Whew, another weekend has come and gone, and we’re now a week into APRIL! Which means I only have five weeks left until I have my MSW, and one week left until Spring Break! We’re not doing anything too crazy for that week, just working on doing what we’re good at: going on dates, seeing friends and family, and making sure we don’t get too burned out on life.
When I first started my program over a year ago (!), I told you how important self-care is to the Social Work profession. The field is not an easy or comfortable one; we usually don’t see people on the best days of our lives, if you know what I mean. So the rate of compassion fatigue, or “burnout,” is incredibly high. That’s why self-care (which means exactly what it sounds like: scheduling regular time to nourish your body and mind) is so important. For me, that means reading, exercising regularly (endorphins! an excuse to leave the house!), eating well, doing things with the people I love, and unplugging. These sound like really simple things, but they’re not. When I was first starting this program, I often said to myself, “No, I can’t go out with _______ today because I have to do ________ and _______ for school.” But what happened was my friendships suffered, and I didn’t have the social stimulation I needed. Going to grad school does not mean you need to shut yourself inside with your nose in a book for every second of every day. In fact, in my experience, I think that’s a recipe for burnout, no matter your profession.
And that last part on my self-care list, about “unplugging”? That is the hardest, but most important part for me. It’s hard to remember what life was like before smartphones and Netflix and everything in between, but it existed. If I leave my phone when we go to dinner, I will survive without taking photos of our cocktails. When Brien goes to the restroom, I’ll be okay not checking Instagram for the two minutes he’s away. And I absolutely don’t want to be plugged in when we’re on our honeymoon (location TBD), which is why I’m going to research and buy a new camera to document our travels so my iPhone won’t have to. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and right on time, Sherry Turkle put on a brilliant TED talk about this idea of being “together, but alone.” A great 19-minute listen, if you have time.
So here’s what we have documented in the last couple weeks:
We found a 24-hour composting site! This was a really exciting discovery, as we’ve been bound to the limited composting hours on Saturdays and Sundays. On days we haven’t been able to make it, our freezer has literally been stuffed to the brim with all our food scraps. No longer! (If you live in NYC, you can learn more about our city’s composting program and find your closest compost site here.)
I was at an all-day event with school in Long Island on Friday, which Brien (who’d been out of town all week) was nice enough to pick me up from. We were both ravenous, and headed straight to a Japanese restaurant for sushi + sashimi (me) and udon (B) at 4 PM. We’re going to make great Early Bird Special diners! Leftovers were enjoyed the next day, alongside an avocado salad with olive oil + mango vinegar.
Right before Brien left for Chicago, we ordered takeout from Beyond Sushi to fuel or Sons of Anarchy marathon. We love their sushi so much, we hoped to have them cater our wedding! Unfortunately it didn’t work out, but we will always go regularly to check out their monthly specials.
Wine flight at Tangled Vine, a cute wine bar on the Upper West Side I’ve always been curious about. Their wine list is extensive, and the restaurant itself is very cozy. The menu didn’t have a lot of options for non meat + gluten eaters, but we loved this calamari trio! We chose to sample reds from France and Spain, and were not disappointed. I love traveling by tastebud
After drinks, we walked up to Hampton Chutney Co. to share a dosa! Have ever tried a dosa? They’re made of rice + black lentils, and are naturally gluten-free. Hampton Chutney serves theirs wrap style, stuffed with all kinds of delicious things like avocado, beets, and jack cheese. I think ours was a seasonal special, and came with butternut squash and pumpkin chutney! This place is definitely one of those “secret weapon” spots for when you’re out and about and want an inexpensive but satisfying meal. (They’re pretty big!)
I’ve been craving cheese like crazy lately, and have been making tortilla “pizzas” on days when I’m just making a quick meal for myself. These are brown rice tortillas from Trader Joe’s, which, like many gluten free products, can be a little tough if you don’t prepare them just right. I heated the tortilla in a cast iron skillet, and topped it with manchego, za’atar-spiced chickpeas, roasted butternut squash, and arugula.
After yoga last week, I treated myself to a big green juice at the health food store. It’s a little silly, but I always feel guilty when I buy juice or kombucha. I brew kombucha at home and have my own juicer, but I loathe cleaning it. I also am really tired of all of the CSA veggies we have on hand (beets, radishes, turnips, carrots, rutabagas) and just wanted some greens. I only buy juice two or three times a year, so it’s not a huge deal, but hopefully once we start getting our summer CSA I’ll juice some of those veggies at home.
Speaking of juice, do margaritas count? Brien, my mom and I went to Cascabel on Saturday night for a fun meal. Their margaritas are $6 all day on Saturdays, so I jumped to get my favorite: cucumber cilantro! So refreshing, I almost couldn’t taste the tequila.
Card games! As I mentioned above, we’re looking for entertainment that doesn’t have an on/off switch. I researched “two person games” around Valentine’s Day, and this one was consistently ranked #1. It has nothing to do with “cities” or exploring, but it’s a lot of fun!
Floral inspiration on Instagram! I love this sweet and romantic bouquet. We’re getting married in the fall so these flowers probably won’t be in season, but I love how cheery they are.
Finally, this song. I know I’m late to the game here, but whenever it comes on during Spin class on Saturday mornings, I crank up my resistance to 10+ and get really into it.
What do you think about “unplugging”?
