OT: Covid Adjustments

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Went to totally online/curbside groceries up until a few weeks ago. Still haven’t been into a store other than for essentials only seeing family and only really started a few weeks ago (can’t keep grandparents away from our newborn I guess.) I wear a GD mask in public and somehow haven’t succumbed to my own carbon monoxide!

 

[Peacefrog]

I typically head to the airport every Monday morning but haven't flown since March 13. I'm holding out as long as possible. I hate driving but I'm doing a lot more of it. I made the drive out to St Louis and back a couple of weeks ago. Sometime in August I'll probably hit the skies again.

 

[shizzle787]

Oddly enough I've had my best three months in my career in auto sales during rona.

 

[superjohn]

drive. I’m doing to Michigan/ chi at end of month. It makes more sense. 13 hours man. Drive.

You always make that drive when it's not even Covid season, right?

 

[cohenzone]

The virus has gotten in the way of our visiting my son in LA and family coast to coast. We thought about flying out so I was researching some things until we learned this week that my wife’s cancer has returned and she might have to do chemo again, so flying is out. But what I found was that air circulation isn’t a problem, it’s personal proximity at various points including at the airport and in the plane. American (which we would normally fly to LA) and United announced last week that they will fill planes. Forget distancing. They supposedly will require masks. I know you are in the Chitown area so you certainly could encounter lots of people at the airport. If you can afford first class - prices seem way down, there is slightly more distance from the seats around you and no middle seats. That’s good if you have a companion flyer, otherwise even in first class you could have a stranger next to you. It’s really not an easy call. Also, make sure you don’t put yourself in a mandatory 14 day quarantine at either end of the flight. Good luck.

 

[JimHurley]

Booked a dirt cheap 7 night trip to Hawaii in May. It flies the last week in November. We’ll see. Luckily both the flight and hotel have free cancellation.

 

[bfs3]

How has it been for people flying during this time? Does everyone wear masks, are you seeing any spacing on your flights or is every seat taken? I've heard from some friends but want to hear from more people. I'm supposed to be flying at the end of the month to visit my mom, I have no concerns about getting the virus but the last thing I want to do is unwittingly bring the virus back to my mom and get her sick. I'm not willing to fork over the money for a first class ticket and really don't want to drive back.

I just flew Delta. I had my own row and everyone wore a mask. I feel just as well as I did before the flight. They steam clean the planes between flights and offer everyone sanitary wipes.

 

[MDHuskFan]

I’ve flown as well. It’s been all masks & no middle seat usage, etc on Southwest.

That being said, I was also traveling to visit friends (under 40 and in good health). If I was going to see my parents, I would personally quarantine and drive now a days. Masks and such are nice, but airports aren’t doin wellness tests or testing temperatures or anything. At least not the ones I’ve flown too and from

 

[J187Money]

- A lot of golf, both here and a trip to the LA area the first week of June. Also ended up (mistakenly) in one of the protests in LA while trying to go to the Downtown Palm (but was unscathed).
- Been out a lot in CT since the restaurants reopened.
- Went into NYC a couple of weeks ago to eat at Mastros - really bummed out they postponed indoor dining in NYC.
- Just did a back and forth driving trip to Indiana - had to get my son loaded into his apartment for grad school. He is in person already (doing a masters in athletic training so needs clinical hours - can't do that online).

I study the numbers judiciously - and am as safe as I can be while not being chained to my house. Always masked up. Was surprised that nobody who wasn't working in Vandenburg Country, IN was masked up - they don't require it and nobody does it voluntarily. Numbers are light there but still.

 

[J187Money]

I did LA first week of June - I was in first both ways and it was reasonably spaced.

My wife flew to Indiana this week and she said the plane was 100% full - no empty seats. So demand is up some. Depends on the route.

 

[polycom]

Demand is up it's up to the flight attendants to kick people off if they aren't wearing masks. I've flown a couple times on dreaded AA it sucked, flights were completely full. Delta isn't selling the middle seat.

 

[August_West]

You always make that drive when it's not even Covid season, right?

Once in a while. I fly 90%. But even before COVID I’d drive it once a year or so. It’s not horrible

 

[Slick]

How has it been for people flying during this time? Does everyone wear masks, are you seeing any spacing on your flights or is every seat taken? I've heard from some friends but want to hear from more people. I'm supposed to be flying at the end of the month to visit my mom, I have no concerns about getting the virus but the last thing I want to do is unwittingly bring the virus back to my mom and get her sick. I'm not willing to fork over the money for a first class ticket and really don't want to drive back.

Not a huge problem. Wear your mask, planes are very clean. I had good spacing on my flight to Caribbean this week

 

[HuskyInAtlanta]

On a Delta flight right now from Ft Lauderdale to Atlanta. Redirected to Augusta for refueling because of weather closed the Atlanta airport for awhile. Everyone is wearing masks. Spacing on all rows as far as I can see with no heads in the middle seats. Trip on Monday was the same down to Ft Lauderdale. Flying a B757 and would fly again.

