10 Offline Things I Did This Week

Sobbed at Wicked, a 10 mile run, air-drying clothes on my fire escape

Welcome back to this week’s edition of 10 Offline Thinks I Did This Week, where I take stock of the ordinary, beautiful, and magnificent moments that I enjoyed off my phone. This weekly list helps me note the passing of time and mark the joys in both the spectacular and the mundane. Feel free to share it with a friend.

1. Hosted Friendsgiving: I had about ten friends over for a housewarming/Friendsgiving Friday night. I’d been eagerly anticipating it for weeks—planning, shopping, and preparing—and while it was so much fun, I’m also relieved it’s over. (Sorry if any of my friends are reading this, it’s not you, it’s me.) Now I can shift my energy to simply being a guest instead of a hostess. Is that terrible to say? For my Friendsgiving, I cooked everything myself (see #1 of last week’s list to read the menu) and I would probably say the two standout dishes were the sourdough leek stuffing and the Apple Crisp. This apple crisp is the most popular apple crisp recipe on the internet for good reason: it’s literally perfect. Sweet, buttery, crispy + soft. Like little fluffy pillows of cinnamon heaven crumble atop sweet apple filling.

   

   My spread!

2. Saw Wicked, sobbed at Wicked. I went solo to see it at the Alamo, one of NYC’s fancy theatres where you can order anything from a burger to a beer to cauliflower wings from your recliner chair. I cried for most of it, starting at the scene where Elphaba goes to the dance and gets made fun of for wearing her hat. I’m not sure why I was so surprised to cry. That morning, a friend posted “before Wicked” and “after Wicked” slides on her IG story and mentioned that she’d cried too. Nevertheless, I was trying to hide my tears because I was next to a dude who clearly didn’t want to be there (he was watching football on his phone); he was just accompanying his wife. But as soon as Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth came out, I let it all out. Here is why I think I cried. The Wizard of Oz is a timeless tale of fantasy, offering a comforting journey that resonates universally (and has many allegories that we won’t get into right now). In it, four brave souls—the Lion, the Tin Man, Dorothy, and the Scarecrow—embark on a journey through a magical world to seek a single wish from the great and powerful Oz. In seeking their wishes, they uncover the truth: Oz is a fraud, and the power to fulfill their desires was within them all along. It’s a tale of friendship, magic, family, and love, but also of inner strength and faith. Wicked, if you haven’t seen it, is the prequel to The Wizard of Oz, a story of how the Wicked Witch and Glinda became “bad” and “good” witches. It is a tale of dark and light, good and evil, but also perspective. Elphaba is grossly misunderstood; she is actually good. Glinda is good, too, but more “conventionally” good. Basically, Glinda is basic and a rule follower, and Elphaba is a rebel, getting painted as bad because she goes against everyone at Oz. She defies gravity. When Cynthia Erivo began singing that song, well, I full-on sobbed at that point. We can all relate to Elphaba—that feeling of being the only one going against the tide of popular opinion. Those moments when you stand alone, facing a wave of culture and community set against you, yet remain steadfast in your convictions. Elphaba’s faith and confidence struck a deep chord with me last night, and I felt profoundly connected to her in that theater. I’m grateful for imaginary places like Oz—stories that allow us to escape, find meaning, and uncover beauty that brings us closer together. And Ariana Grande was incredible.

3. Went to my sister’s for waffles. On the note of gratitude, I am grateful to have family in this city. For a long time, my sister and I lived in different parts of the country, but for the last four years, we’ve both lived here in New York. I’m not sure how long this will be the case—so any chance I get to visit my family and spend time with my niece and nephew, I try to jump at it! Yesterday morning, they were gearing up for Christmas, and my nephew announced he’s only wearing red and green from now on—I fully support this decision.

4. Did candlelit yoga at home: Last Sunday, I stocked up on tea lights from IKEA last week and created a cute little candlelit yoga studio in my office/workout room. I put on a restorative class on my Open app, and it was a nice way to wrap up the weekend and prepare for the week ahead.

   

5. Painted my nails Bordeaux: Okay so hear me out, Bordeaux has been my favorite nail color from September-December. It’s elegant and refined, and Essie’s formulations stay on my nails for a long time if I do a base coat + top coat. Here are my nails, 7 days after doing them at home:

   

6. Made carrot soup. I was craving a carrot ginger soup this week so I made a big vat of it and ate it for lunch three days in a row, topped with avocado and fried pumpkin seeds. I would say three days is my max capacity for carrot soup though LOL.

   

7. I went on my longest run yet. As I type this, I can proudly say I’ve just finished a ten-mile run. TEN. Double digits. I was so nervous this morning, as it was the longest run I’ve ever done. I was just worried I wouldn’t be able to finish, that I’d have to dip out and take myself to the hospital from exhaustion. I was also worried my ankle tibial tendonitis would return, but I’ve been working hard on getting back into strength training which helps prevent running injuries overall. I’m happy to say that my ankle pain was non-existent today and I felt flooded with endorphins after hitting 10 miles. I even wanted to keep going but didn’t (balance!) I know this probably sounds annoying to non-runners, but I also…

8. Signed up for a half marathon happening in a few weeks. I’m already signed up for one happening in April, but my friend and fellow runner convinced me last weekend after I ran eight miles that I could do a half in December. So I’m doing a half in Central Park in a few weeks! I’ve been reflecting on my relationship to exercise lately.. which maybe I’ll write about soon. I’m just glad I’m doing it again.

9. Did two loads of laundry and air-dried everything on my fire escape! I have a nice big fire escape and a few weeks ago I hung a string across it so I could start air-drying my clothes. Hear me out #2: the best way to fight smelly workout clothes and make them smell amazing is by letting them soak up fresh air and sunshine. I swear to god, the outdoor scent on your clothes will be hypnotic. Anytime a laundry brand says its scent is “Fresh Outdoors”, THEY’RE LYING TO YOU. It is usually headache-inducing and doesn’t smell anything like real, air-dried outside laundry. You cannot capture the smell of your clothes drying in the great outdoors, even if it is a fire escape. These are the closest notes I can come up with: Fresh, cold, windy, leafy, grassy. Yum.

10. Mentally prepared for winter. If you’re in NYC too, you know how warm this fall has been. Well, this week, fall—and actually November-appropriate weather—finally graced us with her presence. We also got rain for the first time in what felt like months…for two days in a row it was cold, windy, and rainy, and I loved it. I whipped out my heavier jackets, merino wool ear warmers, heavy mittens, my Uggs! I also remembered, in my bones, what the cold can do to me: it feels really good, but it’s also surprising. It’s shocking, and if I’m not dressed properly, it makes me irritable and angry. Yesterday, when it was cold, wet, and windy, I was unloading something from my trunk and rushing so I didn’t open it wide enough for the latch to hold it open. As I reached in to grab what I needed, the trunk door slammed right into the back of my head. It hurt so bad, like a mother fucker, and I screamed in pain. But I was 10x angrier, and I swear it hurt 10x more because I was also freezing cold. I am reminded, once again, that slowing down is good for you.

I want to hear from you, what were your offline moments this week?