Good things about 2020?

[Moggin]

I'm actually going to miss 2020. I know it's been a crappy year for a lot of people, and I'm sorry for those who have lost loved ones, but I've actually really enjoyed myself this year, and I kind of hate to see it end. I just keep on thinking of 2016. Everyone said that year sucked, then we ended up with a pandemic four years later to outdo it. I don't know if I'm being a Pollyanna or pessimistic, but I think things can always get worse. So, in the spirit, I am listing things that I'll miss:

Work from home

Not having to make up excuses not to go places

New movies streamed from the comfort of home

Pajamas as office attire

Basically the whole year has been like the episode Older and Far Way for me. I've enjoyed my time stuck with my family and animals.

The holidays were so low-key and enjoyable (less stressful)

Increased sanitization everywhere!

Vacationers not wrecking every vacation spot in the world (and the wildlife taking those places back)

Parents seeing what it's like to be a teacher to their children.

Does anyone agree with any of this? Oh, and Happy New Year, everyone. 🎉

 

[whatdBuffyDo]

Some good things happened in my life in 2020:
- I started to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer
🧐

 

[Priceless]

Happy New Year!

I've enjoyed having to stay in, that's not a hardship for me at all.

Leeds United are back in the Prem, which was a definite highlight.

 

[The Bronze]

Working from home for the most part has been cool. Bit more flexible, less driving. Less planetary destruction is a bonus. Other than that it's crap. You're right though no guarantee the next one will be better. Certainly not the first few months and certainly not over here where our hospitals can't cope.

 

[Puppet]

I really got my sh-stuff together this year, cleaning up my health hazard of an apartment and thinking more about what I put in my body. I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere, after being stuck in the same place for over a decade. Now all I need is for the world to open up again so I can go out into it and put those changes to the test

 

[Hunga Munga]

The wildlife has been great .

My Christmas food was awesome . Made a point of making the effort for the whole lockdown celebration . Lovely .

Saved a bunch of money .

Community Dropped on Netflix during first lockdown and I have been mildly obsessed ever since .

That's about it for me .

 

[TriBel]

Does anyone agree with any of this?

No. 😄 What was wrong with 2016?

Work from home...Pajamas as office attire
I've always been able to work from home and I stopped work altogether in 2019 so it's no different for me.
New movies streamed from the comfort of home
The university paid for my movies. I've got hundreds I haven't seen. In fact, because I'm no longer obliged to read/watch movies etc. I find myself doing it less. I'm really not sure what I'm doing with my time.
I've enjoyed my time stuck with my family.
I'm stuck away from mine. Though TBH, if I'd been stuck with them I'd probably have been a bigger threat than Covid.
Not having to make up excuses not to go places.
That's never been an issue for me...I just say "Pffft...no" and roll my eyes.
Vacationers not wrecking every vacation spot in the world (and the wildlife taking those places back)
I want the freedom back to be one of those vacationers...irrespective of whether I take the vacation or not.
The holidays were so low-key and enjoyable (less stressful)
Mine were on par...in fact, more stressful because parcels got stuck at ports and Amazon kept leaving them out in the rain. Then there's the hassle of whether it's safe to handle them. Plus there was no build-up 'cos Xmas markets were cancelled, some shops were shut etc. and I couldn't just wander at leisure.
Increased sanitization everywhere!
I always wonder whether using shop based hand gel is more or less sanitary than not using it at all.
Parents seeing what it's like to be a teacher to their children.
Having been both a lecturer and a parent, I sympathise with both. Take it from me, making a shift from class based teaching to on-line teaching isn't as simple as just uploading materials. Distance learning is an art in itself.

In short, it hasn't made a massive difference to me at a personal level...just curtailed freedoms I might not have used but I want the choice back. I'm not optimistic that we'll "get back to normal" soon (but I'm not optimistic by nature "pessimism of the intellect: optimism of the will" is my mantra). Seems to me the best we can hope for is a situation similar to influenza...we can vaccinate against some strains but not all and we learn to live with Covid.

Our high streets and city centres have taken a huge blow but this would have happened anyway...Covid just accelerated a process started by changes in technology. In theory, I'm excited by the challenge of having to redesign our streets and social fabric (we've done it before - gone from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft because of and during the industrial revolution; after the shift from industrial/production capitalism to consumer capitalism/service based economy) but I don't trust our Government to get it right - and I certainly don't trust them with the North of the country. In the UK we have the double whammy of Covid and Brexit...potentially that's a huge blow to our economy (perhaps short-term...I dunno. I'm trying not to be too rude about it or our Government...it's a big ask). My biggest fear is Coxit (I'm shipping them) results in nostalgia (nostalgia was a big driver for Brexit). I don't think we can afford to look backward. As Marx and Hegel and others have said , history repeats itself - the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.