 

[XLCenterFan]

I’m not flying anywhere until there’s a vaccine. I don’t need a vacation that bad - been on plenty and there’s lots of beaches and golf courses in New England. Also not going to a casino or a concert or a sporting event.

I would always drive everywhere anyways though. If it’s 8-10 hours in a car, it’s better to drive then to fly. You’re on your own schedule, it’s cheaper, and then you have a car when you get there. Plus, by the time you leave the house, drive to the airport, park, fly, leave the airport, and check in to your hotel, a 3-4 hour flight adds up to 8-10 hours anyways.

 

[NJHusky]

How has it been for people flying during this time? Does everyone wear masks, are you seeing any spacing on your flights or is every seat taken? I've heard from some friends but want to hear from more people. I'm supposed to be flying at the end of the month to visit my mom, I have no concerns about getting the virus but the last thing I want to do is unwittingly bring the virus back to my mom and get her sick. I'm not willing to fork over the money for a first class ticket and really don't want to drive back.

Just flew for the first time last week. I'm usually a 75-110k/yr guy. It was bit odd, but after a few minutes got used to it. United doesn't block middle seats but luckily I had a vacant seat out and turned down an upgrade to have a full row to myself in coach on return.

Everyone has a mask. They are very strict about boarding and deplaning in row order. No jumping up when plane lands...they call your row. No randomly roaming the aisle anymore to stretch legs.

Like most people, made a point of wiping down seat, arm rest..didn't put anything in chair pocket or use tray table. Didn't use laptop or open my bag. Made a point of not eating or drinking on plane so kept mask on entire time. Minimized fluid intake to avoid using head. I usually take an aisle but now opting for window seat for fewer passersby. My flight was only 2.5 hours so just put on a podcast, closed my eyes/snoozed and held my phone to prevent me from touching my face.

When landed, wiped hands, threw out mask and wiped down my carry on bag.

Overall, it wasn't terrible and I don't feel like I was at risk...if someone next to me was coughing it would have been freaky.

 

[Slick]

How has it been for people flying during this time? Does everyone wear masks, are you seeing any spacing on your flights or is every seat taken? I've heard from some friends but want to hear from more people. I'm supposed to be flying at the end of the month to visit my mom, I have no concerns about getting the virus but the last thing I want to do is unwittingly bring the virus back to my mom and get her sick. I'm not willing to fork over the money for a first class ticket and really don't want to drive back.

Not a huge problem. Wear your mask, planes are very clean. I had good spacing on my flight to Caribbean this week

 

[Improviser]

I hardly leave the house and I retired so I don't have to go back into the office. Other than that....

Safer in your house than in the office. Pity those who have an office and can't go back and see clients,and still have to pay rent on that office. And if their clients have no computer or are not tech savvy.
Good move to be retired.

 

[Kathy]

The virus has gotten in the way of our visiting my son in LA and family coast to coast. We thought about flying out so I was researching some things until we learned this week that my wife’s cancer has returned and she might have to do chemo again, so flying is out. But what I found was that air circulation isn’t a problem, it’s personal proximity at various points including at the airport and in the plane. American (which we would normally fly to LA) and United announced last week that they will fill planes. Forget distancing. They supposedly will require masks. I know you are in the Chitown area so you certainly could encounter lots of people at the airport. If you can afford first class - prices seem way down, there is slightly more distance from the seats around you and no middle seats. That’s good if you have a companion flyer, otherwise even in first class you could have a stranger next to you. It’s really not an easy call. Also, make sure you don’t put yourself in a mandatory 14 day quarantine at either end of the flight. Good luck.

Prayers for your wife @cohenzone

 

[Kathy]

Ventured to an outdoor concert last night. Usually bring your own chair and seat up to 2000. Instead they sold 97 pods of 4. Maskuse on entry and when leaving your pod. Grab and go food availanle - usually had a few food trucks. Good band - Lower Case Blues - some of their iwn stuff but Dead, Withers and a few other covers. Felt very safe so will go again. They have one every Thurs, Fri, and Sat. Raises money for a Foundation

 

[cohenzone]

Safer in your house than in the office. Pity those who have an office and can't go back and see clients,and still have to pay rent on that office. And if their clients have no computer or are not tech savvy.
Good move to be retired.

My son is with a big NYC law firm. He’s worked from home through this whole period. The firm “furloughed” a lot of the support staff who have had to file for unemployment. I’m sure they would’ve loved to work from home. To defray the expenses.related to overhead that still had to be paid like rent, all of the attorneys took a 10% pay cut. Modern tech tools like Zoom facilitate overcoming some of the contact problems with clients, but a load of adjustments have been necessary. And his 3 grade school daughters who have had to school at home don’t make working from home quite like working in an office. But staying at home minimized the virus exposure issue (they live in an original Westchester hot spot);and some of their neighbors had the virus.

