Re-appreciating my neighborhood
Our worlds are smaller, but maybe that's not all bad.
When you live in a big city, you tend to spend a lot of your time trying to take advantage of it all. I live in Brooklyn, but in pre-Covid times, I took the subway into Manhattan nearly every day, partly because commuting to work required me to do so. But after work or on weekends, I hopped around the five boroughs in order to try the newest restaurants I’d read about on Eater, to see a new exhibit at MoMa or The Whitney, to see film screenings at Lincoln Center or a show in the Theater District, to have hot pot in Flushing.
Since Covid arrived, I have basically spent 90% of my time within a one-mile radius of my apartment. I haven’t been to Manhattan in seven months, other than driving through without stopping. I don’t take the subway anymore, and I don’t commute to the office everyday. Going to Manhattan seems unnecessary and risky.
Like everyone, my world has gotten a lot smaller as a result of the pandemic. A small silver lining is that I’ve developed—or redeveloped—a new appreciation for my own neighborhood. In the past, I spent so much time traveling all over the city that I spent very little time actually exploring where I live, Park Slope/Prospect Heights. But now, I only go as far away as my feet can carry me — and surprisingly, that’s been more than enough.
Instead of constantly trying new restaurants, I’ve developed trusty favorites that I frequent regularly. I’ve come to understand the pleasure of supporting small local businesses and getting to know the people who work there, because I actually go there often enough instead of just once in a while. I love new things — I wrote a couple weeks ago but how much I love novelty! — but there’s also a pleasure to be found in being a regular somewhere, in enjoying the places right in your own backyard and going there over and over again until they become familiar and comfortable.
Now that I spend so much time in my neighborhood, I’ve come to really appreciate going to the farmers market every Saturday morning, the cinnamon rolls at my favorite local bakery, the squash bread at my favorite local restaurant turned general store, and the freedom of having green space next door in our local park. Those things were all there before the pandemic, but staying so close to home all the time has made me appreciate them with a fresh, renewed perspective. It’s one thing from this year that I hope continues long after this is over.
What I’m reading
Why social media makes you feel so old, Vox. A very good, very relatable piece from my coworker Rebecca Jennings.
They had big plans for the lockdown. This is what happened, New York Times.
He married a sociopath: me, New York Times.
Mothers are the ‘shock absorbers’ of our society, New York Times. The pandemic is forcing moms to drop out of the work for at alarming rates — and their careers may never recover.
How to make this winter not totally suck, according to psychologists, Vox.
Diane Lane answers every question we have about Under the Tuscan Sun, Vulture.
Going Sohla, Vulture. An excellent profile of Sohla El-Wayly, the former Bon Appetit Test Kitchen star who’s now striking out on her own.
How we lie to ourselves about history, The New Yorker.
Your local bookstore wants you to know it’s struggling, New York Times.
Megan Thee Stallion: Why I stand up for black women, New York Times.
My mustache, myself, New York Times Magazine. A beautiful piece from Wesley Morris on black men in America, and mustaches.
What I’m cooking
This week I made: slow cooker chipotle honey tacos, roasted squash and grains with tahini-honey, Asian garlic noodles, and fall-apart caramelized cabbage. I also had way too many apples so I baked this delicious cinnamon-sugar topped apple bread.
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