QuarantineFIT: Favorite Resources for Killer At Home Workouts

Typically when I’m back at my parents house for a holiday or to visit for a long weekend, I struggle to find any sort of motivation to workout. My bed is to comfortable to get up early, the basement is too cramped to move around and the neighborhood is too hilly for a run. I usually have a ton of excuses.

But when I moved home for the foreseeable future at the beginning of March, I knew I was going to have to find a way to get motivated to work out at home.

While my bed is STILL too comfortable (I can sleep 10 hours most nights) I’ve been shocked at how much I’m enjoying working out at home.

I have a good mix of equipment here:

-15 LB Kettlebell (thanks, sis)
-25 LB Plate
-Dumbbells in 3 LB, 5 LB, 8 LB, 10 LB
-Sliders
-Resistance Bands in a variety of sizes
-Pull-Up Bar
-Yoga Mat
-TRX

And while I’ve loved coming up with some of my own workouts (you can watch some on my Instagram page) and running (healthy!) 3x a week - what’s really kept me going are some incredible fitness instructors offering free workouts on Instagram, Youtube and Zoom.

Here are my recommendations if you need a little variety in your at-home-workouts.

Anyone else contemplating canceling their gym membership for good?

Jon Chaimberg

Jon Chaimberg owns and operates APC gym in Montreal, but when they were forced to temporarily close due to coronavirus, he took his training to Instagram.

I have taken a TON of his classes and they still leave me sore.

He puts together killer rep schemes to make even the lightest set of dumbbells feel like bricks. Instead of 15 rows, he’ll have you do
1 Row / 1 Second Hold
2 Rows / 2 Second Hold
3 Rows / 3 Second Hold

All the way up to 7.

Or he’ll switch up the range of motion, so you’re doing 10 full chest presses, 10 lower-to-mid way pulses, 10 upper-to-mid way pulses, and 10 more full chest presses.

His classes are long - coming in at a full 60 minutes of work and there are lower body/leg focused classes and upper body focuses classes with abs mixed into both.

On the weekend, he goes live or posts an IGTV of him and his wife, Maddie, doing what they call “Hollywood Squares.” They each go through different exercises so you always have a choice of what you want to do!

Maddie also posts her own workouts on her page, and the APC Gym Instagram has live classes throughout the week too.

If you want to wake up sore - these are what I recommend!

Shadowbox

Each week, Shadowbox has been offering Instagram Live classes that run about 45 minutes. The free Live classes are usually on Saturday and Sunday, but they offer tons of classes throughout the week if you sign up for SBX Virtual. The prices are extremely fair - $5/class, $12 for 3 classes or $40 for 10 classes!

These classes leave me absolutely DRIPPING and since I’ve been trying to use 3 pound weights for some of the shadowboxing, I can almost never properly reach up to do my hair the next day.

I swear boxing classes are some of the absolutely best all around classes - and I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that that’s still the case even without gloves and a bag (read my review of the in-studio experience here!)

The classes incorporate shadowboxing with easy to follow combinations, cardio, and usually some core and lower body focused rounds as well.

From June 8 - June 14, all Shadowbox classes will be offered for free to book. Shadowbox asks that you instead use your funds to donate to Color of Change.

Rachael’s Good Eats

Rachael DeVaux has hosted and posted live workouts on her Instagram almost every day of quarantine.

They cover everything from HIIT, upper body focus, lower body focus, core and total body. I love that she mixes up the type of circuits - sometimes you’re going for time and sometimes you’re counting reps.

And, it’s great that you can either follow along live, or watch after the fact when she posts them on her IGTV or YouTube channel.

And all for the price of FREE 99.

MadFit

It’s been amazing how quickly MadFit caught on during quarantine. My friend Kayla sent me her videos, then I found out my sister was doing them every day, and then another friend mentioned that she had been loving her videos too!

