What are you doing to keep busy during Quarantine?

[Jimmy Seddon]

Happy Friday Everyone!

I'm back filling in for another edition of Friday Fun!

We all know that the COVID-19 situation has prevented us from being able to do some of the things we would normally be doing right now.  My question for everyone is first, what would you normally be doing now that you can't and then also what have you been doing instead?  Have you taking up another activity, finally had the time to read that book that's been collecting on your shelves, or have you decided to finally watch every episode of every show on Netflix.

For myself, my curling season was interrupted just as we were approaching playoffs.  Right about now, many of the people I curl with would be transitioning over to play baseball in the summer months (myself included), that won't be happening this year.

Silver lining, the same group of guys that I play Baseball with have always talked about how we'd love to play D&D again but everyone is to busy.  So now, what was Thursday night Baseball is Thursday night D&D.  This is the second week we have been playing and it's been a lot of fun!

I have also taken to sharpening my programming skills since Pluralsight is currently free to use in April.  I've used this opportunity to keep some of my know languages sharp, and I've started to learn some new ones like Python.  It's so widely used I figure it's something worth knowing how to write.

Alright everyone, it's your turn let's hear what you have been doing!

Have a great weekend & keep healthy and safe!

[Mike Rathwell]

For getting at all the little projects that "I'll get to when I have a bit of time". Well.... I have a bit of time.

Projects to date:

• Getting around to installing smart irrigation timer I bought
• Building out the Unifi network at home
• Refreshing some electrical and plumbing bits in need of such
• Clear stale stuff out of garage
• Installed Nest thermostat
• Reorganize all the Google Assistant thingies in the house more logically (both in terms of placement but how set up in Home app
• Nap
• Read

[Jimmy Seddon]

I've actually done a number of those myself, which is also rewarding!

[Monique vdB]

@Mike Rathwell I've been doing some of these too, including:

• Try blue hair (fail)
• Purge linens (success)

[Mike Rathwell]

I will not likely try the blue hair thing....

This is what my network looks like now; full security gateway, managed hub and wireless access point, multiple SSIDs, guest WiFi portal, fully VLANed.

[Kimberly Deal _Columbus ACE_]

I tried pink hair, with not quite fail, not quite success.  :/
It's pinkish, in direct light.
v. ish.

[Kimberly Deal _Columbus ACE_]

Second try, with brushes to apply the colour.  Better this time, and fairly happy this time knowing what to expect.

[Erica Moss]

PUZZLES. I don't think I've ever completed a 1,000-piece one, and I have a few more grey hairs as a result, but it was fun, nonetheless.

[Jimmy Seddon]

@Erica Moss I can't do puzzles, however my wife loves to do them and has completed quite a few recently.  The only problem she has is knowing when to quit for the night and go to bed ;)

[Monique vdB]

We did a 1000-piece unicorn and are currently working on a building. I have a Degas one ready to go next!

[Mike Rathwell]

Seems like a lot of fun. If you don't have 4 excessively helpful cats.

[Jimmy Seddon]

@Erica Moss @Monique vdB @Dominic Lagger 

My wife found this from a friend, thought I'd share:

Kodak’s Giant New Puzzle is a Staggering 51,300 Pieces

[Dominic Lagger]

This is crazy!! 
I found a timelapse video on youtube with 42‘000 pieces and it’s just epic to watch... He had almost 1 year to finish the puzzle...

https://youtu.be/dj0Yl_50q4E

[Jimmy Seddon]

@Dominic Lagger that was extremely impressive!  Though I got tired just watching it...

[Sajit Nair _Trundl_]

@Erica Moss- I thought puzzles was a bar!
:P
(nevermind, HIMYM fan in secret) 

[Tim Keyes]

My wife has done a couple of puzzles over the past month.  I contribute sometimes.  Our dog loves to steal the pieces and hide them.  The last 1,000 piece puzzle she completed is missing 5 pieces... 

[Esme Crutchley]

Great stand-in @Jimmy Seddon!

I wouldn't have been working today if I was at work, and I'm boring, so it's Friday night and I'm at my computer playing with Butler.

I know I'm sad!

But today I've been playing with a sort-of new Trello board, and working out how I can use Sprints in it. As I use it on my own, it's been interesting to see how other people have been Scrumming Solo (I think that's the common term). I'm really chuffed with how the board looks and works now, very proud of myself!

Previously, I've watched all episodes of The Blacklist on NowTV, as well as all episodes that Amazon Prime had to offer of Grey's Anatomy.

