What are you doing to fight off cabin fever right now?

Jamie · March 27, 2020, 6:14am

Hello fellow MongoDB’ers!

My family and I are in stay-at-home isolation in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, USA), wrapping up week three since our state governor declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19. We instantly went from three people at home full time (me, my husband, and our 18 month old) to five people at home full time. Now, I’m managing homeschool for our 10 and 11 year old girls, working on launching some cool digital initiatives to keep our community engaged and growing (more on this soon!), and getting ready to move houses. Needless to say, I’ve been staying busy!

That said, I am also a veteran remote worker and I know the switch to remote work can be incredibly challenging for those who are used to their routines, regular engagement with coworkers, and just generally leaving their home environment on a daily basis. But enough about pants…

Tell me about what you’ve been doing to stave off the inevitable cabin fever that comes with being in lock down all day. The first thing we did was download some new games on our Nintendo Switch, including the new Animal Crossing: New Horizons game (and to my dismay, replacing our lost Mario Kart 8 cartridge with a new $60 USD digital download). We’ve also started taking daily family walks around the block, led by the 18 month old, of course. I think we’ll keep this habit once the stay home order is lifted.

How about you? How are you avoiding going stir crazy right now?

P.S. here’s the view from the house I’m moving into tomorrow:

DavidSol · March 28, 2020, 12:56am

Nice view!
I am one of those that have been preparing for something like this all of their lives. Not really liking going outside, being in a crowded environment and having to socialize much.
And now I get to hang out with the missus all day. I missed that, as we used to spend a lot of time together when we were younger.
So far, I am liking it!

Jamie · March 29, 2020, 7:06am

I’m a bit of a hermit myself, which is why remote work fits so naturally for me. That’s fab that you’re finding and appreciating time spent with your lady in the midst of all this. I’ve seen a few posts lately around the internet about people struggling to cohabitate with their significant others right now and i just… don’t get it?

DavidSol · March 30, 2020, 5:49am

I guess if you are used to spend time away, and suddenly you find in close quarters, it can be disconcerting. I am lucky to be enjoying it, as I missed it.

kerbe · April 2, 2020, 5:17pm

As life long nerd myself, used to spend extended periods of time in front of computer, this time doesn’t really change my lifestyle that much. As I started own company a bit over six month ago, and been working home since then (and had over six months of period of unemployment before that, so being at home), my habits are pretty same as they used to be.

I’m one of those who has more friends online than offline, and I’ve been keeping contact with people as usual. Biggest difference is maybe some old friends surfacing in our gaming sessions once again, as they’ve been busy with work and families. And many games have massive influx of new players, or players playing extensive periods of time. Both are nice, and I welcome people to explore this lifestyle.

So, how do I fight off cabin fever usually? Not trying to live in haste. Taking time to work, and also taking time to do other time. I have spent a lot of time cooking before, and that habit will continue. Gaming is still excellent way to escape from home, so that’s what I encourage to everyone to try. There are so many different kind of games that I’m sure everyone find something that sparks their interest

Jamie · April 4, 2020, 3:28am

Online gaming is a great way to make connections virtually! I actually met my first husband playing World of Warcraft Which games are you enjoying most right now?

kerbe · April 4, 2020, 9:27am

My GPU broke down in last November, and as my company is still starting up (and struggling, due these times), I have not been able to replace it. So my gaming choises are pretty limited unfortunately.

I used to play a lot of EVE Online, but that’s one of those games I can’t really get into right now, partly because lack of GPU, but also I’d like to have subscription, and that’s luxury I’m cutting now.

I also played quite much Black Desert Online, but again, lack of GPU…

Luckily I love some alternative games too. Dwarf Fortress is maybe game I’d choose to take with me to isolated island, if only one is allowed. I was also lucky to be in Geforce NOW beta test, and as I lost my GPU, grabbed that Founder offer from them on release. So through that I am able to play Rust. If there would be people, some Destiny 2, Warframe, World of Tanks and such too. Previously I spent few thousand hours in ARK: Survival Evolved, but currently I prefer Rust over that.

I had hoped that GFN would support GTA5, RDR2 and such… but publishers have been ***** and pulled those games from allowed games list. So I have saved money not to buy those games, as I couldn’t play them, but I would like to experience that story.

It is pretty hard to balance how much time to devote in gaming, and how much of time devote to coding. That is best part of having own company, and no employees/co-workers. I can code few days straight through, then rest and sleep properly. Most likely after such coding sprint I want to unwind my brains, so I can then play few days, until that urge is filled (I get beaten so badly that I want to do something else), then I switch again to coding for few days… and cycle repeats.

Kind of good that my online gaming partners ain’t that active these days, so they don’t get frustrated that there are times when I play days, then times when I disappear for days.

Jamie · April 6, 2020, 4:57pm

I’ve yet to find this limit I just keep going at it until I’m screaming at the TV. Part of why I’ve resorted to casual play games like Animal Crossing in the last 5 years. (The other part has to do with the tiny humans running around my house.) I recently tried out Horizon Zero Dawn but I haven’t had the attention span to devote to it lately. I miss PC gaming a lot.

Tell me more about your company. What are you building? It sounds like you’re doing consulting but also maybe working on a side project?

Doug_Duncan · April 6, 2020, 6:01pm

I don’t play games, although I sit in front of a computer most days. While I’ve got free time I enjoy looking out my window at views like this:

Jamie · April 6, 2020, 7:37pm

Beautiful view! (My elk-hunting husband is jealous.) We have yet to see if we get any herds coming through the new property We’ll have deer, for sure. At this point, I’m just hoping for sun!

