The Aftermath
Friday January 21, 2022
After arriving at Pearson, I took the UP Express and walked home from the station. It was about -8C but calm so not too unpleasant. The next day, Wednesday, I did my COVID test swab and arranged for Purolator to pick it up on Thursday. At 1pm, I duly put the package outside my door and by 2pm, it had been taken. Imagine my surprise and horror then, when a Purolator courier knocked on my door at 4pm to ask where the package for pickup was. Did they not already take it? Was it stolen from outside my door? Several calls to Purolator and the labs over the next two days were fruitless, and the lab ended up sending me a replacement kit. Who the hell steals a COVID test sample from someone's apartment?
By Friday, I had developed classic symptoms of omicron - headache, runny nose, sneezing and coughing. The weekend was the worst, with symptoms lingering onto Monday and Tuesday. The kit arrived on Tuesday and I took the test, again. This time I ordered an Uber driver to pick it up directly and place it into a Purolator dropbox. Surely that would ensure a timely delivery. I checked the shipping tracker on Purolator's website and began to fret when, by the evening, nothing had been updated. I did not want to have another sample lost to the abyss and I did not want to wait for a third kit.
After more calls and emails to Purolator, they assured me that it would have been picked up by 5pm on the same day, but there may have been delays because of the massive snowstorm that hit Toronto. There were no updates to the shipping tracker website because there's been "so many packages" that they just haven't had time to scan them in. The lab also said they had received my sample but again their website had no indication that they had. I just had to be patient.
By Wednesday, my symptoms had cleared up enough for me to be a functional human at work, and by Thursday I was pretty much over it. Thankfully I had no loss of smell or taste. Finally, late on Thursday afternoon, my result came through.
Positive.
Well, at least I have a definitive date of release now, and I don't need to do a third test.
Posted by Jeremy at 2:05am on Friday January 21, 2022 :: 0 comments :: 
Boosted
Thursday December 23, 2021
I've planned a trip to Europe over Christmas and New Years, but with the surge of omicron cases and the changing travel advisories issued by the Canadian government, it's thrown a lot of plans into disarray. I was originally supposed to go to Amsterdam, since the last time I was there, I got food poisoning, and I wanted to visit some of the things I missed, but the Netherlands went into a full lockdown and so I cancelled that leg of the trip and will instead spend it in Barcelona, where they have a few restrictions, but thankfully nothing too strict. It's been a pain trying to organise travel insurance and rebook flights; it took me four hours on hold with Manulife before I was able to talk to someone about my coverage and to ensure I'd still be covered if I decided to go ahead with this trip.
The last hurdle is the PCR test which I'll take tomorrow morning. I've been so anxious about everything lately and I miss the days where travel wasn't so complicated.
I did however manage to get my third COVID shot yesterday, but I really had to work for it. I biked 30 minutes to Jane and Lawrence and sat in line for over four hours in zero degree temperatures, and then waited an additional hour inside the community hub, but ultimately I think it's worth it, especially since I'm travelling. I was so cold I ordered a hot bubble tea to be delivered to me while I was in the queue, and that helped push me through to the end of the wait. Apparently two of the vaccinators were off sick, so they were understaffed and could only process 20 people per hour. But I knew with certainty that they had enough vaccines to give me one, so I toughed it out. Today I felt tired and lethargic, with a minor headache just setting in, but nothing else too severe in terms of side effects.
The last few months have been okay, and we're finally over the hump of winter solstice so things should start getting brighter, slowly. Before omicron hit, life felt pretty normal, and I've been able to catch up with friends and eat delicious things. A bunch of the gameplay programmers from my Watch Dogs team at Ubisoft Toronto got together at Elephant and Castle; I did an escape room with three ex-colleagues (and we nailed that!); I went to Dragon Legend in Markham for All You Can Eat Peking Duck; I caught the partial lunar eclipse on November 19th; we hiked the Niagara Whirlpool Trail and saw the beautiful fall colours; I caught the salmon run at the Humber River, and that's always an exciting time of year. We had so much hope that things would continue to be okay before this variant hit, and that's jeopardised a bunch of travel plans for next year.
I was hoping to go back to Malaysia to see family in June, but there's no telling what changes will happen between now and then. At least New Zealand will be opening up their border next year, and I'll very likely be back for Christmas. We're coming into our third year of this pandemic and it's just tiring. Hopefully there will be some improvements in 2022.
