveness. Most importantly it's reminded me that this world is hurting, to be kind to others and to show compassion in a world which now considers compassion to be a weakness. These were things I've always known but it's good to be reminded sometimes. As for the dates, March 13th didn't cross my mind but I did think about the similarities between the first Passover and lockdown. 

 

[Venenatis 863]

And just to go on I believe omicron is the beginning of the end. It will replace Delta and provide almost everyone with immunity. Omicron is one of the most contagious viruses in the world. I believe it's going to be a worldwide vaccine

[Da Bazz 715]

I'd say my life is worse than before Covid but it's 100% better than at the start of 2019. 2019 was a crazy year for me. I finally graduated in February at age 27 and I found a job as a software engineer consultant in March. My manager asked me when I wanted to start and I told him I was thinking of traveling, maybe to Australia. He did the same when he started out and told me to pack my bags an go ASAP. I did some planning and in April I was on my way. I had my best vacation ever in Australia and the things I've seen and learned about myself I will always be grateful for. In the summer we found a client for me and I started working there in October 2019. This work, the colleagues and company genuinely changed my life for the better. I loved the first 6 months as we did loads of activities with other colleagues and a few of them I started thinking of as close friends. Something that I never really had in the past.

Then Covid happened and all those connections I had build have gone to shit. In a self leadership training for starters, in December 2019, I drew a chart with the major events of my life and a happiness scale per year. 2019 went of the charts and the soaring didn't stop at the start of 2020. I was very happy with the way my life was finally unfolding. Then Covid happened and it  all crashed and burned. It was hard to adjust to being extremely social for the first time in my life back to being stuck at home all day (behind the computer). It's a familiar place of course but I thought I was growing out of it. Another major event was that I moved out of my mom's house in June 2020, a huge milestone in my life. Unfortunately there wasn't and still isn't that much to do as everything has been closed / limited access except during the summer months.  I had very high hopes that 2020 would be MY year and in some ways it was but I expected more. I grew a lot professionally and personally in 2020 but the social growth, the man-to-man experiences with strangers was next to zero. I was really hoping to use the confidence that I unlocked in 2019 would tick over into 2020...

 

2021 was honestly a fairly dull year. I didn't take a single day of because I legit don't know what to do with the time. I don't want to take days off and then spent the days playing Runescape. I want to go out, explore, talk to people, strangers, go on holiday, visit any place, museums, zoo's, bars, heck even shopping malls...Like in Australia, just do whatever I feel like doing, visit whatever I feel like visiting, stop wherever I feel like stopping, but spontaneous  actions like that are next to impossible because of Covid and all the damn rules and regulations. I have however found and bought a house. I am hoping to move in 2023 hopefully they are done building by then.

 

I'll stop my brain dump here.

Covid has effected my life in the sense that I could have lived it out differently. However I wouldn't call it good or bad, I'm happy the way it played out and I can't change the outcome.

 

On topic: I am not per se superstitious I do however believe that there are powers at play (energy flows) that we don't understand that could explain some if not most of the superstitious events.

[Kav 134]

Throughout this pandemic, we've had people open up to the fact that their life is with their pets/friends/family first, not their job.

We've also had the top 1% of wealth experience more socialist bailouts/tax breaks than JFK could've ever even hoped for the future of the American middle class. 

For all the global progressive movement into unions/labor rights, we've seen just as much bad with the likes of trust fund babies who dare adopt a fascist mask.

They come in the forms of Bolsonaro doing more work to the Amazon rainforest than Tempy did RoT, Nigel Farage/Boris Johnson with Brexit, and a combination of Trump/Biden playing out all the worst parts of a 2-party system within the most polarized instance of a country's fate. 

 

Otherwise, hella fine

Edited January 9, 2022 by Kav

[Vanzant 1,426]

I tested positive today its not bad at all. Jan 2020 it hit me really hard fever 105 but got over it in a day. This one seems more like a nagging flu you'd get when still going to work sick .

 

 

 

Hope you feel better man !

 

 

 

Overall I guess I've been fortunate. I dont pay attention to news much so for the most part life hasn't changed. If anything the best things in my life happened the past couple years. Just gotta do your best and keep moving forward.

Edited January 9, 2022 by Vanzant

[Dr3ambash3r 307]

Dont have superstituions myself

[Juri 486]

Actually nothing really have changed for us and for me personally.  Even during the first wave, we didn't have such lockdown as it was in the most of the world. Personally I haven't been affected by the virus directly nor have any of my closest friends and family members, so it's been a chill. 

 

Remote working & Remote studying have become really a big thing in general now, as you don't have to fly somewhere for a 2 hour meeting anymore, you can just fire up Zoom or something and it has actually made things much more comfy and faster. 

[@Brian 2,989]

Aside from WFH, it hasn't changed a whole lot for me overall. Still living my life the way I did before COVID started.

 

Every time people think this is going to end something new comes along.

[≈Flukejiver 1,214]

tbh nothing has really changed in my life. my work is still the same and my life wasn’t really effected. i do have different outlooks on going to crowded areas now and usually decided to not to go to things if too many people are there.

[Daniela 788]

dafuq trev

[Howl 962]

I had only been in my job (first job out of college) for ~6 months before covid hit, so it feels impossible for me to decouple my experience during the pandemic with whatever expected growth comes during a first full-time job/adult life. When the pandemic started, I spent almost 3 months completely alone - the city was in complete lock down and my roommate had traveled home thinking it was only going to last a few weeks. In the harshest way, I was forced to learn how to enjoy being alone. I think I've become more introverted in the 2 years since the pandemic began. From a career perspective, I work longer hours than I used to and I have stronger opinions about the type of work I want to do.