HOW I SPENT THE PANDEMIC
Well, it wasn’t writing my blog, that’s for certain!
That was actually a very conscious decision. As I said in my very first post of “Hello Pension Goodbye Tension!” I would focus my blog on adventurous stuff that helped me go from a career I loved to a new life with new places to go and things to do. Thus I became an Uber driver . . . biked through Cuba . . . went to cooking school in Tuscany and then Mexico . . . sailed to the Galapagos . . .went to Burning Man . . . became a judge in the Soho Film Festival . . .and on and on. I was set to go to Rusia, and then the pandemic came along and spoiled that, and just about everything else. It’s hard to be adventurous when you’re not allowed to go anywhere, do anything that involves people, and most everything was shut down anyway.
It’s starting to open up now, and I’ll be telling you in future posts about my upcoming plans, but before I do, we all had to figure out how to get ourselves through this time, and here’s what I did:
ALAN’S IN THE KITCHEN!
It’s no secret that I’ve been passionate about cooking for nearly my entire adult life in New York. First as a single man, then as a Father to two growing kids, then for friends at dinner parties, and finally in my new life. But this past year, as immodest as this sounds, I’ve really gotten a lot better. I love being creative and inventive with my food, and to cook for friends who are bold enough to accept a dinner invitation, remove their masks, and expand their social environment to at least 4 people. I have enough confidence that I always do a dish that I’ve never prepared before for my dinner parties.. I’ve been particularly open about new fish dishes, so I’ve made branzino, cod, halibut, soft shell crabs, scallops, and on and on. I’ve also redefined vegetable dishes with complex ingredients and methods. And pasta being my old favorite, I’m essentially inventing my own sauces without recipes. And as much as I learned to HATE POTATOES while growing up, I’ve now grown to love them. Last night, baby new potatoes with rosemary, and along with practically every meal, the herbs come from my garden.
As great as DoorDash is, and their booming business proves it - - GO JACK! - - I’ve ordered from restaurants exactly twice during the pandemic.
SPEAKING OF MY GARDEN!
My summer of 2020 was basically spent building a new roof garden. I worked with my favorite landscape designer, which I originally met and used at Loews, and then at 49 E 12th Street to convert our rooftop basketball court to an epic garden. And now with a mere 196 square foot roof garden, I wouldn’t have thought it would cost what it did, but it was worth every cent. I have a lovely fountain wall, a luscious 15 herb garden, and a New York view in which I can see 7 of the 10 tallest building in Manhattan, according to a recent article in the New York Times. In good weather I live there. How do you like this?
BACK AT THE PIANO
I started piano lessons at 52, and kept it up for two years, as I thought I would be a good model for Lily and Jack. But they quit, and so did I. Maybe it was because at our recitals of a bunch of kids their age, and me, I was without question the least talented pianist. But I bought a piano and I’m trying again, and yes, you’ll be invited to the recital!
WORKING OUT
In the last 400 days, since the start of the pandemic, I’ve worked out exactly 395 times. I don’t know how I missed those 5 days. But my working out does give me a daily routine that starts the same way every day. So first it was Cardio Rehab, which I aced, and now it’s BLINK, which doesn’t give grades. But as a member of Silver Sneakers, my admission is free, so GOODBYE CRUNCH!
So that’s it for now. I promise to make this a regular thing again. I went on a 6 day Finger Lakes bike tour in June, and to Paris and then Normandy and Avignon in August, and then a road trip through the western states in September, so stay tuned because . . . .
TO BE CONTINUED!
