Back to 'normal': Have you changed?

waterfordwendy · 07-04-2021 12:53pm #1

So IF things go back to normal, no need for masks, people can squeeze into pubs again and we go back to talking about the weather; has all of this experience changed you? I would like to think I will continue to not drink very often (from every weekend pre-Covid) and not bother to resurrect friendships with people I lost touch with when the shared drinking hobby ended. I've also improved with saving money so I hope there are some long lasting habits developed there by now.

SnuggyBear · 07-04-2021 1:03pm

I've changed for the worse. I'm bitter and more cynical.

Parachutes · 07-04-2021 3:21pm

waterfordwendy wrote: »

So IF things go back to normal, no need for masks, people can squeeze into pubs again and we go back to talking about the weather; has all of this experience changed you? I would like to think I will continue to not drink very often (from every weekend pre-Covid) and not bother to resurrect friendships with people I lost touch with when the shared drinking hobby ended. I've also improved with saving money so I hope there are some long lasting habits developed there by now.

I wake up everyday and feel like I’m living in a nightmare. I drink more now than I ever did pre pandemic.

For me, there’s nothing good about this ‘new normal’

sporina · 07-04-2021 5:44pm

I hope to retain some semblance of the quieter life when things return to normal.. but can't wait to be able to see my loved ones freely.. and to be able to go for coffee and cake with mates in an actual cafe.. but I don't miss the chaotic pace of "normal" life.. I am enjoying doing my own thing during free time.. as oppose to having loads of plans.. I guess its all about a balance.. but these restrictions hav shown me how much I enjoy quiet time which I would not have known otherwise

lawred2 · 07-04-2021 8:36pm

I feel a bit dulled to be honest.. the lack of variety from day to day is taking its toll on me.

Exercise helps but I'm even getting a bit bored of the repetitive nature of that too. Working from home is fine and it works for me but 100% working from home is just too much. I need to go back to the office at least a couple of days a week

j@utis · 07-04-2021 9:36pm

I've lost trust and faith in government and our societal system as a whole, I feel insecure being part of the system and now more the ever I feel an urge to move out the city into the countryside and start some self-sufficiency project. I just have wait for a year or two for the covid fallout and the whole economy crashing down which should bring positive changes in property market.

Back to normal if everything is open [i.e. till next winter] I only need gym to re-open and schools to remain open for my life to be back to normal fully. I've been working throughout all lockdowns as usual, apart the covid "safety" measures making my work harder and more stressful. I'd go to see my family a little bit more often to make up for the lost time and that's it.

For the OP - savings suck from the economy point of view. We have to be spending the money we have and even better - money we don't have, for economy to do good.

hmmm · 07-04-2021 9:42pm

Some in my wider family have turned around their physical health, they would have been mostly sat in a pub at the weekend. I know they're a bit bored with walking in the same areas, but that's really a 5k problem and hopefully they keep it up post-pandemic.

r93kaey5p2izun · 07-04-2021 10:10pm

I have developed a much more negative opinion of, and lost respect for, a lot of people unfortunately. I've lost a lot of confidence in how the country is run, from an already low base. I have fully walked away from a job I had already left but kept a hand in, and I won't ever go back to it now based on events of the past year, which makes me a bit sad.

YellowLead · 07-04-2021 10:13pm

I have a renewed appreciation for ‘normal’ life and can’t wait to get back to living it. This lockdown has been hellish for me. Single and living in an apartment in a very ugly suburbia working from home full time, no friends living nearby. Groundhog Day without any of the fun parts.

VonLuck · 07-04-2021 10:13pm

I've developed an outlook of enjoying myself more after a year of not being able to do anything. Say yes to more things like nights out, gigs or holidays. Life's too short.

darem93 · 07-04-2021 10:17pm

I've always been an overthinker but this pandemic has made me analyse every small little detail about everything. I've had falling outs with friends over the pettiest things and stuff that never worried me before - like what people think of me, or being single and stuck living where I am for the rest of my life - are causing me such major anxiety.

I've also ended up growing feelings for someone who clearly has zero interest in me and who I would never have been compatible with, but because I'm seeing so little people it feels like the end of the world.

