Z is for Zoom

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to Z!  We're looking at – Zoom.

We already discussed remote learning/meeting under letter R.  Let's end our look back on 2020 with some of the mishaps!

Lawyer cat
The moral of this story is be sure you know how to use your technology!

Traffic trial while in surgery
I've been a temporary judge presiding over traffic trials.  This commissioner was 100% correct in rescheduling the hearing for another day.  OMG!

Here's a compilation of epic Zoom mishaps from a lawyer perspective.

Thanks for looking at 2020 with me.  Come back on Monday for A-to-Z Reflections!

Y is for Year

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to Y!  We're looking at – Year.

Here we are, sprinting toward the finish line!

Yes, 2020 was definitely a year to remember.  Or conversely, one we'd all like to forget.  Let's not focus too much on the negative though.  Here's a list [okay, it's a short list] of the benefits we've learned and experienced in 2020:

1. People really can work from home and still be productive.
2. Zoom meetings are convenient and save so much travel time and expense.
3. Commutes in Los Angeles are much better when they're not 60+ minutes each way.

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter Z:

X is for Explosion

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to X!  We're looking at – Beirut Explosion.

On August 4, 2020, a massive explosion of ammonium nitrate occurred at the port in Beirut, Lebanon.  This is truly the largest explosion I've ever seen.  

The Guardian has a great set of before/after photos that show you the incredible scope of the devastation.

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter Y:

W is for Wildfires

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to W!  We're looking at – Wildfires.

Here in California, summer 2020 was one of the worst fire seasons in recorded history.  More than four million acres burned.  Here's a map.  Here's another map:

From late 2019 through early 2020, Australia experienced one of its worst fire seasons in recorded history.  More than 46 million acres burned.  There's even a separate Wikipedia article on it.

Interesting bit of trivia – in the US, these fires are called brushfires.  In Australia, they're called bushfires.

Have you ever been impacted by a wildfire?

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter X:

V is for Vaccination

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to V!  We're looking at – Vaccination.

Near the end of 2020, several vaccines were in trials.  As of now, there are three different COVID-19 vaccines available in the US for people age 16+.  We're definitely looking forward to a time when all these restrictions can go away and places are open again!

Have you been vaccinated?

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter W:

U is for UFO

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to U!  We're looking at – UFO [unidentified flying objects].

Did anyone have “increased UFO sightings” and “release of previous UFO sightings” on their 2020 scorecard?

Pentagon releases UFO videos
From CNN
From BBC

2020 UFO research and sightings
Research
Sightings

Have you ever seen a UFO?

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter V:

T is for Toilet Paper

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to T!  We're looking at – TOILET PAPER.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what would you want to have with you?

Three things people would take to a desert island

Surviving on a desert island

As it turns out, if you're stranded in the comfort of your own home, the first thing on everyone's list is TOILET PAPER!

What did you hoard during quarantine?

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter U:

 

S is for Symptoms

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to S!  We're looking at – SYMPTOMS.

2020 was the year when it really was okay to “stay home when you're sick”.  Back in our pre-pandemic life, many people, including me, would go to the office even when sick.  Not in 2020.  Even if you are considered an essential worker and your symptoms were standard cold symptoms and not COVID symptoms, you were usually not allowed to go to work.

Here are the typical COVID symptoms:
~Fever or chills
~Cough
~Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
~Fatigue
~Muscle or body aches
~Headache
~New loss of taste or smell
~Sore throat
~Congestion or runny nose
~Nausea or vomiting
~Diarrhea

In my family, one son had loss of smell but that's it.  The other son who still lives at home had a cough but that's it.  I had fatigue and cough.  My husband had fever, fatigue, headache, and diarrhea.  So even four separate people can all have the same virus but have wildly different symptoms.

Did you have COVID?  Were your symptoms similar to mine, or different?

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter T:

R is for Remote Working and Schooling

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to R!  We're looking at – REMOTE WORKING AND SCHOOLING.

In mid-March 2020, my state, California, basically shut down.  There were almost NO cars on the freeways for over a month!  My job is considered essential, so I still drove to the office, which previously had required 60 minutes but during March 2020 that time was reduced to 30 minutes!  Yay!  The best part of this pandemic.

My college kids fired up their computers and logged into classes from home.  They missed their friends but overall it worked okay for them.  Younger kids did not have such an easy transition, and many people believe students kindergarten through high school  lost an entire year of education, and it will be a struggle not only to catch up, but to re-connect with their social groups.

I worked from home for a month, while my family recovered from COVID.  But even while working from the office, I made court appearances by phone and video.  Definitely an interesting experience.  My advice - know how to use your computer!
 

How did your family handle remote work or school?

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter S:

Q is for Quarantine

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to Q!  We're looking at – QUARANTINE [LOCKDOWNS].

In March 2020, we were all told to STAY HOME and we were SAFER AT HOME and “15 days to flatten the curve”.  The CDC is still saying that as of the date I'm writing this blog post, even though we have vaccines.  I don't know about you, but my definition of "15 days" is definitely different than the US government's definition.

