Getting back to normal

DavidW · April 10, 2021, 06:48:42 AM

This week has been much closer to normal than it has been in a long time for me. Now I know that many of you live in countries that are still pretty locked down. But we are gradually coming out of this, so I invite back here when you get to that point. And no offense is intended.

So this week...

We began our final residency (I teach at a boarding school). In the last residency we had a six foot distance requirement in the classroom. Consequently, I could only have nine students in my classroom, and even many students on campus would have to Zoom in from their dorm room. I could only give feedback on their answers and not their work. In labs I would require only one student do the lab, another to sit up front and do the analysis, and a third to Zoom in just to passively observe and record the procedure. But this week we have 3 ft distancing, and even more students returned (I still have remote students though so my classes are still hybrid). Nearly all my students are in the classroom now. I can check their work. I can have them work as full groups in lab and it is great.

My colleagues are returning. I met someone that is new and has been working from home the whole academic year. She is now working on campus for the first time. I expect many colleagues that I haven't seen in over a year to return in the next week or two (we are becoming full vaccinated). I ate out with a friend this week. And I joined friends for a cocktail yesterday evening. I started going to the gym now.

And things are just feeling so much better mental health wise. So I ask how about you? What are your stories about returning back to normal?

Gurn Blanston · April 10, 2021, 07:54:30 AM

Quote from: DavidW on April 10, 2021, 06:48:42 AM
This week has been much closer to normal than it has been in a long time for me. Now I know that many of you live in countries that are still pretty locked down. But we are gradually coming out of this, so I invite back here when you get to that point. And no offense is intended.

So this week...

We began our final residency (I teach at a boarding school). In the last residency we had a six foot distance requirement in the classroom. Consequently, I could only have nine students in my classroom, and even many students on campus would have to Zoom in from their dorm room. I could only give feedback on their answers and not their work. In labs I would require only one student do the lab, another to sit up front and do the analysis, and a third to Zoom in just to passively observe and record the procedure. But this week we have 3 ft distancing, and even more students returned (I still have remote students though so my classes are still hybrid). Nearly all my students are in the classroom now. I can check their work. I can have them work as full groups in lab and it is great.

My colleagues are returning. I met someone that is new and has been working from home the whole academic year. She is now working on campus for the first time. I expect many colleagues that I haven't seen in over a year to return in the next week or two (we are becoming full vaccinated). I ate out with a friend this week. And I joined friends for a cocktail yesterday evening. I started going to the gym now.

And things are just feeling so much better mental health wise. So I ask how about you? What are your stories about returning back to normal?

That all sounds very promising, David! The vaccines seem to have given new hope. I have high hopes that distribution will be more general very soon and we can put this behind us.

I am making plans to drive to Vermont at the end of the month to visit my mother, who is now 92, and she has been unable to see most of her children or grandchildren for the last 14 months. She was vaxxed last month, and I am getting my second shot on Tuesday, which was the deal-maker here. I retired last year at Xmas, and went on lockdown in February, so retirement hasn't been all I had hoped, although I am grateful to have survived it so far. But it's now at the point where I can make a stop along the way north to visit a couple of friends who have also been vaxxed. I'm all atwitter, given I haven't been more than 20 miles from home in well over a year!

vandermolen · April 11, 2021, 11:48:53 PM

Non-essential shops and pubs (outdoor service only) opening in England today. School has already re-opened (face-coverings, social-distancing). I'm really looking forward to going to the pub but I don't think that I'll be sitting outside today as it's currently snowing in East Sussex! I'm getting my haircut today. One of me neighbours told me that my long-haired 'Mad Professor' look suited me

Irons · April 12, 2021, 01:44:24 AM

Quote from: vandermolen on April 11, 2021, 11:48:53 PM
Non-essential shops and pubs (outdoor service only) opening in England today. School has already re-opened (face-coverings, social-distancing). I'm really looking forward to going to the pub but I don't think that I'll be sitting outside today as it's currently snowing in East Sussex! I'm getting my haircut today. One of me neighbours told me that my long-haired 'Mad Professor' look suited me

Snowing in Surrey too and heavily. I feel the Government are far too cautious opening up. Time to step up and help business to get off it's knees and boost the economy.

Pohjolas Daughter · April 12, 2021, 03:54:00 AM

Quote from: vandermolen on April 11, 2021, 11:48:53 PM
Non-essential shops and pubs (outdoor service only) opening in England today. School has already re-opened (face-coverings, social-distancing). I'm really looking forward to going to the pub but I don't think that I'll be sitting outside today as it's currently snowing in East Sussex! I'm getting my haircut today. One of me neighbours told me that my long-haired 'Mad Professor' look suited me

Enjoy your haircut!

And snow?! Wow!

MusicTurner · April 12, 2021, 04:00:21 AM

Strictly speaking, a return to more normal circumstances for me will probably only be some time in 2022. Say as regards former travel habits and one's social life generally, including various educational courses and a more relaxed ~mingling with people in the public space.

