March to June 2020​
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Covid19 fell upon us. Interestingly a few days before the first lockdown, both Djazia and I got very sick. Most likely Covid.

For me, this pandemic changed my life in ways I did not expect. For the first time I started to work remotely, like everyone who had a desk job. Even though I had had a work laptop since I had joined Scaleway it was the first time I worked from home. Except when I needed to handle the on-call rotation.

It was both relaxing and stressful. It’s much harder to separate work and life when your work desk is in your living room. I’m grateful that I had moved into my new apartment before these events. It was a much better place to be confined home than any previous apartments I had lived in.

We cooked a lot. One of the TV shows we watched was from a French Chef, Cyril Lignac. We did many of the recipes they showcased. Djazia taught me a lot of new cooking skills. Most importantly, being accurate when following a recipe while not fully trusting it either.

I shared American and TexMex dishes. Djazia shared Algerian recipes. And we had the French ones in common. It was a pleasure. I truly enjoyed it.

Because we could no longer go out, we didn’t go out to bars or restaurants with friends. Almost overnight, I stopped drinking regularly. I chose to not purchase alcohol either during this period. I felt so much better.

One of the side effects was that I didn’t have to take the Parisian metro anymore. When we could go out again, and when we had to go back to the office, I strongly remember the horror of having to take the metro again. People smashed together. Horrible noises. Strong unpleasant smells. Pickpockets… It was so difficult.

I would choose to walk for more than an hour instead of taking the metro for 10 minutes. I would take the bus instead of the faster metro. I started to realize that I truly did not like many things that made Paris Paris. I had enjoyed this city so far because I could go to concerts, I could go out, there was public transport, there were jobs. Many of these elements, either no longer appealed to me or were completely devastated by the lockdowns.

For me, personally, it's a period I remember fondly. We watched many TV shows and talked a lot about our plans for the future. I know it’s not the case for everyone. Not everyone had the same privileges. I am grateful for that.

One thing that became increasingly clear was that I wanted to marry Djazia. During the lockdowns, I had exchanged online with her best friend. Sending different rings from different jewelers. I knew her favorite color was blue so I was looking for a ring with a sapphire. Eventually, I found one. I ordered it and it was delivered. I kept it hidden for a few weeks.

On the 6th of June 2020, we went to the amazing parc de Sceaux. I insisted we be dressed nicely. After walking around for a while, I asked her to marry me. She said yes! I was so happy. We celebrated.

We were now engaged. There was a bit of light in this Covid fog. In my mind, this pandemic is both negative and positive. Certainly life changing.

During that time, at work, I had experimented with different technologies.

If you have missed it, you can read the previous episode here​

To pair with :

• Sur le drapeau - Suprême NTM, Sofiane
• ECANCELED