COVID boredom with life not changing.

Celmullet

I'm so bored that I've decided to stop lurking and sign up here

I'm a very social person and get my energy from interating with people. I am that annoying person who wants to talk to you on the bus or in the shop. I'm a bit too old for parties but I miss events or socal gatherings of any kind, a good book launch, a gallery opening, the theatre. I want to be able to see a new face or an old face and find out about their lives. There is only so much you can do over a screen.

I miss physical contact with others. I'm a big hugger when it comes to friends and family but that's out the window.

screamer

Yes the social lockdown is boring. Was at a small family meal today in a restaurant and it was not a pleasant experience, confined to one room, only table service, snarky servers and swallow your food and run. Won’t be bothering to go again TBH.

As for day to day, it’s Groundhog Day for sure but I don’t miss the rat race to get up and get all the kids out then rush to work then back to pick them up with no quality of life whatsoever. Sleep to work and work to sleep. Much prefer to work from home.

Beechwoodspark

As I explained on other threads I Was more or less non stop cajoled then forced and threatened back to work - driving around as a sales rep - by a manager who has no manners or cop on, who is not used to Irish society either.

honestly I would love to be back working from home. The irony is I was achieving more sales working from home

SixtaWalthers

I am bored but still taking some preventative measures because we also need to take care of our family member who get sick because of us.

Kilboor

Don't often post on threads like this but as a 25 year old I am pissed off with the lockdown and new way of life. I'm sure it's nice and grand for those of us living in their own houses with their own space but for the majority of young people it means working, sleeping and for the most part now living in the same rented room. So well to you if you're somebody who owns or rents a full house/apartment and has space and time for hobbies but for me I hate it.

I miss leaving work at the office, I miss the social interactions at work, I miss being able to quickly get a response from someone.

I also now read about migrations to the countryside and smaller towns and cities by people living in Dublin, fantastic! More rental and house price increases for those of us who were looking to live and buy in cheaper cities.

Also on a more selfish note, I miss travelling abroad. It was only 5 years ago I left the country for the first time (never had holidays when I was growing up) and it has become something I love ever since I finally now have the money to take holidays.

AllForIt

Sorry if this is a bit off-topic, but the rat-race, the 'hectic' life styles we live - is completely fuelled by employers getting their 'productivity' levels up as high as possible.

That is to say employers use their employee's as if they were a machine, where it can be tweaked to make it as optimally productive as possible, to make it produce as much widgets as possible as quickly as possible with the least amount of costly energy as possible.

The question as to whether employees are willing participants in all this is a debatable one. I think on the whole though most employees don't enjoy this rat-race mentality. And are now beginning to realise that it's a fools game as a result of Covid making one look at the bigger picture of one's quality of life over wealth.

stateofflux

Strumms wrote: »

The go go go mentality and daily grinds are things of the past.. anyone in the generations here now that have been impacted by covid and seen the way some employers behaved, before and during... seen and had brought home to them the values of health, family , fairness.. had the time to go and appreciate things that they had previously had to ‘make’ time for like...

even going shopping as a family - “ sorry you go love, boss said he was going to call tonight to give a heads up about Mondays meeting “..... will become “ sorry Martin, I’ve been here all day, you could have called or emailed, I need to spend time with my family now, talk Monday”.

There is a good chance it will be the opposite. Its early days but a i saw couple of recent work surveys indicating around 40% of people are working longer hours from home.

Also these Jobs will be highly sought after post Covid as only some will be allowed work remotely. So one will likely put in more effort to retain that flexibilty.

Munsterman12

drunkmonkey wrote: »

First proper mini rave of the summer tonight, if I get arrested for being at an illegal party or die from Covid I don't really give a crap..beats rotting away in this twilight zone our overlords have created.

Your a disgrace to your country.

I fully understand why a lot of people hate the rat race and go go go mentality. I myself live 50KM away from my job as do many others. Spending 2.5 - 3 hours a day in the car is insane. Thousands of people all trying to get into Dublin city centre every morning is insane.
Getting home at 7 and trying to get dinner, shower and have a bit of social time sucks.
Rush hour traffic had turned into almost 8 hours a day.

But Covid life is no life at all. Can't really take a holiday. Sports is not the same without crowds. No Concerts. No pubs. Need bookings for a restaurant. Can't meet up with a big group. Need a mask for cinema. Masks at weddings... no thanks! Lots of gyms still closed.
Almost every social aspect of our lives is gone or completely restricted now. Certainly the spontaneous element.

We need to start socializing and living our lives again. But hopefully with a number of tweaks to society that will make life easier on everyone.
More working from home and online learning would do wonders for everyone. Even the people that can't work from home would benefit.

Gael23

Things I miss are not being able to go on holiday and being forced to work from home. While it certainly has benefits, doing it full time gets tiring

The biggest thing for me is I’m involved in a youth organization and I’ve no idea when we’ll get to meet in person again.

