starlady | The way we live now (Reply)

As the year draws to a close (and not a moment too soon) I've been thinking a bit about all the ways things have changed since the pandemic. Many of these changes are terrible, and I hope most of them don't stick around, but there's definitely changes I've made in my life that are here to stay. I'm interested to hear what other people think will become permanent too.

Things I started doing that I didn't anticipate

Getting toilet paper and tissues on subscription – I signed up for Who Gives a Crap because I was over the toilet paper hunt and because I appreciated that their products are made from bamboo, not from actual trees. Bonus: not having to haul huge quantities of paper goods around, something I hadn't realized was a drag until it freed me to make shorter trips to the closer Target on my bike. (Also: if you want a referral code for a subscription, let me know.)
Grocery shopping by bike – It's more feasible in summer than in winter, but hoo boy, it's some good exercise to haul self and twenty pounds of groceries up the hills.
Ordering coffee in ten pound quantities – For years now I've found buying coffee in the grocery store deeply tedious, and in the pandemic I just said fuck it and started ordering ten pounds at a time from the roastery in Utah that makes Condor Coffee for Tracy Aviary. It's women owned, fairly traded, and certified bird friendly. And I don't have to constantly buy expensive coffee that I maybe don't even like very much in the grocery store.
Dried beans – They are better than canned and they're more efficient to transport. Win-win.

Things I haven't done since March

Worn makeup – I enjoy it, to be clear, but it seems silly to bother between Zoom and the masks. I have worn lipstick a few times, and I think I did put on makeup for a webinar I did. Maybe.
Starbucks – I wasn't a huge consumer since I started working from home in 2017, but I was a pretty reliable customer on my travels. I had one pumpkin spice latte in August, and that was it.
Haircut – I was just starting to consider getting one in October when the cases started to turn and it quickly became something that seemed like a foolish potential risk. In the meantime, my hair is as long as it's ever been, which is about shoulder-length because it's curly and it won't grow any longer. It appeared longer when I was in high school and I was torturing it to be straight; it only got to wavy, because it's curly.

Things I'll never do again

Blow-drying my hair – I'm kind of surprised I thought that frying my hair with an electric appliance was a good idea for as long as I did, but no more.