After Hours
January 26, 2018 6:32 AM Subscribe
But off-peakers are generally not hoping to be completely solitary in their pursuits; most people don’t want to be the only person in their step-aerobics class at two in the afternoon. Instead, they want to be one among a smaller, more manageable group than urban cohorts tend to allow. Subcultures offer the pleasure of being different along with the pleasure of being the same; variation becomes a passport to acceptance. The two people who encounter one another at the aquarium on a Wednesday morning appear to have more in common than the two hundred people who see each other there on a weekend. Like other choices that divide people into subsets, off-peaking allows its adherents to discover a kinship that may or may not reveal a significant similarity in worldview.
From the Everything Must Have A Stupid Name Now department.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 6:52 AM on January 26, 2018 [64 favorites]
posted by GallonOfAlan at 6:52 AM on January 26, 2018 [64 favorites]
Also the overthinking-a-plate-of-beans department. FWIW my life allows me to do things "off peak" and that's about 3/4 of how I maintain my sanity in overcrowded San Francisco. I never go to brunch weekends. But Thursdays? Sure! I love going to the Tuesday noon movie; it's just me and the escapees from the old folks' home. I've got a plan to finally visit the Teotihuacan exhibit at the De Young. On Wednesday, at 9:30am.
The last thing I want when "off-peaking" is to encounter any other person. My ideal in all these scenarios is to be alone with my breakfast, the movie, the art.
posted by Nelson at 6:59 AM on January 26, 2018 [21 favorites]
The last thing I want when "off-peaking" is to encounter any other person. My ideal in all these scenarios is to be alone with my breakfast, the movie, the art.
posted by Nelson at 6:59 AM on January 26, 2018 [21 favorites]
I get frustrated that the fewer people in the shops at odd hours are more chatty. Leave me alone! If I wanted to deal with people I wouldn't be here at nine in the morning or whatever!
As someone who's worked the night shift for most of their adult life I can say without any hesitation that so-called "off peakers" are an odd bunch, so that unfortunately means many of them have, um, variable social skills and interests. That does suggest some commonality, sure, but not necessarily of the most winning sort. It's an added little challenge for the reclusive types since the want of quiet can be confronted by a want for engagement that's more difficult to politely avoid given the lack of avoidance opportunities "peakers" might have.
On preview, yeah, the desire to label every inclination as method to give it, and oneself, meaning is an added annoyance here.
posted by gusottertrout at 7:03 AM on January 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
As someone who's worked the night shift for most of their adult life I can say without any hesitation that so-called "off peakers" are an odd bunch, so that unfortunately means many of them have, um, variable social skills and interests. That does suggest some commonality, sure, but not necessarily of the most winning sort. It's an added little challenge for the reclusive types since the want of quiet can be confronted by a want for engagement that's more difficult to politely avoid given the lack of avoidance opportunities "peakers" might have.
On preview, yeah, the desire to label every inclination as method to give it, and oneself, meaning is an added annoyance here.
posted by gusottertrout at 7:03 AM on January 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
So basically this is just....traveling on the off-peak season to save money, but taken to the extreme.
'kay.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:16 AM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
'kay.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:16 AM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
I don't need a faith tradition, I just don't want people to see me crying on the stairmaster.
posted by adept256 at 7:19 AM on January 26, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 7:19 AM on January 26, 2018 [27 favorites]
This is why I post in the politics threads around midnight.
(not really)
posted by Chrysostom at 7:34 AM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
(not really)
posted by Chrysostom at 7:34 AM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
For fuck's sake. I have a somewhat pathological fear of crowds, so I try to go places at times when they won't be crowded. But that doesn't need a name, and it's not a lifestyle. People really will try to find a way to label and monetize everything.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:38 AM on January 26, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:38 AM on January 26, 2018 [14 favorites]
oh hey, matinées
posted by aniola at 7:38 AM on January 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by aniola at 7:38 AM on January 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's neat, I guess, when you're rich enough to choose which hours you use for what.
posted by Construction Concern at 7:41 AM on January 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by Construction Concern at 7:41 AM on January 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
Interesting and useful for program planning. However, it doesn't help with my frustration that my YMCA (actually all Y's I've belonged to, which is about 5) schedules almost all the fitness classes during the workday and before noon on weekends. What about us FT workers?
posted by Miko at 7:42 AM on January 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Miko at 7:42 AM on January 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
The “season” for driving to and from work have been so written into industrialized areas that the cascade of rush-hour traffic feels like a force of nature. I have been in some traffic jams, and they never, ever feel like nature.
posted by theora55 at 7:44 AM on January 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 7:44 AM on January 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Hah. Naturally off-peakers would resist any effort to categorize or define them.
