What’s Your “New Normal?” Request/Idea?

[DMac]

So the question is, What's Your "New Normal?" I must say, I hope "the good ol' days" don't just turn into stories about how things used to be. I'm a pretty social creature by nature, you come around me and you're going to get a nod, smile, good morning/afternoon/whatever. Get around me for a minute and we'll be having a conversation, and very likely a laugh or two. Out and about now you see covered faces and worrisome/fearful/unwelcoming looking eyes, the social element of life really is a different ball game out there today, and I don't like the way it feels. Covid does what it does physically, but it does a whole lot of psychological damage as well, and I have to wonder what the recovery time of that is going to be (or if there will be a full recovery at all). Down at the park a kid is walking by bouncing a ball. Not a lacrosse ball but lacrosse ball size. I give him the hands open, I'm ready, hit me look. He gives me the shrug and says, "virus", doesn't toss the ball over. That's never happened to me, and that's far from the first time I've done that with a kid with a ball. In the grand scheme of things that's a pretty minor incident, but it also speaks volumes about how scared a lot of people are going about their lives today. Sure doesn't do much for creating a fun and friendly atmosphere.
'Nother guy and his wife (she's wearing a mask) is eyeballing my brand new ebike (stupid aszz thing gets more attention than Anna Kournakova in a thong) from a much farther distance than a person who is interested in checking it out would normally be. He finally says, "That's one of those Rad Runner electric bikes, eh?" I said yeah, it's pretty cool, does what they say it will do, gets you around pretty cute. He eases himself in a little closer and tells me all about the research he's done on them, the YouTube videos he's watched, and how he's thinking about getting one for himself so he and his grandson can ride it around. He's got fourteen hundred questions so I tell him to just get on the thing and take it for a ride. I'm not worried about him taking off with it and stealing it as I've got his wife there as collateral. Then again, that might not have been a real good idea as I wouldn't have blamed him if he had taken off and not come back for her. He declined on taking it for ride because they had left their sanitizer in the car and, you know... He finally worked his way over right next to the bike and wanted to know how heavy it is. I told him about sixty lbs (which he already knew), he then asks if he can lift it up a little to feel the weight. I say, of course, so he does. Now, if you can't take it for a spin because of the contamination factor, how is it that you can grab it and pick it up? I hope the guy didn't pick his nose while the two of them were on their walk.
None of that is to say that life isn't still entertaining though. Someone can tell me why kids just have to do stupid asz schidtt on their bikes today? Got four kids coming down the entrance road to the park on their little trick bikes. Road is a downhill road, bit of decline with a right hand curve at the bottom. About half way around that curve is one of those plastic sign boards you stand up like an upside down V, with a sign on it that says, NO BIKES (it's the walking lane). First kid (13-14, carrying an extra 10-15lbs) is coming down that hill at a pretty good clip and I'm thinkin', geezuz h, I hope this kid's got this all under control. Nope. As he started into that curve he saw that sign and panicked a little bit. The rear wheel started to fishtail a bit so he hit the brakes, and that's when he flew over the handlebars and hit that sign head first. Hit the pavement with the meaty part of his right arm and shoulder as well as with his hip and a little bit of knee. Head never hit the pavement. I didn't get up to help him, he was with his buddies and there were other people around closer to him, plus I saw the way he hit. He got up and was alright...well, not completely alright, but he'll live. Shortly after that his buddy (same age carrying an extra 20-25lbs) was bouncing up and down on the back wheel of his bike on those pegs that are put them for doing stupid schidtt like that.
Down he goes, lands hard on his asz. Gets up holding his asz and says, damn, I almost broke my ankle on that one. Now you've got two out of the four biker boys on the bench injured. Fortunately they left shortly after all of that which I was glad about, I really didn't want to witness another biker getting injured. Mr. Head First wasn't sitting up any too straight on his bike when they were leaving. Had the right shoulder with the nice strawberry on it hanging a little low, elbow wasn't straightening out quite the way it should, and there wasn't much of a grip on the handlebar going on with that right hand. Hope that kid's got a pool at home.
Met Lucy while I was there too. What a gorgeous little sweetie, and she'd even play with me! Nine month old GSD, pretty lady. We got to be friends pretty darn quickly, got to play a little dog with her for a little while. Love GSDs.
There's a little bit of my "new normal".
(jftr, no one has ever accused me of being normal)

[kramerica.inc]

Colleges with varying plans and degrees of preparedness for this fall. Lots of Kids deferring college for a year, Looking at other options.

