Chris thinks that quarantine has made me go nuts in that I have been cleaning pretty much everything in sight. I started even more domestic-goddess type activities, such as regrowing my scallions, reorganizing my spice drawer, and now making my own citrus vinegar all-purpose cleaner. I started following a few different #nowaste personalities on Instagram that I’ve found inspiring. In a country like the US, where waste is always plentiful because we have so much of everything, it’s actually really sad how often things are wasted. Even if we remove the waste that comes from people who refuse to take leftover food home, the people who refuse to eat the dark meat on chicken and consume only the white, there’s so much waste that happens even before food gets to consumers via the suppliers/processors. On top of that, there’s the waste from food we eat. Sure, there’s food that goes bad before we realize it’s bad. Then, there’s the waste that happens from consumers who just follow dubious “sell by” labels and don’t bother checking the food via smell/taste tests themselves. They throw out perfectly good food just based on a dumb label that is hard to interpret. Then, depending on how you want to characterize it, ends of celeries and cilantro stems are wasted because people don’t like to eat them; carrot skins and onion shells can be used in chicken stock; even citrus peels are actually edible! So how do we actually get the most use out of what we have?

One handle I follow suggested that if we are not using citrus peels in cooking to instead add them to a glass container and store in the freezer. Once full, fill the container with white vinegar and keep in a dark, cool place for two weeks (like under your kitchen sink. Two weeks later, the vinegar will be fully infused with the oils and extra juices from the citrus peels, and you can strain it to then use it with equal parts water for an all-purpose cleaner. In general, it’s not great to use vinegar to clean granite/marble countertops since the acid from the vinegar can actually etch these natural stones.

I took the container out from under my sink today to reveal a deep orange liquid that smelled extremely fresh, fruity, and sour. If you hate the smell of vinegar, this is the DIY cleaner solution for you! I love the idea of contributing less waste to the environment with actions that are actually within our control.

This is our first Memorial Day weekend not traveling as far as I can remember. Last year, we were in Colombia, and on this specific Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, we were exploring the colorful town of Guatape two hours outside of Medellin and climbing up this big tower overlooking the gorgeous bright blue Guatape lake. Two years ago for Memorial Day weekend, we were in Oaxaca and Mexico City. In 2017, we explored Nova Scotia. In 2016, we were hiking through Zion and Bryce National Parks in southern Utah. In 2015, we explored Ohio and Kentucky with Chris’s parents. In 2014, we traveled to upstate New York and the Adirondacks with his parents, and in 2013, we went to the Pacific Northwest and saw Seattle and Portland. During our long weekends, we are usually traveling and exploring somewhere, eating different food, seeing different sights. This was an adjustment for us. Yes, this whole thing screams privilege, but that was what we were used to. And now, we have no travel to look forward to, and the only reason to go outside seems to be to go to Central Park, which we already do every single day.

My manager keeps telling me that I need to take time off to rest and unwind, recharge, refuel. But again, I’m already doing all the things I want to be doing – cooking more, video editing, reading, listening to podcasts, organizing and cleaning up the apartment… what else is there to do? What more can I do without being able to do the things I love most? Yes, we’re lucky that we’re healthy, have a safe place to live, have enough food, are still gainfully employed.. but what do we look forward to now, even during long holiday weekends? Does this even count as a “holiday weekend”?

When you stock up on supplies during normal periods for your home, you think exactly that: what do I normally use, and how long does it typically take to use up said item until you have to buy more? Because Chris and I normally travel both for work and pleasure pretty frequently, our “normal” usage of regular household items is likely lesser than the average couple or family who have jobs that keep them local. So it was strange to see what our usage of these items was like during the last nearly three months of forced shelter-in-place in our apartment.

These are general changes we saw in what we used vs. did not use. Most of these are not surprising, but was just more comical to me:

Increase:

Hand soap, body soap/shampoo/conditioner, dishwasher tablets, all-purpose cleaner, baking soda, dish washing liquid, kitchen and bath towels, sponges, hand lotion

Decrease:

Hand sanitizer (I mean, we really only use these when we’re traveling… because we always have access to soap otherwise, right?), makeup, sunscreen, contact lenses

Same:

Laundry detergent, paper towels

I’ve never understood people who constantly use hand sanitizer while at home or in work settings. Are you really just too lazy or believe you’re “too busy” to go to the restroom and wash your hands? If you are so deluded and arrogant in thinking you are too busy to go to a sink to wash your hands for 20 seconds, maybe you do deserve to get a cold or virus.

It’s funny how quickly habits can change in a society that seems dogged about its civil liberties and rights. Once upon a time, Americans made fun of Asians both in Asia and in the U.S. who would go outside wearing masks. They said they looked stupid, that they didn’t actually help with the spread and transmission of colds, flus, viruses. When the concept of wearing a mask seemed to finally be pushed by our flawed CDC, a number of machine-gun-bearing, pro-American freaks across the nation stormed around their state’s capitol buildings, holding signs and yelling that being forced to wear a mask when leaving their homes stripped them of their American freedoms, that wearing a mask was akin to being forced into slavery.

