ADIOS, GOODBYE, GTFO 2020 thread

[DanOregon]

Man, I would like to think everything changes with a new calendar, but I can't help but think a lot of things will be forever different when things get closer to normal. A lot of stuff that we did because we "always did them" not because we actually liked or wanted to - just repetitive behavior and social normalizing/expectations for the most part.
It's nice to no longer stress about stuff that really doesn't matter in the big picture.

Curious what people will take from 2020 into the new year and what they plan to leave behind for good - and maybe it has nothing to do with COVID-19, but the year just provided you an opportunity to realize it.

ALSO - I'm nominating myself for PPOY (Prophetic Post of the Year) for this in the RIP Buck Henry thread back on Jan. 9th.

"You know him even if you think you might not. Ten-time SNL host, writer, actor - had the ability to make you laugh and think at the absurdities of life. If you haven't seen "To Die For" with Nicole Kidman - you should.
Looks like 2020 is going to be that kind of year.

Buck Henry Dead: ‘Graduate’ Writer, ‘Get Smart’ Co-Creator, ‘SNL’ Favorite Was 89 – Deadline

And then CD Boogie with the follow....

"Ya mean where people die?"

 

[FileNotFound]

These are the things I’ll carry forward from 2020 until I leave this earth in 30 years or so:

I will definitely give people more physical space. If someone stands too close to me, I’ll move and/or give them The Eye.

I’ll never eat at a buffet again.

I’ll get my annual physicals annually, instead of the every 3-4 years that has been my recent trend.

I’ll carry hand sanitizer with me everywhere, and actually use it.

More of my free time will include family and friends, with fewer random experiences that I do just to say I did. (Granted, I’ve been just about everywhere I want to go, but I’ll still want to travel — I’ll just want more of that travel being centered around connecting with people about whom I care and less about the going.)

 

[Michael_ Gee]

I think it's sweet some people here think 2020 is actually going to end.

 

[Splendid Splinter]

I agree. See ya 2020. Oh and a big FU on your way out.

 

[DanOregon]

I think it's sweet some people here think 2020 is actually going to end.

You're probably right - I'm waiting for this...a stoppage time official coming out on New Years Eve.....

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

 

[DanielSimpsonDay]

 

[Chef2]

2020 can eat a pound of my ****.
In fact, I'll never refer to it as 2020 again, it will forever be 20--.
What a hideous debacle of a year.
The next 6 1/2 days can't get over with fast enough.

 

[ChrisLong]

I’m thinking Jan. 20 will be more significant than Jan. 1.
There were several threads here I didn’t bother with, the politics one especially. But a couple of years ago I started reading it. And about a year ago I even posted on it. I’ve even gotten into a few political arguments on here and Facebook.
I am hoping to return to my non-political ways, realizing how much time was spent plowing through that thread.

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

I'm done with politics Jan. 20. I don't care what's happening on the Hill, what's happening in Justice, none of it. I'm taking my life back.

I could have written a book (or at least made a pitch) instead of following this sorry criminal syndicate for the last 1,400 days.

Anything would have been more productive than this. It's his real 'legacy' - the time he caused all of us to waste.

I quietly think the world of a lot of folks here and hope the new year is far less cruel than this one has been.

 

[TigerVols]

My biz partner and I are spinning up a new company (by taking over an existing one that is going out of biz) in an industry that we're not overly familiar with, and hiring 30+ people in the USA and the Philippines, and we only decided to do this this past Thanksgiving so it's been a helluva sprint as we have to get it all done by Jan. 1...and yet, when my partner yesterday said, "man, I wish we had a few more weeks before Jan. 1" I pretty much ripped him a new one for even suggesting such a horrible thing! Good riddance, 2020!!!!

 

[maumann]

Since March 15, my wife and I have been living in a perpetual "Groundhog Day." That's when it seemed life as it was stopped and life as it will be continues. The logic of trying to define your odds of safety in a pandemic where illogic and panic reign -- and no one seems to want to take charge -- has left us all marooned in space-time.

Today feels as much like March as it did July or September. Only the weather gives any indication that time has passed. We get up, eat, argue with each other (or sit in separate rooms), eat, argue some more (or listen to each other's phone conversations), eat and go to bed. At least with retirement, there's no reliance on the clock or calendar (with the exception of those pesky doctors and dentists), so I have no idea what actual day it might be today past Christmas Eve.

But we won't be going to a candlelight service or visiting with friends or family or eating at the Chinese restaurant tonight. It's basically no different than every other day since we decided to abandon Florida for the cabin in Georgia. We pop up out of our hiding place just long enough to fill the car with groceries and gas, then zip home. The motorhome sits on the driveway, empty and up for sale, because we have no idea when "travel" will be commonplace for us.

Other than three rounds of golf, my entertainment consists of simple but engaging activities. And then I waste time on this site, just to see what stupid things are happening to other people. Thank you for that.

