Two things happened this week that brightened my world. Both are still somewhat tentative but definitely indicate there is light at the end of the tunnel.

First and foremost

“You can see the therapeutic (remdesivir) benefit faster than the protective (vaccine) benefit. I think there’s a good chance we’ll have substantial death rate reduction by the end of the year with the combination of those new tools.”

Bill Gates on CNBC

and then, this!

“HI Irma –

Nat Geo reached out and wants to ‘give you the 1st opportunity’ to join the new departure for The Future of Everything: Exploring Global Innovation by Private Jet Trip. It’s from August 21^st– September 13 of 2021. The itinerary is planned to be the same –there are minor changes with the instructors but the destinations, hotels, etc remain the same. Let me know if you are interested.”

Pablo Cruz, Continental Travel Group

BEST news I’ve heard in a long while. Of course I replied YES YES YES to Pablo at Continental Travel!

Scroll down to see what else made this week’s TOP 10 LIST.

1. TRAVEL UPDATE: Nat Geo ‘future of everything’ is back!

Fingers crossed….

I was originally scheduled to go on this trip this May. Of course, it was canceled. But now it’s back on the calendar for August 2021.

• It is reportedly the most popular trip Nat Geo has ever offered.
• I’m 70% confident the 2021 departure will go off as planned.

This trip replaces the cross country road trip I had planned for September-December.

• With corona cases spiking and more states requiring quarantines, the road trip was not looking good (or fun).
• But the most off-putting development for the road trip was the nightly rioting in cities all around the country.
• I see no end in sight for that kind of civil unrest until November, after the elections, and that makes being on the road too sketchy for me.
• BTW, I was so out-of-my-mind crazy for travel, I even considered booking this 140-day around the world cruise ($100,000 for a single cabin!!).

2. Hot new Amenity: Private Outdoor Space (Source: RentHop)

Interest in private outdoor space grew 60% and now far outweighs having a doorman or gyms.

I get it! Especially after hanging out on my friends’ fabulous terraces and backyards.

Here are a few NYC examples:

Trice/Padilla residency (Midtown Manhattan) – all done by Rodrigo Padilla himself

Flood Residency, Gowanus, Brooklyn – free range and wild!

Rebecca Cole Grows Projects in Manhattan and Brooklyn

I’ve written about Rebecca before (link here) and am thrilled to report she is a quintessential pandemic success story. Her business was hit hard but she was able to pivot and now finds herself busier than ever with residential projects (on top of the work she does for her hotel and restaurant clients). Beautiful outdoor space has never been more essential.

3. We’re Back to DINING OUT – so sick of my own cooking!

Cannot wait to dine al fresco at Marea this coming Monday to celebrate Sheri Radel Rosenberg’s birthday month!

“The idea is to bring color back into our lives as we take Marea through its next renaissance: buzzy, playful, and chic. We want to convey positivity for the future, to show that we are still here and still relevant — with our mojo intact.”

Ahmass Fakahany, CEO of Altamarea Group

Major shout out also to FLORATORIUM for their work with Marea

Floratorium is the flower studio known for the Art of GLAMffolding (i.e., turning scaffolding into something beautiful!). Their business must be booming with only outdoor dining permitted in NYC.

I also decided that starting this weekend, I am going to eat out (solo, if I must) to support local independent restaurants.

Top of my list:

• Lure (will be celebrating another friend’s birthday there this Saturday)
• Fish Cheeks
• Loring Place
• Wayan
• Atla
• Thai Diner (from the Uncle Boon’s people)

Per an American Express study from the UK, I’m not the only one ready to hit up restaurants again. (Source: Yahoo)

• Meals at restaurants topped the list of post-lockdown treats for Brits with half of UK adults saying they longed to go out for professionally cooked meals.

4. Tractor Supply Company: triple-digit sales growth!!

And they attribute a big part of their success to improved in-store wifi.

For those of you not familiar with Tractor Supply Company, they operate 1,881 stores in 49 states, primarily in rural areas. Their motto is for life “Out Here.”

They offer products for home improvement, agriculture, lawn and garden maintenance, livestock, equine, and pet care.

They also have a very active e-commerce site and have just launched an app.