CelticRambler

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

I live for nightlife and crowds generally, and as I've said in other threads honestly it's not the prolonged lack of being able to socialise in a crowd that's f*cking with me, but the rather alarming language of "the new normal" suggesting that meeting strangers, dancing, dating, concerts, parties etc are literally things I might end up spending most of my thirties devoid of.

DeanAustin wrote: »

I miss looking forward to going somewhere abroad and having the choice to travel.

Gael23 wrote: »

Things I miss are not being able to go on holiday and being forced to work from home. While it certainly has benefits, doing it full time gets tiring

The biggest thing for me is I’m involved in a youth organization and I’ve no idea when we’ll get to meet in person again.

The biggest eye-opener for me, over these last six months, has been seeing how so many people think they're stuck in one place and can't/won't ever escape from this "new normal". I'd be like nthclare above - my "old normal" was to be able to head out my front door and not come within 2km of all day long.

But, for that very reason, I recently hosted a "quarantine holiday" for a whole bunch of people who needed to get away - people that are (probably) no different to any of you here going stir crazy. Two from Dublin, one from Wales, two from Belgium, one from Germany, one from the Netherlands, one from Paris, two from Brittany, one from the Dordogne ...

Sure, the circumstances have changed, but it's still perfectly possible for anyone to get out, go abroad, meet new people, go dancing, have fun. If you don't think that's worth 14 days pseudo-quarantine when you get home ... well, maybe you're not that bored after all.

JasonStatham

H3llR4iser wrote: »

I'd be the opposite, to be honest - I kinda dread the possibility of returning to the frankly insane way we were all living before. Rush everywhere and all the time, rat race in the morning, run to make the train on time, crowds everywhere, queue for a cr@ppy sandwich at lunch, endless meetings just so a few people can strike their egos, rush for a crowded train again, people pushing, people who hadn't seen a shower in days (even if they're "associate director" somewhere), waste a minimum of two hours a day to come and go to a job that has no on site presence whatsoever. Pointless social events, again crowds everywhere - queue for the bar, queue for the toilette, "oh you're not coming? why?" justifications. Nah, thank you.

Now I get up one hour later - check the emails. All going well, take a shower and make some coffee. Sit the morning meeting(s) depending on the day, and they last the allotted time - people don't like to argue about pointless minutiae over webcam. Prepare some lunch, or go out for some exercise (I've taken back to leisure cycling for the first time since childhood) depending on day/weather. Back to work, get stuff out of the way with the advantage of having nobody chatting, gossiping, eating takeout, preparing disgusting yogurt shakes that smell like old sweaty clothes, farting and whatever you can imagine all around me.

Finish work and 30 seconds later I can do whatever I want - I've rekindled a lot of my hobbies that had been laying dormant because, frankly, when I finally got home all I wanted to do was eat crap and crash out. I'm going through my long standing queue of model kits builds, advancing some personal coding projects, exercising more regularly (mostly on my own but even the gym is more tolerable with the limited number of people and booking systems - it's not anymore a fetid, humid, disgusting inferno filled to the brim with 'roidheads, posers and instagram divas) and even keeping the apartment in absolutely spotless condition - mopping the floor or cleaning the bathtub isn't as aggravating when you didn't waste a significant portion of your day travelling on a train you'd rather not board to a place you needn't be.

There are VITAL lessons for society to learn from this, but all the signs point to most of us not getting the message AT ALL.

Before we know, we'll all be back rat racing, commuting, rushing everywhere. People sneezing and coughing, dragging themselves to work when they should call out sick and be in bed. Complaining about the traffic, the crowded bus, that girl in the office who's headphone is so loud you can hear her music, that guy who cycles 30km to work at Tour-De-France pace and refuses to take a shower.

And don't get me started about when the blabbering about global warming, road deaths and whatnot, and "what solutions could possibly be put in place?" will inevitably restart. Although it might turn funny, really - IF mankind ever makes it to a more illuminated state of mind, the future historians will look at the post-2020 pandemic phase and wonder if the virus might not have had some undetected side effects, causing people to lose short-term memory.

You should write for a newspaper. This is the kind of self-inflicted misery and giving out that Irish people love.

Captcha

whisky_galore wrote: »

It's shıt.

Managed fine for a while, but now it's excruciating boring with no end in sight. Can't even get off this fûckin island to escape either. Same, or worse, elsewhere.

Really can't understand people who are happier with it. If you weren't happy before why didn't you drop out of the rat race?

Nothing stopping you going off the island, Italy as an example, airports empty, planes less than half full... prices great... pretty simple to go somewhere...

Captcha

Captcha wrote: »

Nothing stopping you going off the island, Italy as an example, airports empty, planes less than half full... prices great... pretty simple to go somewhere...

