I don’t know quite how this happened but after a very weepy and scary start to 2020, I found my pandemic groove and managed to make the best of this strange year.

With today’s post, I’m reflecting on 2020, largely with gratitude. And with vaccinations underway, a rebirth of optimism and hope.

And when it comes to predicting what will be long-lasting trends (versus short-lived behavioral shifts), I’m not ready, just yet, to jump into the pandemic trends’ fray.

• For example, back in April, NYC Mayor De Blasio crowed about how well remote learning was doing and how this will do away with the need for in-person teaching, physical locations, etc. And now here we are 9 months later and online learning has turned out to be an unmitigated disaster (not just in NYC, but around the country).
• Similarly, back in April/May, everyone was baking bread, yeast was in short supply and pundits were predicting we would never go back to restaurants. Meanwhile, in NYC, restaurants (even on the coldest of days) are jam-packed.
• When it comes to remote work, the jury is still out. I am not convinced that workers will want to continue to huddle at home, conducting business via Zoom. But I may be wrong. I only know what I would do – I would get back to the office ASAP.

And on that note, please scroll down and join me in reflecting on what we’ve experienced and learned this pandemic year.

1. the fire escape diaries

My fire escape provided a (safe) microcosm view of everything going down in NYC as the lockdown went into effect on March 12th.

• The streets got eerily quiet for about two months while businesses and restaurants shut down. Zero traffic (I have never heard it be so quiet in NYC). Not even sirens as crime dropped to record lows while everyone hunkered down at home.
• Then on May 2nd, we had our first warm, sunny day, and the streets filled with bikes and people out for leisurely walks. Gorgeous!
• By May 4th, “essential” businesses including construction, were allowed to reopen and my street, anchored by a hardware store catering to the construction/trades, was jampacked with trucks and workers in hazmat suits and masks (a new sight back then).
• Almost overnight traffic picked up with incessant honking and sirens blaring. Additional businesses, e.g., the nursery across the street from me reopened and life slowly returned to the streets.
• By May 16th, I renewed my Citibike membership and joined all those bikers heading across Rivington Street on their way to the West Side and the Hudson River Parkway. To say I felt joyful is an understatement.
• THEN came May 30th. 5 days after George Floyd’s death. Protestors and rioters took over the streets including the Bowery and Chrystie (bordering my block). With people not working and schools out, this went on every day and every night. Protesting was followed by looting, vandalism, and police cars set on fire. Soon, stores were boarded-up and police helicopters hovered over our building nightly. It was terrifying especially when looters tried to break into the building next door to ours.
• By June 7th, Freeman’s and Loreley, two neighborhood restaurants/bars, re-opened for weekend takeout, and the vibe shifted.
• However, the weekly (if not daily) protests and riots continued until Saturday, November 7th.
• On that day, at about 11 am, out on my fire escape, I heard clapping, cars honking, bikers ringing their bells. Soon I found out why: Biden had just been declared President-Elect.
• Things observed from the fire escape have been much calmer since.

2. Gratitude: so much to be grateful for despite (or because of) the pandemic

Where to begin?

1. Grateful for all the people working at my local Whole Foods, the waitstaff at restaurants, MTA workers keeping the subways running. I’ve always been aware of how essential the people in the service industries are but this year, we realized how completely lost we would be without them.
2. Also grateful for my neighbors, including those living in my building. We all bonded in a new way as we helped each other maintain order on the street. This has always been a neighborly block, but in pandemic times, we seem to have gotten tighter and are looking out for each other more.
3. Although I have gone off him, I must say I was very grateful, early in the pandemic, to have Cuomo doing his daily briefings (for which he won an International Emmy!).
4. MY COMMUNITY. There are hundreds of people to thank for big and small things that make me feel part of this tribe of tough, but caring, New Yorkers.
5. Beyond specific people, I also have a deep sense of gratitude for being in this place, at this time, with people who are fighting the good fight and figuring out how we can all be nicer, kinder, and more supportive of each other. I’m feeling this deep in my soul right now.

3. My sense of time has changed

I’ve gotten into my pandemic groove

• Time has slowed down. Strangely, the months are speeding by faster, but the day-to-day is more calm and relaxed.
• My routine can only be described as stress-free and perfect (for me).
• Very different from the first few months when I was so impatient with the lockdown because I considered it theft of my time. I know I was not the only one who had this mindset. It was especially noticeable among those of us in our 70s. It’s an age where you become particularly aware of how precious and finite time is and you do not want to waste even a minute.
• With a limited number of things to write about, I also switched to a weekly vs. daily blog schedule which turned out to be a game-changer for me. It focused my writing while at the same time reducing the stress of producing daily content.
• But I am still scrupulous about maintaining my work schedule. Two days per week are dedicated to writing (Wednesdays and Thursdays). The rest of the week is open for exploring, socializing, and checking out new things for the blog, e.g., restaurants, galleries, retail, etc.
• And finally, the pandemic has made me accept that I am indeed “retired.” It also made me realize that if you are healthy, have a good social network, and are financially sound, being retired is amazing. I am the master of my own universe. How many people can say that? And oddly, with so many people working from home, everyone (no matter how hard they’re working) has the same kind of quasi-retirement lifestyle that I do. I just got there a bit earlier than my younger friends. It’s kind of cool!!

