What does your New Normal look like? Navigating life after 18 months in a pandemic..

[Matthew Strongin]

It does feel like I'm trapped in EM Forster's "Machine" at times..

Thanks for sharing your perspective though. If we had kids or if either/both of us worked outside the home, I think we would have been forced into a different covid-lifestyle by default - my wife made the comment that if you are already in contact with others because of work or kids, you're probably less concerned about other general contact (stores, restaurants, etc.) since you've already crossed that threshold.. and that seems to make sense. I'm going to have to start traveling again for work to some extent in early 2022. Maybe that will be the catalyst to accept the new normal, and take my more IRL and interactive place in the world...

For me it's the opposite. My wife works with the general public in person almost daily (she's as careful as possible and they have a mask requirement to enter their store). My son goes to school in person; virtual isn't an option for him though I would send him back anyway for the social interaction at this point. Masks are required. I figure that between the opportunities for infection between her work and his school we don't need to expose ourselves any more. No restaurants. No indoor gatherings. Limited anything indoors, including doctors or other appointments. Nobody in our home unless urgent (like when our fridge started spewing water). We've crossed the threshold, but that doesn't mean we want to spend all our time on the other side.

Also, fwiw, I do ride with others, but generally limit who where possible. If i lived somewhere more remote I'd probably be riding solo, but the bike lanes of Miami are packed so there is literally no avoiding riding around others unless I only ride places that aren't safe.

[johnmdesigner]

We assess each situation as it comes. Masks, gloves, alcohol pads are always in the tote bag. If a restaurant looks too crowded we'll go somewhere else.
As always in NYC, you have to look out for yourself.
We helped out our elderly neighbors during the Pandemic with grocery shopping. The idiots in our building we avoided and continue to do so. Some of them got sick. Some never returned.
I stopped road riding here pre Pandemic as I was getting tired of being treated like shit. Considering the lack of law and order here now I won't be returning.
I miss the gym but I won't be going back there either.
The city was wonderful when it was abandoned. Now not so much.

[Clean39T]

Considering the lack of law and order here now I won't be returning.

This is another unfortunate wrinkle in the post-pandemic timeline.. I have been paying attention to it specifically for Portland, OR - and none of it is good. Gun violence, drug crime, domestic violence, vagrancy, etc. The social fabric is certainly fraying - here, there, and everywhere. It's like basic policing has been given up on, or there's not enough to go around. Of course some will blame the police-reform activists - and maybe there's an aspect of that impacting morale among those who probably shouldn't have a badge in the first place - but as far as I'm aware, we're still paying police officers to be police officers and uphold the law equally, it just seems some aren't willing to do their job anymore or at least not in the way that used to be the norm.. or maybe their ranks have just been thinned by covid. Dunno. Whatever it is, the consequences for civil society are snowballing.

[johnmdesigner]

The police only show up here when Billy Elish and JLow need protection in Central Park.
The number of goons who then show up with brand new AR-15's is astounding.
I'm not anti-police but when you sit in your SUV with the tinted windows rolled up looking at your Instagram while people are running red lights right in front of you it indicates to me that you are not fit for the job. No wonder that no one obeys the law.

[bigbill]

I have to travel an hour to see specialists for my health issues. My latest issue requires a bone scan and I've asked that it not be done in the regional medical center. The place is overrun with Covid cases, I don't want to be in the building. I may have to drive two hours to Vegas or Flagstaff. The center console of my car has a stack of disposable masks in both black and white. I like the black ones more, I need to pick some up. I have an appointment today and I'm pretty stoked because it is a few blocks away from a Target. In the middle of the day, the place is pretty empty. For the most part, Target clientele follow CDC guidance, but this is still Arizona. I'll buy enough tea bags to fill up a shelf with a nice variety and get my OTC meds for at least 90 days.

I was always a person to stay away from crowds, I've really found my place in society now.

[beeatnik]

Happy to report LA is surprisingly stable. Although homicides are up, they're nowhere near the all time highs.

https://abc7.com/los-angeles-crime-p...ides/10012319/

"Property crime down double digits - 11.1%. Violent crime down 3%, robberies down 17%. Part 1 crime, which includes sexual assault, burglary and auto theft is down 9.2% and this is the third year in a row that we've seen decreases in those categories," said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Garcetti said 2020 was also about learning to not put everything on the shoulders of police officers, while achieving reforms in the LAPD to change the way we police following the death of George Floyd.

This is another unfortunate wrinkle in the post-pandemic timeline.. I have been paying attention to it specifically for Portland, OR - and none of it is good. Gun violence, drug crime, domestic violence, vagrancy, etc. The social fabric is certainly fraying - here, there, and everywhere. It's like basic policing has been given up on, or there's not enough to go around. Of course some will blame the police-reform activists - and maybe there's an aspect of that impacting morale among those who probably shouldn't have a badge in the first place - but as far as I'm aware, we're still paying police officers to be police officers and uphold the law equally, it just seems some aren't willing to do their job anymore or at least not in the way that used to be the norm.. or maybe their ranks have just been thinned by covid. Dunno. Whatever it is, the consequences for civil society are snowballing.

[johnmdesigner]

Houses are selling for cheap on the island of La Palma right now so there's that.

[Clean39T]

No wonder that no one obeys the law.

To bring this back to "what's your new normal.." - mine is going to be avoiding certain parts of the city (both on the bike and just in general) and keeping my head on a swivel. I don't think it will be like this forever. I hope I'm not wrong.

[zachateseverything]

The pandemic hit when I was already getting pretty jaded about bike racing. I had gone in pretty hard on the amatuer bike racer thing for about a decade. I wasn't seeing fitness improvements anymore and the act of racing was getting less and less engaging, so was all the race related travel. The suspension of racing and group rides forced me to re-evaluate what i put an emphasis on in my personal life. As a result I started exploring other hobbies and put more emphasis on my career. So the positive changes I made:

- I rediscovered how much I like riding my mountain bike. I picked up a new FS bike at the beginning of the year and put in a ton of miles. I really feel like I progressed my skills this year.
- I picked up my guitar for the first time in a decade. I'm still not good but it's been really nice to indulge an old hobby.
- I got a dog. I live alone and the lack of socialization was getting to me. Going for trail runs with him is about my favorite thing in the world now.
- I started doing more than just enough to get by at work. I've been mentoring new team members. I got a big promotion this summer.

In terms of how my lifestyle has changed as a whole, I've never been big on a lot of socialization so I'm pretty comfortable with my current status. I don't do any dine in at restaurants or spend any time at bars but I didn't do that much before the pandemic.

Going mostly remote for work has been good. I like not having a daily commute. I like having the additional flexibility to get stuff done in the middle of the day. I don't like the increase in formal meetings. Since we can't reliably find each other at our desks people feel the need to schedule formal meetings to cover those same quick touch base items.

This summer my work made the decision that they want us to come into the office two days a week but we get to choose the days. It's not so bad though I really don't want it to increase beyond this.

I'm vaccinated and still wearing a mask when I go into stores. In my county it's pretty normal behavior to be masked up but I'm seeing more and more people start to get out of the habit.

[johnmdesigner]

Perhaps the prolonged isolation has influenced new product development.