I wanted this essay to take a deeper look at the intersection of off-peak and the sharing economy, both in terms of how the gig economy makes off-peaking possible for the people profiled here, and especially how the sharing economy is a filling in of off-peak, under used spaces as capitalism exploits an opportunity.
posted by notyou at 7:48 AM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
I wanted this essay to take a deeper look at the intersection of off-peak and the sharing economy, both in terms of how the gig economy makes off-peaking possible for the people profiled here, and especially how the sharing economy is a filling in of off-peak, under used spaces as capitalism exploits an opportunity.
posted by notyou at 7:48 AM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
I grew up in a family that did this as a lifestyle. My sister and I did not see anything “in season” until we were adults traveling on our own. Vacations meant weekends in deserted old hotels in Atlantic City in the late 60s in November, or January museum crawls in a quiet, tourist-free D.C. Or we sought out places long fallen from their peaks—Sharon Springs, NY for example, or Crystal Beach, Ontario just before the park closed. We spent little and saw much, and we were left with a deep fondness for quiet, lonely, threadbare places.
My folks were just trying to do a lot with a little. It figures that, thanks to the Internet, this sort of thing is now seen as a “trend”.
posted by kinnakeet at 7:49 AM on January 26, 2018 [20 favorites]
My folks were just trying to do a lot with a little. It figures that, thanks to the Internet, this sort of thing is now seen as a “trend”.
posted by kinnakeet at 7:49 AM on January 26, 2018 [20 favorites]
oh, ok, it's an article rehashing Mr Money Mustache, who is the first person I thought of when I saw the summary. yes, not having to work in your 30s and using your free time to avoid crowds and standing in line is pretty great.
posted by indubitable at 7:49 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by indubitable at 7:49 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Remember when we waited until after 9pm to make our long distance phone calls to save a few cents per minute?
posted by peeedro at 7:51 AM on January 26, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 7:51 AM on January 26, 2018 [26 favorites]
It's neat, I guess, when you're rich enough to choose which hours you use for what.Meh. I go to the farmer's market at 7:30 AM on Saturday, before it gets crowded. Same with the grocery store. The library is crowded on weekends, but it's better during football games. I'm not rich and don't have a flexible job, so for me, a lot of this is just getting up early to beat the crowds. I think that's a pretty common not-totally-neurotypical survival strategy.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:54 AM on January 26, 2018 [24 favorites]
It's neat, I guess, when you're rich enough to choose which hours you use for what.
...or if you're in the kind of decidedly unprivileged work that leaves you at work outside of office hours: retail warehousing, factory, security, hospitality, etc. Doing it as a choice "lifestyle" affectation may be the preserve of the filthy rich, but most people doing their weekly shop at some odd time of day are doing it out of necessity, because that's when they're not at work.
And you know what? Being on a different schedule to everyone else can suck on a big way - from being busy when everyone else has leisure time making it hard to sustain meaningful friendships or do things, to restaurants and shops being closed when you clock off at the end of your day, etc, etc. With a lot of things, you end up paying more not less to go "off-peak" - discount supermarkets aren't open as late as convenience stores, taxis are more expensive than the buses that stop running at the end of commuter rush hour.
So yeah, must be nice to be able to pick and choose what things are worth doing "off-peak" but I can guarantee you that that is not a luxury afforded to most people making use of extended business hours.
posted by Dysk at 8:09 AM on January 26, 2018 [32 favorites]
...or if you're in the kind of decidedly unprivileged work that leaves you at work outside of office hours: retail warehousing, factory, security, hospitality, etc. Doing it as a choice "lifestyle" affectation may be the preserve of the filthy rich, but most people doing their weekly shop at some odd time of day are doing it out of necessity, because that's when they're not at work.
And you know what? Being on a different schedule to everyone else can suck on a big way - from being busy when everyone else has leisure time making it hard to sustain meaningful friendships or do things, to restaurants and shops being closed when you clock off at the end of your day, etc, etc. With a lot of things, you end up paying more not less to go "off-peak" - discount supermarkets aren't open as late as convenience stores, taxis are more expensive than the buses that stop running at the end of commuter rush hour.
So yeah, must be nice to be able to pick and choose what things are worth doing "off-peak" but I can guarantee you that that is not a luxury afforded to most people making use of extended business hours.
posted by Dysk at 8:09 AM on January 26, 2018 [32 favorites]
I do miss working second shift sometimes because of the "it's 2am at Kroger and there are 6 other people in the entire store" feeling. I miss sitting out on my back porch at 5am and having a beer and a joint before going to sleep. I don't miss working Friday nights and getting off just as all my 9-5 friends are heading home, and I certainly don't miss the shitty pay and unfulfilling work that I did for it.
posted by dudemanlives at 8:12 AM on January 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by dudemanlives at 8:12 AM on January 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
I go to the farmer's market at 7:30 AM on Saturday, before it gets crowded. Same with the grocery store.
Yeah, I know when everything opens on the weekend (Trader Joe's at 8, or 9 for the other location, Costco not until 10) and always go at opening. Crowds at stores make me super anxious.
I do also grocery shop in the daytime on my work-from-home day, and my experience matches Dysk's: the store might be less crowded, but the off-peak weirdos sure like to chit-chat. There was a lot less of that when I used to shop at 9pm or so; more people just trying to fit shopping into their day and fewer people killing time before the bar opens.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:15 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I know when everything opens on the weekend (Trader Joe's at 8, or 9 for the other location, Costco not until 10) and always go at opening. Crowds at stores make me super anxious.
