Hidden gems found in quarantine
The new-found passions and long-lost hobbies of our Wirelabbers (re)discovered
Being in quarantine is far from great, as I’m sure we can all agree. But at the end of the day, it’s only going to be as good as you make it. Spend the whole time on your couch and you’ll likely be far more miserable than if you made an effort to do something new. With all this extra time on our hands and limited options out of the house, our team at Wirelab found themselves dabbling in new activities.
From funky new sports to geeky activities, we’ve gathered all our hidden gems. Given that you’re probably at home, maybe losing your mind over watching Friends for the 815th time, we figured you could use some new sources of fun. So they’re presented to you below. At your service!
Handstands and slacklining
Folkert Hoogenraad, Frontend developer
I actually wasn’t planning on picking up new hobbies, as my pastime of making music has already kept me quite busy. But, to my surprise, I picked up two new hobbies: doing handstands (which I’m still quite bad at), and slacklining (which, unsurprisingly, I’m also still quite bad at).
Escaping reality with Legos and VR
Harm van der Werf, Full-stack developer
You might say Legos are for kids, but I’d argue otherwise. My latest build is the MOC-35822 Mechanical Spider. It’s loads of fun and a nice way to relax your mind — except for when you have to pick through the massive pile of 4000+ red bricks to find that one small piece you need.
Additionally, now that I’m at home longer and am seeing the same environment all the time, I’m spending more time with my VR headset. Most moments in VR make me temporarily forget everything else, as it’s just me and the game I’m in. Immersing myself in a different environment than the one I inhabit 24/7 is my way of escaping everything for a moment.
The QuaKoken ‘quarantour’
Twan Pastoor, Founder and CEO
My hidden gem is the QuaKoken ‘quarantour’ (quarantine tour), for sure. You drive around the countryside following the route QuaKoken sets out for you, and you have to complete a number of challenges along the way. It’s the ultimate quarantine-proof outing, as you still follow the quarantine restrictions set out by the RIVM (Dutch National Health Institute), and it’s equally as fun as it would be in non-quarantine times. I did this for my birthday, and it was the most enjoyable one I’ve had in a while.
Making digital music
Daan Kemps, Creative & VR intern
I’ve been trying my hand at making digital music with Ableton, which is a digital audio workstation. I’m attempting to go for a 2-step garage-ish style, but what actually comes out sounds like absolute trash. Who knows though, maybe one day it will become a flashy new genre.
Man man man, de podcast
Lisette Hummelink, Marketeer
I completely fell in love with the podcast called ‘Man man man, de podcast.’ It’s absolutely hilarious. In each episode, three guys — who you’ll start to love the more you listen — discuss a different topic. They talk about anything and everything, from cars to insecurities, from family to relationships, and from movies to their all-time heroes. Through these topics, they then try to figure out how ‘manly’ they are, amidst constantly making jokes at the expense of themselves and each other. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been on my bike smiling like an idiot because I was laughing so hard. So yes, it’s a fun listen for women too!
Her long-forgotten racing bike
Sterre van Geest, Development intern
I rediscovered my racing bike! When I was younger I used to cycle a lot: I’d compete in races and train several times a week. But a couple of years ago I started to train more in the gym than on my bike. I wanted to start cycling again for a while, but I was always too busy or I’d have another (bad) excuse to not do it. Since the gyms are closed due to the lockdown, I finally have the time and motivation to get on my bike again. I go for a longer ride every weekend now, and I try to go for a shorter ride for at least one evening during the week.
History podcasts and fermented bread
Rafal Towarek, Frontend developer
A new podcast I’ve discovered is called You’re Dead To Me — The history podcast for people who don’t like history… and those who do. It’s a fun way to learn about history, as the host of the show brings a bunch of comedians together to learn and laugh about the past.
The hobby I’ve picked up is — big surprise — cooking. I’ve never liked it, but now that I’m stuck at home and don’t have anything better to do, I discovered it’s actually really enjoyable. I’ve been baking bread, and then I turn the leftovers into kvass, a traditional Slavic drink made out of fermented bread. It’s really refreshing on the hot spring days.
Refurbishing old speed bikes
Sander Veldhuizen, Video & motion designer
While working on my own single speed bike, I discovered that tinkering around with bikes is something I’d actually like to keep doing as a hobby. So I found some old racing bikes on the internet and bought them for cheap. Now I have six bikes in my backyard waiting to be patched up and resold. It’s fun to do some physical handwork from time to time. Sitting behind a computer all week isn’t good for the body, so unscrewing some screws every now and then is pretty rejuvenating.
The no-code revolution
Tudor Barbu, Full-stack developer
During my free time, I’ve tried to find ways to automate simple development tasks. For example, how I can set up an app without doing a whole bunch of work on my code editor, or how I can implement a landing page without doing boring HTML/CSS and without using a landing page builder. When searching for solutions to these questions, I found out about the ‘no-code revolution’. Through programs such as Webflow and Bubble.io, I can create a web app in one week without writing more than ten lines of code.
Reading… and reflecting
Dominique Netters, Backend developer
I’m reading way more now, just for the sake of being away from a screen for a while. Currently, I’m reading The Plague by Albert Camus, which is about an epidemic. It’s intriguing to be able to draw parallels to what’s happening now. I also just picked up The Defining Decade, in which Meg Jay, a clinical psychologist, points out the things that twenty-somethings tend to miss or regret.
Are you inspired yet? Ready to hop off your couch and dust off that old pair of rollerblades, or do a deep dive into your closet in search of grandma’s recipe for apple pie? We hope so. Even if you’re not, we hope this blog has shared a little bit of us — the people behind Wirelab — with you. If you’re interested in reading some more, you could read on about how we manage to keep our office antics up and beat the isolation. Or, you could read the one where we ask Wirelab’s parents to share their new-found advice and funniest moments from working at home with their kids.
Whatever you decide to do: chin up! We’ll beat this isolation together!
