Growing up, I had so many hobbies I enjoyed. I loved drawing. I loved painting. I loved writing. I rode horses. Did gymnastics. Was briefly on an archery team?? I had so much time and energy—it felt like nothing could stop me. Now, I’m older, with significantly less time on my hands, and what little time I do have is not always spent… wisely.
It’s my phone. The eternal black hole of productivity. On and off, I try to counter this issue, but it’s way too easy to fall back into the habit. It sneaks up on me. One minute, I’m checking one little thing, and the next, I’m horrified by my weekly screen usage report, which is somehow two hours higher than it should be. My goal? Keep my phone use under an hour a day. My reality? A solid three. That adds up to a whopping 1,095 hours a year. That’s 45 entire days.
Wild.
So, in an attempt to reclaim my life from the digital abyss, I decided to try as many hobbies as possible in one week and see how they stack up. My criteria?
How well does it keep me off my phone?
How much do I enjoy it?
Is it something I’d realistically keep doing?
Here’s how it went:
Day 1: Guitar – 5/5
Super easy to pick up. I took lessons for years but stopped when I moved out. I still strum occasionally, but life (aka school and work) got in the way. Now that I have a stable schedule, it’s actually feasible to play again, and I should. It was cathartic pulling out my old music, even if my skills have gotten a little rusty. The only time I reached for my phone was to look up song tabs. A win.
Day 2: Baking – 3/5
I made brownies and a strawberry cake. Baking is a high risk, high reward type of cooking. When you nail it, you feel like a domestic goddess. When you don’t, you’re left with wasted ingredients and existential despair. Also, those 30-minute baking times? Very tempting for a little doomscrolling.
Day 3: Drawing – 4/5
I love making stuff, but I have to be in the mood for drawing. At first, I wasn’t feeling it, but once I got started, I enjoyed it. The tangible result is satisfying, but my inner perfectionist is a menace. Still, solid phone-free time.
Yoga – 5/5
So relaxing. Felt great afterward. No desire to check my phone because I was literally too busy being zen.
Day 4: Running – 4/5
I felt amazing afterward, but actually convincing myself to start? Struggle city. Also, my cardio is tragic. I sounded like a winded cow. But I can see this being rewarding long-term.
Fashion Design – 4/5
A throwback hobby. Very fun and creative, but I didn’t love it as much as I used to. Also, I wish I didn’t despise sewing because that would make this hobby a lot more functional.
Day 5: Journaling – 4/5
I like journaling, but sometimes my brain is just ??? when trying to figure out what to write. Pinterest prompts were a lifesaver. Also, my handwriting is an atrocity, but I powered through.
Graphic Design – 5/5
Worked on page designs for my poetry book and loved it. Canva supremacy. Zero distractions.
Day 6: Reading – 3/5
My attention span is fried, friends. I struggled so hard to focus on what I was reading for longer than 15 minutes. This isn’t the book’s fault. I just need to rewire my brain to focus again.
Crossword Puzzles – 3/5
Fun! Until my brain taps out and I stare at a half-finished puzzle, contemplating my life choices. A clear sign I need more mental workouts.
Day 7: Junk Journaling – 5/5
A top-tier hobby. Relaxing, creative, and sentimental. I collected bits and pieces throughout the week, making it feel like a little time capsule. Highly recommend—but invest in quality glue, or you’ll have regrets.
And there you have it! A week of hobbies, a slight reduction in screen time, and a few activities I might actually stick with. If you’re looking for a way to break free from the phone trap, I highly suggest giving this a go!
I’m a big believer in the idea that small adventures make life more interesting. So, I decided to challenge myself to try something new every day for a week. These would be little things that would shake up my routine and maybe introduce me to a new favorite. So, without further ado, here’s how it went:
Day 1: Sushi Exploration
I’ve had sushi before, but I wouldn’t call myself a sushi connoisseur. My local deli recently started making a variety of sushi rolls, so I figured, why not? I quickly learned that I do not like sour-tasting sauces (I wasn’t expecting it to be so….tangy?), but I loved the spicy shrimp roll. A new go-to? Possibly. The experience overall was a 3/5.