She posts most of her workouts on her YouTube channel and I can’t get enough of her 10 and 15 minute ab routines. I like to do them at the end of my workouts as the cherry on-top! They’re straightforward, she doesn’t talk too much, and they’re very varied.

Her dance and song routines are also incredibly fun! And on the days I’m feeling wishy-washy and I can’t commit to anything, I’ll put together a bunch of her 10-20 minute videos and before I know it, I’ve worked out for an hour!

AARMY

I don’t know how I had never heard of AARMY before, a New York City and LA based fitness-studio opened from ex-Soul Cycle instructor Akin Akman.

AARMY is offering a ton of free Instagram Live content and at the beginning of quarantine I was starting almost every morning with their 10 AM EMOM and 10:20 AM 400 Abs series.

I also tuned in for some of Akin’s Bootcamp classes - and let me tell you this guy is NOT MESSING AROUND. He’s a beast!

If you have your own spin bike, they also offer cycling classes on IG Live.

When studios are back open - AARMY is on the top of my list to try out.

Ripped Training Method

Not quite sure how I found the Ripped Training Method videos, but they’re quick and effective 30 minute strength workouts that I’ve been adding into the mix and enjoying! So far, I’ve only taken classes by Jamie because I know I like them! But they have over 30 workouts posted including treadmill classes! Next rainy day, I might give one of them a try.

CorePower Yoga On Demand

Every week, CorePower Yoga’s On Demand website has some free classes that I’ve been adding to the mix. I’ve done more yoga in quarantine than I’ve ever done in my life! And I’m actually really loving it!

One CorePower yoga class I took challenged me to try a pose I never would have thought I could attempt previously - firefly! I also took a really fun, sweaty endurance yoga class. They have a good mix and you can take classes that are 20 minutes, 30, all the way up to an hour.

Mr. & Mrs. Muscle

These quick 10 minute videos made up of 30 second intervals are AWESOME when you don’t feel like committing to a long workout or don’t know what you feel like doing. You can do a quick 10 minute video and be done, or string together a bunch for a full-body workout. They have a mix of videos that required weights and other’s that are body weight. I love their color coordinated outfits and beautiful windows.

Alex Najarian

If you like kettlebells - Alex Najarian’s classes are amazing! I joined one of her free Zoom classes one weekend and was super impressed. She also offers programs you can pay for to get daily workouts.

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A Thank You to the Respiratory Therapists and the Brands that Supported Them!

When I came home around 75 days ago - I was completely overwhelmed by the stories my mom was telling us about the hospital she works at.

They had created a COVID-19 unit, they were rationing masks, they were running 4X the number of ventilators they normally have - and while everyone was sending the nurses and doctors well-deserved lunches and dinners, the respiratory department wasn’t getting anything.

Growing up when people asked me what my mom did, I always said - “She’s a respiratory therapist - she helps people breathe.”

I never really learned much more about what a respiratory therapist did. And most people, I’ve realized, just assumed my mom was a nurse.

But the coronavirus pandemic instantly made me aware of the fact that respiratory therapists were the front line of the front line. You couldn’t turn on the news or read an article without hearing the word “ventilator” - and the people at the hospital that know how to run and operate and change the settings on and take people on and off of ventilators are the respiratory therapists.

And in New York State, it turns out there really aren’t that many of them. In fact, New York has the second fewest licensed respiratory therapists and technicians per capita of any state.

Traveling RTs are coming from out of state and offering to work throughout the pandemic - these therapists are incredibly brave, appreciated and needed. But they’re getting paid 3X the amount of money that local hospitals’ own respiratory staff make.

Anyway - all of this information was piling on when I first got home. It was making me anxious and stressed and nervous for my mom. And it was also making me angry and frustrated on her behalf - I couldn’t understand why more wasn’t being done to recognize their small staff.

I felt helpless to make a difference - so I started writing emails to companies to see if they could make a donation to my mom’s hospital and the respiratory department specifically.

