Zoo and grocery shopping with my kids
195 karma · joined May 6, 2021
Not only did we have a gas stove that was probably spiking NO2 levels when we actually used it; we also seemed to have a gas leak. It was not a big one, just a faint smell, but it was hard to pin down. A plumber concluded the connection between the range and the pipe wasn't the problem. No specific part of the range smelled stronger than the rest of it. For all we knew, it might be a hole in a pipe. So we wanted to make gas stop flowing through our unit (a condo within a three-family home, very normal here in Cambridge, Massachusetts) altogether.
We contacted an appliance company about switching to induction. To prepare, they told us, we would first need to upgrade the range power outlet to 40 amps, and cap off the gas pipe behind the range.
The electrical work cost $1800. It could have been much more; we were lucky our circuit breaker was positioned such that they only needed to make two openings in our walls. (They suggested we put little hatch doors in those spots to make future work easier.)
We asked our plumber to not only cap off the gas pipe behind the range, but also put in a valve in the basement, such that gas flow could be shut off to our unit, but also easily turned back on if a future owner wants to reverse what we did. We did this rather than turn off our gas altogether, because we have a gas water heater and still needed gas available there. The plumbing work cost about $300 I think.
To make cooking stay as close as possible to being how great and fast it is with gas, we chose a range with an induction stove: The LG LSE4616ST, which cost $3000.
We were lucky to be able to afford this change for our health. Of course, it would have cost a lot less if we hadn't cared about induction, but still multiple thousands of dollars.
We should be subsidizing conversions like this.
You've written your question for people who you say err more toward caution than you imply that you do, saying that it is out of genuine curiosity, rather than out of contempt. I hope that's true. I'm sure there must be some especially introverted people who prefer the world the way it is with the most cautionary measures of 2020 in place, but I think most people who support these cautionary measures also dislike them.
Where does that leave us? You are allowed to resent the world, and the people who have imposed all of these measures, for harming you in the way that they have. We are all allowed to feel any feelings about anything, including people who have lost loved ones to covid and resent the non-mask-wearers for it. I don't know how to explain the difference between your feelings and many other people's feelings on covid restrictions. For my own part, they have felt difficult, but not unjust.
Hang in there. Exercise, even just a very little bit, if you are not already. It helps so much with everything, including perspective. Once the vaccines become approved for toddlers and hopefully older babies, I'm hopeful that restrictions will really start to ease.
Hope I haven't made you feel selfish or talked down to. That's not how I think of you based on your post.
If you don't like them so much, or even if you do, try other clubs, IM sports, join a chorus or band or orchestra, a cappella group, etc. These things have built in socializing and often produce lifelong friendships.
Biggest thing I can say is that if you aren't already getting invited to stuff, invite people to your own stuff. Other people are probably having the same socializing trouble, so you can go ahead and fix it for everyone.