For my spring break, I drove down to Las Vegas with my cat to visit my parents and their new home. It wasn’t until three days later that I was advised to self-isolate due to COVID-19. I stayed with my plan regarding when I would go back home to Utah. Once I got word about the changes to the semester and work was shutting down, I decided to stay a little longer, thinking that nothing else would happen.

I was wrong. By Tuesday, a thirty day lockdown in Nevada started. The loss of slot machines wasn’t a bother, but once I heard there was a lock down for thirty days and only essential businesses could stay open, I knew that it was getting real.

Taking self-isolating seriously and not wanting to take the risk of spreading anything to anyone else, I started my quarantine. At first, it was frustrating. I was in a place where all of my hobbies and crafts were back home. What was I going to do for the rest of my stay? I’ll tell you what I did and maybe you’ll get some ideas, too. 

Baking

I love to bake, so before starting my quarantine, I went out to get the essentials for the house. Baking mixes, sprinkles, and roughly five pounds of powdered sugar. Baking is time consuming, so I knew I wouldn’t get bored. Nope, only frustrated. I was making a chocolate cake and made my own chocolate buttercream frosting, totally feeling like Remy from Ratatouille while dancing around the kitchen.

Then it happened. It was time to frost the cake. Correction: It was time to try and frost the cake. Before I knew it, all my hard work came crumbling down, literally. The cake crumbled into pieces. 

Social Media

It’s 2020, so checking social media is something I will do roughly 30 times a day.  This cycle easily became sad and changing it became my new motive. My father calls this “Entering the Dark Ages”. However, when you’re beginning to get bored (so bored that you actually check your Facebook that you haven’t logged in to for months) and feeling defeated over your failed cake, scrolling through Twitter is just what the doctor ordered.

S HEDULE:
8-10am social media time
10-2 TV w phone in hand
2-2:30 social media time
2:30-8pm screen time
8-8:01 check facebook
8:01-3am wind down w/ food and social media

— Brian Jordan Alvarez (@brianjoralvarez) March 18, 2020

Checking off the To Do List

Since physically going to class or work is not in my routine right now, this is a good time to do anything that just keeps lingering on your to-do lists. For me, there was one thing I kept putting off. Back in November, I went to the dentist and they told me that I needed to get a consultation with an orthodontist. So, I would just need to call and schedule an appointment.

That’s it. That’s all I had to do. Just call and make an appointment. I made the call on March 17, roughly four months after I was supposed to. Great news, though! I can confidently say that I will finally be seeing an orthodontist on April 1st. 

Cleaning

A fairly obvious activity that could easily be taken advantage of during quarantine. Seeing that after a few days, there is less and less to clean this could get difficult the longer isolation continues. However, there are cleaning tasks that I have every day without fail. For example, every night when my cat’s nocturnal instincts begin, she without fail decides to dropkick the mini garbage pail in my room. During these wonderful crazy cat hours Juniper, my nine-month old tabby, also manages to pull off half of the shirts hanging in my closet as well as moving laundry out of its bin and onto the opposite corner of my room. Waking up now is exciting now that I know I’m left with the task of cleaning up Juniper’s tornado.

With all this extra time, I’m able to take advantage and get so much done. After baking, checking social media, finishing the to-do list, and cleaning I still have roughly twenty hours left in my day. Quarantine is great.