I do also grocery shop in the daytime on my work-from-home day, and my experience matches Dysk's: the store might be less crowded, but the off-peak weirdos sure like to chit-chat. There was a lot less of that when I used to shop at 9pm or so; more people just trying to fit shopping into their day and fewer people killing time before the bar opens.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:15 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
No plated beans necessary, really: What if I'd simply rather avoid lines and crowds in stores and museums, or wait around for access to limited resources in gyms, parking lots, etc.?
Also, when I avoid doing grocery shopping on weekends, the beer section doesn't look like a war zone and I have a wider selection to choose from.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:24 AM on January 26, 2018
Also, when I avoid doing grocery shopping on weekends, the beer section doesn't look like a war zone and I have a wider selection to choose from.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:24 AM on January 26, 2018
Yeah, I know when everything opens on the weekend (Trader Joe's at 8, or 9 for the other location, Costco not until 10) and always go at opening. Crowds at stores make me super anxious.
This is a must at Trader Joe's, since a certain portion of their clientele seems to be there purely for tourism purposes, judging from the number of people I see just walking around without an apparent shopping agenda. Combined with TJ's super-crunched floor plan, it makes shopping there after 10 AM super stressful if you just want to get your stuff and go.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:30 AM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
This is a must at Trader Joe's, since a certain portion of their clientele seems to be there purely for tourism purposes, judging from the number of people I see just walking around without an apparent shopping agenda. Combined with TJ's super-crunched floor plan, it makes shopping there after 10 AM super stressful if you just want to get your stuff and go.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:30 AM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's fun to think about what the world would be like if there were no peak times--if everything were uniformly temporally distributed. There would never be a good or bad time to commute to work, or go to the grocery store, or go to brunch. Every holiday would be observed by 1/365th of the population on any given day of the year--though maybe you could use a Hilbert curve when assigning holidays to preserve geographic holiday locality, so that your neighbors usually observed the same holidays at the same time. (Actually maybe everything could also be geographically uniformly distributed, as well as temporally. There would be no overcrowded cities, no trendy & crowded neighborhoods, etc.)
This reminds me of a sci fi short story from the 60s/70s (possibly one of these) about how the random activity of millions of people in future megalopolis one day just happened to align and resulted in an epic, semi-permanent traffic jam as they all tried to go to the same places.
posted by jjwiseman at 8:32 AM on January 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
This reminds me of a sci fi short story from the 60s/70s (possibly one of these) about how the random activity of millions of people in future megalopolis one day just happened to align and resulted in an epic, semi-permanent traffic jam as they all tried to go to the same places.
posted by jjwiseman at 8:32 AM on January 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
My time of day is the dark time
A couple of deals before dawn
When the street belongs to the cop
And the janitor with the mop
And the grocery clerks are all gone
When the smell of the rainwashed pavement
Comes up clean, and fresh, and cold
And the streetlamp light
Fills the gutter with gold
That's my time of day
My time of day
posted by eclectist at 8:32 AM on January 26, 2018 [14 favorites]
Interesting and useful for program planning. However, it doesn't help with my frustration that my YMCA (actually all Y's I've belonged to, which is about 5) schedules almost all the fitness classes during the workday and before noon on weekends. What about us FT workers?
Trying to do, like, lessons and classes and stuff with your kid is an attempt at forcible off-peaking and I do not approve. All kid-oriented things are like Wednesday at 11:00 AM. Woe betide the full-time working parent with a traditional schedule who wants to take their 3 year-old to story time at the library. NO STORY TIME FOR YOU, WORKER BEE. Now go home and think about how you have failed your children!
judging from the number of people I see just walking around without an apparent shopping agenda
omg who are these people?! I see them too! (I also shop at a cooperative natural foods market and used to work at the same place and the tourist issue is double there with the added component of families with 80 gazillion free-range woo-parented indigo children who simply cannot be told to step aside and let people through the aisle.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:36 AM on January 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
Trying to do, like, lessons and classes and stuff with your kid is an attempt at forcible off-peaking and I do not approve. All kid-oriented things are like Wednesday at 11:00 AM. Woe betide the full-time working parent with a traditional schedule who wants to take their 3 year-old to story time at the library. NO STORY TIME FOR YOU, WORKER BEE. Now go home and think about how you have failed your children!
judging from the number of people I see just walking around without an apparent shopping agenda
omg who are these people?! I see them too! (I also shop at a cooperative natural foods market and used to work at the same place and the tourist issue is double there with the added component of families with 80 gazillion free-range woo-parented indigo children who simply cannot be told to step aside and let people through the aisle.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:36 AM on January 26, 2018 [19 favorites]
All kid-oriented things are like Wednesday at 11:00 AM
Our library has occasional kid stuff on Sunday at 2pm, but I don't usually pay attention to it because it's not every Sunday and it's often for older kids. We went there one Sunday to find it full of Star Wars crafts. Which was great. But then the 501st walked in and my kid saw Darth Vader and cried (we were actually parked next to him: black car, red decals, license plate D VAD3R).