Doug_Duncan · April 6, 2020, 7:40pm

Yeah, we had a couple dozen deer come through later that same evening. We live on a wildlife preserve so the elk are quite safe coming through the property. They even ignore our heeler mix that runs along the fence line for the most part. Although there was a young buck about a year ago that was running back and forth with the heeler. It was a funny site to see.

michael_hoeller · April 6, 2020, 8:33pm

Hello Jamie,
I am happy that you still find the time to work on new initiatives.

Homeschool can be a challenge I am used to have remote projects as consultant since years, you get your routine, you have your habits and of course some flexibility, you seem to be settled and suddenly one of the kids pops in and asks you very detailed questions in Chemistry or IT. hmm, wait young padawan not so fast … you are in your last year and I made my masters in both but … after 20 years (at least for chemistry)… That can be a real challenge.
After luckily passing the challenge the younger girl shows up just for a chat of cause, and , by the way, likes to get a “hint” for math… , no problem it was only my focus time… , didn’t you learned that if the door is closed this is a strong sign ?
It seems that we all have similar issues theses days. How do we compensate? We do a lot of stuff out side, being on the country side this is still possible. But I do no more sports with my 16 year “young” boy, this is too frustrating ____
As @Doug_Duncan I do not play computer games. Just COVID-19 makes a difference, I found my old “Monkey Island” Disks (some may recall these things)! I played all night. No Link for Monkey Island (the not so young know it), if someone need a hint I am almost done with part three

This is taken from the first scene:

All the best and have an easy move Jamie!
Michael

Jamie · April 6, 2020, 8:42pm

Monkey Island!!

https://media.giphy.com/media/TwKVbfwyZ0Zck/giphy.gif(image larger than 4 MB)

kerbe · April 7, 2020, 12:01am

I usually play games which most people consider to be too challenging. That’s how I get my Fun. This comic that is extended regarding Dwarf Fortress:

So it doesn’t necessarily take that long. There are only certain amount of losses one can withstand until they need break. DF is good example of that. So is Rust, which I play these days with others. Death and destruction is around every corner there. So it is mostly matter of getting hard enough game.

I’m in position currently where I would do anything that anyone is willing to pay me. I hope to get into consulting eventually. I would love to help small/medium sized IT companies to improve their development habits, introduce them to DevOps, help them plan their infrastructure and so on… I did that quite much for past companies where I worked, and I enjoy doing that, so hopefully I can scale it to be part of my business.
Also helping such IT teams to learn new technologies. From past experience, I know that if you need to study new technology, then plan how to implement it in your company, and then overcome resistance from stakeholders and fellow devs, it is easily 1-2 year personal project you’re doing. On the side of your regular job. And as I have already quite much knowledge and interest in these things, I can speed things up dramatically. Easily for technologies and ideologies that I am already familiar, but I would think that I’d be able to take assignment regarding some new tech, study that & then pass that knowledge to IT team. Again, speeding up their learning process dramatically.
I’ve been in many courses and seen fellow devs take part on courses about new interesting tech… after few days once they return back to own company, they get asked what did you learn, how do we start using this new knowledge? Answer is pretty much always “It looked cool, but no idea how to do it in our company”. So I would love to be more hands on with things they would learn. Not just few days of powerpoints, but more of workshops, and individually planning how these things are taken into real use.

That all is what I would love to do. But I’m not there yet. Currently I have one own mobile application idea that I am building. MongoDB is backend for that, operated through AWS Lambda. Actual application is done in React Native, admin site will be done with React, and it will use same API’s as application via Lambda’s. I like concept of serverless, and I see a lot of potential in that for these kinds of things.
Now there are also handful of potential customers who are considering some sort of applications. Can’t say that they are customers yet, as I have been planning things with them, and not billed anything yet. Somehow word has got out that I can do apps, and sparring ideas with me is good thing, so I’ve been referred by many for these kind of things. Which isn’t bad, as helping companies to drive their digitization forward is one area which I would like to do.

All in all, I am in so early stage with my business that it can become almost anything. I am open to all opportunities and time will show which of those refines into profitable business. As I was unemployed way over half an year before starting own company, living costs are driven to ground, so I can do only things I enjoy, and no need to worry about huge pile of bills every month.

Once I get this own mobile application in such shape that it can be proudly showcased, I’ll definitely post about it in these forums, showing what kind of stuff can be done with MongoDB Atlas

Jamie · April 7, 2020, 5:23pm

Would absolutely love to have a chat about your process and what you built once you’re ready to share some details on your app It sounds like you have some great ideas and a drive to help people. I wish you the best in launching your business & let the community know how we can help.

kerbe · April 7, 2020, 5:57pm

Thank you Jamie! @Asya_Kamsky was great help already with my biggest problem. I’ve got quite good amount of insights by checking her answers to other people’s problems also.

Alexandre_Araujo · April 20, 2020, 5:35pm

Hello @Jamie , even i’m not working still stuck with dba toys In free times usually solve puzzles with my sons.

All the best from Sao Paulo-Brazil,
Alexandre Araujo

Jamie · April 20, 2020, 6:09pm

Sounds like you’re having a good time @Alexandre_Araujo! What kinds of puzzles are you working on? How old are your kiddos?

Alexandre_Araujo · April 20, 2020, 8:00pm

they are young 14 and 17 years old and we’re solving a 1000 pieces of London Tower Bridge.

Jamie · April 20, 2020, 8:16pm

That’s fabulous! Would love to see it when you’re done!