I knew I couldn’t take away their fear or anxiety or help with the long hours and sadness they were experiencing. But I thought some healthy snacks, some essential oils, some skincare products for mask-covered faces, etc. would be appreciated.

And I was overwhelmed with how many companies showed up and donated - my house and the back of my moms car became a warehouse of donated product. I just wanted to publicly acknowledge and thank the company’s that donated - the donations were in no way dependent on me posting anything. I also thought it could give you some ideas if you’re looking to make gift baskets to drop off at a local hospital (or respiratory therapy department!) near you.

Bada Bean Snacks

Bada Beans wins for the cutest packaging! They sent two Bada Bean Bada Boom Box containers with 100 calorie bags in a variety of flavors. The Boom Box comes with 52 individual bags - 4 of each flavor.

These beans pack bold flavor, protein, and that crunchy-ness that I’m always craving in a snack.

I didn’t realize how many flavors there were!

Everything Bagel, Nacho Cheeze, Jalapeno Popper, Buffalo Wing, Zesty Ranch, Sweet Onion and Mustard, Sweet Sriracha, Cocoa Dusted, Mesquite BBQ, Spicy Wasabi, Sweet Cinnamon, Garlic & Onion and Sea Salt.

Thank you Bada Bean Snacks! These were a hit.

Juice Press

I knew that the hospital was getting lots of pizza deliveries, bagels, etc. and thought that the staff might want some immune-boosting healthy options for a change. Where I’m from, there aren’t a ton of green-juice shops, so I reached out to Juice Press.

Despite the fact that they weren’t able to deliver juices, they told me I could stop by the Southampton store for a donation of granola bars and ginger fireball blasts.

My dad and I took the trip out east on Easter Sunday, and they helped load up our car with 500 peanut butter Perfect Bars and 500 packs of the Ginger Fireball Blasts ( 100% of your daily dose of vitamin C from the acerola plant and pure ginger root - yowza!) that we delivered to the hospital!

Our contact with Juice Press was so sweet - she even made up a bag of fresh juices that I could give to the respiratory department specifically.

Purely Elizabeth

According to reports (from my mom), people absolutely loved the 48 granola bars and 30 individual bags of granola that Purely Elizabeth donated. They appreciated that they weren’t overwhelmingly sweet.

doTERRA

I was so excited when doTERRA told me they could make a donation of their Cheer Blend and Breathe Blend essential oils. I hope that the roll on fragrance blends brought some cheer and easier breathing to the respiratory therapists.

Cocokind

You’ve probably seen the pictures of healthcare workers who have scars on their faces from wearing N95 masks all day - so I thought I would reach out to Cocokind to see if they could donate some clean, healthy skincare products.

They sent some of their winter essentials kits - which came with facial cleansing oil, chia facial oil, rosewater toner and a My Matcha stick. They also sent one-for-all balms. These were a huge hit!

Glossier 

Along the same lines, Glossier donated skincare products as well. I was inspired by Glossier’s leadership and support for the employees when the pandemic started (choosing to close their stores and continuing to pay workers). They also delivered on the donation front, big time!

Priming moisturizers, soothing face mists and balm dotcom, oh my!

Smart Sweets

One of the first companies to respond to me was Smart Sweets - it seemed like they answered within 10 minutes of sending my email with a super positive response.

And my mom said these were a HUGE hit - not only did people like snacking on the gummy bears themselves, but they loved being able to bring home a snack for their kids when trips to the grocery store were on pause.

They send about 15 boxes of these colorful, sweet and healthy (84% less sugar) snacks!

RX Bars

Boxes of bars! Chocolate Sea Salt, Blueberry, Peanut Butter - it was obvious early on that there was not going to be a tone of time in any of the respiratory therapists’ days to sit down and eat a meal - so being able to grab a bar that would keep them satisfied for a few hours of running around (hello, 13 hour shifts) were much appreciated.