College doesn’t seem like the best value/option these days.

Looking at the big picture, past lacrosse, Perhaps this is the push we need for more kids in general to choose internships, high-tech, skilled professions and trades.

[a fan]

Perhaps this is the push we need for more kids in general to choose internships, high-tech, skilled professions and trades.

+100. Wouldn't it be nice to get a few positives out of this virus mess?

[kramerica.inc]

The door is open for change and innovation!
Lots of opportunities for those with good ideas, vision and a work ethic to pull it off!

[jhu72]

Perhaps this is the push we need for more kids in general to choose internships, high-tech, skilled professions and trades.

+100. Wouldn't it be nice to get a few positives out of this virus mess?

… yup. When we come out of this, I think the post secondary education scene will be very different.

[a fan]

Perhaps this is the push we need for more kids in general to choose internships, high-tech, skilled professions and trades.

+100. Wouldn't it be nice to get a few positives out of this virus mess?

… yup. When we come out of this, I think the post secondary education scene will be very different.

I can tell you that we're partnering with another Distillery, and putting the finishing touches on an internship program that will teach two interns at a time. Two people ask more questions than one....which will amplify learning. The program is designed to teach eager students not just how to distill...but how to properly finance and open their own small distillery. Pretty excited about the program.

[youthathletics]

Perhaps this is the push we need for more kids in general to choose internships, high-tech, skilled professions and trades.

+100. Wouldn't it be nice to get a few positives out of this virus mess?

… yup. When we come out of this, I think the post secondary education scene will be very different.

I can tell you that we're partnering with another Distillery, and putting the finishing touches on an internship program that will teach two interns at a time. Two people ask more questions than one....which will amplify learning. The program is designed to teach eager students not just how to distill...but how to properly finance and open their own small distillery. Pretty excited about the program.

How do I sign up?

[jhu72]

Perhaps this is the push we need for more kids in general to choose internships, high-tech, skilled professions and trades.

+100. Wouldn't it be nice to get a few positives out of this virus mess?

… yup. When we come out of this, I think the post secondary education scene will be very different.

I can tell you that we're partnering with another Distillery, and putting the finishing touches on an internship program that will teach two interns at a time. Two people ask more questions than one....which will amplify learning. The program is designed to teach eager students not just how to distill...but how to properly finance and open their own small distillery. Pretty excited about the program.

highly cool!

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

i would take distilling 101 with prof. leopold.

(based on my visit last summer)

[kramerica.inc]

So where are we?
What’s the new normal?

[youthathletics]

So where are we?
What’s the new normal?

Not much has changed for me, work is busier than ever and we have hired 3 people in 6 months. I did IT Consultant to my resume to support my wife, a teacher, and her colleagues. That, and I miss my Friday night visit to our local Italian joint with a white pizza and a couple cocktails, while socializing with friends.

[kramerica.inc]

On the sports side- the kids have to wear masks walking to and from the outdoor fields, bring their own chairs to games, and just one parent is allowed to attend a game/tournament (grandparents and siblings not allowed) and parents cannot walk the fields during practice. We have to fill out/sign wavers for every weekend of competition, there is only allowed "approx 20" people on entire outdoor field at a time so we now practice at odd hours, and when we win a tournament we were required to wear a face mask in the pictures, so the organizer "didnt get in trouble on social media."

So nothing to be too excited about here in the Middle Atlantic. Really a lot of BS rules, that make our life harder/less enjoyable, and don't really make a difference in the REAL safety of our kids.

So more bureaucracy and less personal freedom. And plenty more opportunities for Karens.

[DMac]

What's your "New Normal"?
Well, this pretty much sums it up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByVYVvnYOiw

[njbill]

Great song. Once again these youngins need to be schooled that the best music was from the 60s.

I spent a lot of time watching Captain Kangaroo.