A Look Back - May 2020
There are certain months that I know years from now we will look back on this time in our life as a turning point. May of 2020 like many months in 2020 has been one of stress, joyous moments, and big decisions. It’s a month that Jenn and I probably more than ever in our lives have had to rely on each other, trust each other, and make decisions in a world that has never felt less clear. That’s a lot of words to basically say May was a big month.
RECAP OF THE MONTH
We’re now on month three of quarantine. At first, it was fun, then it became stressful, and I’d say the month of May was more when we reached acceptance. It’s now our new normal, especially in New York City one of the hardest-hit areas in the world so far. Jenn and I are usually pretty good about understanding what we need and finding ways to take care of our family. The first weekend in May was beautiful and Jenn pushed us to rent a car and just drive to the Hamptons. It’s one of our first adventures outside of NYC since moving here two years ago and it was one of the most majestic days I can remember. We walked down to the Avis in the Upper West Side, grabbed a VW Jetta, and were on our way.
Frasier really hasn’t been on that many long car rides but he did great sitting on Jenn’s lap and enjoying the breeze from the window down. With the virus, there were literally no cars on the road so we made it out of the city and to the Hamptons in no time. We had no real plans, no final destination, more than anything we just wanted to get out of the city. Jenn randomly put in East Hampton Main Beach and two hours later we had arrived. There was almost no one at the beach on this overcast morning, we let Frasier off the leash and he just ran in the sand with no care in the world. We walked up and down the coastline, tired out the pup, and before we left we sat down on the beach and watched the waves come in. It was the first time in almost three months we let our literal masks down and breathed fresh air. If they could have bottled that air and sold it in the city I would have lined up at midnight to buy it. It was the best I think all three of us has felt since mid-March.
After the beach we made our way back to the city. We stopped at a McDonalds drive through for lunch which hit the spot and made our way back. When we drove to the Hamptons we saw a small winery off the road doing a makeshift drive-thru wine sales and we knew we had to stop. We bought a single bottle of their Rose and made our way home. It was such a beautiful and perfect day and I know for both of us it was the breath of fresh air that we both desperately needed.
We rode the energy of our quick day trip to the Hamptons for the next week or two. The weather made a significant push from winter to spring with showers, warmer temperatures, and beautiful walks with Frasier along the Hudson River. We continued to cook at home for the majority of our meals including several HelloFresh meals (a home delivery service) and some of our own creations. Cooking for me has actually been one of the major points of solace that we’ve had since COVID took over.
One of my favorite memories of May was when we finally bit the bullet and I trimmed my beard for the first time during quarantine and Jenn cut my hair with my beard trimmers. She was so nervous and it took such a long time but by the end of it all, I looked like my old self again and felt good as well.
There were small wins throughout the month as well. I remember when Starbucks opened up and Jenn got her first hot chocolate. Or on Mother’s Day getting Jenn flowers to celebrate her being an incredible puppy Mom. She looked so beautiful that day with her green CK sweater.
But that’s burying the lead. Much of May came down to Jenn and I having some major life decisions to make that we had to continue to work through, avoid, come back to, and eventually after tons of long walks, discussions over dinner, and back and forth we arrived at a path forward. Ever since COVID arose we had thought about what our longer-term (remaining part of 2020) plan would be. Would we stay in the city? Would we move to Brooklyn or to a nearby Suburb? Would we temporarily leave? Put on top of that that Jenn accepted and started a new job and we had a really hard time deciding what would be right for us, our day-to-day lives, our careers, Frasier, and all sorts of other factors. But after all of that, we decided that we’d temporarily leave NYC and move back to Newport Beach for the remainder of 2020.
And that decision then sent over a tidal wave of other decisions that we had to make. When would we move? What would that even look that? Can we get a short-term lease anywhere? Where should we live? Should we buy, rent, or lease a car? How do we get Frasier across the country? Do we drive? Do we fly? Do we move our furniture or rent some? And the list goes on and on. And really that made up the second half of May.
By the end of the month, our entire 1-bedroom apartment was packed, our plans had been made, and the new adventure was set in place. We’d be moving some of our stuff back to California on June 1st (the rest remained in our storage unit in NYC) and flying with Frasier on June 5th to LAX to live in Newport Beach for the rest of 2020 and moving back to New York in early 2021. Its a massive move, a massive amount of work but by the end of May we had fully packed and all plans had been made. 2020 has already been a year so different then I could have ever imagined it being, as I write this I only hope that we made the right decision and that the rest of 2020 and beyond looks back on this decision fondly.
TV WE WATCHED
With the move and stress we actually didn’t watch nearly as much TV as we normally would. Let’s talk about two shows we didn’t like first Westworld and Run on HBO both felt like they missed the mark. On the flip side we loved the second season of After Life and although we didn’t finish Normal People on Hulu yet its been at least a fun show to watch.
BOOKS I READ (OR LISTENED TO)
By far the book I will be thinking about long after May is going to be Talking to Strangers by Malcom Gladwell. I just really enjoy his books, his style, and all that I learn from reading his work. Talking to Strangers really challenged my thinking about how I communicate with others and the assumptions I make. The other two books The Fated Sky (book 2 of the Lady Astronaut series) was fun and The Nickel Boys was powerful but a bit hard to follow .
MOVIES WE WATCHED
We did get a chance to catch a couple movies this month and stand-up specials. Terminator Dark Fate was a movie that I had wanted to see for a while and was about as bad/good as I expected it to be. Becoming based off the auto-biography of Michelle Obama was very well done. Lovebirds a romantic comedy on Netflix was good but nothing out of the ordinary. And unfortunately both stand-up specials we watched with Patton Oswalt and Jerry Seinfeld were fine.
THEATER WE SAW
I’m heartbroken to say that this section continues to not have any news. I’m hoping with our decision to move to California that maybe we’ll have an opportunity to catch a few performances here before the year is out but as of now that looks very unlikely.
GAMES I'VE BEEN PLAYING
A very very light month for games that I expect will change quite a bit in June with the release of The Last of Us Part 2.
2020 GOAL TRACKING
Goal #1: Read 40 Books: I've read 16 books and am currently ahead of schedule to hit my goal.
Goal #2: Keep Weight Under 140: I've yet to go over 140lbs
Goal #3: 12 Monthly Recaps: 5 for 5.
