INFORMS Open Forum

  • 1.  Fun Post - looking for the positive

    Posted 01-12-2023 09:49

    Hello!

    The last 2 years have been far from ordinary. So many changes and so many unknowns. However, are you able to come up with something positive from this stressful time? I enjoyed how much less driving we had to do!



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    Jill Capello
    Membership Associate
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
    jcapello@informs.org
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  • 2.  RE: Fun Post - looking for the positive

    Posted 01-13-2023 05:10
    • During the two years, I stayed at home for much longer than I would have before 2020. Out of boredom, I frequently watched YouTube videos, as the TV programs were repetitive and dull on my end. Thanks to this, I did improve my English and changed the way I spoke as well.
    • In my opinion, instant overseas collaboration is luxurious before the pandemic (Skype worked but I found its connection quality way too poor to be useful for any practical purposes). With conference software such as Zoom, Teams, it is simply a part of my routine now.


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    Vincent Tsz Fai Chow
    Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies
    The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
    Email: tsz-fai.chow@polyu.edu.hk
    https://tfvchow.github.io
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  • 3.  RE: Fun Post - looking for the positive

    Posted 01-13-2023 09:37
    I've been working from home for close to 30 years.  So when the lockdown began, my work life initially didn't change that much.

    But there was one big change, which was less travel.  And I realized that occasional business travel is good to do when you are always working from home.  Some reasons:
    • Time away from  your spouse is healthy for your marriage. As the old saying goes, "absence makes the heart grow fonder."
    • It's mentally healthy to use your analytics skills outside your home.  When you travel for business, that naturally occurs.  We had a client that allowed a visit to their facility in January, 2021, and I came home feeling energized because I was doing my job outside my house for the first time in 10 months.


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    -Irv Lustig
    Optimization Principal
    Princeton Consultants
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  • 4.  RE: Fun Post - looking for the positive

    Posted 01-25-2023 12:16
    Since retiring from Bell Labs after 25 years in Math Research, we moved to Whidbey Island where I volunteer in high school math classes & coach Math Olympiad tams. In a typical week, I was within 6' of over 100 students!

    So COVID was a HUGE adjustment for me. I would have never imagined "surviving" two years of isolation. 

    But the upside is that I earned that my 30 hours/week of volunteering had taken away from my private life. I was able to watch Netflix, read some books, catch up on some overdue project, spend more time with my wife and or dog. What a revelation!

    After COVID, I decided to find a balance. I resigned from two nonprofit boards, cut the number of math classes I visit visit in half. And kept my work with advanced math kids level. 

    This was the best decision I could have made. And all thanks to COVID.


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    Clyde Monma
    Retired Math Researcher
    Clinton WA
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  • 5.  RE: Fun Post - looking for the positive

    Posted 01-13-2023 09:48
    Edited by Andrew Acosta 01-13-2023 09:51
    Over the past two years, I have been mainly working from home or other remote places. It gave me the advantage of having manuals and textbooks on hand to assist my coding and analysis. I do not memorize everything, hence the books. My commute time went from one hour to one minute, a boost to productivity.

    I traveled less often to meet clients, using video chat software (e.g. MS-Teams, Skype, WebEx). Many clients were off-shore and no travel was necessary.

    My quarantine experience was very much that of  many others, and I think several of us worked longer hours.

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    Andrew Acosta
    Data Scientist
    Milesius Capital Resources LLC
    Chicago IL
    andrew@acm.org
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  • 6.  RE: Fun Post - looking for the positive

    Posted 01-15-2023 15:31
    During the pandemic, we learned what activities worked well (or OK) remotely and which were best done in person. When one of my daughters and her husband switched to remote work when the pandemic began, they were living near Washington, D.C. in a small apartment and (for my daughter) about a one-hour commute. Realizing they could work from anywhere, they temporarily moved to small-town Potsdam New York (near my wife and me) while they rented a house. They recently bought a house even closer to us and plan to continue working remotely for the foreseeable future. It's a better life for them, their kids, and my wife and me!

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    John Milne
    Clarkson University
    Potsdam, NY
    jmilne@clarkson.edu
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