February - You Were The Best

February seems like a lifetime ago, but I keep remember how wonderful and happy it was. February 2020 was SO. FETCH. and I’m so grateful that I had so much quality time with family and friends before this pandemic started.

It seems like a good way to spend a very rainy, VERY windy day - looking back on a month filled with all of my favorite things. A moment in time when I was in NYC, happy and healthy and full of appreciation for all the incredible things I get to do in this life! I don’t care how cheesy it sounds.

2 Hockey Games!

The 3rd Annual Brunch & Barclays! Making all my favorites wear Islanders swag, getting good and tipsy, and going to a hockey game! It’s always one of my favorite days. This year, we started with brunch at Miti Miti, a Mexican spot in Brooklyn. The bottomless brunch was a good deal, though the food itself was pretty pricey. But they had a ton of vegan options, which was a definite bonus!

The game coincided for the second year in a row with referee appreciate night - something that I definitely think we should participate in next time!

The Islanders scored with about :25 left in regulation to bring the game to overtime and I was overjoyed…for a few minutes. Until we lost just a minute into OT. C’est la vie.

I got to go to a second Islanders game just a few days later when work gave out free tickets. This time, we got the W! I’ll definitely miss how easy it is to get to a game at Barclays if the team doesn’t play there next season.

My third Islanders game of the season was technically in March, but pre-quarantine. The annual trip with my parents and Allison and her family to the Coliseum! We were able to pre-game in the hotel and even had a cute little balcony overlooking an empty pool! There was a lot of hand washing but it was still such a fun day - we even did dinner together afterwards before heading back to NYC.

Family Time!

My mom, dad, sister, aunt, uncle, grandma and grandpa were all in the city in February! This is a BIG DEAL.

My sister joined me for brunch and the Islanders game and my parents drove in to give me my Christmas gifts that I wasn’t able to travel with after the holidays.

Then, my aunt and uncle drove my grandparents in over President’s Day Weekend and I met up with them and my cousin for a great dinner with lots of red wine.

Being able to see everyone I love without leaving the city was a very big treat.

Apartment Upgrades

I really wanted to challenge myself to use the time I’ve been home to organize and “purge” in my apartment. I did a ton of purging in my kitchen, a decent job at purging my drawers and closets, my bathroom is in really good shape - but there are definitely a few more things on my to-do list.

That being said, my apartment is feeling comfy and cozy.

I bought myself some plants on Amazon that I’ve managed to keep alive (for now).

I have a new comforter and pillows and my bed feels luxurious.

My Tupperware drawer is a DREAM when I open it.

This new fruit basket makes me smile and I feel super organized with my “swim” “bike” and “run” bins set up under my bench!

Nothing sparked joy more than steam mopping my floors!

Vegan

For the month of February I experimented with veganism. I’ve been wanting to start eating a more plant-based diet for awhile not, mainly because of the environmental benefits.

I had meant to read Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Eating Animals” during my vegan February and if I had, I probably wouldn’t have eaten a turkey sandwich on March 1.

Though I’m not longer eating vegan, I definitely have a new-found appreciation for lentils, beans, tempeh and tofu.

For three weeks I ordered meals from Territory Foods which made it super simple - I didn’t have to think about cooking or eating vegan I just had to pop a meal in the microwave. And the meals were SO good. I was worried it would just be all tofu, but there was a ton of variety from week to week. I liked the meals 100X more than Kettlebell Kitchen’s.

Some of my favorites were

• Spicy Baked Tofu with Cabbage and Brown Rice

• Ethiopian Style Lentils & Braised Collards

• Golden Noodles with Coconut Grilled Tofu & Veggies

• Smoky Maple Tempeh with Sweet Potato Corn Hash & Swiss Chard

• Roasted Tofu with Persimmon Chutney, Brussels Sprouts & Butternut Mash

• Bok Choy, Carrot, Mushroom & Tofu Stir-fry

Plus, they deliver right to my gym and I found the cost super affordable. They also offer vegetarian options, keto, paleo - basically they’ll cater to any diet. (You can use the code PBBF at Territory Foods for $25 off your first two weeks!)

It felt a little bit like cheating though, so I did cook myself my own meals too. Some of the recipes I used were -

1. Ginger & Coconut Split Pea Soup from Food52

2. Turkish Lentil Soup from Gimme Some Oven

3. Cashew Tofu from Gimme Some Oven

And then my own concoction of white beans, kale and soy chorizo.

I realized that I already cook a lot of vegan dishes anyway. The biggest thing was not being able to add an egg on top of a grains and veggie bowl or chicken to my stir fry.

Eating out was definitely harder, especially when my parents came into the city. We ended up eating at a Georgian restaurant! Oda House on the Upper East side actually had a ton of vegan options (though communicating with my waiter was a little challenging at times).

My favorite part of the meal was a tie between the lobiani (mashed pinto beans baked inside yeast dough) and the khinkali (the Georgian equivalent to pierogies). I would love to go back and try more dishes here.