Pohjolas Daughter · April 12, 2021, 08:26:41 AM

Quote from: Irons on April 12, 2021, 01:44:24 AM
Snowing in Surrey too and heavily. I feel the Government are far too cautious opening up. Time to step up and help business to get off it's knees and boost the economy.

Do you have all of your tender plants protected Irons?

PD

p.s. I have almost all of mine back outside (herbs); I might need some help though getting the few that I have up in my sunny attic down though...particularly as last flight of stairs are very narrow!

DavidW · May 09, 2022, 04:42:14 PM

Quote from: DavidW on April 10, 2021, 06:48:42 AM
This week has been much closer to normal than it has been in a long time for me. Now I know that many of you live in countries that are still pretty locked down. But we are gradually coming out of this, so I invite back here when you get to that point. And no offense is intended.

So this week...

We began our final residency (I teach at a boarding school). In the last residency we had a six foot distance requirement in the classroom. Consequently, I could only have nine students in my classroom, and even many students on campus would have to Zoom in from their dorm room. I could only give feedback on their answers and not their work. In labs I would require only one student do the lab, another to sit up front and do the analysis, and a third to Zoom in just to passively observe and record the procedure. But this week we have 3 ft distancing, and even more students returned (I still have remote students though so my classes are still hybrid). Nearly all my students are in the classroom now. I can check their work. I can have them work as full groups in lab and it is great.

My colleagues are returning. I met someone that is new and has been working from home the whole academic year. She is now working on campus for the first time. I expect many colleagues that I haven't seen in over a year to return in the next week or two (we are becoming full vaccinated). I ate out with a friend this week. And I joined friends for a cocktail yesterday evening. I started going to the gym now.

And things are just feeling so much better mental health wise. So I ask how about you? What are your stories about returning back to normal?

This is really weird to read more than a year later. It has all evaporated. Besides the breakout during interim we've returned to normal. The weird thing is that being apart from colleagues I've simply drifted apart from most of them.

Gurn Blanston · May 09, 2022, 04:56:31 PM

Since going to work as a teen, I always envied anyone who could sleep past 5:30AM and just stay home if I felt like it. Having stepped out the door from my retirement party and slap into a lockdown, suddenly my dreams were fulfilled!

But 2 years down the road, I don't have a normal to get back to. I guess for me it means the last 2 years didn't actually happen... $:-\$

71 dB · May 09, 2022, 05:02:49 PM

I don't think there is "normal" anymore. The World is a neverending shitshow. Covid-19 maybe becomes less harmful, but new problems arise: War in Ukraine, energy crisis, inflation, cultural wars,... ...next year we will have problems we can't even predict today. It is a shitshow folks...

$:-\$

Mirror Image · May 09, 2022, 06:19:24 PM

Quote from: 71 dB on May 09, 2022, 05:02:49 PM
I don't think there is "normal" anymore. The World is a neverending shitshow. Covid-19 maybe becomes less harmful, but new problems arise: War in Ukraine, energy crisis, inflation, cultural wars,... ...next year we will have problems we can't even predict today. It is a shitshow folks... $:-\$

Which is why we must make the most of what little time we have.

Herman · May 09, 2022, 10:02:52 PM

Indeed, there is no new normal anymore. Like with Gurn, my retirement kicked in sometime in 2021, which doesn't make that much of a difference since as a writer I always worked from home, It's just that some of the financial pressure has lessened.

I have to say I can also hear myself saying now, I'm old (66). I don't feel like racing rats anymore.

What the pandemic has revealed, to me, is how the internet has changed the world, and not for better, with millions of people lapping up bad, toxic information and being deliberately confrontational, because you can do this online, and they're taking it IRL. I have seen this happening up close, and it broke my heart.

Fortunately I have a wonderful daughter (15).

71 dB · May 10, 2022, 01:50:26 AM

Quote from: Mirror Image on May 09, 2022, 06:19:24 PM
Which is why we must make the most of what little time we have.

That's what I thought when I started listening to J.S.Bach's church cantatas last month... 0:)

If there is something positive about the situation, it is saving money by not subscribing to any streaming services. I don't need shows. The World is a megashow offering limitless amount of horror and even amusement. Will they ban gay marriage in the US after abortion? How about interracial marriage? What happens to social security and public education? How about the future of Russia? In what direction will that country go? Will China attack Taiwan at some point? How will the rest of the World react to that? Will the Ireland and Northern Ireland unite? Independent Scotland? Will democracy die completely in England? So many plotlines to follow!

Who needs Netflix or Disney+ shows? I don't. 0:)

71 dB · May 10, 2022, 02:15:20 AM

Quote from: Herman on May 09, 2022, 10:02:52 PMWhat the pandemic has revealed, to me, is how the internet has changed the world, and not for better, with millions of people lapping up bad, toxic information and being deliberately confrontational, because you can do this online, and they're taking it IRL. I have seen this happening up close, and it broke my heart.

