why I'm quite happy staying at home (+ a few suggestions)

As a graduated homeschooler and introvert who is living with my family, in an remote-ish area with only a handful of COVID cases, I'm quite enjoying this period of staying at home. I'm doing stuff I like, and I have exactly the right amount of social interaction.

None.

Hang on, that's obviously not true. I'm spending time with my family, and I'm talking to people online, and I've even written a few letters.

Actual face-to-face talking time with non-family members: zero hours for, like, going on four weeks?? and I am fine with that.

(Should I be concerned about myself.)

But there's so much to do! So many ways to spend your time! Such fun to be had! So many people to not talk to! 

Julia from Lit Aflame posted a collab of 124 Things To Do When You're Exiled At Home. And Emily from The Ones That Really Matter put up a great post featuring such suggestions as Jedi training (this won't be affected by social distancing as hugs are probably against the Jedi code), exploring wardrobes, and becoming obsessively attached to a specific piece of jewellery. (I approve.) Read these! There's some great ideas!

I, on the other hand, have a list of ramblings for today's post. I'm sure any suggestions I might make have already been covered (a list of 124 things won't leave many untouched... at least, not many that are easy to think of.) but I'll see if I can add anything to what is, I'm sure, a popular topic.

• • • • • • •

T H I N G S  T O  D O

Reading

uh. obviously. (This gets its own section.)

My quarantine book list includes the following:
✓ The Copper Gauntlet, The Bronze Key, The Silver Mask (Magisterium #2-4), Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
✓ Leave It to Psmith, P.G. Wodehouse
✓ Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2), Laini Taylor
☐ Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
☐ The Lost Plot (The Invisible Library #4), Genevieve Cogman

☐ The Scorpio Races, Maggie Stiefvater (reread)
☐ Not If I Save You First, Ally Carter (reread; author recommends for quarantine reading! as MC is definitely ice-olated.) (I'll show myself out.)
☐ Jeeves Stories, P.G. Wodehouse
☐ a couple of Georgette Heyer books I found on Project Gutenberg
☐ and whateeeever books lying around the house might happen to catch my eye

I managed to get a bit of a bundle out of the library before it shut unexpectedly early! Which I'm pleased about. However. Whether I will get around to reading them or not, I do not feel I have enough books.

 

...that is to say, I miss having an entire library at my disposal

SO. Here are a few places to find books online, for zero dollars:

• Project Gutenberg. Pros: lots of cool old books! Cons: super. ugly. formatting.
• Standard Ebooks. Pros: Project Gutenberg, but not ugly! Cons: less titles
• ManyBooks. Pros: mix of Project Gutenberg titles and self-published titles. Cons: mix of Project Gutenberg titles and self-published titles.
  (I've just discovered this site in my old bookmarks and have no memory of using it?? but apparently I did, at least, check it out.)
• Borrowbox. Pros: digital library where you can borrow new titles (also eAudio)! Cons: uses Adobe Digital Editions, which I loathe.
  NOTE: you need to be a member with a library who has Borrowbox! If your local library does not, you can sign up, online, for free, with this library and you'll get access. (If you fill out the form online, you should be fine to ignore all the "present your ID in person" stuff??)
• Open Library. Pros: a mix of titles, with just an online sign-up. Cons: I'm still new to this one, but... I'm sure I'll find the cons eventually. No one is perfect, especially not people who are offering you free books. 

• • • • • • •

Non-Reading Things

Learn a language.      I'm on Duolingo, learning Italian! My favourite phrase is non lo so. Alternatively, Transparent Language, which you can get through a library - again, if your local library doesn't have this, you can sign up with this one.

Practise your musical instrument.      I play piano! Do I practise piano? no I do not. Should I? yes. Will I? tomorrow. (I would rather sing? One of my favourite things to do is gather the siblings and sing harmonies. If you love singing harmonies, and hymns in SATB, and all that cool stuff, I want to know :) If you're bored with practising, look up a tutorial for how to rick roll on your instrument of choice!
Alternatively, watch the Aussie YouTubers, TwoSetViolin. I recommend their rating of violin stock photos, or their analysis of the 'fastest' violinist (now with sequel). This is definitely a valid alternative to practising.

Exercise.      Look, before I lose you completely here: I very much dislike it myself. BUT. but but but. There's a great YouTube channel I found called Cardio Beats Fitness, and I'm really inspired. They have routines to songs like You Say by Lauren Daigle, When Can I See You Again by Owl City, Zero and Believer by Imagine Dragons, This Is Me/The Greatest Show/Rewrite the Stars from The Greatest Showman, and a BUNCH others by artists I don't necessarily know, but you might. (I grew up separate from pop music. or any music apart from classical music and the Wiggles, to be entirely honest.)

Listen to music.      I have no doubt you're already doing this! I'd just like to point out that Studio Ghibli mixes such as this one are very very soothing. And good for when you're trying to do some art like those pictures you saw on Pinterest that one time. there are no pictures of my finished products. do not ask. but that's not the Studio Ghibli mix's fault.

Rearrange your room.      And, while you're at it, clean out your stuff. This can feel like such a fresh start. (You've got to start by getting everything out at once, though. That's the way to do it. This is in no way a risky approach.)

Play a slightly different game of chess.      Like this one! (I sketched out the board on a piece of bucher's paper.)

Or this one! (Turns out, throwing your pieces can be used to remove what your opponent is using as a shield... my sister realised this before I did.)

Trawl through kawaiiface.net.      For reasons. (You need these.) Alternatively, textfac.es - I'd say they'd have much the same content, but you'd better make sure.

my sister and I chatting on Messenger. I set her name to table flip. 

Train your inner Sherlock Holmes.      On the Science of Deduction reddit, users post pictures of their room/bookshelf/desk/etc, other users see what they can tell about them, and the original user then says how each commenter did. (Am I good at this? no. Does this stop me from pretending I'm Sherlock Holmes or some private detective? also no.)

Write Batfamily fanfics and let me know.      This is how I'm actually spending my time, okay?? reading Batfam fics. It's terrible, and I have no regrets, because the fics are not. also why are the Robins not in Batman movies, this is an injustice. 

• • • • • • •

How have you been spending your time? Have you developed any new hobbies, or picked up some old ones? How are you going with being at home? Are you working from home, or not working at the moment, or still going out to work? Has your family driven you crazy yet, or are you enjoying the time together? And, of course: Homeschoolers vs. public schoolers - who's coping better? And is four weeks of not seeing anyone beyond my family slightly concerning, or entirely valid??