Day 2: A New Coffee Spot
I’m always down for a new coffee experience, so I visited a café called White Bison. Cozy vibes? Check. Good coffee? Absolutely. I ordered a toffee latte, which was perfectly sweet and nutty. The coffee shop also had a nice, homey atmosphere and even had an upper floor. I can imagine it would be a great study spot.
Day 3: Discovering a New Music Artist
Music discovery is one of my favorite low-effort, high-reward experiences. This time, I stumbled upon Sara Groves, a Christian songwriter and composer. Her lyricism is chef’s kiss, and my favorite song so far is Lay It Down. Highly recommend if you like thoughtful, faith-filled lyrics.
Day 4: Trying Matcha
I finally gave matcha a shot. It’s one of those things that everyone seems to love, so I had to see what the hype was about. Verdict? It’s good…but only if I drown it in vanilla cold foam and sweetener. Otherwise, it tastes a little too earthy for me. Something akin to mowing the lawn with your mouth open. I’d love to learn to make it my sweet way at home and maybe swap it up a bit so I’m not always consuming an ungodly amount of coffee.
Day 5: Testing a New Recipe
I decided to bake cheddar and ham muffins, and let me tell you, friend, they were way better than expected. Soft, cheesy, savory, and surprisingly filling. These might just be my new favorite breakfast meal prep. This was probably my 5/5 experience for the week.
Overall, this little experiment was a fun reminder that trying new things doesn’t have to be dramatic or life-changing. Even the smallest discoveries such as a new coffee order or a song that resonates—adds richness to everyday life. Who knows? Maybe I’ll keep this streak going! It’s been a fun little challenge to brighten up my now regular 9-5 work schedule. It’s easy to let time get away from you when you work a regular job I’m realizing. This little challenge felt like it helped me be more present and make better use of my time (be more experimental in small ways).
So! Now I’m going to turn the question to you, dear audience! What’s something new you’ve tried lately?
Hello, friends! It’s been a minute, so I thought it was time to check in with a little life update. Some exciting changes have happened recently. The kind of changes that come with cat hair on your clothes and a hard hat in your car.
So let’s get into it.
Meet Lori and Midna
First things first, I got cats. Yes, plural. Two tiny creatures who rule my life with a mix of adorable chaos and constant naps.
● Lori is my white kitten. His full name is Lorrian because every cat needs a slightly dramatic name to match their mysterious personality (he is anything but. He screams at me day and night for love and cuddles). Lori is playful, curious, and oh-so-needy. He desires cuddles at all hours of the day and makes that need known.
● Midna is the queen of the house. She’s my sleek, black cat, full of charm and just a touch of mischief. If you’ve ever played Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, you already know the inspiration behind her name. Midna has the vibe of a cat who knows all your secrets and still loves you anyway though she might judge you a little.
Having two cats has been such a comfort. They keep life entertaining and, somehow, their little purrs can turn a stressful day around in an instant.
I’m an Environmental Scientist!
In bigger news, I officially started my career as an environmental scientist. I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that I get to say that out loud. It’s been an adjustment, for sure. The early mornings, lots of learning, and a hefty dose of responsibility are just a few factors I’m trying to navigate with some level of grace and maturity (along with the fear of failure at ANYTHING.) but I’m so grateful to have landed a job right out of college. It’s one thing to dream about contributing to conservation and environmental work; it’s another to step into the field and do it. I am very blessed and I don’t want to ever NOT acknowledge that.
Some days are filled with fieldwork, which makes me feel like I’m back on the farm, in my element with fresh air and soil under my boots. Other days involve reports, lab safety videos, and presentations, which are equally important (but slightly less glamorous). The balance has been a learning curve, but I’m enjoying it so far though I still have TONS to learn.
