Items

• 2025-03-31

  5 Year Reflection

  Five years since COVID, and so much has changed. Since COVID, I have: - Obtained my driver’s license (July 2022) - Obtained my MA in global history (May 2022) - Started working as a behavioral therapist (May 2023) - Became an aunt (July 2022) - Had my grandma on my dad’s side die (January 2022) - Had my grandpa on my mom’s side die (October 2023) - Been married five years to my husband (we married in May 2019) These are all just some personal events that have happened. That said, some things have stayed since COVID. One thing I really notice are people being more willing to call off work and school more often if they feel sick. I myself have had to call off work a few times due to illness myself, and because I work with such young populations, I want to make sure they don’t catch whatever I have. I’m glad my job is pretty okay with calling out sick when needed, because some employers will still pressure people to come to work sick. Speaking of illness and sickness, my dad (who is a doctor) has been glad he doesn’t have to wear full PPE anymore for work. I remember him telling me he got sweaty so easily. COVID has still affected the medical industry a lot, as there is still a doctor shortage for the amount of care needed. My mom, who has a history of working in special needs education, has said that she has noticed kids being behind socially and academically due to lockdowns, and this being especially detrimental to their development. The kids would sometimes lack access to computers to do work, especially if the parents had to work from home and there was no computer available. Sometimes, I believe schools provided laptops for COVID (happened with my youngest sister), but I’m unsure of how well funded other schools were for that. When it came to social skills, my mom described lots of regression in those areas (such as difficulty interacting with peers). One thing that has really come back to normal since COVID are people dining in large groups again, in close proximity. I remember my first anniversary that was during COVID, and the dinner experience then was so much different than today. I remember having to make a reservation (they were mandatory), all the staff were masked, the capacity was limited, and tables were spaced far apart from each other. One perk is that it felt a bit like private dining, but I’m also glad I can now just walk into any restaurant without having to go through all those steps. At the time, I felt like lockdowns would last forever, but looking back, it wasn’t as long as I thought it would be. Eventually, businesses had to open up again in order to make enough money. Speaking of business, the economy still hasn’t recovered well since COVID. The record federal spending in 2020-2022 (some of it COVID related), has made economic recovery slow down. Industry needs to be brought back in order to keep things functioning. There have been political changes too since COVID. When COVID started in November 2019 (lockdowns didn’t happen until March 2020), Trump was president. Then from 2021-2025, Biden was president. Honestly, I think being president during COVID would have been tough on anyone, and the response to it both affected Trump’s and Biden’s presidencies. Trump’s approach was to keep lockdowns for 1-2 months at its highest, then open up businesses again to prevent economic disruption. Biden, on the other hand, had a policy that expressed more caution, and encouraged lockdowns to last longer (in addition to masking). Ultimately, it was up to the governors of each state to decide when lockdowns ended. Doug Ducey, the then governor of Arizona, kept lockdowns until around early 2022. Other states, like Florida, opened up as early as the summer of 2021. Ohio, a state I used to live in, also opened up in the summer of 2021. Overall, most states were fully opened by 2022, and 2022 was the year I could go to the Renaissance Festival again (the last time I went before that was in February of 2020 before lockdowns). The state of emergency had to be lifted for the fair to happen again. Culturally, there’s been a big shift since COVID. Celebrity worship being looked down upon is probably one of the biggest changes I’ve seen. At a time where people lost their jobs, were under lockdown in small apartments, and had tight finances, you had a bunch of celebrities in this viral video singing “Imagine” from their mansions in order to help people cope with lockdowns. It understandably was seen as tone deaf, and ti me was the real beginning of the end to celebrity worship that was present in the 2010s. Also, celebrities now have to compete with influencers to earn money, so you see a lot more celebrities launching brands to maintain their income. Some of the brand attempts have been more successful than others. Additionally, way more celebrities are on apps like TikTok competing for attention, and that loses some of the mystique celebrities maintained prior to ubiquitous social media. Overall, I would say that COVID has had a great impact on so many aspects of life. I’ve gained a lot more skills since COVID, and now can say that my work history looks better than before. It really helped that I was able to take care of elderly during COVID, because if I worked in most other industries, I may have been out of a job. For that I will always be grateful. I’ve also learned that I need more social interaction in my everyday life to stay mentally healthy. I don’t need a ton, but the lack of it during COVID really brought my mood down. Even today, I’m still happy when a cashier wants to talk to me. I now cherish my social interaction more since COVID. Learning to drive during COVID has probably been one of my biggest life changes though. It helped me get the job I have today, in addition to being able to do the grocery shopping myself, in addition to getting myself to appointments. What I want in the next five years is to be a mom, and hopefully that will happen. Parts of my life did stop, but since I kept persevering, I’m not as “behind” on life as I think I am.
• 
  2022-05-23

  COVID-19 Staff Shortage at Gen Korean Barbecue

  Due to COVID-19, Gen, a Korean barbecue place, has had a staff shortage. Today I went there for lunch and noticed that there was fewer people working many tables than in times I have gone in the past. This speaks to the bigger labor issues that have come about since COVID. Some of it may be realizing that jobs like this aren't offering nearly enough to work there. Another possibility is that staff shortages might be happening from vaccine mandates, which depending on how many vaccines some place require, would be less appealing. The sign says that it is only due to COVID-19, but there are many components to that, so narrowing down the reason there are staff shortages could be difficult unless I asked the manager.
• 
  2021-06-16

