N.) Nature
Our old president called Covid the 'silent enemy' and in a way he was right. It was so weird early on in the pandemic the idea of little globules of Covid just floating around. That said, we were always told outdoors and specifically in areas not too crowded were safe and I abused that little Covid loophole to the full degree. I'll talk about trails later, but this year got me closer to 'nature' in the sense of just realizing how special it is. There was my Mom's garden, with me probably spending more time just lazing outside on the patio, or us eating in the backyard, than any other year. There were the trails. There were the fall colors. There was the walks we used to take as a family very early on in the pandemic from our house to our town's center three or so miles away. It took a year locked down to really realize what a beautiful world this little slice of america is.
O.) Old Movies
I detailed the old movies angle in much more detail, but this whole pandemic has been about rediscovering many ages of cinema that escaped me. It actually started early on when I was playing out the string on a project with loose enough to have movies on in the background during the day. Those were more recent - I had a post about them back in April. In time, it became the other Friday tradition, that there would be a movie playing in the background when I cooked. And to ensure I don't miss enough, older movies ("slower" in theory) where the go to - better if they were musicals. I had never seen a Cary Grant or Humphrey Bogart movie before this year - same with Audrey Hepburn (aside from My Fair Lady), Katharine Hepburn or so many other stars of classic cinema. I still have just scratched the tip of the iceberg - but at least I now know it is an iceberg wholly worth scratching.
P.) Puzzles
Many families got into, or re-into, puzzles during the pandemic. Mine was no different, as it was our initial family gathering time waster early on, went silent over the summer and fall, and then reawakened in the depths of winter, spurned by Christmas and a bevy of Christmas-themed puzzles. More than anything, they were a small set of a daily family communion - early on when my sister and her fiance was living with us, at the end of each working day each one would sit down at the dining table and just puzzle for a bit. We did all types - classic Italian paintings, beautiful landscapes, wreath-shaped paintings. I don't know if we're appreciably better now than we were early on, but when better means faster - well that goes against the whole communal aspect of the puzzle to begin with.
R.) Regrets
While I've tried to focus here on the positive aspects of a year in quarantine and a year in a pandemic world. But that isn't truly 'real', a lot of this year was tough. Of course, for millions (billions, really) it is way tougher than I can imagine, but for me there are certainly regrets or missed opportunities. There's the regret of running one of hte most successful projects of my career, a real proud accomplishment but doing it without ever meeting my team or client team that were such big parts of it. There's the loss of vacations, be it the one to Korea that I had planned for last May - somehow won't be able to even do it this May. It was losing out on a proper housewarming. It was losing out on making more connections, on interacting with friends not close enough to do frequent Zooms, but close enough there's a loss of memories made. And finally, it was losing out on my Sister's wedding - which she'll still have but it should've already happened for her. 2020 could have been a great year; in many ways it still was, but there's definitely a lot I regret not having the ability to do.
S.) Schitt's Creek
I've said a few times in this my love of Schitt's Creek, but what was interesting was it was a show my parents watched, alone, first. I'm not sure why they started, but they binged it in a way that I've never seen them binge a show. That was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. I started it soon after they reached S4 in record pace. I didn't watch it quite at their pace but it was irresistible. In the end, I binged only a few older classic shows that I missed out on (Justified was the other 'classic' I would say, Episodes is up there, just more niche), but happy that Schitt's Creek was the one comedy - so endlessly funny, joyous and in a weird way meta - it being the story of how a family who had everything also learned to take in the joys of the little things.
T.) Trails
There's a beautiful little trail a little bit aways from Central Princeton. I maybe hiked its 1hr long loop about 100 times last year. It was the perfect little daily escape, something that was always a few miles away but hidden from view with bright lights and friends and drinks and all that blocking its reach. With those 'distractions' out of the way, these trails became a lifeblood. Ironically, I first walked that Princeton trail in February before lockdown, but I am unendingly thankful I made that little discovery. Over time, I tried a few other trails around my house, and a few around the state. Every few weekends I went on my AllTrails app (a great app) and found something new to explore. Theres enough streams and mini-waterfalls and lakes even in New Jersey. A took a pandemic for me to realize how beautiful the untouched parts of New Jersey's many forests really are.