Adjusting to This New Chapter
I won’t lie to you guys- life after college feels like I’m faking it till you make it. I think I’ve got it figured out one minute and then feel like I can’t make it in this big world the next. There are moments of confidence followed by flashes of doubt, and that’s okay. I think the most surprising lesson I’ve learned is that nobody really has it all together. We’re all just doing the best we can, whether we’re starting new jobs, adopting pets, or figuring out how to cook something other than spaghetti or tacos.
Between Lori attacking my shoelaces, Midna napping on my laptop, and work keeping me on my toes, life feels full. It’s not perfect, but it’s good. And I’m thankful for that.
That’s it for now! Tell me what’s new with you in the comments—I want to hear about your pets, job wins, or even just the small victories keeping you going. Until next time, I’ll be over here, trying to keep my white kitten from drinking toilet water and my black cat off my keyboard.
So, I did a thing: I self-published a poetry book! Cue the happy tears, celebratory confetti, and… me furiously googling “how to fix image formatting errors.” However, that latter part could be my own hubris. Spoiler alert: my poetry book isn’t just any old text—it’s packed with images. Yep, we’re talking multimedia poetry, so my struggles might have been amped up a notch because I decided to get fancy with visuals. What can I say? I am a wee bit too extra for my own good but I’m committed so here we are.
The Interesting Journey of Formatting
Now, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) has its own formatting tool, which requires you to download an app to your computer. It’s manageable…in the way that driving a stick shift for the first time is “manageable.” Since my book was 90% images, the Word document transfer option wasn’t exactly reassuring—KDP’s warning about “potential formatting errors” didn’t sound like a good time. So, I went with their Kindle app and got straight to work.
After a few afternoons of playing around in KDP’s software, I figured out how to get my images where I wanted them and things looked halfway decent. Not bad for my first try at book formatting. HOWEVER that doesn’t mean it didn’t have its annoying moments. Every single time I updated one image, I’d have to double-check the rest, because it seemed like one change would throw off the entire balance of the layout. I felt like I was doing an elaborate game of digital Jenga.
Would I recommend Kindle Direct Publishing to anyone looking to self-publish a poetry book with multimedia elements? Yes. But… let’s just say, expect a little struggle. If you’re like me, and you want to mix poetry with visual elements, just know that formatting is a time-sucking beast you’ll need to tame.
The Great Cover Design Showdown: KDP vs. Canva
KDP does offer a cover design tool, which is fine if you’re going for something simple, but simple ended up looking like a high school PowerPoint. So, I migrated to Canva, where I could actually add flair, colors, and fonts that suited the vibe of a multimedia poetry book. Canva: 1, Kindle Cover Tool: 0.
(Psst. Cover design pictured below):
The End Result
Overall, the process was worth it—I loved bringing my poems and images together in one project. Sure, it was a little clunky, but hey, seeing my work all shiny and official was worth every “Oh, not again” moment. So, if you’re thinking about self-publishing, especially with multimedia, I say go for it! Just don’t forget Canva—and maybe take a few deep breaths (And a cup of coffee) before tackling the formatting.
All that being said, my tiny little science inspired multimedia poetry book has been sent out into the world! I can’t really complain to be honest. It was a fun little venture I must say. I also think it was the perfect introduction for me for the world of Kindle Direct Publishing. My book was small (what’s known as a chapbook) so while the formatting felt like it took awhile, I can’t imagine how much longer it would have taken if I published a full-scale poetry book.. which reminds me.
I’d love to do this again.
Probably with a full length poetry. But don’t worry! I probably won’t go the multimedia route (at least for now anyways). Personally, I would love to try my hand at some more traditional poetry but we’ll just have to see where the creative winds take me from here. Thanks for reading and if your morbid curiosity gets the best of you and you have a few bucks to burn, here’s a link to my little project.
Tennessee weather is so unpredictable. Last week there was a chance of snow, this week it feels mid fall. Not that I’m complaining about the 60-70-ish degree weather. It’s a rather nice break from the grey I’ve been dealing with most of January.