Perfect Bars

Not only were 500 of these bars donated by Juice Press, but Perfect Bar was also willing to send me coupons so the respiratory therapists could pick up some bars on their next trip to the store. Everyone commented that these were super filling.

Picky Bars

Picky Bars sent me a mix of 18 of their granola bars and also let me know about an amazing initiative they’ve been running on their website - for $48.50 you can order a “Front Lines Support Bundle” to send to a hospital which I was happy to do with some money I had raised! Please consider ordering a pack for your local hospital!

Simple Mills

The largest box to show up on my stoop was from Simple Mills, packedddd with their Farmhouse Cheddar crackers. These things are SO GOOD (Ok, I will admit I took ONE bag to taste test!)

Mental Health

There were also a ton of apps that were offering free subscriptions or access to healthcare workers for meditation resources. These included 10 Percent Happier, Headspace and Calm.

THANK YOU!!!

I also just want to thank everyone who donated to my personal fundraising for the Respiratory Therapists at my mom’s hospital. I’ve been able to bring them meals throughout the pandemic, which they’ve really appreciated. Plus, I’ve gotten to support local businesses like Tiger Lily Cafe, Carnival, Rubino’s, Crazy Beans and Town & Country Market (order the Cupsogue!)

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Home Sweet Home: A Travel Guide

Travel has come to a screeching halt. No one knows the next time they’ll walk with wonder down the streets of a new-to-them city or try a local cuisine straight from the source.

When will I write my next travel guide? (Aside from the ones that are still pending due to my laziness…) When is the next time I will hoist a carry-on into an overhead bin or eat a Biscoff cookie on a Delta flight?

A recent writing prompt encouraged me to write about my current surroundings as if they were a new travel destination. It was a fun activity to look at my childhood home through a different lens. This little home I grew up in re-imagined as a new hotel in a new land on a new adventure.

Local Customs

The residents dress very casually and comfortably. It seems that they are very big fans of the NHL as nearly everything they wear displays the League’s shield. For such big fans, there’s a definite lack of hockey on TV…

The females don’t wear a lot of makeup (or any whatsoever) and don’t seem to give much thought to things like manicures, haircuts, or the shaving of leg hair.

Apparently the plumbing here isn’t great, because I’ve been asked to dispose of my toilet paper in the garbage can instead of flushing it. Squares of TP aren’t yet being rationed, but I’ve heard it’s a possibility given a mounting shortage.  

Morning coffee and afternoon tea is taken very seriously in these parts. Coffee is almost always enjoyed with a book or the newspaper and afternoon tea typically pairs with a crossword puzzle or Sudoku.

There is a lot of hand washing and hand sanitizing with an obvious lack of physical contact of any kind. No one seems to be willing to share a drink or a meal, which is sad as someone who thinks food tastes better when shared. No one hugs hello or goodbye - not even a handshake seems customary.

People seem to take a lot of vitamin C and various supplements - zinc, magnesium, echinacea, elderberry - they seem very concerned with their health.

Night Life

The locals don’t seem to have any qualms about drinking before the widely accepted 5 PM happy hour standard.

The house wine, 14 Hands Cabernet, is a definite fan favorite. The pours are heavy and frequent – glasses don’t remain empty for long thanks to an attentive waitstaff.

There are no sports playing on the TV screens. Instead, there’s an eclectic mix of news, stand-up comedy specials, Netflix documentaries and reality TV.

Some nights, there’s “live” entertainment in the form of showtunes from a livestreaming piano bar or at home performances from stars like John Legend and Mariah Carey.

When the ladies are not staining their lips and teeth purple from red wine, the bartender will mix up strong cocktails like margaritas or gin-concoctions with fresh squeezed grapefruit. The glass always comes with a fancy garnish.

The bar is never crowded, but sometimes voices pour in through FaceTime and Zoom as friends and family swap stories through cell phone screens. It’s shocking how loud a bar with three people can get.

When it’s nice out, the party gets taken outside to a nice deck. Sometimes there’s even a fire!

