The San Mateo Farmer’s Market seemed, for lack of a better word, normal this morning. Tons of vendors, lots of people, a cool breeze from the Pacific, about ten miles away, the fog trying to surmount the coastal range. California officially “reopened” this week. Roughly half of the patrons were still masked, despite high vaccination rates in San Mateo County. We are returning to normal, but not there yet. I picked up a marvelous bag of Ethiopian beans (pictured above) from Liminal Coffee, giant red and golden beets, purple cauliflower, a box of strawberries, peaches and other seasonal stone fruit, sunflowers, and a half dozen eggs from Cozzolino’s, in Half Moon Bay. Apparently, some beans, namely ones from Ethiopia, are becoming harder to source; global supply chain shortages are not limited to semiconductors.
Liminal kindly provided a complimentary cup of coffee; alternatively, I could have ordered a cappuccino from Ikon Roastery, pricey ($4.50), compared to some (1.20 euros) I enjoyed in Rome a few years ago, before embarking on exploring the Eternal City from our base in Trastevere, but competent and complex nonetheless. Needless to say, location matters. The same cappuccino in a café across the street from the Colosseum was an extravagant 5 euros. Blue Bottle, another local roastery, offers a five-dollar cappuccino, good, but I would a prefer one sitting at a table facing the most notable of ancient amphitheatres.
To mask or not to mask. Some gyms still require masks, for indoor activities. Supermarkets seem to require them, although California has made it clear that if you are vaccinated, you need not wear them. It is confusing, to say the least. On public transportation, e.g., Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), I cannot imagine not masking, ever. More broadly, it seems that after more than fifteen months of remote work, some employers are actively trying to get workers back in the office. The CEO of a Wall Street bank recently said, astutely, that if people can dine indoors, they can just as well go into the office. I would tend to agree. By autumn, many office workers will be back in their familiar cubicle farms, one or more times a week. Some argue that having people in the office is a source of competitive advantage, provides the opportunity for spontaneous meetings and new idea generation, fosters team development, and increases engagement, at least for younger employees. For new or nascent teams, I could see clear benefits from being back in the office, assuming the team is not distributed domestically or globally. For more established teams, a remote option is still sensible. Personally, my teams and internal clients are distributed throughout the world, biasing the remote option, but some in-person interaction could be useful, to re-invigorate the team and to drive new, common expectations as we embark on a new journey of working together. Leading via Zoom can be challenging, but not impossible. The same goes for establishing and maintain executive presence. A long commute has not been missed by anyone.
Some more thoughts, if you not mind. As some know, from my posts, the pandemic has reawakened the hiking spirits. To that end, I am organizing a hiking group, targeting 3-4 hour moderate intensity treks, with significant elevation gain/loss, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Montara Mountain, Purisima Creek, and Butano Ridge are a few of the possibilities. A summit hike to Mount Diablo is on the docket for the fall, our Indian Summer, known for its cool mornings and warm afternoons.
Last, but certainly not least, Euro 2021 is progressing nicely. Group F, with France, Germany, Portugal, and Hungary, is by the far the most fascinating, with Germany soundly beating Portugal today, 4-2, and France, somewhat surprisingly, only tying Hungary, 1-1. France remains the favorite in most likely the premier soccer tournament in the world. Italy looks really strong, and Belgium is always a favorite. Copa America, being played right now, is intriguing as well, with Brazil and Argentina the favorites, and Colombia, Chile, and Uruguay capable of surprising them. It is great time to be a soccer fan, and a hiker.
Comments welcomed.
The Peninsula Hiking Club 