COVID Diaries Day 200 – New Habits, New Normal?

What things do I wish that would stick around from the COVID experience? I came across this question on Twitter and it got me thinking. The comments, as expected, were divided between appreciation for the evolved human response to a pandemic, to the ignorant disdain for anything that required accepting any personal responsibility in preventing the spread of the virus. 

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We all have been coping with the way COVID has affected our lives. In my opinion, there are some things that I certainly hope will stick around for the long term.

Curbside Pickup and increased take-away options 

The convenience of online shopping with the instant gratification of picking it up from the store. It is, in my opinion, the best of both worlds. Many stores before COVID only had either option. The two did not exist together. You could shop online and get the goods in 8 million years, or you could go in the store and take your chances that you may not find what you are looking for, or it was not in stock. 

There are several things that had to evolve from the retail perspective in order for the two shopping experiences to marry, and that is for the inventory reporting to go from delayed to instant. IN order to purchase online and be able to pick it up in your store of choice (on the same day) the inventory at the store has to be exact, live and accurate. 

Inventory searches to show which branch of a large retailers locations has your chosen item in stock is an important step in the curbside pickup process. There were many stores where one could not even find out if the item was actually in stock at a location, much less place an order for it. 
It is not a situation of ordering it, but then picking it up in a few days or a week when it gets shipped to the location of your choice. 

The option to order something and then pick it up later (in a few days or a week) after it shipped from some warehouse to the store location of my choice already existed and I seldom used it. If I was going to bother with ordering something and wait for it to arrive, I may as well wait for it to arrive at my house and have it delivered. 

Curbside pickup probably started out as something that people just did because they wanted to save time. In my post-COVID life I utilize this as a choice if I want to reduce contact with other people and save time. As more stores make this option available, from restaurants, to groceries, to small businesses, I hope that the option continues. 

Masks & Sanitizer

This is strictly a stateside observation, as many nations overseas already adopted the responsible and respectful wearing of masks, especially during cold & flu season. Nothing irks me more than people with poor hygiene. I am not referring to folks who lack access to soap & water, such as the homeless. They have an excuse, and often no choice in the matter. 

I refer to the people who sneeze without covering their mouth, or worse, sneeze directly into their hand. Who cough with their mouth open, making no attempt to buffer the particles leaving their bodies from the surrounding air. I grew up living half time in NYC so I have witnessed the people just coughing and sneezing in the close confines of an elevator, a stairwell, the subway and the buses. 

To be hipster about it, I was using hand sanitizer before it was cool. Before hand sanitizer was a thing, I was carrying soap slivers that could be activated with the barest hint of water. Sanitizing wipes and such. Not a germaphobe, but just a healthy appreciation for cleanliness and the role it plays in my overall health. 

Those who go to the restroom and leave without washing their hands. Eww. General hygiene should be a requirement. So if there is another thing I hope sticks around post-COVID will be the open use of masks to save me from people who lack the common sense to stop spreading their germs. Along with the open availability of hand sanitizer. 

People don’t want to wash their hands? Fine, whatever. I can’t change their disgusting habits. However, they can at least kill the germs and bacteria lingering on their skin if they refuse to wash it off the old fashioned way with soap & water. 

Limited Capacity & Social Distancing

COVID has shutdown activities that created crowds of people. I don’t think I have ever enjoyed crowds, and crowded places. So I do like the reduced capacity that is a requirement in the post-pandemic age. 

Social distancing is the cats meow. I never enjoyed having people right up in my personal space. Standing in lines is so much more pleasant without having a stranger breathing down my neck, and without being forced to stand close to other people for no reason. 

You can say the military burned that bridge for me. I remember in boot camp, they had this saying for how close they wanted everyone to stand in order to squeeze more bodies into a confined space: Nut to Butt.

Oddly enough, though there were many times we had to stand close together on the ship, it was probably done to condition out the need for large personal bubbles when you would be forced to spend quality time with your coworkers in confined spaces. Military ships are not known for their wide open spaces. 

As time passed, in the years after I left the military, standing close to people was an unnecessary evil as there is a big difference between standing close to a fellow sailor, versus standing next to the unwashed masses of selfish civilians. So the social distancing aspect of the COVID world is welcome to stay. 

Workplace Safety Precautions/Standards

If there is one observation that I have made over these last 200 days is that people in general are super gross. I haven’t gone full COVID crazy, dressing myself in a hazmat suit when I leave the house, but I certainly think twice about the activities I participate in.

I look to see how businesses have adjusted their practices to accommodate making it a safer environment, not just for customers, but more importantly for their employees. 

People are not an expendable commodity, and if there is another thing that the post-COVID world has made clear is that people have rights to expect safety in their workplace and shouldn’t be penalized just because they want the right to live and remain healthy. 

I make calculated decisions about where I go, and with whom. If a location looks sketchy, I wont go inside. If the people frequenting the location refuse to abide by the rules of wearing a mask in public, then it is highly unlikely I will go back to that place. 

That is why I am so happy to work where I do. They have from day one, been extra careful and willing to take the extra steps to put coworker safety first. They want to make money, don’t get me wrong, but they know that they can’t make money if people don’t feel comfortable coming to work. If their workforce gets sick and has to stay home and quarantine, then eventually they will not have anyone left to work, or worse, they will have to shut down. 

What is the new normal?

I know that I can be guaranteed general safety in two places. My home, and my workplace. I feel lucky that despite not having a job that I can work at from home full time, I am able to provide for myself and my sons without jeopardizing myself and my sons. 

I very much doubt that everything will just go back to the way they were. I was reading an online article from a fashion editor and as I perused the photos, I was looking at them critically wondering what date they were shot as they pictured New Yorkers in crowds and open areas, not wearing masks, and definitely not social distancing. 

This is what my life is like now. 

Before COVID I wanted to go to Harry Potter World at Universal Studios. The crowds at amusement parks have never been my favorite thing. Standing in long lines for rides were the biggest con against going to any theme park.

I refuse to have to pay extra to skip lines after already spending a small fortune just to show up. Would I go now? Maybe. A very big maybe.

I haven’t done enough research about exactly how theme parks are dealing with the crowds and the activities necessary for post-COVID safety, but if that also meant that I wouldn’t be expected to wait in a 2 hour line for a 3 minute ride, then possibly count me in. It’s still a lot of money, but I may actually be able to enjoy the experience. 

We can’t go back to the way things were…

There will be many changes ahead. It will definitely not be like it was. We may as well begin the mourning period now and give up wishing that things will go back to the way they were.