 

[M.S.G.]

Not gonna lie, these 4 months have been awesome for my mental health.

My wife and I walk most mornings, about 5 miles a clip.
Then I'd go through assignments, contact students, do grades and watch Seinfeld. School ended, and summer school is even easier.. Post a week's worth of assignments on Classroom, put my feet up and watch Seinfeld.

Weekend's here (Thursday) beer o'clock at 4.. Listen to music, play NCAA '14, drown in Miller Lite.

The only bad part about all of this is my diet, good grief it's been terrible. Once we find out what's happening with school in the fall I plan to go cold turkey, detox for about 30 days before we have to be in buildings (although I don't think we will be until January).

My wife has taken this the worst, this weather has been awful for her asthma and everything going on has been a nightmare for her anxiety. She's the director of research at a huge hospital so she's been losing her marbles trying to juggle everything on Zoom calls and a million conference calls.

 

[Deepster]

I’m not flying anywhere until there’s a vaccine. I don’t need a vacation that bad - been on plenty and there’s lots of beaches and golf courses in New England. Also not going to a casino or a concert or a sporting event.

I would always drive everywhere anyways though. If it’s 8-10 hours in a car, it’s better to drive then to fly. You’re on your own schedule, it’s cheaper, and then you have a car when you get there. Plus, by the time you leave the house, drive to the airport, park, fly, leave the airport, and check in to your hotel, a 3-4 hour flight adds up to 8-10 hours anyways.

Baltimore is the exception here. I’m 15 minutes from Bradley. Pre check for TSA. Flight to Baltimore in Southwest is 49.00 most times and wheels up and down its 40 minutes. Don’t need a car in that city.

 

[Deepster]

My son is with a big NYC law firm. He’s worked from home through this whole period. The firm “furloughed” a lot of the support staff who have had to file for unemployment. I’m sure they would’ve loved to work from home. To defray the expenses.related to overhead that still had to be paid like rent, all of the attorneys took a 10% pay cut. Modern tech tools like Zoom facilitate overcoming some of the contact problems with clients, but a load of adjustments have been necessary. And his 3 grade school daughters who have had to school at home don’t make working from home quite like working in an office. But staying at home minimized the virus exposure issue (they live in an original Westchester hot spot);and some of their neighbors had the virus.

#humblebrag

 

[methodology]

Nothing in my life has changed at all except wearing a mask to go in stores or restaurants. Still worked and went to the places I always went to and hung/ saw the people I always saw

Oddly enough I've had my best three months in my career in auto sales during rona.

So has an acquaintance I know. Owns a crappy used car dealership and hasn't sold less than 70 cars a month since may. Said prices are starting to rise in the auto world as he's paying about 2k more than normal at auctions then he tacks on another 2k when he lists the cars but that hasn't deterred sales

 

[Improviser]

Nothing in my life has changed at all except wearing a mask to go in stores or restaurants. Still worked and went to the places I always went to and hung/ saw the people I always saw


So has an acquaintance I know. Owns a crappy used car dealership and hasn't sold less than 70 cars a month since may. Said prices are starting to rise in the auto world as he's paying about 2k more than normal at auctions then he tacks on another 2k when he lists the cars but that hasn't deterred sales

Any reason why the increase in sales?

It is not like there are a lot of places open to drive to, or vacation spots to visit?

People afraid of flying so they would rather have a used car to visit family across the country, if the family will have them?

Seems counter-intuitive.

Glad to hear business is good.

 

[Jay-Bone]

My baby just turned 1. My wife had a very difficult pregnancy and still has a lot of pain. The baby provides us unending entertainment at home. We weren't doing much outside the home before the pandemic and I work from home, so it was almost like life as usual. The downside being that my son doesn't see his grandparents and isn't interacting with other babies. Hoping for that to change soon.

 

[Mr. French]

My baby just turned 1. My wife had a very difficult pregnancy and still has a lot of pain. The baby provides us unending entertainment at home. We weren't doing much outside the home before the pandemic and I work from home, so it was almost like life as usual. The downside being that my son doesn't see his grandparents and isn't interacting with other babies. Hoping for that to change soon.

Almost the exact same for us, but our guy is 18 months. Got another on the way in a couple months.

 

[methodology]

Any reason why the increase in sales?

It is not like there are a lot of places open to drive to, or vacation spots to visit?

People afraid of flying so they would rather have a used car to visit family across the country, if the family will have them?

Seems counter-intuitive.

Glad to hear business is good.

He thinks it's because of the extra $600/ week people are getting. Most are making more now than they were while working

 

[mauconnfan]

Almost the exact same for us, but our guy is 18 months. Got another on the way in a couple months.

Stay safe for the new one, best wishes!!