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Predict the next viral quarantine hobby


Iceheart
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An article popped up in my RSS feed this morning about how it doesn't really feel like we've been quarantined all summer, because we can get outside, but that's going to change real fast come November or so (the article was from Canada, for those of you in warmer climes going "huh?").

 

Which means we're heading right back into everyone adopting the same instagrammable hobby at once, the way everyone was making sourdough starter and dalgona coffee in April.

 

So, what do you think we'll all be doing come November or so?

 

For one, I think the cottagecore hashtag and the hygge hashtag will mate, and everyone will be wearing huge sweaters, and drinking tea while reading books, and either playing a lot of boardgames with our quarantine pod by candlelight or taking up a hobby like adult coloring books or crocheting afghans.

 

I also predict there's going to be a run on snowshoes in parts of the country that see snow, like there was on bikes this summer. They're inexpensive, widely available, and anyone who can walk can do it.

 

And backyard firepits. Because we're all going to want to figure out how we can have friends over safely, and a fire in the backyard fits the bill.

 

What did I miss?

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What did I miss?

2020 isn't over yet! Next up:

 

Hordes of locusts throughout the Midwest

Squadrons of murder hornets attacking Toronto

California falling off into the ocean

A mega eruption exploding in Yellowstone

Killer bees and army ants taking over everything west of the Mississippi

A mountain sliding off of the Canary Islands into the Atlantic, causing a tsunami to wipe out the Eastern seaboard

An asteroid impacting Washington DC

Space aliens abducting Tank

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But seriously, I think there is going to be a concerted effort between now and November to open things up. Hopefully no resurgence of COVID. If that is the case, I think people will slowly start going back to their normal activities. Once movies and restaurants open up, people are going to go out a lot to make up for lost time. So I don't know that there will be a continuation of improvising home activities.

 

I think it will be interesting to see if people who have been working from home want to go back to the office, though. I think with a lot of people spending time with their families, they are realizing what they are missing when at work. Of course, that could go the other way, too.

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If the people I've talked to in my life are any indication, very few people are going to be popping right back to indoor recreation once the snow flies. No one trusts the ventilation systems, or that people will actually keep their masks on and follow social distancing rules.

 

Also, if your first two predictions didn't come true yet, they won't in 2020. It snows up here, remember?

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I took a break from working out for the month of August because I was So Burned Out, but I just picked up strength training again on the 1st. That takes very little space and very cheap, easy to obtain equipment.

 

But that's not very instagrammable. No one wants to see the same dumbells in their feed over and over.

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If the people I've talked to in my life are any indication, very few people are going to be popping right back to indoor recreation once the snow flies. No one trusts the ventilation systems, or that people will actually keep their masks on and follow social distancing rules.

 

Also, if your first two predictions didn't come true yet, they won't in 2020. It snows up here, remember?

Good point, it all comes down to region, too, doesn't it? I am not clamoring to go to a movie or bar, either, but a lot of people in my region have had enough of the cabin fever.

 

But I think we will see some kind of push to try to normalize things because 1. they want to get people to go out and vote, and, 2. the Christmas shopping season is at hand. A lot of businesses, not just retail, depend on the season for money. And money is a big motive to try to push for normalization (or modified normalization).

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I took a break from working out for the month of August because I was So Burned Out, but I just picked up strength training again on the 1st. That takes very little space and very cheap, easy to obtain equipment.

 

But that's not very instagrammable. No one wants to see the same dumbells in their feed over and over.

I admit to being a cardio junkie. But maybe I need to do some weight training for awhile, because I'm just so stressed out that I can't even enjoy working out, which was usually my de-stresser. I also need something I can do at 10pm when the kids are in bed. But lately I just want to sleep.

 

I wish I was good at yoga. Seriously, I'm so bad it's comical.

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If the people I've talked to in my life are any indication, very few people are going to be popping right back to indoor recreation once the snow flies. No one trusts the ventilation systems, or that people will actually keep their masks on and follow social distancing rules.

 

Also, if your first two predictions didn't come true yet, they won't in 2020. It snows up here, remember?

Good point, it all comes down to region, too, doesn't it? I am not clamoring to go to a movie or bar, either, but a lot of people in my region have had enough of the cabin fever.

