Our lives have unexpectedly shifted a little more indoors and a little more virtual as we practice physical distancing. We've had to adjust our activities--we're a VERY social office!--moving our socializing to Zoom, FaceTime, Skype. We've also tapped into tons of hobbies, and we've compiled our recommendations below in case you need inspiration/ideas. Now, more than ever, it's important to stay connected (virtually) to friends and family, and to practice self-care.
Abby McFee '17, Assistant Director of Admissions
- Watching: Mad Men (for the first time!!)
- Reading: The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson and The Undying by Anne Boyer
- Laughing at: The National Cowboy Museum Twitter account, which went viral thanks to one very heart-warming security guard
- Listening to: The soundtrack to The Visitors
- Eating/drinking: The two GF lasagnas I've made so far, and too much coffee
- Enjoying: Sitting on my front stoop on warmer days to soak in the sunlight (social-distancing-approved, and makes me feel better instantly)
Emily Lubow Klobucher, Admissions Counselor
- Watching: The New Pope, RuPaul’s Drag Race (Season 1-6 is on Hulu) and The Office for the 11th time.
- Reading: The Race to Save the Romanovs by Helen Rappaport and Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
- Laughing at: Our cat who has recently decided a scrap piece of green string is his favorite toy to play with and drag around the apartment.
- Listening to: Ider, the New Airborne Toxic Event song, Charli XCX
- Eating/drinking: A LOT of Chickpeas, hummus, curry, fried, in soups, in salads, on their own. So yummy
- Buying: Spices from Curio! It’s an amazing women owned spice store in Cambridge. I just subscribed to their monthly spice club!
- Enjoying: Many cups of tea, exploring my cookbooks and drawing!
Chris Flores, Associate Director of Admissions
- Watching: Top Chef Season 11 (New Orleans), Chopped and rewatching the Marvel Cinematic Universe...again.
- Reading: Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
- Laughing at: Twitter... "I hate it here"
- Listening to: Elton John, Bachata, R&B: 90's hits, Jay-Z (back on Spotify), and The Daily by NYT.
- Eating/drinking: Lots of tuna fish, quinoa, and pizza- I recently gave up eating meat Monday-Friday and also drinking Bulletproof Coffee every day!
- Buying: Limes and lemons, and new cooking tools
- Enjoying: Spending time with my mom and fiancé, connecting with friends and family frequently, and appreciating every day just a little bit more.
JT Duck, Dean of Admissions
- Watching: Succession on HBO
- Reading: Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
- Laughing at: The Julie Nolke video: Explaining the Pandemic to my Past Self
- Listening to: Anything by Mariah Carey
- Eating/drinking: Lots and lots of comfort good – pizza, donuts, ice cream
- Buying: Cat toys to entertain my cats and fashionable face masks from small start-ups
- Enjoying: Going for long walks on sunny spring days
Jacob Schwartz, Admissions Counselor
- Watching: TV: Dave … it better get a second season! Just watched Drive (Ryan Gosling) with my friends (hung out via zoom!)
- Reading: Ready Player 1
- Laughing at: Superstore, but I am very sad America Ferrera is leaving ☹
- Listening to: The podcast Lore, it’s about wild and spooky folklore from different cultures all around the world!
- Eating/Drinking: Pears, both brown and green. Blue Powerade Zero
- Enjoying: Spending time with my parents.
Lauren Wilkes, Associate Director of Admissions
- Watching: Top Chef All Stars: LA – go Melissa!
- Reading: The Circle by Dave Eggers. Can’t wait to see the movie afterwards and compare.
- Laughing at: the @dogsworkingfromhome account on Instagram
- Listening to: The Daily by The NY Times when I walk, Spotify’s Locked In playlist when I exercise
- Eating/Drinking: Peanut butter & banana sandwiches, the full lineup of Amy’s Organic soups, and Bottled Starbucks Iced Coffee (miss you, real Starbucks)
- Enjoying: Sunny spring weather, USA Today crossword puzzles, and extra time with my family and dogs
Sean Ashburn, Assistant Director of Admissions
- Watching: Insecure (HBO), Gentefied (Netflix), Making the Cut (Amazon)
- Reading: We Are Taking Only What We Need by Stephanie Powell Watts
- Laughing at: The hilarious podcast that is “Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers & Bowen Yang”
- Listening to: Frank Ocean’s acoustic tracks “Dear April” and “Cayendo”
- Eating/drinking: Quaker chocolate-flavored rice cakes (this is healthy chocolate, right??)
Rachel Brown, Associate Director of Admissions
- Watching: The last season of “Schitt’s Creek” (I don’t want it to end!!!), and the movie “Knives Out”
- Reading: Little Fires Everywhere (can’t wait to watch the show!), next up is Normal People
- Laughing at: San Diego Zoo's live animal cams
- Listening to: Dua Lipa’s new album, and the Disney best hits playlist on Spotify (inspired by Frozen 2)
- Eating/drinking: Working my way through Tuesday Nights recipes, and my whole family is loving Half-Baked Harvest recipes
- Enjoying: Getting out my watercolor paint and calligraphy pens for art nights
Susan Ardizzoni, Senior Director of Admissions
- Watching: Little Fires Everywhere and Succession (but missing Schitt’s Creek)
- Reading: The Alice Network
- Laughing at: The words my husband makes up during our Boggle games!
