Bistro 632

10 years ago today I had a bilateral mastectomy after I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The post-surgical report showed clean margins and my surgeon declared me cancer free. I survived 6 chemo rounds and 13 Herceptin infusions and now, 10 years later, I'm still cancer free. 🙏🏽🍾🎉✨ #fuckcancer #cancerversary #cancerfree #10 #survivor #cancersurvivor (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMfOTC8g9Uw_avGfg7ZzdM4oqoSIkNnb7hf-dM0/?igshid=u1e22xdxw7eb

10 extraordinary years. https://www.instagram.com/p/CMSH1bcAM1CQ1CDEzZfVbliiJUZda3wNAI1lmI0/?igshid=1kta2fztzx5ob

#10. LA Public Library. Anyone who read Susan Orlean’s “The Library Book” (and most Angelenos) know the LA Public Library is one of our nation’s greatest treasures. This year the library kept me tethered to the world and my city, gave me opportunities to immerse myself in other lives and places, offered access to an extraordinary cookbook collection, and connected me with the literary world which, although initially shaken by the pandemic, quickly ramped up to meet the new needs of readers cut off from our favorite diversions and pleasures. Here are some standout books from this year: 1. Nothing to See Here, Kevin Wilson 2. Dominicana, Angie Cruz 3. The Education of an Idealist, Samantha Power 4. A Burning, Megha Majumdar 5. Severance, Ling Ma 6. Begin Again, Eddie Glaude, Jr. 7. The End of October, Lawrence Wright 8. Burn the Place, Iliana Regan 9. The Lying Life of Adults, Elsa Ferrante 10. Department of Speculation, Jenny Offill 11. The Memory Police, Yoko Ozawa 12. Mahonia, Maria Dahvana Heasley 13. Start From the Beginning, Ibram X. Kendi 14. Mississippi Vegan, Timothy Pakron 15. Falastin: A Cookbook, Sami Tamimi Have a happy, healthy, safe, and prosperous 2021! (at Los Angeles Public Library) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJeVNQ5gi4ZCAuZ8ZGGWWch84jOtXtWJxIp9ZQ0/?igshid=za0b9thpt1ov

#9. Health Care Professionals. Anyone who knows me—or us—knows we’ve had many opportunities to get to know health care professionals more than most. We owe our lives to the people who dedicate themselves to caring for us, our bodies, our spirits. I’m talking about everyone from the most talented surgeons in the world to the physicians and hospitalists, to the nurses, to the people with whom we most often interacted when hospitalized (i.e., the janitorial staff that greeted us with a smile every day, the Clinical Partners that share the real deal, the people whose faces relax as soon as they know they are appreciated and welcomed, the people who are surprised to find a patient address them in Tagalog or Spanish). What a year this has been for health care professionals. Although we have steered clear of them as much as possible this year, you’re always on our minds and in our hearts. We cheer you on from within our home and encourage everyone with whom we engage to stay as safe as possible, stay at home unless it’s absolutely necessary, and send you our heartfelt love and gratitude for your commitment to serve and to heal. We stay home because we love and appreciate you so very much. Thank you. #stayhome https://www.instagram.com/p/CJcRmxSgwLToW2INSvYUOni2QBQeVRaCalgJXs0/?igshid=li59a3ecu8bo

#8. A Year Without LA Traffic. That’s it, that’s the post. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJZSzKUgwzbXqDHdqXWPFlmDxzT0D6cDakkPEs0/?igshid=1hyeolv0mm4oe

3 years ago today... #paris #travel #freedom #norona https://www.instagram.com/p/CJXNf9hgLqhH1aIj40echXdFSlFTqz12wnkv2w0/?igshid=1ezlbi1hkonx9

#7. Meditation and Reflection. The stay-at-home orders prompted many people to introduce daily (or more frequent) meditation in their lives. Early on I decided to say yes to every invitation to meditate I could accept and I’m so glad I did. As a member of Southern California Grantmakers I had the opportunity to participate in over 12 weeks of Friday morning meditations led by two gentle, loving souls in Northern California. The Friday Morning Refresh quickly became my most treasured half hour each week. In March, the incomparably beautiful, brilliant, and insightful Brenda Chavez invited me to join a new group of women who agreed to try Shawn Achor’s happiness advantage for 21 days. We meditated, journaled a positive experience, identified 3 things we’re grateful for, exercised, and performed a random act of kindness and we met via Zoom each Saturday to share our experiences with the process. Those 21 days ended many months ago but we’re still meeting (twice each month now) as we recognized a bond forming that we wanted to nurture. I’m honored to be the only non-Latina member and participate in many of the most meaningful, thought-provoking conversations I’ve had this year—and any other year. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJWSDQnAdw9BS_oL11qxDr28r4-JKNIJoLZkAU0/?igshid=rhkbxj78f1pr

#6 Finding joy. 2020 has delivered so many body blows that I’m overjoyed by things I used to find merely pleasurable. I store up these silver linings and call them to mind when 2020 feels overwhelming. I’m fortunate to have many such memories, like the time I realized Ángel enjoys trash talking while playing gin rummy just as much as I do. Or, after wondering where Ángel and Carmen went, finding them in the kitchen, quietly sneaking bites of the vegan cranberry orange pomegranate cake. Even just a particularly good day on the @NJGov Twitter account. And last, but certainly not least, seeing USC and Stanford beat UCLA in the last play of both games, two weeks in a row.👩🏻‍🍳💋 https://www.instagram.com/p/CJT37PGgpB1ksXJR6EG7utrUwWXuEh82qC2gds0/?igshid=ty9kli7o9g6p

