It is now almost midnite and we are about to say goodbye to 2020 and say hello & welcome to 2021. Hope you won’t be such a terrible year as your predecessor was.

I am working today but it has been a very light day at work, again. I had to go to the office today for a couple of hours for something that they wanted us to do. So post lunch I hired a cab and by 1:40 pm I left home and went to the office in Kakkanad. I met some of my team members who I haven’t seen since late March. We then finished what we had to do in about 2 hours and saw that it was pouring cats and dogs! Terrific! Thunder and lightning on 31st of December. 2020 is a real bitch!

Anyways, I came back home slightly wet. I dried myself off and got a hot coffee and a snack. My sister and niece came to visit before my sister’s husband came to pick them up as they were going to go for a night out at a club. My parents were supposed to go with them but they changed their minds at the last minute. I bought dinner – fried chicken and French fries for my parents while I had a pizza with small bbq chicken wings. I had a beer along with that while I did what little work came my way.

I also chatted with my cousin for a while as I ate the pizza. Now I am just waiting for the minutes to trickle on by and it strikes midnight. At 12:30 am I will shut down my work system. I wish everyone a Happy New Year and may 2021 be much kinder to us.

Since most people, including me, have been complaining about the year 2020 and calling it the shittiest and worst year ever (not sure but the Black plague & Spanish Flu era might disagree), I thought I’d end the year on a more positive note. Let me recollect all the good things that have happened in the last year, 2020, and/or look at the positive side of things.

1. I finally got the opportunity to work from home. I really like the fact that I don’t have to commute daily and I can work in my lungi and undershirt and not have to shave.

2. I finally was able to get an air-conditioner in my bedroom. Granted it was free as my sister & cousin had closed their physical office due to Covid-19. Since they had a new ac in there – and because my sister and cousin’s homes both were air-conditioned – my sister offered it to me. I was planning to get one and was thinking of saving up some of my earnings from sponsored blogging to do so. I didn’t have to in the end.

3. I finally, finally bought an executive computer chair and my aching ass and lower back is so grateful. Money was from earnings from my website.

4. I also bought a new phone, the RealMe X2 Pro and I love it so much. Money was from earnings from my website.

5. I enhanced the RAM of my laptop from 4GB to a stonking 16 GB and it is the best thing you can do to your laptop. Money was from earnings from my website.

6. Speaking of, the months of April, May, June & July, I made a ton of money off sponsored posts on my website.

7. I was able to buy most of the tv series (box sets or individual dvd sets) that I was looking to buy. Like Stargate SG-1, Battlestar Galactica, Agents of Shield, Sherlock, Automan, Misfits of Science, Friends & The X-Files. There are a few that still elude me and maybe 2021 will see me get them.

8. I’m starting a new hobby – cooking a few recipes that I have wanted to try.

9. I also managed to buy my folks a brand new smart tv.

• Sometimes your company or perhaps certain people at the company feel that since you have the office system at home you can work a few extra hours. What else will you do since you don’t go out much?
• The irritating thing about getting calls while you are not in shift. When I am on a day off I don’t appreciate getting a phone call at 5 am
• Power outages in India – if it happens during your work shift then it is a problem. Luckily for me it is rare these days and if it does happen it usually comes back in 1-2 hours. For major work it can take longer, 3-5 hours but it has only happened a couple of times in recent months. Since I now have an inverter, I have back up for 3.5 hours.
• Broadband issues without which the work cannot happen. I have had some issues with Asianet recently going back all the way to March. Luckily their turn around time is pretty good.
• No time away from mom & dad. I see them all the time! And that can drive me crazy.

Pros of Working at home:

• I save a lot of time because the commute is nil.
• I don’t have to shave everyday. I shave a couple of times a week, unless I am on a video conference call/training.
• Comfort is king. I wear my undershirt and a lungi and I go commando. Gotta air them balls!
• It’s mostly home cooked meals 3 times a day or 2 times a day. We do buy get restaurant delivered meals 2 times a week.
• I can drink coffee or soft drinks while I am at work. We aren’t allowed to bring drinks to the work area, except for water ofcourse.
• I sleep a lot more and the saved time from no commute can be had for watching tv or other leisurely activities.
• When I am not conducting online training, my break times are flexible. I can break for lunch or dinner or coffee/snacks whenever I want.
• When there is downtime and less work I am listening to music and can even watch a bit of tv as long as it doesn’t interfere with any work that can come my way.
• I save on money for Uber & Ola as I don’t need to travel.

What would I be doing if I live in a Western country like Canada, the areas of the US that I like or the UK, as I have often wished I did, on Boxing Day? What would I be doing in the holiday season if I had that life that I desperately wish I had. Well, pretty much what I imagine it to be is a cozy family day at home.

I would wake up late on Boxing day to find that my loving wife is also sleeping in that morning. Despite me walking on tip toes to get to the bathroom and doing my morning business, the family dog however does hear me and is wagging her tail in greeting as if she couldn’t wait for the night to be over and her humans to wake up. I pet the dog and quietly led her out of the bedroom, so my wife cannot hear us. I go down to the kitchen and let the dog out into the yard and then get coffee started on the machine. As I yawn and wait for the dog to come in and for the coffee to get made, I stand in the cold air on the deck and stretch.

The dog is now back in and I close the door that leads out to the back deck and yard. I get two cups made just in time to hear my wife coming down the steps. So she did hear us and had woken up. As she comes in to greet me good morning with a kiss, I get the coffees ready so we can relax on the sofas and switch on the tv. I suspect that the rest of the day will be making breakfast, choosing left overs for a quick lunch and then watching movies on tv. Walking the dog and not doing much else more taxing that day until dinner time and we have to choose between ordering in or cooking up something quickly.

That would be my Boxing day if I had the option.