I know a lot of people who work in/with/on Asia. They pay attention to different news sources. Some of them already foresaw the coming of the virus way back in December, 2019. Because China had repeated outbreaks over the last few decades, these guys were prepared and stocked up before 2020. They alerted me to beat the rush.

In retrospect, pandemic prep just wasn't high on my list. Hurricanes, tornadoes, blackouts -- yes, but not pandemics. I didn't stockpile anything, but I had enough. I had a machine that made hypochlorous acid, so I didn't need to buy hand sanitizer. I had more masks than I could use.

At the end, I just spent the year working from home, having my groceries delivered, walking my dog a lot, and discovering different varieties of coffee through mail order. It was great, actually.

To be fair, I was really lucky to have a stable job that allowed me to work from home, and to be able to choose whether I wanted to be around people. Not everyone had the same choices.

Some benefits from this year's experience:

1. I learned to wash my hands thoroughly. Why not do it right if you're going to do it at all?

2. I'm going to continue wearing a mask even after the pandemic is over. (a) I no longer have to suppress my facial expression when people at work say or do stupid things, because the mask hides it for me. (b) I like having another fashion accessory. Yes, they actually sell sets of matching mask and pocket square! (c) Normally every year I'd catch a cold once or twice. I was fine this year. I enjoy not getting sick.

3. Lots of stuff got moved online. I got access to things that would normally require international travel.