I liked the way internet was in the beginning. I started using the internet in 1997 and there was zero toxicity online at that time as far as I saw (maybe I just didn't go to the toxic places?) In my opinion things changed when Apple released their first iPhone and social media became a thing. Before iPhone people formed their opinions more of less independently and were forced to be somewhat critical to do so. After iPhone people seem to choose their opinions from the selection offered online and critical thinking isn't "needed."

Karl Henning · May 10, 2022, 04:13:37 PM

Quote from: Herman on May 09, 2022, 10:02:52 PM
Indeed, there is no new normal anymore. Like with Gurn, my retirement kicked in sometime in 2021, which doesn't make that much of a difference since as a writer I always worked from home, It's just that some of the financial pressure has lessened.

I have to say I can also hear myself saying now, I'm old (66). I don't feel like racing rats anymore.

What the pandemic has revealed, to me, is how the internet has changed the world, and not for better, with millions of people lapping up bad, toxic information and being deliberately confrontational, because you can do this online, and they're taking it IRL. I have seen this happening up close, and it broke my heart.

Fortunately I have a wonderful daughter (15).

Your quarrel with the Internet is well taken. OTOH, you & I might never have met IRL.

Mirror Image · May 10, 2022, 04:27:09 PM

Quote from: 71 dB on May 10, 2022, 01:50:26 AM
That's what I thought when I started listening to J.S.Bach's church cantatas last month... 0:)

If there is something positive about the situation, it is saving money by not subscribing to any streaming services. I don't need shows. The World is a megashow offering limitless amount of horror and even amusement. Will they ban gay marriage in the US after abortion? How about interracial marriage? What happens to social security and public education? How about the future of Russia? In what direction will that country go? Will China attack Taiwan at some point? How will the rest of the World react to that? Will the Ireland and Northern Ireland unite? Independent Scotland? Will democracy die completely in England? So many plotlines to follow! Who needs Netflix or Disney+ shows? I don't. 0:)

You and I obviously have a different viewpoint in terms of what is happening on the outside. I'll be completely honest, it doesn't really matter that much to me. All that I can do is try to stay alive and be a bit more positive and try to better what's in my own corner of the world. I'm certainly not saying my head is buried in the sand. I know exactly what is going on, but I'm quite selective in what I let bother me and worrying what another country is going to do isn't one of them. Life's too short to give a damn about what someone else does or doesn't do. I live my life and try to enjoy the time that I'm allotted --- this is all I can do.

71 dB · May 11, 2022, 02:42:33 AM

Quote from: Mirror Image on May 10, 2022, 04:27:09 PM
You and I obviously have a different viewpoint in terms of what is happening on the outside. I'll be completely honest, it doesn't really matter that much to me. All that I can do is try to stay alive and be a bit more positive and try to better what's in my own corner of the world. I'm certainly not saying my head is buried in the sand. I know exactly what is going on, but I'm quite selective in what I let bother me and worrying what another country is going to do isn't one of them. Life's too short to give a damn about what someone else does or doesn't do. I live my life and try to enjoy the time that I'm allotted --- this is all I can do.

I agree with you a lot, but I mean we KNOW what is happening in the World even if we do not care. We follow the news, don't we? So, given how crazy things happen in the World, the news act as "entertainment."

When I was young, I did not care much about what happens in other countries. I had not much empathy or did I understand the things that happen in other countries happen for REAL. When I grew up, my understanding of the World became better (still not good I'm afraid) and I started to feel empathy for people "elsewhere". Also, I understood better, that countries are not isolated from each other. What happens in one country affects the whole World. That's when it wasn't just empathy, but also the fear of how things affect me. That's why I fear the crazy things all over the World. Eventually those crazy things will come to Finland and bite MY ASS as well!

Ukraine war has teached me to regulate how much the news can affect me, but at the same time I can say I don't have a need for Netflix or Disney+

steve ridgway · May 11, 2022, 04:49:14 AM

We just check the news out online now, watch less stress inducing things on TV.

71 dB · May 11, 2022, 05:05:51 AM

Quote from: steve ridgway on May 11, 2022, 04:49:14 AM
We just check the news out online now, watch less stress inducing things on TV.

Online news give me more stress because they are often clickbates. News on TV tend to be more appropriate, at least in Finland (I know in other countries this may not be the case).

steve ridgway · May 11, 2022, 10:35:57 PM

Quote from: 71 dB on May 11, 2022, 05:05:51 AM
News on TV tend to be more appropriate, at least in Finland (I know in other countries this may not be the case).

The BBC TV news tends to waste 15 minutes of a half hour programme on speculative comments regarding some situation that hasn't happened yet or is unlikely to ever happen (such as Boris resigning).