By Bruce Bigg
1. Yoga mat: I've been doing a lot of home workouts on YouTube, and thus this yoga mat has been essential for helping retain my sanity.
2. Running shoes: Running in the park has been a lifeline, great for clearing your head and pretending like everything is normal for a few minutes.
3. Earbuds: Music and podcasts have been a welcome distraction. I've managed to find a lot of great new content which I listen to in the garden or on a daily walk.
4. Playing cards: My girlfriend and I will often spend Friday evenings having a few drinks and playing cards all night, sometimes also on zoom with other friends. It's great to keep social contact and recreate some happy memories of hanging out in pubs or parks playing games.
5. Adidas Jumper: I came to visit my girlfriend in London when things were just beginning to lockdown, and haven't been able to return to my home in Amsterdam since. This means I've commandeered some of her clothes, this being my favourite by far. It's so warm and cosy, a welcome comfort these past months.
6. Laptop: My portal to my old life. Without this guy I couldn't have carried on working. It also provides a lot of my entertainment (Netflix, YouTube) and has helped with several creative outlets as well.
7. Black Hole by Charles Burns: Really great graphic novel. I don't usually read a lot of graphic novels, but it was rewarding to engage with some alternative mediums with all this extra time on my hands.
8. The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: This has been so helpful to me, I started working in it before this all began but it's been great during this period as well. We should all remember to be kind to ourselves, and to meditate!
9. Cocktail shaker: In lieu of being able to go to bars, my girlfriend and I have been whipping up some mean cocktails. I've been really into white Russians.
10. PlayStation remote: It's been fun playing video games, again a welcome dive into an alternative reality and something I don't often have time for when things are running normally. 11. iPhone: Social media gets a bad rap, and for good reason, however, during this period I think it really has lived up to a promise of keeping people connected. Calling family has also been really comforting for me. 12. I Love Dick by Chris Kraus: Just finished it, really enjoyed reading it. Very unique subject matter and style. 13 & 14. Writing pen and Moleskin: Journaling and writing always help me stay centred. It's also important for me to have the right tools for it, make it into a ritual so you can really savour it 15. Roku controller