Hello from Albany, NY!

What we’ll talk about:

A quarantine update, how to entertain a 2-year-old, advanced Zoom tips, the state of the restaurant industry, and more. 

Why you’re getting this

:

The Connection

is the newsletter I send to family, friends, and future friends I’ve met recently. If you don't want these emails, no worries, you can unsubscribe by clicking

here

. 

If you can't see the pictures, click "Display Images" above.

Quarantine update 🌈

It’s been three weeks since Oliver’s daycare closed, and Amy and I have adjusted to the childcare / WFH life.

We’re incredibly fortunate. We’re both still working, we already worked remotely, and Oliver is a sweet little man. This transition has been easy-breezy compared to anyone who is unemployed, sick, or on the front lines.   

But do I feel a flutter of jealousy when friends without kids tell me about how they’re spending their quarantine: reading, Netflix, bike riding, etc? Yes, I do. 

That sums my feelings: immense gratitude... and a weariness I self-medicate by binge-eating cheese puffs and watching Jerry Maguire at 2 a.m. on a Saturday morning. 

Things to Do With a Toddler 🏀

An almost-2-year-old is a weird age: too old to entertain with a pacifier and a stuffed animal while you watch YouTube. Yet too young to play alone. Which means your job is to constantly. entertain. 

Things we’ve picked up to help*:

• Indoor basketball hoop. Can’t go wrong with this classic.

• Play-Doh start set. Smells like nostalgia.

• Melissa & Doug Jumbo Brush Set. Fat brushes for tiny fingers.

• Bubble wands. The long wand is easier for kiddos.

• Sidewalk chalk. Good for rainbows. See above.

• Running. Nothing fancy. Just go.

*(No affiliate links, just helpful stuff here.)

Blog: The Good Bones to a Good Life 🏠

I’ve been thinking about “what does a good life look like?" (which is different from a life that “looks good.”) How do we deliberately build a life that stands the test of time? What are the common traits? The good bones to a good life probably look different for everyone, but here’s how I think about it. 

Read the article on my blog:

The Good Bones to a Good Life

Work: Growth in Turbulent Times 📊

At Reforge, we did free community events about “Growth in Turbulent Times”. People loved it. You can watch the recordings

here

(click any of the “watch now” buttons).

Here’s a good Twitter thread recapping one of the sessions, via @KunalsLab.  

Restaurants 🥡

I’ve been reading a lot about how the coronavirus and quarantine are affecting small businesses, especially independent restaurant owners.

Restaurant analysts and operators have been quoting an estimate that 75 percent of the independent restaurants that have been closed won’t make it. The National Restaurant Association estimated this week that the entire industry would lose $225 billion in the coming three months (NYT).

Why?

• “Restaurants are pass-through businesses. They do not hold a million-dollar float — these businesses are just not set up that way” - Alex Stupak, chef and owner of the Empellón restaurant group.

• Restaurants have notoriously slim margins. How slim? Irene Li, the chef and owner of Mei Mei in Boston broke down the margins of her business. Gross sales in 2019 were $1,215,037. Net income (after cost of goods sold, labor, rent and utilities) was $22,116.

• OpenTable released its global data set on year-over-year comps of diners. The first is a snapshot of what it looked like in the last week of February. And after, what last week looked like:

What can you do to help independent restaurants?

• Order delivery or takeout (even better: pick up the phone and call instead of using a third-party app like UberEats or Grubhub).

• Buy gift cards.

• If the takeout experience isn’t the best, don’t leave a negative Yelp review.

Want to keep up with the latest in restaurant news? Sign up for Kristen Hawley’s Expedite, a   weekly newsletter covering what’s important in restaurant technology (no affiliation, I just love this newsletter).

What’s hot? 📈

Brian Dean of

Backlinko

started a new product called

Exploding Topics

. It’s a weekly newsletter with a list of rapidly trending topics, insight and analysis. I’m really liking these updates.

You can sign up for it here

(no affiliation, I just dig the product).

Advanced Zoom tips 📹

Everyone and their literal moms are using Zoom. Some tips:

• Default video off when you join the call. You can turn it back on when you’re ready. (Go to https://zoom.us/profile/setting → Host video → “off”)

• Let others join the call before you. (Go to https://zoom.us/profile/setting → Join before host → “on”)

• Use emojis in chat 🙌. On a Mac, press Ctrl + Command + Space to open the emoji keyboard. On Windows, Windows + ; (semi-colon) or Windows + . (period)

• Audio hotkey. To mute/unmute on Mac, press Command + Shift A. Windows, Alt + A

• Video hotkey. To turn video on/off on Mac, press Command + Shift V. Windows, Alt + V

Watch / Listen / Do 🛹

MOVIES

• I watched The Gentlemen and The Invisible Man recently. Both were fun, “get-what-you-expect” type of movies 👍👍

• Pumped to watch Tigertail, from Alan Yang (Masters of None). Thanks to Josh O for the heads up.

• Has anyone tried any Quibi shows yet? When the Street Lights Go On and 50 States of Fright pique my interest.

MUSIC

• Can’t stop listening to this Lana Del Rey cover by Megan Davies (Spotify link)

LONGBOARDING

• I’ve decided to start longboarding again (need to buy a helmet and wrist guards)

• Apparently this is the new midlife crisis?

• My favorite longboarding video, from Original Longboards

That is it 🙏

As always, thank you for reading the newsletter. All typos were on purpose.

Staying healthy and safe is priority number one. If there’s anything I can help out with, please let me know. Just reply to this email.

Chris Ming

P.S. I’m trying out new format for The Connection. Love it? Hate it? Let me know what you think.

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