COVID habits you've kept

[athena53]

We used to go in person for community college classes: aerobic, yoga, arts, music appreciation. Starting on 2020, all moved to Zoom online. They are still online this year.

Yeah, Zoom and its competitors are here to stay. On one hand it's been great for people who live far apart from each other to get together. In our Diocese it's meant that people from the smaller rural churches have more committee representation.

The bad news: you have fewer excuses for missing meetings! I joined one from Munich since it was at the end of the day (local time) and I was done sightseeing.

 

[Born2BRetd]

All of my yoga classes were moved online at one point. One of my yoga teachers unfortunately has long Covid so our class still meets online while she coaches us from her couch.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

We stay home a lot. I do a lot of sourdough bread. Stopped eating out. We almost always have a jigsaw puzzle working. We have no desire for movie theaters.

Then the pandemic hit so we didn’t change much.

We do still mask a lot. I’ve enjoyed not catching a cold for three years, not to mention Covid.

 

[COcheesehead]

I like using all the contactless payment systems especially at the gas station less chance of skimming.

 

[statsman]

Hand sanitizer.

Social distancing, although we're starting to encounter people in the stores who once again feel that your space is their space.

 

[Jeffman52]

Frankly I only changed my habits for a very short amount of time. But I am more aware of shaking hands and people being sick. If I shake hands with anyone, I make a point to keep my hands from my face and as soon as possible I wash my hands. I keep away from those who are sick as much as possible.


Example: I caught a cold a few weeks ago. I know I got it from my FIL (93 years old) who was in rehab care after having pneumonia and a bad fall that put him in the hospital. I had stopped to visit with him and we were watching the Bengals play the Bills. He had a cold and was sneezing and such. I was wearing a mask the entire time I was around him. But.... I made 1 mistake. I reached over and pulled a tissue out of the box in front of him and used it. I didn't think about the germs he was spewing in front of him and probably all over that tissue box.


So Im much more aware of those around me and I am constantly learning how NOT to get exposed to stuff.

 

[Aerides]

Among the few that mask on planes.

I flew this week and was really surprised to see less than 5 people masked on my flights - airbuses and such. Everyone I know who stopped wearing masks on a routine basis all claim "oh but on a plane for sure I will as I always used to get sick when flying" - yeah, no. Just me, and a couple other folks.

I keep away from those who are sick as much as possible.

Yeah I'm more aware of every sniffle and sneeze around me now. But I know that can also mean allergies and normal stuff.

I will always eat outdoors when I can, I always prefer it anyway, but now it has to be uncomfortable for me to turn it down.

 

[W2R]

I carry a mask with me in my purse, everywhere I go.

I have lost my desire to go places with large groups of people, like concerts, speeches, or events. I'd go if I wanted to! But right now, I just don't.

 

[jim584672]

DIY hair cuts with a Wahl.
Don't buy paper towels anymore.
Cut back 90% on toilet paper.

 

[Badger]

Yes, same here. I was due to attend a training session this morning but seemed to have caught the same cold and cough that the rest of the family caught over Christmas and in January (several Covid tests were negative)

I called to say I wouldn’t come because I didn’t want pass it onto the other folks who would be there. Instead I went for a walk by myself on the moor behind the house. This afternoon I did a Covid test just to be sure. Positive. Never had Covid before, and most of the folks on the training course are in their 70s or older so being extra cautious worked.

I wish more people were that considerate. Thanks for being an example for others to follow.

Cheers!

 

[Markola]

Sleeping until I wake up and then drinking coffee and reading online until about 10:30 am. What luxury.

 

[Badger]

I carry a mask with me in my purse, everywhere I go.

I have lost my desire to go places with large groups of people, like concerts, speeches, or events. I'd go if I wanted to! But right now, I just don't.

+1 We just bought another box of masks at Costco. We keep a pack of 10 of the pleated 3 layer ones and a few N95 masks in each of our cars. When we are only going to be a fast minute or two in a non-crowded room the pleated ones are used but have the N95 if there are more people like in grocery stores or Costco. We don't go anywhere without them. I have yet to understand the thinking of those who would rather take chances of either being in the hospital or having long Covid. The masks are just not that big of a deal to wear.

Cheers!

 

[Gumby]

The young wife continues to cut my hair, we go to restaurants far less frequently, we are still more deliberate about our grocery shopping trips and we order more stuff online. Just last week, we went to the movie theater for the first time in three years. We used to go about once a week to the Wednesday senior matinee. It never was and still is mostly empty then.

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

I learned to cut my own hair during pandemic. Now i only go in for about every third time primarily to get the back crown area tamed better.

Sit down restaurant visits are way way down. Like down 80%. Mostly significant days now like birthdays.
Drive through visits down as not out as much. If value menus disappear so will I.

Got out of the thrill of in person shopping after binge shopping during covid and completing every dwelling improvement i could think of. Mall crazies shooting and closed stores we frequented just added to the need not to go out. Plus I think do I really want to burn gas to buy locally if i can get it cheaper at amazon and have it delivered essentially free. I consider the prime fee the movie cost sort of like netflix that i will drop when they consider two screen purchase plans have to be at same ISP.

Exercising about the same except shifted from a senior center to la fitness after medicare plan added silver sneakers membership.

Still shake hands with similar aged long term friends. Elbow bump others. Long term friend ladies get a friend one shoulder hug if they accept the may i hug you request. Often they offer a more satisfying hug.

