For March 2020’s edition of Monthly Favorites (and for the rest of however long this lasts) let’s just take a few moments to avoid discussing the topic that shall not be named for the sake of everyone’s sanity.
I haven’t been outside since Saint Patrick’s Day 2020.
And no, I did not spend my last hours of freedom as one usually would on any other March 17th, drinking Bailey’s Irish Cream and singing old Irish hymns with friends.
Quite the opposite, actually.
After my dentist appointment at 3pm, I went straight back to my parent’s place and prepared for self-isolation.
I debated going back to NYC, but it’s easier for me to practice social distancing out on Long Island. Residences out here are farther apart from each other, there’s not a lot of pedestrian traffic, and, moreover, if you don’t have a car (or a license) you can’t really get too far.
I’m not going to lie, I hate this.
The most I’ve done since March 17th was go out to get the mail, which is like three feet away from the door.
I’m lucky that I can work my full time job from home, but I miss being around my coworkers IRL. Zoom video chatting helps, but the energy isn’t the same.
And frankly, I’m getting tired of answering the door with gloves on and tediously transferring my Seamless delivery food from the restaurant’s tupperware to my parent’s dinnerware, hoping no germs touch the dining room table in the process.
I’ve run out of my favorite lemon ginger tea, and I can’t just waltz over to Target to get more because they’ve sold out.
My lips have started to sting and peel, and my acne is out of control because I’ve been stressing out so much over the uncertainty of this whole pandemic situation.
Anxiety levels. Do they have a limit? If so, my body doesn’t know them.
My muscles are so tense from a combination of slouching in my mom’s office chair, sprawling out in awkward positions on the couch while binge-watching Hulu, and contorting my neck while scrolling through Instagram in bed.
Coronavirus, please escort yourself back to hell where you belong.
I think the only thing that is keeping me ever-so-slightly sane is music. Yesterday, I jammed out to a bunch of my favorite love songs while scrubbing the dandruff (another possible symptom of my anxiousness) out of my hair in the shower and it felt amazing.
So, instead of the spring playlist I was planning to share for today’s blog post, I present to you a quarantine playlist to go along with this first installment of the “Quarantine Diaries.”
These are some of the most recent songs that I can’t stop listening to. Enjoy!
1. Dear God, Phantogram. Praying really hard these days.
2. Attack of Panic, Aly & AJ. “There’s a panic in [all of us]”.
3. Breathing, FAVELA. Trying not to forget how to do that.
4. I’m With It, Satin Jackets ft. Metaxas. “We’re going to make it all okay”.
5. Pretty Great, Fickle Friends. Vibe check.
6. Sunlight, BLOWSOM. Craving some vitamin D rn.
7. Since You’ve Asked, Birocratic. Essential minimalist jam.
8. New Love (Yummm Remix), From Indian Lakes. A masterpiece, remixed.
9. El Tejano, Lauv ft. Sofía Reyes. A little rendezvous for the stir-crazy.
10. Further Up (Na, Na, Na, Na, Na) – IAmChino Remix, Pitbull ft. Static & Ben El. Where my party people at?
11. Used To Like, Neon Trees. For when you’re going to extremes.
12. Circles, Post Malone. An apocalypto romance that is very fitting for these times.
13. Hotel, ATTLAS ft. MAYLYN. Shout out to the tourists trapped in hotels during this mess.
14. Any Song, ZICO. Honestly, whatever tunes make you happy, listen to ’em.
Do your part and stay safe during these trying times, folks. STAY HOME.
Ah, February, the shortest month of the year, which, this year, we got an extra day in (yay leap year)!
Thankfully, February 2020 was not as horrid as the month prior. The Whisper Box turned seven years old (where has the time gone?!) and I went on a vacation as you saw in my previous post.
Let’s look back at my favorites for February 2020, shall we?
At the end of February, I took a fun road trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with my guy and had a blast. I honestly was so psyched to take my DSLR camera out of New York for the first time, and I had such a fun time taking pics and video during the trip. I did leave my camera behind during some parts of the vacation due to a few places not allowing professional cameras and whatnot (I’m also not great at night photography yet so I didn’t really bother taking my camera out after 6pm), but I am happy with the shots I got.
We stayed at the Oaklander Hotel, which is right near the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland, so at night there were tons of college kids out and about in the streets and the bars.
