The Queue: Resolved

That’s one more in the books. Here’s to one more.

This is The Queue, our daily column where you ask us the questions and we’ll doggedly answer day after day.

The first of mine isn’t listed there: Date Everything is slated to release on Valentine’s Day, so I hope my husband hasn’t planned anything romantic because I have my heart set on making out with a toaster.

The second, and more serious answer is Wanderstop. It’s a cozy tea shop management sim on the face of it, but the proprietor is a former soldier who rather emphatically does not want to own nor manage a tea shop, but wants even less for her past to catch up to her. It could not be more tailor made for me, specifically, unless I could befriend a fox.

I’m rounding the corner on finishing Dredge, which I got for free from Epic during their holiday giveaway. The more real answer to both is probably Balatro or The Long Dark, because there’s just always something to do there, always one next round, one next life, one next whatever. Balatro in particular has me in a stranglehold right now.

First, think of it like a video game. When you start any RPG you probably have like, a wooden sword and a hat. Over time the game will show you things like new abilities, ability combos or synergies, it’ll give you better gear, and talents, consumables, extra tools to make everything go faster, all that kind of thing. Most cooking apps are designed around people who have already collected a bunch of legendaries and skills, but they’re looking for something new to shake up the tedium of the daily seasonal grind. They’re great tools but if you’re at the point where you don’t know what a colander is yet, they’ll probably feel overwhelming. And also remember that accumulating all that takes time and practice.

For me, meal planning starts by taking a look around the fridge, freezer, and pantry. Do I have a half thing of cheese to use up? Are there any leftovers that need to go? Conversely, do I have enough eggs for breakfast for dinner? Do I need to stock up on frozen tortellini? From here, the most simple thing to do is break down a meal into three elements: protein, plants, and a carb. As an example that you might want to try, on really busy days we do what we call “kid dinner:” frozen chicken nuggets, steam-in-bag veg (with salt, oil or butter, and maybe a seasoning), and boxed mac and cheese. All of those are either frozen or shelf stable so we always have it as a fallback, and they all have explicit instructions written on them, so even my 9 year old can help with some elements of it. It can also be up to your own judgement to a certain extent. My husband thinks spaghetti with meatballs and red sauce fits all three, while I usually want a green salad (wash and tear lettuce, matchstick carrots, grape tomatoes) in addition.

Also, I post up the plan for the week on a whiteboard next to a calendar in the kitchen, so nobody sees the pint of strawberries I bought to go with waffle wednesday and chows down on monday. This also helps with two adults doing the cooking, so we’re not just making totchos every night (though I mean, I’d eat totchos every night).

All else fails, quesadillas.

I need to take more care of my physical health, particularly with exercise and strength.

My goal for the year is to find the physical activity that lies in the center of the venn diagram of “not boring” and “will actually realistically do on a regular basis.” The issue is I’ve never been into a lot of exercise. I don’t get a runner’s high, no matter how far I run. The whole thing is just me listening to my playlists inside tedium, and the whole time I’m at it I know I could be listening to my playlists and playing video games instead. I also told myself I was only “allowed” to watch a show I enjoyed if I was on the exercise bike, so I stopped watching the show. On the flip side there are some physical activities I do enjoy, but I have to go to a facility to do them, like swimming, so I just never get around to doing it. I do Pilates on a semi-regular basis, because those workouts are short and feel effective, but they’re still relatively boring.

I do think some of it will involve more or less mindgaming myself, that I’m totally that person who starts climbing the walls if they miss their run until I actually am that person. But we’ll see.