posted by uncleozzy at 8:47 AM on January 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Our library has occasional kid stuff on Sunday at 2pm, but I don't usually pay attention to it because it's not every Sunday and it's often for older kids. We went there one Sunday to find it full of Star Wars crafts. Which was great. But then the 501st walked in and my kid saw Darth Vader and cried (we were actually parked next to him: black car, red decals, license plate D VAD3R).
posted by uncleozzy at 8:47 AM on January 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
I've been working (12-hour day Mon-Sun) shifts for most of the past year and having some off-peak time is a total pleasure - I can use the gym when it's just me and mostly older people, I can get admin stuff done with a minimum of queuing, and I can avoid traffic. It's a total pleasure and makes some nightmare tasks really simple (banks and government offices, who are you serving?!), as well as just being good for a general social anxiety.
It does totally make me feel like I've drifted from society at some times, not least when it's hard to meet up with friends and family who work a normal-ish workweek. If you're doing it by choice because you're rich, or you're in an otherwise solid and permanent employment situation (like I'm lucky to be), you can cope with that, but that feeling isn't to be underestimated if it's poverty or other tough deals putting you on an off-peak schedule.
posted by carbide at 8:54 AM on January 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
It does totally make me feel like I've drifted from society at some times, not least when it's hard to meet up with friends and family who work a normal-ish workweek. If you're doing it by choice because you're rich, or you're in an otherwise solid and permanent employment situation (like I'm lucky to be), you can cope with that, but that feeling isn't to be underestimated if it's poverty or other tough deals putting you on an off-peak schedule.
posted by carbide at 8:54 AM on January 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Back when I worked retail, I relished my mandatory weekday off. I could get so much grocery shopping done, and hit a cool place with the kids without a thousand other people there. Now that I work M-F 8-5, I often force my family to get up and out when I take a random personal day, just to experience the freedom of that off-peak fun.
The cheapest disneyland pass is actually ideal for off-peakers like me because the days it will be packed with people (and I don't want to be there anyway) are blacked out.
posted by sleeping bear at 8:57 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
The cheapest disneyland pass is actually ideal for off-peakers like me because the days it will be packed with people (and I don't want to be there anyway) are blacked out.
posted by sleeping bear at 8:57 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I hate waiting in lines, I hate aimless crowds, I have historically worked somewhat long and unpredictable hours...it's really got nothing to do with seeking out like-minded people. One of the real advantages of NYC for me is that I can go to the gym at 9:30 pm and the Whole Foods at 10 (not in the same trip).
And, yeah, anyone who thinks this is the province of the privileged is cordially invited to visit my old grocery store at W. 145th St. and FDB at 2 am and see how much privilege is walking around vs. people whose lives are in such obvious chaos that they can't even manage not to take a baby to the grocery store at 2 am.
posted by praemunire at 9:03 AM on January 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
And, yeah, anyone who thinks this is the province of the privileged is cordially invited to visit my old grocery store at W. 145th St. and FDB at 2 am and see how much privilege is walking around vs. people whose lives are in such obvious chaos that they can't even manage not to take a baby to the grocery store at 2 am.
posted by praemunire at 9:03 AM on January 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
Just wanted to give a shout out to Google's Popular Times feature as a great way to visit places like restaurants at off-peak times. They sometimes even have live data that tells you how currently busy a place is. It feels almost like unlocking a secret or something when I visit somewhere that's less busy than it is at peak time.
posted by FJT at 9:13 AM on January 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by FJT at 9:13 AM on January 26, 2018 [11 favorites]
One of the real advantages of NYC for me is that I can go to the gym at 9:30 pm and the Whole Foods at 10 (not in the same trip).
Many suburban gyms and many grocery stores are open 24 hours a day, dependent upon local regulations and population of course. The gym at 2:00am is a weird place. The store at 2:00am is when they powerwash the floors with a thing that looks like a zamboni. It makes it super slippery, but they don't care because they know 2:00am'ers aren't the litigious type.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:13 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Many suburban gyms and many grocery stores are open 24 hours a day, dependent upon local regulations and population of course. The gym at 2:00am is a weird place. The store at 2:00am is when they powerwash the floors with a thing that looks like a zamboni. It makes it super slippery, but they don't care because they know 2:00am'ers aren't the litigious type.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:13 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
NO STORY TIME FOR YOU, WORKER BEE.
I sympathize with you and am pushing for more and later story times, but when we tried this (with advertising! for a month! with word of mouth! with personal invitations to parents and kids!) it simply did not work in our library. We get 0-3 children and it doesn't really work unless we can consistently get at least 5-7. We're a popular library with a lot of kids (the census has us as much higher than the rest of the area) and our traditional story times are well-attended (normal for us is 10-15 kids), so it's definitely an off-peak time slot for the majority of the toddler-preK set.