It’s weird to think that it’s already almost March. 2023 felt like it ended just yesterday and suddenly we’re almost 3 months in. I hear that’s a sign you’re getting old but if that’s true, then please don’t tell me and allow me to live in blissful, timeless ignorance.
Hope you all have been doing well and that 2024 (that year still doesn’t feel real) is treating you well! I just thought it would be fun to do a nice little writerly life update seeing as I have a few matters to discuss and update the wide web on. I know you’re all waiting with baited breath.
First order of business, I’ve been working on a chapbook! It’s been in the making since last fall semester of 2023 and I finally am pulling all the pieces together. It’s a combination of everything I enjoy- poetry, science, stainglass windows, and angsty little musings about how I’ve poured money into an education and yet, on the cusp of my senior year, I still feel clueless. Yaknow. The standard stuff. A little sneak peak page can be seen below:
I hope to enter a chapbook contest and submit it for online publishing but we’ll see where this little project takes me. It was loads of fun to work on and I can’t wait to see what I end up doing with it whether its publish it or set it on fire. What matters is I am essentially done!
Second order of business, I am taking all writing classes this semester! I just need to finish up my silly little writing minor so I’m taking The Creative Market Place as well as Short stories and Fiction. Oh, and walking. Yes, I am taking a walking class. I needed the credit.
The Creative Market Place is a cool class where I get a little bit more insight on the business side of being a writer. We recently finished up a peer review workshop where we critiqued each other’s papers and reviewed books. Generally workshops can be a source of stress because I want to sit down and write a thorough and extensive feedback paper for each piece but, alas, time is not always on my side. Not to mention the fun of sharing your work to a class room. I was surprised to find that, ironically, sharing my overly angsty, corny poems doesn’t bother me in a class room setting but writing something semi-professional is. I think I just have to try extra hard to be professional and the poetry thing is just kind of fun. So when my professional review sucks, that’s a little more of a blow to my writer ego (something’s gotta keep it in check).
Short stories in fiction is both wonderful and awful. I’m having to fight against my long-winded tendency to describe everything in a room and what every single skin cell looks like on a character. I blame my consumption of Tolkien literature I think.
Final order of business, I am figuring out what I am doing with my life. This has proved to be a most arduous task and I still haven’t quite completed it. Most days I find myself torn between the two moods of “Yay! I’m almost done with school!” and “Oh no, I’m almost done with school!”. I’m not entirely sure what the future has in store for me with a bio degree and a creative writing minor. I am not entirely certain whether this writing thing will just be a brainless little hobby that I do when come home from a long day working at a lab or if it will actually be a part of my professional life. I guess it’s just whatever doors God chooses to open. So, with this in mind, I’m trying not to spontaneously melt from the stress. I know it’ll all turn out alright. All my college seniors out there know the feeling I’m sure.
And that’s it! Or all the important stuff at any rate. Thanks for taking the time to read my existential crisis about my quickly approaching future. Feel free to share any anxiety tips in the comments below and take care!
Aaaaand we made it! As I am writing this, 2022 is merely hours away and soon, people will be cheering as they usher in a new year. 2021 has been rough for everyone I think but I wanted to take a moment and reflect on last years resolutions and my former self’s goal’s that she wished to achieve over the course of her freshman and sophomore year of college.
Last year I divided my goals into categories, much like this year’s. These categories were writing, photography, blogging, art, personal, and school.
So let’s see how I did, shall we?
Starting off with the writing category….
Finish 5 short stories – check! I finished this one quite early actually. I now see the goal as rather small but at the time of setting it I was doing significantly less writing by large.
Finish the rough draft of “SNOW” – Snow is the title of my full length, fairytale themed mystery novel based on the events of Snow White. I finished the first rough draft of Snow in the summer and was quite proud of myself. This year I hope to finish the second and get the third underway.
Create a new plot book – This one requires some explaining. Every year, I write down many plots that I cannot write so I print the ideas out and collect them in various “plot books” to keep track of them as well as flip through for inspiration. I finished two the year prior and wished to make a third this year. I completed this task as well.
