stivi
Well-Known Member
first of all, thanks @Buckley for keeping up the tradition to start this thread. I really enjoy reading those posts and I believe I’m not the only one feeling like that. I’m also really glad that pretty much everyone who’s posted so far is doing OK all things considered.
my turn then. our 2020? a reality check. a slap in our faces. our world got turned upside down…or maybe it’s better if I say our world simply got paused. the coronavirus pandemic and in consequence the almost non-season here on the island has taken away the basis of life for me - both financially as well as culturally/emotionally. being the nightlife guy at spotlight it’s obvious what my basis of existence is economically, and having no clubs open this year you can probably guess we didn’t have a great year. but - and that’s almost as important - we (as in my wife and I) really live and breathe clubbing. in summer, I’m out in the clubs anywhere between two and five times a week, say from may to october. and in winter, even though we’re then clubbing far less, we would always spend a week in berlin at some point and do things like time warp or caprices festival and a few more parties here and there (plus of course dc10’s new year’s day party).
but from the start…(and I’ll actually start a bit before 2020) after the last season, in november, we went on holiday - road trip in the west of the USA. what a fantastic trip. we were in the states for over three weeks and on the way back we did a detour to switzerland to see family and friends (it’s the last time I’ve seen my parents). then after the usual christmas festivities in palma with my wife’s family and then dc10 on NYD, I went for my usual solo month of walking which took me down through the southern tip of andalucía and into northern morocco. so far so good!
at the start of february I was back in ibiza and that’s when things quickly started to change for worse. spotlight big boss @james ordered everyone to work from home, way before the rest of the team realised what was coming. and six weeks later, in the middle of march, lockdown one was a fact in spain. as you’ve surely read, our first lockdown was super strict and we weren’t even allowed out for walks or runs for almost two months. I’m a very outdoorsy person and I really suffered during that period. poor wife (who was happy staying home during lockdown) had to endure some emotional rollercoasters courtesy of yours truly.
springtime came and passed and it was clear ibiza would have its most unusual season ever. ibiza spotlight had to adapt to that reality and seeing we wouldn’t get any proper clubbing this year meant I was on furlough from march onwards. when tourism finally restarted, in june and july I applied to lots of jobs to try and improve my situation a little (furlough pay in spain is too much to die but too little to live) and just as I’d almost given up hope, I got a call and landed a job for the second part of the summer. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it here, but between august and mid october I manned the tourist info office in playa d’en bossa. it meant a lot of long boring days (because there weren’t lots of tourists asking for info) and pay also wasn’t great at all, but still a little better than doing nothing and staying on furlough.
since mid october I’m again unemployed and in the same situation as in spring (as in getting a very low unemployment pay). ever since I got together with my wife, I was always the one that had the bigger wage and paid for most of costs. this year the tables have turned and we are both super glad that she has a job which isn’t depending on tourism and/or clubbing. her salary isn’t the best, but between hers and what I currently get, we just about make ends meet. so she’s currently saving both our asses. but yes, we had to massively change our lifestyle this year. in a normal year, the way it works here for lots of people is you make money in summer and then spend it in winter…and then at the end of the winter you’re a bit skint, but you know that you’ll soon improve your situation again as the season ramps up. this year, after our usa trip and my walking month, corona hit us in the worst possible moment. a lesson learnt for the future, whenever things get better, I’ll save up some money which I’ll never touch unless things get really bad. that said, it’s also true that 95% of people here would never have expected this could really happen. you can expect a good season or a really bad one, but a complete non-season for the nightlife sector, that’s just not happened ever since the first clubs opened here on the island.
right now it’s not only the shortest days of the year, it’s also the darkest days mentally for me. we currently live on a minimum and simply wait for winter to pass. I’m still trying to enjoy the balearic winter by going on hikes and such, but as someone else has said, the longer the pandemic goes on, the more it is taking its toll mentally. my year was simply super boring. I am an extremely social person, I’m always around people, I love clubbing, dancing. all of that has been on pause for nearly a year now. also the fact my mother in law had a heart surgery in springtime and we often went to visit meant we were shielding all summer - I’ve not done one single villa party all summer (and that means something). I’ve had one party all summer, one night in pikes, where I also have to admit I threw all precautions overboard, but that was it. there are tons of people which I would usually see dozens of times over the course of the summer and whom I’ve not seen at all this year. I really miss seeing my friends in a crowded club dancing to tunes.
