9 Things Making My Life Better So Far This Year (July – Sept. 2020)
Looking over this list, I see there are still a lot of places for me to reconsider my media intake. Few of the artists I’ve mentioned here are Black, and, although I’m allowed to like the artists I like, the fact that this list doesn’t reflect the diversity of the amazing artists out there or even the diversity of the artists whose work I’m reading and watching is something for me to think about: how much of what I call my “taste” is based on the “real me,” and how much is based on what I’ve internalized from a systemically racist society about which stories and styles are “good” or “interesting”?
Yom Kippur is over, so here we are again! The going is still tough out there, but here are a few things I’ve appreciated that make it a little less tough to keep going.
(Again, aiming for concrete things accessible to everyone, not just intangible things like “support from people I love” that don’t easily transfer from my own life to others’.)
1. YouTube
When the pandemic started, I had over 125 videos on my YouTube Watch Later list. This is because I prefer reading to watching videos; in fact, Husband sometimes laughs to see me watching the soundless preview of a recommended YouTube video and reading the subtitles instead of actually clicking on it and watching for real.
But then at the end of July, I set myself a new boundary: no checking the news/my article feeds more than once a day, and no going on any of the Internet junk food sites I’d use to avoid actually learning or feeling anything. Lo and behold, I ended up turning to my YouTube backlog.
I tend to turn the play speed up to 1.5x or 2.0x, especially for longer videos. Some videos are silly. I’ve deleted a few without watching, and I’ve moved a few to a separate playlist I have for full-length movies. But to my surprise, I’ve been enjoying watching comedy sketches, Rube Goldberg set-ups, and visual essays of all sorts, from commentary on video games to explainers on math and physics to TEDx logic/reasoning problems. Some channels that have entertained me include Game Maker’s Toolkit, ProZD, Julie Nolke, Mark Rober, CalebCity, Pop Culture Detective, Daniel Thrasher, Numberphile, Joseph’s Machines, Ryan George, and Kaplamino.
Yes, apparently I can’t get enough of comedy sketches where one person plays all the parts. It’s a fun genre, OK?
2. Locke & Key, written by Joe Hill and art by Gabriel Rodríguez (comics series)
In this 6-volume series, three siblings are left reeling after their father’s murder, and they and their mother move to their father’s childhood home. They soon discover the creepy house to be full of magic keys… and an ancient evil that will stop at nothing to obtain the most powerful key of all. Dun dun DUN!
I like Joe Hill’s horror better than his dad’s, mainly because I prefer Hill’s more humanist perspective. His characters are flawed and sometimes make horrendous mistakes, but they’re still redeemable human beings. The two teen protagonists and their little brother all make unwise choices, but they care for their mom and for each other.
3. a tablet
Technically, my desktop replacement (Microsoft Surface Pro 4) can double as a tablet, but it’s so much more complex and powerful that it’s not the best option for my typical tablet activities, like reading comics and magazines from the library and watching YouTube yoga videos. Still, I resisted buying an actual tablet for these purposes until Husband pointed out that an actual tablet would be lighter and easier for me and my bad arms/wrists/nerves to hold.
It is. And it’s great. The Lenovo tablet I got* has a round ridge/handle/speaker thing on one edge that helps me grip it comfortably. And psychologically speaking, it’s helpful to have an “entertainment” screen that’s big enough that I don’t need to squint but that’s also separate from my “work” device.
4. The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win by Maria Konnikova (non-fiction)
I read an excerpt of this in The Atlantic and had to pick up the book: the writer, who has never played poker before, decides to train with a champion so she can compete at the World Series of Poker and see what she learns along the way. She has a PhD in psychology and has written popular books on related subjects, but having herself as the subject of her narrative makes this one, IMO, the most fascinating. Whether you like insight into the human psyche, insight into the world of professional poker, or both, you’ll find something to intrigue you.
5. pipe insulation
Yes, pipe insulation. The stuff that looks like really thin pool noodles.
Because I’ve been working from home more than ever, I’m doing my best to make my workspace more ergonomic so it won’t trigger my chronic pain as much. I’m fortunate to be in a position where I could buy a new, armless computer chair, which helps me put less pressure on my elbows. However, I quickly realized that when I rest my wrists/forearms on my desk, the edge digs into me and exacerbates my afore-mentioned chronic pain.
I looked into all sorts of expensive wrist rests and keyboard rests until my mom suggested furniture bumpers (the kind made to protect small children and coffee tables from each other). (Thanks, Mom!) After searching for some options, I realized it would be way simpler, cheaper, and less wasteful to make my own out of pipe insulation. So here we are.
(Yes, I have a weird split keyboard, and, yes, it is awesome and comfortable and I don’t care if everyone other computer user I know considers it to be a technological eldritch horror.)
6. cross-stitch
I bought a simple cross-stitch kit from this local store on Etsy, mainly because I liked the pattern. Then I got to relax and learn the naval flag cipher alphabet at the same time. I like how cross-stitch is like regular hand-sewing but kind of easier: the needle is easier to thread, you actually want the stitching to show, and it’s easier to find the exact right location in the fabric for the next stitch.
7. pop music on Spotify
Specifically, all the stuff I wasn’t cool enough to like when I was a teenager or new adult, and all the stuff I knew about but never heard because I don’t listen to the radio or go to clubs. I’m talking about popular artists and tracks like: Lizzo’s “Good as Hell,” Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Up,” Katie Perry’s “Firework,” all the go-girl Lady Gaga and P!nk music that I never listened to when it came out, nostalgic ear candy like the Backstreet Boys, Shania Twain, Britney Spears, and Hanson.
It makes a great at-home workout playlist that leaves me feeling good.
8. The Whisperer in the Darkness (BBC Podcast )
I’ve never been into H. P. Lovecraft–I found his work slow and draggy, and then, as I got older and learned more about his racism and xenophobia, had no interest in giving him another chance. However, I enjoyed this podcast based on one of his stories: it transplants the creepy plot into the Serial-type true-crime podcast format. The voice acting is great, whatever gross bigotry Lovecraft may have displayed in the original has been excised, and the story and medium go so well together you’ll forget each season’s source was originally a novella.
9. The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells (science-fiction novella/novel series)
I started this series last quarter, but I read the rest of it during this one, and, man, do I ever love Murderbot’s sarcastic voice and the interesting fictional universe it calls home. Protagonists who can’t handle emotion but still have to try are, of course, my favourite: come for the anti-corporate snark, stay for the great characters, cool action, and affecting storylines.
* In case you’re thinking of purchasing a tablet, technologically speaking, I can’t recommend this one whole-heartedly. Sometimes it does weird things like refusing to connect to our WiFi all of a sudden until I reboot it a couple times, and, like a lot of devices, it comes with bloatware that it won’t always let you uninstall. But it suits my needs, and it was relatively cheap. If you’re looking for essentially a larger, portable screen to watch/read stuff on, it might work for you too.