All of these goals were met much to my satisfaction. This next year I hope to set a few more as well as more challenging ones as I feel I’ve gotten an idea of how much writing I tend to do throughout a year.
Next up is the photography category…
Have a photoshoot with my bestfriend – Did this in the summer along with most of these other shoots with the exception of the Medieval shoot which was done in the snow.
Have a Medieval themed photshoot – Check! Did this in February I believe.
Have a photoshoot in a ballgown – Double check! Did this one twice.
Have a superhero themed photoshoot – Check as well! Me and my friend wanted to have a photoshoot in our marvel costumes for comic con which made for some fun pictures!
Next, let’s review my blogging goals…
Achieve 200 posts – I am surprised at how quickly I was able to complete this one! I got into blogging quite a bit more than I expected to this year which is awesome!
Try and post at least once a week – Mostly completed this one. There were a couple gaps during the year but overall I would say this goal was mostly met.
Feature/interact with other bloggers more – Mostly completed this one as well! I’m slowing trying to get involved in the wordpress sphere of blogging and am slowly making some blogging friends as well!
Make some new graphics – Did this twice actually. Once mid-year and again just today. I wanted a new, clean look for my blog to usher in the new year with!
Next up are my art goals…
Paint at least 5 paintings – Finished this during the spring semester of college. I was enormously stressed out and painting helped me relieve such stress.
Finish a sketchbook – Check! I have moved onto a new one and its also already half finished!
Try and draw a realistic person – I usually draw cartoon-y styled people so this one was challenging but I completed it a few times for good measure over the course of the year. Drawing realistic people is unbelievably hard.
Illustrate a story – I illustrated a fairytale I wrote.
Make concept art for my novel – Done! I also made a map for the world of my novel as well.
Create 100 digital art pieces – Completed this one as well.
Make a self portrait – Check! Did this twice over the summer and once during the fall semester.
Next we’ll be moving onto the personal goals category…
Read at least 5 books – This might seem like a tiny goal to most people but at this time in my life, I had a huge reader’s block that persisted until the summer of this last year. Thankfully I was not only able to read 5 but 10 books this year.
Do a devotional daily – Didn’t quite make this one. Slacked off during my fall semester where I would do my devotional on and off. Habits are hard man.
Drink more water – Mostly completed this one? I should have made this goal more specific but overall I drank more water this year than the year before (where I was regularly dehydrated) so let’s hear it for progress. I did way better at this after my freshman spring semester for sure.
Complain less – I’m still making progress on this one. I don’t know if I exactly failed this one, but progress is much slower than I’d like with this one. Complaining is a bad habit that has plagued me since high school (heck, my blog is even called LOW EXPECTATIONS). I’d love to stop whining so much but I just love letting the world know when I’m unhappy.
Eat 3 meals a day – This was a goal I added later on the year mid spring. I was in horrible health both mentally and physically during this time which was made worse by my response to stress which was not eating. I started not feeling hungry without even thinking about it. In fact, I only noticed this was becoming an issue when I started shedding weight like crazy which is pretty bad when you’re an already scrawny 5’1 college girl. So I made this goal.
And I’m happy to report that I’m in a much better place. While I didn’t achieve this goal perfectly, by large, I’ve been good at eating 3 meals every day. The habit was hard to form and I struggled through the summer but overall, the hard work has paid off.
And now, the school related goals I made…
Don’t fail a class – I was worried about this goal for awhile. In the spring, I all but flunked my midterms. I thought for sure I was going to fail Bio 1 (THE CLASS THAT IS MY MAJOR). But things really did end up working out and I ended up not only passing Biology but did so with a B. Hang in there, fellow students.
Make at least a B in Chem 1 – Again, I was worried about this one. Chemistry was incredibly hard for me and I’d spend literally 4+ hours on the subject daily, trying to teach myself the material as everything was online. It was horrible but I had an amazing course lay out which made it feel more manageable. I came out of the class with an A+.
