Autumn in New York

By Isabel

I just realized that it has been ages since I posted anything on this blog and I truly miss connecting with you, dear reader. Ever since we returned to the city in early September, I have been dreaming of a moment when I could free my mind and allow myself the luxury and pleasure of sitting at my desk and writing.

After two months away, we returned to a city, which feels a lot more normal than it did in the Spring. In many ways, I find the overall atmosphere now better than it was before. Many streets are closed to traffic, and every restaurant has an open outdoor space, with proper social distancing precautions and inventive ways of offering the menus. The weather has been marvelous, and I started going out for runs near the Hudson River. The museums are open again, and I got in to see my favorite galleries at the Met and MoMA for the first time in ages without any crowds or annoying picture-taking tourists.

Here is a work I saw at MoMa. By the way, I am completely aware that I did something here that I just critiqued … I took a photo in the museum. Oh well. Forgive my hypocrisy. Can you come up with a title for this work?

I will post the actual title at the end of this blog.

Even though the concert halls are closed for this season, all the amazingly talented people in this city are now creating new projects. I am getting to witness some excellent music-making, despite the craziness of this pandemic and the political crisis. The creative, unique NYC energy is back in full force and many fantastic projects are in the works. I can’t wait for what’s in store in the coming months.

Are you wondering what I have been doing all these weeks? Here are some of the highlights. I hope that my optimism and energy fills you with inspiration!

1. I started volunteering for the election big time. We simply MUST win this time. This is not a question of politics. It is a question of survival. So I am doing my part. I wrote 500 cards by hand to unregistered voters in Georgia and Pennsylvania, urging people to register to vote. I also made small contributions to democrats in critical races. I signed many letters and petitions to senators and congresspeople to pass the Cares Act and wait until after the election to replace RBG. What are you doing to help change the idiotic situation we are in? Are you registered to vote? If not, I have nothing to say to you. Now is not the time for skepticism or being a smart ass. Just register and vote for Biden. Do it in person if you can. Vote early if you can. Or do it by mail if you must. The choice is clear. If you are undecided, I am so, so sorry for you, but you, sir, are an idiot.

2. I managed to pull off a few video concerts and one very, very complex live-streamed event. I lost some sleep over these. I still find live-streaming extremely nerve-racking, and one thing is for sure: I will never perform on Zoom ever again after this pandemic. Creating videos is fun, though. I enjoy that. Learning how to do all of this video stuff … not so fun. I would leave that to the pros. The guys who get a crazy kick out of spending hours tweaking camera angles and exploring setting. It is definitely not me. My technical accomplishments ended when I learned to use the iPad pedal, and I no longer need to use printed music or page-turners. I truly am proud of myself for this.

3. We got a PUPPY!!!!!!! Yes, we did. We decided that if ever there was a time to get a dog, we should go for it now. The kids are old enough to help walk her, and there is almost always someone at home. HOWEVER! Getting a dog right now is extremely difficult as our family is not the only one who wants one. Everyone in the city is adopting Pandemic Dogs. So, we applied to a thousand shelters all over the city, in Long Island, New Jersey, in Upstate and Staten Island and as far away as Texas and we either got rejected, or were told that there are at least a 100 people before us on a waitlist for a puppy. Sooooo … my amazing parents found a perfect baby Pug in Bulgaria and sent it over here in a little red bag with our dear friend. The pup arrived on Sunday and pooped and peed everywhere. But we don’t care. We are all in love with her. How can you not be! Just take a look!

4. Our son is applying to High Schools now, and I had to fill out about a million forms for him. He has been interviewing, studying for tests, and doing research with me. There are so many options in this city; one can spend an entire year researching and still miss something important. I already researched the schools when Ivan was in Kindergarten and luckily got both my kids in one of the best public schools in the city: The Anderson School. I love the school, but I have to say that I think that the NYC public school system is extremely unfair! I will not go into detail, but I believe that fundraising in public schools should be made illegal. Instead, the city should provide all that the schools need, equally to all. Like what the parents do at Anderson, fundraising and aggressive fundraising makes some of the schools ridiculously better than the others. That is unfair, and frankly, I can’t believe it is allowed! If you want to know more, listen to the New York Times’ podcast called Nice White Parents. It gives a pretty accurate picture of the situation on the ground.

5. The new Elena Ferrante novel is looking at me, literally and asking me to embrace it, to dive into its dark, painful, raw, Neapolitan world, and to read it until I can’t take a breath. It has been sitting on my desk for weeks now. I plan to delve into it this weekend. I am deeply inspired by her and want to write like her.

6. Talking about writing … I signed up for a nonfiction writer’s workshop to learn how to structure a book I plan to write about the history of my family. The focus will be on the women, starting with my great-grandmother and grandmother, and maybe a little about my mother and finally me. It will be about four generations of strong women, and how they overcame the challenges in their lives and their circumstances, how they reinvented themselves against all odds. I need to do some research, though. And to travel to Istanbul where the story begins in 1920. I already have the opening sentence. It is excellent.

I am going to leave you now, dear reader. Thank you for spending a minute with me. I miss connecting with people in person. I miss my friends. But I am also genuinely feeling great, finally!

I believe that we will win this election, we will overcome this pandemic, and we will come out better and stronger in the end. This planet is filled with beautiful, tolerant, and kind people. Even in the current dark times, no matter what, I believe in humanity and in the goodness in this world. We’ve got this!

Oh … I almost forgot. The painting is …

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