Aside from the obvious, what do you miss the most in 2020?

[therosesword]

I got asked this question the other day from a friend, what do I miss the most from 2020. She already knew the answer:

Late night jazz clubs.

Anyone else? What do you miss the most from 2020?

And... might what you missed provide fodder for a new story, whether novel or comic?

Write hard, write true.

[Phantomlight]

I miss going to the bookstore, going to stores in general actually. Online shopping is convenient, but being in a store, browsing around, the amazing organization of the bookshelves with books or anything else...I always calm down when I am in a store, even if I am not purchasing anything. And a lot of the time when I shop online, I don't know what I want to get for someone or myself, but at a store I just happen to come across something interesting that I might not have thought about. I used to go to the grocery store with my mom too, it was a time we spent together, but since I am immunocompromised I especially can't go anywhere

[ble]

To enter a store without having to worry or use alcohol gel every time.

I'm not really much of a movie watcher or anything like that, but all this year i only went 1 time to watch a movie.

Where i live, there were some places where you could pay to play a videogame for an hour or so, that's definitely went away with the whole pandemic.

[cherrystark]

I miss the interactions with people that can't be achieved by working remotely. In my office environment, I worked with a lot of friends. We'd stop by each other's desks for a few minutes on our way to/from the breakroom. Getting a hug from your friend when you're having a hard day. Even the ability to share a look with a coworker when you both witness something dramatic in-office. It's not the same. You miss a HUGE part of communication because you can't read the person's body language.

[kitschensyngk]

Taking my laptop to a coffee shop on a Friday evening, ordering something that isn't coffee, and just arting it up until the late hours, getting stuff DONE.

[CMYKat]

I miss working in coffee shops. In my area we actually still can as long as we leave our name and contact info, but that's always so off-putting...I know that they need to ask me this because it's not actually safe to do non-essential things like visiting a cafe right now. But apart from the noise of the blenders, grinders, and the odd weird person who comes in to yell at their drug-induced apparitions, I actually love working on stuff at cafes, especially boring things like working on my Etsy shop, merch orders or promotions, as I have a difficult time focusing. Being out with a hot drink that I paid for really keeps me focused and on task as well as slightly social, just by being in the presence of other humans (I have severe OCD and sometimes it manifests as agoraphobia so it's nice to be out when I feel like I can manage!).

[ar-ninetysix]

Not that I've actually done it in recent years, but going into a Guitar Center and just trying out potential stuff I might wanna buy in the future. From what I understand, you're not allowed any contact with the instruments unless you intend on purchasing it that day. That's the impact that the pandemic made on music stores that were able to stay open for business. Idk if it's still a rule in effect or not these days, but yeah

Being in a position where I'm trying to get new equipment now, this is honestly kinda the worst timing lmao I kinda have to rely on other peoples' perspectives exclusively if I wanna get anywhere, and make my own spending decisions based off of that. Normally, I'd be okay provided I can try out said gear, but that's not an option I have atm and honestly, I do miss the vibe of people in a store playing riffs and licks, whether it's trying to show off, jamming with friends, or just actually testing stuff out

[AmysGames]

To enter a store without having to worry or use alcohol gel every time.

Mostly this tbh. I don't go out all that much anyway, but it sucks not being able to without panicking.

[eochoa92]

Sitting in coffee shops to read.
Taking train trips.
Attending plays.
And I'm the type of person that loved putting my holiday shopping off until the last weekend before Christmas. This year, I couldn't do that and had to do my shopping online.

[rajillustration]

Man I miss live music. I also miss just...visiting friends. Like I have some best friends that made some babies that were born during Covid, and I can't be near them or hold them because it's a newborn babe and we don't want to take risks (my area was suuuuuper hit by the virus so we're on a very heavy lockdown right now) It's a bummer because these babies will be able to talk back to me before I get to scoop em up.

[CarltonIsaac]

[domisotto]

Gym, travel, sport I follow, particularly all the junior competitions that were canceled, and working from the office

Also, amaryllis bulbs for Christmas. Usually they sell them in grocery stores, and I pick one for my kid, but not this year.

[Prometheus]

I miss going to conventions. I usually go to 2 conventions a year, but both of them got cancelled. I miss going, spending time with my brother and maybe one of his friends. I miss the experience of spending time hanging out in the hotel when there's nothing to do during uninteresting parts in the convention schedule. I miss going to the mall or somewhere else to eat near the convention center. I also miss riding the train up to the cities where these conventions are, as well as cosplaying and getting pictures taken. So I guess, when I say I miss conventions, I miss everything that encompasses the trip to it, and pretty much everything that goes on.

[frgmnt]

I don't miss social occasions or events since these never existed for me in the first place, lmao.
I've been always a very anxious person, and I really miss the time leaving my house didn't feel like a serious danger to my and my family's life and health - this year anxiety totally wrecked me.

Another thing I miss is the ability to just... casually go outside. Before 2020, it'd be like this: I decide to go on a long walk, I put on a jacket and shoes, and I'm out. But these days, everything is sooo much of a bother. I have to make sure I have a clean mask, remember to take hand sanitizer, sanitize my hands basically anytime I touch anything, try my best to stay away from people, then when I'm home, I have to change without touching anything in the house, wash my hands, wash the mask, sanitize my phone, wash my hands again... (Oh yeah and also worry if this person that walked past me didn't have covid).
I'm so tired of having to do this every damn time.

Also I can no longer wear my glasses outside (impossible to do so with the mask), and I think my eyesight suffered as a result.

[Caro]

I miss conventions because its an important chunk of income for me every year and its where I can see all my friends from across the country (and a few from outside of the US) gather together. Its the reason my husband and I decided to get married at one because it was almost guaranteed that most of our friends would be there.

I also had just gotten in with a new friend group since i moved to a completely new town and I had gotten really comfortable and used to going to shows with them every weekend and meeting up at our local dive bar every night for a drink or two. I miss it a lot and I feel like its going to be hard for me to jump back into it.

[darthmongoose]

Playing tabletop RPGs around a proper table is my number one. We'd usually have people over, cook some nice food, all sit around our table and then partway through the session have a dinner break where we'd all eat together before playing some more. It was so nice!

I also miss trips to supermarkets only being a little bit stressful instead of incredibly stressful.

[Rainbow-Mage]

I miss leaving my house, I miss spending time in person with friends, and I miss in person learning

[sushy00]

I miss going to the cinema

[Llyrel]

-Live concerts. Not that I got to see many with my job, but now that chance is reduced to zero and I miss them a lot.
-Art supply shops. I have one in my town, but it doesn't have as much stuff as the one I used to go to, which is out of town.
-The sea. As in, just walking by the sea. Again, I'd need to go out of town to see it, and due to the restrictions... I can't -_-'
-PIZZA. As in, an actual pizza in an actual pizzeria. With, y'know, tables and people.
-Comic conventions and comic shops.
-Traveling, going to museums, heck, even just getting out of this crappy town that doesn't have anything besides a shopping center... which is also closed due to restrictions

[Puck]

Physical interaction with other people,
from hugging friends & family over shaking hands with someone,
kissing someone...
Going to a bar, show, club, meeting new people.
Playing shows, I been playing shows/concerts since I was 8,
at least one time a week, sometimes more.
I miss rehearsing with my bands.
Recording with bands, I own a recording studio, I have one
album laying around which has never been released because
the band can´t play shows and the band now doesn´t exist anymore,
10 songs are done for another band which still exists but I don´t
hear from them anymore because we can´t see each other and
they are now focused on other things