What’s out (hopefully) and what’s in as 2021 arrives
We’ve been longing to close the books on 2020 almost since it began. But now that the new year is finally here it’s, well, pretty much the same as the old one.
Until this pandemic is under control, we won’t be able to shake off the cruel baggage of the past 12 months. That can’t stop us, though, from thinking about how, mercifully, 2021 will at some point start to offer some sweet relief.
With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the things we did to survive 2020 and how we may, hopefully, begin to move on in the year ahead:
2020: Discovering the joys of baking bread.
2021: Cutting out every last carb so you once again can fit into pants that don’t come with elastic waistbands.
2020: Singing “Happy Birthday” to yourself, twice, while washing your hands to protect against germs, viruses and bacteria.
2021: Reverting to the five-second rule for dropped food.
2020: Experimenting with all manner of odd facial hair while working from home.
2021: Shaving it off to return to the office — or, barring that, quitting to go on the road and play upright bass in an alt-country band.
2020: Social distancing.
2021: Navigating other people’s personal space to find that sweet spot between “standoffish” and “Harvey Weinstein.”
2020: Zoom calls.
2021: House calls, those ridiculous, time-wasting trips characters make in movies and TV shows to drop in on a friend, unannounced, and convey a bit of news that could have been handled in a text message.
2020: Buying groceries online out of an abundance of caution.
2021: Buying groceries online out of sheer laziness.
2020: Brushing off acquaintances by telling them you’d love to spend more time with them, if only it weren’t for this darned pandemic.
2021: Actually having to make good on those promises.
2020: Paying $100 to watch a Garth Brooks concert on a drive-in movie screen, which is a thing that really happened.
2021: Paying two to three times that to watch a Garth Brooks concert in Allegiant Stadium.
2020: “You can’t make me save the lives of my vulnerable neighbors, even if all it takes is being slightly inconvenienced by wearing a mask.”
2021: “You can’t make me save the lives of my vulnerable neighbors, even if all it takes is being slightly inconvenienced by getting vaccinated.”
2020: Cheering as high-profile, first-run movies are released on streaming services.
2021: Actually leaving the house and seeing movies in theaters before those cultural institutions dry up and blow away — the same goes for heading out to music venues, comedy clubs, live theater productions and Strip shows.
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.