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Ask HN: How are you holding up?

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Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#281

Post by ezimonbizkit »

gqxhoqvpnb wrote: post #178

Pretty terrible. I have no prospects, my startups all failed, I've lost most of my money (lost about $2m that I saved over 10 years and earned from previous startups which I managed to cash out). I tried to go the VC route, but no investors wanted to talk to me, so I spent my own money instead and now I'm broke. I need to find a job, but because I'm highly experienced and older (35 y/o), most companies see me as expe…

Hey. I've been lurking HN for years, and just made an account to reply this.

There's a way. Reach out to anybody or me if you need it. You were able to build a stellar resume. You did GH projects with thousands of users. You have experience.

You got this.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#282

Post by bargl »

gqxhoqvpnb wrote: post #178

Pretty terrible. I have no prospects, my startups all failed, I've lost most of my money (lost about $2m that I saved over 10 years and earned from previous startups which I managed to cash out). I tried to go the VC route, but no investors wanted to talk to me, so I spent my own money instead and now I'm broke. I need to find a job, but because I'm highly experienced and older (35 y/o), most companies see me as expe…

Hey, Reach out to some consultancies. I really like AIM consulting. I know it's tough right now, but the nice thing about consulting is they bring in experts they want to teach them and kick ass.

Opinionated, well spoken people tend to do really well in consultancies. Find companies that do cool things and be part of them. You can also gain experience while moving around and helping non-tech companies come up to speed. It can be PAINFUL but it can also be SUPER duper fun. When you find someone going the wrong direction, offer advice and they listen to and improve from your suggestions.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#283

Post by N1H1L »

Parts of my company have come back onsite, while other parts are still WFH. There really has been no rubric for bringing people back to work, but rather how political or aggressive different division heads have been.

But you know what? It could be a lot, lot worse. I still have a job - the hit to my productivity is manageable, and my wife also has her job too. Every day I see on Linkedin, people posting about how they have been laid off. These are people with 5-10 years of work experience post-MBA (often from prestigious schools) and I am still really grateful to not face any financial hurdles yet.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#284

Post by mywittyname »

armSixtyFour wrote: post #219
iMark wrote: post #22

Years ago, I visited the zoo in Central Park in NYC and watched a polar bear, as it swam around and around in a pool. It swam in a triangle, touching the three same points on the wall of the enclosure as it made each circuit. Last month I walked around Greenwich Park in London 125 times, each time following exactly the same route. I thought about that polar bear a lot as I walked.

That polar bear was depressed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gus_(polar_bear) He was the first zoo animal to be given anti-depressants. There's even a song about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maQTLIWUZtw

I give my cat anti-depressants when he won't eat. It's pretty common from what the vet told me.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#285

Post by take_a_breath »

csunbird wrote: post #114
jaynetics wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It never ceases to amaze me how different people are. For me, all effects have been the exact opposite. Less going out, so more cooking and healthier eating. Less tired from open office noise, so more energy for sports. More free time without commute, so I picked up some long forgotten hobbies again. This means my advice might not apply to you, but if I may still recommend one thing: ignore most of the news for a whi…

I feel like the traditional office/working culture is built around extroverts and not compatible for introverts, since extroverts value face to face conversations and feel stimulated and prefer the open office and other noises. This change made introverts more comfortable, because all the other distractions are gone. I feel the same way like you do, I have more time and I was able to improve my daily life.

Like anything, the introvert/extrovert dichotomy is actually more like a scale. Few people are entirely on one end or the other.

I can generally prefer personal time and a quiet place to mull my thoughts, but at the same time miss the spontaneous discussion and emotional attachment that an office provides.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#286

Post by tasuki »

TimSchumann wrote: post #206
taylortrusty wrote: post #118

It’s okay. I live in New York City and am a very social person. Our company is all WFH but I was going into a coworking space each day. I went to tech and social events every night. I did a lot of happy hours. I saw friends every day, pretty much. March / April I saw no one other than my girlfriend a couple times a week. Time became slow. I became a lot less motivated. I was cooking more than ever and saving more mon…

A cost to coast drive in the US is something everyone should do at least once. I was able to drive the AlCan highway with a friend last spring, great memories.

> A cost to coast drive in the US is something everyone should do at least once.

Why?

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#287

Post by mensetmanusman »

The time has been a blessing in disguise.

In February we started caring for a family member suffering from psychosis. This time has allowed me to take daily walks with them to help with recovery and keep track of mental health (every service is closed due to covid, so have to take it into my own hands).

This has made the transition to living with us much more tenable I believe.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#289

Post by [deleted] »

jaynetics wrote: post #56
screye wrote: post #16

Really badly, but could be worse. I am entirely sure that I have moderate-serious depression since the lock down started. I rely entirely on external structure and physical separation of spaces to keep myself sane. So WFH has been disastrous for me. I have been eating worse, not working out, stopped pursuing hobbies/side projects and have been incredibly unproductive at work. Thankfully, a year of good results prior…

It never ceases to amaze me how different people are. For me, all effects have been the exact opposite. Less going out, so more cooking and healthier eating. Less tired from open office noise, so more energy for sports. More free time without commute, so I picked up some long forgotten hobbies again. This means my advice might not apply to you, but if I may still recommend one thing: ignore most of the news for a whi…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#290

Post by shireboy »

mech422 wrote: post #75
jaynetics wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It never ceases to amaze me how different people are. For me, all effects have been the exact opposite. Less going out, so more cooking and healthier eating. Less tired from open office noise, so more energy for sports. More free time without commute, so I picked up some long forgotten hobbies again. This means my advice might not apply to you, but if I may still recommend one thing: ignore most of the news for a whi…

I actually feel a lil guilty about how well things are going for me. Its not really been any change for me, same schedule - same job. I think the key is as you said, mostly avoiding the news. Every day or two, I skim over the headlines on CNN but mostly I avoid it. I do check the stock market in the mornings - I swear the DJIA is just a yo-yo. But it's just out of curiosity as I still have 15+ years before I can reti…

Agree 100%. I've felt a little guilty too. I started working from home full time about 4 months before covid landed in US. I'd built a nice above garage office. Kids homeschooled already. Planted a garden that's doing well, had more time for home projects, etc. I have friends not doing so well. I have donated to individuals and organizations since I feel I have an obligation to help people in need.

News is the biggest drag on my mental well being. It is important to be informed, but I genuinely feel that media is so driven by ad revenue and has optimized itself into being as negative and outrageous and _loud_ as possible, to the detriment of sane balanced information and opinion. I need to know the sides of current issues, but not loudly 24x7 with as much vitriol on all sides. I blocked several news sites and social media I habitually check in my hosts file, but somehow my browser still resolves the names. I need to fix that.

HackerNews is really one of the few sites I can expect to find calm reasoned discussion and information.

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