At work, the first batch of Dell laptops we purchased in response to the pandemic, in support of fully remote teaching, is about to expire on its basic warranty. Can you believe that? It’s been a whole three years since the start of COVID. Sometimes it takes a laptop warranty expiring to remind me just how long ago that is. Obviously, plenty have changed, both in the external world and my own personal life. And yet sometimes it can still feel like we’re in a bit of stasis since March 2020. A long continuation of (hopefully) the worse global pandemic in our lifetimes.
Of course, we don’t hear or talk about COVID-19 anymore. No more daily hospitalization numbers, no more masking guidelines. Even the vaccination campaigns have gone radio silence. It’s down to personal decisions now, on how careful you want to be. And we should respect each other’s rights to do so.
The pandemic is over. Life is back to normal. This past weekend I attended a lovely baby shower, in a recreation center room with about 50 people. Think back to two years ago: you wouldn’t dream to do such a reckless thing. Not without masking, lots of open windows, and minimal hugging. COVID is something we no longer think about. And while it’s taken longer than we’d all like, three years is not so bad in the grand scheme of things. We can, and have, finally move on.
Even the ultra-restrictive China have opened back up to complete normalcy. Foreigners can finally get into the country, on previously issued visas (or you can get a new one). I am not doing any traveling this summer. (Have you seen the prices of everything travel related?) The only flying I’m planning on is at the end of the year: to China. To visit relatives I’ve not seen in person in three years. In sha'Allah that will come to fruition.
Here comes the graduate.