The things I would give to go back to the way I was pre-pandemic, my god

Parachutes · 07-04-2021 10:21pm

I’m kicking myself a bit for not appreciating how good life and society was pre pandemic. By jaysus it wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination but it’s a blindside better than the existence we have now. I’ll never take freedom for granted again if we ever get it back a tall.

07-04-2021 10:22pm

I've cut down seriously on my drinking, which I usually do at home anyway, mostly cut out smoking, and go to bed well before midnight almost every night, and get up before 10am the next day.

But I don't know if it's the pandemic that brought on these positive changes, or was it after I broke my ankle badly in November and spent about four months on the couch.

Parachutes · 07-04-2021 10:26pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I've cut down seriously on my drinking, which I usually do at home anyway, mostly cut out smoking, and go to bed well before midnight almost every night, and get up before 10am the next day.

But I don't know if it's the pandemic that brought on these positive changes, or was it after I broke my ankle badly in November and spent about four months on the couch.

I gave up smoking which was mostly a social habit for me. I drink a few cans every evening now just to get me through the nights on my own. Before the pandemic I’d only drink on a Saturday.

07-04-2021 10:27pm

Will probably be doing my best to move away from here over the next while. The pandemic has been overwhelming for many and while it's gone on:
- Healthcare system hasn't been improved. 3 year waiting lists for consultants will likely now be 4. It'll be worse than it was before.
- Rents haven't come down and won't in many places due to the HAP system. House prices where I am are shooting up and I've seen 2 houses around the corner go sale agreed within a few days of the For Sale sign going up.
- Apparently we're going to do our best to attract every economic migrant there is by giving them a gaff within 4 months. Good stuff.
- I have zero issues with paying tax as a concept. I lost my job at the start of the pandemic and got a new one. But taxes are going to go up to cover the costs of PUP for people not living here, people working nixers, to pay off the private hospitals etc.
- Roads are in horrific condition. Who would have thought that less traffic would make them degrade quicker? :rolleyes:
- **** this weather. :pac:

If it wasn't for the fact I was from here I'd be gone as soon as I'm allowed to. Stupid loving family.

SnuggyBear · 07-04-2021 10:28pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Will probably be doing my best to move away from here over the next while. The pandemic has been overwhelming for many and while it's gone on:
- Healthcare system hasn't been improved. 3 year waiting lists for consultants will likely now be 4. It'll be worse than it was before.
- Rents haven't come down and won't in many places due to the HAP system. House prices where I am are shooting up and I've seen 2 houses around the corner go sale agreed within a few days of the For Sale sign going up.
- Apparently we're going to do our best to attract every economic migrant there is by giving them a gaff within 4 months. Good stuff.
- I have zero issues with paying tax as a concept. I lost my job at the start of the pandemic and got a new one. But taxes are going to go up to cover the costs of PUP for people not living here, people working nixers, to pay off the private hospitals etc.
- Roads are in horrific condition. Who would have thought that less traffic would make them degrade quicker? :rolleyes:
- **** this weather. :pac:

If it wasn't for the fact I was from here I'd be gone as soon as I'm allowed to. Stupid loving family.

Where are you thinking of going?

YoshiReturns · 07-04-2021 10:30pm

I regret all the hours/years wasted commuting prior to the pandemic. So, in that respect the pandemic has been liberating for me. Also, I realise how boring, tedious and unauthentic my life was/is. So, hopefully I have the courage and health to make some real change once this **** is over.

07-04-2021 10:31pm

SnuggyBear wrote: »

Where are you thinking of going?

Germany and Spain are the main ideas for now. Can't really commit to anything, parents are old and not in perfect health so have to see how that pans out or looks like it's going. I also don't want to be someone who moves away to fly back every second weekend :P

PeterPan92 · 07-04-2021 11:27pm

Before the pandemic I used to turn down loads of invites for nights out/social events to spend time by myself. I have vowed to no longer do that. I spent most of my 20's curled on the couch watching Netflix with Ben and Jerry. Looking forward to living my life a bit more in my early 30s.

