Post Vacation Blues

I am going through a weird withdrawal phase right now. Having serious holiday blues. I think the clinical term is post-vacation blues. After spending more than a month in vacation, I am now strangely detached from work life. I have no idea what I was working on the last day of work. No idea where I start again, and whom I owe. 

2020 was a particularly tiring year, which I why I decided to take such a long holiday. But maybe I overdid it. Enjoyed Melbourne's , what third winter , this year. A very cold and rainy December, just like back home. Saw dark blue seas and shallow beaches.  Walked through woodlands and around tall trees. Breathed in the eucalyptus laden fresh air. Saw more animals and birds than humans. Completely went off the diet. Pretty sure gained a few kilos. 

But now when I suit up, I realize how fortunate I have been, to be able to take time off work. To be able to say I still have a job, in this troubled economy. To spend more money in a month than what I usually spend in six months. And to easily forget what a horrible year the last one was.

The good news is already starting to come in. Australians will be given the Astrazeneca vaccine, it is being reported. By March. Splendid. And twitter has banned its biggest cyberbully !

This is going to be a good year. I can tell. Only thing is, my mind is still somewhere lost in holiday.

Time to get back to work. Theres lots of to be done.

Here's hoping for a totally normal year.

Finally , its almost over ! And entire year of pain, suffering and staying indoors. Centuries from now, historians are going to compare every doomsday year with the year 2020; a year which was supposed to be of hope , fun and all things good, but ended up killing more people than any natural calamity. This is a bar set too high.

For those of us who survived this year, it is easy to forget who scared we ourselves were at various points in time. The first few cases reported where all in Wuhan, China. It began with the hush-hush announcement of the pandemic, followed by the over confident response of world governments that we can easily survive this, and took a while for the reality to set in. That despite our world-class health systems and preparedness, we had no idea how to contain COVID-19. 

And that is when the fear set in;  when it was reported that there are now cases in our neighborhood, in the adjacent street, or in our office space. It was as if the whole world had gone to war, first with an invisible enemy, but then with each other. It was one thing to watch from safety as a distant country tore itself, totally another thing when the killer is next door.

As I write this, more than 1.7 million people have died world over due to the Corona virus. No amount of consolation can help the survivors of these deaths.

The virus is still out there, but 2021 now brings hope of its end. More than one vaccine has been shortlisted, and the world will eagerly wait for these life-saving drugs. We saw how at various points, ignorance and petty religious views infected more people. But science has won, as science has always won through the centuries.

For once, lets hope nothing great or worse happens this year. Lets hope for a totally normal year, a boring year where we can all go back to living our lives outdoors.

To clear your mind, here is a picture of a totally normal day somewhere in Switzerland.

Wish you a truly Happy New Year !

2020 finally delivers some good news !!

Finally ! Some good news. And about time too. 2020 has been horrible to all of us. But now, just around the tail end of this horrendous, monstrous year, there is something to celebrate. On the other side of this definitely-round earth, the Fragmented States of America have elected the lesser evil of their white candidates. Something they should have done four years ago !

Congratulations !!

Better late than never. And with this, the longest running reality show on the planet comes to its end...right ?

Oh...Wumpy Lumpy has announced that he is not going to give up his presidency. 

So the show goes on, a bit more, and hopefully everything will end in Jan next year. About 12 whole months after the world first woke up the Coronavirus. America will have plenty to catching up to do.

But this event is something definitely worth celebrating. Even if you are not in America. It shows how a imperfect system of electoral colleges can still work, if people put their minds to it. Instead of sitting back and complaining about how the system is rigged against them, people can get out there and play the game by its rules. Democracy takes time, and is imperfect, but still works.

But it is also a stark reminder that the country is more divided than it ever was. More people voted for Wumpy Lumpy than in 2016 ! Are you kidding me ? After everything that the nation has been through, after all those blatant lies and cover ups, there are still people willing to trust him with another 4 years ? Unbelievable. It is clear that those votes were for the institution and party behind him, and not explicitly for him. They might have lost, but they got their message out; there will always be racists and white supremacists in the leader of the free world. It is something they have to live with.

But the flip side is also true. All that needs for bad things to happen , is good people to do nothing. Here is hoping that the country has learnt this lesson, and that we will never have to see another president like Trump.

A second chance for an entire nation.

Its November 3rd. The first Tuesday in an election year. Over in the US. A rare second chance for a divided nation. To correct a 'mistake' committed 4 years ago.

One can only hope they do the right thing this time.

C'mon, USA. You can do this.

Happy Freedom Day !

 Happy Freedom Day, Melbourne ! Good to see everyone back. Lets not rush into things, we have got a long and glorious summer ahead of us.