 

[Hunga Munga]

My hometown of birth was already in the grip of a Commercial property crisis . Plans to merge two shopping centres into one supermall stalled and the Council took over the project . Now every major retailer that ever had presence there has folded in the crisis . Now they face a situation where a square mile of high value retail space is a ghost town .

Where I live now is overdue a retail shakeup . Monied local landlords charge high rents for properties barely worth trading from , Council charges exorbitant business rates . New business goes under and they get richer . Been going on for 20 years and it's kept proper big business from investing in the area . About time that cash cow got slaughtered . I'm guessing most will be converted into dwellings if Boris ever actually does what he promises and shakes up the planning laws temporarily .

 

[TriBel]

I'm guessing most will be converted into dwellings

I quite like the idea of mixed use (if it's done properly and not on the cheap) but I worry about the lack of green space in our cities (as highlighted by Covid lock-downs). I want improved (and cheaper) public transport to enable us to access nearby countryside (I'd willingly go without a car). And I want re-skilling. Some jobs have gone forever - I want feasible alternatives. I think we have the opportunity but I'm not sure we'll grasp it. I do worry about the North ("Winter is coming"). We'd started to rebuild our cities (but forgotten some of the Northern towns). In the aftermath of WW1 there was near parity in the economies of the North and the S.East*. By the end of the century it had almost halved in London's favour. I lived the 70s and 80s and, music aside, I don't want to relive them.

*Yeah...I'm ignoring big swathes of the country. In mitigation, I don't get out much. 😄

 

[Hunga Munga]

Rural regeneration and resettlement is the key in my opinion . With 3 and 4G reaching the arsehole of the country, there is little point staying urbanized for business .
It's fairly clear to me that online distribution is still being subsidized by businesses and the bottom is going to fall out of that . So the whole interconnectivity of things is still a castle built on sand ...but we're nearly there with the old global village in the actual villages .

Fact is there are tens of thousands of UK people who'd love to go and live in the corner of a field somewhere , maybe more . Gemeinschaft is always calling and there is no practical reason , but UK law , not to get out there and do it anymore .

 

[Nix]

My family and I survived it... fingers crossed for 2021 !!

 

[TriBel]

Rural regeneration and resettlement is the key in my opinion

I'd be happy with that...provided there were links (the Gov. do seem to be reversing some of the Beeching cuts). My pre-covid plan was to move to the city centre but I've rethought that and now I'm vacillating between a field in the middle of nowhere and Manchester 1 (or Scotland). I'd settle for the field (ideally with a house in it) if I thought I could be in the city in 30 minutes. The problem is gonna be the migration from the cities (as a result of Covid). Here, it's pushing up the prices in the more desirable South Manchester/Cheshire villages (already pricey 'cos...well footballers and media people). They need, as you say, to regenerate the less popular areas. Sigh...plan C - get over my fear of frogs and buy a narrow-boat. 😏

the old global village in the actual villages.

Yeah...the global in the local was a thing we talked about years ago (perhaps pre WWW) - it's here to stay now. Sigh...again...I find the whole thing exciting in theory. In practice, it involves me putting my money were my mouth is, getting off my arse and actually doing something...groan.

Oh FGS! I've just been on the Daily Mail. I think the Global Village has passed half its readership by.

 

[HowiMetdaSlayer]

Well...
The Steelers came roaring back after a dismal (mostly) Big Ben-less 2019 season.
Some great new shows: The Queen's Gambit, Teenage Bounty Hunters, I'm Not Ok With This, Stateless & Mrs America
Some great returning series: Fargo & The Good Fight
Some good documentaries: The Last Dance, Athlete A, The Vow, Challenger: Final Flight, Hillary & Filthy Rich

 

[The Bronze]

Should have added I've managed to catch pretty much every United game, still glad to be rid of Mourinho.

 

[Taake]

. I'm really not sure what I'm doing with my time.
.

YouTube and crisps.

 

[IndianaSolo221]

I got to spend more time with my pets, and my cat has since become sweeter because of it ❤

 

[Athene]

I've always liked spending time at home and so I'll miss the collectiveness of everyone having to be home when the lockdowns end. I want the virus to go, but I'd like society to keep some of the lifestyle changes 😅

 

[Last Watcher]

Good thing about 2020?

It went away! 👍

 

[TriBel]

Good thing about 2020?

It went away! 👍

Nah...it just wants you to think that. I suspect it's lurking. I reckon the universe has the equivalent of the drawer where you put "stuff": bits of lego; elastic bands the postman dropped; AA batteries that might still work; ditto, old remotes and phone chargers. Bet you any money it's skulking there - probably disguised as an old P60. 😒

 

[Moggin]

Nah...it just wants you to think that. I suspect it's lurking.

Lurking or standing about? It's a whole different vibe, you know. 😉