I randomly found a 4TB hard drive in an abandoned box in the bedroom with all our old documents and music on it, so I've been trying to work out where on earth to put it (cloud obviously). But it's formatted for Windows and I only have Mac now, so it's been interesting because anything that I upload to various clouds I can't delete from the original hard drive, so it's been a sort of Russian Roulette working out what I've moved and what I haven't, and 9 times out of 10, I go to copy something and it tells me that there's already something of the same name there, so then I have to work out if it's a new one or an old one! Think I've got it licked now, I've made a separate folder on the cloud so that I know anything in there is a copy from this random hard drive! Then, when I'm happy that I've got everything, I can format it for Mac!

I've also started playing Minecraft with Hubster, which is great fun!

[Esme Crutchley]

Oh, and I've re-pierced my ears!

[Esme Crutchley]

I've also completely re-done the bedroom (meaning to do that since Christmas), and purged the gym to within an inch of its life!

[Jimmy Seddon]

Is The Blacklist good?  I don't really know much about it.

I watched the earlier seasons of Grey's Anatomy.  My wife watched everything I lost interest around season 7.  Then I couldn't believe they were still going as long as they were.

I've tried to play Minecraft, and every time I do I feel lost.  I know I'm supposed to just start building, be creative and have fun, but for whatever reason I just never seem to be able to get the creative juices flowing.

[Esme Crutchley]

The Blacklist is good, but it's a bit samey after a while, the cons are good and you never know what's actually going on, I'm on season 6 and I'm still clueless! More twists and turns than a twisty turny thing!

Greys was ok, I think I watched it because I'd invested too much time to not see it through, but after a while that got a bit boring as well 'oh, they died, ok' sort of thing!

Minecraft is a giggle for me personally. Hubster has turned off all the enemies (because I don't do games that involve killing things - strange when you consider my other favourite it Worms, where the purpose is to kill things, I'm a complicated person!) so it's literally just mining and crafting! We're in the middle of building a castle at the moment, he's just put the turrets on:

But I planted the tree too close and it's growing through the wall, so we have to keep cutting it from the inside!!

[Dominic Lagger]

Hi @Jimmy Seddon 

Nice topic! 

Normally I would prepare for the upcoming golf season. I would spend many hours on the driving range, but I can't do that now.

Instead of golfing, I do workout at home and also do puzzles like @Erica Moss ! :)

We have already finished two 1000 puzzles and ordered one more. A picture which I shot myself!

[Jimmy Seddon]

That's amazing!  Any chance you can link where you ordered your own photo as a puzzle from?  I have a great idea now!

[Dominic Lagger]

Of course I can share the link. 

I thought they only delivered in switzerland, but it looks like they have many countries.  Check out Puzzle you (Country selection) 

But now you have to share your great idea with us :-) 

[Tim Keyes]

Awesome picture! Thank you for sharing!

[David Lo]

During this lockdown period, there is quite a number of mini projects are in my to-do-list for accomplishment.  So far I've completed 60% of them and here is the list :)

• Extending my existing smart irrigation system;
• Transplanting a number of my existing plants (also thanks to my lovely neighbor who has given me a lot of his different seedlings for my enhancement work);
• Cleaning up an outdoor corridor beside my house (area of 30mx2m) and flattening the ground level so to make a good use of the area;
• Assemble my 2 mountain bicycles purchased from Aldi 1 year ago (a very good deal you can't imagine);
• study new technologies that I've lost my memory or something new to me;
• finish 2 seasons of Star Trek TV series and last series of Star War movie;

[Mike Rathwell]

@David Lo , all good things.

The smart irrigation system is why I need to get the new controller installed; Google Assistant drip watering.

[Fabienne Gerhard]

Nice topic @Jimmy Seddon 

normally hiking season would start right now for me and my wife - means "climbing" on the nearby or more far away mountains in the alps and getting fit 🙃(but also means visiting beergardens and enjoy some unhealthy food - which I also enjoy) 

-> instead we do cardio workout sports daily (enjoy "Bring Sally Up"-Challenge with squats) and korean sword fight two times a week @home

What I also enjoy are pearler beads while my wife is all into puzzles - I do the mini pearls and I love it.... listen to some good music and go for it....

I feel a little bit like we watched all good tv series... or respectively we're waiting for new seasons to start - Dead to me, Killing Eve, ...

And of course I try to finish my Community Leader onboarding (still sorry about that Darlene) - get some fresh input for job (but not all the time)

[Jimmy Seddon]

That's awesome!  I love the mini pearls things I haven't completed one in ages!