I had high hopes that being vegan would curb my sweet tooth - instead, I just ate boxes of Oreos and Thin Mints (both vegan!) and pints of Van Leeuwen’s ice cream (the chocolate oat milk cookie dough chunk was my favorite of the three pints sampled in February).

All month I thought I was going to stick with it beyond February - and then I ate a turkey sandwich and haven’t looked back. We’ll see. I’m definitely still going to read that book!

Writing Class

I was finally able to sign myself up for a writing class, the Creative Nonfiction 101 at Gotham City Writers. It was a great value - 6 weeks of classes, 18 hours of instruction and we learned about writing op ed pieces, memoirs, travel writing, reviews and features.

Despite ending on Monday nights at 10 PM, I remained motivated to show up. It was a small, interactive class with a professor who reminded me of our Eurotrip tour guide. I didn’t learn any life-altering writing tips, but it was a good way to get me writing every week for the homework assignments.

It was also interesting to see what I ended up writing about for each assignment. For the memoir, I wrote about how grateful I was to have the experience of growing up with a best friend who was Muslim. For my profile piece, I wrote about Jenny Donnelly and how the running community has led to a increase in fast female runners competing at this years Olympic Marathon Trials. For my review, I wrote about Becco, one of my favorite New York City restaurants. For my op ed, I wrote about why US airports are so much more miserable than airports in other parts of the world. And for my travel piece, I wrote this listicle!

Our last class was unfortunately conducted on Zoom once I was already back on Long Island - but I’m glad it still happened.

2 Piano Bars

Brandy’s

I finally got my parents to Brandy’s After a short wait outside on the sidewalk, we entered the small, cramped piano bar on the Upper East Side that serves me tequila cosmos and sings the perfect blend of Billy Joel, showtunes and Jimmy Buffet (when I request it).

As usual, the time flew by and we spent a happy few hours here singing along to song after song.

Marie’s Crisis

I spent Valentine’s Day with two of my lifelong friends singing showtunes in a West Village basement and it couldn’t have been more perfect. We spent something like 4 hours at Marie’s on a Friday night and I’m very thankful that Lana and Allison put up with my constant “just one more song…”

Highlight? A medley of Ragtime songs <333

Brandon James Gwinn was the pianist and I highly recommend finding out his schedule so that you’re guaranteed to see him! You not only get showtunes, you get a comedy show.

2 Musicals

Luckily, I had a good amount of live musical theater in February before Broadway theaters went dark. The theater community has been especially hard-hit with the coronavirus - we’ve already lost legend Terrence McNally and many more theater stars have been fighting the virus including Aaron Tveit and Nick Cordero.

Meanwhile, the Dear Evan Hansen performance on James Cordon’s #HomeFest and the Hamilton casts reunion on John Krasinski’s “Some Good News” have brought moments of joy to many while simultaneously helping with fundraising efforts to help the shuttered theater industry.

Little Shop of Horrors

Allison and I first went to see Little Shop of Horrors because once I read the New York Time’s article about Gideon Glick’s portrayal of Seymour - I knew I needed to go! Gideon has been one of my favorites since I saw him in the original cast of Spring Awakening and last year I got to see him as Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Though Little Shop is one of the most kitschy shows I’ve ever seen, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Jagged Little Pill

In January, I saw Alanis Morisette live at a work event and it was an exhilarating thing - standing at the very front of the stage, suddenly realizing that I still knew almost every word to the entire Jagged Little Pill album. When she broke out the harmonica, I went wild.

I knew I had to buy tickets to see Jagged Little Pill when I got home! Though the show took on a lot of hot button topics, I enjoyed the singing and obviously already knew I loved the songs. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see Lauren Patten who supposedly brings the house down during You Oughta Know, but Ezra Menas as an understudy was also amazing!

2 Concerts

DERMOT KENNEDY DERMOT KENNEDY DERMOT KENNEDY! If you haven’t yet listened to this man’s voice - stop reading right now and GO LISTEN.

I can’t remember the last time I was so obsessed with someone’s music.

And in February I got to see him in concert TWICE.

The first time was a super intimate acoustic concert thanks to one of my friends getting me on the list and I am eternally grateful It was amazing being so close in such a small room.

The second time was at Radio City and it was totally different with the full band and a huge crowd. But both concerts were incredible and made me feel more in love with Dermot.

He’s been going live a lot during this quarantine and it’s wonderful

Skiing

Allison and I took an amazing ski trip with OvRride and I highly highly recommend them. I definitely plan on taking a trip again next year, and hopefully more than one!

We got picked up right on the upper east side, had no problem getting a seat, and were given bagels and water as we drove to Windham Mountain. The cost included bus transportation there and back, bagels, water, granola bars, beers on the ride home, a lift ticket and rentals.

We had a solid day of skiing and I felt much better than I did last year when I put skis on for the first time in 12 years. It was a beautiful day - we were even warm at times.

And back to my apartment by 8 PM after bus brews! Such a great day.

Trail Running

I had some awesome trail runs in February - it’s definitely my new favorite way to spend a Saturday or Sunday, though I sometimes still feel like a baby deer with wobbly legs and twisted ankles. Especially on the downhill!

