SOCIETY

I don’t like The Bachelor. Just not my thing. I think I have seen one episode, and I cringed. The speed-date nature of it, the ticking clock that you have to get together at the end, the now iconic roses. I’m good, thanks. That doesn’t mean, though, that I don’t know what the show is, how many people watch it loyally (over 5M each episode now in its 25th season), and the power that it has in our popular culture. It’s a reality show about the eternal quest for love. Nothing makes better storytelling for television.

That said, this morning…

REAL BOOKS

One of the great joys of the last year — if “joy” is a word you don’t cringe at hearing as you think of “pandemic” — has been a return to reading. Real reading, of real books. I was solo inside an apartment in New York City for nearly 52 weeks, so I had a lot of time to get back to the printed-and-bound page. I made myself a commitment early on: one TV show at a time. (For me, it was RuPaul’s Drag Race, Bridgerton, then The Crown. I like queens.) I had a sneaking suspicion that if I…

Nope! It’s just too soon. Pardon the overt social shame, but if you’re posting happy, bubbly, #blessed travel photos to Facebook, Insta and the rest of social, you can be sure that everyone scrolling on the other end is either rolling their eyes or searching for the “unfollow” button. Or “snooze.” Or “Jesus Christ, go away.” We get it. You just want to go back to normal. We all do. But, in the name of common purpose — and pure human decency — please stop. No one (zero people, total) wants to see you in a t-shirt and Ray-Bans rejoicing…

DISPATCH FROM NEW YORK CITY

The pandemic has changed everything. Yes, we know. What’s up is down, what’s far is Zoom, and what was once the New York City subway’s most undesirable seat is now its most prized. You know the seat. It’s the last one in the car, the one all the way at the end, next to the framed sign that reminds you that “riding between cars is prohibited,” as if anyone without a 40oz in their hand would ever really risk life and limb to surf the rails. …

Nuance is dead. Not only has it vanished from our politics, but apparently it has disappeared from film, as well. Director Jed Rothstein (The China Hustle) is brilliant, which is why I was so puzzled by his latest, Hulu’s WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn. If you have ever actually worked at a WeWork, you may be just as confused as I am this morning. Hello from a WeWork “hot desk,” by the way. I am writing from inside an immaculate office space on 25th Street. There’s coffee, lemon water, and a quiet clicking cadre…

MODERN OFFICE

One of the biggest lessons I learned during the pandemic was that “no” is the new “yes.” I penned (well, keyed) a piece about it here on Medium that was really successful. Turns out that thousands of people are just like me and struggle with the tiny word. Some reminded me of a maxim they live by: “No is a complete sentence.” I love that. Others responded that they, too, are people-pleasers of an equally problematic magnitude. And many readers asked an important follow-up question: how do I do that at work?

Saying “no” at work is a much trickier…

THE NEW WORK

I was set to go back to the office today. It was such an exciting morning — so exciting that I ironed my clothes last night (a blue dress shirt and actual slacks, brown belt) and laid them out for an early rise and dress. I even polished my shoes. I haven’t gone to those lengths to prep my clothes for the day in nearly a decade. But I’ve been watching a lot of The Crown recently (in fact, all rainy Sunday), so I started the week with an unusual sense of formality…and a palpable jealousy that Prince Philip has…