June 2020: There Is Not Much To Show

Well, it certainly seems I did not do much in June. And I thought April was my most locked-down month!

JUNE 6: While the protests were occurring, there was some major scorched-earth looting along Fordham Road in the Bronx, just over the river from Inwood. Rumors ran rampant that Dyckman street was the looters’ next target, so I when I went out this night to pay my rent I found many businesses well boarded up and something of local anti-looting militia patrolling the neighborhood before staking out on Dyckman for the night. As far as I know the looters never came, BUT I very strongly believe I heard gunfire that night (and not just the usual late-night independent fireworks show).

JUNE 8: Surprise “visit” to Festus’s with Garrett, too.

JUNE 13: I could hear a band playing so I went out to find out what was going on. Turns out it was a concert at the fruit stand! The fruit stand man gave me a banana which (mistakenly) I tried to eat with my mask on. Also discovered the church on the corner is open now. And found some saddles for sale.

Really these posts would be longer if I was including the food I’ve been cooking or the books I’ve been reading, but I’ve kept that content Instagram-exclusive.

May 2020 : Looks like I went to the Bronx a lot

Okay, May 2020, let’s look at more lockdown stuff…

May 4: For a while there was this good deal on burritos at Taco Bell, so I’d get a bag of them once a week. And then the deal ended and I haven’t been back. Taco Bell without a deal? No deal!

May 7: I began posting a drawing every night, starting with a favorite character from Flannery O’Connor’s Wiseblood.

May 12: Taking pictures inside of my apartment and then that night we had family bookclub to discuss the Wind in the Willows. If you haven’t read the Wind in the Willows, you really should!

May 16: Took a three mile walk into the Bronx for an antibody test, this was the farthest I had gone from my apartment since March (and haven’t been that far since) and also when they drew my blood that was the first human physical contact I had had since March (and up to this point, again). It was fun to explore a part of the city I had absolutely never ever ever been to before. And my legs got real worn out, in spite of my aggressive daily bike rides. Oh and looking at these pictures I realize I barely took any pictures. I guess I was too in awe of everything I saw.

May 17: Now this was wild — a Zoom mission reunion. Good to check up with the Cazier’s every 20’ish years. Nearly didn’t recognize a single other person on the call besides former companion Elder Torres and former housemate Elder Zuñiga.

May 22: Another hike into the Bronx, this time I was hunting down some Chinese cooking ingredients. Turns out the little grocery store I went to was more of a Vietnamese grocer, but I still found a few good things. AND I bought a nice torta Cubana on the way back.

May 25: ANOTHER hike into the Bronx, this time I wanted to get a bite at Smashburger. But by the time I didn’t feel like a burger anymore. So I came back home.

May 31: Made Cincinnati-style chili!

March + April 2020

Back from Boise and things . . . start to change. Suddenly.

MARCH 5: Get “burgers'“ with Patricia at Lekka, a new vegan fast food place in Tribeca. It’s good, it is not Superiority Burger. I guess they had no option but to not be Superiority Burger. (Interestingly, Lekka’s owners ran their first restaurant in the space that’s now Superiority Burger).

MARCH 6: Little trip into Jersey to eat at the famous pizza bakery and a famous, strangely silent and empty yet busy burger diner.

MARCH 7: I’m in the East Village for some reason. I get two slices at Sauce. It’s a great pizzeria.

MARCH 11: Aaaaand . . . I don’t go into work any more! The plan at first is to split the whole office into two teams and take turns not going into work, but by the end of the week it’s: Nope! No one come back! This is the second (and last) set of lilies I buy myself that month. I find myself very into having flowers making the house smell nice. Would like to get back to doing that.

MARCH 14: Not sure what I’m doing yet, but knowing I’m not taking the subway anymore, I take a walk up to Van Cortland park in the Bronx. Great park! I should go back sometime.

MARCH 15: Still unsure what exactly the way to do things is, I meet Ellen, Alexis, Ned and Dallin for a socially-distanced walk through Inwood Hill Park.

MARCH 17: In the middle of my WFM workday, I take a quick rainy St Patrick’s Day trip to C Town (that’s a grocery store). No need to worry about supply chain yet, there was plenty of beef heart.

MARCH 21: Having watched the news and feeling I better make sure I’ve got plenty of toilet paper, I take a walk to the Target near my house and run into Garrett while I’m there. What a world!

MARCH 22: Take an afternoon walk in Inwood Hill Park. Although you don’t see many of them in the photos, I decide there’s too many people out. There’s too many people everywhere! I decide: I will not go outside anymore. Except to get groceries every week or two.

MARCH 28: My new chair arrives.

APRIL 1: Grandma’s new iPad has arrived.

APRIL 8: I go outside to . . . mail my rent! And while I’m out I take a mask delivery from a secret supplier and grab some Taco Bell.

APRIL 10: My new bike arrives.

and Elder Muñoz has arrived, too, if only for a few weeks

APRIL 15: For some reason I go out during the day again, get Taco Bell again . . . it might have been to get veggies from the vegetable stand? But they didn’t have what I was looking for.

APRIL 30: You know I really did have a very nice at-home birthday and birthday party. AND a real nice surprise sope delivery from an unidentified masked friend. It’s so hard to tell who people are these days! (ok, ok, it was Ana).

And if you follow my Instagram you know I’ve been cooking a lot but I’ve decided to mostly spare you the food pics . . . for now.