While in isolation, I’ve found that introducing new things is one way of making the experience more pleasant rather than relying on the same day-to-day to get us through it. New recipes to cook; new shows to watch; new games to play, etc. Prior to the lockdown, I worked remotely, so video calls are nothing new, but now everyone is remote, and I’m working from home with all my neglected cameras sitting around.

A couple years ago, a friend of mine wrote a blog post about video conferencing with a proper camera, which first introduced me to the idea. Then another friend wrote a post. And another friend wrote theirs. I always thought this idea was novel, but too expensive and clutter-prone—however, I wasn’t isolated in my cluttered apartment back then. I figured this is as good a time as any to try something new and add some delight to my video calls, so I ordered the adapter and set everything up on my makeshift dresser/standing desk.

Despite how much better it looks than the built-in webcam, it’s such an initial distraction and not a great look when everyone else on your team has regular webcams. There’s also no way I’d be able to live with all the clutter at my real desk—only if I could build everything into our call booth at Design Town without it looking like we literally mounted a legit camera to only use for video calls.

Realizing that this work-from-home situation isn’t going to change anytime soon, I’ve started establishing various work “zones” in our (barely) one-bedroom apartment. In the morning, I’m on the couch. Around lunch, I switch to the kitchen table. And, whenever I need to take a call, I take it standing at my tallboy dresser. I have found myself blending my work hours into the night without realizing it, since I no longer have that clear separation when I walk home from the studio, so I’m trying to make concerted effort to close my laptop at a reasonable time and start dinner before I get too hungry.

Last night was the first time I cooked one of my more complex recipes entirely by memory. I’m typically glued to the recipe for exact measurements and times, but I felt like winging it. I was also a lot more generous with ingredients, which panned out because Jen said it was the best it’s ever been. Now that food and cooking is such a central part of our lives, I truly feel joy in knowing that we have leftovers that will last us. I love cooking, but I also love not needing to think about food.

These past couple weeks, I’ve been sneaking to the studio to work, since it’s only a few blocks away, but I found myself getting depressed being alone each day. I tried working from home on Monday, which was like night and day for my morale—Jen and the cats keep good company. I don’t expect this situation to change anytime soon, so I carried my desk chair home from the studio. Now, I can at least have a more comfortable seat for my new “desk”, aka the kitchen table, instead of the wooden foldout chair that’s been destroying my back.

After work, I’ve been playing Cities: Skylines, which is like Sim City if the details and graphics were dialed to 11. I’m so much more interested in city planning now, and determined to develop a sustainable city. Aside from video games, I’d love to chop away at the giant stack of sci-fi books gathering dust on my dresser, but I’m not exactly in the mood for my favorite genres, which tend to include virus outbreaks. I loved reading The Andromeda Strain a couple years back, but I need a more hopeful distraction right now.

I spent the majority of the day working on bringing client-based hourly rates to Cushion. For the past year, I’ve been on somewhat of a sabbatical from building Cushion after recovering from anxiety. I’m still handling support every day, but I haven’t been in the codebase much. Now that I’m slowly getting back into it, I’ve fallen in love with Cushion and product development all over again.

Before deploying the update, I went on a grocery run. Each time I leave the house, the outside world feels more and more dystopian. Both our go-to bodega and laundromat closed indefinitely, so I picked up detergent to wash clothes in the tub. The grocery store only allowed five people inside at a time, so I waited in line outside until it was my turn. I welcomed the extra precaution as I really appreciated food shopping without needing to watch out for others as much. Tonight, I’m planning to monitor Cushion while relaxing with cocktail made by Jen.

Yesterday, I wrapped up work, then Jen and I went for a long walk through Red Hook, trying our best to stay six feet from anyone else on the street. This was my first leisurely walk in two weeks aside from grocery runs. I cooked lemon pasta and roasted sweet potatoes for dinner. We’ve spent most nights watching The Office, which has helped lighten the mood while remaining isolated. Today, I wrote a blog post about this new post format, but I’m aiming to write a few more updates before publishing the post. As for the rest of the weekend, I’m hoping not to work too much, but it’s been a welcome distraction.