So it’s been a year now since U of C said “don’t come to campus!” and I’ve been working from home.

I freaking hate it.

I’m so sick of always being in the same place. Of course I get to go out and walk the river path and run the river path and all that stuff. But I always come back to the same place. There is no variety and it’s really getting to me.

I miss my office. I miss having my own space. I don’t have my own space at home. My computer is set up on the dining room table. I miss having that physical separation between “this is where I work” and “this is where I live.” And I really miss teaching in person.

What’s worse is that I still don’t know when we’ll be able to go back. The university is supposed to announce the plans for fall semester sometime in April. I can’t imagine us going all the way back to “live” classes, especially for the larger classes with 200+ students, but who knows.

The thing is, though, that as much as I hate working from home, I’d rather be stuck with that in the fall than return before we can be sure that most people (profs, staff, students) are fully vaccinated. I remember those Science Theater hallways – SO MANY PEOPLE crowded in there while classes change. I would not want to be in a classroom of 200 students, let alone in a crowded hallway with hundreds more.

But Canada’s going with the stupid (in my opinion) vaccine plan of getting everyone vaccinated with their first shot by June and then waiting FOUR FREAKING MONTHS until the lowest risk group (which I’m sure I’m in) is supposed to get their second shot. They’re banking on it being okay to wait that long between doses which (again in my opinion) is super risky.

It also means that the lowest risk group won’t be fully vaccinated before the fall semester starts. And maybe I’m being overly worried, but I really don’t want to be around that many people before I get my second shot (and before most of those people get their second shot as well).

It’s just…ugh. So frustrating.