Only an absolute brain dead moron would travel abroad at the moment.

1123heavy

Madden Late Percussionist wrote: »

Only an absolute brain dead moron would travel abroad at the moment.

I take exception to this comment.

Tell me why it is "brain dead" to fly to Rome where you have a lower chance of getting infected than you do in Dublin?

It is people employing swiping and baseless thought processes to how to deal with this virus that is ensuring it becomes a financial crisis as much as a health crisis.

Is it the air travel? You do realise there are less people on most flights these days than Dublin buses?

An outrageous comment altogether.

the purple tin

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Right now everyday seems the same...im sick of not meeting new people and of not having spontaneous things happen.

Everything is so planned regulated.
Yes im wearing masks handwashing etc ...

Anyone else same?

IM BORED!

Why don't you start a petition for Michael D to change our national anthem to this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4KvZIrFSnI

:pac: :P

CelticRambler

Madden Late Percussionist wrote: »

Only an absolute brain dead moron would travel abroad at the moment.

Why? Is there something about those of us who live "abroad" that is inherently dangerous? The fact that we're living a relatively normal lifestyle with next to no transmission of the virus, maybe? Or that we can hop in a car (or on a train, or a bus, or a plane) and visit family and friends in other "abroad" countries with similarly neglible risk of contracting Covid-19?

Or are you suggesting that anyone who travels abroad might realise that there is an alternative reality, and they'll climb even further up the walls when they go back to Ireland?

Captcha

CelticRambler wrote: »

Why? Is there something about those of us who live "abroad" that is inherently dangerous? The fact that we're living a relatively normal lifestyle with next to no transmission of the virus, maybe? Or that we can hop in a car (or on a train, or a bus, or a plane) and visit family and friends in other "abroad" countries with similarly neglible risk of contracting Covid-19?

Or are you suggesting that anyone who travels abroad might realise that there is an alternative reality, and they'll climb even further up the walls when they go back to Ireland?

Yes just back from Italy where they will literally roar at you if your mask is not covering your face fully including nose, proper social distancing, mandatory to wear mask from 6pm to 6am even out doors. I felt a lot safer in Italy as people seem to "get it" after their initial disaster... Was in Dun Laoghaire earlier and the crowds at the peoples market were huge with people all over each other and half the people with no masks (likely due to being outside) to people covering their mouths only. Felt like a joke vs Italy

ChikiChiki

As a single person it's ****ing ****. I'm not big into online dating at all as I hate the time messaging takes and the same conversation over and over again. Or the fact that you could be getting on well with someone but they have a multitude of options meaning you could be brushed to the side before ever a first date.

As for the pubs, hate the 105 minute and food rule. Atmosphere is gone and everyone is edgy.

I rather the old random encounters on nights out or at concerts. Living near Croke Park I miss the buzz of the summer.

Not to mention loneliness and keeping apart.

It's just such an odd time.

Church on Tuesday

I miss live music and going for a couple quiet pints in a proper pub setting and I also miss just being able to pop into a restaurant without all the other ****e you have to take into consideration.

On the other hand, the rat race lifestyle I think may have had it's day and rightly so. I always thought it was a mental way to live and it's heartening to see people wake up and realise how bull**** it all actually is.

No doubt remote work from home in some shape or form is here to stay.

salonfire

For single women in their early 30s looking to meet someone and start a family, this time must be absolute hell.

No chance of random encounters at the bar, concert or dance-floor with the opposite sex.

What about those who moved to a new city and don't have any contacts to book a table with? No more popping into the local and shooting the breeze at the bar.

For lot of people - younger people - they are getting shat on again. As usual.

ShineOn7

Future note to future species 10,000 years from now who want to build a Simulation Earth for the craic:

6 months.

I think that's it. That's all humans can do this for, before they go batshít crazy

leahyl

salonfire wrote: »

For single women in their early 30s looking to meet someone and start a family, this time must be absolute hell.

No chance of random encounters at the bar, concert or dance-floor with the opposite sex.

What about those who moved to a new city and don't have any contacts to book a table with? No more popping into the local and shooting the breeze at the bar.

For lot of people - younger people - they are getting shat on again. As usual.

Yup, mid 30s singleton here, not that I had much luck before Covid but it’s gone to **** now altogether - honestly think the world is conspiring against me at this stage lol

SusieBlue

salonfire wrote: »

For single women in their early 30s looking to meet someone and start a family, this time must be absolute hell.

No chance of random encounters at the bar, concert or dance-floor with the opposite sex.

What about those who moved to a new city and don't have any contacts to book a table with? No more popping into the local and shooting the breeze at the bar.

For lot of people - younger people - they are getting shat on again. As usual.

I’m late 20’s but this is basically how I feel. Life is pretty much on hold but time is still going by. It’s a frustratingly vicious circle. Dating is a minefield as it is without adding a pandemic to the mix.