08-04-2021 12:35am

I will grab normality with both hands when it returns. There's nothing that I will keep from this current state. It has caused some unfortunate realisations though. My love for the country has been dented. I never had any desire to live in a different country and felt connected to Ireland. Now it feels kind of....alien. Maybe that's because of social distancing and the changes Covid has brought. I don't know but I don't like it.

I try to be rational and see that they have all our interests at heart, that they too want their lives back. I try to remember that my anger is misplaced because the virus is to blame. Yet I can't help but be baffled by some of their measures and decisions.

Then there's how I feel towards my friends. I love them and am in touch with a few of them very regular. I miss seeing them but their company is not my biggest loss, it's not what I long for. I don't know what that says or if it has to say anything at all.

Leg End Reject · 08-04-2021 12:43am

I'll be delighted to get out of this, be able to freely leave the house, go to restaurants and pubs, have random conversations with strangers and not have them back away in fear, not have to worry about having a stupid mask, being able to see people's faces, hug people and act like a normal human being. I'll even be happy to be back in work!

bucketybuck · 08-04-2021 9:24am

I've lost a lot of respect for the Irish people in this last year and I can't see myself regaining that respect when all goes back to normal, and not just because I don't think it will go back to "normal".

The cowardly, insidious, hysterical attitudes on display this past year won't disappear just because NPHET finally allow people to shake hands again.

"When somebody shows you who they are, believe them", I think that in the last year the Irish have shown what they really are and it isn't a good look.

So I think I have changed and I suspect the changes in me will remain, going forward I'll be looking out for me and mine and the rest of these curtain twitcher virtue signallers can **** right off.

VonLuck · 08-04-2021 9:32am

bucketybuck wrote: »

So I think I have changed and I suspect the changes in me will remain, going forward I'll be looking out for me and mine and the rest of these curtain twitcher virtue signallers can **** right off.

So you're taking up being more selfish :pac:

Baybay · 08-04-2021 9:57am

I work from home anyway & enjoy spending time in my home & garden so nothing much has changed in that regard. I don’t expect it to either when this is all over.

I also enjoy cooking but am ready for a nice meal to be prepared, served & cleaned up afterwards with no input from me.

Pubs I can take or leave but I did drink a lot more than usual during the first lockdown as with family at home then, it just had a Christmas feel. For months! Haven’t had alcohol since last Christmas until last weekend & that wasn’t too much either, just some birthday champagne.

I think the biggest change for me is how I feel about friends. I now rarely look at FB because I got so fed up of seeing conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers & rule shatterers amongst those I know. Not everyone but enough, including some health professionals. It changed how I felt about them.
Also there were fiends I thought I knew well who I’d message if I was shopping to see if they needed anything dropped at the gate or I’d send a joke or a photograph from time to time just to let them know I was thinking of them or I’d try to organise a virtual coffee etc. It took me a surprisingly long time to realise not all reciprocated or acknowledged me. Not perhaps that was why I did it but it might have been nice to know that I was also being thought about. So my circle of friends will be smaller when this is over.

Real Life · 08-04-2021 9:58am

I hate people more than I used to

I have no interest in ever seeing the inside of a pub again

BobbyBolivia · 08-04-2021 10:08am

I have begun to really despise a country that I once loved.

We have been subjected to one of the longest lockdowns in the world, with some of the most draconian restrictions in the world.

The government are made up of the biggest collection of incompetent t*ssers I've ever seen in an Irish government, full of backstabbing and leaks, with the coalition acting as opposition to each other half the time and the real, main opposition are a populist fantasy party with strong links to terrorism looking out mainly for the scrounger.

The media have embarked on a fear mongering crusade, attempting to poison the Irish public against each other. They have allowed crazy nutjobs like McConkey free reign to terrify the Irish people and have labelled anybody who doesn't agree with this narrative 'far right' to completely discredit any opposition.

I see students villified for daring to live, people wanting Dublin GAA players hung, drawn and quartered for daring to have a kick around in a field when we have .1% of cases as a result of outdoor transmission. I hope those students remember how they were treated when future governments rely on them to pay back all this money we are burning, and take their talents elsewhere.

People have lost all perspective and it's quite saddening. More worrying though is how social media seems to have a growing influence in the way decisions are made in this country - the screaming twitter mobs guide too many decisions at the moment.

