Pandemic Will Be With Us For A LONG Time. Tips On How To Get Ahead Of It.

There’s no end in sight. What started out as a 2-week lockdown to “flatten the curve,” is now well on its way to becoming a multi-year slog.

motifs emerging thru the fog of COVID
  1. We’ll have to wait until 2022 (or even 2023) before we can hope to take a carefree international flight, work in an office, attend a Thanksgiving Day Parade, or schmooze our way through an art fair. Don’t believe any politician who tells you otherwise.
  2. Being nimble is essential for survival. This has been especially noticeable on the food front (examples below).
  3. Living urgently has become a priority. I have to thank Jesse Itzler for putting this concept on my radar. I had never given much thought to my relationship with time. Nor had I considered the importance of building my “Life Resume.” Jesse Itzler’s passion for the topic was fueled by turning 50. It becomes even more important as you turn 60 and then 70 and have to spend your precious time navigating a pandemic!
Scroll down for this week’s TOP 10 highlights from business and entertainment.
1. More Dining al fresco thanks to David Rockwell’s DINEOUT

The creativity shown by so many restaurateurs around NYC is inspiring.

A Major highlight of my week (below) thanks to Richard and Lily.

Avra Estiatorio at 60th Street and Madison. Beautiful outdoor seating, delicious food, amazing people-watching, and best of all, great company. Highly recommend if you’re in that part of town.

And for restaurants needing help on the design front, there’s DineOut NYC,
  • This nonprofit group, created by architect David Rockwell and the NYC Hospitality Alliance, provides ideas and construction templates for outdoor dining. Funding for the nonprofit comes from Bill Ackman and actor Daniel Stern.
2. Restaurants reinventing/ being nimble

Somebody said that the pandemic has caused the next 10 years’ worth of innovation to occur in 10 weeks, and I don’t think that’s far off.

Kevin Lust, Illinois Small Business Development Center
  • Great article in the Illinois Times on how local restaurants are navigating the pandemic and reinventing to survive. Also, how many old-timers realized, after a few months off, that it’s time to call it a day and retire.
  • Another insightful and inspiring piece from Canada (SaltwireInc.) details how one very nimble Halifax catering company, followed their survival instincts and transformed their business model at the start of the pandemic. They not only survived COVID, they’re actually thriving. Worth a read.
Ankur and Raj Gupta pose for a photo in the Scanway Catering kitchen Credit: Ryan Taplin
3. Sales of “going out” clothes Supposedly Soaring?
  • I’d read that dressing up was back but I didn’t entirely believe it.
  • Then I had lunch uptown and saw it firsthand. At Avra, many of the young women and men were dressed to the nines.
  • I also saw quite a few passersby toting shopping bags from Vuitton and Gucci.
  • I’m even noticing crowds of 20-somethings downtown gradually getting more dolled up albeit different styles than uptown.
4. Post-Lockdown Plastic surgery boom

This info is via the UK which suggests the trend is even more prevalent in the States.

Reasons for the upswing include more time spent working from home on Zoom/video calls which are making people look at their reflection more often. And what’s more perfect for covering up swelling/bruising than wearing a mask?

I’ve never been busier – there is a big demand for plastic surgery at the moment. I’m currently booked out until mid-September and I’m scheduled to do 3 months’ worth of work in July alone.”

Naveen Cavale, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon

5. Covid tattoos

Tattoo parlors around the world are reopening and they are busy with requests for coronavirus-themed tattoos including tats of the actual virus. As always, tattoos are markers of what is going on in people’s lives.

Frank Russo of Ink Couture in Staten Island told SILive that many of his customers want memorial tattoos of those who were lost during the pandemic.

“I had a group of nurses and doctors e-mail me asking about a [COVID-related] group tattoo.’’

Paul Paz, Bang Bang Tattoo Shop NYC
6. Walking meetings are increasingly popular (Source: Occupational Health & Safety)

People are beginning to hold “walking meetings” at six feet apart to creatively and healthily connect with coworkers.

  • Zoom meetings aren’t quite cutting it. People want to catch up in person and bounce ideas off one another, even if six feet apart.
  • Protocols include meeting outside at a pre-determined spot, no physical greeting, picking a non-congested route, bringing a mask along, restricting the meeting to two or three people, and sadly, not including anyone over 60!
7. Marble League – YUP it’s a thing!

I heard about this from Hannibal Buress (on Joe Rogan, natch). He claims this is what he’s been watching non-stop while stuck at home during the pandemic. He’s not the only one. The Marble League has over 81 million views and 1.1 million subscribers. Plus John Oliver is an announcer.

Jelle’s Marble Runs is a YouTube channel based in the Netherlands, run by Jelle and Dion Bakker. It is based around marbles, marble runs, and marble races. Content on the channel includes spoofing the Olympic Games, Formula One, and other sporting events.

8. gabby reece – OMG I love her!!!

I finally found a female guest on Joe Rogan that I really love. She is my idol, down to earth, smart, funny, not stuck in the past. Totally badass! Highly, highly recommend. Her take on parenting is fantastic!

9. Loneliness Hasn’t Increased Despite Pandemic (Source: NPR)

“If there is any silver lining to this [pandemic] — and it’s really hard to speak of silver linings — it was that so many people are finding ways to connect and finding ways to keep relationships.”

Jonathan Kanter, research psychologist
  • Detailed findings from several recent research projects on loneliness during the pandemic.
  • Researchers found only the smallest of upticks in loneliness over the last few months.
  • It also made me realize that of all the feelings I’ve been grappling with during this time, loneliness has not been one of them.
10. most and least stressed cities in America (Source: WalletHub)

A bit surprised to see that NYC comes in at #26 for stress while Cleveland, Detroit, and Birmingham AL. top the list (those 3 cities also have the highest divorce rates in the country).

The 3 least-stressed cities are Sioux Falls SD, Boise ID, and Lincoln NE. It’s an interesting study, well worth scanning through.

While still on the topic of stress

This week I unbookmarked Twitter and also moved it off my phone home screen. Doomscrolling was making me way too stressed and crazy. I haven’t missed watching TV so will see how cutting back on my social media goes.

And that’s a wrap for this week.

Wishing everyone a great weekend.

We’re expecting 100 degrees in NYC. I had planned to get out to the newly opened Governor’s Island but it is fully booked! I’ll have to be way speedier in the future.

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