Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Dispatch from Quarantine: Lululemon Upload

by Cristina

Lululemon Upload is live!

Nothing new or too exciting here in the bunker but I do have a couple shows to recommend. I’ve been watching Little Fires Everywhere and The Great on Amazon Prime and they are fantastic! And of course Dead To Me on Netflix is really good. Have you watched these shows yet? It feels like it’s been so long since there have been exciting new releases on streaming services so I have been devouring these shows.

We are gradually opening up into phase 2 in BC and despite a lot of stores and restaurants opening, our Lululemon stores are still closed. I suspect they will open sometime around June 1, but not sure. The unfortunate thing is with stores opening after such long closures, the lineups are huge to get in. Homesense opened on Friday and the lineup was around two hours long.

Schools open up on June 1 for a modified social distanced learning for three weeks and we are still undecided, but leaning heavily on sending kids to school. I think being away from peers for so long is really unhealthy. Our risk in BC right now is less than .008% (with around 10-12 new cases daily) so the conflict with reopening schools right now seems to be almost entirely to do with logistics (and ‘why bother’ for three weeks) vs. actual risk. The last three weeks of school are always the wind down anyways with field trips and and experiences. My Dr. strongly recommended the kids go back to school, and she’s erred on very cautious with covid-19 to date. It will be very interesting to see what the numbers do in the next two weeks now that we’ve started opening things up, but with safety protocols (some reasonable, some absurd) in place. Hopefully they stay within the manageable range (in that sweet spot the health officers need them to be at), and heard immunity starts to take hold along with vaccination releases.

I was just reading this article about Japans pandemic success despite having zero closures. BC didn’t have a lot of official closures other than salons, restaurants, schools and public parks but retailers and many other businesses closed out of moral obligation and social duty.

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17 comments

Sam May 26, 2020 - 12:56 pm

I don’t know if it was just me but in the main photo of the Hazy Sky Shirt Jacket I thought that the model was holding a knife. It looked too funny.

I’m on Ontario and I’m afraid that the lines will happen here like you have. I guess I’ll have to stay away from stores a while longer until the back to shopping craze ends.

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Cristina May 27, 2020 - 12:06 am

Depending on the store, give it at least a week for the lines to become normal.

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Anonymous May 26, 2020 - 1:02 pm

Are your kids actually going to be going on field trips? My understanding was that the return to school would look very very different than it ever has. Also, I’m honestly curious what safety precautions you have viewed as absurd.
FYI — herd immunity only works if the majority of the herd is vaccinated. Also, although vaccines are in the works – we likely will not see them in clinics until 2021.

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Cristina May 26, 2020 - 1:12 pm

No there are no field trips. The last three weeks of school typically have field trips and fun things planned as it’s wind-down time, so it’s not really crucial time for new concept learning.

As far as school looking very different, that is correct. We just got the information package this morning and there are a lot of changes.

Off the top of my head; direction lines in grocery store aisles. Many of the precautions are proactively implemented by business owners, not recommended by health officials. Single entry doors vs entry and egress. One local store I go to has closed their normal entryway so the exit is now both the entry and the exit, and that has created a congestion issue. The tills are right inside the doors so you have to navigate through people at checkout.

Herd immunity can happen in two ways. Many people get inoculated, or many people contract the disease and recover. With a recoverable illness such as seasonal flu, or potentially covid-19 (unknown yet if people who have recovered are immune, serological testing is vital information), heard immunity can happen both ways.

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Stacy May 26, 2020 - 2:17 pm

That strap in that photo does kind of look like a big knife! The placement of her hand is almost perfect to create the illusion. So funny!

I agree that the social aspect for the kids has been difficult. Online calls are not the same as in person social interaction. The brain has to use extra effort to discern the micro-facial expressions and tones of voice that are easily picked up on in person. If it would be really beneficial if they could see their friends, even just for a little bit. I always deferred what our pediatrician thinks too. He’s knowledgeable and cautious. I fully trust him. That’s why I picked him. It’s a bummer about the loss of field trips. I’ll bet the teachers are thinking up other fun things to keep the end of the year spirit going. They enjoy the end of the year festivities too, so hopefully, there will be on campus activities as celebration.

