Category: Life

  • Supporting the Local Coffee Shop

    We got a dog way back in February of 2020. It was a birthday gift for the kid, and we just beat the huge rush of people getting pets before the Covid lockdown. We love our little dog, and it has been great having a little furry animal to snuggle and play with. The dog is great with the kid and people. She wags her tail when people talk to her, and she lets them pet her. But if another dog is near, our little girl turns into a ragging killer, as our dog hates all other dogs.

    Well, the other day on our morning walk, I saw that a store front which had butcher-paper over windows, was now opened as a coffee shop, and a local coffee shop at that! Not a chain, but an actual local coffee shop. My first thought was that this is great, as now we have a place to get a real cup of coffee, that was not corporate, or, no offense, a crappy bodega coffee that could have been sitting around for days. Then I was struck by the solid courage that this person has for opening a new business, a food service business non the less, in New York City during a pandemic. That right there has made me a fan of this place.

    And I look forward to going in to it. One day.

    Though the coffee shop is dog friendly, as I have seen other people with their dogs getting a cup, but If I were to head in there with my dog, and another dog were to enter, then all hell would break loose, and I don’t want to be that guy.

    But, you know, I don’t leave the apartment for leisure. I don’t leave the apartment unless I have a task to accomplish. I don’t know when I will visit this place regularly. This coffee shop is such a temptation for the life of normalcy that is very, very close to becoming a reality. I will get a cup of coffee in the joint to support of this proprietor, but what I want is to go to the place, get a cup of coffee, and just talk a walk in the city again, and drop in shops, and see places, and be social.

  • Waiting My Turn for the Vaccine

    Is vaccine anxiety a thing? I mean, having anxiety about not having received your shot yet. That’s a thing, or it should be a thing.

    I’m not talking about anxiety of receiving the shot, like “I’m scared of needles,” anxiety. Not that.

    I’m also not talking about anxiety if the shot is safe, or will cause some awful side effect, or even crazy conspiracy theories.

    Nope. I’m talking about the anxiety I’m having just waiting for my turn.

    I’m trying to have patience, or at least I was. Last night, the thought that with all the variants out there, including this new New York City variant, that waiting for my turn is starting to get dicey, maybe even dangerous.

    Fear. This is fear, so let me just be honest. The tiniest speck of fear danced into my head.

    And that fear started kicking at the door of reason, as fear started asking me, why are all of these people getting vaccinated who shouldn’t be getting vaccinated? Social media keeps showing me pictures of people who are younger than me, who are not teachers, or first responders or in the medical field, or essential workers, getting vaccinated. Do all of these people have underlining medical conditions?

    And that fear started clawing open my logical side of thinking by asking, Am I being naïve by waiting my turn? Is everyone out there cheating to get the vaccine, and am I going to be left out in the cold, only to get sick with one of these super variants?

    But then Reason and Logic did take back over. I am healthy. I take precautions, like wearing a mask, social distancing, washing hands, staying home. There are many people out there who do need the vaccine more than I do right now. Also, the faster that the groups in front of me get vaccinated, the sooner it will be my turn.

    I have to remind myself that Covid isn’t the only disease out there. Fear is just as contagious.

  • Dressing Up Ivy Style

    Of the many things I did this weekend, I spent a good amount of time online, “window” shopping for shirts. Like, the type of Oxford solid colored shirts that I would wear to work. You know, when I had a job. I would look at these shirts on sale at J Crew and UniQlo, and think about how nice it would be to put on nice clothes for a reason.

    In the past year of lock down, I have bought three pair of shoes (running shoes, low-top All-Stars, and moccasin slippers) one pair of jeans, and pajamas. That’s it. My wardrobe has been stuck in stasis; an atrophy of style.

    I dress up for my kid’s doctor appointments. Not that I am trying to impress anyone at the pediatrician’s office. It’s just nice to have a reason to tuck in a shirt.

    I know this is a big reason that I am following so many #ivystyle people on Instagram. I like reminding myself that there was a formal world out there. That I might have a need to look professional again, and I should keep an eye out for a good tweed jacket, and the ties that would match with it.

    In that regard, I have been following Sean Crowley’s IG @crowley_vintage. From what I can gather, Sean used to be a designer at Ralph Lauren, and now has a shop in DUMBO on Front Street, by appointment only. His shop looks like a wonderland of Ivy/Oxford inspired style. I would like to set an appointment and stop by, but Covid, and the fact that I have a good feeling that items on sale at this store are WWWWAAAAAYYYYYY out of my price range, make me hesitant. I don’t want to expose myself to the disease, and I don’t want to waste Sean’s time if I cannot purchase anything, as I am still unemployed.

  • It’s Been a Year

    Someone pointed out to me that a year ago yesterday, Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to jail. That was a big win, and a long time coming. This goes without saying, Weinstein feels like a million years ago.

    A year ago, I had just got a job, and my first day of work was to be on the 16th in person, but it got rescheduled to be a Zoom training, and I was off working with a group of people I would never meet in person. I am thankful for that job, as it came at the right time and kept our family afloat. But… Pandemic… Laid off…

    But back in March of 2020, I was having trouble sleeping as both me and my wife were out of work, money was getting tight, not that it’s stopped being tight, and it felt like nothing was going break our way. It was like being punched in the stomach every night, but we tried to put on a brave face in the morning as we walked the kid to school.

    And on the kid’s last day of in person school, 3/13/20 but we didn’t know it would be the last day, the school was about half full with kids. It was eerie how quite the building was. Walking back to the apartment, the wife and I wondered if we made a mistake sending the kid to school that day. We knew there was a contagion out there, but we still thought that it wasn’t that bad.

    A year has gone by. 500,000 Americans are dead. Sometimes, I still have trouble wrapping my head around all of this.

  • Old Friend Birthday Wishes

    Old friends. I was struck by this idea this morning as I texted an old friend from college, wishing him a happy birthday. He’s in Texas, and I am in New York, but to be honest, we could be in the same town and that would not be a guarantee that we would be able to see each other.

    Old friends. I can say that now without irony. I have known him for 20 years. Our friendship is just about to be old enough to drink. I have a hand full of friends that I have known for over 35 years. Those friendships should start thinking about setting up retirement accounts.

    I am missing all of my friends, as we all are. I think things getting Spring-like warm in the City isn’t helping, as this would be the time that I would make an excuse to go take a walk around the park with a friend. To grab a seat on a bench with an old friend, and talk. Nothing complicated, just simple and basic; a conversation.

    Old friends who inhabit those fading pictures that were developed off of film are sprinkled on the walls of my home. The orange-yellowing of those images reflect the sanding of the sharp corners of my memories. It was all fun and silly, though those emotions then were stronger, and deeper, right? Only an old friend of mine could conform my nostalgia, or honesty.

    Happy birthday, old friend, and all of my old friends.