Posted by Helen on Sep 08, 2020 in Older Articles
by Maria Arapakis
Please note, the fall session of Maria’s classes was moved from Thursday nights (which appear in our print catalog) to Monday nights to avoid conflicts with the presidential debates. We apologize for any confusion. First class starts 10/12. See the schedule here.
I’ve always been a bit of a “homebody” who loves turning my “home”—be it a dorm room, a small, cramped apartment, or the home in Cherry Creek I built when I migrated to Denver from the Bay Area almost 30 years ago—into a cozy-wozy clubhouse that I relish being in. Hence, when I have to stay at home, the last thing I tend to feel is “stuck” or cooped up with Cabin Fever. Instead I am usually quite content.
Nowadays though, homebody or not and like it or not, most of us are having to spend a whole lot more time “at home” than we might otherwise choose to spend. What’s more, we are also being told to dramatically limit both going out and about in the world-at-large and mingling with others at social gatherings. Realistically, it looks like this restricted state of affairs is going to be with us for quite some time. And even when there is no pandemic keeping us home-bound, “aging in place” can do something similar…limit our lives in one way or another.
The results from both kinds of restriction? For many, all this Home Alone time can lead to boredom, loneliness, and depression. Not a pretty or happy picture.
Enter my new CFU Zoom Course: “Happily Home-Bound, Thriving in the age of Covid-19 (or as you ‘Age in Place’).” This four-session Zoom course is designed to help you with both your attitude and your ability to easily transform being at home into a happy, productive time using 21st century technology in a variety of creative ways.
Part of the solution involves adopting a healthy, self-supportive attitude. Add to that a willingness to be a student again who makes mistakes, learns and over-learns by trial and error, and builds new habits that bring enjoyment instead of resentment and growth instead of stagnation.
The crux of the message is that you can do all this by taking advantage of the mighty power of today’s technological marvels—those everyday “Tools & Toys” like iPhones, Macs, iPads, AppleTVs, etc.—in a variety of ingenious ways.
Yes, modern technology can be overwhelming, maddening, daunting, invasive, intimidating, and a giant pain in the neck. But it can also be miraculous, educational, entertaining, empowering, and by the way, tons of fun.
The bottom line? We are both blessed and cursed to be alive and kicking during this amazing “Digital Age.” And I am a huge and enthusiastic fan of taking full advantage of it all (while at the same time learning ways to minimize the headaches and downsides of it all, of which I recognize there are plenty).
I hope you’ll join me for one or more of these four mind-stretching Zoom events. I promise they will open your eyes to an amazing array of ways in which your Techie Tools and Toys, Apple or otherwise, can make being Home-Bound, whether because of Covid-19 or some other reason, a truly enjoyable and enriching experience.
See all of Maria’s classes here. Take one or all! Please note, the fall session of Maria’s classes was moved from Thursday nights (which appear in our print catalog) to Monday nights to avoid conflicts with the presidential debates. We apologize for any confusion.