Hello January 2021 !! – A Journal Entry – January 1st 2021

Happy New Year, it’s 2021 !!!!

OMG, I am so excited to have left 2020 behind, as I think you are too!

It has been such a heavy year, full of sadness, death, illness, isolation, business closures, job loss, and most of all, at least for me the sufferance of mental health.

Wrapping up 2020 brings me a mixture of different emotions. So much has happened this year. I started off the year so hopeful that 2020 would the year to be full of promises and I had hoped it to be a fulfilling one filled with new goals and so many accomplishments to do this and that. I booked our vacation to Punta Cana nice and early and was so excited for March to hop onto the plane until the beginning of March came and suddenly Covid started to hit the news and we were struck with a decision to wonder if we should still go or not. We opted to stay positive and go, considering the 2 other people in my office were on the same travel plans as I did.

Coming back on March 12th to a frenzy of empty shelves void of toilet paper felt like I was on a different planet. Every store I visited had not one roll. I started to panic. It was unbelievable. Until I went off the beaten path and found a couple of rolls at a convenience store, that wasn’t packed with people, thank God!

Since then our world as we know it has turned upside down; you know by now our normalcy.

Mask up, sanitize, social distance, don’t hug anyone, don’t kiss anyone, stay away from everyone. That sums it up right?

It’s been depressing lately for the last six months going into the office being so empty. Just a handful of us going in, which doesn’t make sense to me as clearly we have the means to telework from home.

The emptiness as I walk around the office feels so eerie as I head around the bend to fax something or head over to the supply room to grab a kleenex box. Sitting in the lunchroom feels so sad and lonely at times, the quietness is unbearable, thank God for ear pods! One time I walked around the entire office just to count heads and I counted 5! How sad and lonely is that?! Very.

Currently, our province of Ontario is in lockdown, which is the first-ever and totally not a shock to us. Depressing, but not a shock. Nothing is a shock anymore frankly, nothing. I don’t care to elaborate anymore, because it is what it is and talking about it brings more sadness than I care to add to this post. I’ve spoken so much about our temporary lockdowns here and there, there’s no point in talking about such despairing news all the time.

Overall, besides several closures, we had in Toronto, as I reflect back on my summer days. I had a great time, considering all the new rules we all had to adhere to. Still, I enjoyed being out and outdoor dining as much as possible (social distancing of course) and I can’t complain about all the wonderful things I’ve done with my family!

We went to Niagara Falls several times. I visited Collingwood throughout the summer and Thanksgiving and we also enjoyed our usual summer cottage in Haliburton. So I’ve nothing to really gripe about.

Tyberious our Rottweiler

My December I spent half working and half on vacation. Thank God for that.

As per usual I went back to Collingwood and visited my sister and went on my little adventure in search of water.

Water soothes me and my soul. It always brings me comfort and a sense of peace. I shall forever be drawn to the waterfront.

Visiting my sister she made me Filipino food. Every time I’m there, I am always reminded of my childhood and of the times when we used to have many parties full of our ethnic cuisine.

Here she made my favorite “Lumpia” which is spring rolls. It’s so quick to make and even quicker to eat!

We had a great Christmas stuffing our faces and playing board games and watching Netflix, which I can imagine everyone has been doing too.

If you haven’t watched ‘Molly’s Game’ be sure to check it out, it’s so good!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families and your loved ones.

I wish you a very Happy New Year and hope for the very best for 2021.

I wish we all try our best to put 2020 behind us and look forward to a new year. It’s been a trying year, a heavy one, full of confusion and lost promises and hopes and dreams. Let’s patch what we can and make this 2021 the best beginning and re-set what can to the best of our abilities. Salvaging what we can and making this new year an amazing one!

Cheers everyone and be well!

Stay safe.