As the coronavirus spreads, many of us are likely affected by jobs transitioning to work from home, schools transitioning to distance education, limitations on travel and outside activities, and reduced social contact. I thought we could use a thread to help us all cope, avoid going stir crazy, share work from home/distance learning strategies, or anything that’s helping us keep our spirits up.
Part of my plan has been diving into my games backlog, watching movies and stuff I’ve been putting off, and scheduling some more time to do some writing. I’ve also been checking up on friends I haven’t spoken to in a while via Facebook/discord/etc., and just starting up conversation! I know that I’m the type of person that gets real restless if I don’t talk to friends/someone in my age group at least once or twice a week, so I’ve been just trying to get out of my comfort zone more and reach out to folk more.
That’s a great idea. I’m reminded a lot of how I (and I’m sure others here) remained social through online relationships and Skype calls in my teens. I think it helped me prepare in a way for coping with social distancing. But I also feel lucky that Joe and I live together and can keep each other physical company, too. Online chats and video calls are great and can keep you going, but at a certain point, I at least need human contact. I feel for folks who live alone right now.
I picked up the ukulele I bought years ago and started learning some chords.
But I can’t even strum right and almost started crying because I feel so incompetent. RIP me.
I wanted to share a few resources I know are going live due to the quarantine or are just great for getting through it. I’m going to make this a wiki post, which means anyone can edit it, so please do add anything you know about.
A handful of things I’ve been doing:
Last week I burned through Harry Potter: Everyone Lives AU, a chapter-by-chapter rewrite of the entire HP series where, as you might expect from the title, everyone lives—starting with James and Lily (but excepting one key character, in order to maintain the connection between Harry and Voldemort). With the series coming up on six years of continuous updates, the author is currently a third of the way through the rewrite of HBP. It’s so good.
I’ve started watching recordings of fantasy and sci-fi author Brandon Sanderson’s creative writing class at BYU and have been learning some neat tips about writing habits. Also got some reassurances about professional writing—the odds aren’t as against us as we think!
I have been feverishly writing stuff based on some OCs I made for the Andromeda Six Discord server. In particular, I’ve gotten really attached to an AU I started where one of my OCs is an Olympic judo wrestler, and exploring his past and how he grew in this AU has been emotionally draining but also really fulfilling.
Dungeons and Dragons planning! Right before things really turned south, I ran a one-shot for some IRL friends and had a lot of fun, so now I’m working on plans for a campaign… But the players are also pushing pretty hard to get started playing online with Roll20 or Discord, and as fun as playing with them was, their insistence is starting to grate on me a little; I do have a life outside of them.
(Un)fortunately my college classes are resuming this week in an online format. I’ll have some kind of structured routine again, which has to count for something, but I was really enjoying the reprieve from my music composition and jazz theory classes…