Do these people even know what slavery actually encompassed — across the world and in the very country that they call home? Because if they actually had any understanding of this in the slightest, they’d realize that being asked to wear a mask — to protect themselves, is not even remotely in the same realm as slavery.

Then throughout the month of April, the number of Americans wearing masks outside their homes grew and grew. During the first week of April, the number was around 30-40 percent depending on the area of the country. Then, now that we are in May, the data is showing that over 80 percent of the country is wearing masks when leaving their homes. And it’s even become a fashion statement: Nancy Pelosi seems to be color-coordinating all her masks with her outfits when in public and doing her usual House Speaker duties. There are new thinner, summer-ready masks that are being marketed and sold for park/beach wear. Social media influencers are modeling their different styles of masks on Instagram and TikTok.

So I thought to myself, if mask-wearing is part of our new normal, maybe I should start investing in color and pattern coordination, too, since why not? We have no idea how long this will last, and if it’s for the next year, a $10/mask investment really isn’t that much… especially considering that all the things we normally spend money on, such as eating out, socializing, travel, theater, are nonexistent for the near future. I went on Etsy and was overwhelmed with all the options: pattern or no pattern? Pockets? Adjustable straps? What size will fit my face vs. Chris’s? Filters or no filters? Extra room for the nose to allow for better breathing? Hmmmm.

Then, I checked the mail this week, and it just so happened that a colleague who I’ve been collaborating on a project with sent me a custom-made mask with my last name on it as a gift for our work together.

I guess this is the beginning of my mask collection? A year ago, I never would have thought I’d even own one mask. Now, I’ve got two along with all the airplane eye masks we’ve been using as make-shift masks.

Since 2013, I started a conscious goal to read at least 12 books per year. I read a good amount of news, breaking and long form, and I listen to a lot of podcasts, but I wanted to commit myself to reading actual books, especially since I’d learned that as adulthood responsibilities really kick in, people tend to de-prioritize books… as depressing as that sounds. I’ve kept a running list of books read each year, and between 2013 and this year, I’ve met my goal all except two years. Last year, I read 18 books, which was my highest year since I started tracking, and this year, although we are not even through May yet, I’ve already read 11. Shelter in place, with no social life and no travel, has certainly enabled me to read more. I read across pretty much every medium: physical books, Kindle, and audio. I don’t necessarily read “current” books, but I read books that have been on a long “to-read” list, and then occasionally reprioritize books based on availability via NYPL/Libby, or what I just feel in the mood for.

I told my colleague yesterday that I’d read 11 books already, and she couldn’t believe how productive I’d been since quarantine began and commented on how much of a sloth she was next to me. She said she really only reads books during her vacations, which she takes maybe two per year. That made me wonder what the average number of books Americans read per year was. The last time I could find data on this from 2011, it looks like the average number of books read by Americans who read (key: this is people who already label themselves as “readers”) was about 12 per year. That sounds high, but that’s because averages cannot necessarily be trusted, as these are skewed by crazy outliers, like those who are retired and read 80 books a year, or overachievers like Bill Gates, who reads at least 50 books per year. So a better number to choose is the median number, which is actually four books read per year by the average American. That actually sounded higher than I thought, as I thought it would be around 2.

So I suppose my goal is “average,” but my actuals are far above the median. But then the next question is: how do we define “book,” and just because you listened to an audio book does not necessarily mean that you took anything away from it? I try not to continue reading any book beyond the 100-page point if I do not find it interesting since I think that at that point, if you haven’t gotten my attention, you are actually taking away my attention from other books that are likely better and better to me.

Books are a good escape. They’re a way to learn about topics and people and places that you don’t always get exposed to. I guess it’s no wonder I am reading so much more now than pre-quarantine since I cannot go anywhere and explore physically. The exploration now needs to be done virtually and via books.

I’ve now finished editing and uploading 40 videos to Yvonne meets Food. It’s taken quite a lot of time, energy, and wrist/finger strength, but it’s been gratifying to see the work getting done and see my subscriber count slowly inch up. I’m officially at 151 subscribers now, which is not necessarily a huge thing to celebrate just yet, but it’s still a long way from when I was just hovering around 40-50 when I began this journey. I just finished editing my first of two Bali videos, and in the first video, I get to try Babi guling, or Balinese roasted suckling pig, for the very first time.

Last night, I dreamt I was back in Ubud eating Babi guling again, and I was filming a video where I was eating it and describing the tastes and textures to the camera man (who was not Chris). Was this actually something I was doing for real work? It’s unclear in the dream. Maybe one day it will become a reality, but in the meantime, I just need to keep chugging along and get these videos out.