Posted by Jeremy at 12:42am on Thursday December 23, 2021 :: 0 comments ::
Tired
Saturday April 17, 2021
We're in our sixth month of lockdown. We are well into our third wave. Our case numbers have spiked hard, causing the provincial government to issue another stay-at-home order for four weeks. That was two weeks ago; today they announced even more restrictions, as well as a two week extension to the stay-at-home order. It's looking grim, and I'm tired. I'm tired of this lifestyle. The new variants are running rampant through the health system. The vaccine rollout is slow. My area is listed as a hotspot, so apparently I'm eligible for a vaccine earlier than expected, but there's no indication of when I'll get an appointment. I was one of the quick ones who managed to register while the website was active, but haven't received any further information.
I keep looking at flights back to New Zealand. I'd have to fly to Vancouver, then to Los Angeles, and then to Auckland. It's expensive. Then I have to quarantine for fourteen days. Also expensive. It's an option I'd rather not take unless absolutely necessary. Also I'd be flying back into winter, and that's just depressing.
I'm tired because my patience is running out. I don't have motivation to do anything. It sucks.
Posted by Jeremy at 3:02am on Saturday April 17, 2021 :: 0 comments ::
(Almost) One Year of Pandemic
Sunday February 28, 2021
We're coming up to a whole year of working from home, marking what has been an extraordinarily disappointing and depressing year for many of us, myself included. Winter has been tough. What is normally a festive time with gatherings for Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year and Random Events in March became a long, cold and literally dark lockdown over four months. I've made it clear I've struggled a lot throughout this time; I like to think of myself as very mentally stable but even this has been taxing on me. I got a sun lamp from Bed Bath and Beyond just after Christmas, and that's definitely helped. Walmart was supposed to deliver one before Christmas but they screwed up the order and it ended up getting sent back to the supplier, some random dodgy house in Seattle. I bought some bathroom scales as well, and I've lost 4kg since a year ago.
It's frustrating because it feels like I'm not doing anything with my life at the moment. I'm just passing time until everything is back to normal. It feels like a massive waste, and it's even more disheartening for me because I look back at my friends and family in New Zealand, who have enjoyed a magnificent summer and an almost COVID-free lifestyle. Our case numbers are dropping though, it might give us a bit of reprieve from lockdown as the weather starts to warm up. I've tried to get outdoors every so often, even though it's usually been below zero. Really the only reason I leave the house now is for food, be it to pick up some takeaways from my favourite neighbourhood joints, or to walk to Nations to get groceries. Sometimes I bike out to Cherry Beach along the waterfront trail, which is really nice. There's a fantastic sunset viewpoint at Polson Pier, which I've caught a few times.
Even in times like this, there's still some beautiful scenery to see around the city. But I miss travelling and going to restaurants and playing badminton and going to the gym. I guess I'm missing social interaction a lot more than I thought I would.
Posted by Jeremy at 4:27pm on Sunday February 28, 2021 :: 0 comments ::
Second Lockdown
Monday November 30, 2020
I'm finding second lockdown harder than the first. I'm not quite sure if it's a combination of boredom because outside is cold, dark, wet, windy, snowing, or a combination of the above, or if it's the onset of seasonal affective disorder, or if it's something else. I don't have any fun events or social gatherings to look forward to. It's just...how can I pass the time until everything is over.
This past weekend was sunny at least, and I spent most of it biking around the waterfront. I made it all the way to Cherry Beach. There were quite a few people out, though I did wonder how many of those people were socialising outside their household bubble. That's probably another factor in my frustration, I feel like I'm giving up a lot of the things I like doing but others aren't.
And then I look back at New Zealand, where my family are, where people are hugging and high fiving and enjoying the warmer weather and the longer days. Holiday season sucks when you're alone. It's going to be a long winter.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:02pm on Monday November 30, 2020 :: 0 comments ::
Three Year Anniversary
Thursday July 30, 2020
Over four months have passed since we went into lockdown and started working from home. Toronto will move into Stage 3 of its economic opening plan, which allows for restrictive dine-in at restaurants and the opening of gyms and other recreational facilities. Masks continue to be mandatory in all indoor locations, and by and large, Canadians have responded well to the recommendations by health officials - and it shows in our decreasing numbers. Despite my love of food, it's unlikely I'll be dining in any time soon, just to make sure we stomp out that remainder of cases and don't get a second wave.