[Ivan Lima]

Among other things, my wife and I enjoy eating out to try new food and get to know new places. During this quarantine, we've been taking advantage of those meal kits available here in Toronto such as hello fresh, good food, etc. Well, it's keeping us busy and helping us developing our cooking skills 😋

This is the pizza burger, a beef burger, layered with peppers, marinara and melty mozzarella cheese. Golden parmesan fries and marinara dip. 👍🏻

[Tim Keyes]

I've been spending more time cooking over the past month.  My wife and I managed to go about 6 months without cooking, but have manged to make dinner together every night for the past month.  We ordered a bunch meat and side items from Omaha Steaks a couple of weeks ago and have been baking steak and chicken every day.

[Kat Warner]

I'm cooking more because we can't buy takeaways. Toddler taming is time-consuming.

[Monika Rani]

@Jimmy Seddon  Nice discussion

I am doing these things:

1. Spending time in Cooking... I love cooking but due to the busy life I have never given much time but now I have time

2. Uploading more Jira videos to my Youtube Channel as I have free time

3. Doing "Yoga" every day for my good health.

[Sajit Nair _Trundl_]

This is cool @Monika Rani 
How about putting cooking and yoga lessons on youtube too ?
;)

[Monika Rani]

@Sajit Nair _Trundl_  yes I will do but now I am focusing on only one thing :)

[Sajit Nair _Trundl_]

Hi @Jimmy Seddon -
Here is my list -

1) Venturing into new genres of music. 
Been a acoustic blues/hiphop fan since as long as I can remember.. but now learning trades of other genres like lo-fi/country/jazz.. etc.

2) Cooking for survival. No fancy stuff.
The goal is to not order from a restaurant. Period.
38 days and counting..

3) Finally finished saved games in PlayStation
COD/NFS/GTA/FIFA
(all older versions.. still on a PS3)

4. Daily dose of Yoga.
We practice on the rooftop of my apartment with fellow building mates. 
Our 'Social distancing yoga sessions' has been inspiring people in the locality and we see more and more people on top of their building at dawn.

[Jimmy Seddon]

That's awesome!  My wife and I never really ordered out much, but we have started to do so on a weekly basis from a couple of specific restaurants that are independently owned and operated to try and help them survive through this.

I have also started diving into older video games I never finished just so that I can scratch them off the list ;)

[Adam Rypel _MoroSystems_]

Do you have any interesting artists to recommend? Since home office, I have listened to so much music that I have a feeling there does not exist any music I have not heard already haha.

I am also discovering a lot of new genres lately, so I'll take everything you have :) 

[Mike Rathwell]

@Adam Rypel _MoroSystems_ , if you haven't gotten there yet, dig into Swing music. If you have a good music service that makes good suggestions in the genre, I suggest starting with the excellent group Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Other great artists in this general shape are:

• Tape Five
• Kate Earl
• Swingrowers
• Katzenjammer (have one of the most original covers of "Land of Confusion" I have ever heard)
• The Electric Swing Circus
• Imelda May
• Ivy Levan
• Paloma Faith

For something a little more relaxed, check out:

• Brothers Behind the Light
• Supreme Beings of Leisure

[Adam Rypel _MoroSystems_]

Thanks a lot @Mike Rathwell ! That is a genre I did not think about. I started right away with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and I love it, really refreshing for my ears, since I did not listen to something like that in a while.

[Teodora V _Fun Inc_]

I'm again late for the fun. Jumping both legs @Jimmy Seddon!

I consider myself lucky to have almost the exact daily routine (I'm not a social person, so I don't miss the office time and the crowds outside).

But I truly miss the long walks in the park, the mountain hikes, and the gym.

• So, I'm improvising with new and different home workouts, trying to be creative with the setups.
• I ordered a Nails set for gel-based polish, and I must admit it's not easy work. It seems like I'll have a new skill after this lockdown. :)
• I experiment more in the kitchen. I want to build beautiful new meals but, at the same time, keep calories lower (if possible). Which is sometimes a real food-puzzle, and I love it.
• And the best - I read more books on my Kindle :) Now I'm rereading some of my favorite books, I find it refreshing. 

[meghna_singh]

Thanks for sharing @Jimmy Seddon , Here is what I am doing : 

1. I am catching up on the unfinished books. 

2. Started an art journal. It is therapeutic 

3. Learning a new music instrument (Kalimba) 

4. Actually meditating- Practicing mediation without using apps or music

5. Cleaning the house. After a long workday of emails and virtual connects. I spend some time cleaning and organizing things. It helps me sleep better.