- Listening to: too much MSNBC; trying to add in more classical music – better for the soul!
- Eating/drinking: the day starts off great with fruit and yogurt…then the Easter candy calls later in the day and all bets are off
- Buying: a new Kate Spade bag on a super sale. Thinking about sporting it for my birthday dinner late in the spring (like that positive thinking….!); also a milk frother – I miss Starbucks!
- Enjoying: see my daughter everyday. Her freshman year on campus was cut short but we are the beneficiaries (though I’m not sure she feels the same way everyday!).
Roberto Jimenez, Assistant Director of Admissions
- Watching: Parks and Rec (for the first time!) and the new season of La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) on Netflix!
- Reading: Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
- Laughing at: this joke from 1869 that my friend tweeted about
- Listening to: In The Heights original cast recording because I’m sad the movie was pushed back
- Eating/drinking: I made some amazing SPAM baked mac and cheese the other day, and now waiting for bananas to ripen so I can make this cookie butter banana bread recipe
- Enjoying: Creating historically inaccurate Middle Ages timelines while playing Crusader Kings 2. Also, playing Jackbox games with friends and family on random nights.
Beky Stiles '12, Associate Director of Admissions
- Watching: The Barkley Marathons (if you’re into running or rural things…check it out) and the abundance of birds congregating in my building’s back lot
- Reading: (Re-reading) The Phantom Tollbooth and Americanah
- Laughing at: The Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! podcast and absurd pictures of Royce and Daisy (my sister’s cats!) sent to the family group chat
- Listening to: Florence + the Machine (mac and cheese is my comfort food, and Florence is my comfort music)
- Enjoying: Yoshi’s Crafted World on my Switch and checking out all of the new sidewalk chalk art in my neighborhood during my daily walk (helps alleviate some of the quarantine blues!)
Paz Pitarque, Assistant Director of Admissions
- Currently Watching: The Wire and Parks and Rec (for maybe the 6th time)
- Reading: The Source of Self-Regard by Toni Morrison
- Laughing at: 98% of the memes that I see on Instagram –particularly those that areTiger King related
- Listening to: I’ll Wait-Kygo
- Eating/drinking: Making blueberry scones this weekend!
- Enjoying: I have a pretty big extended family that’s spread all over the world -including in Australia- so we all Zoom on Saturday evenings when the time works for everyone
Aidan O'Shea, Admissions Counselor
- Watching: The Circle France on Netflix – riveting if you don’t mind subtitles!!
- Reading: The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada – hints of Kafka, quick read, an interesting commentary
- Laughing at: Leslie Jordan’s daily Instagram stay-at-home videos
- Listening to: Dua Lipa’s new album, on repeat (it’s my understanding she has some fans in our office…)
- Eating/drinking: Bon Appetit’s Brown Butter and Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies: you’ll never be able to go back to regular chocolate chip cookies
- Buying: Fresh-cut tulips on my weekly trip to the grocery store!
- Enjoying: Zoom virtual game nights with friends
Amy Pendleton, Admissions Assistant
- Watching: Little Fires Everywhere (sooooo good) and Too much HGTV
- Reading: Untamed, by Glennon Doyle
- Laughing at: Some Good News episodes, by John Krasanski and The Tonight Show: Jimmy Fallon At Home Edition
- Listening to: Michael Jackson radio on Pandora, Disney Hits on Spotify
- Eating/drinking: Michael Jackson radio on Pandora, Disney Hits on Spotify
- Buying: Home Improvement materials and flowers
- Enjoying: Just Dance, dance offs with my 11 year old and family time with puzzles and games
Bridget Moore, Associate Director of Admissions
- Watching: Great British Bake Off - definition of comfort TV // Frozen 2
- Reading: Never Touch a Dinosaur
- Laughing at: Schitt's Creek and my mom trying to master Zoom
- Listening: Stranger Songs - Ingrid Michaelson - inspired by Stranger Things
- Eating: Carbs. In every form.
- Buying: Chalk. Brings some sunshine to the sidewalk.
- Enjoying: Switch - Mario Party
Pamela Toscano '19, Admissions Counselor
- Watching: “Little Fires Everywhere” and finally discovering who the mother is on “How I Met Your Mother”
- Reading: Finished Where the Crawdads Sing; Starting The Silent Patient
- Laughing at: My sister’s TikToks
- Eating/drinking: My mom’s homemade Ecuadorian food: ceviche, tostado, patacones, hornado
- Enjoying: Playing Catan with my family; Seafarers expansion pack 10/10 would recommend