I headed to Prospect Park for another trail run with Trail Women BK on a gorgeous day and Abby and I ran almost 8 miles on a trail in Connecticut during a weekend trip!

In Central Park, I stuck to the trails as opposed to the road as much as I could.

A Quick Trip

In February I even got to take a quick weekend trip out of NYC to a friends family house in Connecticut. We all were questioning whether it was worth the effort of renting a car for just a quick weekend trip but by the end of the weekend we all agreed that even for 48 hours it was BEYOND worth it.

We played board games, cooked in a giant kitchen, went for a trail run/hike, went to a cute little town for fresh baked bread and ice cream and on our way home went to Beacon to a farmer’s market and to walk through the cute town.

I think it left us all feeling rejuvenated!

2 Breweries

Strong Rope Brewery

We stopped by this brewery in Brooklyn after the Islanders game and played cards - it was great and I cant wait to be this close to all my favorite people again, drinking beer!

Housatonic River Brewing

I was thrilled to find a brewery near the house we stayed at in Connecticut - what is better on an unseasonably warm afternoon after a trail run than some flights outside?! Nothing.

I miss you February, you were really wonderful and I’m grateful for the memories!

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Coronacation: Days 9 & 10

DAY 9: MONDAY

THE WORKOUT

I combined a bunch of body weight exercises to create my own F45-style class.

:20 On / :10 Off x4

• Moving Jumping Jacks (5 Forward, 5 Backward)

• Wide Mountain Climbers

• Lateral Shoot Thrus

• Squat Stomps

• Side Plank Hip Dips

• Reverse Burpees

• Crab Toe Touches

• Drop Squats

• Low Hold Alternating Step Back Lunges

• 10 Heel Taps, 4 Speed Skaters

• A Steps

• 5 Bicycles to 5 Jackknifes

Repeat 2X Through!

It was a 48 minute workout and I was definitely feeling it! The hardest for me were the wide mountain climbers. Couldn’t make it :20 through.

EATS

Breakfast of oatmeal - the biggest excitement here is that I put maple almond butter in it.

Lunch - a salad of random things including grape leaves, chickpeas, cucumber, etc.

A stress-fueled midday Irish Soda Bread binge

Leftover shrimp tacos

STAYING SOCIAL

It was so nice getting together with my college roommates via Zoom! We got a good laugh at Nicole’s “Easter ham” and while all conversations nowadays come around to coronavirus, this chat had more laughs than outrage which left me in a good mood.

WIN OF THE DAY

Caught up on 2 or 3 podcasts!

FAIL OF THE DAY

Pay cuts are officially hitting as of April 15 pay checks which wasn’t great news to receive, and resulted in me eating a lot of Irish Soda Bread.

WHAT MADE ME SMILE

Friends that are using their sewing skills to make face masks for healthcare workers!

DAY 10: TUESDAY

THE WORKOUT

Started the day with half of Bertha’s yoga class that she’s offering to her coworkers on Zoom. She’s such a great yoga instructor! Loved it and was sad to log-off at 9 AM but I also wanted to tune in to Jon Chaimberg’s leg day - I’m not walking properly the next day so, safe to say it was an effective class!

EATS

Pre-workout Lara bar followed by breakfast of yogurt with some Cheerios

Afternoon snack of white cheddar Boom Chica Pop

Lunch of celery stuffed with tuna salad and some baby carrots/hummus (+ potato chippers)

Dinner was some chicken strips with potatoes, carrots and red cabbage

Dessert was some raspberry almond dark chocolate bark and a scoop of mint Talenti with a glass of wine (after swearing I wasn’t drinking until Friday night…lasted two days, oops).

STAYING SOCIAL

After work, I laced up my sneakers, put on a podcast, and ran to my grandparents house.

When I got to their backyard, my sister was there and we had each been poured a plastic cup of wine + a chocolate.

We stayed over an hour chatting and drinking, and my tipsy mile run home was not my fastest to say the least!

WIN OF THE DAY

I wrote some cards for my friends, snail mail will hopefully make someone smile :)

FAILS OF THE DAY

I got really sad about a pair of jeans that I didn’t bring home with me that I felt like wearing. It was weird - mental sanity is slipping!

THINGS THAT MADE ME SMILE

The phrases “hump ass” and “huyah huyah.”

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Coronacation: Days 6, 7 & 8

DAY 6: FRIDAY

THE WORKOUT

I used small exercise bands to do a full body workout that was awesome. I put together arm, leg and abs exercises from different Instagram accounts.

Afterwards, I did the boxing portion of a Box + Flow livestream and had SO MUCH FUN. My parents were out to pick up their taxes and I used it as an opportunity to jump around and dance and sing the songs at the top of my lungs and it was a really fun 20 minutes. I’ll definitely be trying to tune in to some of their other classes.

EATS

Oatmeal & Coffee for breakfast now that we are re-stocked on bananas.

Split Pea Soup & the final slice of multigrain toast (cue the tears).

Echinacea tea in panda mugs & a Sumo orange to get that Vitamin C while watching Gossip Girl

Looking real real cute during quarantine.