I’m a preschool teacher and my school has decided to remain closed until the Fall. The guidelines right now are a little ridiculous for 2 and 3 year olds. I can’t possibly manage the 6 ft of social distancing at all times between toddlers. We would pretty much do nothing else all day, but tell kids to move back and not share toys. It’s also tough to teach in a mask. So much of what teachers do is facial expressions, plus I talk all day long (and I’m lightheaded in a mask after 90 minutes of talking). We tried it when the parents came to pick up their things, and some kids cried because they were scared. I had to take the mask off to show them it was me. I guess they’d get use to it, but I wish they didn’t need to. I’m also not sure we can handle the amount of sanitizing that needs to take place. The restriction on 10 kids per class means lower amounts of revenue coming in, while the costs of PPE, sanitizing equipment and extra staff hours to follow the regulations is skyrocketing. Many non-coporate preschools and child care centers are already struggling in normal circumstances. I’m hoping things are a little better in a few months for the sake of the children being able to interact and play together, and the school not closing permanently.

I like reading the updates on what is happening in Vancouver. Please keep us posted. I hope all goes smoothly!

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Cristina May 27, 2020 - 12:05 am

It’s incredibly difficult. My daughter is hearing impaired and phone calls are an issue for her. Although she has aided hearing, she relies a lot on social cues and facial expressions to fill the gaps.
So far the protocol for school is 2 days a week for elementary school kids, with staggered start and finish times. Kids are assigned days based on last name. 1 day per week for middle school and high school. The middle school also has staggered start times and assigned days. The middle school classrooms and lockers are closed off, and the kids will be learning in the gym in spaced out sections. Some of the teachers are not able to come back to their classrooms because of immunocompromise so the kids know to expect an entirely different learning environment.

I can’t see how this would work at all for the really little kids like preschoolers or kindergarteners for exactly the reasons you mention. If my kids where entering K I would probably redline them for the year. Starting school is so traumatic for a lot of little kids (and their parents) and it’s just too much pressure.

A LOT of kids are struggling right now with being out of school. Some kids have difficult family situations and being at school is their only respite. Family violence is up a pretty terrifying amount.

Our schools have about 30% of kids returning. From what I understand, attendance is being taken with online learning which is maintaining the funding per student. Hopefully the smaller class loads mean a lot less of the typical day to day cleanup. I read some of the guidelines for sanitization and it seemed pretty straightforward. Smaller areas of the school being used, and cleaning every transition. Our schools are not mandating teachers or students wear PPE as it’s not required by public health. It sounds like teachers that want to wear PPE have to supply it themselves. I expect it to be chaotic, and weird but I do really see the value in returning for some. It’s a trial run, but it’s also ripping that bandaid off an exposing ourselves to a lot of anxiety inducing scenarios.

Thanks! And thank you for sharing your situation.

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Anonymous May 26, 2020 - 3:21 pm

I just purchased the purple scuba hoodie light. I’ve been finding hoodies to be wonderful for cooler weather inside the house.

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Shadowy_lady May 26, 2020 - 3:39 pm

Nothing for me this week. Easy pass.

I’m in Ottawa, Ontario. Our daily care count is low between 5-9 (our population is 1M) and has been like this for for 4-5 weeks. But the cases are high in GTA and the province decided we should all suffer together. I wish Ontario would do what Quebec is doing which is separating Montreal from the rest of Quebec.

HomeSense here in Ottawa are opening tomorrow. I have Friday off so I will try to see if I can get in 😛 we did some renovation while we’re home and decided to fully redecorate too so I’m dying to get to HomeSense.

