Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large. 

No more taking the bus?

One thing I definitely don’t miss about normal work life is the commute. During this current quarantine situation, it’s been really lovely to simply roll out of the bed each morning and login to work on the computer. No need to wake up two hours before official work start time: an hour to get ready to head out, and then an hour to take the bus. The time saved has been tremendous, though my amount of podcast listening have decreased dramatically.

One thing I do miss being physically at work is interacting with my coworkers. Zoom is great for teleconferencing, but you cannot replace face-to-face collaboration, at least in our line of work. Some tech problems need multiple heads banded together to solve, and it’s much easier and more effective to do so when we’re all in the same place. It’s what I’m most excited to return to - work-wise - once this shelter-in-place order is over.

Of course, that would mean the return of the commute, and up brings a conundrum: do I go back to public transportation? Lockdown being over doesn’t mean social distancing won’t still be required; the coronavirus won’t abate anytime soon, and once we’re back outside we will need to take the utmost precautions. A crowded bus then is to be avoided if possible, which means I'm going to need to buy another car to commute with (it’s not happening with the Porsche). As of this moment, I’m heavily leaning towards doing that.

Good news (somewhat perversely) then that used car prices are projected to be down in the foreseeable future. Circumstances stemming from the coronavirus have absolutely cratered demand for automobiles, and with a glut of inventory sitting at dealership lots, those with the means to spend are in a good position. I’m on a casual hunt, for now.

Hometown river crossing.