i cannot wait until the day we can have face to face work meetings. I am so burnt out with zoom meetings. I figure once I am vaccinated I will be able to have some of these meetings with other vaccinated people.
Personally I cannot wait to eat inside a restaurant. Also go to the gym. Its too cold to walk and I have gained weight. The winter Blahs with Covid has been bad for me. Also I once vaccinated I will see friends more. hopefully they will be vaccinated as well.
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I can’t wait to get a haircut. It’s been nearly a year now and my ponytail is getting annoying.
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My professional association’s annual meeting is all virtual this Spring. I wonder if these annual meetings will ever be what they once were—10,000 people from all over the world converging into a convention center. Seems like we have figured out alternative ways for this activity.
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I am in healthcare so I have been vaccinated. My parents are in their 80s and just got their first shot. A month after they get their second shot, I will go visit them for the first time in over a year (far enough away so that it requires a flight).
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@JazzyTXMom i don’t think these virtual conference are the same…at all. Being able to be in person for a presentation is way different than watching it in a zoom or Google meet. In addition, my association has smaller breakout sessions for sub groups that we all honestly looked forward to annually. Lots of opportunity for in person networking and the like. I actually met two folks who I subsequently did a presentation with. That wouldn’t have happened online.
Plus I like the interactive nature of our convention presentations.
I sort of agree that this is going to be hard to replicate now…we typically had 15,000 or so and took over an entire convention area.
I miss it.
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Definitely not the same.
One of my colleagues is supposed to be a presenter at the virtual meeting this year. They are trying to follow the same schedule they had for what would have been the in person 2020 meeting that was cancelled and scheduled his session at 7 am EST on a Sunday. He is on the west coast and would presenting at 4 am! Besides the absurdity of that, who do they think is going to attend the virtual session? I am in CST, where it would be 6 am, and would not be interested.
I am going to play Bridge!!! I played in 3 groups (twice a month) and was a sub in several others. I saw a Bridge friend coming out of the clinic while I was going in to get my first vaccine. Another player came in while we were waiting and asked if anyone was playing yet. While walking to my car after we were finished another bridge player and her husband were walking to get their vaccine. She said “we’re going to be playing bridge really, really soon!!”
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Not changing anything for the foreseeable future. COVID is here for a long time imho, and masks, sanitizer, social distancing, online education, no more partying here to stay for me.
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Doubt much will change for us for awhile. I had Covid. Spouse did not. We hope to both get vaccinated in the next 2 months. But no one else in our family will be eligible for the vaccination for a long time. So while they may be more comfortable they will not harm us, we will still be concerned we can pass it to them, unless they ever determine the vaccine reduces spread.
I’ll feel less stressed to occasionally shop in stores or to fly. I haven’t been in a grocery store for about 3 months. But we’ll continue to mask to make sure we’re not spreading it. Not shopping in person has certainly been kind to our checking account. Far fewer impulse purchases.
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I’ve already been going to the mall and stores, and ate outside during the summer at restaurants. I go early before crowds. I’m anxious to get together with my vaccinated friends inside our homes for a visit.
I will travel on a plane.
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I will wait to see what the experts say once I get vaccinated, which will provably be a long time from now. I can’t predict what things will be like so I’m not going to guess.
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The vaccine protects me. I continue to wear a mask to protect others. Post vaccine (2 weeks after the second) – I won’t need to avoid situations out of concern for my own safety. Everyone around here wear masks, but many do not wear masks properly.
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I’ve gotten the first Moderna. (I’m 70.) After the second I will stop working after hours and go back to working during the day. I will not go to restaurants except with other people who have been vaccinated. But even then, we would still pose a risk to unvaccinated wait staff so probably not. Maybe I’ll go to IKEA or Target or the movies. Maybe I’ll get on a plane this summer if my friend in upstate NY has been vaccinated. I would feel comfortable going back to my pool but it’s still closed. Maybe my chorus will start in person rehearsals in the fall. So really not much will change but some of the fear will be lessened. Until my son and daughter can be vaccinated I’ll be fearful for them.
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I’ve gotten the first Pfizer and will get the second dose in about 2 weeks. There are several minor things on my “to do” list afterward. One silly one is getting a pedicure! Another is having some repairs done inside the house that I have put off for months due to not wanting a workman inside the house. I’ll stay masked and distanced of course. I may finally be willing to dine indoors at my favorite restaurants. But my biggest hope is to visit my ailing older brother and SIL in Chicago once they have also been vaccinated. He has advanced Parkinson’s plus heart failure, and I have been worried I won’t be able to see him before the end.
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You know that scene in the movie Elf where Buddy and the younger brother go running and skipping through the department store? That is going to be me at Nordstrom’s.
I haven’t done much recreational shopping at all. I think I have been to BB&B twice and Home Goods once. I was grocery shopping once a week, but I am now doing pick up. I haven’t shopped in person for clothing or shoes at all. See running and skipping through Nordstrom’s above.
I will get a hair cut (I’m close to a year without one). I will get a facial.
We will gather with other friends who have also been vaccinated.
I will go out to lunch with girlfriends at girly places and wear cute clothes.
We will go visit dh’s family who all live in a different state where we used to live and also have many friends I am looking forward to visiting.
We will go to trivia at our local pub.
We will get on an airplane and fly to CA to visit our son.
Not sure of the order of the above listed events/outing.
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At least for scientists, virtual meetings cannot fully replace in person attendance at conferences. Sure, one can attend lectures and view posters via zoom or teams, but at least for me, the most interesting and valuable part of such meetings are breaks and social hours where networking can happen and new ideas can be born in discussions with other attendees. It is not so easy to bump into random attendees virtually.
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Probably the case for many types of work that are now done fully or almost fully remotely.
Probably many people’s social and professional networks are slowly shrinking, because the usual loss of contact due to moving away, retiring from work, etc. is not replaced by the social contact in the workplace, conferences, etc. (talking heads on scheduled videoconferences do not substitute for informal in-person contact at lunch or whatever).
Totally agree. It’s the unstructured times at the professional conferences that I really miss.
@ucbalumnus and it’s not just the social aspect. Very often during these times, one can really discuss professional issues and get ideas from folks from all over the world. Very different than in your own little professional work bubble.
Heck, I have a nice friendship with a retired professor who interviewed me for a grad school I didn’t attend. We do email and talk, but getting to see her in person twice a year was so different and welcome.
I hope these things can come back. I really do.
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Since I am convinced that I will be the very last group vaccinated. I will be able to do all the things other people will have been doing for months and months.
But first, I will be able to see my kids. Everything else pales
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Right there with you @deb922
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