Shoot for a B in Pre-cal – And a B is what I got. I test badly in math so I spent the entire semester cushioning my grade for when I took the final. I got a 54% or something like that on the final but came out with a B as I worked so hard on all other assignments because I knew I wasn’t the best at math tests, especially when they’re timed.
Test out of my Chem 1 final – In my Chem 1 class, if you were happy with your grade, you could choose to opt out of the final. And since you already know what grade I got in the class, you bet your buttons that I was NOT take that final. No, thank you.
Create a solid 4 year graduation plan – Completed this one during the summer. I sat down with my sister who had already graduated college and made an excel document with all my classes and when I need to take them. Incredibly helpful during registration week.
Take finals in a healthier mindset than in the spring – Another goal that I added mid year. So, taking my finals in the spring, I was kind of dead inside. I was shaken up after doing so poorly on my midterms a few months earlier that I almost expected to do badly. I ended up doing fine on almost all of them (except for the pre-cal but we’ve talked about this). Really, I was just in a pretty toxic head space at the time and a part of me knew it. I equated my grades and performance to my worth without even realizing it so when I flunked my first big tests of the year, I really struggled.
So I made a goal to take my next finals in a much better head space the following semester. And so I did.
Completing this goal was a product of an astounding amount of work I’d done on myself after the void of doom that was the spring semester. These last finals I got sick with the flu during the week but to my surprise, this didn’t exactly stress me out. Moving all my finals back and missing out on precious study time while I was sick was annoying but I wasn’t falling apart at the seams like I was during last finals season.
I took every test with a sense of finality and pride. I’d done it. I’d made it through the fall semester of my sophomore year and regardless of whatever grade came back, I knew I was going to be okay.
And that feeling was a victory I don’t think can compare to anything else I have achieved during this last year.
Next year mostly certainly come with some downs. That’s kind of life. But it will come with some ups too. And I’m so excited to see not only what the ups are exactly, but how I will grow this next year. I’m a little nervous, granted, but that’s alright. Because regardless, I’m going to be okay.
I doubt any of the following thoughts will be unique but I still find it important that I type them out anyway. (Wow, that start sounded a lot more sardonic than I intended). What I mean is, I think most people are feeling what I’m feeling when I say that it’s all going by very quickly. Not in a bad way mind you. It just sort of surprises me.
I know I would depressed if I were standing still. If I weren’t making progress. But it’s only normal that I feel at least a little sad as I find myself already halfway through my time at college. Everything is so fast paced. I make friends in classes but before I know it, we’ve moved on to the next semester which brings on new classes and even more new friends.
Time drags but goes so fast at the same time. I think that midterms will never be over but once they are, I realize that there are only 6 weeks left in the semester. It’s very odd.
I think these thoughts occur mostly because there is a part of me that is pretty scared of what the world has in store for me beyond graduation. I feel like a “fake” adult right now. I don’t have a professional job and I’m mostly working on school. And school, though hard, is something I’m familiar with.
Growing up is so weird.
I want it to happen but when it does, I can’t help but think “I didn’t mean for it to all happen this fast.”
For me, growing up has been characterized not by being sad so much as being disoriented and confused. I don’t feel ready, but at the same time, everything I’ve been doing since grade school has been done to prepare me for this challenge of getting older. And I fully intend to meet it.
And it helps that I know, somewhere deeper than my feelings and bones that everything always ends up working out in the end.
Because me and my friends burned through the previous one super fast.
Quarantine bucket list version 2
You can still complete the tasks on the first list. Besides that, same rules as before! Good luck!
A side note: point value is increasing so if you struggled with the last list you still have a chance. Also, you are welcomed to complete any items on the previous list that you haven’t done. These are just in addition to it.
Another side note: things are getting harder.
