Friday, May 1, 2020

Things I'm Enjoying While in Self-Isolation

Hi folks! It's been a while since I've posted here. Between moving and settling in and a somehow extremely busy few weeks at work (who knew things could be so demanding at work when no one is on campus?), I really haven't had a lot of motivation to record what's been going on here on this platform. I have been vlogging and will be posting a couple more weekly vlogs from April very soon (the first two weeks of April are up now!), but I'm hoping now that my work schedule is slowing down I can commit more time to updating the ol' blog. I do have quite a few updates for you, which I'll hop into now:
1. Rock n' Roll Seattle has officially announced that it will not move forward as planned. There isn't solid information if that means it's cancelled, postponed, or what, but that does mean that I won't be racing a marathon in June. As weeks went by, I knew this was going to happen and I'm slightly relieved that it has been made official as I was leaning more toward not travelling out there anyway and was hemming and hawing over cancelling my flights and deferring my entry, but now I no for sure that it won't happen and can have a clear sense of what my summer will look like. I'm still going to be running regularly, but now I won't have to focus on training for a race for a few months when Chicago training gets under way.
2. The students I advise won Organization of the Year! I am so so SO proud of them and this award is so deserved. The students I work with on AIA work around the clock as VOLUNTEERS to manage our university's student activity fee and are constantly trying to innovate their work to be better representatives of the student body, so I am over the moon that they are getting this recognition. 
3. I'm feeling like I'm back in a pretty good reading groove right now, and I just successfully wrapped up my third OWLs readathon! I managed to read 7 books through the month of April and I'm hoping that I can keep up this reading pace through May as well. I'm well on my way to becoming a Hogwarts Care of Magical Creatures Professor! I will hopefully be posting a reading wrap up soon for February, March, and April, so you'll be able to see how I rated each book.
I drafted the below list a few weeks ago with the intention of publishing it in early April, but I guess I never got around to it! Obviously I've been trying out a lot of different forms of entertainment while practicing self-isolation, and I wanted to share some of my favorite things I've watched/read/done while I've been home. Hopefully you can enjoy some of these things as well! 

VIDEO: Out There: A Journey to the Barkley Marathons

I'm always a fan of anything that has to do with the Barkley Marathons and I'm always looking to check out the experiences of the amazing athletes who attempt this beast of a race. This 50-minute documentary follows Belgian ultra runner Karel Sabbe on his journey to running the 2019 Barkley Marathons. I really liked this documentary because it also highlights the importance of a runner's crew when they are taking on races of this magnitude. A crew plays such an integral role in a runner's success and I love that Sabbe's crew got some of the spotlight!


MOVIE: Parasite

Obviously Parasite won best picture this year, and I will say that I think that award was definitely deserved! This is a Korean thriller that had me so captivated the whole way through. It does get a bit scary about half way through so if you need to watch during the day, definitely do, but I totally think it is worth the watch. It's on Hulu now!


BOOK: Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

To be perfectly honest, I've had a bit of a "meh" reading year. A lot of the books that I've been picking up have been just okay. I guess statistically speaking, that's pretty likely to happen, but when I find a book that I love these days, I DEVOUR it! That's what happened with Daisy Jones & the Six. This interview-style book about a fictional 70's rock band was right up my alley and I could not put it down. The characters and relationships were EVERYTHING and this one will definitely be on my top reads of the year.


ARTICLE: Why You Should Ignore All That Coronavirus-Inspired Productivity Pressure

This is an article I *so* needed to read when it popped up on my timeline a few weeks ago. This is told from the perspective of a college professor, but I think the idea applies to everyone. There's a lot of pressure to be taking "full advantage" of the free time that we have while in self-isolation, but that is such an unfair thing to expect from someone. We're going through a global pandemic. There is so much uncertainty in the world right now. If you don't feel like being productive, then you don't need to feel bad about it. I love that this article gives you that permission.

TV: The Challenge: Total Madness

Obviously, Brett and I have been really enjoying the new season of our favorite show to watch together - The Challenge. This season has been so much fun to watch because all the players have to win an elimination in order to qualify for the final. No more skating by! We've been anxiously anticipating every new episode each Wednesday and we can't wait for the next one!
What have you been enjoying while self-isolating?

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