Can I tell you...about what I've been doing in confinement.

Wearing our home-made masks given by our friend who lives nearby.

Last week, James Ong, Editor in Chief of Mabuhay Magazine asked me to share what I’ve been doing in confinement. Below is the interview:

Each day of the week, we check in on a friend of Mabuhay and ask them to share their social-distancing experience. Today, we chat with New York-based bag designer Rafe New York, who has been rediscovering the joys of drawing and picking clam shells on the beach with his mom since they retreated to Long Island on March 13. “Being here these past few weeks has felt like an extended weekend. We can almost forget that there’s a pandemic happening – but only almost,” says Rafe, who is looking forward to “flattening the curve”, and when humanity finally trumps over Covid-19. Rafe also gives back to the community through the Tapulanga Foundation, which benefits farm communities in Silay City (Negros Occidental), and by donating a percentage of his bag sales to charity organization No Kid Hungry. When all this is over, Rafe looks forward to collaborating with the American businesswoman Aerin Lauder on a range of bags to be sold exclusively at her AERIN retail stores, where she sells everything from lamps to handbags. 

Away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠?
I’m currently staying in the North Fork of Long Island, which is about three hours away from Manhattan. We have been ensconced here since March 13 – before the situation in New York got so serious. 

𝐖𝐡𝐨’𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲?
My partner, Mike, and my mom are with me. When we left the city, we thought we would be out here for a couple of weeks, but then the situation got worse in New York. It looks like we will be here until May and possibly even longer. 

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰?
The North Fork has been our escape from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan for several years now. It’s quieter than ever here, with traffic non-existent. The shops are all closed except for the local supermarket, pharmacy and a couple of restaurants that are doing take-outs only. 

Take out pizza from one of our favorite spots, 1943 Pizza Bar in Greenport.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬?
We drive to the local supermarket in Greenport village about 10 minutes away. Fortunately, this area isn’t as densely populated as the city so there are never any crowds in the supermarket or pharmacy. Most of the restaurants there have closed. A few have switched to take-out service, which we still order. They need our support now more than ever. 

Everyday my Mom and I take long walks on the beach.

Picking up scallop shells on the beach.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐚𝐲?
We haven’t changed our internal clocks and are still up early in the morning. This gives our day a bit of structure. We used to take a walk to the local convenience store to buy coffee and the latest New York Times before breakfast. Sadly, it closed last week. In the afternoons, my mom and I go on another walk around the neighborhood and to the beach, where we pick clam shells. We rarely see anyone outside except for a few neighbors with whom we chat from a distance. Living close to nature has been a blessing. It has allowed us to isolate but not feel completely trapped indoors. I have also stayed in touch with friends all over the world via WhatsApp, Viber, WeChat, Facetime, Houseparty and Zoom. It has been so uplifting to see the faces of friends and family members. 

Drawing on my iPad.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞?
I have always been drawing in my free time, but now I can start on more complex still-life studies on my iPad. This is probably the first time I’ve deviated from drawing handbags in 15 years! Stepping out of my comfort zone has been therapeutic. As far as physical fitness is concerned, I’m contemplating a 15-minute workout my sister just shared from Louisa Drake on Instagram. 

One my still life iPad drawings.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝-𝟏𝟗 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬?
I have been craving the Szechuan sweet-and-spicy orange beef with Thai fried rice and sautéed baby bok choy from Chop-Shop in Chelsea. Fortunately, both my mom and my partner, Mike, cook excellent Pinoy food, which is a fantastic substitute. 

𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫?
Escaping reality through TV has been helpful. My mom and I have been watching an epic Chinese period drama series, The Story of Yanxi Palace, set in the Forbidden City during the 18th century. The sets and costumes are just fascinating. We have also been watching Kevin McCloud’s Grand Designs and Monty Don’s Gardeners’ World. These programs are inspiring and have allowed me to travel the world from my living room. If you need a good laugh, I highly recommend reruns of The Golden Girls. Another lockdown activity we’ve enjoyed is putting together puzzles – we just completed a challenging monotone piece that took us all week. 

This challenging puzzle required a group effort.

This monotone puzzle took us all week.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟?
To be more thoughtful, vigilant and calm in the face of adversity. I have become more vigilant in observing precautions whenever possible. I don’t want to turn into a hypochondriac, but it’s better safe than sorry. Life is precious and too many lives have been lost to this pandemic. Getting through this unscathed is all that matters now. The world has changed and human interaction as we know it may never be the same again, but I hope we all find a positive way to move forward, and with love and compassion. 

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝-𝟏𝟗 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐞...
First, I would visit my sister in NoHo for a family dinner. It’s something we look forward to every weekend and now that we haven’t been able to have a meal together, we miss it more than ever. 

The second thing I would do is have dinner with a few close friends at one of our favorite restaurants, possibly Indochine. 

Finally, I would schedule our family trip that was postponed due to the outbreak. Hopefully it will be safe to travel again soon. My sister Tesa Totengco aka Travels with Tesa had planned an incredible itinerary in Morocco and we were all so excited to be together on this epic journey.

My outdoor studio.

We often try to catch the sunset from this spot.