Nov 22, 2021
Noticing Recent Changes in my Area…
Sunday, 11.21.21
This week, I have noticed changes in my suburban town, which includes neighboring towns.
More people have joined the local meetups I attend, which is cool, because big walking groups are more fun than small ones anyway. Socializing has made a comeback.
When I went to the movie, Spencer, I notice the popcorn cups have gotten larger than usual. The small looks like a large. The medium is a bag but holds more popcorn than the large-looking small bucket. The large bucket is really big, which is cool for a couple who want to share the popcorn bucket. This is a recent change because I remember the small popcorn cup looked like a large soda cup, which is normally small for popcorn.
The local University Town Center by my house looks very busy and active now, filled with people hanging out together at restaurants and outdoor seating areas, enjoying snacks, frozen yogurt, and drink as well as their dinner. It looks like summertime, but with cold air. Everyone is suddenly going out more and trying to live their life, which is good to see. The parking lot is always full of cars. I live across the street from UTC area. I don’t have to drive and seek an empty parking space.
I went to the mall today, just to walk around and people-watch. The mall was very busy, probably because of the month-long Black Friday sale as well as holiday shopping for Xmas. There were very long lines snaking around luxury designer brand boutiques, such as Dior, LV, Gucci, Tiffanys, Chanel, Cartier, Hermes, etc. The new store, Canada Goose, opened this month at this mall. So, I went inside to browse and see if they have Zero Shoes. They didn’t. I noticed mostly hiking boots and casual outdoorsy clothes. I ended up walking 2.1 miles and 5,268 steps today, which isn’t bad for walking around inside an indoor mall.
The annoying traffic seems to be back because the streets are very crowded, similar to the way it was during 2019. I was getting used to the 2020 traffic, which was pedestrian traffic of joggers, walkers, bicycles, dog-walkers, skateboarders, and scooters on empty, peaceful, and quiet streets. Now, it feels like I am driving in NYC.
Apartment buildings in my suburban town have more than doubled recently because many local businesses went bankrupt and closed down. Now, the business area is mostly new modern-looking apartment buildings, Marriott Hotels, and restaurants.
Community Centers parking lots are filled with cars recently, which is similar to before 2019 when life was normal and more people were very social.
These changes are all positive signs, and I hope they are not temporary because it is a sign of moving forward and making progress.
