Things to do with COVID

After two and a half years of not getting COVID - including a very tense time during which my daughter was seriously ill and getting it would have been a disaster - I finally had my first personal experience with it.

All in all, it sucked less than pretty much every cold I've ever had, no doubt thanks to vaccinations, but it's a major inconvenience because you're quarantined even if you feel fine.  It goes against the grain somehow.

So, there I was holed up in my room for eight days in splendid isolation.  Even my kids, who (whom?) I adore but who have needed something from me literally every 90 seconds since being born, left me in peace.  What to do with all this enforced downtime?

1. Learn to use video editing software - I've been meaning to do this for a while but what with work, kids, etc., haven't gotten around to it.  So I made two videos using two different free programs, the Microsoft Video Editor and Animaker.  MVE is very basic but only took about 10 seconds to learn. Animaker took a bit longer to assemble all my bits but was also pretty easy.  I created this two minute animated short about manager burnout if you'd like to watch it.
2. Sort everything - My closet and drawers have never looked this good. Everything has a place.  Everything fits. It's magnificent!
3. Inventory emergency supplies - No, no, nothing to do with the state of the world. I'm from Los Angeles where we take disaster preparedness very seriously.  Sad truth is I've gotten a bit soft living in Germany, where there are no earthquakes, fires or gang wars to keep you living in a state of readiness, but everyone should have basic emergency supplies and an up to date supply manifest.  I also sampled several emergency ration bars and so far this one's my favorite because it's light, delicious, and lasts 20 years.
4. Catch up on admin and appointments - I hate using the phone because either it's my evening if I'm calling the US, or because my phone German is pretty rough and the other person always sounds judgy.  However, when your own family is avoiding you and you can't go anywhere the phone starts to look like a friend.  Even admin starts to wear a more appealing face because it's something to do. So I did it.
5. Work - Yeah, I did some of that, too.
6. Connecting with old friends - There were a lot of people I owed a personal note or update to, so I did that as well.  It was nice.
7. Peloton - My husband bought a Peloton bike last year over my protests but I LOVE IT!!!  Best of all, although I was banned from our home gym, they offer all sorts of bodyweight strength and fitness programs you can do in the privacy of your COVID isolation chamber.
8. Beauty treatments - Normally these are tricky because you don't have any privacy in a big family but COVID changes all that.  I finally broke out that Laszlo moisture mask I've been saving for a special occasion and wore it for the full 20 minutes without anyone making 'burn victim' jokes.  Yes, husband, I mean you!!
9. Re-read Agatha Christie - There's just nothing as soothing as the Grand Dame of mystery, specifically Miss Marple.  I suppose back in the day these were quite thrilling but nowadays it's just soothing like garlic mashed potatoes for the brain.
10. Binge watch Brooklyn 99 - OK, so when my kids started watching this awhile back I thoguht it was the stupidest show I'd ever seen but I kept finding myself laughing out loud each time I walked by.  The plot is thin but the dialog is clever and the acting is superb.  It is in my humble opinion the perfect binge show.

Let me conclude by saying I'm not one of those astonishing people who work full time, get a Ph.D., and do two hours of yoga a day while raising five kids who all get straight As.  I'm no slouch but I tend to mosy through my day and triage stuff that can't wait.  However, I embraced the novel experience of enforced downtime rather than fighting it.  If you find yourself in a similar situation perhaps some of these ideas will inspire you.  

Meanwhile, I wish you all good health!