386 days and counting

When this pandemic related work from home setup began, no one would’ve anticipated that it would extend for several months, leave alone years!! Initially people were receptive and were very considerate to the new setup, thinking that it is anyway a short term arrangement. Now that it has almost become the norm, people are now confused how to react to this situation. Previously when video calls used to happen and when there were interruptions from kids or family or pets, there used to be accommodative comments suggesting that the working people have actually invaded their area and should respect them. Nowadays it is being frowned upon, for this has become the expected setup and people are supposed to have adapted to it. Power cuts, bandwidth fluctuations, being away for personal work where in personal time overlapping with office time have all begun to create a chaotic setup which is actually demanding a fresh look and perspective from people than last year to have the setup rearranged for a long haul. In fact, even after the pandemic, people are talking only about a hybrid way of working where a significant portion of the working people may not be in office. To me personally, it has made me more lazy than what I was and the crankiness quotient has gone up beyond previously known limits. Even on normal days I rarely venture out and this pandemic has ruled out any option that were otherwise non-existent as well, leading to a “Ground hog day” movie kind of a scenario that doesn’t seem to end any time soon. I do the same things on repeat mode day after day and monotony has become the abnormal normal. For a person who thrives on routine, even I find it boring. The long travel hours used to give me chance to listen to music. I don’t remember the last time I heard something on my phone radio or on any new hit songs from past 12 months. I am out on a mission to find newer drama series, stretching my horizon across those that I had never bothered to check before and go all out on binge watching mode. And even that has expired its fancy. Luckily cricket has been going non stop for past couple of months and has been a big time savior. Guess by the time this pandemic ends and some when sort of semblance to previous world returns, I believe people will find it to be charming at best.