OT: COVID long term lifestyle changes?

[the Q]

Why do you all hate the bow?

Simple. Effective. Sanitary

 

[Ant3411]

My opinion is things are going to be back to normal pretty quickly (if they have not already) and the COVID threat will be a distant memory. Flex work schedule and washing hands more might be here to stay but let's get back out there people...

I went out in NYC last night for the first time since pre-covid, and NYC was lively as ever...and i forgot how much fun it was to do things like that.

 

[Dove]

Was at LL Bean Outlet in Freeport on Monday. It's like COVID never happened. I was really freaked out by the mob there. I left.

 

[HooperScooper]

Really? Link?

I guess I should have been more clear. They're saying you should still wash your hands but that the chances of getting COVID from surfaces is extremely low. So all that hand sanitizer you see everywhere isn't needed.

Has the Era of Overzealous Cleaning Finally Come to an End? (Published 2021)

This week, the C.D.C. acknowledged what scientists have been saying for months: The risk of catching the coronavirus from surfaces is low.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Palatine]

The biggest change so far has been the censorship of skeptical information. Interesting to see if that takes hold.

 

[Waquoit]

The biggest change so far has been the censorship of skeptical information. Interesting to see if that takes hold.

I got 2 days on the beach for politics.

 

[UCSouth]

You should need to have a license to use the self checkout lanes and I will die on that hill.

Lowes will give you 10% off at self checkout if you ask them about a discount. Other than that, someone is ringing up and bagging my stuff. Full price, full service.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

The biggest change so far has been the censorship of skeptical information. Interesting to see if that takes hold.

Tough to look around and say that's been the "biggest" change. Also "skeptical" is a hell of a euphemism.

Pre-Covid I was in the office for at least part of 6 days every week, if not 7. I don't see myself ever going back to that. And I doubt I'll be doing 5 day weeks in the office. The biggest thing I've learned is that I can be productive from home.

 

[phillionaire]

Lowes will give you 10% off at self checkout if you ask them about a discount. Other than that, someone is ringing up and bagging my stuff. Full price, full service.

I didn’t know that, that’s a good deal. I always use self checkout because I’m a misanthrope.

 

[mussels]

Why do you all hate the bow?

Simple. Effective. Sanitary

No hate here - in the Rip Hamilton era the Huskies used to bow to one another to recognize an assist or a great play. Was very fun to watch.

 

[CL82]

No hate here - in the Rip Hamilton era the Huskies used to bow to one another to recognize an assist or a great play. Was very fun to watch.

I think that was just Rip and Freeman, IIRC. It was fun to watch.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

What about third party food delivery? Postmates.... GrubHub...etc.

I think they struggle going forward. I really didn't like food delivery. Expensive and cold. If a restaurant did their own delivery it seemed to work. They cared more about the customer experience. Third party not so much. I had too many late deliveries and cold $50 pizzas to keep using these services.

 

[superjohn]

What about third party food delivery? Postmates.... GrubHub...etc.

I think they struggle going forward. I really didn't like food delivery. Expensive and cold. If a restaurant did their own delivery it seemed to work. They cared more about the customer experience. Third party not so much. I had too many late deliveries and cold $50 pizzas to keep using these services.

Sit down restaurants don't like doing delivery and pickup and they all hate third party delivery apps. I urge everyone to go out to eat, go to your locals instead of fast food/chains, and never use third party delivery apps.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I expect to be more "hybrid" work from home than before (I stopped going in on Fridays long ago). May not go back at all. Depends on what the facility changes look like. My home office though, is much improved. Dual monitors, sit stand desk, great chair.

Handshakes...they seem to be back. I don't need them, but if a hand comes out, I'm not going to refuse, that's just lame.
I'm not changing any behavior. Didn't use curbside from groceries and have no interest. I did try it at Home Depot, and having four 40 pound bags of water softener salt delivered to my car isn't bad. But I'm not that lazy, so will probably not use it. I'm pleased most stores now support tapping your phone or credit card.

I think other things will change, my town is going to become more crowded I expect. Traffic is already worse here in the suburbs. I think Covid just accelerated trends that were coming anyway. Anything that can be digitized is going to be digitized. I expect retail banks to shut a lot of branches. These virtual restaurants (mostly wing places it seems) are interesting.

Traffic where I live has been worst I've ever seen.

Every hotel and condo is packed with tourists and car traffic is unbelievably bad. Roads normally just holding locals traffic are getting backed up 2-2.5 miles and making 10 min drives turn in to one hour drives.

 

[Chin Diesel]

What about third party food delivery? Postmates.... GrubHub...etc.

I think they struggle going forward. I really didn't like food delivery. Expensive and cold. If a restaurant did their own delivery it seemed to work. They cared more about the customer experience. Third party not so much. I had too many late deliveries and cold $50 pizzas to keep using these services.

Only thing I like or have used is the grocery delivery to the car. That is a great time saver if rolling up and having groceries brought to you.

 

[Kathy]

The problem is Boomers also love self-checkout and they spend 10 minutes checking out for a dozen items. My favorite is the folks paying with cash and exact change at self-checkout.

Quite a generalization there.

 

[Chuck]

I'm staying out of the COVID part of the conversation. It's a no-win argument. That being said, here are just a few things I want to see continue. Most involve how much I've loved not being sick for 1.5 years.