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Cristina May 26, 2020 - 11:50 pm

Go earlier than opening. When I scoped out the homesense line I thought it wasn’t too bad. I showed up right at opening (accidentally, I thought they had opened two hours earlier) and was impressed the lineup was short and moving quickly. by the time I got to the lineup it wrapped around the building (happened very fast), and the line stopped moving. They let 100 people in and then you had to wait till those shoppers came out. Had I showed up about 10 minutes earlier I would have been in that first wave.

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Jane May 26, 2020 - 4:23 pm

I understand seeing the extra precautions as silly in some places but I think it’s because some people really have a hard time following directions. Even with official health recommendations.

I’m in the US and feel way more comfortable in stores with extra precautions. The employees also seem more comfortable too.

I made the mistake of picking up essentials at a different shop and almost had a panic attack. No social distancing, too many people, and one lady who refused to wear a mask and was having a fit over people starring at her. The employees also seemed stressed and miserable.

As for my local Lulu. It’s SUPER tiny. I’d probably only go back for returns or pickup only.

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Cristina May 26, 2020 - 11:46 pm

Our public health in BC is unique and has been amazing. The advice has been practical and direct and the communications on new guidelines to various business groups has been very coordinated and detailed. It’s the one thing that sets BC apart from the other provinces – how our public health system communicates with each other throughout the various regions and act in concert. There are daily media briefings with question and answer periods. It’s been very open.

The problem has been when businesses (and in some places, the politicians) improvise to create false sense of a controlled environment. It’s understandable why businesses would want to do this, but in some cases it’s flawed and creates bigger problems. Part of the advice from our public health is to ‘be kind, be calm, be safe’. The longer this goes on the more I see the wisdom in that slogan. My Dr. was telling me yesterday that anxiety and panic has become a huge problem with patients.

The decision to send kids back to school has to be based on medical advice (community health, and personal health for immunocompromised). Our public health office has given the all clear for schools to open. They have given the all clear for restaurants and salons to open under very specific guidelines. I understand the fear entirely but if we trusted the medical advice to guide us at the start of this pandemic, we should also be trusting the advice on easing back out of lockdown.

I carry a mask with me everywhere I go (a fabric mask and an n95 mask) but I can’t wear them for very long. I have a deviated septum and cannot breath through my nose so wearing the masks for longer than 5 minutes is a no go. I bring them with me though and if anyone asks me to wear them I do. It hasn’t been necessary though as I keep 6 feet apart, and anywhere I’ve gone has had plexiglass barriers for anyone I need to interact with.

The guidelines provided by the Provincial Health Officer, wearing a cloth or homemade mask, particularly by children, is not recommended. However, wearing a mask is a personal choice. It is important that people who decide to wear masks are treated with respect.

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Jane May 26, 2020 - 4:37 pm

Also, is it just me or do the pictures seem limited?

Like, the pictures don’t seem to show all the features offered in the new tights and shorts styles. I’m more likely to purchase if they show all the added features like pocket size, can my cell phone fit? Stuff like that.

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Pattern lover May 26, 2020 - 8:47 pm

So bored every week with the uploads!! What happened to all the fun patterns?! The only pattern right now in leggings is camo *yawn*
How many more solid colours of the same boring styles will they repeat? I’ve been shopping elsewear because everything “new” is drab and not original.

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Anonymous May 26, 2020 - 10:53 pm

Where did your earlier “herd immunity” comments go? Science isn’t your strong point, eh?

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Cristina May 26, 2020 - 11:21 pm

My comment? It’s still there.
What is it you dispute about herd immunity?

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Runner 18 May 28, 2020 - 7:10 am

Just wanted to mention I’ve also started to watch “little Fires Everywhere!” Enjoying it!
I just finished Shitsel on Netflix which was excellent and highly recommend!
Thanks for everything Christina! Love hearing your comments!
Stay safe, healthy and calm!

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Cristina May 28, 2020 - 2:52 pm

I loved Shitsel too!! I watched it early on during lockdown and stayed up till 3am one night watching all of it.

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