Greetings,
So many of us at the moment are living in the uncertain spectre of COVID-19 and within the world at large there has been so much dramatic change over the past 18 months (how has it only been that long?) that there have been questions raised on what society and functionality looks like now we have determined some new basic ideas. These are my own key takeaways but I am interested in what you have taken away through living through a time likely to be as intensely studied as the world wars were.
1) A 9-5 Office job is not even the best way of working an office job now
Something I have found, as many have is that working from home alone or with other members of your household does not necessarily majorly impact on the wider ability of people to do work. This point also serves as a way of demonstrating that people do, by and large, want to work and will do so when trusted. Does this mean the death of those days of endless pointless scrolling at your desk or in your booth? Absolutely not, but the flipside is you can now work when you are actually going to work well. For those with flexibility, we can work during our peak performance times and get to other things when the ebb and flow dampens slightly. I am not looking forward to going back to offices.
2) Bar and pub culture as was, is dead, and should remain that way
Being able to sit in a pub or bar and have someone bring you drinks without the need for the mad hullabaloo at the bar has been an absolutely god send and being able to split bills more effectively and use both mine and the bar staffs time more efficiently is not something I think should end. I understand there is the comradery of being able to speak to new people at a bar but honestly, I think this is besides the point now and even if you are going out on the "pull" there should be a venue between bar and night club which is mostly about being able to soak in the atmosphere without the worry of being over packed or trampled.
3) Lockdowns has run it's course now
This is more a symptom of the news and the scaremongering of the press in the UK in my opinion but people will blindly follow if they believe it to be "safe" even without actually looking at the merits of something being safe or otherwise. The extension on the UK Lockdowns, in my opinion, does not make sense given that we have data showing that those affected by COVID post vaccine are less at risk and less likely to be hospitalised and by extending lockdowns indefinitely, the scaremongering is turning the public against those who apply academic critical thinking to situations where it is actually warranted. I am personally of the opinion now that the high risk categories are majority vaccinated or have been offered them that we do not need lockdown to continue further in the UK. I say this as someone who lost family to COVID too
4) I haven't had a cold in over a year
Something really astute I observed is that with the measures in place for facial coverings, that I have not had the common cold in the past 18 months. This really does demonstrate how much the public is actually cross contagious with anything and how something as simple as a mask can be beneficial to all in the long run. They should just be mandatory in situations where people are stuck within an enclosed space with constant variables for travelling, such as buses, trains and trams.
5) Everyone you thought you knew, were liars.
Throughout the lockdown, friendships have been tested and views aired which have been surprising to us all. We found out who was willing to make the effort with us individually and as a result of that, I feel like I know who my friends are and who was just piecemeal around for anything but being a proper friend. This has been somewhat lonely in places as I found that I actually thought about those friendships more and seeing what the colours of people are when they became hyper realised versions of themselves due to their spending so much time alone without normal social cues.
So thats just some of my thoughts from COVID so far. Had my first jab this week and now got to wait until September for jab 2.
So many of us at the moment are living in the uncertain spectre of COVID-19 and within the world at large there has been so much dramatic change over the past 18 months (how has it only been that long?) that there have been questions raised on what society and functionality looks like now we have determined some new basic ideas. These are my own key takeaways but I am interested in what you have taken away through living through a time likely to be as intensely studied as the world wars were.
1) A 9-5 Office job is not even the best way of working an office job now
Something I have found, as many have is that working from home alone or with other members of your household does not necessarily majorly impact on the wider ability of people to do work. This point also serves as a way of demonstrating that people do, by and large, want to work and will do so when trusted. Does this mean the death of those days of endless pointless scrolling at your desk or in your booth? Absolutely not, but the flipside is you can now work when you are actually going to work well. For those with flexibility, we can work during our peak performance times and get to other things when the ebb and flow dampens slightly. I am not looking forward to going back to offices.
2) Bar and pub culture as was, is dead, and should remain that way
Being able to sit in a pub or bar and have someone bring you drinks without the need for the mad hullabaloo at the bar has been an absolutely god send and being able to split bills more effectively and use both mine and the bar staffs time more efficiently is not something I think should end. I understand there is the comradery of being able to speak to new people at a bar but honestly, I think this is besides the point now and even if you are going out on the "pull" there should be a venue between bar and night club which is mostly about being able to soak in the atmosphere without the worry of being over packed or trampled.
3) Lockdowns has run it's course now
This is more a symptom of the news and the scaremongering of the press in the UK in my opinion but people will blindly follow if they believe it to be "safe" even without actually looking at the merits of something being safe or otherwise. The extension on the UK Lockdowns, in my opinion, does not make sense given that we have data showing that those affected by COVID post vaccine are less at risk and less likely to be hospitalised and by extending lockdowns indefinitely, the scaremongering is turning the public against those who apply academic critical thinking to situations where it is actually warranted. I am personally of the opinion now that the high risk categories are majority vaccinated or have been offered them that we do not need lockdown to continue further in the UK. I say this as someone who lost family to COVID too
4) I haven't had a cold in over a year
Something really astute I observed is that with the measures in place for facial coverings, that I have not had the common cold in the past 18 months. This really does demonstrate how much the public is actually cross contagious with anything and how something as simple as a mask can be beneficial to all in the long run. They should just be mandatory in situations where people are stuck within an enclosed space with constant variables for travelling, such as buses, trains and trams.
5) Everyone you thought you knew, were liars.
Throughout the lockdown, friendships have been tested and views aired which have been surprising to us all. We found out who was willing to make the effort with us individually and as a result of that, I feel like I know who my friends are and who was just piecemeal around for anything but being a proper friend. This has been somewhat lonely in places as I found that I actually thought about those friendships more and seeing what the colours of people are when they became hyper realised versions of themselves due to their spending so much time alone without normal social cues.
So thats just some of my thoughts from COVID so far. Had my first jab this week and now got to wait until September for jab 2.
Even now 6 months on, there are certain smells which don't smell potent to her