U.) Unexpected Nostalgia
I had not gone to Six Flag's Safari in maybe 12-15 years. It used to be a many-times-a-year joy back in teh 90s and an at least once-a-year so from 2000 - 2007 or so. Then it went silent for years. Well, deep in September, we decided to take a whirl at the safari. It was glorious, as good as I remembered, even if there were less animals (in total; in # of species, probably more) but they were just as great, just as close to cars as before. I loved every moment of it. There were a few other things I did over the year that I hadn't done in such a long time. Before bars/restaurants opened back up, my friends and I took walks around Princeton - an activity we hadn't done since being able to go to the bars from 2012 onwards. There was driving on the New Jersey Coast. There was just walking aimlessly around New York, or going to Peddler's Village. There was the already mentioned puzzles and what-not. It was all a year-long nostalgia trip. Would I give it up for a real trip? Well, certainly, but maybe not the safari?
V.) Vacation Photos
I didn't get to really travel last year. No one is going to cry for me. That said, I didn't really cry for me either, because I realize how lucky I am to have traveled so much in years prior, and not only that, but I've taken to mindlessly and endlessly taking photos on those trips. Those gave me the greatest blessing this year - whenver I felt a bit down, on another weekend at home, unable to meet friends and some weekends even organize a zoom, a just opened up the laptop and pulled up photos from old vacations. It kept reminding me how lucky I was, but also what a joy it was to experience those trips. In the moment on those trips I found it a bit ridiculous how many photos I took (almost all without people in them), but they were a lifesaver this past year. I could somewhat relive those trips, and dream of a future when I would be able to add more 1,500-picture collections in the future.
W.) Winberie's
I spoke earlier about the restaurants that stayed open. Above them all, the one I'm most happy about that stayed open was Winberie's in Palmer Square. Princeton as a whole did well adjusting to more outdoor seating, creating actually fairly 'normal', enjoyable atmosphere's all summer. It allowed my friends and I a few weekends with a 'normal' time, particularly at Alchemist & Barrister, we had a few nights even able to stay out until 1am. Winberie's couldn't do this though, with no outdoor seating. We achingly waited until in August they finally opened back up. They have restricted hours (close at 10), and very limited seating. Because of this I've only been back twice, but those might have been my two favorite 'going out' moments of the quarantine. To sit in that booth with the same friends, chatting to the same two waitresses (who luckily stayed employed throughout), felt about as close to normal as I could have pictured. So grateful Winberie's stayed open - now I just can't wait until we can stay there in that booth but do so to close it down at 1am again.
X.) X-word
I've done the New York Times Crossword for a while now, but until the past year limited myself to basically the Monday through Wednesday versions (read: the easier ones). This past year, with a bit more down time, I started to tackle the tougher ones. I'm still not good - I don't blatantly cheat but I use the invaluable NYTXW blog "Rex Does the Crossword" as a lifeline and guide. I'm continuously astounded by the times those guys put up - to be honest even an easy Monday puzzle I find it impossible to even navigate the crossword in that speed. Anyway, I'm still not any good, but I'm definitely better, I've finally memorized which spelling of Tsar/Czar the crossword uses and a few of hte other common random words, but still have so much more to go.
Y.) Year
What this year has really thought me is just what a 'year' means. It also changed the definition of a 'month' - as March became the longest 31 days maybe ever. But for some of the year it also flew by. I'll expand a lot more on the 'year' concept in another piece but in the end, this year when about as fast or slow as others, but other than saying I 'lived through the pandemic' I do wonder how much this year will just winnow away from memory over time. In a way, that's why I wanted to write this piece and focus more on the positives, so I can remember this year for what is what, both good and bad.
Z.) Zoom
Amazingly, yes Zoom was a thing before the pandemic. Ironically, my company switched to Zoom for video conferences (from WebEx) in December. Didn't realize how prescient we were! Overtime, Zoom began to run my life from 8a-7p, having done way too many Zoom meetings for many a lifetime. But come weekend, it became a lifeline - one to keep touch with the friends that carried me through this period. Out of my closest friend group, only a few of us were still in town and able to create a safe enough group quasi-bubble to be able to meet up a few times in the summer. For the rest of the group, including three now on the West Coast, Zoom kept us connected. We played Codenames, Cards Against Humanity, Jackbox, a lot of poker, and alternatively just shot the shit like we always would. Zoom also allowed my extended family to connect a few times. In some cases, I spoke to people more often this past year over Zoom than I probably would've had 2020 been normal. I hope to never have to breakout Zoom so often in 2021 and beyond, but for 2020, Zoom was the one thing that kept the year sane and special.
