True to my word this month hasn’t had a whole lot of travel in it, but luckily the numbers have been going down steadily so I’m hopeful. I have a few local trips planned for the next few weekends so hooray!
But, I thought I’d give you some insight into my manic lifestyle of “doing too much.” Like…all the time. When given a little bit too much time to myself and no outlet I need to keep myself busy, lest my mind demons take over 😛 I do not handle boredom well.
Cooking/Baking
I have not truly embarked on the bread-train but I have indeed made some bread, along with a million other things. Pot-pies, quiche, butter chicken, French onion soup, soy sauce eggs, Swedish meatballs, fresh ravioli, Welsh rarebit, tapioca pudding, scones, all manner of stews, cookies, and more. I’ve always enjoyed cooking but it has reached new creative heights – within the confines of the ingredients I can order online.
If you have any recipes that use fairly basic ingredients, I’m ravenous for everything.
Redecorating and Writing
Given the fact that this most recent wave of COVID-19 was surely going to interrupt my mighty cafe-writing habit, I knew I needed to create an environment in my home I’d feel comfortable writing in. I’m trying to get into a Writing MFA program after all.
So, this prompted a full redecorating of one corner of my room. The process? The purchase of a sheepskin rug and a bookshelf, and the removal of a chair I didn’t much like anyways, and the cannibalizing of a set of drawers. Plus the purchase of some milk-tea packets so I could play pretend.
I absolutely love this area and its the place I probably spend the most time in now 🙂 Additionally, my writing is going pretty well. I’ve had a bit of unrelated writer’s block but I’ve still met my goals for last month and set new ones for this month. My fantasy story is coming together fairly well, and my new fiction story is keeping my interest. I’ve written about 15 pages, which is not a whole lot for me, but it’s kinda nice to take my time with it.
Reading
Oh my, my, my. I might be going into debt with my reading bill at this point. In the past couple of months I’ve read more books than in my last two years of university, and it’s been fabulous. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, I read incredibly fast. Even with a full time job I tend to average a book a day. So, you’re seeing the problem of cost, I hope. Luckily, a friend’s boyfriend seems interested in helping us set up library cards so hopefully my wallet will have a break.
I read primarily on my ereader but I occasionally indulge in a physical book. My newest recommendations? Margaret Robinson’s two books, A Sorcery of Thorns and An Enchantment of Ravens, are both fabulous. While An Enchantment of Ravens has some pacing issues it’s the most interesting fey-related book I’ve read in the past couple of years. I also thoroughly enjoyed Kevin Kwan’s new book, Sex and Vanity. It receives so many mixed reviews I nearly skipped it. But I absolutely adored it. It’s based off of one of my favorite books/movies, A Room With A View, and I think the majority of reviewers had no read the source material, hence their non-comprehension. It’s great, read it.
Drawing
This has kind of been my bridge to sanity in the past few months. I have never been terribly good at drawing. Because I love fashion, I taught myself to at least draw semi-good figures when I was a teen. But I invested in a fairly expensive Procreate Watercolor Flowers Course from Every-Tuesday and, due to it’s expense, I knew I would have to do it. Over the past couple of months I have worked my way through all but one lesson which still remains.
I’m wanting to branch out from watercolor and I’ve subscribed to Shadow Draw, a drawing app that I’m hoping to use to improve my skills as well.
There’s something about drawing which tends to shut off my brain. I am a famed multi-tasker, and when reading it’s as if the characters are real. So, I need something for when I’m stressed or sad that I can just do without my brain interfering. So, drawing has been fantastic.
Math
For those who know me this may seem like an odd choice. But I have always had the secret desire to be an astronomer, and from there I’ve developed an interest in astrobiology. As such, one needs to know math. I have never been bad at math, but I’ve also never enjoyed it. But, as I work my way through the Khan algebra basics course (I want to be assured I have a firm foundation before going any higher), I’m finding it fun. I’m able to see the connections between things a lot better. And I’ve given up on understanding a practical use for math – math is just math and I’ve decided to learn it.
It also has the same effect as drawing, where my brain shuts off and I lose myself in the numbers. It’s honestly somewhat addicting.
Odds and Ends
Along with figuring out how to put together the bookshelf for redecorating (because I wanted it perfect I used a serrated knife as a makeshift saw and didn’t manage to kill myself) I also had some other random one offs. I’m in the process of attempting to repair a zipper (which may turn into a sewing habit). I’ve also been working on learning more Korean and keeping up with my French. And I’ve started doing yoga in the morning before work (although this is primarily to combat the terrible pain of sitting in an office chair for 4+ hours a day).
So, all in all things have been pretty busy even without my usual athletic hobbies of skating and taekwondo (since sporting facilities are either closed or have terrible hours now).
I hope this gives you some insight to what life can be without travel, if you are also a travel-addict like myself. It’s not particularly what I want, but it’s fun and generally feels productive. I’m looking forward to the rest of the month!
Check out some of my other posts:
Leave a Reply