Takeout from one of our favorite local restaurants - a thin crust pizza with prosciutto, roasted red peppers and mozzarella and a salad with pine nuts, beets and goat cheese.

Dessert was my now-standard piece of Entenmann’s chocolate donut + mint Talenti ice cream

STAYING SOCIAL

My sister met my mom and I for a walk at a local park and we shared a good laugh at our quarantine nicknames - created by combining your mood with the last thing you ate:

Despondent Cottage Cheese

Hopeful Chicken Noodle Soup

Stressed Split Pea Soup

Also got a good laugh at my sisters outfit which we determined made it look like she was out for a walk around the rehab facility in her matching purple jumpsuit.

WIN OF THE DAY

Made progress on my book - I’m at the point where I just want to finish it so I can start something new. It’s good, but I’m not enraptured by it.

FAILS OF THE DAY

I’m starting to feel angry all the time. Every time I log on to Facebook or turn on the TV or read a new article and see people posting stupid memes about how hard it is for them to stay in their houses. I’m trying hard to educate people instead of just hate them when i see that they went out and bought N95 masks that should be used by a healthcare worker.

I’m so, so scared for my mom, who never lets her emotions get the best of her but cried at breakfast this morning. She feels that her and her coworkers are not being protected and that it’s only a matter of time before she gets sick. N95 masks are recommended to be used for 8 hours max, but they’ve been given one that is going to have to last them “the duration” of this pandemic.

We think it’s hard to wake up on a Monday morning and go to the office to do our desk jobs? I cannot imagine the pit in my mom’s stomach when she wakes up knowing what she is about to face at work these days. And it makes me sick that people just don’t seem to care. I don’t remember the last time I felt so angry and helpless.

WHAT MADE ME SMILE

Friday night, my mom and I were supposed to be in the city seeing West Side Story on Broadway. Yet another plan ruined by COVID-19, but luckily, the Broadway community managed to save the night.

When I learned that Marie’s Crisis, the classic West Village showtunes piano bar, was streaming live from their Facebook page, I informed my family that we would be tuning in. I forced them to listen to 2+ hours of showtunes by my favorite Brandon James Gwinn.

Highly recommend joining Marie’s Group so you can watch. Every night of the quarantine, you can enjoy showtunes from 4 PM - 9 PM so really, there is no reason to complain about being stuck at home. Just make sure you Venmo some tips to the musicians!

DAY 7: SATURDAY

THE WORKOUT

Jon Chaimberg’s workouts continue to kick my ass in the best way! I took another at 9 AM on Saturday morning.

If I’m ever in Montreal, I will definitely be heading to his gym to take a class.

THE EATS

Oatmeal, obv.

Lunch was toast with veggie cream cheese & lox

Dinner was my brain child and it was amazing if I do say so myself! My dad executed perfectly to make shrimp tacos complete with avocado, cabbage slaw and the best part - homemade pickled red onions! Fresh cilantro and a spritz of lime and my taste buds were in heaven.

The only problem was that the grocery store was out of corn tortillas and we had to eat flour tortillas - I am TEAM CORN TORTILLA all the way. I survived though, and it was such a good meal. Made even better with one of my dad’s world class margaritas!

WIN OF THE DAY

My knee has been bothering me, and while I knew it wasn’t 100%, I had reached the point of mentally needing a run despite what my legs were saying. Smart? No. But do I regret the 5.5 miles I ran on Saturday? Not for a second, even if I’m limping a little the next day.

I felt like I could fully breathe for the first time in a week. I felt like myself and for a little while everything didn’t feel so doom and gloom.

I also cleaned out some of the drawers in my room - lots of Limited Too camisoles still floating around in there.

FAILS OF THE DAY

Having to use Clorox wipes to clean off everything that came back from the grocery store was just another “YIKES, what is happening” moment.

STAYING SOCIAL

Allison joined me for our jaunt through the forest and while we stayed a very good distance apart, it was good to have someone out there to take self-timer pictures with because did you go for a trail run if you don’t take a jumping picture by the random pond?

THINGS THAT MADE ME SMILE

I’m still loving my re-watching of Gossip Girl. With Chuck and Dan on my TV screen, I am happy.

It’s VERY hard for my mom, dad and I to agree on something to watch, but Saturday night we all got very into the new Netflix movie Lost Girls which retells the story of the Gilgo Beach murders on Long Island. It’s a news story we’ve talked about for a long time since my mom used to work with one of the main suspects. Watch it and let me know who you think did it!

DAY 8: SUNDAY

THE WORKOUT

Sunday was rest day after 6 days of solid at home workouts. I did a yoga video to stretch some things out and I really liked it. My mom started it with me, but the 5 breathe downward dog holds were a little much.

I also went for a long walk at the beach so I could listen to a podcast. Usually, I listen to 5+ podcasts a week during my commutes, but I’m so behind now! It feels weird to just sit on the couch and listen to a podcast. Walking and podcasting are a perfect pair. I walked about 3 miles and listened to an episode of Armchair Expert where I was upset to hear that Dax Shepherd still doesn’t seem to be taking coronavirus seriously.

