A Life Abroad

We had a very short New Year vacation this year, and our Christmas day was on a Saturday and New Year's Day also falls on a Saturday.  Due to the two weekends, this New Year holiday has been the shortest ever since I came to Japan.  Some people took extra days off but because of Covid, taking additional days means spending more time at home eating more and drinking more.  I decided to go to work as this will get me out of the house and allow my body to do some physical activities.  As I stepped out of the apartment, the air was crisp and dry, and I did not see many souls walking towards the station.  Yes, indeed, many folks are taking extra days off to be with their family.  Like most big countries, most people in Japan need to travel far to return to their home town, where their parents live.  The train I took to work was crowded, but it was not filled beyond capacity as any typical day would.  It was a more relaxing commute for me, and I welcome...

 Another year sounds depressing if you do not elaborate any further. It gives the impression that life has been a drag for me, another year down the toilet. But, in all fairness, the truth is, the Covid-19 pandemic has ruined two years of everyone's life. And there seems to be no end to it. So, when I say this is another year, there is an implied meaning that another year is down the toilet. But to declare that would be too easy. Yes, blame it on something else. We do not control this dire pandemic situation in our lives. Given all the bad things we have experienced since January 2020, we are in pretty good shape. None of us got sick, and most of all, we survived the lockdowns relatively unharmed physically, and more importantly, mentally. From the beginning, the year 2021 feels uncertain. When will we get vaccinated? Will there be a vaccine? How soon can we get it? The rest of the world seemed to have been way ahead of Japan to get vaccinated with the only vaccine in production. O...