Another year - Goodbye 2021

 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. Other pharmaceutical companies were racing to get their version of the vaccine. The rest of the world was rushing to find a cure or vaccine, and we could only pray that something would happen soon. Then, I found out I might have to retire within a year. This knowledge added more concern to my life. Will I have to find another job in this pandemic? That certainly does not sound good. But what can you do? You take one problem at a time. I did the first defensive thing: updating my resume and preparing it for a potential job search. I also contacted my old bosses to let them know that potentially I may be up for grabs;  Without certainty that I am out of a job, they can only advise me to stay calm and keep them posted. In retrospect, that was good advice. I have had a good year going with my job. My team is very successful, and I can see we will end the year on a high note - earning everyone some good bonus. I certainly would not want to be left out because I have to leave for another job.  


We were all very fortunate to get our vaccine by summer. A significant relief as we feel so much less vulnerable. Japan was still in a state of emergency. The Japan version of a semi-lockdown. Restaurants closed early and were not allowed to serve alcohol, and businesses were closing because no one was shopping. As the number of new infections increased with the 5th wave, Japan was in a state of panic. There was nothing anyone of us could do except hope this would end soon.


It was our turn to get vaccinated in July, and infection numbers started to drop in the middle of autumn. Travel restrictions were beginning to relax, and we found a window to travel. It will be our first trip overseas in two years. There was a lot of testing before the flight and a lot of the same before returning to Japan. We had a great time visiting our friends in Oahu and were enjoying the reunion as well as the fresh tropical air. It was worth every minute of the post-trip isolation we must endure upon re-entering Japan.  


We are not out of the woods yet; right after we returned to Japan, the Omnicron variant was announced, and the world went into travel lockdown again. But thanks to the less severe symptoms of this new variant, the strain on the hospital system was not as bad as the Delta variant. The infection power of the Omnicron variant is much stronger than the Delta variant, however. This may be a sign Covid-19 is coming to an end game - infect enough people with lighter symptoms while achieving mass immunity. The verdict is still out on this, and I am sure we will find out soon enough.  


We are now entering the third day of the new year. The Omnicron variant numbers are going up gradually in Japan. With holiday travels, this is a trend we are expecting. The rest of the world seems to be hitting a record number of new infections, and Japan's infection number is still relatively small by the global standard. Let's hope it stays this way. We put 2021 in a good perspective and enjoy the new year. We were doing new things and living the new year with a new set of resolutions.  

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