Wrapped Up in Books

We’ve got a fantasy affair

We didn’t get wet, we didn’t dare

Our aspirations, are wrapped up in books

Our inclinations are hidden in looks

Belle and Sebastian – Wrapped Up in Books (Dear Catastrophe Waitress, 2003)

It’s been almost 8 weeks of quarantine.

It’s made for an interesting transition from classroom to teaching online, and staying at home as much as possible. I honestly am trying to look at the bright side because it’s the only thing keeping me sane at the moment.

I’ve been exercising every day and trying to eat as well as I can. I’ve been running at least 30 minutes 5x a week, and I’ve been cooking a lot more. I forgot that I actually DO like to cook, I just never do because I’m freaking exhausted by the time I get home from work and usually just wish I had a replicator a’la Star Trek to feed me.

One recipe I’ve made a couple of times is this Chicken Casserole. 4 ingredients, and will last long enough for some yummy leftovers. If you want something sweet, you can’t go wrong with the classic Nestle Tollhouse cooke recipe. I change mine depending on my mood; the last time I made these, I added 1 tsp. of cinnamon and butterscotch chips. Delicious and they barely lasted a week.

Now let’s move onto reading (my first true love). I generally do a bulk of my reading during school testing and during school breaks. I always do a reading goal on Goodreads (30 books) and right now I’ve read 10. Here is what I’ve finished since March.

• Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
• A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons by Ben Folds
• I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb
• The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
• Less by Andrew Sean Greer
• Jane Seymour: A Haunted Queen by Alison Weir
• Death Wins a Goldfish: Reflections From a Grim Reaper’s Yearlong Sabbatical by Brian Rea
• Letters From an Astrophysicist by Neil deGrasse Tyson

It’s a pretty random group, but I enjoyed them for the most part. If I had to pick a favorite I would have to go with Death Wins a Goldfinch because it was cute and charming as hell. Least would go to The Goldfinch for being too damn long. Seriously great story, but just so much unnecessary fluff.

Lastly, let’s talk about Netflix. I don’t use my Netflix as much as I should and I tend to take FOREVER to getting around to watching stuff. Mostly because there is just SO MUCH STUFF TO CONSUME! So I went A-type and wrote down everything I needed to either finish/start. Here’s what I’ve finished so far.

• Punisher, S2
• Orange is the New Black, S7
• I Am Not Ok, S1
• Big Mouth S3
• It’s the End of the Fucking World, S2
• Gentefied, S1

I enjoyed all of these, although after OITNB I needed happy shows to wash out out the bleakness I felt after finishing the show. I highly recommend I Am Not OK and Gentefied. On a side note, the soundtrack for Gentefied is dope as hell and I’m trying to restrain myself from adding a bunch of it to my May playlist.

Okay, that’s enough of me. I’m tired and my back is hurting from sitting. Not sure if there will be another post until the May playlist, so we’ll see. Stay safe out there and WASH YOUR HANDS.