THE EATS

Breakfast was a Siggi’s yogurt with some Cheerios for crunch

Lunch was a tuna fish sandwich with avocado on a Long Island everything bagel with bread and butter pickles and Doritos aka it was amazing

Dinner was a giant salad filled with various leftovers which proved my theory that everything is elevated with the addition of pickled red onions.

Dessert was a mini Milky Way and a chocolate truffle because I’m rationing the Talenti (probably not necessary considering we have three pints).

STAYING SOCIAL

My sister stopped by for a visit on Sunday. While she’s not coming into the house these days, it was sunny enough for us to sit outside on the deck catching up.

WIN OF THE DAY

Sunday morning I woke up determined to finish my book and I’m proud to announce that I sat there with my coffee and yogurt until it was done! Overall it was a good book, but I just never got super into it. I’m excited to move on to something else. I’m thinking of starting The Man in the High Castle.

Another win of the day was getting feedback on some of the pieces I wrote for my writing class - I was most proud of the travel listicle I wrote (and posted here) and the feedback was positive which made me really happy!

FAIL OF THE DAY

Every day I realize another horrible situation someone is being put in because of everything that is happening. Sunday, I spent awhile thinking about how horrible it is that anyone who loses a loved one right now doesn’t get to have a wake or a funeral of more than immediate family members. I can’t imagine how awful that must be for close friends who aren’t allowed to attend or family members who aren’t nearby and can’t fly to get to their loved one.

It’s just such a huge reminder that there is still a lot of be grateful for.

THINGS THAT MADE ME SMILE

This video of Skylar Astin singing Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka. It prompted me to pull up this old picture from my Spring Awakening stage door days.

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Coronacation: Day 5

THE WORKOUT

Thursday’s workout was an Instagram Live class with Jon Chaimberg from Adrenaline Performance Center in Montreal.

It was 50+ minutes of an amazing total body workout where he proved that using 5 pound dumbbells can still create quite the burn with innovative rep schemes and static holds. I’ll definitely be tuning in for more of his live classes in the coming weeks.

Later in the afternoon I tuned in briefly to an EverybodyFights HIIT class that got my heart rate going but I was pretty tired at that point and didn’t last too long.

Too many home workout options! Not enough time in the day.

EATS

Breakfast of yogurt + a drizzle of RX chocolate peanut butter courtesy of Kayla and some peanut butter puffins for good measure.

Highlight of the day was my dad bringing home dark roast with almond milk from the drive thru Dunkin Donuts.

Lunch was an odd mix of random things - side salad and hummus with carrots, celery, cucumbers, peppers along with an egg.

Dinner was leftover corned beef and cabbage from St. Patrick’s Day.

STAYING SOCIAL

Today’s House Party involved some of my best friends at work - I usually see them way more than my friends or family so it’s been very weird being apart for so long!

Catie is crushing her embroidery, Brittany is raising the cutest pup, Rebecca gave us a glimpse of New York City outside her window so I know it still exists, and Brynn made us all hungry cooking a beautiful brunch spread.

WIN OF THE DAY

I put on real(ish) clothes - but let me tell you, my definition of real clothes is quickly taking a nose dive.

FAILS OF THE DAY

My wake up time has continued to creep closer and closer to 9 AM.

I’ve been extra aware the past few days of all my friends that are riding this thing out with their significant others and fiances and husbands and I’m almost 30 years old and came home. I’m beyond happy to be home with my parents and to have this huge chunk of time with them that I never would have had normally. But it’s also just made me more aware of the fact that I haven’t had a romantic relationship in over 3 years. Even my younger sister is quarantining at her boyfriends house a few towns over instead of at my parents’ house.

I go down that train of thought every once in awhile and then I pull myself out of it. Not worth getting upset right now, this situation is what it is and all any of us can do is make the most of it! Like watching American Idol on the couch with my parents while my dad talks over all the performances just like he did when I was in high school!

Another fail is the fact that people in our area are taking advantage of the situation and knocking on doors pretending to be with the CDC and proceeding to rob people. So now not only do we need to deal with people losing jobs, people dying, hospitals running out of masks, etc. - we need to deal with being scared to open our front doors. Cool cool cool.

THINGS THAT MADE ME SMILE

I’ve started to look forward to my daily National Geographic newsletters. You should sign up for them!

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Coronacation: Day 3

I’m sure that the Coronavirus pandemic will become a chapter in history books. They’ll list statistics about the number of people infected, the number of deaths, the number of borders closed, the number of jobs lost, the plummeting stock market prices. But the facts are rarely effective in telling the full story. The facts won’t tell you about the runners who trained for the Tokyo Marathon and never got a chance to run. The facts won’t tell you about the recovering alcoholics who couldn’t get to an AA meeting. The facts won’t tell you about the small, every day things we took for granted up until a few days ago. An office to go to, your daily conversation with the barista at the coffee shop, running with a group of people, turning on a hockey game at the end of a long day.

My story throughout this pandemic is one of extreme privilege - cancelling a trip to South Africa, though heartbreaking in it’s own right - is not the same as losing a job, losing a house, or losing a loved one.

