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We've been pretty comfortably retired for about 12-years ... and wouldn't want to go back to work either! .... Also, at our ages now, we're not overly anxious to return to 'business as usual' in society.
OTOH, it took us a lot of years to get to the point where we could AFFORD to retire comfortably. If you are at that point now, then, more power to you. If not, life doesn't always lend itself to adopting choices based entirely on 'what we feel like at the moment.'
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I miss the drive over the bridge to Seattle, seeing the lake on both sides, and on the way home, Mt. Rainier to the right and the Olympics ahead of me as I drive east. I also miss the views from my office, the waves and ships on Elliot Bay and part of the Seattle skyline, Mt. Rainier and the Olympic Mountains on a clear day. With a private office and my early hours social distancing would be easy. Saving $200+/month in gas money all this time is nice but I'm getting tired of being stuck at home all day. The hectic pace is what keeps me going, this laid back life is mind numbing.
If you indulge yourself and sit home alone without interacting with others you can lose even more of the social skills you have now (limited though they may be). Once you allow that to happen, the few times you can't avoid going out and engaging with others are going to become even harder and unpleasant than they are now. IMHO, avoiding more and more things you don't happen to like doesn't make you stronger, it makes you weaker. Like a muscle or your brain...use it or lose it.
Think about all the jokes about antisocial overgrown teenager slobs who sit in their parents' basements not working, just playing video games and living in fantasy worlds. Is that really what you aspire to be? So sorry the living world outside the bedroom door isn't to your liking. Last time I checked, it doesn't care.
This isn't directed at you but what you said above struck a nerve with me. I know a few people like that and I can't help but think of them as slugs. It's true what you said that the living world outside doesn't care if the slugs don't like the world the way it is.
I think people who deliberately choose to play the system, who choose to be handicapped lazy burdens on society and live like that are people who are choosing to die. They will of course die much, much younger because they are making themselves sicker a lot faster due to neglecting the health of their minds and bodies.
I know this sounds like a callous thing to say but being mentally ill is not a good enough excuse for burdensome people like that to be indulged and allowed to willingly choose to live like slugs when they don't have to and to deliberately choose to not be healthy, social, active, productive and contributing members of society. What good are they? They are of no benefit to the world or themselves if they choose to live like dullard slugs so they are no great loss to the world when they die early anyway.
So I don't care if they die a lot sooner rather than later because it was their choice to be a social burden and to die early. The sooner they die the better and good riddance to them as far as I'm concerned. Because once they're dead and gone they aren't wasting space and essential resources and being a continued costly drain on the hard working tax paying members of society who are supporting them but getting nothing back from them in return.
This isn't directed at you but what you said above struck a nerve with me. I know a few people like that and I can't help but think of them as slugs. It's true what you said that the living world outside doesn't care if the slugs don't like the world the way it is.
I think people who deliberately choose to play the system, who choose to be handicapped lazy burdens on society and live like that are people who are choosing to die. They will of course die much, much younger because they are making themselves sicker a lot faster due to neglecting the health of their minds and bodies.
I know this sounds like a callous thing to say but being mentally ill is not a good enough excuse for burdensome people like that to be indulged and allowed to willingly choose to live like slugs when they don't have to and to deliberately choose to not be healthy, social, active, productive and contributing members of society. What good are they? They are of no benefit to the world or themselves if they choose to live like dullard slugs so they are no great loss to the world when they die early anyway.
So I don't care if they die a lot sooner rather than later because it was their choice to be a social burden and to die early. The sooner they die the better and good riddance to them as far as I'm concerned. Because once they're dead and gone they aren't wasting space and essential resources and being a continued costly drain on the hard working tax paying members of society who are supporting them but getting nothing back from them in return.
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I don't really think that's what he's talking about. OP to me comes off as introverted with maybe some social anxiety, who has been given a temporary reprieve and escape from a life that caused hm anxiety. I understand that, honestly. I'm a homebody, and while I need to get back to work, I am happy that forced socialization is on hold (forced for me, my fiance is social butterfly). I always feel guilty that I don't want to go out and do things with groups of friends, etc, I say yes because I want to maintain the friendships, but really I'd prefer not to go most of the time.
So while I understand we have to reopen, I have to say I've been happy not to have to worry about socializing beyond my little family (me, my fiance and 2 cats). I do understand the appeal of idea of an escape from life. which is what I think OP is talking about. He loves playing games, and normally is probably made to feel guilty about it, and now he doesn't have to feel guilty. It doesn't mean he doesn't work or wants to live off the government, He just doesn't want to go back to the conditions of life that caused him anxiety. I really don't think he was talking about anything but his feelings.
For those who remember the Twilight Zone, this is “Time Enough at Last” episode with Burgess Meredith.
I spent the greater part of my career in logistics, usually in warehouses and distribution centers; there were challenges and obstacles to be overcome, but two features of the job I particularly appreciated were that its basic nature permitted me to work in relative isolation, and I wasn't compelled to constantly render personal attention to that charming critter called "the public". Even the constant singing of the conveyor systems seemed to produce a calming, possibly mildly-hypnotic effect, and the department staff seemed to include very few extroverts.
Perhaps our OP should more closely examine those factors which shape his own personality.
I don't really think that's what he's talking about. OP to me comes off as......
Yeah I understand what you're saying and understand what the OP was talking about. But I never said anything about the OP or how he comes off as so I don't think there's any need for you to respond to me in defense of him about his fantasy. I didn't refer to the OP, I was commenting about the type of people that another member was describing. Not all of those people are handicapped by autism and dealing with their anxiety by living in solitude in an introverted fantasy world because of a misunderstood disability that they never chose to be born with. They are people who are deliberately choosing to handicap their own selves because they've given up on their selves and on motivation and given up on the world.
Hopefully the OP has gained some helpful insight from what I said about those other kinds of people.
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I have been very fortunate throughout all of this. Other than losing a 403b match, I've had no disruption to my income. I'm working from my house in a safe environment. My condo butts up to a walking/biking trail, and there is a 2,000 acre city park less than a quarter mile away for exercise and relaxation.
With that said, I'm not a "stay at home" person. I've caught up on some video games I wouldn't otherwise have done. The house stays very clean. I get very bored. With everything closed, there's nothing to do and I've been drinking more. I'll be glad to get back to the gym during the week, restaurants, bars, and travel.
That's cool if you like it but doesn't mean that it should be like that for everyone else. Thankfully you have the opportunity to create that life that you want just like everyone has the right to create the life they want. And that just isn't possible if we don't open the country up.
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