I think it's because most people get out of work at 5 or 6, then they have to get dinner together, then their toddler is in bed at 7:30-8:30, so riling them up with story time is not in the plan. I still think it could work if we had people showing up at that time, but we're dead after 7PM and the people who do come at that time are the big kids. We really do have a reason for everything we do and that reason is not punishing you for having a job.
posted by blnkfrnk at 9:27 AM on January 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
I sympathize with you and am pushing for more and later story times, but when we tried this (with advertising! for a month! with word of mouth! with personal invitations to parents and kids!) it simply did not work in our library. We get 0-3 children and it doesn't really work unless we can consistently get at least 5-7. We're a popular library with a lot of kids (the census has us as much higher than the rest of the area) and our traditional story times are well-attended (normal for us is 10-15 kids), so it's definitely an off-peak time slot for the majority of the toddler-preK set.
I think it's because most people get out of work at 5 or 6, then they have to get dinner together, then their toddler is in bed at 7:30-8:30, so riling them up with story time is not in the plan. I still think it could work if we had people showing up at that time, but we're dead after 7PM and the people who do come at that time are the big kids. We really do have a reason for everything we do and that reason is not punishing you for having a job.
posted by blnkfrnk at 9:27 AM on January 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
From the perspective of a museum programmer, I agree that evening hours for little kids are a non-starter, but weekends are where it's at. Weekday morning programs between 10-noon do well, as do early afternoons (1-3). After 3 things start to fall off, it becomes naptime/dinner prep time and kids tend to have more meltdowns in that time frame making it not fun to be out. It seems the demand for things to do on weekends is limitless, but the trick is that our dinosaurlike institutions still have not fully got that in their heads and still schedule the bulk of staff M-F, 9-5ish. It makes me nuts. On one hand, every conference bemoans that museum participation is declining, and yet no one seriously ever proposes having late openings more than once a month or once a week, or having more than low-level staff around on weekends to deliver programs and provide services. Imagine if every theater and concert hall decided they were going to present plays only between 9 AM and 5 PM every day.
Sure, I know some of the systemic reasons for this and as always, money's a big factor. But if we were serious about it we would solve it. Fundamental principle: host your things when people can come, and by "people" I don't mean only SAHMs, nannies, and retired people.
posted by Miko at 9:35 AM on January 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
Sure, I know some of the systemic reasons for this and as always, money's a big factor. But if we were serious about it we would solve it. Fundamental principle: host your things when people can come, and by "people" I don't mean only SAHMs, nannies, and retired people.
posted by Miko at 9:35 AM on January 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
My local library had a 7:00pm story time one day a week. It's attendance was highly variable, but on average I'd say 5-7 kids were there. More than that regularly was rare. My kids loved it until they got a bit too old and the library wound them down (last chance to expend some energy) rather than amped them up.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:42 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:42 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh man, that drives me nuts. I understand that people don't want to work 1:30-9:30, but surprise! If you're in an industry that requires people's leisure time to function (libraries, museums, zoos, stores, restaurants) and you want more people to come in...be open when the people want to come in.
posted by blnkfrnk at 9:43 AM on January 26, 2018
posted by blnkfrnk at 9:43 AM on January 26, 2018
I definitely prefer avoiding humanity in general but I like doing regular life stuff after midnight vs during the day but it's also bc there is a 50/50 chance that just seeing the sun will give me a migraine.
posted by poffin boffin at 9:47 AM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 9:47 AM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
I made my whole life about not having to be in crowds and lines. I'm not antisocial, but I can't handle masses of humanity very well. I like people well enough in small doses. My personal space is waaaay bigger than most other people's (I've been known to buy an aisle seat at the movie theater and the seat next to it when I can afford it). I chose a career that had me go to work usually starting around 5 PM, coming home around 2 AM. Believe me, the space and clarity at the grocery or the bank or the movie theater on the off hours is priceless. I do not ever travel on Holidays, and I wont eat out on weekends. Theme parks are my idea of hell on earth (the lines, the crowds, the traffic oh my!). Im feeling very disgruntled that this sweet lifestyle is now *a thing* with a name. So I guess I'm one of those awful people who wants to keep the peace all to myself. So hate me or whatever , but just dont sit next to me at the movie theater on a Wednesday morning when there are fifty other posdible seats open!
posted by WalkerWestridge at 10:04 AM on January 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by WalkerWestridge at 10:04 AM on January 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Back when I worked retail, I relished my mandatory weekday off.
I don't miss much about my retail/restaurant years, but that was nice, indeed.
posted by thelonius at 10:12 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I don't miss much about my retail/restaurant years, but that was nice, indeed.
posted by thelonius at 10:12 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
See, there's a problem though. Wanting to be free of crowds and having smaller scale experiences is great, wanting the same services as are available during the busiest times sort of goes against the very idea being discussed. Having more services available at all hours requires more people to work odd hours who may not want to and then need to find activities they can do on their free time which is now going to be "off peak" making it more unsatisfying for them and for those of us who don't want to deal with people looking for higher energy action and excitement.
