9 Things Making My Life Better This Quarter (April-June 2018)

There are terrible, bigoted things happening every day of the Trump presidency — and terrible, bigoted things that have been happening for a long time but only shamefully recently came to the attention of those of us they aren’t happening to. It seems right to feel angry and upset and overwhelmed a lot of the time, but it’s also important to take care of ourselves.

By posting frivolous blogs like this, I don’t mean to minimize or excuse what’s going on in the world. I just hope that maybe you and others will find what you need here — whether that’s a silly reading break or a recommendation — to help renew your own resources, the way writing these blogs renews mine.

So here are a few other things that helped me recharge this quarter:

1. Luigi’s Mansion (Nintendo 3DS)

Once I figured out that this is actually an extended fishing simulator — you just happen to be fishing for ghosts with a vacuum cleaner — it was easier to get in the rhythm of the gameplay. With its charming presentation, including Luigi’s scaredy-cat reactions, simple puzzles, and great boss designs, this is an easy game to pick up and enjoy. I do wish there were options to avoid extensive backtracking, like being able to save and quit a mission I’ve already completed once I find the hidden collectible I missed the first time around. Still, unless you live for the 100%, you’ll be fine.

2. Going on our honeymoon

Husband and I spent a couple weeks in Japan. To be honest, although Japan was great and the tours/shows/etc. we experienced were amazing, plain being able to hang out with Husband without either of us worrying about work or other commitments or taking care of our apartment/meals/laundry/etc. was 90% of what made this so great. And I know I picked the right spouse, because despite being sick for half the time I was there, I still had fun because it was with him (cue your awwwwws).

3. Breaking habits

Another nice thing about taking a couple weeks’ vacation from everything was being able to reassess my routine when we got home, free from the inertia of habit streaks and other compliance tools. In Japan, I didn’t go to the gym, practice languages, do daily writing, use a bullet journal, etc. Back home, I’ve discovered that although bullet journaling is useful to me during the school year, it becomes unhelpful busywork during my more free-scheduled, improved-mood summers. Likewise, forcing myself to complete Duolingo German lessons and listen to German podcasts every single day discourages me from actually learning in favour of ticking off checkboxes. I’m ready to be more flexible and find the strategies that work best for me.

4. No Twitter

One of those strategies is not visiting Twitter. Ever. I joined Twitter because I wanted to listen to what publishing and writing professionals from many different backgrounds say. But I realized that I use it to procrastinate more than to learn, and that no matter what I do learn, the format and discourse Twitter makes possible make me feel… bad and useless. I’ll let my posts continue to forward to Twitter, but I’ll connect with friends, acquaintances, and colleagues over other channels instead.

5. Shifting to free weight/bodyweight strength training

Another string the break inspired me to cut loose was my dependence on exercise machines. When I first started strength training, I was weak and inexperienced. Machines were useful because they helped me avoid injuries and keep appropriate form. Once I got into the routine, I didn’t give myself time to explore other options, either checking out new equipment in the gym or looking up alternatives at home so I could return armed with knowledge. Also, I felt like I needed to guard my “record” of weight increases.

But being away for a few weeks made me realized that I wanted more flexibility (so I could train at any gym or at home) and also more complete development — power in movements I actually use, balance, and strength in my stabilizing muscles as well as the major ones. I’ve had a lot of fun looking up exercise options online, reviewing what will stress my bad joints and tips on good form. Even though I’ve gone “down” weights if all you look at is which muscle + how many pounds, working with bodyweight, dumbbells, and plyometric exercises feels way better overall. And I seldom have to do the pretend-like-I’m-not-waiting-for-the-machine-except-I-totally-am-WHY-ARE-YOU-SITTING-AT-THE-ONLY-PEC-FLY-TEXTING-FOR-FIFTEEN-MINUTES???

6. President’s Choice cold brew coffee

I really love cold brew coffee, but it turns out what I love best is pouring it out of a pre-packaged carton. I’m not sure why this is — the Internet has given me helpful ideas on how to make smooth, non-gritty cold brew in my Takeya pitchers, and I love doing that for decaf. I guess it’s just nice to have the extra pitcher available for iced infusion tea to keep me hydrated.

7. Using the mandolin

The mandolin and I have a tumultuous past. I haven’t quite forgiven it for slicing the pad off my thumb during the sweet-potato-chip incident. But the new one we bought afterwards has more safety features, and after reading a recipe that required a spiralizer, I suddenly realized that, duh, why was I wasting my time and hurting my bad arm slicing French fries and sweet potato fries with a knife when I could shoestring those bad boys with an easier pulling motion? It’s also great for slicing onions, and it’s simple to clean so long as I’m careful.

8. Nerd hooks

My glasses torment me during the summer. Although they’re plastic, they irritate the place where they rest on the top of my ears. And because they’re plastic, they can easily slide off my sweaty face. In fact, on very hot days, I get temple stress headaches from tensing my ears non-stop to keep my glasses on.

That’s why these babies have become fixtures on my glasses. They let me shift the contact points off my ears and keep my glasses on no matter how hot it is outside. And so far literally nobody has noticed I’m wearing them unless I show them. Seriously, if you wear glasses that get worse during sports or the summer, consider these.

9. Sumoku

I like to do puzzles before bed to calm down my brain, so I bought an issue of a Sudoku puzzle magazine that also has some variations. Most are meh, but I find that I like what they call Sumoku. It’s the same deal: fill in a 9×9 grid with the digits 1 to 9 such that no single column or row has a repeat. However, instead of nine 3×3 boxes, the grid is split into a whole bunch of 2- or 3-square boxes that tell you the sum of the digits they enclose. This is… actually pretty fun, in exactly the mind-numbing way I need it to be.