Only observable change is we bought touchless soap dispensers and i religiously wash hands every time I walk in the front door first thing. Most of the lights can now be controlled by voice as well.

 

[ShadowBloom]

I have several new habits due to covid that I'm keeping:

- Price comparison and buying online. I used to always just pick things up in the store I passed on the way home. With covid and avoiding going into stores, I started shopping online. Since I was online and price comparisons were only a few clicks away, I started checking prices. I almost never buy from CVS any more!

- Order takeout less and tip more. I stopped eating so much takeout to avoid having contact with people, but I tipped more when I ordered because it seemed they were risking their life. Now due to inflation I'm still ordering less and have cut the tips only slightly.

- Keep food on hand. Because I don't like cooking and relied on takeout, I never had very much in my fridge, and when I did cook at home I mostly had frozen dinners. Due to covid and reducing takeout, I had to keep more food on hand. Frozen dinner boxes take up a lot of space and only provide a single meal, and the varieties I liked often weren't available. I switched to buying pre-seasoned raw meat I could freeze and then cook (I don't mind just throwing something in a pan in the oven). It takes up less space and gives more meals than a boxed frozen dinner.

- Buy more than 1 of items I use a lot. I live alone, and never kept anything on hand in quantity as it was always easy to pick it up in the store when needed. Due to covid shortages and not wanting to go into stores as much, I now tend to buy 2 or 3 of whatever I need. And I buy toilet paper in the large packages!

 

[Act2]

1. I tip more.

2. I still mask in certain situations: elevators, public restrooms, crowds, or when anyone nearby is sneezing/coughing. Mask is always at the ready.

3. Hand sanitizer. A lot. Maybe too much.

4. Mostly shower in the evening rather than the morning. I’ve preferred for years to shower in the morning, but if I’ve gone out and been around people I got in the habit of showering before bed, definitely a holdover from the early days of Covid when we were wiping down groceries and worried about surfaces as much as air.

5. I don’t wipe down groceries anymore (remember that phase?) but I am more aware of high-touch surfaces- elevator buttons, doors, grocery carts etc. I often, but not always, wipe them down if equipped to do so (when the grocery store has cart wipes), and out comes the hand sanitizer afterwards.

6. Still do a couple meetings via Zoom option when I have the option. Others I opt to go in person. Depends on the meeting facility.

 

[iloveyoga]

We just flew and I wore my mask all the time in the airport and on the plane. DH did too. Now you don't feel weird doing it. Or I didn't.

 

[gayl]

I never got covid. But I still prefer masking up when in crowded places (terminals, Synagogue, etc) and still get nervous when I go to a new dental / medical office.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

I learned to cut my own hair, and have continued doing it. I never enjoyed having it cut at a salon anyway, so this has turned out well.

We do not cut our own hair, yet, but I did stop coloring mine.

I found I like the colors I saw it turning back in 2020, so I’ve continued to let it grow out.

 

[Toddtheformeraccountant]

Nothing. The level of risk is no different than it was before COVID, so I feel no need to keep ANY of the various things were forced to do, let alone the most silly ones like masking. (Can you tell I was annoyed by what I see as vastly overdone covid measures haha....YMMV)

 

[USGrant1962]

Nothing. The level of risk is no different than it was before COVID, so I feel no need to keep ANY of the various things were forced to do, let alone the most silly ones like masking.

Nothing here either, other than keeping some Covid test kits around so we can tell Covid apart from the common cold or a mild flu - what I and DW experienced in ~5 infections. Yes we are vaccinated though weren't for the first two infections in early 2020, and they were cold-like.

We probably won't even do that if we have to pay for test kits. Hmm. I need to check the CDC website on test kit expiration extensions - haven't looked in a few months.

 

[ncbill]

still having my hair cut at home with the clippers instead of $25 (with tip) at the barber.

preferably by my kid since he'll cut it as short as I want which my wife won't.

 

[Affinity4Investing]

Habits I've kept? Holding my breath while walking past people, dropping shoes at the door (or better yet, keeping them out in the garage), hoarding supplies and food, diligently washing hands after touching mail, packages, or signing the Fedex/UPS driver's handheld computer, etc. Oh, and still never taking the so-called 'vaccine'.

 

[JoeWras]

Somewhere in the COVID threads I said I'm done with a lot of things like hand shaking, etc.

Guess what?

I'm 110% back to pre COVID behavior. The COVID protocols are all gone. Once I got COVID, I didn't care anymore.

I actually enjoy grasping a hand and firmly shaking it, making that connection, even though somewhere here about 3 years ago I said "Never again." Wrong. I want to hold and hug people.

 

[Affinity4Investing]

Somewhere in the COVID threads I said I'm done with a lot of things like hand shaking, etc.

Guess what?

I'm 110% back to pre COVID behavior. The COVID protocols are all gone. Once I got COVID, I didn't care anymore.

I actually enjoy grasping a hand and firmly shaking it, making that connection, even though somewhere here about 3 years ago I said "Never again." Wrong. I want to hold and hug people.

I'll meet you 1/2 way. I'll shake your hand, but still hold my breath while doing it. With my other 1/2 being a physician, it's difficult to be excited when she gets home from a shift. The Vid is still around, but so are these currently: flesh eating bacteria causing deaths in our region, RSV, leprosy, and all kinds of 'stuff'.