At the beginning of 2020 I was hoping for a much better year than 2019, a year in which I lost a job, dealt with a persistent stalling in my car, and had unexpected health problems, the details of either I won't get into here. I got a new job reporting local news, and I was looking forward to many special events I hoped to attend. I was going bowling again, and I made a New Year's resolution to go to the gym more often, which I did. I even hoped to get closer to a woman I've known for years. Yes - romance! As for this new virus in China, I mostly expected it to stay in China or at the most affect only a couple of other countries, as was the case with SARS and H1N1.
Things went well at first, for about the first two months. But the past four months, thanks to the explosion of COVID-19, have humbled me to the point where I am about to collapse onto my knees and ask - beg, even - for the mistress of fate to give me a break. As a result of the pandemic, I lost a second job I'd had for eight years. The unemployment office has given me a hassle. All of the events I'd been looking forward to were obviously canceled, and not only did the gym I belong to close, it isn't scheduled to reopen until New Year's Day and, because it is a public and not a privately owned facility - and a facility that happened to be in deep financial trouble before the pandemic - it may not reopen at all. And that woman I mentioned? Well, I'm glad I had lunch with her in February before all the restaurants closed, because she's been out of reach for much of the past four months.
And to add insult to injury, my household has been dealing with problems unrelated to the pandemic. Our refrigerator broke at the beginning of June and we lost a lot of food. We got it repaired two weeks later, but the the relief was short-lived and it broke again a week after; we were able to save most of the food this time, but we could be looking forward to a situation where multiple repair efforts are needed before the problem is fixed for good - that is, like my car stall repair all over again. And this week, a significant water main break has required every one in my town to boil water until further notice - meaning, they don't know when the water will be safe to drink again.
Looking ahead on June 30, I fear that the second half of the year is bound to be more difficult. Although I may get my old job back in September, I have to deal with the unemployment office beforehand regarding my claim beforehand, I have to renew my driver's license in early November during a possible second wave of the pandemic, and, of course, the weather almanacs predict a hurricane hitting some part of the Northeast this fall. I'm already looking forward to 2021, although I have a feeling that next year isn't going to be much better.
And who knows who's going to be sitting in the White House by then.
Two thousand twenty is my year, all right - my hard luck year. :-(
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