Lockdown - affected badly, a bit, not much or better off

[mmh]

Well, moving back on track with the topic,

Lockdown for me has been manic. My company provides web facilities for a financial institution, suffice to say, financial institutions have not stopped at all, which means theres a steady stream of work coming in. However as part of a small company, everyone else was furloughed, leaving me to do all of the heavy lifting for the past 3 months.

Someone above said it perfectly well. My batteries are flat, need some time to take a breather and re-evaluate. As the other guys start to come out of furlough as the scheme comes to an end I'm hoping to be able to breathe a little bit.

My wife works for NHS, so she's been business as usual, except for the part where the group took the opportunity to change the hours her dept. works in, all in all though, we got off pretty lightly.

I would say we've eat out less, but we've ordered in from plenty of companies we wouldn't have normally thought to do during the lockdown. For most of the spring there were constant "afternoon teas" being delivered, pies, cakes, local bakery items, and BBQ boxes from the local smokehouse. What we saved in going out we used for ordering in. s a result of working from home long hours and excessive food, I've also gained quite a lot of weight which is my goal; during July to get back ontop of.

[Saracen999]

You do seem to be a tory tbh. Anyone would have beenn better than boris. Left wing governments globally have handled the pandemic far worse and are moving out of a lockdown while right wing ones are the complete opposite. I mean it's insane that you would still anyone but corbyn considering how bad boris has been. I don't think you value brit lives or are anywhere near as patriotic as you thought you were. Our economy is in ruins and brexit is going to be the final nail.

I'm not a Tory because, first, I've never belonged to any political party and second, have voted against them on occasion.

There are times I agree with them, times I don't. Also, not a Boris fan but, unlike many Corbyn fans, not ideological about it. The current Labour, being different from last election, I'd give Starmer a long, hard listen to before deciding on him but my perception is already that he's miles more competent, and personable, than Corbyn.

So no, I'm not a Tory but I am also most definitely not hard left, or "socialist" in the sense Corbyn is.

And this

Anyone would have beenn better than boris

is an example of why it's pointless discussing it.

First, prove it. (*)

It's impossible to either prove or disprove because we don't, and cannot, know how anybody else would have done.

Secondly, given things were certainly far from perfect, to what extent is that down to Boris? For a start, he was in intensive care, or recovering, for a large chunk of it. Then, have you ever considered that just because a PM orders something, don't make the mistake of thinking it will just happen. Assk any recent PM to compare what the job was like to what they expected. It's not like anyone, be it Boris or JC can sit in no.10 and issue a command that suddenly makes departments both willing and competent or, as in the case of PPE supplies, that he personally orders masks or gloves or stands over clerks in PHE to make sure they do.

Yes, the economy has deep problems but so does the economy of just about all other major economies and they aren't run by Boris. Look on the bright side and thank our lucky stars we haven't got that idiot resident in the White House.

But this is all, as I said, meaningless because ideologues only ever see things their way, and assume that because they believe something, it's a fact. Like, Brexit being the final nail. Whatever happens to the economy, how in the hell can you conceive what is attributable to Brexit, what to handling of the pandemic here, and what to virtually eve other country having similar economic woes. The world economy is a mess and we are not immune, Brexit or not.


(*) A rhetorical suggestion. As I said, it's not worth wasting my time getting into this yet again.

[cheesemp]

Mixed bag really - More money (no commute, no meals out, no shopping trips, no trips out) and more time with the kids but on the negative it's been very very tough mental health wise on the whole family. My wife was struggling out of long term depression and lock down has NOT help one iota when she thrives on company/getting out. My eldest (6) is on a high one minute, extremely low the next - she needs normality, friendships, school and cuddles with grandparents. However no school as its an infants so no space to reopen for year 1 like a primary and the nearby grandparents are shielding. Youngest (3) is probably doing the best. I'm having to deal with my wife, kids, house work 24/7 while trying to hold down a job which is taking its toll - I found dealing with a new born (with my wife unwell) less work. I know life could be much worse but I need some (any) space. I hate commuting but it gave me thinking/alone time which I need desperately as an introvert. The crazy part of it is I'm sure my family got the virus back at Easter so this continued lock down feels like unnecessary torture (for us).

Edit: I suppose one other positive has been exploring the local area on foot.

[Jowsey]

I started a completely new career on the 23rd of March after a dramatic end to my previous one in January. Stress, anxiety, depression all culminated in a 2 month break and therapy.

I was really looking forward to starting in an area where I felt passionate and my mentality was set up to engage in an interesting challenge.

Sadly things changed and I've tried to keep myself busy around the house but it's not been overly effective. But it's only for a little while so I try and treat it as an extended holiday. Lots of TV show backlogs cleared and plenty of games progressed. I've been able to spend a little bit of time watching anime and catching up with a whole bunch of manga I'd fallen behind on.

Money wise, it's been fine. The new job is paying me at 80% but it was a noticeable pay rise so I'm still being paid more than when I previously worked. Sadly, around half of my expected earnings are commission based so I'm missing on plenty of potential wages" but it's outside of my control.

Spending wise we've seen a modest increase in food and gas and electric. We didn't eat out a huge amount but we did attend the local pubs regularly, but what we've saved there has been spent on home improvements.

I've come back to PC's in a new way as well after being a little detached from hardware changes in the past 2 or 3 years and I've enjoyed spec-ing out my new machine and making small steps to costing it and all the research required. I'll probably take the plunge in October when I see what the new CPU's and GPU's have to offer. If anything it'll apply (much needed) downward pressure on prices!

[Smudger]

Edit: I suppose one other positive has been exploring the local area on foot.

This has been a major plus for us - without the pandemic we wouldn't have discovered the many, many walking options in the countryside on our doorstep.

[Jowsey]

This has been a major plus for us - without the pandemic we wouldn't have discovered the many, many walking options in the countryside on our doorstep.

If you'd asked me about this in May or June I'd have echo'd this. Now I'm sick of the same sites! Need to go further afield I think!

[Ulti]

For some reason I really dislike politics (maybe it's because you know all parties will never deliver on all their manifestos but at the same time, if you don't vote or "choose sides", people will attack you for "going against democracy" or "not caring about the country") so it's somewhat frustrating and tiring seeing people bash each other over politics.

Anyway, back to the main topic. First of all, sorry to those that have lost friends and family due to covid.

All in all it hasn't really affected me - some things are positive and some things are negative but overall, as it hasn't affected me much, that means I'm in a rather fortunate place.

Fortunately I work in software so things have not been bad at work. In fact we're still winning more contracts than we can realistically handle so we're actually on a recruitment drive again. I'm an introvert so career wise, the lockdown has actually been relative positive in this area for me - there was a push for me to step up to lead a team of around 15 people (used to only lead a team of 5) but I did not feel comfortable leading that team mainly because there were people with more experience and knowledge than me. It might be my age (28) or it might be because of my ethnicity and upbringing (Asian) as I've always been taught to respect my elders and also being from an ethnic minority, I just didn't have the confidence to step in front of them and "lead" them.

However, as someone who grew up on gaming online, I've certainly had my share of "keyboard warrior" moments which involves hiding behind a monitor and effectively chatting crap without a worry. The lockdown has therefore effectively given me the ability to hide behind my monitor and lead the team which is why I view it as positive. This has no doubt improved my confidence and I only hope that whenever we do go back to the office, I'll be able to maintain this.

My routine for the last 3-4 months has so far been to do my regular work hours and then to play an hour or two of FFXIV with the gf online (we live with our respective families) and then every other night I would play some Beat Saber as exercise and fill the rest of the evening doing what I would normally do (YouTube, forums, reddit etc).

My current project at work is coming to an end though and like with all IT projects, unfortunately things have not gone according to plan so I'm having to put in more hours which in the long run results in less efficiency, lack of motivation and burn out. I have a strong sense of responsibility though and I feel I recharge relatively quickly so I am pushing on without worry.

In terms of the other aspects, I've tried to summarise a few points under positives and negatives of lockdown.

Positives of lockdown for me:
- Technically more time to rest, sleep, pursue projects that were never done
- Save on commuting costs and lunch costs (as I usually buy lunch)
- Save on entertainment/socialising. It's so much cheaper to cook at home and a game/YouTube/Netflix is much cheaper than say going on a holiday, dining out or even going to the cinema. Being an introvert, I can effectively not care about what's going on social media or going out in general and focus on what brings enjoyment to me most.
- More "freedom" when working due to lack of supervision or peers

Negatives of lockdown for me:
- Much more procrastination. As someone that is naturally lazy, my mind thinks I have more time than before and then ends up procrastinating more.
- Lowered efficiency due to burn out and tiredness. Before lockdown, I would naturally spend my evening on the PC when I got home after work. As I work in IT, I end up just spending every hour I'm not sleeping on the PC.
- Less freedom. As I am living with my parents again and my parents are really worried about covid, I've decided not to worry them and stay indoors. I also don't drive so getting around without using public transport is difficult as I don't want to cycle or walk everywhere.
- Lack of holidays. I know this is a luxury but to me, I feel it's important to my mental wellbeing. I'm into photography but I'm a "basic amateur" so I just like to travel the world and see different places and take a memorable photo of them. I'm a somewhat apathetic and selfish person so I'm not too into history and culture so just the process of doing some research online, arriving at the chosen destination(s) and to spend some time trying to compose a good photo of something that is visually appealing to me is enough to make me happy.

I'm actually in another super lucky place where I have sold some bitcoins recently that I mined way back and now have enough money to buy a place. Unfortunately as I don't want to leave London and don't want to be too far from a tube station, I'm limited to a flat compared to some of my friends who were willing to sacrifice the convenience and therefore being able to buy a house with a garden instead. Can't have everything in life that easily though!

So although lockdown has worked in my favour, I really can't wait to get out of lockdown and find a place! Problem is my gf lives on the other side of London and neither of us have a car so going house viewing when covid is still around isn't going to be easy as getting out of lockdown doesn't mean it's any safer and in fact would probably more dangerous to travel around as everyone else will be out and about. We both have licenses back when we were in our early 20s so thankfully we don't have to learn to drive from scratch but buying a car and taking a few lessons is just not as convenient or cheap as hopping on the tube and meeting up. In fact due to this inconvenience, we have not met up since lockdown!

[g8ina]

OK, this thread is for "how lockdown has affected you"

Please dont use it for political ends. And Im not just talking to one, Im talking to all.

[XA04]

...
Banks shrinking they LTV on mortgages basically meaning that i will never get leg up on that; just shy of 15k saved and with the banks moving to 75% LTV well you can see thats me stopped dead in tracks

...

I wouldn't give up.. there are banks doing 90% LTV out there... we just had a mortgage offer on Friday last week. It's possible, there are banks out there lending... just less, and being more wary.

[Saracen999]

There is basic concept that kids earn while they grow up its called cause and effect. You are clearly in denial about this all. We objectively have had the worse covid responses in the world. One thing I've learned is the eu value their citizens lives way more than the tories or brexiteers. Even with learning all this you are saying the equivalent of thats life stuff happens.

You still can't just discuss things without patronising and unjustified insults, can you?

And don't put words in my mouth.

[[GSV]Trig]

OK, this thread is for "how lockdown has affected you"

Please dont use it for political ends. And Im not just talking to one, Im talking to all.

Problem is a lot of people see where we are now as a country as a political issue, either through the governments lack of action or though weak leadership and poor messaging, so you can understand why a lot of threads like this end up as political ones, plus, a place like this where there is no face to face interaction gives a lot of people room to say things that they might not normally say, especially at a time like this, so while I understand the need to not have yet another thread end up with name calling and insults some sort of "outlet" is needed to let people vent...

[Saracen999]

Problem is a lot of people see where we are now as a country as a political issue, either through the governments lack of action or though weak leadership and poor messaging, so you can understand why a lot of threads like this end up as political ones, plus, a place like this where there is no face to face interaction gives a lot of people room to say things that they might not normally say, especially at a time like this, so while I understand the need to not have yet another thread end up with name calling and insults some sort of "outlet" is needed to let people vent...

Political threads are not an issue if conducted in a polite and respectful manner. Resorting to gross categorisations if not caricatures, simplifications and insults are.

If people want to "vent", there are plenty of places that allow it. This isn't one of them because it ruins actual discussions. We used to regularly have long and detailed discussions over all sorts of contentious issues, be it religion, politics, abortion, Catholic adoption rules, whatever, without causing problems here, because it was done in a polite way and dealt with the issues without targeting or insulting the people. And yes, that included Brexit debates, or at least EU-related ones like joining the Eurozone.

[ik9000]

everybody breathe and take a short walk. It's the internet and we're not all going to agree.

[g8ina]

DK is gone.