Rapp Strategies Rundown – April 2020

What we’re reading, listening to and thinking about this month.

Todd R.: Working our way through “Veep” and excited that both “Killing Eve” and “Billions” have new episodes. Just finished the new John Sandford book – always love a Lucas Davenport story.  Saturday nights are Academy Award Best Picture Winner nights: thus far, “All About Eve” (1950) had the best script, “It Happened One Night” (1934) was the most fun and “All Quiet on the Western Front” (1930) was darn depressing. Also happy to report that the bacon-wrapped meat loaf takeout from @GolfBirdi in Woodbury was outstanding!

Alyssa: I've been doing so much cooking, but it's been fun to have the time to try new recipes including scallion pancakes, focaccia bread and a million different kinds of chicken. Thankfully, I'm offsetting the cooking with trying to get my 10,000 steps a day – complete with sticker chart on the refrigerator. What can I tell you, as the daughter of two teachers, I'm still motivated by earning stickers! We also binged season three of “Ozark” and I started an online course about the history, architecture and artwork of Italy. 

Rich: As April dragged on, I spent more time reading newspapers and talking with friends, colleagues and clients. I spent a lot less time watching sports and actually got my golf season started. I also enjoyed having lots of conversations with friends and family, a silver lining in the grey cloud of pandemic. As we finally get close to finishing our kitchen remodeling, I am looking forward to a little more normalcy in our house. And, as the next phase of pandemic reaction plays out, a lot more normalcy in our lives.

Todd S.: With the improving weather, the Stone family has embarked on more bike rides, walks, cornhole competitions and frisbee tossing. Meanwhile, the latest "Star Wars" movie didn't improve upon a second viewing, and there's growing fatigue as my boys, ages 7 and 9, keep asking if they can watch "Dead Pool" and "It."

Sarah: I finally got my hands on a Nintendo Switch and have spent too many hours playing “Animal Crossing: New Horizons,” “Mario Party,” “OverCooked 2” and “Mario Kart.” A Zoom trivia night revealed the distressing fact that my boyfriend had never seen or read the Harry Potter series, so naturally we are now burning through those. When we’re sick of screen time, we’ve been playing board games like Ticket to Ride, Azul, Carcassonne and Sushi Go!, among others. A revisit of last month’s Rundown – I’ve passed 40 consecutive days of making cocktails. Some favorites include: the Gold Rush, the White Lady, the Black Russian, the Suffering Bastard and this 2015 Beaujolais I bought in Paris.

Anna: This month I discovered new crockpot recipes such as pork carnitas and honey glazed chicken and rediscovered old favorites like homemade brownies and chocolate chip banana bread (cue the “quarantine fifteen”). I’ve also been exploring parts of my neighborhood I never knew existed while getting my 10,000 steps a day. My boyfriend and I have enjoyed the impressively filmed and amusingly narrated “America’s National Parks” on Disney+ and escaping to beautiful places like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. 

Quentin: The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a real wrench into my social life. Scratch that: it's thrown the entire tool box at it. 

I've never been accustomed to staying at home for long periods of time, so needless to say I've had to get creative. While weekly Zoom happy hours won't ever replace the spontaneous in-person experiences, they have allowed me to reconnect with former colleagues and friends. Grocery shopping - dare I say it - has gone from mundane to borderline thrilling, and has given me time to try new recipes like Thai peanut noodles, healthy-ish cinnamon rolls, and a kale, sweet potato and onion frittata. 

Early in the month, I picked up a new side gig with Yelp Twin Cities, which has allowed me support our vibrant restaurants, breweries and shops during this difficult economic period. Hola Arepa, Hai Hai, and Pryes Brewing were all stellar and I can't wait to try them in-person. 

Despite a significant uptick in time spent at home, my apartment has never been cleaner or felt more like home. After hours of searching and measuring, I picked up new wall art from local artists Adam Turman and Dogfish Media. 

Finally, my regular mix of political commentary podcasts took a back seat to Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert, which explores the inherent messiness of being human with celebrities. By listening to it daily, it's become the perfect audible distraction.