Pineapple Express: Someone Is Wrong on the Internet?

[Scribe]

Hmm to crack a joke or not...

 

[CleverNickName]

The Covid-19 pandemic was terrible, and I have no desire to repeat it. It caused unprecedented amounts of death and damage, and things will likely never go back to the way they were.

But I can't say it was all bad.

Because of the lockdowns, companies were forced to adapt--and great advancements were made in accessibility and connectivity across all industries. Now, it is not uncommon for people to work from home, or to attend business meetings from the park or the library or the coffee shop. It's not only possible, it's acceptable to do so. And because of that, my disabled mother-in-law was able to find and keep a steady, well-paying job. My friend is able to stay home and take care of her newborn baby, months after her maternity leave ran out.

Food delivery, courier services, even curbside grocery pick-up--the pandemic normalized and expanded them all. Now they are available in most communities to some degree, and a whole "gig" economy has sprung up around them. My mother-in-law has access to goods and services that she didn't have in 2019, and my nieces and nephews can make a few dollars on the side (and on their own schedule) by running groceries and sandwiches all over town after school. My friend can send out for baby formula or diapers or medicine, when her husband has the car on the other side of town.

Even gaming: before the pandemic, getting everyone together to play a game of D&D in person, while having to juggle child care, work schedules, and after-school activities was almost impossible. If we were lucky, we could meet up for a game maybe once every 3 or 4 weeks. And sure, online resources were available before the pandemic, but it wasn't until after the pandemic struck that people fully embraced them, started subscribing to them, and started investing time and money in them. Even though it's been years since the lockdowns ended, we still meet up on Roll20 for D&D, every single Friday. My gaming group is 12 years old this month, and thanks to Roll20 and Foundry we've played more D&D in the months since the lockdowns began than all the rest combined.

So yeah. The pandemic was horrible, and I hope we never have to deal with something of that magnitude ever again--and if we do, I hope we handle it a lot better than we did. I think that people who romanticize history don't understand romance or history very well. I overheard someone on the construction site "wishing for another pandemic" because he was having trouble finding a parking spot, and I got nauseous just thinking about it. Do. Not. Want.

But it wasn't all bad. We did what we had to do, and we changed the world because of it. It was a nightmare, but we did some real good in there.

 

[Scribe]

I overheard someone on the construction site "wishing for another pandemic,"

Because of the forced holiday?

As an already remote worker, I didnt get one. Instead I had my wife lose her job, and my son get locked out from school for 2 years and having to deal with them living on top of me while I try and support the household was not entertaining.

I could do without all that, thats for sure.

 

[CleverNickName]

Because of the forced holiday?

Because he was having trouble finding a parking spot. The poor thing.

Yeah, the pandemic was awful. I lost three family members and five close friends, and two of my friends lost their businesses. It was a nightmare. Anyone who wants to see it repeated has--well, they have a lot of something I don't.

 

[Reynard]

I am not going to pee in anyone's cheerios, but that game EDIT: campaign sounds horrible.

 

[RealAlHazred]

I literally started a job the week the lockdown was announced. I then had two weeks of no work, but then they needed me in the data center to progress. I ended up working all through the lockdown and when they eliminated that position last year a different group hired me, and I'm still working at the same data center, located fifteen minutes from my home.

So, it's worked out for me, but I usually don't say anything because some people lost a lot and it seems insensitive to bring it up as a positive.

 

[trappedslider]

deal with them living on top of me

Why were they on top of you? Is your head really that big? Or was it like this:

 

[RealAlHazred]

I am not going to pee in anyone's cheerios, but that game sounds horrible.

Shows what you know, that game is awesome! I'm still playing it!

We're talking about Minecraft, right?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I literally started a job the week the lockdown was announced. I then had two weeks of no work, but then they needed me in the data center to progress. I ended up working all through the lockdown and when they eliminated that position last year a different group hired me, and I'm still working at the same data center, located fifteen minutes from my home.

So, it's worked out for me, but I usually don't say anything because some people lost a lot and it seems insensitive to bring it up as a positive.

It was a disruptive event, like industrialization, the interstate highway system, automation, the internet and now AI. There were a lot of people who lost and a lot of people who won in all of those -- unfortunately, with little overlap between the two, generally speaking.

 

[Meech17]

Shows what you know, that game is awesome! I'm still playing it!

We're talking about Minecraft, right?

Hah.

I'm going through my semiannual two-week mine binge at the moment. Found a seed that spawns you on a cute little island. I cheated in two tree saplings and have been going from there.