4. NYC Sunset Sail: Highlight of the year!

The pandemic dialed up our creativity when it comes to planning celebrations

• Last year, my friend, Rodrigo Padilla, celebrated his 40th birthday in Paris. I wasn’t along for that trip but based on the stories, it was fabulous!
• This year, Rodrigo took a different tack. He arranged a sunset sail for his birthday. A small group of us (his partner Elliott, and three close friends) came along to share the experience.
• Absolutely sublime. 5-stars *****

5. I got hooked on YouTube: I LOVE IT. It’s become my TV.

This week I returned my cable boxes to Spectrum. No more TV for me.

• Truth be told, I returned two of our three cable boxes (Brad still watches TV).
• YouTube works for me. It’s where I discovered Joe Rogan, who was my lifeline for several months early in the pandemic. Now, sadly, I’m over him. Since he moved to Texas, he’s obsessed with justifying his escape from LA. He desperately wants guests and listeners to agree with him that only Texas has got it right, and anyplace outside of Texas is clearly going downhill. I think Joe needs to open his eyes (and mind) to what’s going on in his new neighborhood. Austin has as much crime, homelessness, and the same kind of pandemic restrictions as other parts of the country.
• However, while I’ve given up on Rogan, I am still madly fangirling the Twins (who I also discovered on YouTube)..
• Watch this recent REACTION video where they discover Boyz II Men. It’s too much!

I also just caught this Post Malone interview with Jimmy Kimmel. hysterical and such a sweetheart. (And, btw, Kimmel’s dad is a huge Post Malone fan!)

6. Outdoor dining Is Lit! Forget cooking. It’s way overrated!

Here’s how much I love restaurants!

• Just checked my spending on restaurants vs. groceries (April thru December). My restaurant spend is up 400% to $4000 in December. Spending on groceries, on the other hand, is down 43% ($300 in December vs. $506 in April).
• I consider it my civic duty to spend at restaurants (and to tip 30%) to keep the industry alive.
• Even in the frigid cold, I just dress warm and pretend I’m apres-skiing on a mountaintop in Aspen or Vail. It’s a ninja mind trick that works!
• My goal is to have 3 meals at home per week, the rest at restaurants.
• Wintertime outdoor-dining favorites include Wayan (where I had another amazing Indo-Chalet dinner on Wednesday), NoMoKitchen (a new favorite with build-out by my friend Rebecca Cole). NoMo has become so popular (virtually overnight), that I had to investigate. Turns out it’s a huge hit on TikTok and Instagram which explains why the crowd is so young, diverse, and international. Per TravelNoire, TikTok has become the new Yelp.

7. Forming New friendship circles

The pandemic has had an interesting impact on friendships (and most likely business relationships as well)

• “Pandemic bubbles” are now largely comprised of people who are similarly aligned on the risk spectrum.
• Where each of us falls on the continuum of risk, reveals a lot about us and has undoubtedly impacted our relationships over the last year.
• Those who are most risk-averse, have been hunkering down since March and won’t be venturing out until late 2021 when most of the population has been vaccinated.
• And then, of course, we have the super-spreaders who will be out and about on New Year’s Eve. I’m sure they have also attended a few weddings over the summer and may have gone to midnight mass on Christmas Eve.
• If I were running things, super spreaders would be among the first to get vaccinated.
• I wonder what would happen if vaccination priorities were recalibrated to favor those with the greatest number of followers on social media? I’m sure that’s how AOC (31 years old and healthy), got vaccinated before doctors and nurses.

8. Fleeing cities to escape pandemic woes: jumping from the frying pan to the fire?

Those fleeing major metros for smaller, ostensibly safer, cities, may be in for a big surprise. So-called “big city problems” are popping up everywhere from Missoula MT (pop: 74,428) to Nashville TN (pop: 692,587) to Austin TX (pop: 964,254).

• It makes absolute sense for families with small children to move from cities to the suburbs, from expensive, small apartments to houses with backyards. That has always made sense and it continues to make sense.
• What doesn’t make sense is people fleeing to the ‘burbs and overspending on a house, because they’re scared of catching corona from the density of the city, or because they assume they can escape crime and homelessness.
• Based on my now daily tracking of 10 cities (currently LA, NY, MIA, PHX, ATL, Las Vegas, Austin, Missoula, Pittsburgh, and Nashville), the same problems exist across the entire country.
• In other words, consider yourself forewarned: the pandemic and the problems it has exacerbated (like homelessness and crime) aren’t restricted to big cities.
• You can run, but you can’t hide.

9. Health/ vaccine: The US Just Hit a Milestone in its COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts (Source: Science Alert)

Vaccination seems to be going very slowly but….

• As of Wednesday (Dec. 23), more than a million people have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.
• The US is aiming for 100 million people to be immunized by the end of the first quarter of 2021, and another 100 million by the second quarter.
• And despite some adverse reactions (the latest is to cosmetic facial fillers!), I cannot wait for my shot of this vaccine.

10. FINALLY: 5 things I’m most looking forward to in 2021

When the lockdown started back in March, I thought the first “normal” thing I would want to do is travel – and, of course, it still is. But 10 months in, I’ve also come to miss and appreciate smaller and more spontaneous activities, e.g., going out to eat without having to check the weather, planning a party without worrying that guests will drop out because they’re awaiting the results of a COVID test.

Get-togethers with large groups of friends.

Dining InDoors: First place will be PEAK at Hudson yards

Little Island – opening Spring 2021 – I am so excited to check this out!

State Fairs!! I know Shawn can’t wait, hopefully the rest of the crew is itching to travel with me again as well!

my next Nat Geo Trip: August 21-September 13, 2021 (fingers crossed)

And that, my friends, is a wrap for 2020!

Wishing you all the safest and happiest of holidays. Next blog post will be dated January 1, 2021!!! 💕🥂💕