6. Also, going cuckoo a little bit now. :) 

[Radek Antoniuk]

• While not having read a good book for a long time, now I've swallowed Millenium by Stieg Larsson in just 3 weeks - it's awesome!
• Refurbished and re-planted stuff on the balcony - green makes it feel a lot better and a great place for coffee outside, even when it's freezing :-)
• Finally after a couple of years started learning to play piano
• Cleaned up the house of reaaaaallly old unused stuff.

And obviously this techie stuff:

• got certified in AWS
• now going to certify in GCP
• Ubiquiti FTW in the summer house
• Teaching Google Home to dance Salsa :-P

[LarryBrock]

Thanks for the great topic @Jimmy Seddon !  My "better late than never" contribution would be:

1. more mountain biking  - at least 3 rides a week at lunch or at quitting time (motivation to stop work!)  This is a nice 1hr ride of 7.5mi burning ~1000 calories. :-)

2. Helping more in the kitchen to both spend time with my wife and daughter plus learn a thing or two about food.  Found out I like grits with onion, cheese, and topped with a fried egg! (AMAZEBALLZ!!! as @Andy - PTC Redundant would say.)

3. Participated in some Pilates, Yoga, and Bar classes which made me hurt in places I didn't even know I had - and I thought I was in pretty good shape. (And no, no pictures of me embarrassing myself haha!)

~~Larry

[Jimmy Seddon]

That's awesome @LarryBrock!  I can't say I've ever had grits, but that does sound really good!

[Andy - PTC Redundant]

Too right @LarryBrock - too fricking right!
#AMAZABALLZ!

[Andy - PTC Redundant]

....I'm so hungry right now. Love GRITS 💙🥘

[David Phillips]

Brand new to this community, but i have had no trouble keeping busy during these times, thanks to my location (see my home office pic below), my belief in community service, and my background in public health that includes working with Ebolavirus patients and others as a midlife intern at the NIH Clinical Center. Since January I have been a "kitchen cabinet" advisor to several NYC area elected officials regarding pandemic disease preparation and response. As the initial wave overtook local health care systems, I became involved in facilities re-organization, grief counseling, and most steadily in pastoral care for a community of hospital staff (from registration clerks and radiology/lab techs to surgeons and nurses) in New York City and close-in New Jersey. Heavy stuff, but the fastest way to avoid helplessness and hopelessness is to DO SOMETHING.

All of that said, I miss the gym terribly, having taken my last full workout the morning before helping secure the closure of bars ahead of St. Patrick's Day.

[Erica Moss]

@David Phillips Thank you for your work on our behalf, David! (And wow, what a view.) Welcome to the Community, and be sure to check out some product collections that interest you, as well as threads like Friday Fun.

[Carlos Garcia Navarro]

While taking care of a toddler and a baby, I tried to find a creative way for them to have more independent playing so I could focus on working without so much multi-tasking parenting and working. I spent a number of days building an outdoor house which I actually enjoyed (and found out that I may be more skilled with my hands that I thought). Now I spend 4h a day pushing my toddler in the swing... not the outcome I expected but this is definitely keeping me busy during the quarantine.

[Kat Warner]

Pushing a toddler on a swing sounds like an excellent use of time. Well beyond my patience level!

[Mike Rathwell]

@Carlos Garcia Navarro , that outdoor house sounds like a stellar thing to do. Would that I could. My Home Owners Association doesn't allow any outbuildings (tool sheds, etc) on our property. While I get it (because could get junky fast in the neighborhood) I would truly enjoy a small, climate controlled outbuilding to use as an office for a bit better separation of work from the rest of my life. At least I am fortunate enough to have an actually "office" room in the house but an outbuilding like that would be favorite.

[Soumyadeep Mandal]

What I used to do to make myself busy during the quarantine are reading books, joining online meetups & events, playing games, doing exercise, listening to music, and a lot more...

[Adria Alonso]

Going fot Project cert and trying to keep myself busy with meets and courses.

[Deleted user]

I'm studing many books!!!

[Gonchik Tsymzhitov]

During I worked and improved the infrastructure for a few companies :) 

[Suvradip Paul]

I might be writing late as it's 2021 but just thought of sharing my diaries during those days while it initially started in 2020.

• First thing, setting workplace back at home and making a habit of working from home
• Trying new dishes, drinks 
• watching movies, web series
• Reading articles, blogs