Cuisine

The local cuisine is very internationally inspired.

There’s been an Irish meal of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots which was later re-purposed for a delicious corned beef hash with crispy potatoes, eggs and peppers.

Greek influences led to a delicious salad with chick peas, grape leaves and tzatziki sauce.

My Mexican mood was met with shrimp tacos resplendent with pickled onions, cilantro, avocado, lime and fresh cabbage slaw.

Another night I was served pot stickers doused with a delicious sauce of soy, freshly grated garlic and ginger, pineapple juice and sesame oil. These pork pot stickers were paired with cauliflower rice and spicy kimchi for an extra kick.

All-American more your speed? The chef can grill up a burger you’d want to write home about.

While some of the locals don’t seem to appreciate meals like breakfast and lunch, the kitchen is fully stocked for people like myself who need a meal every 2 hours.

Everyone here seems to agree on a few things: chocolate Entenmann’s donuts are phenomenal and Ruffles potato chips with French Onion dip is a love language.

My favorite part is that the waitstaff knows I prefer to eat with the small utensils.

Day Trips

When people want to get away, the biggest destination seems to be a nearby beach or park to walk and run in relative tranquility.  

I found a really great set of stairs to run up and down repeatedly, which is my idea of a fun day trip.

Sometimes we take a quick drive over to visit another family, but they never invite us inside. Instead, we sit far apart in their backyard. But they always have wine and chocolate waiting for us.

Gym

The lodging has a robust yet makeshift gym. Though the ceiling is low and there is a lot of obstacles (rocking chairs, fishing poles, plastic tubs filled with old clothes), there’s a decent amount of equipment to ensure a good sweat.

What to Pack

If you want to plan your own trip to this tiny house surrounded by bamboo in the middle of a Long Island suburb, make sure you bring the following:

-Sweatpants and leggings
-College and high school hoodies
-Sneakers for lots of walks
-Slipper socks
-Books
-Face masks
-Hand cream
-Sunglasses for tanning on the deck

If you want fun writing prompts sent to you email during quarantine, you can sign up for The Isolation Journals here.

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You Don't Have to Say You're Fine. Or Feel Guilty If You Are.

“How are you hanging in there?”

“How’s it going?”

“Are you OK?”

I’m asking friends, family and coworkers these types of questions on a daily basis as 99% of my relationships have suddenly become long distance.

I try to cycle through, because no one wants to have to think about how they’re really feeling these days too often.

Typically, these are questions asked in passing in the office hallway, as you walk into the gym and greet the person at the front desk, when you pass a friend on the subway platform.

Especially in New York City – when someone asks you how you’re doing, it’s out of polite obligation. A feigned nicety, dripping in disingenuous interest. The asker isn’t waiting for or expecting a real response. And the person being asked knows that all they’re expected to respond with is a “good, how are you?”

The answer is almost always a brief and typically inaccurate “good.” Maybe an “oh, you know…” before trailing off. Or if you work in my office, a somewhat sarcastic, “living the dream.” The point is that no matter what your short answer is, the person who asked the question has already stopped listening.

But now we find ourselves in a new world. Nowadays, if people reach out and specifically ask how you’re doing, they’re probably asking because they actually care.

So as the person being asked how you’re doing, I have a news flash for you: 

YOU DON’T HAVE TO SAY YOU’RE FINE.

Even if you haven’t lost a job. You’re allowed to be not fine.
Even if you don’t have family members in healthcare. You don’t have to pretend you’re fine.
Even if you are healthy. You don’t have to say you’re fine.
Even if you are perfectly content to work at home. You can be decidedly un-fine.

You can say you’re scared, or stressed, or bored. You can say you’re not quite sure how you’re feeling. You can say you’re confused.

In fact, the person asking is probably looking to commiserate with you. They’re probably not fine either.

