Tag: coronavirus

Coronavirus Log: Day 19

Whew.

It’s exhausting staying home. With your family. During a global health crisis. While still trying to do your job remotely.

For all that, though, things have settled into a (nice?) routine, and less time driving places, running errands, and going to kids’ activities has continued to mean more time for personal projects: home improvements, writing, reading, gaming, playing with kids. Really fortunate that this thing hasn’t yet hit our family or loved ones in any more immediate way than Stay-At-Home.

Part of the routine has also been reading the day’s news at night before bed. Not a good idea, yet I keep doing it for some reason.

stuff that’s been done

  • I’ve gotten back to work on revisions to an old story draft that I’ve had kicking around, literally, for years.
  • Finished watching the first season of Star Trek: Picard. More on that another time, but I generally enjoyed it. Sometimes a lot. Sometimes only out of a stubborn loyalty to all things Star Trek.
  • Been playing The Outer Worlds, as mentioned previously. It certainly treads some familiar RPG paths, but for all that, it’s quite immersive, and familiar is exactly the kind of comfort-gaming experience I’m looking for right now. Also dabbled a little in Disco Elysium (which is not at all on the familiar RPG paths), which I’ll pick up again when I’m done with TOW. Started both of these up because they’re Nebula nominees.
  • LOTS OF NEBULA READING. I’ve finished everything at novella length and shorter, but unfortunately I’ve run out of time on the novels. I’ve done my best to at least look through the one’s I hadn’t already read, in an effort to make sure the one I want to vote for really is my favorite. (I think it is). In general, about half the categories presented me with a clear favorite, and the others gave me some really tough decisions. So much strong and varied writing throughout. All-in-all, this has been a really enjoyable month of reading.
  • I unfortunately did not get to any of the Andre Norton MG/YA nominees. I’ll leave that decision to those more knowledgeable in the field, but I definitely need to make more time to get to this category next year. And I still want to read all of these in the near future.

Stay well, friends!

Coronavirus Log: Days 4-8

I’ve missed a few days! It’s been an odd combination of first having nothing new to report, and then having too much to do.

My children attend the same school system in which I teach, and Thursday was the day the district officially implemented our remote learning activities. (The teacher’s union helpfully and rightfully negotiated Tuesday and Wednesday as prep days for teachers develop resources and materials for an unprecedented situation). For me as a teacher, putting together activities for my students is actually a nice outlet–I do rather enjoy designing curriculum in general, and the present situation is something of a unique and enjoyable challenge. Even better, it’s really nice to read what my students are writing about this unique event. Now more than ever, it’s our writing that will help create community when we’re apart from each other.

As a parent, it’s a welcome relief to see my own children get back into their own school work. Their teachers have posted an impressive set of resources, complete with daily schedule and plenty of student choice, and none of it unreasonable or overly demanding. Truth be told, I think my kiddos are happy to have something new and engaging to do, though I don’t think they’d admit it. My second-grader had a virtual “snack time meeting” with his teacher and class this morning on Zoom. Really lovely to see the continued sense of community there, too.

Stuff that’s gotten done

  • Reading for the Nebulas has continued, if at a somewhat slower pace. Still reading my way through the novelettes, with a detour into the game writing category, as well. Really interesting to see the diversity of games there! I’ll write more about that particular category in a future post.
  • In my last post I mentioned watching The Walking Dead, which is one of three current shows I’m watching these days. The others are Better Call Saul, which continues to be just phenomenal. Monday night’s episode was so good, but then again I think I say that every week with this show. Definitely a topic for a future post. The third show I’m watching, of course, is Star Trek: Picard. Full disclosure: I’m entirely unable to remain objective about this one. Let’s just say I’m thoroughly enjoying it, and I’ll save my gushing at least until the first season ends (next week!), and I’m able to think and articulate a little more critically what I’ve enjoyed about it.
  • My kids got me to download and try playing Brawl Stars with them, which if you haven’t heard, is all the rage right now (at least with 2nd and 3rd graders). I can see the appeal for them, but I was like… meh. It’s hard to get into when you’ve just started playing The Outer Worlds! (Which, by the way… phenomenally immersive. Kind of like a cross between Fallout and Mass Effect so far. Absolutely nothing wrong with that!) Anyway, I’d much rather play M:TG or a board game with my kids than Brawl Stars. (Disclaimer: My negative attitude may be a direct result of having my butt whooped within the first five minutes of playing… Just saying. ;P ).

Coronavirus Log: Day 1

With over a hundred confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, a number of Boston area schools are shutting down for a minimum of two weeks starting today, mine included.

I try to be a glass-half-full, silver-lining kind of guy, so as long as my family and I are all fortunate enough to be healthy, I’m going to see this as an opportunity to Get Stuff Done. Of course this means taking advantage of the extra writing time, but I’ve got plenty of other things to try crossing off my list.

First up today: Nebula reading!

As a newly-minted SFWA member, this is the first time I’ll be voting on the Nebula Awards–pretty exciting! I’ve always tried to read at least some of the various nominated works and eventual winners, but I’ve never read all of them. As someone with a ballot now, though, I feel a little extra responsibility to make an effort to read as many of the works as possible before voting closes at the end of March.

Nothing like a little social distancing to help with that project!

My plan is to start with short stories and work my way up the word-count categories to novels. (I’m worried that if I start with the novels, I’ll linger and take too long to read them and run out of time; whereas, if I leave the novels to last, I’ll be motivated to read more quickly.)

If you’re interested in checking out the full slate of 2020 Nebula finalists, you can see it here. In the meantime, here’s the list of nominees from the Short Story category: