When quarantine kicks your butt

W42ST Daily 4/28/2020

It’s 5.30am – too early even for the birds. The distant rumble of a refuse truck doing its rounds approaches, the engine groaning long and loud, breaking through the silence of the otherwise empty streets. The windows are open but it’s still, somehow, airless and suffocating.

I kick the covers off and just lie there for a moment before getting up. Stretching. My aching body, growing unused to physical activity bar my morning workout on the roof, fights back, muscles having long forgotten the brisk walks and bike rides all over the city. That was my old normal.

Now I’m stiff. Awkward. Inflexible. I wake early after a restless sleep, coaxing my limbs and my creative brain and still half-asleep eyes to life.

Just when you think you have this quarantine thing crushed – just when you think you’ve nailed the routine – it sneaks up from behind and kicks you in the ass.

If you’re not sleeping well, you’re not alone. If you’re missing nature, or the ocean, or that vacation you should have been taking right about now (I should have been hiking in Monument Valley today), you’re not alone. And if you’re feeling guilty for even thinking those things when there are people who are REALLY suffering – you know what? You’re not alone. I see you. And sometimes the memes put into words what we struggle to express.

SPREAD THE LOVE
We’re all about NOT spreading things around right now. But if you’re enjoying our daily missives – if they’re bringing you a little joy in these dark times and helping you feel connected to your neighbors as social distancing becomes the new normal – tell your friends. They can sign up by clicking on this big yellow blob.

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NEW YORK STORIES
When they’re giving out the awards for good humans, Chun Rosenkranz will be up there at the front of the line. A formerly incarcerated addict, he got a second chance, thanks to an act of kindness. Now, he spends his spare time bringing love and hope to the city’s disenfranchised. Read his story at w42st.com.

Jessica Chen’s was one of the first stories I told for W42ST, back in February 2015. A talented dancer and choreographer, everything stood still when a devastating car accident almost killed her. New York, and her community here, was critical to her recovery. While her dance company is in isolation all over the world, they have created a virtual dance. “I hope you enjoy it,” she says. “I hope it brings some light and energy to these potentially gloomy times we live in.” Look out for that familiar Hell’s Kitchen skyline.

DO THESE THINGS
Dance your boots off
Isaac Calpito has danced on Broadway, trains divas, and shimmied with Madonna. He leads an 11am class every day. My friend Nicola says it’s a killer workout, with a fun soundtrack.

Find out about your rights
Join a Zoom meeting on tenant protection and housing security during COVID-19, tonight at 6.30pm. Panelists include Corey Johnson, Gale Brewer, and Brad Holman. Register here.

Join Marisa Tomei in her living room
Back in 1987, Alan Bowne’s Beirut launched MCC Theater’s one-act festival. The story of a young man (played by Oscar Isaac) who is in quarantine after testing positive to a nameless disease, his girlfriend (Marisa Tomei) refuses to leave him isolating alone. The pair will read the raunchy, real, poetic play tonight. Tickets are $25.

Hear an author in conversation
Join the Irish author Sinéad Gleeson, whose essays tell the story of a life in a body, as it goes through sickness, health, and motherhood, in a virtual reading tonight.

See Sing Street
The Broadway show, set in 1980s Dublin, may be grounded. But, on Thursday, the cast is coming together to share songs and stories – and a few surprises – from their homes. Find out more.

Get live styling tips
Hell’s Kitchen fashion designer Heike will be giving live styling tips on IG Live on Thursday, from 1pm. Tune in here.

NAME GAME
Hi everyone. From now on you can call me Da Lysol. Ahem. How about you?