Year 2020 most unusually interesting

 Higher powers were definitely at work when 

2020 arrived since it has been one of the most erratic years that I have ever experienced, especially since the covid19 global pandemic suddenly hit the world out of nowhere, some say certain countries prepared for this event, others are not taking it seriously enough and the rest pay the price. 

I think it's hard to distinguish fact from fiction regarding this pandemic when it comes to the statistics in case numbers, as there is no viable proof of what the media is posting so people take the news being reported at face value.

Before this pandemic began, I was on the road long haul trucking across Canada/US for about four years with my boyfriend of 25yrs, each week and trip was a new destination and adventure for us, I enjoyed this immensely since we spent all our time together and went through the joys and challenges of trucking; then suddenly it all came to a halt when the Canada/US border shut down for whats termed as non-essential travel, which meant that I had to remain behind at home whenever my boyfriend leaves on a trip. I was responsible for all the administration that came with trucking which was 70% of the work, now it became part of his job. 

I honestly feel like a significant part of my life was abruptly taken away from me and I am waiting to get it back, the worst part is when or will I get it back, how different will it be? 

I help as much as possible remotely, but it is not the same at least for me, since we started trucking I was on every trip without exception, both of us experienced events of trips as they happened, and let me say things change on a dime when long haul trucking, especially planning aspects, like where to stop, which routes to take.

Around April which was the start of the pandemic, people were afraid, no one really had a clear grasp of what was happening. Then the world went on lockdown/quarantine for almost two months around that time until about June 2020, and people were advised to stay at home and only go out to buy necessities such as food, medicine; in order to at least minimize the spread. Hospitals were overwhelmed with cases, bans were issued for all recreational travel, and businesses such as restaurants, movie theaters, bars and clubs that have gatherings of people took a financial hit as they were forced to close down. Also festivals and outdoor activities were also cancelled. Prices were hiked up more than usual on basic items like sanitizers, household cleaners and much more, at times these items were not even available as people overstocked out of fear. 

The looming question is when will life resume to the new form of normal? Can we accept this new normal and what will come with it? 

Honestly, it seems this pandemic is a looming reminder of what life has and will become in the future, since to me the carefree days of social gatherings at festivals, parties, malls are in the past. 

Social distancing was introduced as well in the beginning of the pandemic, people were advised to stay home and when they ventured out to keep a distance of 6ft or 2 meters from another person, as well the mandatory law of wearing a mask in all indoor public places was also put in place. 

Months later, this is now becoming a norm, some people are divided on this issue, it depends who takes it seriously and who thinks it's a joke. There are people arguing that wearing a mask should be their freedom of choice and not forced; some even go so far to say that putting masks on children is a form of abuse, others complain of breathing/respiratory ailments and they want to be exempted from wearing a mask.

Obviously, science and logic is not an integral part of these individual's lives and minds as they are wearing blinders and are brainwashed to the point of no return. As a result a rise of covid19 cases has hit the Toronto, Ontario area and new restrictions were placed on restaurants, bars as well and wearing a mask is mandatory province wide when in indoor public places.

The smart and vigilant person will exercise caution and follow rules such as practice social distancing, wear a mask in indoor public places as directed by health officials and not take this pandemic with a grain of salt or think it's over because of some rules eased slightly and things appear to be returning to normal.

I pose the question and this applies to the areas in particular where the government is placing tighter restrictions in regards to public gatherings, but still protests are happening during a pandemic total contradiction! Stupidity and negligence at its best!

Right now, in all public indoor places such as stores, malls they limit the number of people inside and lineups are formed outside, in addition to the requirement of a face covering or mask to be worn. 

There is a positive side I noticed about wearing the mask is at least people born with little to no common sense will not be coughing or sneezing all over food in supermarkets and in general in public places, also putting their hands on items they have no intention of buying, which spreads common influenza/ flu in addition to covid19. 

A few other positive things to note, my boyfriend and I were able to get 95% of our ever growing "to do list" which was a milestone achievement as both of us being on the road rendered our time at home very short and not enough to tackle a fraction of this chore list. It was unfathomable that one of us, namely me, would actually stay behind from a trip.

