Scenes from quarantine.
I’ve been at home for over three weeks, and Alexis for a little over two. We took a drive through the hills for a much needed change of scenery.
I challenged myself to track everything I ate for all of March. I wanted to get a better idea of what was going in the tank. Calories, nutrients, all that. Figured it’d be an easy one. Wow was I wrong.
Plenty of apps out there help you log what you’re eating and I started using one straight away. Learned pretty quick though, if I wanted accurate measurements, I’d have to do some actual measuring. Who’d have thought? That meant weighing food and preparing every single meal from scratch. That was way beyond what I mentally signed up for, and not really something I was interested in doing. So I quit.
I logged my best guesses of what I was eating, but they were just guesses. It wasn’t working, and I didn’t want to waste the month. So after just a few days I switched gears and took on about as unrelated a challenge I could think of. Learning to play the ukulele.
Alexis got me a ukulele for Christmas a few years back, and it’s hung on my wall untouched ever since. Always wanted to learn it, so figured I’d give it go. I know how to play a guitar, so there’s familiarity there, but it’s still a different instrument. If it were the same, I’d be able to play it the day I got it. I spent around 15 minutes every day watching and playing along with tutorials. Chord shapes, strumming rhythms, and a few songs. Some days even an hour would slip by while I played.
There’s still a lot to learn, but it’s pretty cool to think that just a few weeks ago my ukulele was just wall decoration, but today it’s another outlet for happiness. This one was a lot of fun for me, and I’m so glad I did it. Sure as hell beats weighing chicken breast seven days a week.
Some ukulele playing by yours truly.
Working on our social closeness.
Work has been spotty for me in the wake of the corona-virus pandemic. But every cloud has a silver lining.
On almost a daily basis since the beginning of the year I’ve dedicated some time to learning Unreal Engine. The hope is to become proficient enough to create and publish my own video games. Something I’ve wanted to do as long as I can remember. It’s been half an hour here, ten minutes there. Whatever I can do to get any closer. Slow but steady.
With the unexpected drop in work, I’ve been able to focus an amount of time and energy that’d otherwise be impossible. Ten hours a day instead of ten minutes. There are growing pains, but I’m seeing real progress and it feels good.
Never thought I’d see the day my government said I can’t go outside, but here I am. Never seen anything like it in my lifetime, or my Dad anything like it in his. It’s uncharted waters, and there is risk of drowning.
Alexis and I are lucky ones. We don’t need to leave home to do what we do for a living. That means we can still work through the turbulence, while also doing our part by staying put. Even still, work is thin and getting thinner. Particularly for me.
I think when it gets bad enough, enough people will actually listen. The weather will warm, the spread will slow, and the world’s engine will start again.
A bald man is nearly invisible without a beard.
I set out to run at least a mile everyday for all of February. I ended up running 26 of the 29 days, totaling just over 76 miles. Did the best I could while still keeping it enjoyable. Never kept track like this, but It’s probably the most I’ve ever run in a month. Says something considering I was once no stranger to 8 mile runs.
I know people hate running. Even the ones who enjoy exercising hate running. It’s always been good to me though, and I’ve learned to appreciate it more as mental than physical. It brings me peace, clarity, and in creative drought brings a flood.
It was a lot for being out of practice and I quickly learned the difference between wanting to run, and having to run. Even still, I had fun with it. Really hadn’t run as regularly as this in years, and can’t really say why. But I missed it.
I’ll probably do something like it again, but in the meantime, I think running more often instead of running everyday suits me just fine. Maybe next time around I’ll go for 100 miles.
Retirement is gonna look good on these two.
Alexis got creative for Easter. We’ve baked three cakes so far since being locked down at home. Concerned but at the same time excited to see if we’ll make it into double digits for cakes baked before the end of all this.