-find out what Disney princess you are from a quiz and share your results (10 points)
– go somewhere and order a kids meal (and if they offer a toy, take it) (50 points)
-send a member a song that reminds you of them. Tell them it’s their theme song. (20 points)
-Dramatically recite/read something for the group. (40 points)
-make a secret handshake (and if you can send a video of it to the group, do so) (30 points)
-find a news article of something interesting that is unrelated to coronavirus and share it with the group (20 points)
-start a blog, and post every day for about 4 or 5 days (im excluding myself from this one as I already own two blogs that I keep up with)(200 points)
-have a photo shoot complete with props and a pretty background and everything and share your photos (preferably through email as photos take up a lot of storage through text) and NONE of you are allowed to say you can’t do this one because you are all beautifully adorable so I don’t even want to hear it (80 points)
-write a story but this time there’s no prompt, just write one. You can do this more than once as long as it exceeds 600 words. (100 points)
-learn to fold a fitted sheet. It has to be neat, tidy, and stackable. (80’points)
-write a letter to your past self (40 points)
-make a short film. Of any kind. Share it with the group. (100 points)
-similar to above, film and choreograph a fight scene. Add epic music. Share it with the group. (150 points)
-design an outfit of sorts. This can be anything from a dress to a super suit to armor. It doesn’t have to be girly. Just experiment with this art medium. (40 points)
-find a fountain and flip a penny into it to make a wish. (40 points)
-have a picnic if the weathers nice. Take pictures and share it with the group (70 points)
-Surprise me. This can be anything. Give me a shock. I just want to be surprised at what you come up with. (100 points)
-find out what flavor of pop tart you are (20 points)
-send people pictures of your cute pets. I expect cuteness to the max. (15 points)
-draw something cool with chalk and share it (25 points)
-pull an all nighter and document the process (who knows, maybe you can put it in your blog.). This is going to have a high point value because SLEEP IS IMPORTANT YOU NIGHT OWLS. (170 points)
-invent something (80 points)
-build a fort. (80 points)
-wake up before the sun comes up and send us a picture of the sunrise (100 points)
-share your crappiest (or best) pickup line. (20 points)
-have a “pun-off” with someone. Pick a topic and then go back and forth and see who can come up with the most puns revolving around that topic. (40 points for the winner, 20 for the loser).
-share an embarrassing/funny story with the group. (40 points)
-make a mystery for someone. Be creative. This can be a series of letters left for someone. A scavenger hunt. A text convo where you leave clues to the person as to your identity. Get creative. If theres anything I want to stress in this game it’s creativity. (100 points)
-choreograph a dance & send it out to everyone. Others also receive points for learning it. (100 points for all parties who participate in this one).
So, a Quarantine game for our friend group. It’s a bucket list of stuff to do over the course of the quarantine with points assigned to each task. Whoever gets the most points wins a huge pack of toilet paper or something.
-Find a pack of toilet paper (a whopping 100 points. Must have selfie of proof though)
-FaceTime another member of the group and complete a get to know you quiz comprised of at least 10 questions. (You can do this multiple times, just with different people) (40 points)
-prankcall another member of the group (30 points)
– make a trailer for the group (50 points)
-write a poem with this friend group as a prompt. (20 points)
-draw a portrait of another member of the group (no cheating-Stick figures are not allowed. Give full effort. Also, seeing as how there are multiple members in the group, I’m willing to let this be completed multiple times) (30 points)
-try a new recipe (double points if you style it like a baking show) (40 points)
-take the enneagram quiz and share your results. (10 points)
-make a playlist and share it. (15 points)
– write a letter and mail it to another member of the group. Double points if it’s in code and they have to crack. The receiver gets 40 points if they crack it. (Normal letter: 20 points, coded: 40 points. I am willing to let this one be done multiples but to different people.)
-Paint something (25 points)
-sprout a plant (50 points, picture required)
-learn a new skill (can be completed multiple times with proof of new skill, worth 20 points per skill)
-write a short story, involving this friend group (must be at least 600 words, and for the sake of fun, I’m willing to let this be completed multiple times. Point worth 25 points per story)
-bomb a member of the group with memes (10 points)
-leave a “secret package” at one of the others members house. (This one is hard so obviously is gonna be worth a lot. 200 points if you leave it personally, 100 if you mail it or get it there another way.)
