This isn’t a competition. It’s a collaboration.
All in LONG PULLS
After being away for a few weeks, I finally made it home… and then immediately came down with COVID. And since I am isolating in the bedroom of a small 1-bedroom flat (so as not to get my partner infected), I’ve decided it best to postpone all blogging duties until I’m testing negative and able to fire up the ol’ iMac in the COVID-free office / living room.
I’m going to be away and (mostly) offline from September 29th to October 24th — or, as Billy Crystal said in the classic vacation documentary City Slickers: “I’M ON VACATION!”
“I think more people should talk on the phone to their loved ones more often. If you can, make that call you keep forgetting to make. It will probably make somebody’s day.”
2020 quarantine had me doing a lot of 80s/90s video gaming — and since we’re now living in ‘2020 Too’, here’s my list of the top 25 Sega Master System games that are still fun/worth spending time playing all these years later (in case anyone else is looking to get into a similar nostalgic distraction).
“Apart from journaling which is my most obvious answer… my best recommendation is to subscribe for language learning apps! It’s such a good feeling when you aren’t sure what to do with yourself to exercise your brain in that way, language is so mysterious and beautiful.”
“We should all be writing and reading poetry, daily. You should also be affectionate with your friend's and tell them what you appreciate about them. I also like talking to strangers and feel like it's so important to just strike up conversations with people from different backgrounds. Taking mushrooms is good too.”
“I have become a fermenting nut since the pandemic, and I have a small garden and things are just starting to come to fruition right now, so as well as enjoying fresh from the ground, I ferment... I had no idea it was so easy and cheap ... and the experimentation possibilities are limitless.”
“Whether you’re trying to get a daily meditating, reading, and/or writing habit going as well, or whether your interests lie in learning an instrument, or painting, or PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING you can want to get better at — I highly recommend the practice of setting a timer for 20 minutes each day and doing that thing you want to improve at / do more of until the chimes start chiming.”
The path I took to realizing I could just play any old retro video game right here on my old 2009 iMac was a bit more convoluted than it needed to be, but, hey, sometimes life is a bit more convoluted than it needs to be.
“I think everyone should learn to care for something, a plant, a pet, or another human being.. something to help you look outside yourself and get perspective on your placement in life.”
The 2020 quarantine had me doing a lot of 80s/90s video gaming (a hobby that has continued “post”-pandemic) — so here’s my personally subjective list of top Turbo Grafx-16 / PC Engine games that are still fun/worth spending time playing all these years later (in case anyone else is looking to get into a similar nostalgic distraction).
Metaphorically going ‘Gone Fishin’ ironically turned into literally going Gone Paintin’ at a location that’d be perfect for actually going fishing. Ain’t that just the way :)