  Golden Gate Area Council Updated COVID-19 Policy

  This is a document made by Golden Gate Area Council in response to California's reopening on June 15, 2021. It discusses vaccination and testing status requirements for campers, masking requirements indoors, tenting, and dining service, all of which are mentioned in the Leader's Guide. The end of the document implores leaders to make sure their Scouts clean themselves at camp, and concerns about mental health that arise from Scouts not staying long periods of time away from home for over a year. Neither hygiene nor mental health is mentioned in the Leader's Guide, but both are mentioned here. The document softens some of the COVID restrictions that were planned for camp. The update states that dining halls will be open for normal dine-in meals, overriding the Leader's Guide which stated that some meals may be take-out. Additionally, the update specifies that masks are not required to be worn outdoors. The Leader's Guide said "while at camp each and every camper must wear a face covering over their mouth and nose", not addressing a difference between indoors and outdoors.
• 
  2021-07-18

  Shifting Back

  My family was certainly filled with hope and a bit of relief when our county’s numbers began to steady at 30 cases a day with a positivity rate below 0.5 by June. However, we didn’t let down our guard. My husband’s best friend since childhood is an MD with the county and in May told us the Delta variant is here. We asked what that means and he said “well, outdoors you should be okay, but wear a mask indoors and don’t let anyone breathe on you.” He said this knowing we’re vaccinated and that our two kids, one being his goddaughter, are not old enough to get the vaccine. Numerous times since summer started I ruefully told my husband and mom “enjoy it while we can” because I think we all knew a spike would come once California lifted its COVID restrictions on June 15. It’s taken only a few weeks for LA to return to 1000 cases per day, and where we live in OC, daily cases have jumped from 30 a day to 150 a day in two weeks. Yesterday, the case count was 250 for one day. The variant is here. LA is taking swift action. Effective today, LA’s mask mandate is back in place for unvaccinated and vaccinated alike. It was immediately noticeable when we picked up dinner at King’s Hawaiian. The outdoor tent is up for to go orders pick up and mask mandate signs are posted. Honestly, if people just accepted the practice of wearing masks, I really do think it could help us return to pre June 15 levels. The report I read this week indicated that 100% (which sounds crazy, but it was cited) of the COVID hospitalizations in LA county are unvaccinated. It’s so strange to me that it is the unvaccinated who are so against wearing masks. I’m honestly wearing my mask to protect them, statistics seem to indicate if I get Delta, it should be mild. I just wish my kids could get the vaccine. Oh well, here’s to hoping the mask mandate comes back in the OC, too.
• 
  2021

  Food Industry Post-Pandemic

  Given the changes the food industry had to go through to adapt to the pandemic, it is unlikely all of those changes will go away as vaccination rates continue to rise and positive COVID-19 cases go down. With an increase in consumers enjoying fresh food and home cooked meals, there is a possibility this decrease in eating out will continue even as restrictions are lifted. This could be due to new social norms, saving money, or even newly developed preferences. Only time will tell if these patterns are predicting the future, or if they will change once more as public spaces become safe again.
• 
  2020-10-20

  University Campus Dining During Covid-19

  With many indoor restrictions and social distancing rules to prevent the spread of Covid-19 cases, this year students have been choosing to dine more frequently outdoors rather than indoors. This photograph highlights how freshman year dining looked for me at Northeastern University during Covid-19. Although students are not allowed to be in large groups or eat in large groups indoors, many of us chose to eat just right outside of the dining hall. Luckily at Northeastern University's main dining halls International Village, there is a small green space park for students to gather, socialize, and eat together. This year Covid-19 has presented many difficult challenges, especially towards the reintroduction of education and a college school year. It's already hard to meet and make new friends as a freshman, but we try as best as we can to socialize wherever we can. In addition to eating, many activities and socials are also done outdoors to recreate the typical college experience in a safe manner. I'd say as students we are responsible or at least most of us try to be responsible because we are all looking forward to the day we can just be normal college students and get that normal college experience.
• 
  2020-10-27

  Adapting the DiamondBack Café on campus

  These are photographs taken of the DiamondBack Cafe at St. Mary's University-San Antonio in the era of COVID19. The DiamondBack Cafe was one of St. Mary's busiest student spaces prior to the onset of the COVID19 pandemic. However, much has changed at the DiamondBack Cafe since March 2020 As a resident student at St. Mary's University I have eaten in the DiamondBack Cafe almost every day, and I can attest to just how different it is to eat a meal there. The seats are now all socially distanced six feet apart, and there are signs sitting on the tables and taped to the tables reminding students to keep their social distance. Along with the changes implemented because of social distancing, getting meals has also changed drastically. Meal protocols have changed because of the pandemic. Students have the option of taking their meals back to their doors in styrofoam to-go boxes, or they may eat in the Cafe at one of the socially distanced tables. Also, students are no longer allowed to handle their food themselves, rather they are served by employees of the Cafe. Also, some food where that had previously been open food has been changed. For example, the sandwich station which used to be made to order, was for the majority of the semester, replaced by premade sandwiches in to-go boxes. Much has changed in the Diamond Cafe, and it feels different to eat there too. There have been a few times when I have been the only student in the Cafe, which is especially weird. However, everything that has been done is necessary to protect the health of students and faculty.
• 
  2020-03-14

  Food Traffic

  The Economist reports that residents of cities affected by covid-19 heeded advice to stay at home during the week of March 4th through March 11th.