Chris’s dad’s birthday is today. For as long as Chris and I have been together, Chris’s parents have almost always been traveling, usually in North America, during the time of his dad’s birthday every May, with a couple exceptions. They usually choose to travel at this time because his dad, who is self-employed, has a slower work period at this time. It’s also because the weather tends to warm up as spring approaches in the northern hemisphere, and they prefer the milder temperatures. While he certainly had a different kind of birthday this year with COVID-19, Chris’s mom prepared a nice meal of Sri Lankan style hoppers with eggs in them alongside a curry. No travel, but at least Sri Lankan food can come to him.

Chris’s dad’s favorite topic is always about travel: airports, airport lounges, different airlines, airline and hotel status, hotels and their amenities, different cultures and what makes them interesting across the world when they do their big round-the-world trips each year. So the worldwide pandemic has obviously halted a lot of his plans and what he’s looked forward to during the year. Because of this, he has less to talk and email us all about. In fact, these are the last two email subjects of emails he has sent the family: “Airbus A380” and “Jazzed Up Amenity Kits.” What will we do if we cannot travel for longer than just a few months, if it goes beyond a year? What will his emails and discussions be about then?

The current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic is pretty bleak. Our country is full of incompetent politicians and people, eager to believe conspiracy theories and to compare the COVID-19 deaths to the deaths of people who suffer heart disease or strokes. They do not realize that lives actually matter, and that to compare saving lives with saving the economy is a false equivalency. And I realize that while I hate the current administration and all the enablers that allow President Dipshit’s lies and moronic ways to continue, the pandemic has actually restricted my day to day life, preventing me from doing the big and little things I love: going to the gym, grabbing coffee with a colleague, meeting a friend for dinner at a restaurant, traveling, whether for work or pleasure, exploring new cultures. We can’t even hug people anymore. It’s all on pause for who knows how long, and we have this orange incompetent loser to thank for all this. And for the foreseeable future, no one will want dirty Americans entering their countries for fear that we are carrying the virus and will infect their people. And why should they want us given the terrible way we’ve responded as a nation and how selfish and short-sighted we have been? Trump got the wall he wanted between the U.S. and Mexico, though it’s an invisible wall where actually, Mexico would want to enforce it because they don’t want us coming over and infecting their people. Anyone who could possibly support this administration in the current situation is completely dead to me.

Apparently, The New York Times columnist Alison Roman, who I have recently decided I cannot stand because she likes to steal food staples of people of color and whitewash them, has decided to attack two successful women of color, Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo, for their “content farm” and creating empires with their names on them. It’s funny that she would actually go after women of color who are successful instead of other white women who have decided to stick their name on everything to make millions, whether that is Gwyneth Paltrow or Rachel Ray or Giada de Laurentiis. Her spice colonialization also clearly knows no bounds, because she has repeatedly been interviewed saying that her bland coconut turmeric chickpea stew is “not a curry” and is not at all influenced by the food of South Asia, even though the New York Times, after having experienced backlash for #thestew, has edited the description to say that the stew “evokes” the food of South India. A few other foodies in my Facebook college food group have also noted that she’s taken things like kimchi, fish sauce, and harissa, and made it seem like no big deal, like she just discovered them on her own and was not influenced at all by Korea, Vietnam, or countries in North Africa/the Middle East that use harissa. She even had the gall to host a paid food tour of VIETNAM last year so that people could experience Vietnam with her, even though this was her first time in Vietnam and she knew absolutely nothing about Vietnamese culture. This tour was clearly made for white people who did not know any better at all.

It’s always amazing to me how there can be such clueless white people out there who can profit off of the foods and creativities of non-white nations and think they are doing absolutely nothing wrong. Her cookbooks, supposedly best sellers, are catering to people who are exactly like her, and sadly, what that means is that there are too many people who are just like her out there. This is how my cynicism of the world continues.

Sheltering in place has gone on for over two months now for us here in New York City. While working from home has been fine and bearable, though I do miss work travel, the worst part about all of this is not being able to do two of the things I love most: travel and eat. I can’t eat out at a restaurant, and many restaurants across the city have closed. So of the restaurants that are within walking distance or can do delivery, that’s what we’ve been indulging in once or twice a week during this period. And to date, nowhere in sight can I find a reasonably decent Vietnamese spot who can fulfill my banh mi craving… until today!

Pho Shop is actually on the Upper West Side on 72nd Street, and we found out from their Instagram account that they reopened this location today. Chris indulged me and got a big order of several banh mi, pho, shaking beef, and chicken skewers so we could try them for the very first time. To report back, Pho Shop did not disappoint. The fillings of the banh mi were on point and quite generous. Though the bread quality was not clear to me since it was delivered, but it definitely hit the spot. It felt comforting to know that I could get my banh mi cravings fulfilled from a spot that is walking distance from us now, and I don’t necessarily need to go to go all the way to Brooklyn Chinatown to Ba Xuyen for a reliable banh mi anymore. Though I do wish Ba Xuyen the best during these times and hope they come out of this okay.