APRIL

WEEK OF MARCH 30 (AND APRIL 1)

The weather outside is unbearably dreary for a Friday afternoon, but it has however inspired me to update the world on what I’ve been up to during week three of the quarantine. HOW is it even week three, and is it really April already? Sadly none of this is an April Fool’s joke, and strangely enough, it feels like time is flying faster than before despite all of this time spent sulking around the apartment. I still can’t keep track of what day it is, and I have to think hard to remember what I did throughout the week…

Week three was an interesting one. It started off on a bright note as I settled into my new work-from-home routine. I had accepted that this was the new norm, and life for the next few weeks. I continued about my cooking experiments, making risotto, hamburgers, and a sesame noodle recipe I came across online. I did a lot of research about how to make my own sourdough bread, which apparently is a thing now, but good bread really is a commodity these days.

I ventured outside to run errands three times. Although I try to stay indoors as much as possible, I also can’t quite get rid of my old habits of running to the store whenever I need something. Twice I got groceries, and once I stopped by the pharmacy. It was a bit strange waiting outside 6 feet apart from other customers so I could be one of the fifteen people allowed inside the store, but I’m glad at least the pharmacy has taken measures to enforce social distancing. The grocery store continues to be another story.

Jean and I stepping outside to get groceries. Good times.

During the day I worked, doing my best to not be distracted, and in the evenings I took a few virtual workout classes. Jean and I watched Harry Potter movies, so I could finally start reading the last Harry Potter book (which I never read, and apparently saved for exactly this moment in time). On Tuesday I went out for an evening walk on my own, and was surprised to see just how deserted the streets were. Greenpoint felt even more like a ghost town at 9:30 pm with all of its charming restaurants, bars, and cute little boutiques closed, and few people or cars on the street. There was one couple, however, drinking in the street and taking videos of themselves in our busiest intersection. And to think this is NYC? It was baffling.

On Wednesday we had an all-staff meeting, and we learned from our CEO that our salaries would be reduced 10-25 percent (effective the following week). We were also informed that our bonuses would be eliminated for 2021, and our 401k would no longer be matched. I was grateful that no one in our company had been laid off, but the news wasn’t particularly cheery either. If these were the measures being taken after only three weeks, what more was to come?

On Thursday I got my paycheck, the last one that would reflect the raise I was given in 2020. That afternoon we found out that we had fired our proofreader/editor and one of our webmasters, and that in turn, each member of my team would be taking on more work to keep business afloat. We later celebrated our colleague’s 30th birthday over a virtual happy hour, and then I escaped for a quick run with Jean just to stay sane. It was a lot to take in at once.

On Friday we found out that our Slack channel would be disappearing, which is how my team and I communicate. The changes seemed to be coming one after the other, and although none of them tragic, it wasn’t great for morale. The whole situation was frustrating, but what can you do?

I tried avoiding the news as much as possible during the week, realizing that there is nothing I can do in this dire situation but take care of myself and keep my distance from others. And try to stay positive. Next week would be a fresh start.

WEEKEND OF APRIL 3

Friday night was off to a good start with an apero around 6 pm. Jean and I had some bellota that I ordered from the Iberico club (which I later joined for a monthly subscription of fancy ham) and we purchased a bunch of cheese online from my favorite shop, Murray’s Cheese — apparently, I can’t last a few weeks without them.

We turned up my oldies playlist and when Gloria came on I decided to break out into a dance routine. I somehow landed in a split (since when can I do a split?), thinking I was a Broadway dancer. I kept on dancing until I repeated the split, which this time landed me very painfully on my right hand. I thought I had surely broken my finger(s) seeing as I couldn’t stop crying, but when my hand didn’t turn blue I assumed it would be fine. I iced it while taking a hot bath decorated with scattered rose petals, a million candles, and a glass of champagne. Can you see how creative I’m getting with my “free time”? After a hot bath, I actually put on normal clothing (a dress!) for the first time in weeks and some booties. It felt weird to be getting ready but it also made me feel a bit like I was going out like we normally would on a Friday night. Instead of heading out, however, Jean and I made a creamy mustard chicken recipe along with mashed potatoes... we ended up eating around midnight, and crashing.

