Well...on the positive it looks like the cold weather is now “officially” behind us. I still have the winter coats hanging in the hall closet, so I think I’m safe to take them downstairs to the lock up - don’t you?

I am pretty sure that I am starting to find my routine (sigh). It begins with being woken up by the wife as she goes off to work…lie in bed for 15 minutes….turn on iPad…..look at social media (sorry) and at some point decide whether to shower first or have breakfast. Yep - that’s how the morning seems to go.

The weather has been quite nice so I’ve been able to sit outside to enjoy a coffee and catch up with the news of the world.

So, what’s been going on? In the past few days it seems the world is going crazy south of us. Every day there are protests (peaceful and non-peaceful) taking place not only in the United States but in other parts of the world including Canada. There are all kinds of issues/problems that we are not immune to and the most recent incidents only magnify what is happening in the real world.

Let’s hope that what is going on all over the world might lead to some meaningful changes - but I’m not overly optimistic that much will change.

So time to change the topic. The world around me is slowing starting to open up. Yes…my tennis club has officially opened and I’ve played twice since it has opened. The first few weeks we had limited courts with all a number of of restrictions however we are now fully open (tennis) but you can only play singles (no doubles) and there are no amenities available. I feel bad for some of the older players who can’t play singles as their ability to use the club is not the same as others.

It’s good to be outside and back doing something but at the same time it feels strange to not have the ability to enjoy the club as you want to. They are doing a good job in communicating with lots of emails/videos each week about what is going on at the club. They have been offering different levels of food services and last week we ordered pick-up for the kid. She was craving chicken fingers and a caesar salad. She was happy!

The past weekend papers (which I’m still reading) all had a common theme -which was the “death of the office.” At the beginning it was assumed that people who work from home would not be as productive, would miss meetings and generally it wouldn’t work.

Well - surprise they may have gotten it wrong. With high speed internet and video conferencing it’s quite easy to get people together.

Here we are 12 weeks or so into this crisis and people are finding that it seems to be working out quite well. A friend of mine who is lawyer with a large downtown firm suggested to me that going back to what was is not likely the preferred option. Issues such as floor space, using the elevator and simply getting to work safely are now concerns that they didn’t have to think about before.

In my past life the modern, state of the art office at Wilson (USA) with it’s multi-floors and cubicles for the workers will probably have to be changed. Given the social distancing requirements the layout of that office likely not work.

A survey by PwC in early May found that 25% of CFO’s were considering planning to reduce their footprint. In an article in the Globe & Mail they outlined a few interesting points relating to what people miss about the 9-5 grind.

Social - people miss the ability to talk one on one to each other. Yes, sometimes people can get carried away when this happens but people do want/need the ability to collaborate with others.
Isolation - for younger people the mental toll of isolation can build up. We weren’t built to spend all of our time alone - I can attest to that!
The Sense of Home - no longer the home is seen as a place to get away from the day to day drudgery of work - especially as work may now be with you all the time.

I don’t know where this will all end up but I would think that a lot of organizations are seriously considering the extended costs of operating an office and thus you probably will see shifts in how this impacts corporate life.

My small condo terrace has become my office and I’ve managed to create a little oasis where I can eat, have a drink and work if it’s needed. It's not that big but we have a few comfortable chairs, some plants and a small table that seats two and I’m writing this from the outside table.

What do you miss? I asked my daughter and to no great surprise she misses the physical contact with her friends, going out to eat with them, shopping and Soul Cycle. So, having her locked up is saving me money! On the negative - her proposed summer job is likely gone so it could be a long summer and that won’t be a lot of fun for all. But as I’ve told others, I am proud of how she has handled this.

What am I missing? I miss the ability to walk around, see people and go out to the gym. Other than that, I am pretty good. I had hoped that I could take a “road-trip” this summer to the USA but that probably won’t happen. But I can’t complain.

I have had time to get the bike out and ride around various parts of the city that I had seen - usually from the window of the car. I am always amazed by what you can learn from foot or from your bike. We live in a great place.

The city made the wise decision to close down certain streets to allow people to get out and walk around with proper social distancing. The image above is the Lakeshore which was closed so that people could walk or cycle safely. Let’s hope that we will be able to leave all this behind…soon!

That’s it for today!