As the DMV and governors across the country look at rolling out reopening, we at MAA remain in the cautious camp. As rules relax, please don’t put yourself in harm's way. We miss you, we really do, but we’d like to play things safe. Hence, our dear goat friends provide a scary example of what not to do when we are allowed out of our houses again.
Setting up your Home Office (for a longer stay)
Since we started working from home, I’ve been overwhelmed at times by my new workflow. Like all of you, I’m now tied to Zoom and Teams all day, which has been excellent for communication both internally and externally. I also have to adhere to my calendar more than I ever have in my professional life. At least some good skills are coming from all this!
At first, it didn’t seem necessary to do too much to my space since “surely” we would be back in the office in 2, then 4, then 6 weeks… and then I stopped focusing so much on ‘when we get back’ and more on the reality of what we are now doing. I’ve decided that prioritizing my set up is important for both my comfort and productivity. It also just feels good to exert some control on my current existence. (Boom! Points for Mental Health wellness!)
So when my cute, non-ergonomic flamingo chair gave me chronic back pain since it isn’t meant for 8-10 hour days, I drove into my office to swap it out for my real chair. Other upgrades include a stand for my laptop (approximately $15 on Amazon) and bringing in my 2nd monitor from the office. I’m working on getting a few more amenities in place and looking for a storage cart and/or shelf unit so let me know if you have any ideas. Lastly, I really need both light and color. Not every workspace has great window options, so maybe you can add a lush poster or photographs or hang some paintings on the wall. If you are looking for affordable art, here are some artists that I follow on Instagram who have some beautiful prints: Juliet Meeks and Helen Dealtry.
As you work on your own 2.0 set up, this Home Office Gear Guide is chock full of great tips on tech to acquire. And even though this article is from early March (note the coffee shop reference!! weird…), it still includes some really good strategies on how to work from home without losing your mind.
~ Molly
New Pet Owners Seeking Help! As I’m sure most of you know by now (because I never stop talking about him), we adopted our dog Shorts 2 months ago. All things considered he is a great dog but we’re having major issues with crate training. He’ll sleep in his crate through the night but when we try and put him in there to leave during the day (just to even step outside) he loses his mind with the barking. We thought maybe we could leave him out of his crate but he jumped on top of the book shelf to get to the window and now we’re worried he’s going to hurt himself. We have tried everything! We give him calming treats, we cover his crate, he gets all his meals in his crates, he’s got toys in there, we give him a frozen kong before we leave and the barking does not stop. That being said, is there something that worked for you that we haven’t tried? We’re also thinking about doing virtual dog training, does anyone have any thoughts/ideas/reccs for places they’ve used in DC? We would love to figure this out before we go back to work because we are worried about the noise upsetting our poor neighbors. Please email me because I’d love to hear your ideas! Thank you in advance!
~ Haley
Local News
RIP Momofuku. We made some wonderful memories with you and you’ll be missed! :-(
Madison’s Perfect Day
Morning: Wake up at a reasonable hour, grab a latte and the breakfast sandwich from Slipstream (seriously the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had). Scooter to the Botanical Gardens for the plants, yes, but mostly for the A+ people-watching.
Late Morning: The plants gave me some medicine for the soul, now I’m ready for some medicine for the mind! Depending on my mood I either head West towards the Wharf and browse the new releases at Politics & Prose or I head East towards Eastern Market and pick up a classic from Capitol Hill Books.
Afternoon: Ok, now I’m hungry. I head back to Navy Yard for a slice of pizza and a frozen negroni from Nicoletta. And then another round...this is my perfect day, who’s counting!? With some food and alcohol in my belly I’m ready to do absolutely nothing! Time to camp out next to the water and read my book. Before heading home I pick up a pint from Ice Cream Jubilee for later - I think I’ll go with the Banana Bourbon Caramel.
Evening: I head home to relax, do some quick restorative yoga, and shower. Then I’m ready to hit the town again! My boyfriend and I metro up to U street and stop at El Rey for some tacos and margaritas. Yum! Ideally there’s a show at 9:30 Club to check out (fingers crossed we’re back to normal by August 7th so that I can see Weyes Blood).
We finish the day at home. We sip on wine spritzers (with wine supplied by Grape Intentions), share a bowl of the ice cream I bought earlier, and watch an episode or two of Veep. What a day!