Ask HN: What do you miss most from pre-quarantine life?

13 points by samcgraw ↗ HN

20 comments

[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 59.7 ms ] thread
I miss going to the movies...I'm not sure if movies in the theater will ever be the same, given how profitable direct to streaming has been (e.g. Trolls 2, which netted Universal more money in 19 days than the original did in its entire theatrical run of 5 months). I have 2 home theater setups (one indoors and one outdoors) with projectors and 100+ inch screens and Dolby atmos surround in each, but there is still something magical about watching movies in the theater.

I also miss restaurants. I love cooking, but not every meal every day. Delivery is a nice break, but I like sitting in a restaurant, and having someone else cook and do the dishes.

I need a haircut. Badly.
Going to a bar for craft beer
haha, where I live they did announce that bars are now allowed to do take-out drink orders! how fancy
My local micro brewery will deliver anything from 2 pints cask craft ale and any number of keg and can beers they deal with on a weekly basis every Friday. It actually tastes better at home than in the bar but I miss the people and interactions that go with it.
Every pub has that one guy who tells outlandish stories about his incredible overly-exciting life. Nobody believes a word he says, but it is part of the entertainment you pay for in each pint.

As we now save a whole lot of money on store-bought booze, we begin to understand, and truly miss the bar markup and tipping costs.

I'm British so I don't think I've ever tipped in a bar in my life. We do tip in restaurants but it's not expected like in the US.

It's not just the conversation, I just generally like the vibe in country pubs.

I miss many things, but by far the biggest is being able to go the gym. Working out is one of the key ways I stay sane, especially after working behind a computer screen day-in day-out. I miss going swimming (only pool around here is at the gym), I miss going to the movies, I miss people being upbeat, and mostly I miss seeing my family and being able to give everyone a hug!
I work out at home with dumbbells, door frame chin-up bar and a mat. But boy do I miss having the whole bunch of equipment that lets me vary up my routines to keep things interesting and hard at the same time.

Incidentally I'm nearing the middle of the GoodLife Fitness 30-day Ab Challenge. If you asked me to do 65 ab crunches followed by leg lefts AND planking without stopping for a rest a couple weeks ago, I'd laugh because no, no I wouldn't be able to do that. But I can now. When its done and over, I will be able to more than double that, which seemed impossible before, but no longer does.

So all is not lost. After this challenge, I'll have to find another one to stay motivated until the gym opens and is safe enough to attend.

Going out and not having to constantly make sure that I'm keeping my distance from people.
Best moments with my family and friends
Being able to hug my mom.
Seeing people's faces, smiles (instead of a mask)
I miss getting together with a my family.