POSITIVE Stories From COVID Lockdown

[Marshall Tucker]

Once some of the early restrictions lifted I focused pretty hard on my tennis game, pretty safe by covid standards.

In my very large city there is a league that is unique to the city in which about 80,000 participants are organized into teams, mostly by neighborhood/facility, then by relative level. there are 64 teams at each of 25 levels, organized ito 8 8-team flights. After a 7 match regular season the top two teams from each flight go to a 16-team win-or-go-home playoff grid with the winner pronounced "city champ" for the season at that level. The league has been around, at this participation level, since the late 60s. A bunch of smart-asses like me try to game the system constantly, in short, very difficult to win a citi champ. We won for the fall 2020 season and it was a blast. The playoff matches are a huge party with a lot of the 'hood coming out, kegs, and cheering/heckling (example. my partner hits 3 difficult shots and a put-away while I just stand there. sideline erupts "way to play marshall" etc.) .

I was pretty clutch in the playoff stretch and was undefeated on the season at the most difficult line 1. I then found out i did it with a cateract / weak eye. Heavy 4.0 now hoping to get to 4.5. good times!

the team and our champ plates

[BmillsSkier]

^^^
Woot!

[Self Jupiter]

Began to pattern out my local inshore and surf fishing spots for striped bass with a lot more success, I had always been a boat fishing guy. Getting proficient with artificials has been a lot of fun. Experienced a lot more sunrises than I have in years past. Grateful for finding a new hobby I can do by myself right in my neighborhood for the rest of my life.

[ötzi]

Got a new hip. Got a new dog. Stayed married. Got a new boat. Looks like maybe I beat cancer. Been kinda busy.

[Marshall Tucker]

^ about time to fall down break somethin donchathink ;-)

[ötzi]

Oh I'm sure that's coming at some point.

[JaytaeMoney]

Got hugely back into mtb after a years long hiatus. Bikes have come a loooooong way, luckily purchased my shiny new one last spring right before they started flying off the shelves. It has been great for my mental and physical health during the months where I can't ski!

[XXX-er]

Once some of the early restrictions lifted I focused pretty hard on my tennis game, pretty safe by covid standards.

In my very large city there is a league that is unique to the city in which about 80,000 participants are organized into teams, mostly by neighborhood/facility, then by relative level. there are 64 teams at each of 25 levels, organized ito 8 8-team flights. After a 7 match regular season the top two teams from each flight go to a 16-team win-or-go-home playoff grid with the winner pronounced "city champ" for the season at that level. The league has been around, at this participation level, since the late 60s. A bunch of smart-asses like me try to game the system constantly, in short, very difficult to win a citi champ. We won for the fall 2020 season and it was a blast. The playoff matches are a huge party with a lot of the 'hood coming out, kegs, and cheering/heckling (example. my partner hits 3 difficult shots and a put-away while I just stand there. sideline erupts "way to play marshall" etc.) .

I was pretty clutch in the playoff stretch and was undefeated on the season at the most difficult line 1. I then found out i did it with a cateract / weak eye. Heavy 4.0 now hoping to get to 4.5. good times!

the team and our champ plates

At first glance i thot it was an ultimate tournament

[Mofro261]

Positives? I'll put 280" of new at the top of my local hill just during February in the freakin' awesome column.
No traffic commuting in Seattle for an entire year.
And puppies.





Puppies saved my soul.

[Marshall Tucker]

At first glance i thot it was an ultimate tournament

Fair point. some were thrown as frisbees before the sun set.

[S_jenks]

Love the positivity in this thread.

- Got engaged to the love of my life.
- Neither of us were ever unemployed.
- Got a promoted to a managerial position.
- Spent more time outdoors than I even have.
- Cooking at home more, and have tried more and more new recipes.

[EWG]

At first glance i thot it was an ultimate tournament

Cage Ultimate.

[XXX-er]

Fair point. some were thrown as frisbees before the sun set.

but then i noticed absence of facial hair, neatly cut short hair, everbody was wearing shoes, neatly dressed, no plaid and so I read the write up

[Wrecked]

I didn’t get divorced....
And I was pretty sure I was headed in that direction before this all started.

But somehow having to team up and be together all the time helped us...

[cravenmorhead]

Nice thread.

Working from home has been rad. And I had already planned on an August 2021 move to a new house. It was going to require me to tell my job I need to telecommute 3-4 times a week. I figured that would be a coin toss, but now it seems a whole lot more likely they take me up on the offer.

Truck camping with the kid got me out of my COVID depression. Then buying a raft and river camping kept me out of it. After a lot of creekboating and class IV-V whitewater, it's great to get the family out on the river and not be freaked out.

[John_B]

Got a decent garden started and am even more inspired for this year

Rode my bike and hunted a ton.

Got a new job last April.

Didn't get divorced.

Have an excess of time to tinker around the house.

[yeahman]

Climbed six or seven peaks near town that we had previously overlooked. Mostly obscure bushwhacking affairs. In fact when I look through my camera photos from this past year, I see our family actually did all kinds of weird hikes, bikes and camping trips close to town that we probably would not have otherwise done.

This is a good thread. Since the beginning of covid, my wife has been talking about "covid positives," i.e. things that have changed for the better. I think we'll all look back one day and see it wasn't all bad.

[yeahman]

x3. Haven't been inside a building at the ski hill yet this season. Post skiing parking lot beers (PLB's) with friends tends to be much more pleasant than cramming into the ski hill watering hole with a bunch of annoying tourists. Especially now that the weather's warmer / nicer.

It's totally changed our Big Sky routine too. We drank all outdoor beers this year, did not socialize inside once. And rather than going out to eat with the family, which is a total hassle when everybody is tired from skiing, we did takeout all year. After a couple weekends we started to realize we actually preferred just eating in the room together. It's way more relaxing than fighting for a table in some restaurant.

[#######]

+++

I got to join the state bike team for a month. Honestly the happiest I probably have been my entire adult life, spending 3-6 hours, five days a week pedaling around the county lines and finally checked off 200 miles sub 12 hours. This led to other life altering decisions which included not renewing my IKON this year. Definitely moved the stoke meter away from wanting apres to wanting lattes.

[buttahflake]

State bike team? Huh

[#######]

State bike team? Huh

Well it would have been the state ski team but the resorts were closed by then and unemployment didn't question activities outside of looking for work, which wasn't an issue because there was none to look for.

[buttahflake]

Ah yes, I was also on the state bike team this past summer. Put over 9,000 miles in.

[KQ]

Not a positive story per se but something good because of the pandemic.

I haven't had my hair cut in well over a year. It's longer than it's been in decades (probably since Jr High). When I finally do get it cut I will be able to donate my hair to a charity that makes wigs for children who are experiencing hair loss due to medical conditions.

[Kinnikinnick]

You want a positive story out of the shit show of the COVID-19?

When PPE supplies were dwindling and the predictions were dire for the possibility to overwhelm conventional production and supply channels, people all over stepped up to fill that gap.

https://opensourcemedicalsupplies.or...ew.25Jan21.pdf

https://opensourcemedicalsupplies.or...vqQ5KbL4n--5eY


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[riser4]

Not a positive story per se but something good because of the pandemic.

I haven't had my hair cut in well over a year. It's longer than it's been in decades (probably since Jr High). When I finally do get it cut I will be able to donate my hair to a charity that makes wigs for children who are experiencing hair loss due to medical conditions.

Been a year for me too. I am not sure I can hold out much longer. It has to be pretty long to donate and I started with a buzz cut. I won't make it another year.