Welcome to 2021

The year 2020 has been a hard one for many. COVID-19 was a surprise, although health experts made predictions for years regarding a future unknown virus. The restrictions, introduced by governments around the world in order to combat the disease, did as much damage to the humanity as the infection itself. We will continue to feel the consequences for years, if not decades to come, even if an end to the measures and an effective treatment/vaccine arrive in 2021.

We see repeatedly, however, that different parts of society face different outcomes in these circumstances. People with relatively bad health to begin with often succumb to the coronavirus more readily, than fit and healthy ones. Employees of tourist, entertainment and other “people-facing” professions bear the brunt of the economic blows. And persons with mental health issues suffer the most from social dinstancing and isolation, spread by the quarantines and lockdowns. The gap in education, experienced by underperforming children this year, will only widen in the near future and might leave them intellectually lagging for the rest of their lives.

On my personal front I must admit I have been reasonably lucky. I didn’t get infected, neither did anyone among my friends and family. I wasn’t laid off. Working from home felt no different from toiling away in the office. The only two major inconveniences of 2020 have been the lack of travel and episodic closure of gyms. I compensate the latter by exercising at home, so despite COVID’s best efforts I haven’t gained any weight. It is harder to deal with the lack of international travel, since over the years I came to rely on being able to fly almost anywhere on a whim. But no matter, I can read about other people’s adventures and plan for future exploits around the world. And staying at home while working on personal projects and enjoying quiet cool down time is rewarding on its own.

All in all I am reasonably optimistic regarding 2021. The vaccination against the virus is already underway, so the oppressive regimes of the world won’t have an excuse to continue keeping us under house arrest. And the masses are getting fed up with the situation anyway. So some semblance of normality will probably start returning in the second or third quarters of the new year. Thus, more blog posts might come from me to you, dear reader, from other places around the globe!

Thus, let me wish you a

• Happy New Year
• Felíz año nuevo
• 新年快乐