Blog: Reopening
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Reopening - Friday, June 12, 2020
Today, California entered Phase 3 of the four-part plan to reopen the state. This allows schools, bars, gyms, campgrounds, professional sports and more to reopen with modifications. Bay Area counties are taking things a bit slower, though last Friday Santa Clara County opened up things including outdoor dining at restaurants, in-store retail shopping, outdoor swimming pools, camping, and all outdoor recreational activities with one other household that don't involve physical contact.
After hiking last Saturday, Priscilla and I were running errands and decided to go pick up gyros at one of our favorite restaurants, Yiassoo. We weren't aware that outdoor dining had opened up, so seeing the patio area open was a pleasant surprise and we did not miss the chance to eat there. After a few months of not being able to eat at a restaurant, this felt like such a blessing. Ah, the little things.
Today we went to the CVS by Santana Row to pick up my meds, and we took the chance to wander through Santana Row. It was uncanny to see all these shops open and so many people dining outside. The area looked to be at maybe 40% of the pre-COVID levels of occupation. It felt like an unsafe number of people, and some diners didn't appear to be seated 6 feet away from other tables. But I guess this is the new normal. Santa Clara County's coronavirus numbers have been relatively low (only 3,117 confirmed cases thus far). But will it stay that way?
This coming Monday, I'll be joining a couple hundred or so other Pure employees in returning to the office. When the survey went out to see who wanted to return sooner and who preferred continuing to work from home until August, I was quick to respond and choose the former. But that was at a time when our renter was home all day and it was more difficult for me to have focused time at home. She has since moved out (her last day was June 6) in order to do a PhD program on the East Coast. So now our two non-master bedrooms are unoccupied, the first time in over 6 years that we haven't had a renter. Priscilla and I are enjoying the long-forgotten peace and quiet and privacy, and we're not rushing to find a new renter. I'm not really jumping at the possibility of finding someone only to have them be at home all day if there's another lockdown this year.
In terms of work, though, the current situation at home has allowed me to have better times of focus. Going into the office could actually make me less productive, especially when you factor in time commuting, less schedule flexibility, and the strict health guidelines (e.g. having to continuously wear a mask when in the office) that we'll have to abide by. Also, lunch will initially not be provided, and drinks and snacks will be limited. I know that many others don't get those things at their workplace, but it's a major productivity booster to have food taken care of, especially since I get hungry all the time and find it difficult to focus when my mind is on my stomach. So we'll see how things are next week.
With all this uncharted territory that we as a society are venturing into, I think we can only take things one step at a time, assess regularly, and try to do the best with the situation we're in.
After hiking last Saturday, Priscilla and I were running errands and decided to go pick up gyros at one of our favorite restaurants, Yiassoo. We weren't aware that outdoor dining had opened up, so seeing the patio area open was a pleasant surprise and we did not miss the chance to eat there. After a few months of not being able to eat at a restaurant, this felt like such a blessing. Ah, the little things.
Today we went to the CVS by Santana Row to pick up my meds, and we took the chance to wander through Santana Row. It was uncanny to see all these shops open and so many people dining outside. The area looked to be at maybe 40% of the pre-COVID levels of occupation. It felt like an unsafe number of people, and some diners didn't appear to be seated 6 feet away from other tables. But I guess this is the new normal. Santa Clara County's coronavirus numbers have been relatively low (only 3,117 confirmed cases thus far). But will it stay that way?
This coming Monday, I'll be joining a couple hundred or so other Pure employees in returning to the office. When the survey went out to see who wanted to return sooner and who preferred continuing to work from home until August, I was quick to respond and choose the former. But that was at a time when our renter was home all day and it was more difficult for me to have focused time at home. She has since moved out (her last day was June 6) in order to do a PhD program on the East Coast. So now our two non-master bedrooms are unoccupied, the first time in over 6 years that we haven't had a renter. Priscilla and I are enjoying the long-forgotten peace and quiet and privacy, and we're not rushing to find a new renter. I'm not really jumping at the possibility of finding someone only to have them be at home all day if there's another lockdown this year.
In terms of work, though, the current situation at home has allowed me to have better times of focus. Going into the office could actually make me less productive, especially when you factor in time commuting, less schedule flexibility, and the strict health guidelines (e.g. having to continuously wear a mask when in the office) that we'll have to abide by. Also, lunch will initially not be provided, and drinks and snacks will be limited. I know that many others don't get those things at their workplace, but it's a major productivity booster to have food taken care of, especially since I get hungry all the time and find it difficult to focus when my mind is on my stomach. So we'll see how things are next week.
With all this uncharted territory that we as a society are venturing into, I think we can only take things one step at a time, assess regularly, and try to do the best with the situation we're in.