But I would like to chronicle this time - on the brink of 30, and moving back to my childhood home for an indeterminate amount of time.

I hope you can relate to some of what I write. I hope you can laugh at some of it. I hope it can serve as a brief distraction. And I pray that we can all get through this.

DAY 3

My wake up time has gotten a little later each day - oops. I slept in until 8:30 and then spent my first 30 minutes of the day on the couch reading with a cup of coffee. My mom read the paper and i read my book until it was time to log on to work with a big bowl of oatmeal.

I had been really distracted on Monday by sitting at the kitchen counter which is right in the middle of the house so on Tuesday I cleared off my sister’s vanity in her bedroom and turned it into my makeshift desk. The walls are very bland. I might need to color myself a picture. I regret not bringing some pictures home with me!

Now, the basement is my gym and my sister’s room is my office. I refuse to work from the couch or bed!

I worked on my laptop for most of the morning, caught up with coworkers and checked in to see how everybody was doing. I sent a few emails, but things are just really slow and it’s depressing.

SWEATY LUNCH BREAK

Today’s lunch break was a good long sweat. At 11:45 I tuned in to Instagram Live for a “Stop, Drop & Jab” with a New York City trainer whose class I’ve been wanting to take. While the two minute plank and 50 jump squats certainly burned, the rest of the “15 minute workout” wasn’t much to write home about.

From there I transitioned into an ab circuit that my F45 studio had posted - I did 2 rounds for a total of around 12 minutes.

Next up was sheer torture that a friend had sent me and I will pass along for you now!

ROUND ONE

100 Squats
25 Burpees
50 3-Count Mountain Climbers (1 2 3 1, 1 2 3 2, 1 2 3 3, 1 2 3 4) *So it’s really 200 Mountain Climbers
20 Switch Lunge Jumps (per leg)
25 Jump Squats
20 3-Count Toe Taps (Use something taller if possible - I used my couch to really have to drive the knees up)
25 Push Ups
5 Minutes Jump Rope (I didn’t have a jump rope so I did 5 minutes on the treadmill)

ROUND TWO

80 Squats
20 Burpees
40 3-Count Mountain Climbers
15 Switch Lunge Jumps (per leg)
20 Jump Squats
15 3-Count Toe Taps
20 Push Ups
4 Minutes Jump Rope (My sister was on the treadmill so I alternated between stuff like high knees, butt kicks, jumping jacks, shuffles, jumping in place)

ROUND THREE

60 Squats
15 Burpess
30 3-Count Mountain Climbers
10 Switch Lunge Jumps (per leg)
15 Jump Squats
10 3-Count Toe Taps
15 Push Ups
3 Minutes Jump Rope (Or cardio of choice)

This took me 40 minutes - if you give it a try, leave your time in the comments! I might come back to it in a few weeks and see I can do it faster!

After I was reduced to a puddle of sweat, I headed back to my laptop and lunch. Leftover salad was clutch. As I sat and at, I also yelled workout commands at my sister which was beyond fun.

CONCERTS GALORE

Back in my “office” I was delighted to find that one of my favorite singers, Noah Kahan, was live on Instagram performing! I tuned in for the last few songs and it made me so happy.

To my surprise, as soon as that wrapped up, i realized that another favorite, Joshua Radin, was also streaming live! Had some fun listening to him too.

Then, at 4, John Legend had a little concert.

My parents came back from their walk to me screaming DERMOT KENNEDY IS LIVE ON INSTAGRAM! Definitely the grand finale to an afternoon of artists doing what they can to spread some happiness!

I highly recommend checking throughout the day to see if your favorite celebs are up to anything on Instagram. I also noticed that Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus were live together at one point.

Gotta love technology…can’t imagine what we would be doing right now without it! I just PRAY that internet providers can keep providing service with the huge amount of users flooding systems, working from home, etc.

STAYING SOCIAL

When I was done with work for the day I actually put some real clothes on to make me feel a little bit more human.

Then I got on the phone with my friend Callie in San Francisco and we went for a walk & talk together. It’s so nice catching up with friends but it’s also just a reminder that there is not much else going on in people’s lives right now - almost every conversation comes back around to coronavirus no matter how hard we tried to steer it in other directions.

Next was a quick Happy Hour Zoom call with some other friends (and my parents) before a big corned beef and cabbage dinner to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with my parents.

Obviously, the playlist featured Unicorn by the Irish Rovers and Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran.

We ended the night watching the first two episodes of Schitt’s Creek - though the concept of a family losing everything and suddenly finding themselves poor was a little hard to laugh at given the current economic situation.

Eventually, we switched to Trevor Noah’s comedy special on Netflix followed by YouTube videos of Jerry Seinfeld and Sebastian Maniscalco.

WIN OF THE DAY

Completed the Newsday crossword puzzle!

Completed by 10 pull ups throughout the day!

WHAT MADE ME LAUGH

Sebastian Maniscalco - shout out to #Pete for putting this guy on my radar!