on the upside, my wife and I are doing great together. in both our family and friends circles a few relationships didn’t survive the year (actually some of our closest friends have split up) and we are both really glad we can be there for each other when we have a bad day. I don’t wanna imagine how I would have gotten through lockdown and this year in general without her! also on the positive side, our families and friends are all healthy. I don't have any close people that died from covid
for 2021 I’m trying to be realistically positive. I think we’ll have a ‘real’ tourist season, from april/may onwards and hopefully long into october, and I’m also hopeful we’ll get a bit of clubbing next summer. I definitely don’t think we’ll get back to ‘normal’ before 2022. what’s nagging is the uncertainty as to how bad/good the season will be, when we’ll get back to work, what will be possible from a clubbing point of view and what will all of that mean for our next winter financially. after this lengthy explanation you all probably understand why I’m so much in favour of testing and why I’d happily get that vaccine. it’s truly not an easy time right now. all that said, we’re still living on the balearics, I wouldn’t wanna live anywhere else (we know a few people who had no other option but to leave the island) and we are still better off than lots of others because we can still buy our own food (some big queues in front of the red cross centres). I also see it from a philosophical point - my last decade (well, up to the start of this year) has been amazing, I got to travel a lot, I had some amazing parties and this is something no one can take away from me. and I’m sure that, sooner or later, both clubbing and travelling will come back. simply need to stay patient…
I think it’s a good moment to also quickly chat about the forums as well. both publicly as well as privately, people have said the forums aren’t the same right now. we’ve noticed this too. I’ve always seen our forums as a mirror of society and it’s undeniable the world’s just not the same happy place as it usually is. especially if you’re a forum that focuses on ibiza and clubbing. let’s face it, for most of us on here, the main reasons we read and write on here are our ibiza experiences, rave reviews, magic moments and sharing music both old and new. this year, we’ve had almost none of that with the exception of the music (but even that not to the same level as usual) and a few non-clubbing ibiza reviews. IMO the main buzz on the forums are the announcements pre-season and then the reviews during the season. this year we had corona, corona and more corona. understandably it’s a very emotional subject and I totally understand things got heated a lot of times this summer. at the same time I wanna thank everyone who managed to keep their cool even when they disagreed on things. sadly also a few members left while others chose to stop posting for the time being. I’m confident next year the forum will turn into a happier place again.
lastly, and that’s a promise, once we can have a proper party again, we will get that spotlight reunion party going. it might only happen in 2022 maybe, but I already had an idea in mind for it and I truly can’t wait to see some of your faces again - and possibly some new ones for the first time too.
over and out - 2021 will be better ?
my turn then. our 2020? a reality check. a slap in our faces. our world got turned upside down…or maybe it’s better if I say our world simply got paused. the coronavirus pandemic and in consequence the almost non-season here on the island has taken away the basis of life for me - both financially as well as culturally/emotionally. being the nightlife guy at spotlight it’s obvious what my basis of existence is economically, and having no clubs open this year you can probably guess we didn’t have a great year. but - and that’s almost as important - we (as in my wife and I) really live and breathe clubbing. in summer, I’m out in the clubs anywhere between two and five times a week, say from may to october. and in winter, even though we’re then clubbing far less, we would always spend a week in berlin at some point and do things like time warp or caprices festival and a few more parties here and there (plus of course dc10’s new year’s day party).
but from the start…(and I’ll actually start a bit before 2020) after the last season, in november, we went on holiday - road trip in the west of the USA. what a fantastic trip. we were in the states for over three weeks and on the way back we did a detour to switzerland to see family and friends (it’s the last time I’ve seen my parents). then after the usual christmas festivities in palma with my wife’s family and then dc10 on NYD, I went for my usual solo month of walking which took me down through the southern tip of andalucía and into northern morocco. so far so good!
at the start of february I was back in ibiza and that’s when things quickly started to change for worse. spotlight big boss @james ordered everyone to work from home, way before the rest of the team realised what was coming. and six weeks later, in the middle of march, lockdown one was a fact in spain. as you’ve surely read, our first lockdown was super strict and we weren’t even allowed out for walks or runs for almost two months. I’m a very outdoorsy person and I really suffered during that period. poor wife (who was happy staying home during lockdown) had to endure some emotional rollercoasters courtesy of yours truly.
springtime came and passed and it was clear ibiza would have its most unusual season ever. ibiza spotlight had to adapt to that reality and seeing we wouldn’t get any proper clubbing this year meant I was on furlough from march onwards. when tourism finally restarted, in june and july I applied to lots of jobs to try and improve my situation a little (furlough pay in spain is too much to die but too little to live) and just as I’d almost given up hope, I got a call and landed a job for the second part of the summer. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it here, but between august and mid october I manned the tourist info office in playa d’en bossa. it meant a lot of long boring days (because there weren’t lots of tourists asking for info) and pay also wasn’t great at all, but still a little better than doing nothing and staying on furlough.