We have since bought a new car, new furniture, fixed up the apartment and much more all by online shopping, which now is the new norm even though some of these carriers need to be more efficient and streamline their deliveries by providing proper and accurate info on their site.

Calling customer service to track a package is as ancient as the 8 track tape, we are in the 21st century after all, this should be updated online as the delivery happens. 

In the past, if you went to a store wanting to purchase a specific item then leave there were people aimlessly walking, some with kids running around making noise and touching merchandise in the store, these individuals have no intention of spending any money, but are wasting time and it takes twice the time to buy your item than needed due to needless traffic, online shopping is preferable in that sense, maybe now people will learn to be more efficient with their time and shop if and when they actually need something. 

A new era has come to pass in 2020 and it's based on efficiency and less social interaction; one thing I noticed is the past experiences when I went shopping to a mall with the bus or just went out and to have a day out of fun has now shifted to the risky side of getting sick. Before, no one really had a reason to think too much about what they were doing, or if there were any health risks to an ordinary life activity. Life was a collection of daily activities that were done routinely absent of thought.

Retail industry seems to have shifted to the online realm which is nice as you do it from the comfort of your own home without sales people coming up to you asking if you're looking for something or my personal pet peeve "are you doing okay"? and once you get to the cash "is that all for you today"? One can take time to browse and decide what to buy, without the judging eyes on the items you choose and avoiding lineups. I recently learned that when you order an oversize item online such as furniture, there are no delivery people to help bring it into your house, you are on your own all because of Covid19. 

The question I pose is why did this happen now at this time? Several theories come to mind, have higher elite powers decided to change human life as it's known and provide the world’s limited resources only to those deserving? Is efficiency now a top priority? 

It's also become more apparent that certain jobs became licenced professions and as a result change in terms of thinking about the manner in which we do things is now certainly an important factor since cost of living is continuing to rise and income is staying the same this applies to businesses as well. 

Another surprising twist is people who have been employed in the same job position for years with high seniority, are now slowly being replaced with people who can actually do the job more efficiently without excuses or their positions are being phased out as things move to the online or automation stage which mainly applies to giants such as Walmart, Amazon where consumers can get a large variety of bargain priced items for low prices all from the comfort of their own home. 

Covid19 is a main target to smaller businesses which sell the same products as giants like Walmart, Superstore but are forced to serve their customers with curb side pick-up or close doors; the giants have some non essentials placed around essential items so people can purchase these items as they pass through isles. 

A few of these smaller businesses that were ordered by health officials to close doors defied those orders and remained open with indoor dining; and patrons showed up and ate without fear of safety for covid19. The owner of one such restaurant was arrested for disobeying health Canada orders to shut down.

I am thinking that people are tired of the constant changing rules to restrictions, will there be an end in sight? And when will this happen?

Supporters for one particular restaurant owner in Ontario were saying people who owned small businesses are scared to go against the closure laws, so they end up complying. Others such as this place pose the question, why is the government allowing giants such as Loblaws, Walmart Costco to remain open and sell all their items simply because its too much of a hassle to move non essentials out of the way, or cordon them off as they are placed. This has since changed, as Walmart cordoned off non essentials such as toys, CDs, books, but, these non essentials can and are sold online, so profits are never lost.

Maybe this is an indication that from now on all consumer needs will now be met from ISO stores, namely the big names as well the right people need to be in their respective jobs, few businesses ended up shutting down as they were unable to cope with the pandemic and unexpected surging costs, others who were more efficient and cost effective in their operations are coping but adapted to 

changes. 

Elaborating on this point, I noticed there are people who are simply unhappy with their job and do it out of necessity, or have strong connections to higher ups and their low competence level goes unnoticed. The pandemic accelerated businesses and people toward an unprecedented level of efficiency which changed dynamics for those who take spots in the wrong job positions, and eliminates businesses that the system deems unnecessary. 

Christmas is officially cancelled this year, no lights or festivities happening, maybe people will have self isolated dinners at home, any contact with outside family will be virtual. 

Any holiday shopping if any will be done online as money is beyond tight for most people.

To conclude, the world and life is on its way to another era and direction which highlights efficiency, specific standards when it comes to consumer products and services, as well technology will assist in controlling the masses and classification of people determining quality of life.