It’s A Wrap, March 10th

After eleven months and twenty-six days, I am happy to announce that unemployment benefits will no longer apply to me… and this time it’s not because New York State has screwed up! I have just accepted a wonderful job offer so my free time is coming to an end. It’s a wrap, people!

I will still be writing as much as I’m able, and I do have a library of ideas and some on-deck posts that have not yet published, so don’t expect a total literary drought. But please be aware that blog entries might not be as frequent as you’ve come to expect. I will have to focus on quality over quantity as I tackle my new corporate challenge as my primary daytime activity.

“Time, time, time. See what’s become of me. While I looked around for my possibilities…”
Hazy Shade of Winter by The Bangles

As I conduct my own year in review, I wanted to take a little time to process and memorialize these last 12 months, grateful that hindsight is indeed 2020. Like many of you, I’ve dealt with frustrations, headaches, serious heartache, fear, loss, absolute panic, sleeplessness, noisy neighbors, tough decisions, loneliness, allergies, confusion, and a bad fall… along with many bright spots including: praying hard that I’d win the huge Mega Millions Jackpot (no dice, but I did win $4), one wonderful day of poolside perfection, many exceptional batches of beguiling banana bread, a spontaneous, uninterrupted, and utterly blissful two hour cloud gazing session with Phyllis in the middle of the Upper Meadow in Central Park, celebratory negative test results, a dry cleaning bill of zero (but I promise to hit you up again Tom once I’m working), a colossal fresh strawberry whipped cream pie so good that I blush just thinking about it (Google Briermere Farm in Riverhead, NY and start planning your trip now), two terrific fall getaways– one upstate and one out east, really great sleep, no bridge or tunnel traffic, a steak dinner so good that it brought tears to my eyes (which you can read all about in my most recent post, Steak Out), and the amazing feeling of hugging each of my parents after a 10 month COVID hiatus.

Beyond that list, here are the top twenty-one things that garnered my attention…

ONE I lost my job in March just as the lockdown in New York City was starting, and before I could even process the concept of being let go… TWO I got COVID three days later. I was sick with fever and a headache for 17 long days, but more than that, I was truly terrified. Eventually I felt better, and I have had no long-term effects. 🙏

THREE I had to create a document for my son that detailed my bank account password, my insurance information, my financial advisor’s phone number, and my last wishes. This was a terrible exercise but necessary, and I’m actually glad that the task is complete, but sad that it happened under those extreme circumstances.

FOUR I enjoyed the hell out of clapping out the window every night at 7pm to applaud our first responders. Thank you all again for your courage, bravery, expertise, work ethic, and commitment to our health and safety.

FIVE I flew solo to Indiana to drive my son’s car home from his college apartment in Bloomington. After I landed, I was the only person at the entire Indianapolis Airport transportation hub– no police, no busses, no rental car agents, nobody directing traffic, not one car, no idling shuttles, and not a single human being at 8pm on a Wednesday night. It was like a Stephen King novel. I did the 11-hour drive back to New York the next day– yeah, that was not the highlight of my year.

SIX I lost three members of my family in 2020— all tragic and painfully sad. I am still grieving their losses and the profound affect their absences have had on my family.

SEVEN I met Phyllis in Central Park an average of 3 days a week to clock between 6-8 miles a day. EIGHT One day after our park miles I stopped by Whole Foods to pick up some groceries. I had to wait outside on the line to get in. But when I went to pay, I was the only person in the whole store checking out.

NINE I met the love of my life, Michael. (Certainly the highlight of the year!)

TEN I finished my first novel, Jen’s Little Black Book: Bacon Wrapped Dates. (Ok Michael, I guess you have to share the spotlight.) I’ve been promising to publish it on Amazon– still working on that.

ELEVEN I bought not one single pair of shoes, not a handbag, nary a sparkly piece of jewelry the entire year. (No stuff = no photos to show you of what I didn’t blow my money on.)

TWELVE I haven’t had Chick-fil-A since February of 2020, but I dream about their waffle fries at least once a week. THIRTEEN And I learned how to prepare quite a plethora of recipes that I’d be happy to never cook again— like a tasteless Dutch baby that looked good but was seriously awful, and a garlic butter and parsley cream cheese bread bomb that smelled amazing but was a soggy mush of ooze. (Don’t try these at home.)

FOURTEEN I hadn’t used my MetroCard in so long that it actually expired, and I didn’t notice for six months because… FIFTEEN I was busy binge watching the entire Game of Thrones series, and I’m a little in love with Tyrion Lannister. (Michael, sweetheart… Maybe you shouldn’t read this.)

SIXTEEN I also saw The Queen’s Gambit (she was mesmerizing), Goliath (Billy Bob was incredible), Emily in Paris (just fun and loved the scenery and clothes), The Handmaid’s Tale (planning to go into seclusion April 28th when season 4 is released), See (major cliffhanger ending), The Morning Show (very believable and I love Reese’s character “Two F*cks Jackson”), Bridgerton (just great), and The Undoing (I knew he did it, by the way).

SEVENTEEN I haven’t gained one pound since COVID began— but I wasn’t at my fighting weight before it started. (I’m very glad I threw out the Dutch baby and the garlic butter and parsley cream cheese bread bomb. I’m sure they wouldn’t have helped the cause, not that they were stellar choices to begin with!)

EIGHTEEN I literally danced in the streets with hundreds of other masked New Yorkers when the media outlets finally declared Biden’s landslide victory.

NINETEEN I spent more time on LinkedIn looking for a job than I did writing my novel. And I applied for hundreds of jobs and got hundreds of very nice rejection letters from companies that just didn’t know how innovative I was or how much I could bring to the table. So I kept hitting a brick wall, but I kept on going.

TWENTY I wrote exactly 10 blog posts before I announced to a small group of 17 industry folks that I’d created a website and a blog, hoping one of them might be able to connect me to a new lead for future employment with a company I had not yet spoken with… and one did. After which I had exactly three interviews, five follows ups, and waited more than a month to finally hear the great news, “Jen, you got the job!”

TWENTY-ONE Since the start of this project in January, I’ve written over 65 posts containing more than 35,000 words and used more than 500 photos. And I’ve made at least 162 people laugh (that I know of, but some are repeat offenders so that number might be high) and at least 2 people cried for sentimental reasons… and maybe one of them is you.

I know this is certainly a year for the record books, and life is nowhere close to normal. I’m trying to focus on the positive– the worst of the winter weather is finally behind us so spring is around the corner, I have some accomplishments of which I’m very proud (I’m totally including my lack of weight gain here!), my terrific not-so-new relationship is still terrific, a move is in my future and that will be exciting, and vaccines are rolling out so hopefully shots for all are coming soon and life will be… Jeez!! They are starting to flash the lights already, so I have to wrap it up… Ok folks, thanks for reading. You’re a great audience! I hope you continue to tune in.