Anyone Else Miss the Pandemic?

There are some bits of life during lockdown which made sense. Being able to work from home was a huge boost mentally and professionally.

But overall it was a terrible time. As someone in my 20s it cut through a huge chunk of my life when I definitely would like to have done far more. I lived abroad as well so I didn't see most of my friends and family for well over a year, and I was lucky. I think it was easier at the beginning when there was a sense of purpose and when we tried to adjust in any way we could. But that really wore thin quickly, after a month or so very few people still enjoyed the online hangouts or quizzes, I think it became clear just how much of a poor substitute they were for the real thing. And then of course there was the stigma it created for normal behaviour. Everything we took for granted became taboo nearly overnight.

And while it seems obvious now, it wasn't clear up until maybe the start of this year whether the pandemic would ever come to an end. It seemed like this was the sterile, awful new reality.

And finally it's also made us aware of just how terrible pandemics can be. And how it might not be the worst of them. If the bird flu/H5N1 ever becomes a pandemic for example it'll made COVID look like a stomach bug. It's a depressing wake up call to the threats that are out there.

Couldnt put it better. Everyone at home foind time to tidy their properties up. Every house painted, lawns mowed, weeds pulled. Rural Ireland never looked as well as back then. Pandemic took out a few pubs here and there which is no bad thing. Can drive through town without having to look at cretins gawking out the pub door smoking fags.

It doesn't take some of you very long to put on the rose tinted glasses, does it?

It was a bloody pandemic. Restrictions on movement. 2km limit at one point. Can't see family further away. Wondering we'd all die at the start (or at very least, all our elderly relatives). will it result in us all losing our jobs. Will there be food shortages. Will there/wont there be a vaccine, will it all turn into The Purge.

There was a huge level of uncertainty, especially the first year. Can't believe some folks are already at the 'ah sure weren't all the mowed lawns and empty roads great?' stage.

Sorry but no, the pandemic can **** off.

I was on PUP for 6 months and I got through so much Netflix! It was great! Then I got covid and I watched more Netflix for them 11 days! I didn't mind not going anywhere either! It was great!

Enjoyed the guilt-free relaxation, but glad the restrictions are thankfully a memory at this point in time. The knock on affects will last for a bit, which is far from ideal, but gota keep on truckin'

Judgement is in full swing, as expected.

An exaggeration maybe but two years is pretty long for any life event given the magnitude of it and the changes we lived through.

The restrictions didn't bother me in the slightest. But I know plenty who found them very difficult. I'm glad, for them, that they no longer have to deal with it.

The only thing I miss from it was the cheap 20 dollar barrels of oil that meant buying oil was very very cheap. If only it would just fall to 60dollars or even 80dollars a barrel now I would be very happy hell even 100 dollars for a few months would be good. Its ridiculous prices at the moment. There is no doubt the pigs in that industry are earning a fortune and living it up. They could well afford to drop the price of it by 10 or 20 dollars a barrel and still be doing well.

Otherwise no I hated wearing the masks and having the buy them, the sanitiser is/was a killer on the hands expecially whatever some if the shops used.

So no I do not miss it.

All I want to see now is the prices of oil drop but its not looking good 😞

You need to inform the guards about whoever it is that is forcing you to go to pubs.

The pandemic that is continuing has brought about many positives but we will be suffering from many negatives for a long time and don't know the extent of these issues.

I doubt I will ever be in a office full time ever again. The local community really came out and the whole area is much nicer as a result.

Unfortunately the divide in the work force is bad for others. Less need for coffee shops as less workers go into offices. Those that kept their jobs with little to no effect managed to save a lot of money. This has a huge effect on inequality and part of the reason for higher property prices.

It also helped identify those who were idiots and ignored health advice

I don't miss the lockdown etc. But I do miss the range of online things that were available. Lots of things like conferences, training etc that were really only open to people living close to the event (mainly in Dublin) went online and you could attend from your home. Most of those now seem to have gone back to in person events which makes it impossible for the majority of people to attend. It is a pity that some sort of a hybrid model could not have been maintained.

Lol. No one forcing me to go to any pub lol. I stay well clear unless it's a family event.