It's certainly true that some businesses or services would do well to be open outside normal business hours, and many are, I can sympathize with those who are forced to keep hours they don't like, but there are a lot of restaurants, stores, and libraries that see a lot of activity during "business hours" from either people on lunch breaks or from those retired people and others who aren't able to afford more expensive activities but like keeping a conventional schedule.
There seems to be some idea that people can have it both ways, the activities and services of the busiest times, but without having to deal with the same demand during busier hours as if there isn't a causal relationship involved. The goal does seem to be that people want others to spread out their time more to make things easier when they choose to engage with their activities whenever that may be, which would be great for them, but not so ideal for many of those other people who would then have to move their schedules around or suffer with not being able to find quiet hours any more since it'd be constant activity at all times. Luckily most people seem to want to be around others more than anything else, so no matter how things were rearranged to start, people would again start to bunch up their activities at the same times as others purely for the normalization that convention brings.
posted by gusottertrout at 10:13 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's certainly true that some businesses or services would do well to be open outside normal business hours, and many are, I can sympathize with those who are forced to keep hours they don't like, but there are a lot of restaurants, stores, and libraries that see a lot of activity during "business hours" from either people on lunch breaks or from those retired people and others who aren't able to afford more expensive activities but like keeping a conventional schedule.
There seems to be some idea that people can have it both ways, the activities and services of the busiest times, but without having to deal with the same demand during busier hours as if there isn't a causal relationship involved. The goal does seem to be that people want others to spread out their time more to make things easier when they choose to engage with their activities whenever that may be, which would be great for them, but not so ideal for many of those other people who would then have to move their schedules around or suffer with not being able to find quiet hours any more since it'd be constant activity at all times. Luckily most people seem to want to be around others more than anything else, so no matter how things were rearranged to start, people would again start to bunch up their activities at the same times as others purely for the normalization that convention brings.
posted by gusottertrout at 10:13 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I did this for most of the last 20 or so years, but I called it "can only find part-time work" or occasionally "unemployment".
posted by skewed at 10:26 AM on January 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by skewed at 10:26 AM on January 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
When my kids were younger, my favorite time of year was September. Here in Michigan, we often get our best weather of the year in the early autumn--blue skies, cool days, just perfect being-outside weather. We were homeschooling, and during that time of year our homeschool group would often be the only people at a park on our weekly Park Day.
I once took my kids with me to visit a friend in North Carolina, in February. We stopped on the way at the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio, a really wonderful science museum, one of the best we've been to (and we've been to plenty). It was a Wednesday or Thursday, and there was hardly anyone visiting the museum, but for some reason it was fully staffed, complete with volunteers at little carts doing interesting experiments in the hallways. It was an accidental off-peak experience, but a really perfect day.
I do think it's interesting that there are people naming this and turning it into a lifestyle thing. It can be handy to avoid the worst of the crowds--I learned from life with my dad that showing up the minute an amusement park or busy event opens can get you a good couple of hours before the crowds get bad.
posted by Orlop at 10:39 AM on January 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
I once took my kids with me to visit a friend in North Carolina, in February. We stopped on the way at the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio, a really wonderful science museum, one of the best we've been to (and we've been to plenty). It was a Wednesday or Thursday, and there was hardly anyone visiting the museum, but for some reason it was fully staffed, complete with volunteers at little carts doing interesting experiments in the hallways. It was an accidental off-peak experience, but a really perfect day.
I do think it's interesting that there are people naming this and turning it into a lifestyle thing. It can be handy to avoid the worst of the crowds--I learned from life with my dad that showing up the minute an amusement park or busy event opens can get you a good couple of hours before the crowds get bad.
posted by Orlop at 10:39 AM on January 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
That said, I think this essay was more worthwhile than a mere lifestyle piece.
posted by Orlop at 10:41 AM on January 26, 2018
posted by Orlop at 10:41 AM on January 26, 2018
This made me think of the 1947 Robert M. Coates short story, The Law, in which the law of averages is suddenly broken and the city is thrown into strange chaos.
The lady starting downtown for a day of shopping, for example, could never be sure whether
she would find Macy’s department store a seething mob of other shoppers or a wilderness of empty,
echoing aisles and unoccupied salesgirls. And the uncertainty produced a strange sort of jitteriness in
the individual when faced with any impulse to action. "Shall we do it or shan’t we?" people kept asking
themselves, knowing that if they did it, it might turn out that thousands of other individuals had
decided similarly; knowing, too, that if they didn’t, they might miss the one glorious chance of all
chances to have Jones Beach, say, practically to themselves. Business languished, and a sort of
desperate uncertainty rode everyone. (PDF)
posted by redsparkler at 11:32 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
The lady starting downtown for a day of shopping, for example, could never be sure whether
she would find Macy’s department store a seething mob of other shoppers or a wilderness of empty,
echoing aisles and unoccupied salesgirls. And the uncertainty produced a strange sort of jitteriness in
the individual when faced with any impulse to action. "Shall we do it or shan’t we?" people kept asking
themselves, knowing that if they did it, it might turn out that thousands of other individuals had
decided similarly; knowing, too, that if they didn’t, they might miss the one glorious chance of all
chances to have Jones Beach, say, practically to themselves. Business languished, and a sort of
desperate uncertainty rode everyone. (PDF)
posted by redsparkler at 11:32 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Also, as someone who genuinely does want to avoid all people and do a lot of things in a purely solitary manner, I get frustrated that the fewer people in the shops at odd hours are more chatty.