• They reported second-quarter net sales growth of 35% to $3.18 billion.
• Comparable-store sales are up 30.5% along with triple-digit growth in e-commerce.
• Their decision to improve Wi-Fi in stores was tied to the implementation of contactless payments and mobile point-of-sale hardware.

5. Netflix’s “revenue per employee” numbers are crazy good. (Source: PCMag)

Interesting data from BuyShares on revenue per employee among top tech companies (the Frightful Five as they’re now called).

• Netflix makes $2.34 million dollars per employee ($444,000 more per employee than Apple and well ahead of Facebook and Alphabet).
• Amazon lags at only $351,531 US dollars per employee—probably because the company needs to have an army of workers to keep the warehouses and supermarkets running.

Revenue per employee of selected tech companies

6. Joe Rogan’s video podcasts have replaced ALL of my TV viewing.

It’s self-education at the highest level.

• I’m particularly impressed by the comics he has on the podcast.
• They’re not just joke tellers, they provide cultural commentary. They’re essentially modern-day philosophers with unique perspectives and insights on America today.
• I’d never really given them much thought but listening to how they prepare their acts, from concept through testing to refining and ultimately launching hour-specials on Netflix is every bit as rigorous as launching any major new product. And they talk about the process a lot with Rogan.
• Topping my list of favorites are Kevin Hart, Jim Gaffigan, and Bill Burr (Burr is tops for me, I can listen to his banter with Rogan for hours).
• Joe Rogan is in many ways, the Oprah for men!
• If you’re interested in understanding men, you should be watching or listening to this podcast.

Favorites from this week:

7. The Car-Baret Drive-In: Worth a trip to Texas? (Source: Dallas Observer)

“The idea for CarBaret was born out of desperation, as some of the better art is born of, I suppose.”

Reid Robinson, Brizo Restaurant Owner

• Robinson repurposed an old-time concept and retooled his restaurant’s kitchen and bar for carhop service, for spectators to watch films, variety acts, and live music safely from their cars in the parking lot behind his restaurant, Brizo.
• The film selection has included Night of the Living Dead, The Birds, and Labyrinth.
• 14 weeks into the pandemic, Robinson’s CarBaret Carhop Service continues to sell out every weekend.
• Now he’s taking the show on the road. The renamed CarBaret Drive-In Film and Music Festival is making its first stop in Hye, Texas, outside of Fredericksburg this weekend.

8. Biggest thing happening in fashion? The socks and ugly sandals trend!

Blame my people, the Germans. We have a strong tradition of ugly sandals along with a well-documented history as masters of orthopedic sandals. For more on how ugly sandals became hip, check out Meet the Germans.

9. AMERICANS downsize how much it takes to be a financial success (SOURCE: CNBC/Charles Schwab)

During the pandemic, the bar on what it takes to be considered wealthy has been lowered by 23% to $2 million net worth.

Americans also downsized, by 30%, how much it takes to be financially comfortable: from $934,000 in January to $655,000 now.

It’s not clear why they’ve downscaled these numbers. The best I can tell, it’s because expenses are lower while we’ve been in lockdown.

10. COVID UPDATE: Bill sees LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL! (Source: CNBC)

• Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday, Gates offered some hope that we would see the death rate go down because of treatments like remdesivir.
• Remdesivir is an antiviral drug from Gilead Sciences that has reduced the risk of death for severely sick Covid-19 patients by 62% compared with standard care alone. 
• One of my friends in Florida told me a colleague of his was hospitalized with COVID, and after being treated with remdesivir, was back up and feeling good two days later.
• Gates also spoke of several potential vaccines entering late-stage human trials that might win regulatory approval before the end of 2020.
• But then, of course, comes the hard part: persuading Americans to actually get vaccinated! Over 50% have said they won’t. Not me, I’ll be first in line!

And that’s a wrap!

This was the best week I’ve had in a while. It also made me realize how important it is for me – and my mental state – to have things to look forward to.

To keep the positive momentum going, I’m committing myself to checking out one new restaurant a day this coming week. Not only will it get me out of the house but I’ll also be doing my part to support local independent businesses. And restaurants desperately need help.

I’m also excited at the opportunity to visit art galleries again. Many have reopened but they want us to make reservations. That doesn’t work for me so I’m going to give “dropping in” a shot and see how that pans out. Will report back next week.

Until then, have a great weekend everyone!!