I’m starting to lose track? Are we in the 5th day or the 50th day of self-isolation (social distancing)? It seems all a blur at the moment. If you are feeling like I am, this is getting to be challenging. I have been doing my best to stay away from people, walk on the other side of the street and never, never cough in front of anyone.

I downloaded the Globe and Mail this morning and saw this headline. Not sure how serious to take it? The CDN/US border is the longest undefended border in the world and I’m not sure what putting some troops at it was going to do? Well, so it seems that after some likely political dialogue the plan was put on ice.

It is interesting see how many “new” types of business are surging to the front or simply coming out of nowhere. We all know about Amazon - I would assume? At our condo all deliveries are dropped off with the concierge and I’ve noted it has become much busier as of late.

News reports have been providing an opinion on how the Covid 19 Virus is impacting their business. CNBC reported that “As Amazon orders surge, coronavirus delays deliveries and threatens to put some sellers out of business”.

They are hiring 100,000 new workers to keep up with the demand and are halting the intake of any inventory besides high-demand products like household staples and medical supplies. However, for 3rd party sellers getting products out of China may mean a loss of business.

I have also seen an increase in the number of posts on the Internet about what are the best media applications you can use to inter-connect with people. Many of us are familiar with Facetime but there are now many more applications available, especially some that are better suited for school and business. I recently took part in a Zoom call and my daughter is using it every day for school. Below was an article about “How to Look Your Best on a Webcam.” Who would have ever thought that is trending?

Many small business who have an internet presence are still able to carry on and conduct a resemblance of business. My social media feed is full of workout classes, I can now take online or exercise bands I can buy to work out with.

I imagine more people may be considering the option of purchasing a Peloton bike now that their favourite spin studio is closed. Will this impact the future for some of them?

Every day I am seeing new posts from various local restaurants offering take out options. If you need groceries you can now find more ways to get them through home delivery.

The Ontario Government just announced that they would allow restaurants to ship alcohol with food orders. With dining establishments closed many of them do not have the ability to offer takeout so they have had to close completely - which means all staff would likely be laid off. It’s hard not to feel for all of the innocent victims of this virus.

However there are some other strange behaviours out there.

I was reading a very interesting article with opinion pieces about how the virus could change the world - permanently. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/03/19/coronavirus-effect-economy-life-society-analysis-covid-135579. The article approached it by looking at different subjects - Community, Tech, Health/Science, Government, Elections, The Global Economy and Lifestyle.

• The personal becomes dangerous - the comfort of being in the presence of others might be replaced by a greater comfort with absence.

• A healthier digital lifestyle - we can use our devices to create a newer type of community with them. Instructional, inspirational and educational.

• The rise of telemedicine - a shift in the paradigm of where our healthcare delivery takes place?

• Electronic voting goes mainstream?

• Stronger domestic supply chains? Switching to a more domestic-based supply chain would reduce dependence on an increasingly fractured global supply system.

Take it for what it’s worth but does anyone think when this is over we will will jump quickly back into the past? I think its fair to say that some people do have a short attention span however it’s quite possible the rise of these recent behaviours could lead to a change in how we go about our day to day existence. It may become more okay to work from home, or do more shopping online.

Within the family dynamic it’s interesting to see the changes. I’ve had dinner with my daughter for 7 nights in a row and I simply can’t remember when that last happened. She is forced to stay home and can’t see her friends, and after a bumpy first few days she seems to have settled in. One of the members of my tennis club wrote on twitter today. People are using Uber eats, Amazon, doing web banking and he suggests that many may simply continue with this. We spend time with friends online meanwhile we have to cross the street to avoid our neighbours.

Of course the virus will eventually end and we will get back to some sort of normal. But it may take some time to feel comfortable to go out to eat or hangout in larger groups. Will we keep social distancing for a longer period? Do you really want to shake someone’s hand?

We don’t know exactly what the new normal will be but get ready for the comments/jokes when it does. Every time you cough will someone say something? You go to the tennis court to play tennis and will people want to say something about people touching the tennis balls?

So, that’s all from me for today. In case your wondering we’re all doing fine. My wife is working at a hospital and I’m understandably nervous for her, the daughter is in her room with schoolwork and of course she has WIFI and me, I’m doing whatever I can to make sure I don’t go completely crazy stuck inside.

Getting low on coffee so the Nespresso order is hopefully arriving later today.

I promise the new blog will be more fun.

Be well all and stay safe.