I woke up Saturday with a pounding headache. Nevertheless, Jean and I set out for a hike in the afternoon. The trail was absolutely beautiful, with the landscape changing every 15 minutes or so. It was actually part of the Appalachian trail, and I wanted to take it all the way south to North Carolina, but eventually, we had to turn back before the sunset. On our way home we stopped by Whole Foods in Paramus, New Jersey, and spent $500 on groceries — which is definitely the most I’ve ever spent in my entire life. Thinking back, I have no idea what it is we bought. I know we purchased $100 of meat, but aside from that, I’m not quite sure what happened during those 15 minutes of running throughout the store before it closed. We were the last people to leave. That evening we made quesadillas and a huge steak for dinner, and spent the remainder of the evening watching Formula 1: Drive to Survive on Netflix. Why? No idea. We needed something entertaining and yet mindless. I never knew Formula 1 was so fascinating, to be honest. What it really did was make me want to go to Monaco.

On Sunday we started our very first sourdough starter, who we named Napoleon (because he’s hard to kill). That morning I had sneaked off to the grocery store to get us whole wheat flour that I couldn’t find at Whole Foods because I couldn’t help myself. Jean made us crepes for breakfast, while I cleaned a little bit. By the time the afternoon rolled around we set out on another hike, albeit a smaller one and more of a “walk in the park” than a hike. It was a lovely day once again and I was so happy to not be stuck in the apartment. Before we knew it though the evening rolled around and we were watched Westworld, our weekly Sunday routine. I later took a bunch of melatonin so I could sleep soundly, and that was that. Week four was around the corner.

APRIL 13 & BEFORE

It’s been officially a month since I started working from home, and we’ve just started week 5 of the quarantine. I forgot to update last week since nothing is really going on. One thing Jean and I have started doing to keep ourselves entertained is throwing “themed nights.” Ok, they’re not as exciting as they sound, but one-day last week we had a “Mexican night,” which meant we listened to salsa music while I made guacamole and we had quesadillas. Over the weekend we had a “Japanese night” (Japanese music and sushi) and on Sunday we made pierogi (yes, from scratch) and listened to bizarre Polish rap music. We’ve gone to extremes with our cooking. The pierogi were quite a feat, but we also made brisket during the week, chocolate cake, and one night we cheated and ordered Roberta’s pizza, which made me the happiest girl in the world. Most of my favorite Brooklyn pizzerias have closed in light of COVID-19, so you can just imagine my utter joy when I noticed Roberta’s was delivering.

Other than that, it’s been much of the same old ups and downs, highs and lows. More work, less pay. Last Monday I got my new work contract stating that my salary was cut 15 percent, which was a really crummy way to start the week. Later that afternoon our communications team sent out an email asking us (specifically millennials) to submit fun, cute, little videos of us telling others to STAY HOME — and most importantly, showcasing our fascinating hobbies and all the awesome things we do to stay busy these days. Uh…. what? Poor timing.

I cracked one day and ordered a desk, not knowing how much longer this would continue. I also ordered a yoga ball, weights, and bunches of other little things to make life more normal. I subscribed to DanceBody Live, which is a studio that I used to take cardio dance classes at in the city. It’s been an insane mood boost and feels like old times. Highly recommended. I spent Sunday morning doing one of the routines outside on our terrace, and it was blissful.

The weekend itself was lovely, and we got lucky with spring weather. Jean and I took the car on both days and went hiking outside of the city. Luckily, the rain saved itself for Monday. On Easter Sunday we made ourselves a lovely Easter lunch, which felt very special in comparison to our weekly avocado toasts (and so many eggs). I later did a big clean of the apartment. Riveting, I know.

What else did I do? I spent hours in the bathtub and saw Love Wedding Repeat on Netflix, which was a nice way to pass the time. It reminded me of my 23rd birthday in Rome. Oh, how I miss traveling. It sounds spoiled to say so, I know, but I’m just dreaming of the moment I can take a plane and go out of town. It’s hard to picture the day when all of this is all going to end, isn’t it? Are we just going to wake up and go right back to normal? Am I going to walk down the street and no longer be scared of people? I feel like I avoid looking anyone in the eyes these days, and just stare down at my feet while trying not to breathe. Surely we’re all going to carry over some psychological effects from all of this. Anyways, no point in thinking about it, let’s just get through week 5 one step at a time.