On the flip side, maybe you are feeling fine. Maybe you’re in self-quarantine with a happy, healthy family. You’re all working from home, making your full salary and enjoying quality time together. You’re making delicious homemade dinners and playing board games at night. But you’re feeling guilty that life is actually feeling pretty nice right about now.

As long as you’re aware of that privilege, you don’t have to feel bad for being happy! But try to do something to pass that smile along to someone who could use it.

Ask a friend how they’re doing and be prepared to listen to their response. Even if it’s not fine.

Real Feels.

I’ve been home for over two weeks now and my “childhood home” is starting to feel like just ‘”my home.” When it comes to a gym, I’ve traded the Lower East Side F45 studio for a cramped basement with various bands, dumbbells and other at-home-fitness-accouterments alongside fishing poles, deer hides and 50+ VHS (yes, we still have a VCR).

I’ve traded a bedroom door for a pull-up bar with a blanket draped over it (it’s a long story.)

I’ve traded Central Park loops for running routes around my neighborhood that I first ran as a high schooler. My entrance to Central Park is now the location of a tent hospital for the overflowing Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City’s Upper East Side.

On Long Island, refrigeration trucks park at hospitals where the morgues are beginning to overflow, but I still find myself laughing in the sun with my family on the back deck.

Normally, the word duality would seem a little too nebulous for me. But lately, it’s come to make complete sense.

I wake up in the morning and there are a million things I could, and perhaps should, do. And part of me wants to. I could read a book, clean out drawers full of old clothes, workout, finally catch up on those blog posts I never got around to writing, start that Michelle Obama guided journal, work on my yoga practice, etc. etc.

But those grand plans and long list of activities live simultaneously in a body and brain that just wants to sit on the couch with a cup of coffee (a cup of brown liquid that’s become the most calming and grounding part of my day). I scroll though Instagram, I scroll through Facebook. I check CNN, I watch another press conference with Andrew Cuomo (I really need to know if he has nipple rings). The tightness in my chest and throat slowly regains a hold so I open TikTok to “relax.” I find myself laughing at videos, and then I feel guilty because my mom is at work, living out a nightmare.

I swipe on Bumble and almost forget that I can’t actually go out for a drink with any of these people. I go for a run and everything feels so wonderfully normal for a short while that walking into the house and seeing the hand sanitizers lined up on the kitchen island feels like a crushing blow.

I see the N95 facemasks that people have donated to my mom and my heart swells with gratitude at the same time I imagine myself throwing them all on the floor and stomping on them because none of them are smalls – none of them will help protect my mom.

I read OpEd pieces written by doctors and nurses in the New York Times that are absolutely horrifying. I try to cry but I can’t because I’m emotionally paralyzed. Paralyzed by the sheer volume of thoughts and feelings living inside me at any given moment.

My mom and I meditate outside. We watch an episode of Gossip Girl. We drink tea and eat chocolate Entenmann’s donuts and I can almost convince myself that everything is normal. That she doesn’t come home through the back door to immediately put her clothes in the basement. That she doesn’t keep her sneakers in her car so they don’t come in the house. That she isn’t sleeping in a separate room. That I can’t hug her.

My dad and I talk endlessly about our next meals. He drives down to the beach to look at the water. He drinks Bud Light with ice and we yell at Trump on the TV. He works out on the Nordic Track and interrupts during American Idol just like 2006. And I can almost convince myself that everything is normal. That he doesn’t stay in bed all morning because he’s depressed by everything that’s going on. That he just wants to hug my mom and I, bur can’t. That he doesn’t have 250 teachers looking to him for answers that he just doesn’t have.

It finally came to me last night, this weird feeling that I couldn’t quite place since I got here.

This is the last time I will live in this house. This is the last time I will have so much time with my parents. It’s an absolutely terrifying realization and it’s also an incredible opportunity that I’m scared of messing up or not appreciating.

