Average Friday and Least-er Sunday

I was back at work for 3 days because my company shifted to a 4-day schedule to save money and a public holiday on Friday. Since everyone was working from home, it didn't matter that I was still in Ottawa at my Mom's place.

My first team meeting since the province-wide lockdown was an interesting contrast. Given last year's employee exodus over unpaid salaries and a mini-layoff in January, those who stayed were generally unmotivated. At the other end, the CPO enthusiastically laid out a detailed road-map although they were sensible enough to not include actual dates. I don't doubt they were a true believer, but perhaps they also finagled a pay raise with their promotion into an executive role. I've taken an informal survey of my remaining co-workers, those who have worked with me across several companies. Most of us were pondering how an old colleague from back in the day managed to transition to early retirement at the end of 2019. In other words, not much faith and even less zeal.

My virtual lunch with friends had some down-beat news. A mutual friend finally found work after years of unemployment due to life circumstances and medical issues. But one week in and the pandemic arrived. No staff lay-off yet though new employees on probation were unlikely to be protected. Another friend was about to start major renovation on their fire-damaged home after months of planning and municipal hurdles. With everything now on hold, it could possibly be another year with their family crammed into an apartment.

On Good Friday, I ordered pizza for my first restaurant meal in 3 weeks. It was mostly underwhelming. One nice thing about living in an urban Toronto neighbourhood, you had great local choices for even "simple" food. I hope they and other unglamorous businesses (like laundromats, thrift stores, or repair shops) will pull through.

Sunday arrived without fanfare though I did talk to my grandma on the phone. This was originally planned as a day of celebration back in February for my aunt's first grand-child. It would have been a large extended family get-together and one of many "firsts" (Easter, Canada Day, etc.) for the child. She might not have too many family photos of this first year.