What do you want back and what do you not?

[PuzzledObserver]

Want back:

Coffee shops
Live theatre
Concerts
Seeing friends/family without having to count them or pay attention to where we are and remember the current rules.
Holidays

Happier without:

Traffic jams and mass pollution
Crowded airports
The after-conversation when a meeting is over that I would rather not be involved in
People invading my personal space

@IcedPurple

I actually generally love peace and quiet. I can happily spend days in my flat alone...so long as I know that I'll have a chance to get out and see people at some point. All this Zoom 'interaction' seems depressing to me, especially when there is this pretence that it's as good as the real thing. It is not. Not near.

THIS.

The zoom pretence is shit. It’s so not a substitute for the real thing. It’s nothing like the real thing. It’s better than nothing, but that doesn’t equate to being as good as actually meeting people, not even close.

And it’s not the fact of me not going out to do things, it’s the fact that I CAN’T go out and do things or see people. I may well choose not to go out, but at least that would be my choice rather than it being forced on me because it’s no longer allowed. And when you do think about going out, there are so many flipping rules- do you need to book, do you need a specific time slot, can you get a slot, how many of you are allowed in a group, do children “count” and are you allowed inside or not, do you need a mask (yes), best do another quick weather check before arranging anything etc etc that it seems more hassle than it’s worth and you might as well not bother because all the fun has been removed from everything by all these extra considerations. Which goes back to my original statement of what i want back which is my freedom even if the consequence of that freedom is to choose to stay at home on my own. Balls to it all.

To cheer myself up, I’m going to buy a Christmas tree tomorrow and I hate bloody Christmas.

[quote Nikki078]@Gingerkittykat' I love the way they have turned background music off in the shops and swimming pool, I don't want that back'

I second no music swimming pools so relaxing and much better!! Did not notice shops but second that too. Hope it will extend into next month, I find Christmas sensory overload exhausting.[/quote]
I'm loving the lack of Christmas music and generally enforced jollity this year!

Everything!

If I finish work early on a Thursday looking to see where I can go for the weekend without planning

Going to the pub just because I want to

holidays - I used to live for my holidays - two long haul and at least two short haul a year plus the above weekends

no masks - god no, please, no masks

just being able olive without worrying someone will report me because I'm not following arbitrary rulz

not having to treat fellow humans like a walking petrie dish of fetid filth - I like people. I'm an introvert so actually lock downs don't bother me too much BUT the economic damage is unbelievable. (and no, I don't believe letting it rip would have caused the same damage - it would have been over much more quickly)

In saying that:

I like no handshakes
or team building exercises no one actually wants
or it being not acceptable to come into the office coughing and spluttering when you can bloody well WFH

BUT - they are the only good things to come from this and I'd happily embrace all three if we can just get back to bloody normal

What this has taught me is that the general public has no concept of relative risk, think that life is not a terminal disease and seem to think living at any cost is worth living

I would just like the pervasive feeling of doom to go away.

It feels surreal sometimes that we can't leave the country (Australia).

Every time I see an x on the floor the feeling kicks in.

I want travel and theater back. I want to know for sure the kids can be in school and see their friends. I think we should keep masks for days when people have a cold or flu and maintain an emphasis on hand washing/sanitizing and keeping public places clean

Want:
Hugging my family and seeing them as and when I like
Pubs - but I'd like to keep table service
Cinemas

Don't want:
Hugging people who are not my family
Going to the office everyday, once or twice a week suits me fine
Sitting next to people on public transport - I realise this will become a thing again though