First Steps to Opening Up

          It's May the Fourth!

          I hope you all have kept up with your Jedi arts. This year's celebrations will have to be a bit low key thanks to the outbreak. In fact, I don't have the time to watch the movie series until this weekend. Some of you may still be under lock down. Some others are opening up with caution.

          Either way, I started the day with choosing which shirt I had to wear. I don't own many Star Wars themed shirts. I like the franchise, but was never fan enough to buy a lot of the related merchandises. You may guess which one I chose at the end.

          I'm feeling on the lazy side today, so I decided to grab a free meal from McDonald's. They have been offering a free meal a day to healthcare workers since April 22. But, I didn't want to eat fast food for 2 weeks straight, even if they free. I'm not in that dire of a situation where I can't get fresh foods, yet...

          While the prospect of opening up is great, it's not without inconveniences. For example, the barber I usually go to has increased their pricing by at least 50%. That's not including tip, etc. In the state of Utah, there are guidelines for those businesses. This is to protect the workers and the customers as the state continues to assess the situation.

What are some of precautions the barbershops are taking?

1. Masks and gloves - similar to how clinicians go between patients.
2. Reduced capacity - to better adhere to social distancing.
3. Increased time between customers - most haircuts used to take 30-40 minutes. Now, they need to disinfect, etc. between each customer.
4. Budget set aside for compensate the barbers for exposure to COVID-19.
5. Schedule ahead of time - they have asked people to schedule appointments. This is for obvious safety reasons.

          So, the barber I go to is in the nicer parts of the city. Going in there now requires a $45 pay up front. Again, not including tips. Since I have to pay at least that much, I figured I would book the lead barber. It's a good thing I know her. I used to not care which one I get as they were all skilled. Now, I will have to play favorites. I guess I will find out more when I go to my appointment this week.

          Even the cheapest options I have found around here would charge you $25 a cut. Oh, that's on the other side of the city, and I'm not familiar with the crew there.

          That's the way it is. I may have to reduce my trip to the barber from every 4-6 weeks to 8-10 weeks from now on. At the same time, if people are going there less, the price would most likely get higher. It's not a pleasant situation.

          Expect more price hikes and/or reduced quantity of items per package deal from now on.

          May the Force be with you.