since mid october I’m again unemployed and in the same situation as in spring (as in getting a very low unemployment pay). ever since I got together with my wife, I was always the one that had the bigger wage and paid for most of costs. this year the tables have turned and we are both super glad that she has a job which isn’t depending on tourism and/or clubbing. her salary isn’t the best, but between hers and what I currently get, we just about make ends meet. so she’s currently saving both our asses. but yes, we had to massively change our lifestyle this year. in a normal year, the way it works here for lots of people is you make money in summer and then spend it in winter…and then at the end of the winter you’re a bit skint, but you know that you’ll soon improve your situation again as the season ramps up. this year, after our usa trip and my walking month, corona hit us in the worst possible moment. a lesson learnt for the future, whenever things get better, I’ll save up some money which I’ll never touch unless things get really bad. that said, it’s also true that 95% of people here would never have expected this could really happen. you can expect a good season or a really bad one, but a complete non-season for the nightlife sector, that’s just not happened ever since the first clubs opened here on the island.
right now it’s not only the shortest days of the year, it’s also the darkest days mentally for me. we currently live on a minimum and simply wait for winter to pass. I’m still trying to enjoy the balearic winter by going on hikes and such, but as someone else has said, the longer the pandemic goes on, the more it is taking its toll mentally. my year was simply super boring. I am an extremely social person, I’m always around people, I love clubbing, dancing. all of that has been on pause for nearly a year now. also the fact my mother in law had a heart surgery in springtime and we often went to visit meant we were shielding all summer - I’ve not done one single villa party all summer (and that means something). I’ve had one party all summer, one night in pikes, where I also have to admit I threw all precautions overboard, but that was it. there are tons of people which I would usually see dozens of times over the course of the summer and whom I’ve not seen at all this year. I really miss seeing my friends in a crowded club dancing to tunes.
on the upside, my wife and I are doing great together. in both our family and friends circles a few relationships didn’t survive the year (actually some of our closest friends have split up) and we are both really glad we can be there for each other when we have a bad day. I don’t wanna imagine how I would have gotten through lockdown and this year in general without her! also on the positive side, our families and friends are all healthy. I don't have any close people that died from covid
for 2021 I’m trying to be realistically positive. I think we’ll have a ‘real’ tourist season, from april/may onwards and hopefully long into october, and I’m also hopeful we’ll get a bit of clubbing next summer. I definitely don’t think we’ll get back to ‘normal’ before 2022. what’s nagging is the uncertainty as to how bad/good the season will be, when we’ll get back to work, what will be possible from a clubbing point of view and what will all of that mean for our next winter financially. after this lengthy explanation you all probably understand why I’m so much in favour of testing and why I’d happily get that vaccine. it’s truly not an easy time right now. all that said, we’re still living on the balearics, I wouldn’t wanna live anywhere else (we know a few people who had no other option but to leave the island) and we are still better off than lots of others because we can still buy our own food (some big queues in front of the red cross centres). I also see it from a philosophical point - my last decade (well, up to the start of this year) has been amazing, I got to travel a lot, I had some amazing parties and this is something no one can take away from me. and I’m sure that, sooner or later, both clubbing and travelling will come back. simply need to stay patient…
I think it’s a good moment to also quickly chat about the forums as well. both publicly as well as privately, people have said the forums aren’t the same right now. we’ve noticed this too. I’ve always seen our forums as a mirror of society and it’s undeniable the world’s just not the same happy place as it usually is. especially if you’re a forum that focuses on ibiza and clubbing. let’s face it, for most of us on here, the main reasons we read and write on here are our ibiza experiences, rave reviews, magic moments and sharing music both old and new. this year, we’ve had almost none of that with the exception of the music (but even that not to the same level as usual) and a few non-clubbing ibiza reviews. IMO the main buzz on the forums are the announcements pre-season and then the reviews during the season. this year we had corona, corona and more corona. understandably it’s a very emotional subject and I totally understand things got heated a lot of times this summer. at the same time I wanna thank everyone who managed to keep their cool even when they disagreed on things. sadly also a few members left while others chose to stop posting for the time being. I’m confident next year the forum will turn into a happier place again.
lastly, and that’s a promise, once we can have a proper party again, we will get that spotlight reunion party going. it might only happen in 2022 maybe, but I already had an idea in mind for it and I truly can’t wait to see some of your faces again - and possibly some new ones for the first time too.
over and out - 2021 will be better ?
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