We don't trust anything or anybody outside of our bubble. We aren't going back to Florida. We aren't eating out. The idea of attending an event with a crowd of any size is daunting. And I have no idea how long we will feel this way until the sense of "normalcy" returns. It could be that we never get comfortable with social gatherings with strangers again.

Merry Christmas. Happy New Year.

May the promise of widespread vaccinations and a change in leadership give us hope that 2021 will have a different outcome.

 

[OscarMadison]

First of all, "To Die For" is brilliant. I got the chance to tell Nicole Kidman how much I loved her performance in that movie years ago and am still glad I did.

I had a lot of plans for 2020. After getting sidelined by health problems in 2019, this was going to be the year when things changed. Well, they did. Not the way I expected them to, but they did.
My list as of now?
Do good.
Continue to do good.
Stop being afraid. I've had a glimpse of the worst that could happen. I don't want to get a closer, protracted look. If I stay scared, I probably will.
Be a better friend.
Be more disciplined about my goals.
Walk away from evil. Neil Gaiman and Angela Carter wrote about the reality of bad people. I used to think everybody has the potential to grow and change. Maybe they actually do and just decide it's easier to be bad. They have the right to be who they are, but they are not entitled to my attention or energy. I can now walk away without feeling like a bad person.
And last... I've always kind of felt like the healthiest attitude about stuff is to have what I want and want what I have. This year I haven't found anything I want. At all. It's all here. When I encounter people who have to have things, it seems so detached from reality. Probably not fair of me to think that way.

Happy holidays and holding out hope for a better year ahead.

 

[wicked]

I’m thinking Jan. 20 will be more significant than Jan. 1.

That. 2021 doesn’t really start until Biden’s hand is on the Bible.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

I’d like to thank all y’all for helping me get through this year. One day, I’d like to buy everybody a beer, coffee or whatever.

Happy holidays to all. And **** 2020.

 

[playthrough]

Since March 15, my wife and I have been living in a perpetual "Groundhog Day." That's when it seemed life as it was stopped and life as it will be continues. The logic of trying to define your odds of safety in a pandemic where illogic and panic reign -- and no one seems to want to take charge -- has left us all marooned in space-time.

Today feels as much like March as it did July or September. Only the weather gives any indication that time has passed. We get up, eat, argue with each other (or sit in separate rooms), eat, argue some more (or listen to each other's phone conversations), eat and go to bed. At least with retirement, there's no reliance on the clock or calendar (with the exception of those pesky doctors and dentists), so I have no idea what actual day it might be today past Christmas Eve.

But we won't be going to a candlelight service or visiting with friends or family or eating at the Chinese restaurant tonight. It's basically no different than every other day since we decided to abandon Florida for the cabin in Georgia. We pop up out of our hiding place just long enough to fill the car with groceries and gas, then zip home. The motorhome sits on the driveway, empty and up for sale, because we have no idea when "travel" will be commonplace for us.

Other than three rounds of golf, my entertainment consists of simple but engaging activities. And then I waste time on this site, just to see what stupid things are happening to other people. Thank you for that.

We don't trust anything or anybody outside of our bubble. We aren't going back to Florida. We aren't eating out. The idea of attending an event with a crowd of any size is daunting. And I have no idea how long we will feel this way until the sense of "normalcy" returns. It could be that we never get comfortable with social gatherings with strangers again.

Merry Christmas. Happy New Year.

May the promise of widespread vaccinations and a change in leadership give us hope that 2021 will have a different outcome.

Waste time on this site?? We're offended.

I'm hopeful that in 2021 I can return to my office, and I swear I'll take every lunch invitation and participate in even the dumbest office-camaraderie gatherings. Being a writer, there's always a built-in excuse to avoid stuff, but these 90 months, er, 9 months of work-from-home have this introvert longing for humans again.

 

[Moderator1]

I got two new granddaughters in 2020, one of them before the world turned to ****. So there's that and those little girls along with the granddaughter who arrived in 2017 make life worth living.

But overall 2020 can indeed plant one on my chubby rear end. Eager for lots of good things in 2021, including much more time with my trio of young rock stars.

 

[I Should Coco]

I'd like to think 2021 will be better than 2020. But something tells me it will still be a rough ride with COVID, politics, social isolation ... Especially with COVID.

One prediction made with optimism: Hopefully 2021 will be the year my 27 years in the newspaper business comes to an end. It's time.

 

[Granny]

Ellie's granddaughter had a song a few years back that might apply today.

 

[Deskgrunt50]

Doesn't feel like 2020 will really be "over" until we start making significant progress to getting back to normal. Jan. 20 will be a big deal. Getting on a plane and going on vacation will be an incredible feeling.

I'll always follow the guidelines, but not wearing a mask, whenever that time comes, is going to be great. I will NOT miss that even a little bit.