Not so much sex or shopping in this city.

By: Angelina Salvador

If the women of Sex and the City weren’t married or had families yet, and the pandemic happened back in the early 2000’s: this is how Carrie might write her new column.

Manhattan is the city that never sleeps. Restaurants, bars, and delis open till two, or three in the morning. Broadway and movie theaters and times square glowing with energy.

But somehow, the city has finally been sleeping for months. And now a year later, everything is still closed and not much energy flowing like it used to be.

With all of the city’s desperation and money-hungry men being stored away, and our lives taking an extreme detour, I can’t help but wonder: has this pandemic and all these mandates stopped us from living our lives?

Charlotte has locked herself in her apartment for months, still cleaning every item that’s delivered to her apartment. And Miranda ridiculing every person on her way to work whose mask isn’t over their nose.

Samantha, deprived of sex and fun, the poor woman never has it easy. And then there’s me: stuck in my old apartment, alone and in need of a very well-deserving brunch with a cosmopolitan (magazine and drink) and a cigarette and the girls.

I haven’t seen them in a year, so that means we can only complain and shame others for our bad choices over the phone. No men, no sex, and nothing but cheap corner store alcohol.

Is this just one big metaphor for how my life is going? A pandemic surely equals Mr. Big, so I wonder, since it disrupted everyone’s life, perhaps Big came back to ruin mine again…

And with vaccines rolling out and mask mandates still put in place, I couldn’t help but wonder: are these masks a way to silence women? Just like all the other condescending men in our lives.

To keep us from having the decision to smoke cigarettes? To go out for our daily brunches and late-night outings through the concrete jungle?

I mean, our body, our choice, right? It’s bad enough trying to find masks that match with Dolce and Gabbana or the new manolas I’ve had to order online.

That’s another thing, online shopping? That hasn’t been fun, like what happened to walking in a store and trying on the new designs featured in next week’s Vogue issue?

Charlotte ended up scheduling vaccination appointments, on the same day, for all four of us. Is this how we eventually get closer to our lives getting back to normal?

I think so, and I think we’re ready to get back to the way things used to be. Hopefully.

And just like that, the girls and I are planning our first brunch out at a new downtown restaurant. Table for three, please.