#pandemic-effects

#pandemic-effects

The last real party I threw was in 2019, back when I'd sometimes have odd groupings of women over to my tiny New York apartment. At that final one-after everyone was fumbling and drunk, overheated from proximity-I cracked a kitchen window so that one of my friends could smoke, and we all clustered around her to feel the air. There was such joy in bundling together like that. I made a new friend at that party. I learned a secret that was truly bizarre.

We've all gone to the dark place at least once, where we believe the person serving us in a restaurant has forgotten-or worse!-is purposely avoiding us. How else can I explain my perpetually empty glass, or that they haven't deposited the bill even though they know I'm going to a show after dinner? Their prolonged absence is more likely unintentional-because the restaurant is overbooked and understaffed or the server is also juggling a table of 20. Or maybe, like me, they're having a bad day.

MyLidl app uses confusing terminology, making it a challenge to find anything. Photo illustration by the author. When we talk about the fundamental principles of accessibility, it's typically applied to websites, and of course, to building design. My recent experience with grocery shopping post-pandemic has got me thinking about the ways in which those principles are being violated in the day-to-day routine of feeding ourselves.

If you feel like friendships are harder to make or maintain than ever before, you're right. The pandemic did us no favors when it came to building and maintaining close friendships. While we may have been sharing "Zoom Happy Hours" from our deck or sofa, even the most intimate conversations were being mediated by a screen, and vocal nuances and body language cues were often lost.

Workers are taking more mental health leavesnow than they were in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic started. According to data collected by behavioral health services provider ComPsych, the percentage of workers taking a leave ofabsence increased by 30% from 2019 to 2024, while mental health leaves increased by 300% in the same time frame. ComPsych analyzed data from over six million global employees.

Los Angeles was ranked as the most popular city in the country for dog ownership, attributed to its great weather and ample green spaces.