I started quarantining on March 10th, and it’s been difficult adjusting to a new routine where you can never leave the house. At first, I was using the term “stuck at home,” but I’m changing the way I was thinking about being at home. I’m lucky to have the privilege of staying at home. And it’s a blessing that I’m part of my family. Realizing that, from now on I will be using the term “safe at home.”
So while I’m safe at home, I’m sharing the things I’m doing to keep busy. I’m so happy to have found such fun, entertaining, and sometimes educational ways to pass the time at home.
Y’all know that I’m an artistic person and enjoy creating beautiful things, because it’s cheering me up! I was chatting with a friend on Instagram and told her I would do a painting for her. So after ordering some paint, I’m learning to get the hang of using acrylics. Next week I’ll share a video of me following a painting tutorial for this fun painting of a flamingo.
When your Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and other streaming services have queues as long as mine, entertaining myself has been a piece of cake. I’ve been watching a crazy amount of tv, so far I’ve watched Tiger King, Seinfeld, Scrubs, The Office, 30 Rock, Atlanta, How I Met Your Mother, Gilmore Girls, Unbelievable, Bosch, Outlander, and Community. I have fallen in love with Community. The Community Zoom table read was hilarious.
Another entertaining podcast I listened to was Infamous: The Tekashi 6ix 9ine Story. Step aside Tiger King! This has been the craziest thing I’ve heard during the quarantine. It was a rollercoaster ride of insanity and I couldn’t stop listening. I don’t like this guy or his music, and honestly calling him infamous doesn’t feel right, but it was a heck of a thing to listen to while cleaning my room up one afternoon.
If you like drama, you might enjoy listening to Hall of Shame. I’m not a big sports fan unless it’s SEC football, but the hosts of the show are hilarious and I think it’s cool that they are women. It’s a fun podcast for those coping with mosgt sports being on a hiatus right now.
Other podcasts that I’ve really enjoyed are Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, America Dissected, Lovett or Leave It, and What a Day, all from Crooked Media, like Hall of Shame. Another political podcast that’s been fun to listen to is Parcast’s Political Scandals. See a theme going on? I thrive on drama, just kidding.
Besides the TV and podcasts, I’ve been watching a lot of clips from Late Night Comedians. Literally hours worth of YouTube videos, and here’s a few of my favorite clips.
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Stephen Colbert should always have his dog Benny on the show. Boykin Spaniels are the state dog of South Carolina, and both the breed and state have a special place in my heart.
Jimmy Kimmel has a clip of meteorologists being interrupted by their pets and now it’s all I want to watch on the news.
I’m also using this time to learn about things that interest me, and I enrolled in a course called Age of Cathedrals from Coursera. It’s a nine-week class about the architectural advancements that made Gothic Cathedrals possible, as well as their importance to economic, political, and societal norms of the time period.
So in case you’re looking for something to do, maybe try one of these things. Podcast are great for listening to while cleaning up the house, binging tv shows with your dogs is a great stress reliever, and maybe you can get your friends to do a painting class over Zoom! Whatever you do just have fun and stay safe!
With Love from Home,
Elaine
