A Broadcast From The Bunker

Day 46 – I now know what TikTok is. That’s what happens when I’m bored in the house and I’m in the house bored…

Dammit.

Initially, when the coronavirus grew to become a pandemic, I really didn’t want to have my blog cover the ‘current events.’ We’re saturated already. Though, as time goes on, there’s less relevant topics to cover! So, at the expense of letting my blog age any further without an update, I’ll provide a brief overview of my time in quarantine.

Starting with what I tend to blog about the most, writing! It’s been an interesting journey attempting to write during this time. At first, transitioning from working at the office to working from home was an insanely busy time, I’m not sure I’ve ever been busier. Made worse with a toddler crawling on me during conference calls. As a result, I didn’t get any prose done for weeks and weeks. That previous post about story endings was one I had luckily mostly done prior to all this so it was easy enough to wrap up. I also had a short story I was sending around from the winter but it’s not finding a home and, re-reading it, it’s now easy to see why!

Then, about the mid-April, it kind of just clicked! I started and finished a short story that had been floating around in my head, caught up with some from the writing group, and kept plugging away on my novel’s outline. I also have another course with UTM starting up this week, adding an extra bit of motivation to get words down on paper. It’ll be my first virtual course so wish me luck!

Entertainment wise, I (like the rest of the world) got sucked into Tiger King on Netflix. It’s an exceptionally well produced series, even if the subject matter is problematic for so many reasons. As well, I’ve managed to binge much of Better Call Saul, a show I’ve been hesitant to get into despite absolutely loving Breaking Bad. Happy to say that it’s just as enthralling, even if containing less action-packed and more courtroom drama. As for a show I didn’t like… just don’t even bother with Too Hot to Handle. Couldn’t even finish the first episode!

For books, I’m still working my way through Gladwell’s Talking to Strangers, which is really engaging. I also have Herbert’s Dune on the way from Amazon. Looking forward to revisiting Arrakis once more!

My own mental health is holding up. It’s been enjoyable to be around my little family everyday, helping out with chores and having fun together. After a dormant phase, I’ve started exercising again. Since moving, getting to a gym has become much more difficult so that, and my long commute, have led to quite the lengthy pause. I’ve even started running early in the morning!

Okay, I wrote that last sentence more to just keep myself accountable! When lacking motivation, I find accountability is a good last line of defense before giving up.

Anyway, time to get back to some writing for me. Hopefully, you are all holding up well enough from your respective bunkers/homes/shelters as well. Feel free to drop me a line, tell me how you’re holding up!

Keep turning the page,

Chris