 

But I think we will see some kind of push to try to normalize things because 1. they want to get people to go out and vote, and, 2. the Christmas shopping season is at hand. A lot of businesses, not just retail, depend on the season for money. And money is a big motive to try to push for normalization (or modified normalization).

 

In the states that have mail-in voting, that's more of a political move than a social move. And if you're a retailer that doesn't have a robust online presence by now, you're just screwed anyway. I predict online sales are going to far surpass brick and mortar this Christmas season. Although you do have the segment of people who have such bad cabin fever they'll just pull on a mask and apply hand sanitizer every five minutes and go to the mall anyway.

 

Oh, damn, I just realized there won't be any mall Santas this year. How do you socially distance sitting on Santa's lap?

 

 

 

I took a break from working out for the month of August because I was So Burned Out, but I just picked up strength training again on the 1st. That takes very little space and very cheap, easy to obtain equipment.

 

But that's not very instagrammable. No one wants to see the same dumbells in their feed over and over.

I admit to being a cardio junkie. But maybe I need to do some weight training for awhile, because I'm just so stressed out that I can't even enjoy working out, which was usually my de-stresser. I also need something I can do at 10pm when the kids are in bed. But lately I just want to sleep.

 

I wish I was good at yoga. Seriously, I'm so bad it's comical.

 

Yup, that's exactly how I felt at the end of July.

 

I love strength training. It sucks to start, but it's so effective so quickly once you get a groove going. And it's awesome to be able to lift heavy things, I definitely could not before.

 

So, true story, the first time I tried yoga, I dislocated a rib. It's kind of like the last thing you ate before getting a really bad stomach flu after that. So I am also extremely bad at yoga.

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I predict record-breaking alcohol sales and another HUGE Covid spike. At least here. Everyone here is convinced it's fake and they're sending their kids to school next week with gusto.

A lot of that around here, too. One of the local schools, parents were picketing on the sidewalk to get the kids back to school. Sooooooo stupid.

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In the states that have mail-in voting, that's more of a political move than a social move. And if you're a retailer that doesn't have a robust online presence by now, you're just screwed anyway. I predict online sales are going to far surpass brick and mortar this Christmas season. Although you do have the segment of people who have such bad cabin fever they'll just pull on a mask and apply hand sanitizer every five minutes and go to the mall anyway.

Oh, damn, I just realized there won't be any mall Santas this year. How do you socially distance sitting on Santa's lap?

Well, one thing to take into account is there are other businesses outside of retail that also boom during the Christmas season, like restaurants or bars. We are social creatures after all, and that is the season people visit family, and I think once restaurants and bars start getting cleared to reopen, that will drive people to go. In my town, that is happening and I've gone out to lunch or dinner just to get out of the house. Also, there are some things I prefer to buy in person, namely electronics (EG TVs) and clothes. I've been screwed over by Amazon one too many times getting clothes either too big or too small because Amazon suppliers seem to have no concept of standardizing sizes. One supplier's 3XL shirt fits like a 1XL for another supplier, and vice versa.

 

But yeah, once stuff opens up, we are going to see spikes in COVID cases. No way around it. Just will be interesting to see the government and media responses. It will be a cluster I am sure.

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Ive been out to eat twice already since restaurants have re-opened - once in a dining room, once on a terrace. But I know quite a few people who refuse to eat in a dining room because of so many people unmasked in a closed space.

 

I dont think the restaurants are doing too badly around here, tho. And that leads me to my next prediction - even more ghost kitchens.

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So, what do you think we'll all be doing come November or so?

• Scrimshaw! Everyone's gonna be scrimshawing all over the place all the time!

• Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas combined into one single two week long bacchanal.

• Cowering in ramshackle homemade shelters from nuclear fallout as our skin sloughs off!

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Well if there is a winter lockdown there is a massive list of games in my library to get through. Though that isn't Instagramable either. And a 1 year old cuts into that time a bit.

 

I'll probably just go insane and fingerpaint the walls into some kind of psychedelic mural with my son.

 

Also not looking forward to gyms closing again.. I've just had a couple of months of training getting my strength foundation back. It's been a psychological life saver at the moment. If they close again I'll be purchasing kettle bells from Amazon. Kettle bell workouts are pretty Instagramable but not if you have a "physique" like mine lol

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