I see construction still stopped - a reminder to me of how far away I am to owning my own home. But it's not stopped for social housing, a reminder to those who don't bother that they'll get their free house eventually. I see direct provision about to be abolished with the solution for that being to put them into social housing - I find it absolutely incredible how some person in the country for a year can get a house faster than a person who has lived and worked here their whole life. Absolutely sickening.

I am now evaluating whether I want to stay here at all. Cue some response about there being nothing stopping me from going.

On a lighter note, I echo the above sentiment about turning down invitations too often to stay in, it's not something I will be doing from here on out.

MrStuffins · 08-04-2021 10:17am

bucketybuck wrote: »

I've lost a lot of respect for the Irish people in this last year.......

Agreed with you here. I have personally become a little jaded by the Irish people in this whole thing. Although it's not ALL Irish people, but definitely some.

The amount of selfish a*seholes who elongated this whole thing unnecessarily by ignoring restrictions.

These plastic "patriots" who used the situation to push their own xenophobic and hate-filled political leanings. Lads who would protest their own mothers if it meant they could assault a Garda.

The armchair experts who became overnight experts on 5G (remember that was "causing" Covid?), virology, vaccines and the rest, spewing their horrible conspiracy bile everywhere at every chance.

The creeps who took genuine concern over the mental health of the country and used it as a tool to further their own creepy agendas.

The paranoid ones who think the Lizard People are out to get us, that this is some sort of Deep State plot to keep us all in line.

The ones who use the term "Sheeple" and keep telling people to "wake up" who are coincidentally the same people who sat down the back of your class in school throwing balls of paper and who dropped out because they couldn't even spell "Junior Cert".

Luckily, there's enough people who are not like this to being us back to normality when this thing is all over.

Parachutes · 08-04-2021 10:22am

MrStuffins wrote: »

Agreed with you here. I have personally become a little jaded by the Irish people in this whole thing. Although it's not ALL Irish people, but definitely some.

The amount of selfish a*seholes who elongated this whole thing unnecessarily by ignoring restrictions.

These plastic "patriots" who used the situation to push their own xenophobic and hate-filled political leanings. Lads who would protest their own mothers if it meant they could assault a Garda.

The armchair experts who became overnight experts on 5G (remember that was "causing" Covid?), virology, vaccines and the rest, spewing their horrible conspiracy bile everywhere at every chance.

The creeps who took genuine concern over the mental health of the country and used it as a tool to further their own creepy agendas.

The paranoid ones who think the Lizard People are out to get us, that this is some sort of Deep State plot to keep us all in line.

The ones who use the term "Sheeple" and keep telling people to "wake up" who are coincidentally the same people who sat down the back of your class in school throwing balls of paper and who dropped out because they couldn't even spell "Junior Cert".

Luckily, there's enough people who are not like this to being us back to normality when this thing is all over.

And then there’s you, the civil servant.

MrStuffins · 08-04-2021 10:28am

Parachutes wrote: »

And then there’s you, the civil servant.

Not sure if "Civil Servant" is some sort of Covid-age insult for someone you disagree with, but I work for a private company, if you meant it literally.

Parachutes · 08-04-2021 10:30am

MrStuffins wrote: »

Not sure if "Civil Servant" is some sort of Covid-age insult for someone you disagree with, but I work for a private company, if you meant it literally.

RTE doesn’t count.

nj27 · 08-04-2021 10:32am

I can't wait to getting back to actual normality, no masks being the threshold for that so I'll probably be waiting quite a while. However the past year hasn't been as hard on me as it has been on others. My business hasn't been affected badly and I have been training for a marathon, actually ran a half marathon in the park solo last week and I'm on for my target of a 3:30 marathon.

Over the past year I got a new watch and I bought 8 new suits which I haven't had a chance to wear yet. I was a bit sceptical of online tailors but they actually fit perfectly so I'm very happy with that. A lot of people have been congratulating me with helping them and doing so much during the pandemic, they have been telling me I'm a saint on earth! Hopefully things will be normal by this time next year, but it's important to make the best of what we have until then.

Back to 'normal': Have you changed?

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