That's why I have headphones in my ears listening to podcasts when I do my 1am grocery shopping. But I suppose that might only work for dudes.
posted by straight at 11:51 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
That's why I have headphones in my ears listening to podcasts when I do my 1am grocery shopping. But I suppose that might only work for dudes.
posted by straight at 11:51 AM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I was more talking about weekend stuff with kids rather than evening stuff. The only people I know whose kids stay up late are stay-at-home parents or parents who work nonstandard schedules who don't need to wake up at any particular time. (Both my neighbors are in these categories and I hear their kids outside playing at like 9 at night, which is bonkers to me because we have to all get up at 6 AM to get out of the house on time.) It's always a race to the finish line between work ending and bedtime so weekday nights are non-optimal.
But! Weekends! More things on weekends! The Science Center has a cool makerspace FabLab that, as far as I can tell, is not open on the weekends in any capacity (they seem to do all their classes at night starting at 5:30, like come on guys, most people who work until 5:00 can't get anywhere meaningful by 5:30, let alone collect their kid from wherever they are). I think a lot of museum programming is oriented towards school field trips but it strikes me that there's got to be a better way of scheduling that than fully staffing the facility 9-5 every single weekday to the detriment of weekend staffing.
Our libraries have greatly improved their weekend offerings since when my son was littler, so that's a plus.
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:15 PM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
But! Weekends! More things on weekends! The Science Center has a cool makerspace FabLab that, as far as I can tell, is not open on the weekends in any capacity (they seem to do all their classes at night starting at 5:30, like come on guys, most people who work until 5:00 can't get anywhere meaningful by 5:30, let alone collect their kid from wherever they are). I think a lot of museum programming is oriented towards school field trips but it strikes me that there's got to be a better way of scheduling that than fully staffing the facility 9-5 every single weekday to the detriment of weekend staffing.
Our libraries have greatly improved their weekend offerings since when my son was littler, so that's a plus.
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:15 PM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
soren_lorenson: free-range woo-parented indigo children
stealing.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 12:25 PM on January 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
stealing.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 12:25 PM on January 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yeah, I know when everything opens on the weekend (Trader Joe's at 8, or 9 for the other location, Costco not until 10) and always go at opening. Crowds at stores make me super anxious.
Me too. It's not so much that crowds make me anxious, but that I feel frustrated by the knowledge that I could have avoided this if only I had gone shopping earlier. Whole Foods at 7:30 or 8:00 is fine; the same store four hours later is a crowded mess.
Off peak is no joke.
posted by theorique at 12:27 PM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Me too. It's not so much that crowds make me anxious, but that I feel frustrated by the knowledge that I could have avoided this if only I had gone shopping earlier. Whole Foods at 7:30 or 8:00 is fine; the same store four hours later is a crowded mess.
Off peak is no joke.
posted by theorique at 12:27 PM on January 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Miko: "Interesting and useful for program planning. However, it doesn't help with my frustration that my YMCA (actually all Y's I've belonged to, which is about 5) schedules almost all the fitness classes during the workday and before noon on weekends. What about us FT workers?"
Thing is (at least at my Y) the facilities are fully subscribed during the pre and post work hours. The classes have to wedge in when facilities are available which pretty much by definition is going to be non peak hours.
posted by Mitheral at 1:07 PM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Thing is (at least at my Y) the facilities are fully subscribed during the pre and post work hours. The classes have to wedge in when facilities are available which pretty much by definition is going to be non peak hours.
posted by Mitheral at 1:07 PM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Huh. Who knew having Sundays and Mondays off had a fancy-pants "lifestyle trend" name? I've just been calling it my "work schedule".
posted by MissySedai at 2:21 PM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by MissySedai at 2:21 PM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I find it interesting that this is apparently a "thing" people are promoting: to me, it's been a strategy to employ with certain tasks and activities. Either because I hate doing them (e.g., the groceries), so being off-peak means less time with a chore I dislike, or because I want to maximize the quality time spent on a pleasurable activity.
The later example is the one I usually try for; for example, when I take the kids to the wave pool for swimming. I prefer that the pool not be wall to wall flesh. I learned that being there early Sunday mornings was usually good for that; I learned it was even better on the mornings of major holidays; I learned that it was the quietest on Mother's Day morning (making my mother's day gift to my wife the fact that I would disappear with the kids for a couple of hours)(now that the kids are older and more prone to sleeping in, this knowledge is less important to me - so I share it with you, dear reader, in case it might prove valuable to you somehow, somewhen. My other secrets I keep to myself.)