WEEK & WEEKEND of APRIL 13

The week of April 13 didn’t really bring much excitement. On Monday Jean built our desk, which has been the best $27 investment we’ve ever made. It’s been a huge help to be able to switch up our workspaces and take meetings from a room with a closed door.

On Tuesday we went out to get groceries, which as per usual was crowded with other shoppers and a very stressful experience. I wish the stores would limit the number of people who can come in, but they just don’t seem to care. Once we got our groceries, we made a pizza. This was our second attempt at making homemade dough, and we just can’t quite seem to master it.

On Wednesday Jean made us our very first loaf of sourdough bread, which to my surprise turned out delicious! Beginner’s luck, perhaps? I was flabbergasted.

The rest of the week was made up of yoga, a lot of DanceBody classes, some online shopping, and work, of course. Morale continues to be low, but I just try to take it day by day. My weights never arrived, which was a bit of a bummer, but I did get a resistance band and also a new pair of sneakers.

On Friday night we made gratin dauphinoise, which is creamy potato heaven topped with cheese. I think we watched a bunch of YouTube videos of first wedding dances, and then I fell asleep watching Zorro. Yep, it was that kind of night. Saturday was a bit more productive, and we ordered art for our bedroom, hung up some hats of mine that we’ve been putting off for weeks, and baked lemon poppyseed cake (which wasn’t good) and beef stroganoff (which was even worse). I chatted with a bunch of friends that day, which is always a mood boost, and we watched a cute movie later that night on Hulu.

On Sunday we drove to Bear Mountain but had to turn around because the crowds were insane. We found another hike that we had previously done in the past and spent our day doing that. The highlight of the weekend though? Cutting Jean’s hair. It took me about 2 hours, that’s how hard I was trying not to mess it up and actually learn how to cut hair. In the end, he didn’t look too upset, so I’ll take it as a win.

And that’s that. Week 6 begins.

WEEK & WEEKEND OF APRIL 20

I spent the week cooking a LOT of Asian food. For one lunch I made a soba noodle bowl with miso dressing, and for another, I attempted my spin on dan dan noodles (basically ground pork with a sort of peanut butter/soy/spicy sauce). Last but not least Jean and I finally got around to whipping out our wok and making the pad thai we learned to make a year ago in Thailand. And let me tell you, it turned out amazing. I even bought us chopsticks from Wayfair so it had an authentic touch. Ok, ok, I’m a dork.

Cooking has really kept me traveling these days and has given me something to look forward to. Of course, it can be exhausting at times (we’ve never run our dishwasher so often during a week), but overall it’s been rewarding. It’s really the only thing I can remember from the week, other than dance classes, getting put on another project at work (learning our company’s CMS), and nearly breaking my toe one afternoon by accidentally dropping my computer on it. Oh and I’ve successfully blocked out the memory of going grocery shopping (a miserable experience). We did, however, manage to purchase a year’s worth of whole wheat flour, so that made me happy.

April showers have definitely been a thing this year. The sun barely came out all week, and today happens to be yet another rainy Sunday. Yesterday though, the weather was amazing, so Jean and I took the car and went hiking 2 hours outside of New York at Neversink Unique Area. We got to hike along a river where some were fly fishing, as well as stumbled across waterfalls. It was a bit like an enchanted forest, and for a few hours, we forgot we were in New York state. We’re actually pretty lucky that this state is so lovely and offers much more than its concrete jungle.

Other weekend happenings included watching a bunch of 90’s music videos (goodness I love the 90’s) and Jean re-teaching me how to play poker, and taking things way too seriously. It was cute how frustrated he got with me. Some people are just more competitive than others, I suppose ;) On Friday night we saw Avatar, which for some odd reason I had never seen. Can check that one off my list! And we tried watching a live comedy show that we paid five bucks for — yeah, that felt like a big scam. We’re trying though.

Coming up next: Week 7.

Quarantine Chronicles: April