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Coronacation: Day 2

I’m sure that the Coronavirus pandemic will become a chapter in history books. They’ll list statistics about the number of people infected, the number of deaths, the number of borders closed, the number of jobs lost, the plummeting stock market prices. But the facts are rarely effective in telling the full story. The facts won’t tell you about the runners who trained for the Tokyo Marathon and never got a chance to run. The facts won’t tell you about the recovering alcoholics who couldn’t get to an AA meeting. The facts won’t tell you about the small, every day things we took for granted up until a few days ago. An office to go to, your daily conversation with the barista at the coffee shop, running with a group of people, turning on a hockey game at the end of a long day.

My story throughout this pandemic is one of extreme privilege - cancelling a trip to South Africa, though heartbreaking in it’s own right - is not the same as losing a job, losing a house, or losing a loved one.

But I would like to chronicle this time - on the brink of 30, and moving back to my childhood home for an indeterminate amount of time.

I hope you can relate to some of what I write. I hope you can laugh at some of it. I hope it can serve as a brief distraction. And I pray that we can all get through this.

DAY TWO

On Sunday night I swore I was going to stick to a schedule and wake up at 6:30 to workout, shower and eat breakfast before reporting to my laptop for work from home day one.

That was before I drank beer and stayed up past my bedtime :) So instead, I rolled out of bed at 7:15 and was working out by 7:30 - still giving me enough time to shower and pour a cup of coffee before 9 AM.

A dream deferred

Then, it was time to face the reality that I was going to have to cancel my trip to South Africa.

I can’t even estimate how many hours I spent planning and dreaming up this trip. The amount of blog posts and news articles I’d read. The number of bus schedules I’d looked at and menus I’d perused. The number of Google Map routes I’d explored.

I’d planned out everything - there were 30+ confirmation emails I had to go back and find. Some were as simple as clicking a cancel button, but a lot required emails and dates and confirmation numbers and booking references and questions about re-booking and refund policies and I’m sure I’ll be going back and forth on some of this for weeks to come.

Each time I sent an email or clicked the cancel button, I felt my eyes well up with tears. It might sound dramatic, but I had spent so much time planning and picturing myself doing all of these things that it was a pretty devastating way to spend the morning - making it all go away.

The good news is we will likely get to reschedule our trip - but I’m not going to lie if I say the thought of redoing all the work over again fills me with excitement. I think I need some time before I’m ready to get excited again. Plus, there is so much uncertainty right now surrounding my schedule and what life will look like in the coming months that I honestly am not sure that a 3 week trip will be possible at any point. The trip may look different when we re-plan it, and I’m giving myself some time to process that.

If anyone is interested, I might post the itinerary I had put together- because it’s quite impressive if I do say so myself.

lunch break - a quick trip out

My mom and I took a quick trip to CVS so I could buy some tampons, shampoo and more Emergen-C.,,the essentials. It’s really crazy to see the empty shelves where the toilet paper, Lysol wipes and hand sanitizer used to be.

After we got the necessities we drove over a couple of parking spots to Crazy Beans Cafe. I had to laugh - it strikes me as so suburban to drive across a parking lot instead of keeping the car parked where it is and just walking. I got myself an iced vanilla dirty chai latte and 4 pieces of multigrain bread because they have the best bread ever (and refuse to say where they get it from!) Just a casual $12, oops.

While I waited for them to make my drink I thought of some of my other favorite dirty chai lattes - they’re usually my go-to treat at the top of a hike or when I’m getting a mid-day pick-me-up on vacation. It made me wish I knew when I’d get to travel again. Or hug my friends!

A definite up-side to the quarantine business is that people seem to be going on a lot more walks! My mom and I drove to the beach and did a few laps of the walking trail, it was chilly and windy but sunny.

Then it was back to work - a few phone calls, but unfortunately not much good news.

What was good, was my turkey sandwich. You know I love a good turkey sandwich. Like, really love.

We made them on the crazy delicious multigrain bread from Crazy Beans - turkey, American cheese, mustard, bread and butter pickles, spinach and avocado.

I will admit that I might have dozed off in my bed for 20 minutes or so in the late afternoon.

Dinner was a big giant Greek salad, because my mom and I are insisting on some healthy meals up in here. Greens, chickpeas, dill, feta, dolmades, tzatziki, carrots, onions, cucumber, tomato - mmm I was a happy camper!

Then it was time to wrap up my Gotham City Writer’s Creative Nonfiction 101 Class. Sad that we didn’t get a chance to say a real goodbye to our professor and classmates, but really glad that instead of outright cancelling, we were able to call in via Zoom for one last 3-hour lesson.

I’ve been trying to think of companies and industries that are benefiting from this crisis, and Zoom certainly seems to be one of them - along with online streaming services like Netflix and at home workout streaming services like Peloton!

THINGS THAT MADE ME SMILE

I highly recommend revisiting some of NPRs tiny desk concert series while you’re home! It brought a lot of joy to my day. Harry Styles’ dropped yesterday and I also took some time to listen to Maggie Rogers and Dermot Kennedy.

THINGS THAT MADE ME LAUGH

I was all about the NYC coronavirus-related content today.