But it's never been a "lifestyle"; just trying to look for the possibilities of undertaking a task or something fun at a time when having less people around improves the experience. It is not always desirable, it is not always possible.
posted by nubs at 3:20 PM on January 26, 2018
The later example is the one I usually try for; for example, when I take the kids to the wave pool for swimming. I prefer that the pool not be wall to wall flesh. I learned that being there early Sunday mornings was usually good for that; I learned it was even better on the mornings of major holidays; I learned that it was the quietest on Mother's Day morning (making my mother's day gift to my wife the fact that I would disappear with the kids for a couple of hours)(now that the kids are older and more prone to sleeping in, this knowledge is less important to me - so I share it with you, dear reader, in case it might prove valuable to you somehow, somewhen. My other secrets I keep to myself.)
But it's never been a "lifestyle"; just trying to look for the possibilities of undertaking a task or something fun at a time when having less people around improves the experience. It is not always desirable, it is not always possible.
posted by nubs at 3:20 PM on January 26, 2018
Thing is (at least at my Y) the facilities are fully subscribed during the pre and post work hours. The classes have to wedge in when facilities are available which pretty much by definition is going to be non peak hours.
Interesting - this hasn't been the case where I am. We have 2 big fitness rooms that are totally empty when not in use. Roughly similar in my last Y.
posted by Miko at 3:31 PM on January 26, 2018
Interesting - this hasn't been the case where I am. We have 2 big fitness rooms that are totally empty when not in use. Roughly similar in my last Y.
posted by Miko at 3:31 PM on January 26, 2018
A lover and I once discussed how people mistake serendipitous similarities for deep connections. I mentioned a couple who had met after discovering they shared a birthday. It's not a substantial connection, I said, just the illusion of one. It didn't it matter if they were born on the same day or six months apart. I was very dismissive.
The next day we realized were born on the exact same day.
posted by pomomo at 4:39 PM on January 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
The next day we realized were born on the exact same day.
posted by pomomo at 4:39 PM on January 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
I get frustrated that the fewer people in the shops at odd hours are more chatty. Leave me alone! If I wanted to deal with people I wouldn't be here at nine in the morning or whatever!
omg that might be me. I mean, I do think I can tell when someone prefers to be left alone. No eye contact, for one thing. Anyway, so sorry. I will be more careful.
posted by Glinn at 7:37 PM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
omg that might be me. I mean, I do think I can tell when someone prefers to be left alone. No eye contact, for one thing. Anyway, so sorry. I will be more careful.
posted by Glinn at 7:37 PM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I like going places off-peak, but like anything else, it can get obsessive and controlling. Like, I start feeling like I'm losing my autonomy, letting everyone else in the world determine when I can do things. I was sitting one day with a list of things I wanted to see in Japan, but Golden Week was coming up. I was just going to stay home and put a bunch of those things on the "someday" list. That's when it's gone too far. Off-peak is nice when you have the choice, all other things being equal.
posted by ctmf at 12:13 PM on January 28, 2018
posted by ctmf at 12:13 PM on January 28, 2018
like anything else, it can get obsessive and controlling.
Yes, and it can also work negatively the other way when there are aberrations or changes to the schedule: "What are all these people doing here during MY special time?"
posted by Miko at 5:12 PM on January 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yes, and it can also work negatively the other way when there are aberrations or changes to the schedule: "What are all these people doing here during MY special time?"
posted by Miko at 5:12 PM on January 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've slipped into an off peak existence and it probably needs to end unless I want to radically redefine my professional goals, and maybe even my family goals. but it's enjoyable and easier enough that I'm actually considering it.
Of course the lack of competing professional opportunities is probably coloring my perception.
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:44 PM on January 29, 2018
Of course the lack of competing professional opportunities is probably coloring my perception.
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:44 PM on January 29, 2018
I find it interesting that this is apparently a "thing" people are promoting: to me, it's been a strategy to employ with certain tasks and activities. Either because I hate doing them (e.g., the groceries), so being off-peak means less time with a chore I dislike, or because I want to maximize the quality time spent on a pleasurable activity.
I feel very similarly. For me, it can actually flip a dreaded chore to one that I find pleasurable.
"Grocery shopping at 6pm on a Wednesday" - I'll defer it unless there's an absolutely essential ingredient I need.
"Grocery shopping at 1pm on a Wednesday" - actually fun.
posted by theorique at 7:09 AM on January 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
I feel very similarly. For me, it can actually flip a dreaded chore to one that I find pleasurable.
"Grocery shopping at 6pm on a Wednesday" - I'll defer it unless there's an absolutely essential ingredient I need.
"Grocery shopping at 1pm on a Wednesday" - actually fun.
posted by theorique at 7:09 AM on January 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
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(Also, as someone who genuinely does want to avoid all people and do a lot of things in a purely solitary manner, I get frustrated that the fewer people in the shops at odd hours are more chatty. Leave me alone! If I wanted to deal with people I wouldn't be here at nine in the morning or whatever!)
posted by Dysk at 6:48 AM on January 26, 2018 [16 favorites]