How to Pass Time During Quarantine

It’s been 34 days since schools closed here in Ontario. The first week at home was blissful because I barely had any homework and I was in dire need for a break. Then, as the weeks progressed, the boredom started settling in. I’ve been spending my days watching r/askreddit videos and reading a bunch of fanfiction. But the main activity that is keeping me from jumping into the abyss of insanity is cooking. And I don’t mean cooking 3 meals a day for my family. I mean learning how to cook things we’d only try at a restaurant. And it has been more fun than anything else.

First, my parents and I tried to make Gulab Jamuns at home. I liked the syrup better than the jamuns but A+ for effort. Then we tried making Idlis and Dosas from scratch. My parents made the batter at home and we enjoyed masala dosas and fried idlis the next day. Our most recent accomplishment was making pizzas from scratch without an oven. The stove we have has an oven, but it doesn’t work properly. But that didn’t stop us from enjoying 4 delicious pizzas that only took an hour to make. The link to the video we watched is https://youtu.be/EKntQhwBxYs. But if you do try this at home, please be very careful. Get some adult guidance if you need to. Other than that, I’ve been honing my skills of making Suji ka Halwa (Semolina Pudding) and Bechamel Sauce (white sauce) for pasta.

Because I like to learn, it’s been the one thing keeping me from dying of boredom. So, I made a list of things I’ve tried to learn in the past for the same purpose. Of course, there are some things on this list that I’m still not very good at but that is only because I didn’t try hard enough or didn’t practise long enough. That being said, each of these things was a lot of fun to try and become better at. And for most of the things on this list, all you’ll need is a phone, a pen/pencil and maybe some paper.

Games: I like to download board games and strategy games to pass time. I use the different levels of difficulty to challenge myself to get better at the game. Sometimes there are tutorials available within the game, but if there isn’t one, YouTube is a great place to find some good tips.

1. Checkers: I have definitely gotten better at playing checkers by playing it against a computer multiple times. It’s simpler than chess (in my opinion) and easier to learn but it’s just as fun to beat your opponent as it is in any other game.

2. Chess: The one board game I don’t seem to be making any progress at is chess. I even joined a chess club once, but I think I did more Math homework sitting there than play the game. I know enough to win against a first-timer, but I’m still a novice myself so if anyone wants to help me, I’m open to suggestions.

3. Sudoku: My favourite pass time game, this quarantine, has been sudoku. I always thought of it as a complex activity, meant for adults, but it’s actually only a game of logic. As a fan of anything logical, it takes me 10 minutes or less to complete a 9x9 sheet on medium difficulty. I downloaded the app from Google Play Store when March Break started and have finished almost 200 puzzles.

4. Ludo: The game most often found on the back of a Snakes and Ladders board. It’s a simple game where each opponent has to get all 4 of their pieces from start to home. It can look innocent but it has broken many friendships and families(okay, maybe it’s not that intense, but it’s still very competitive). The app on Play Store is great if you’re just starting out or if you have an overconfident friend who needs a reality check.

Skills: I like to learn random skills to use as ice breakers or to impress people. For this, YouTube has been my best friend.

1. Handwriting Analysis: It’s also known as graphology. Skeptics think it doesn’t work but I think it’s a great way to learn about a person. Sometimes you can learn more about them from their writing than you will from what they tell you. I started building this skill shortly after my 15th birthday; I’ve come a long way. I like to use it when I meet someone new or to make someone warm up to me. I remember using it many times on my Grade 9 English teacher. I don’t think she believed me, but it was fun making close to accurate observations. Pro tip: if you do want to take up this skill, write down the sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" in your own handwriting on a piece of paper and keep that paper safe. Do the same with your signature. Doing this will allow you to analyze what your handwriting was like before you became influenced by what you learned.

2. Body Language Analysis: I watched a few Wired videos about this topic, and it was eye-opening. It’s a neat trick to watch someone’s actions and try to tell what’s going on with them. Although I’m not sure if you can really tell if someone’s lying to you or not, it’s still nifty to know what you’re supposed to observe. I watched a video a long time ago about how to tell if someone likes you or not, and it’s been pretty helpful. It doesn’t have to be just about a crush or someone attractive. It can be a classmate or a teacher or even yourself. After watching these videos, I started paying more attention to my own behaviour and body language. I’ve used the tips from the videos to make myself more approachable and likable.

3. Drawing/Sketching: This one may not be for everyone because everyone’s interest in art varies. But I believe that everyone can learn how to draw. Start with something very simple. The first sketch I made was a copy of a rose I found on Google. When I started sketching, I would look at other sketches for inspiration. I’m still very bad at drawing from a real image but it’s the progress that I care about. I even started a page on Instagram for my sketches, but I got busy with other things in my life, so I stopped posting. I still sketch occasionally; I find it quite therapeutic.

4. Creative Writing: I’m currently taking a class on creative writing and joining it was the best decision I ever made. There are so many skills of a writer that I have but didn’t know how to channel before I started taking this class. I’m finally able to tell why you’re supposed to write something a certain way or how you’re supposed to use certain punctuation etc. The main assignment for this class is to write our own short story using what we’ve learned till now and it’s been wonderful trying to compile all my newly gained knowledge into 6 pages.

Math: What's the point of learning if it isn't educational? Here's a couple of things that could benefit you later on in life XD.

1. Mental Math (doing Math in your head): Mental Math used to be a subject for us when I was in Grade 1. It taught me how important being able to count quickly in your head can be to be good at Math. Of course, that’s not the only requirement, but it has definitely made me a lot faster at Math in general. The only way to get better at Mental Math is practice. If you grew up in North America, there’s a high chance you did a sheet of Mental Math every morning in elementary school. We used to call it Mad Minute and that was the first time I realized how competitive I was. But, if you didn’t do something like this growing up, start small. Basic addition, subtraction and multiplication. If you know multiplication, division isn’t that hard. Then increase the difficulty level and continue practicing regularly. This will greatly improve your problem-solving skills. I feel like my brain works faster because of how much mental math I like to do.

2. Calculating the tax applicable on an item in your head (continuation of doing mental math): This is what I do to shock people. I calculate the total amount with tax included and impress my friends. It’s especially helpful when you’re in line, checking out, and you have no idea how much you’re actually spending. The tax on basic items where I live is 13% and how I do it is: first, break 13% down to 10% and 3%; next divide the items price by 10 (or move the decimal 1 place to the left) to get 10%; next multiply the price by 3 and divide by 100. This part can be tricky when there are numbers after the decimal. For that, if the numbers after the decimal are above fifty, I round the price up to the next number. Otherwise, I round it down and then do the last step. After you’ve calculated 10% and 3%, it’s time to add all 3 numbers together. Hopefully, here, your mental math skills help you.

A list of other random hobbies that require more resources or time:

Dancing Singing Cooking Baking Painting Acting Calligraphy Blogging Magic Tricks/ Card Tricks Word Searches + Crosswords Yoga Rubik’s Cube Escape Rooms (apps, not the real thing)

That’s all for today. My hands are cramping from typing for an hour straight. Do let me know if you decide to take up any of these activities and how they worked out for you. Hopefully, I’ll see you next week with another useful post. Till then, stay home and stay safe. - Aarushi