• I will not shake hands unless I have to. I don't need to touch you (or be touched by you) to greet.
• Masks in certain circumstances. I've attached an article which solidifies my desire to continue wearing a mask in certain circumstances. I just got back from my first flight since the pandemic started. Wearing a KN95 for 5 hours barely bothered me at all. The first case of monkeypox in the U.S. since 2003 has been diagnosed in a Texas resident
• Informal yard gatherings over constantly meeting at an expensive restaurant. Our hot tub (mentioned in a thread about pools) is in and I make good cocktails. I've lost nearly 60 pounds since initially putting on weight and I think a big part of it is eating out less. We still do a lot of take out when we meet up with people, but I feel less compulsion to order badly.
• @ChinDiesel mentioned grocery delivery to home and/or car. I've gone back to the store occasionally, but we have a pretty good pattern of delivery and pick-up now and I don't think we'll stop.
• Work from home. There are pros and cons, but I think I'm home permanently, and on the whole I'm good with that. I bought a nice desk and a book shelf and the guest room makes an awesome office with my own executive bathroom, a glider chair, and of course a bed!

 

[Excalibur]

I don’t see a lot of permanent changes. There will be more working from home, obviously, but people will eventually figure out that WFH isn’t necessarily for the employee’s benefit. If you can avoid blurring the workday, or if you already worth a sh!+ton of hours anyway, great. But for everyone else, the trade-off is that you will work more and to be expected to be available more often.

Young people are always going to want to live in cities. Now that millennials are having family as they’re moving to the suburbs and Covid accelerated that. It all goes in cycles.

 

[Improviser]

I'm staying out of the COVID part of the conversation. It's a no-win argument. That being said, here are just a few things I want to see continue. Most involve how much I've loved not being sick for 1.5 years.

• I will not shake hands unless I have to. I don't need to touch you (or be touched by you) to greet.
• Masks in certain circumstances. I've attached an article which solidifies my desire to continue wearing a mask in certain circumstances. I just got back from my first flight since the pandemic started. Wearing a KN95 for 5 hours barely bothered me at all. The first case of monkeypox in the U.S. since 2003 has been diagnosed in a Texas resident
• Informal yard gatherings over constantly meeting at an expensive restaurant. Our hot tub (mentioned in a thread about pools) is in and I make good cocktails. I've lost nearly 60 pounds since initially putting on weight and I think a big part of it is eating out less. We still do a lot of take out when we meet up with people, but I feel less compulsion to order badly.
• @ChinDiesel mentioned grocery delivery to home and/or car. I've gone back to the store occasionally, but we have a pretty good pattern of delivery and pick-up now and I don't think we'll stop.
• Work from home. There are pros and cons, but I think I'm home permanently, and on the whole I'm good with that. I bought a nice desk and a book shelf and the guest room makes an awesome office with my own executive bathroom, a glider chair, and of course a bed!

Home delivery and take-out saves a lot of time. Once in a while, I will go inside a Natural Food Store for their store prepared ratatouille and quinoa, soups, and peanut butter from the machine that grinds the peanuts (no salt of course from the process).

I always hated shaking hands knowing how unsanitary it is, so I hope non-shaking becomes a permanent norm.

BTW, with your home office setup, don't forget a standing desk so you can alternate between sitting and standing.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Traffic where I live has been worst I've ever seen.

Yesterday afternoon, it took me 3 1/2 hours to drive from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to Norwalk, CT. A new record for me (previous "best" was 2 hours, 20 minutes). Without traffic, I can get there in about 70 minutes.

It was so slow, people were selling sliced mango in between the lanes.

 

[M.S.G.]

What state is that where kids and staff will be wearing masks this upcoming school year?

I'm in eastern CT now, but headed to Central MA for next year and I see it being a thing in both states.

 

[Improviser]

This thread is making me wonder if we should do a separate thread on the different kinds of handshakes and when or where they are used. The business shake, the double shake, the handshake into bro hug, handshake into left hand on the side of shoulder all come to mind.

Shoulder tap works for me as an alternative to the handshake. If I go first, the other person usually gets the hint.

 

[husky429]

I'm in eastern CT now, but headed to Central MA for next year and I see it being a thing in both states.

I think definitely at the elementary levels. Kids I teach are all old enough to have been vaccinated, so I'm hoping we can go with no masks.

The kids are 100% going to refuse to wear them. The kids did this year in the midst of the pandemic when everyone was wearing them in public.

 

[Excalibur]

I think definitely at the elementary levels. Kids I teach are all old enough to have been vaccinated, so I'm hoping we can go with no masks.

The kids are 100% going to refuse to wear them. The kids did this year in the midst of the pandemic when everyone was wearing them in public.

Not in our district, and not in any district where elementary school teachers that I know taught. Wearing masks overwhelmingly didn’t bother kids, unless their parents were at home complaining that the mask was the greatest infringement of our liberties since the stamp act.

I’m not sure it’s necessary, but at least some districts in the northeast will probably have kids in masks, at least at the elementary school level.

 

[Kolumbo]

L.L. Bean Blucher Mocs. Looking for a versatile shoe and owned a pair of these about 20 years ago. Can't believe it's been so long. These are classics but I'm reading the quality has gone down.

I've always avoided getting take-out. I'll be dining out more frequently and the chains are local too. It took me a long time to go with the cargo shorts which are now apparently on the outs, so I gotta find normal shorts which fit. Most shorts seem to be made for tall skinny guys. I'm all for wearing shorts and t's but business casual may be in for an uptick.