Now I'm reading news of an obesity epidemic and an increased suicide rate, and a recent news article indicates that people are now actually dying because of inactivity.  There's also speculation that the recent increase in mass shootings is related.

One of my kids is significantly disabled.  It is essentially impossible for him to learn from a screen, so if he was still school-aged, we would have had a major problem.  But we found a few computer games that he likes to play and that teach him things, so he has that.  But - He had a therapist coming to our house three times a week.  He played basketball and baseball.  He was in Boy Scouts.  We took him camping, to theme parks, to other places so he had the chance of experiencing new things.  All of that stopped in March 2020.  A few of those things have re-opened now, but for an entire year he had nothing, and the hardest part for us is that he didn't understand why and we couldn't really explain it to him.

How did your family handle the quarantine?

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter R:

P is for Protests

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to P!  We're looking at – PROTESTS.

Beginning in late May 2020 when a Black man died because of the actions of a white police officer, people across the US have been protesting in favor of Black Lives Matter and against police brutality.  Many protests have been peaceful, but some have become violent, including looting and arson.

Were you involved in any protests?

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter Q:

O is for Olympics

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to O!  We're looking at – OLYMPICS.

The 2020 summer Olympic games had originally been planned to begin in Tokyo in July 2020.  Obviously that didn't happen.  They've been rescheduled for July 23 through August 8, 2021.  Japan will not permit international visitors, just the athletes and spectators from Japan.

I've seen several numbers, but it appears the 2020 Olympics will cost Tokyo a total of $12-15 billion.  The postponement is projected to add 20% to that number.  Not allowing international visitors will make it impossible to collect enough money to offset that amount.

Beijing is scheduled to host the 2022 winter Olympic games.  It's possible they won't have international visitors either.

Here's a teaser for Monday, letter P:

N is for No Smell

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to N!  We're looking at – NO SMELL.

My husband had the misfortune of a positive COVID test in late September 2020.  Because my job is considered essential, I had been working in the office all during the pandemic.  But once we had a positive test in the family, my boss sent me home.  I worked from home for 2 weeks.  My COVID tests were always negative because I had COVID in March right when everything was shutting down.

After the two week period and a negative COVID test for me, I was scheduled to start back at the office the following Monday, mid-October.  On that Saturday, one of my kids [age 22] complained that he couldn't taste his dinner.  Yes he tested positive, so I worked from home for another 2 weeks, until the end of October.  Interestingly, that was his only symptom.  While the rest of my family had varying degrees of exhaustion and weakness, along with fever, coughing, headache, etc, my 22yo son had only this one symptom. While he was “sick”, he even used an axe to split wood in the backyard to prepare for the winter.

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter O:

M is for Murder Hornets

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to M!  We're looking at – MURDER HORNETS.

My first idea for M was the dreaded and infamous face masks

But I decided that murder hornets would be more fun.  In late 2019 and early 2020, murder hornets were found on the northwest coast of North America, in British Columbia Canada and Washington US.

Otherwise known as Asian giant hornets, murder hornets are the world's largest hornets, with a body measuring 1-3/4 inches long and a windspan of 3 inches.  Yikes!

I would NOT want to find a hornet that large anywhere within the same zipcode as me.  The stinger is about 1/4 inch long.  As a comparison, a honeybee stinger is 1/16 inch long.  Double yikes!  As reported by one victim, the stinger injects a venom that causes the affected area to feel like it was “stabbed with a hot nail”.  One sting won't kill a human unless the person is allergic, but several stings can be lethal.

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter N:

L is for Long Lines

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to L!  We're looking at – LONG LINES.

About a week after CA shut down for the pandemic [early March 2020], I went to the grocery store.  After selecting my items, I discovered the line to check out went all around the perimeter of the store and it took 45 minutes for me to get to the front.

Later on during the shutdown, the lines were restricted to OUTSIDE the store.  It would take 45-60 minutes of waiting outside in the parking lot before you could even go inside.  But once inside, the wait was minimal.

The one line that improved in 2020, and the only thing about this pandemic that I'll miss, is the traffic in and out of Los Angeles.  My commute time to the office went from 60-75 minutes [on a good day] to 35-45 minutes.  Nice!

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter M:

K is for Kobe Bryant

This year for the A-to-Z Challenge, I'll be looking at major events that happened in 2020 [the year we would all like to forget, so let's look at it first, before flushing it down the toilet].

Welcome to K!  We're looking at – KOBE BRYANT.

We lost several well-known people in 2020, some because of coronavirus and some for other reasons.  Kobe Bryant died at age 41 on January 26, 2020, along with his 13yo daughter and 7 other people, in a helicopter crash.

Known as the Black Mamba, he played for the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team for his entire 20 year career and was one of the best players in the game.  He left behind his wife Vanessa and three daughters.

Here's a teaser for tomorrow, letter L: