Twenty nonsensical reprieves from our daily apocalpyse

How are you? No, really, like, how are you? Cause if you're anything like me, you're not completely fine. And that's ok. Feels like we're being crushed mentally, emotionally, and spiritually on a daily basis.

Seriously, the feelings are real and they are shared.

Want a hug? Here. Here's a hug.

Mmm. Wasn't that nice? I needed it, too.

But in reality we didn't hug. We just shared an asynchronous connection through the ether of time, space, and internet strangeness.

So, without that hug, we're still feeling the same doom-xiety that was enveloping us a moment ago. What now?

I'll tell you what now. How about I share my tried and true, exhaustive and silly, list of things that I do (or have done) to bring me wee moments of joy. Pinpricks of nonsensical light in an otherwise shadowy realm. Maybe they'll help you, or maybe, just maybe, you'll find your own silly things to try.

Here they are, in all their mad glory.

1. Take a walk in your most bird-rich park and find a comfy bench. Spot the most confident looking bird and make up a backstory for it. Keep it to yourself unless you have a friend or peer who also finds birds endlessly fascinating and deserving of complex narratives.

2. Research the cultural history of the cupcake in Western civilization. If you've made it to Magnolia Bakery in New York City, you've not gone far enough.

3. Buy a yo-yo and get really good at one trick. If you have the raw courage, bring your yo-yo out in public. Be that person for two weeks (or maybe for the rest of your rad life).

4. Watch competitive video gaming. It's oddly mesmerizing. I'm partial to Pokémon doubles matches. It's much more relaxed than trying to make Pokémon Go happen, and there's an alarming amount of math involved.

5. Make a map of all the best croissants in your area. Don't share this map with anyone - even your closest friends should deserve your pastry knowledge. On that note, create a criteria for folks to meet in order to gain access to your coveted croissant map. In the meanwhile, eat as many croissants as you wish.

6. Go looking for your neighborhood cats. Say hi, but respect their distance. They are wise and noble critters and mustn't be bothered. Let those fuzzy wonders come to you.

7. Learn to make a loaf that's distinctly not sourdough bread. Find all your sourdough buddies and tell them there's another way.

8. Craft your perfect outfit from the items you already own. Wear it to an unlikely location or gathering.

9. On that note, wear sunglasses inside for just enough time to make people look at you a little funny. Then give it five more minutes. You classy, confident legend, you.

10. Take an improv comedy/theater class! This one is more serious, actually, than the previous nine ideas, but you'll come with with nuttier concepts than these in your class. Improv is the ultimate fun way to let go, meet new friends, be silly, and find your voice among all the emotions flooding your dome in this wild day and age.

11. Go eat a muffin. Right now!

12. Turn on one of your favorite albums and listen to it from the first note to the last. Get rid of all distractions or literally anything productive. Sit back and let the music wash over you. If you nap, you nap. It's all good, just enjoy the tunes, man.

13. Do the exercise that suits your fitness level and preference but without anything in your ears feeding you podcasts. Instead, get really into the character of a person that would be exercising. Do you have any neon 80s clothing? Jog in those! Have the sweetest headband ever? Do yoga like nobody's watching.

14. Make a smoothie really slowly.

15. Throw a blanket over your body and pretend you're the baddest wizard in all the land. Cast a couple of spells, see how it feels.

16. Start a video game that you played a long time ago from the very beginning, but this time, you're older and have access to better food and drinks and other comforts. Revel in well-aged nerdiness. To be clear, you have to play the game. Watching a game is a whole other thing.

17. Learn to juggle but show no one until the time is right. True story: I was at the gym and my trainer was trying to juggle with a lot of determination and intensity. He spotted me looking at his attempts and was like, "what, you can juggle?" And I said, "maybe a little," but then really busted into a pretty solid routine. I was the talk of the gym for like three whole days after that.

18. Doodle with your eyes closed for 35 to 95 second. See what the result is and cherish it forever.

19. Search "cat videos" on Youtube and see how long you can watch one of them before you get bored. Hours may pass. They have before. Special note: Cat not required.

20. Make a really tall sandwich. Like, taller than your mouth can handle, but not too tall that it topples over. Record the number of cm's for later. Please tell me about it, it's very important. Don't forget to eat the sandwich.

And that's twenty silly but potentially edifying ways to find nonsense and joy in a world where most sources of information and stimuli are filled with reasons to be glum. I expect I'll encounter and then document more as life moves on at its present, chilling pace.

Thanks for reading and I hope you find your nonsense. You absolutely deserve it.