The hotel itself was a bit odd as the check in desk is not in the lobby on the first floor, but instead on the 10th floor (you read that correctly, TENTH) where the Spirits & Tales hotel bar is. Other than that, the room was great (the stand up shower situation was also odd but after a while you get used to it) and I would stay there again if I were to go back to Pittsburgh for another vacation.
Enjoy some of my favorite shots from my Pittsburgh vacay!
Chasing the sunset on the Pennsylvania Turnpike while traveling to Pittsburgh.
The Pitt Panther Statue
The Cathedral of Learning
Inside the Cathedral of Learning
Austria Nationality Room – The Cathedral of Learning
Israel Nationality Room – Cathedral of Learning (imagine sitting at one of these desks!)
Heinz Memorial Chapel
Inside of the Heinz Memorial Chapel
Dr. Thomas Starzl Statue at UPitt
Oakland Mural
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Oakland Ave
View from the terrace near Litchfield Towers at UPitt
Oakland Square
Saint George Antiochian Orthodox Church
Mad Mex Restaurant
Bouquet Gardens
Love locks on Schenley Bridge
Christopher Columbus statue in Schenley Park
Phipps Conservatory
Dinosaur statue wearing a scarf near the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
I decided to wait until Valentine’s Day to post this season’s winter playlist, a list of love-themed songs that I feel have a bit of a crazy vibe to them.
And don’t be fooled—this playlist is not all mush. I’ve thrown in a few songs about heartbreak as well to truly encompass the wide range of emotions that can be brought upon by romance.
Enjoy a crazy, mad journey of love with these 12 tracks.
1. Crazy In Love, Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z. You know I had to start this playlist off with a classic throwback.
2. Damn Baby, ALPINE. Damn indeed.
3. Glue, Fickle Friends. “Because our lips are like glue, I think I love you.”
4. Falling, Forever. Here’s to hoping we all fall “madly in love.”
5. Don’t U Want Me (Tyler Touché Remix), Young Franco feat. Blair de Milo. The desperation is real here.
6. Lovesick, Mura Masa. It’s as simple as the lyrics indicate.
7. One More Time, Jon Bellion. For when you just can’t get enough, even if it literally costs your legs.
8. Too Much (LEISURE Remix), Tora. Is too much love even possible?
9. Still Not Over You, Klyne. A mix of emotions.
10. Free Falling, Wolfside. A danceable free fall into love.
11. I Need You More, ATTLAS. The song’s title says it all. 12. Close, La Poré. End a cold winter night by “[sliding] in close.”
A part of me didn’t want to look back at January 2020 because it was SO HORRID, but now I realize that compiling my favorites for this post will allow me to remember some of the fun stuff that occurred throughout the month.
It can only get better from here, right?
January 2020 had no shortage of great music and music videos, which is getting me super excited for what the rest of the year has in store.
Without further rambles, enjoy my favorites in pop culture and entertainment for January 2020:
3. Dunkaroos are coming back in summer 2020. Guess I’ll have to add a few more minutes to my exercise bike at the gym to compensate for all those additional calories come June.
1. Blackish, “Kid Life Crisis.” I nearly fell off my couch laughing when Jack sneezed on the expensive eggs!
2. The Good Doctor, “Fractured.” It was crazy seeing Moises Arias (Rico from Hannah Montana) in this episode. Also, Kerry is definitely going to be one of the most memorable patients in this series.
Favorite YouTube Videos
1. Tame Impala’s music video for “Lost in Yesterday” is January 2020 in a nutshell.
2. The Jonas Brothers’ music video for “What A Man Gotta Do” made 13-year-old Dana scream all over again.
3. SNL’s “Slow” feat. Halsey and Adam Driver is painfully funny.
I haven’t done a DSLR Diaries for a little while, and it feels strange, so I’m rummaging through my camera roll for some miscellaneous fall-winter 19/20 photos to share with you guys.
To be frank, I haven’t gone shooting much lately as it’s so cold out and the winter wind freezes my little fingers whenever I take my camera out in below 45° weather.
Even thought I think winter landscapes are magical, I’d much rather it be spring right now.
Anyway, enjoy these photos taken in NYC and Long Island during the months of November 2019-January 2020.
Fall 2019
Autumn leaves in Babylon, LI.
Clear afternoon skies in the Flatiron District of Manhattan.