#5 Zoom Plays. By early summer we’d already spent several months at home and the post-Memorial Day surge confirmed this pandemic wasn’t abating anytime soon. It was time to shake up our routine. We enjoyed Zoom visits but we didn’t schedule them often. They’re fun, but they’re more time spent on Zoom... I read about a group of friends who organize and perform Zoom plays. A favorite partner in crime immediately jumped on board and our budding theater troupe celebrated Jacob’s birthday with a Zoom play birthday party. On a blazing July Sunday we transported ourselves to Paris in the 30s with “Picasso at the Lapin Agile”. We used costumes and props we found around the house—you may be surprised by what you can find. It was so fun we were back at it a few weeks later with a visit to Victorian England in “The Importance of Being Earnest”. The plays help us escape the monotony of isolation. We’re so focused on our characters, script, and props we don’t have time to think about the state of the world and the reasons why we’re apart during milestones we always intentionally celebrated together. We tap into our creativity and spontaneity, try not to laugh at the scripts, characters, costumes and props, and, in the process, learn new things about ourselves and each other. (Ángel loves cucumber sandwiches. Who knew?!) Most importantly, it *feels* like a birthday party. Our troupe has another birthday coming up and I, for one, am looking forward to celebrating with another Zoom play. And no, as with the actual theater, we don’t record the performances! https://www.instagram.com/p/CJRKGdOAT1rWlxznFGXb7MYJB5nux-LKwJYJq80/?igshid=lc41szdgelpf

#4 Hope. Merry Christmas!! May this day bring us all comfort, love and joy. Today many celebrate a man who practiced radical humility, exposed the corruption that ultimately sank a civilization, forced his neighbors to confront their failures to serve and honor all, and posited that we all find peace and healing through meeting the needs of everyone, regardless of circumstance. Yet again, 2020 taught us to appreciate life in a different way. Early on we observed our family, friends, and community adjust to living a life where health impacts every decision (no matter how seemingly mundane) and acutely recognize how everyday actions impact everyone. Here we are, wearing the masks we’ve worn for 5 years now, feeling grateful for this tiny act that protect us all. We are each extraordinarily fortunate to be here today, with a healthy heart and no evidence of cancer, celebrating our 16th Christmas together. Our hearts ache to see our city, our state, our country experience this tragic pandemic and we see a long road ahead. Yet, we have experienced enough miracles to know that science always prevails, the deepest, darkest days come before the light, and, as with everything in life, nothing is static. There it is: hope. 🙏🏿 Merry Christmas. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJOzuDJAe2tBd8qoHmvkWhkxscuqHulpYRRE1A0/?igshid=j6s26f4ph8bc

Merry Christmas. #feastofthesevenfishes #nochebuena #feliznavidad #ginrummy #musicparty https://www.instagram.com/p/CJNbeVfg5ws8Mu0AA8Nw-X19cou-tsPboVPV1s0/?igshid=1fg3l7kw1ju97

#3 Streaming Performances. We decided to isolate at home on March 3rd. Given our histories, we knew we would most likely be indoors for at least 18 months. That meant no summer night concerts at the Hollywood Bowl or the Greek Theater, let alone indoor performances. We were surprised by how quickly artists and venues improvised and produced extraordinary online events. There are too many to list all our favorites here but we especially enjoyed the National Theatre at Home weekly broadcasts (I’ll never hear Mozart the same way after “Amadeus”), the 4+ hour worldwide Met Opera Gala, Alicia Keys’ & John Legend’s Verzuz battle on Juneteenth, Cornerstone Theater Company’s Highland Park production, the LA Philharmonic SOUND/STAGE concerts in the empty Hollywood Bowl, and Yo-Yo Ma’s solo concert given in memory of those who perished from Covid-19 and in honor of the medical teams that sacrifice everything to care for us. Thank you. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJL8_O3gZXRTxgrA0vJvJ5Dn62QNCZwW9FZ8n40/?igshid=1q1wdy32y9fql

#2 Cooking. We have always enjoyed cooking; it’s our most beloved creative outlet. Throughout 2020 we each improved uponour techniques while vastly expanding the cuisines we prepare. I took a deep dive into the innovating and evolving world of vegan cooking and baking. I now prepare vegan Indian meals that actually taste like Indian food, could probably sell my hummus and baba ganoush, and finally baked a delicious loaf of bread. Among many other things, Ángel is now a Thai curry master; you’d never know he hasn’t done it for years. We also recreated restaurant meals we miss, tweaking them to suit our tastes and diets. We’re keenly aware that we are so privileged to have the option to cook the way we do. We often reflect on our good fortune and think creatively about reducing food waste, reusing single-use plastics (and locating places that actually recycle them), and choosing sustainable ingredients, shopping, and cooking methods. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJJgRDagiqa0DWbvitbGOy7JSimIjaSIxww0gs0/?igshid=1tamqzkaa5g4i

We’re 10 days away from a new year. While #2020 continues to do its thing I’m reflecting on the best gifts this wrecking ball of a year bestowed upon me. #1 Women. This year gave me so many opportunities to marvel at the fierce, witty, unrelenting, and inspirational women I’m so fortunate to call my family and friends, as well as the seemingly unflappable badass women who are out there saving our world, saving our lives, every damn day. Thank you. I can’t imagine how I would have handled this #%$@ year without you. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJG29LdgoLYkis9X0ttB3TCFgQsTn1rExDIjNQ0/?igshid=9i68hgpu537h

Happy Socially-Distanced Birthday @cazzzzziee #rona #ronabirthday #2020 (at Santa Monica, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIMY-gJAe405v7qrKgUSOvbnuxtms6BnDF4fAQ0/?igshid=vvl6ka09bq2g

Love in the Time of Covid. 📹: @tejcuynaa (at West Hollywood, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFnY-k_ASmq7ipQXoUzXyMxSyqdXgN0BMGbgFw0/?igshid=1ayp7b9uffpb0