Overtime on the Adventures Plan - 50 by 55

Suffice it to say that 2020 didn’t go as planned. We were all stuck at home, which had become my workplace, gym and bar! My former colleagues at Coke in Shanghai were back to the office within 100 days of their shutdown, and in my mind I thought it would be the same for us. NOPE! I kept a daily journal for the first few months, thinking it would all be over soon. The 405 in LA had never been so empty! I took over the weekly early-morning grocery shopping as a reason to get out of the house. Zoom became my workout (Zumba), and happy hour. My friend Salam and I checked in weekly with each other to make sure we hadn’t gone crazy. She convinced me to learn how to bake bread.

A full year has passed. Joe, Garrett, Mike and I went back to the Arthur J (a steakhouse in Manhattan Beach) on March 13th, 2021 to celebrate with an outdoor, socially-distanced dinner. Toilet paper and Clorox wipes have returned to the shelves. My parents have gotten both of their Pfizer shots and my brother and Bouramey got their J&J vaccine shot surprisingly early. Things are looking up!

First the first time in a long time, I feel hopeful that the world will return, if to a new normal. I am therefore extending my deadline of 50 (adventures) by 50 (years old) to 50 by 55. A worldwide pandemic happened; we all needed to do our part and stay home to stop the spread. Lots of people suffered much worse than we did. Even after most everyone in the U.S. is vaccinated, is it ethical to travel to countries that don’t have access to vaccines?

I am re-thinking my adventures strategy for 2021 and beyond. Mike and I are still waiting to be inoculated. I applied for a trip to go and see the moon. Let me know of your ideas! What are your plans for 2021?

#DearMoon #DearMoonProject

COVID-19 and Quarantine 2020

A pop-up screen from the Airline asked if I’d been in China. Nope, just coming back from Mexico City on February 19th. On Leap Year day, Saturday, February 29th, Margaret Howell and I went to see Oprah’s 2020 Vision at The Forum in Inglewood. It was one of the last large scale events that wasn’t cancelled. Life as we knew it was about to change.

David Koa and Rhonda decided to still come for their vacation in Southern California and we were happy to see them! As we were having dinner on Thursday, March 12th at the Arthur J to celebrating my 2-week notice from Coke, Norm, Doko and Jim Gilsinger all sent me photos of empty grocery store shelves. Our fancy celebration dinner started to feel like the top floor of the Titanic, string quartet playing and all.

Bristol Farms, the priciest of grocery stores - all empty shelves. We all were told to work from home, well - except Mike. Even with COVID cases at his office, they were still told to report to work. I finished my last day at Coke on a Thursday and started at Docklight the following Monday…all from my home office. No time like the present, I always said. Mike and I were working more than ever. Elsewhere in the U.S., 26 million people filed for unemployment in 4 weeks. The airlines, movie theaters, restaurants, hair and nail salons all closed.

We tried cooking at home at first. Mike stocked the pantry with snacks and “just add water” goods from Amazon.com. But they we started getting take out. Then fancy take-out. It made us feel like some things were still normal and we wanted to support our favorite local restaurants. I baked cupcakes, and switched to generic toilet paper. Hair appointments were missed and Mike started cutting his own hair.

Zoom happy hours. Catching up with friends and family from far and wide. Sunday family Zoom meetings at 11am. Today, we celebrated Ryan’s 10th birthday pandemic-style via Zoom, even though it’s actually on Wednesday. Everyone is doing ok, we have adjusted. This time will pass and we all need to do our part. See Adventure #27 for photos.

2018

“Oh, it was terrible….” Mike said without hesitation, when asked his opinion of 2018.

That’s the difference between the two of us - Mike answered the question externally, in reference to the state of the world, when my question was posed simply in reference to our lives this year.

It was a hard year filled with too much work and stress, but also times of good fun. Our Canadian family members’ visit to LA on 8-18-18 for the 10-year reunion of our 08-08-08 wedding was a highlight, and Justin Ngo’s description of the family crest he had drawn MADE. MY. YEAR.

We were happy that Mike’s Dad and Yuki (finally!) came to spend time with us, as well as his Mom and Ward, who taught us how to play pickle ball. Yuki befriended a neighborhood’s store’s black cat and sent us bags of cat food to bring to him.

Michele turned 50 and her surprise birthday party in Atlanta was totally amazing.

We had a few great vacations and enjoyed spending time with friends, and so far I’m still on track with my 50 by 50 goals.

Being out of the stock market for over 16 months created some FOMO, but in the end it turned out to be the right call and allowed me not to worry about the year-end crash. I expect 2019 to be rocky too.

2018 was a disaster when it came to dieting, but I stuck with my workout goals, and was rewarded with a giant steak dinner at the end of the year with my trainer and his wife.

Part of my birthday was spent fixing toilets at the condo in DTLA, but I was so grateful for Mike’s help. We spent the holidays hibernating at home in California. With amazing weather and a house we love, it wasn’t a hardship at all.

Time to turn the page to 2019 - will it be better or worse than this year?