I feel like I have the gift of knowing that some day these will be the days I cherish and look back on. The terrifying thing is not knowing if I will look back on this time in 40 years, or 10 or in a few weeks. I guess you never really know when the good old days will be the good old days. But I’m glad to at least know that these are them.

And I’m trying to cling to the details and the little moments. I’m trying to write down the lyrics to the songs we remember and stories we crack up retelling. But every time I go to write them down I feel a little stab of fear and sadness, a reminder that we won’t always be singing Raffi together after drinking a bottle of white wine (“I think it was a smaller bottle…”).

I’m not sure how to wrap this up with an inspiring line, I just know that writing this was the first time I’ve been able to cry since I came home. I don’t feel any weight off my shoulders, my throat still feels tight and I’m still scared and angry. But I also got to see my sister yesterday. I laughed a lot last night with my parents. We FaceTimed with family friends. I’m grateful at the same time I’m scared. I’m content at the same time I’m bored. I’m embracing duality because it’s a reminder that we are complex people living in complicated times.   

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 4

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 4

My wake up time continues to creep closer to 9 AM - today, I managed to roll out of my bed and into my “office” at 8:55.

I had made the mistake of lying there scrolling through CNN, Facebook and Instagram for a good 30 minutes, which I’m quickly realizing is the absolute worst way to start the day. With lots of bad news and stressful new statistics.

Once I realized that it was before 9 AM and I was already feeling anxious and stressed, I flipped my phone into airplane mode. It didn’t last really long, but I’m going to need to be more aware of how much time I’m spending on my phone.

When I went to get breakfast in the kitchen it was a crushing blow to realize there were no bananas in the house. My breakfast options are usually toast with peanut butter and banana, yogurt with banana, oatmeal with banana…banana is always part of my breakfast. Once I recovered from that, it was time to get to work.

Workout break for Day 4 was my own Kettlebell circuit. It was great, and afterwards I took some time posting it to my Instagram account. Though there is SO MUCH amazing home workout content on Instagram right now! Trainers, studios and friends are pumping out so many live classes, circuits and ideas that I might just end this quarantine in better shape than when I started!

My knee is still bothering me too much to run though, and that’s making me very sad. It’s the one thing I can count on to decrease my stress levels and with the weather getting nicer, I hope I’m feeling better soon.

I’m not sure how many days I can include “I took a shower” and “I ate lunch” in these blog posts. I’m boring even myself.

My dad and I participated in a creative exercise - turning the toilet paper he managed to find into an art project. Which do you think is best? Everything is fine. This is totally normal…

We felt bad buying 20 rolls of toilet paper when there are so many people looking for it! Wish that the store had taken the pack apart and sold the rolls individually somehow. But now we are ready 20 weeks, according to the packaging.

Around 6 I headed down to the beach to take a walk and try to catch the sunset. The sky was a little too cloudy for pretty colors, but walking and talking with Allison (6 feet apart) was glorious nonetheless.

Dinner was another turkey sandwich and UPDATE I think I have figured out the bakery that makes the bread I’m obsessed with at Crazy Beans Cafe (Backstory - I go there to buy slices of multigrain bread and every time I ask where they get it I’m told they can’t say!) Now I just need to figure out how to get an entire loaf…

We spent the rest of the night FaceTiming with my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents and shared a lot of laughs, despite my father speaking at top volumes directly into my ear.

When I told them I was planning to use the quarantine as a time to grow out my leg hair, my father proclaimed “If you’re growing it out, you’re taking it home with you! You’re not clogging our drains!” This is life now, my friends.

THINGS THAT MADE ME SMILE

The Tonight Show: At Home Edition - Jimmy Fallon and Lin Manual Miranda and really cute kids. Loved this!

A package arrived at my doorstep today - RX Nut Butter variety pack from my most wonderful friend Kayla. I am SO excited to have one of my favorite things fully stocked at my parents house. I forgot how amazing the chocolate peanut butter was!

Joking that this box of corks was from my mom’s wine consumption the past week! (It’s probably from three plus years).

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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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