I surprisingly have not posted in a while despite being cooped up during these crazy times. I am officially working from home for at least the next several weeks and I thought I’d share a bit about how I keep myself entertained.

Since I am still working, the only additional time I now have for other interests is taken from my lunch hour and the lack of commute time. I don’t really miss commuting to work (even though I did turn that into a positive chore by using the time to listen to audiobooks or Ted Talks). My wife and I are staying home as much as possible and everything has been going great. She recently convinced me to shave my beard since she has never seen me clean-shaven. We are both impatiently waiting for it grow back. The cats are loving having us home all the time. Honestly, I think I am the new favorite piece of cat-furniture.

To be honest, for good or bad, my lifestyle has not changed much since locking myself away. I miss hanging out with friends, seeing my family, going to movies or out to eat, and a bunch of other things of course, but life goes on.

So what have I been doing to stay sane/entertained?

Well, I’m continuing to read a lot. My book-buying habits that border on tsundoku are proving most beneficial during isolation. I have plenty that have been in my TBR pile for a long time and I currently don’t have the option to go buy more books so I can focus on the books I have and need to read.

Though I am working on the books I own, it is nice knowing I can still remotely access books from my local library. I have not done so yet. However, this does not mean you can’t. I use the Libby app which lets you access audiobooks and e-books. So if you are staying in and need a new read, see if your local library can be accessed via Libby or a related resource. My uncle is sending me a copy of Wanderers by Chuck Wendig, so that will show up in a few days and be added to my large stack of books.

I have finally gotten around to editing this blog. At least, all of my stories and book recommendations. I am about 3/4 through this process and have a little less than half of the stories remaining. Anything titled A-R has been completed. I hope to finish the rest this week. Feel free to peruse what I have. Hopefully my stories can entertain you for a little while. All of the book recommendations are done and (hopefully) no longer have minor typos. I have also re-assigned them for easier access and better “related post” suggestions. Once I finish editing my blog content, I plan to focus more time on actually writing some new stories and working on my book. I still hope to have a completed manuscript by my next birthday (February).

Outside of writing and books, I have started a replay of one of my favorite videogames; The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I haven’t found a game that a lot of my friends want to play online, but I still speak with them every so often when we are online at the same time.

I’ve been watching some shows. I still watch a show every Monday with a friend. We are just watching remotely via video. My wife and I plan to watch the second season of Altered Carbon at some point. We have plenty of options when it comes to movies and television. I plan to take more courses on MasterClass, which is having a two-for-one sale on their all-access pass. Find a friend and check it out if you’re interested.

We have been cooking a lot more. This is great because I am eating a lot less fast-food, take-out, and larger meals. I doubt I’ll lose any weight since I cannot go to the gym during this time and I still like to eat cookies or ice cream every so often, but my cooking skills now have their time to shine and I can be creative with what I make. Not to toot my own horn, but I’m not a bad cook. Yes, I know I can workout at home, but I know I won’t. However, I will likely do some yard-work as the weather finally warms up.

Luckily, technology has, for good or bad, made things much easier to find entertainment or connect with friends during these weird times. Work still takes up a decent amount of time, but I’m lucky that I still have a job and can work remotely.

I hope you are safe and well, and responsibly avoiding unnecessary public interactions. I hope we can all return to a form of normal when this all passes and I hope that it passes before too long. For now, we will just have to do what we can to minimize risk and look out for each other. Remember to breathe and know this too shall pass. I think this whole thing is helping us realize what is important, and hopefully we can make positive changes when this all ends.

Now, what have you been doing to keep yourself busy? Do you now have more time than you did before? If so, what cool things have you been doing (or what have you been doing instead of the cool thing you still plan to do)? I’d love to hear what you have been up to.