I was afraid we would have a bad summer but we've been able to enjoy the outdoors over the past few months. We've been on hikes in and outside of the city, visiting places like Mono Cliffs, Albion Falls and Limehouse Conservation Area. This weekend is Civic Holiday, and we'll be spending it near Sudbury, exploring Manitoulin Island and Killarney Provincial Park. The weather has been pretty scorching on most days, and while most of the weekends have been gloriously sunny, we've also had some fantastic summer thunderstorms which I've enjoyed watching from my balcony.
We've announced our release date for Watch Dogs: Legion, which will be October 29th 2020. It's been a hard slog but there's light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm looking forward to shipping my very first AAA game. Working from home has its challenges but on the whole, many of us have embraced this lifestyle and productivity has been very good. I still miss the social environment at the office, going out for lunches or grabbing a coffee or an ice cream, and Pokemon raids at the Water Tower or at Botman, but it's unlikely that I'll go back into the office until everything is back to normal.
It's been almost three years to the day since I landed in Toronto, and after last year's immigration hiccups when returning from Atlanta, I'm glad to say I'm finally a permanent resident of Canada. More than that, I've also bought an apartment within the same building I'm currently renting in, so yeah, looks like I'll be staying around for a while. Kind of a weird feeling to be adulting like this, but happy that I won't be paying someone else's mortgage anymore. It seemed like a good time to get into the market considering the effect that COVID19 has had on property and interest rates. There's still a few more things to sort out, and I need to start tidying up the place and getting ready to move, but it's good to know that I finally have a place to call my own.
Posted by Jeremy at 3:04am on Thursday July 30, 2020 :: 0 comments ::
Victoria Day
Tuesday May 19, 2020
It's been two months since the city was put on lockdown. Tomorrow, some non-essential businesses and offices will start to open as long as they can maintain social distancing. I will continue to work from home since my productivity is not drastically impacted, though my setup at the office is more ergonomic. In addition to that, apparently some badminton places are opening up too, so we might be able to get out on the courts next week.
The weather has continued to be kinda gross, which helps with the stay at home thing. Last week it snowed, but like I've said before, what even is normal weather in this city? This weekend was definitely shorts and t-shirt weather though. I've been doing three hour walks in all directions from my place. The trail that runs next to the Humber River from Old Mill is really nice, as is High Park when there aren't as many people. Saturday walks usually start in the morning and end up at Nations around lunchtime, where I'll grab some Five Guys or Firehouse Subs for lunch, and a cheeky milk tea from Chatime, and then do my grocery shopping before heading home.
As the weather improves (it's almost summer?!), it's going to be harder and harder to stay at home. The number of daily cases continues to drop but it's not like New Zealand where they're enjoying zero cases regularly, or one case from a known cluster. My flights to Malaysia were cancelled too. It's still very uncertain how all of this is going to pan out, and I'm really hoping things will start going back to normal soon.
I need a damn haircut.
Posted by Jeremy at 2:49am on Tuesday May 19, 2020 :: 0 comments ::
COVID-19
Tuesday March 24, 2020
It's a strange time. Countries around the world have gone into lockdown, closing all non-essential businesses, public amenities, education providers, tourist attractions and meeting places. The streets are much less busy, save for the frenzy at supermarkets as people stupidly hoard supplies like canned food, frozen pizza and for some inexplicable reason, toilet paper. Thankfully, the weather is still cold and miserable, and the temptation to go outside is almost non-existent.
I'm lucky that I have a place to live, food to eat (and damn my cooking is so good) and that I have continued employment during this time. In fact, as part of the entertainment industry, it's our duty to provide that beacon of entertainment in the darkness of social isolation. All of Ubisoft Toronto is now mandated to work from home, as are many others in the city. Having the Internet keeps me connected to friends and family around the world who are going through similar lockdowns. Of course I miss badminton, going out for dinner, karaoke, going to the gym and playing the piano, but we must make sacrifices now or pay much greater consequences later.
It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There's growing uncertainty with what the world will be like in a month's time. In two month's time. We just have to take it one day at a time, knowing that our self isolation is for the greater good.
Posted by Jeremy at 2:57am on Tuesday March 24, 2020 :: 0 comments ::