-make a music video (25 points)
-give code names to all the members of the group and share it (10 points)
Rules and things to remember:
-You have two weeks.
-Unless otherwise specified, you can do an item only once.
-You are allowed to team up with People but only on specific tasks. Don’t just dominate everyone.
-If you get your family to participate you get 10-20 extra points per family member as long as they aren’t participating in the games.
-You are in charge of keeping track of your own points so be honest my friends 😉
-I suggest copy and pasting this into your phone notes for future use.
Okay, gents and ladies. It’s about time I write about an adventure…
So come and listen to my tale, sad but fantastic, of one of the worst days I’ve had in a long, long time.
I’m am of course taking about the NyQuil and boiled egg train wreck. And I don’t mean train wreck in the sense that is was a mess of a day (though it was) but in the sense it involved a literal train wreck.
Are you intrigued yet? Well I sure hope so because I’ve pulled nearly every trick to gain your interest.
But truth is, it really was just a bad day. One of those days where it felt as if nothing could go right and everything that could go wrong, did.
So let us turn back the clock… back to where it all began….
This tragic chain of events was put into motion on a Sunday night.
I had a cold.
Nothing too bad except for the fact that every time I tried to lie down my nose decided to run like Usain Bolt. So it was kind of hard to sleep. So (like a Norma person) I took some pills that just so happened to be cold medicine. But what I didn’t realize is this wasn’t just any cold medicine; this was NyQuil night time, coma inducing, death emulating cold medicine whereas I didn’t even think I was taking a night time cold medicine (it was in a regular day time box). So I, without being in full possession of this knowledge, took not one but TWO of these pills. When I realized my mistake, I was… stressed?
You see, NyQuil is some pretty strong stuff and it seemed to effect me pretty bad in the past. So much so that if I ever needed to take it, I would only take on capsule and even then I was a zombie the next day.
But I had work this Monday, so the next morning I needed to be up and going at a pretty decent hour.
So I googled how long it took NyQuil to leave one’s system. I wasn’t super happy with the results where I found that it could take anywhere from 8 hours to THREE DAYS.
yikes.
But there was nothing to be done at this point, so I just went to bed and slept in my tired defeat.
And so began my soon to be bad day, when I woke the next morning feeling about as conscious and awake as A sloth during hibernation (I don’t think they actually hibernate but that’s not the point).
But simply getting out of bed wasn’t the end of my problems. Turns out my siblings don’t know how to replace the toilet paper roll so I had that fun moment.
Then I had the boiled egg issue. Usually The night before work I would pre-boil an egg for myself so I wouldn’t have to worry about breakfast on a Monday morning. But I had forgotten to mark the egg so my mother thought it was just a plain ol regular one and put it in a container with all our raw ones.
So I began cracking our eggs into a bowl in a desperate search for my chosen boiled one. I never found it. So instead I had six scrambled eggs for breakfast. Yummy.
And then it came time for work. Or so I thought. The road the way I normally went was blocked off so I had to go the slighter longer way. No big deal… until I realized they had construction going on down that road. And to top things off, when I slammed on my breaks a little to quickly to stop for said construction, my coffee decided to have a will of its own and commit coffee suicide, pitching itself forward so it could spill all over my radio, blue tooth speaker, and music player. But hey, at least my entire car smells like a caramel frappecino. I’m sure THATS going to age well with hours of sunlight!
But I didn’t have time to clean up that mess just yet. I was still driving at the time. So I drove on, trying to wipe my jeans dry as best as I knew how. When I leaned over I noticed that only half of my coffee had been spilt so there was still a little silver lining there.
Noooopee.
I cross over a railroad track to my work and unfortunately this train just decided to take a quick nap right in the middle of the place I needed to cross over to get to work. And (also unfortunately) I wasn’t expecting this stop so I slammed on my breaks and said goodbye to that last half of my coffee. You will be missed.
Thankfully they got the train up and running fairly quickly though so I was only about twenty minutes late for work. But it wasn’t too bad for there on out. I had to kind of deep clean my car though.
By the Brooke 