I imagine if I still had my job, owned my own home, had a partner and maybe a child, I’d have found the lockdown to be quite bearable and maybe even enjoyable.

But unfortunately I’m now unemployed, even further away from buying a home and still living with my parents. I spent most of lockdown alone in my bedroom, I went 13 weeks without seeing anyone besides my mam and dad.
I was working very hard towards having my sh*t together but now I’m back to square one.
Job hunting in this climate is absolutely soul destroying and not something I’d wish on my worst enemy.

I wouldn’t be as melodramatic as to say that it has ruined my life but it has definitely had a massive negative effect on it, and it’s going to take me quite some time to counteract the damage done over the last few months.
It all feels a bit hopeless right now and it’s hard not to get frustrated over it.

leahyl

I hear ya Susie Blue - similar situation to yourself; still living at home with the parents at 35 :-( but I’m lucky I do still have my job but been working from home up in my room for the last 6 months. Before Covid hit was trying to find a place of my own to buy for years but prices are way too high, then Covid came so everything came to a halt and not a hope in hell of finding anywhere. My parents are in their early/mid 70’s, generally in good health but still they are in the at risk category. It’s been tough for everyone but I think this is the first time I’ve seen posts about how difficult it is for single people in their late 20’s/30’s. It makes me sad to think that I probably won’t meet anyone now cos I hadn’t met anyone prior to Covid anyway, and now that most social things can’t happen, there’s even less chance. I just wouldn’t do online dating now with the way things are. I’m hopeful that we will get a vaccine next year but I don’t know....I kind of feel what have I been doing for the last 5 years since I turned 30...makes you question your life Lol

CelticRambler

Ah FFS - it's not that hard to meet random people. If anything, this is possibly the best time ever for anyone in their 20s or 30s and single: ye've literally got no commitments, and the perfect excuse to explain away the gap in your CV.

Sure, ye might need to get off the island of Ireland for a bit and hang out with us on the continent, but if your body clock's ticking and you're getting in a stress over it, there's plenty of us over here quite happy to randomly meet and do normal (continental) things. One of us might even be "The One" :pac:

milli milli

Leahyl and Susieblue, don’t lose heart - I’ve had several friends who had their first children in their late 30s, some even in their early 40s.

leahyl wrote: »

how difficult it is for single people in their late 20’s/30’sl

Not just this age group. Try being in your early 40s, still fertile, but that window is about to shut tight forever
Apart from that existential crisis, agree wholeheartedly about escaping the rat race. I escaped it years ago, just can’t imagine how you would stay sane in it.
One thing I hated when the country started to open up again was how heavy the traffic got (and I don’t live in a city, just a large town). At all hours of the day, even before the schools, even outside of rush hour. All I could think was, where are these people going to? I walked so much during lockdown and I’m going to keep it up - won’t use the car for every little journey. I’d love to know how many of those car journeys actually necessitated a car?

For the original poster, is there any long term project that you have ever wanted to do? Write a novel, train for a marathon, get really good at a new hobby, learn a language, study something, hike all the mountains in Ireland, etc, etc.
There are literally tons of things to do - check out bucket lists for ideas.

Jim Root

JasonStatham wrote: »

You should write for a newspaper. This is the kind of self-inflicted misery and giving out that Irish people love.

Think I read similar from Una Mallaly in the IT today

Shelga

Can empathise with leahyl and SusieBlue- I’m 33 and also WFH and living with parents. I’d hoped to have bought somewhere this year, but there’s been no impact on property prices at all and the uncertainty is stressful. Dating is crap, but then it was before the pandemic too!
I do think there are a huge amount of people in a similar position, of a similar age- your 30s is not too late to meet someone. Hell, you could be 50 and just click with someone one day- you never know.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

SusieBlue wrote: »

I’m late 20’s but this is basically how I feel. Life is pretty much on hold but time is still going by. It’s a frustratingly vicious circle. Dating is a minefield as it is without adding a pandemic to the mix.

I imagine if I still had my job, owned my own home, had a partner and maybe a child, I’d have found the lockdown to be quite bearable and maybe even enjoyable.

But unfortunately I’m now unemployed, even further away from buying a home and still living with my parents. I spent most of lockdown alone in my bedroom, I went 13 weeks without seeing anyone besides my mam and dad.
I was working very hard towards having my sh*t together but now I’m back to square one.
Job hunting in this climate is absolutely soul destroying and not something I’d wish on my worst enemy.

I wouldn’t be as melodramatic as to say that it has ruined my life but it has definitely had a massive negative effect on it, and it’s going to take me quite some time to counteract the damage done over the last few months.
It all feels a bit hopeless right now and it’s hard not to get frustrated over it.

I don't think you are being melodramatic at all. That sounds incredibly tough.