THIS video from Trevor Noah

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Coronacation: Day 1

I’m sure that the Coronavirus pandemic will become a chapter in history books. They’ll list statistics about the number of people infected, the number of deaths, the number of borders closed, the number of jobs lost, the plummeting stock market prices. But the facts are rarely effective in telling the full story. The facts won’t tell you about the runners who trained for the Tokyo Marathon and never got a chance to run. The facts won’t tell you about the recovering alcoholics who couldn’t get to an AA meeting. The facts won’t tell you about the small, every day things we took for granted up until a few days ago. An office to go to, your daily conversation with the barista at the coffee shop, running with a group of people, turning on a hockey game at the end of a long day.

My story throughout this pandemic is one of extreme privilege - cancelling a trip to South Africa, though heartbreaking in it’s own right - is not the same as losing a job, losing a house, or losing a loved one.

But I would like to chronicle this time - on the brink of 30, and moving back to my childhood home for an indeterminate amount of time.

I hope you can relate to some of what I write. I hope you can laugh at some of it. I hope it can serve as a brief distraction. And I pray that we can all get through this.

DAY ONE

I’m two months away from 30 and today I waved goodbye to my NYC apartment, not sure when I’ll return. 2 weeks? 2 months? I left a note for myself: “Welcome home, we missed you! Light a candle and breathe.” Who knows when that will happen.

Packing for a Pandemic

What do you bring with you when you don’t know how long you’ll be gone, but know you’ll be spending a lot of long hours inside the house?

One Suitcase

Filled mainly with leggings, sweatpants and workout clothes - there won’t be much reason to wear real pants for awhile.

My Backpack

Two laptops, two chargers, some headphones and a lot of books I managed to pick up before the New York Public Library closed its doors.

Workout Equipment

A strong home workout routine is what I anticipate will keep me sane throughout this experience. Various exercise bands, a 25 lb plate, my vibrating foam roller and a pull-up bar were all packed into the car.

Food

Two bags of food - being back in the ‘burbs means Stop & Shop - not the millennials’ beloved Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. I’ll be rationing my LesserEvil paleo puffs and popcorn. Most importantly, a 6 pack of Captain Lawrence Orbital Tilt IPA.

Home Sweet Home

When I arrived home it hit me. For the first time in over a decade, I’ll be sharing a house with my parents. It’s not very big. There’s one bathroom.

The governor had just announced that all schools in NYC, Nassau County, Suffolk County and Westchester County would be closed for at least 2 weeks. Seeing the amount of calls, texts and emails my dad was getting and realizing the amount of stress he must be under was hard. So many people were looking to him for answers. No one wants to have to say “I don’t know,” to people who look to you for guidance. But these are unprecedented times. We are all having to figure it out on the fly.

Speaking out figuring things out - the first thing I did when I got home was attempt to do a crossword puzzle. Then I remembered how absolutely awful I am at crossword puzzles.

I’m not sure if it’s just me, but being told you should be staying in the house has had a weird psychological effect. It’s really got a way of making you want to go outside. Staying inside all day on a Sunday isn’t that crazy of a concept, but now, everyone is feeling trapped.

So my sister and I laced up our sneakers and walked the mile to my grandparents house. We called the house phone and told them to come to their front door and we stood on the sidewalk and yelled across the lawn to them before moving to the backyard and sitting an entire deck apart from each other. Though I hadn’t seen them in weeks, there were no big hugs or our classic faire la bise with big “MWAHS!” We couldn’t go in the house.

No return to Long Island would be complete without a bagel, and when my sister and I got home we loaded up everything bagels with vegetable cream cheese, lox and tomato.

There were a lot of episodes of Gossip Girl watched on the couch the rest of the day, too much scrolling through Instagram, and a lot of refreshing CNN’s live updates.

When my mom got home from work, we had dinner (bangers and mash - we maturely made sure to say bangers 99 times during dinner) and I had my fork swatted away when I temporarily forgot about coronavirus and went to take a bite of my moms’ food.

After dinner it was back to the couch, where I was already creating an indent of my ass, to watch the democratic debate.

Somewhere along the way (about halfway through my second IPA), we lost interest in the debate and instead devolved into laughter about the “computers on wheels” at my mom’s hospital.

“We can’t call it a cow because patients might think we are calling them cows - so it’s a wow!”

“What the fuck does the W stand for?!”

“I don’t know why we call it that, it’s just so we don’t call it a cow!”

The final thing I did on my first day home was make an Entenmann’s chocolate donut & mint chocolate chip ice cream sundae with lots of whipped cream. There are few things more nostalgic to me than an Entenmann’s chocolate “doe-doe.” I’ll never forget the time I was younger and my dad made me an ice cream sandwich out of one - a true revolutionary! As a ate my sweet treat on Sunday night I still felt nervous about the days to come, but also felt infinitely safer and secure being home.

Things I’m Reading:

11 Charts that Explain the Coronavirus Pandemic

Americanah (I’ve been reading this for approximately 5 months, to be honest)

Things That Made Me Laugh:

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